Dividing the Credit!

After hearing Lingling out, Mo Fan's face darkened.

The situation was grim, but the lockdown was a good thing. It would keep any students carrying Parasitic Demon Insects from getting out and causing unforeseeable damage.

With everyone helping each other, they escorted the girls to the infirmary.

The female Healing Element student looked full of energy now. When she saw that Lan Yu had rescued so many female students, she was even more astonished.

"You're really impressive. Even with all of us working together, we might not have been able to deal with these Demon Beasts. Yet you managed to take down so many." She praised them sincerely.

"It was nothing." Mo Fan gave a modest smile in front of the pretty girl, though he thought he was incredible.

Lan Yu shook his head. Now, they just had to deal with the Scale-Skin Demon Mother.

This was also a chance to get Mo Fan in his debt—a debt that could prove useful later. After all, favors were the hardest debts to repay.

"Annoying guy, I have some bad news for you." Lingling's voice rang out again.

"What is it?"

"The Scale-Skin Mother Demon has realized that we've sealed off this place. According to the latest information, if the Mother Demon is driven into a corner, it'll order all the Cyan-Yellow Demonesses to kill themselves. When they do, they'll drain all the life force from their hosts." Lingling sounded grave.

"Wait, we've only rescued a little over twenty people so far, and there are way more infected people than that..." Mo Fan frowned.

This wasn't something they could take lightly. If the Mother Demon really was driven into a corner, the death toll could instantly top a hundred.

What's more, so many people dying at once would undoubtedly throw society into turmoil.

"The Hunter King can't get inside, and the school can't afford to act rashly either. Everyone's still looking for an entrance into the stadium that won't alert the Mother Demon... but dragging this out will only make things worse. So the Hunter King and the others want you to take action and kill the Mother Demon," Lingling said.

"We're supposed to go?"

Mo Fan turned his head and met Lan Yu's gaze.

There was no need to guess: plenty of lesser minions would surely be gathered around the Mother Demon.

How could the three of them possibly take down the Mother Demon?

"There are only three of us. This might be tough..." Lan Yu began.

"Just say what you mean." Lingling's expression darkened. She seemed to know what Lan Yu was about to say.

"It's not that we can't take down the Mother Demon, but it'll cost extra!"

After that, the three of them followed Lingling's directions and fought their way toward the third floor of the stadium.

"Mo Fan, let's get this straight. You're in it for the money, I'm in it for the fame. The moment my life's in danger, I'm turning around and leaving. I'll do what I can, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to risk my life," Zhao Manyan said solemnly as he ran.

"What do you mean?" Mo Fan didn't understand what Zhao Manyan was getting at.

To be honest, he hadn't expected Zhao Manyan to choose to get involved. He was only a Light Element mage. Even though Light Element magic was highly effective against these Demon Beasts, Light Element mages simply didn't have much fighting power.

"I'll be honest with you. I'm from the Zhao Family, and our family's influence is greater than the Mu Family's. Of course, most of us from prominent families don't throw our weight around at school. We're here to make a name for ourselves—partly to prove our worth and partly to attract talented people to our families."

"The Mother Demon incident is bound to have a big impact. If I claim the top credit, my influence and my family's reputation will both rise considerably, and my family will value me more too," Zhao Manyan explained.

Hearing that, Mo Fan let out a breath and said, "I can't make heads or tails of you people... But I'm already infamous. Reputation means nothing to me. Even if I take down the Mother Demon, I figure I'll only manage to clear my name."

At that, Zhao Manyan's eyes lit up. "Then that's perfect. We'll take down the Mother Demon together. I'll take the credit, and you can have the money and resources."

"Do you think people are stupid? How many of them do you think will believe that?" Lan Yu asked.

"Who cares whether they believe it? As long as you two back me up and say I killed the Mother Demon, what does it matter if other people don't believe us?" Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan thought it over. He really was short on money right now. After all, he had four Elements to support—he was practically a walking money furnace.

"All right, deal. But..."

"Name your price." Zhao Manyan sounded generous.

"A Wing Magic Tool."

"..."

"See you later, then~"

"A Spirit-Grade Lightning Seed. If that won't do, I'll go with this brother here. I'm not expecting you to have any fighting ability anyway; I can protect myself." Mo Fan looked completely serious.

Zhao Manyan gritted his teeth, then cursed, "Damn, you're a ruthless bastard!"

A Spirit-Grade Lightning Seed usually cost around thirty million.

What's more, Spirit Seeds were often in very short supply. The moment one went up for auction, some other wealthy faction would snap it up in no time.

The Zhao Family could afford a Spirit-Grade Lightning Seed, sure, but that didn't mean they could just buy one at a moment's notice.

Damn, having this guy as a roommate has cursed me for eight lifetimes!

"So we have a deal?" Mo Fan asked when he saw his reaction.

"Deal!" Zhao Manyan gritted out.

Besides, there was no harm in getting on this guy's good side. If he ran into trouble someday, Mo Fan could help him out.

"What about you, Lan Yu?" Zhao Manyan turned to him.

"Me? I haven't decided yet. For now, you owe me a favor. I'll tell you what I want later," Lan Yu said.

After all, they were bound to clash with the Holy City eventually. When that time came, the two of them would be valuable allies.

"When did I owe you a favor?" Mo Fan looked utterly bewildered. So this guy's name was Lan Yu.

He'd just happened to be passing by the stadium, then Lingling had dragged him into this.

If anyone owed a favor, it was Lingling. What did it have to do with him?

"Right, then it's settled." Lan Yu didn't give Mo Fan a chance to speak, cutting him off before he could get another word out.

"There are red dots all over the third floor, and you two are casually chatting about how to split the credit while you walk upstairs!" Lingling's cool voice came through.

Clearly, she was trying to hold back her anger.

"Shut it, brat."

"..."

The three of them had reached the third floor by now, and the rehearsal had begun.

They had no interest in listening to the deafening music. As they ran, they scanned the densely packed crowd in the hall below.

According to Lingling, more than a hundred of the four or five thousand audience members had been infected, and the Demonesses in other parts of the stadium were gathering here too.

The moment the Mother Demon gave the order, the Demonesses would reveal their true forms. Then the entire concert rehearsal hall would turn into a slaughterhouse.

There were four or five thousand people, most of them Beginner Mages. Even if some managed to react and fight back, the rest might not.

"Move faster! You have to kill the Mother Demon, or you'll be surrounded by a whole horde of Cyan-Yellow Demonesses. If that happens, you're as good as dead!"