At All Costs

The dust settled.

Students in the cafeteria walked out one after another, staring in shock at the scene that could only be described as a river of blood.

The corpses of the Mirror were all taken away by the other Mirrors, leaving behind only the bodies of the academy teachers and security guards who had sacrificed themselves in this brutal fight.

Infirmary staff wept as they rushed to save the survivors lying in pools of blood.

Cheng Queyi sat on the ground, dazed, holding Wang Wen in her arms.

Yu Zhi approached, wanting to say something but not knowing how to begin. Looking at the tear-stained Cheng Queyi, she thought for a moment, then sat down beside her and took hold of Wang Wen's cold hand.

The head of security, Teacher Gu, hauled several cases of drinking water out of the cafeteria. After tossing a few bottles to his companions, he unscrewed one and poured it over his own head. The blood of both friend and foe washed off his body and onto the ground, a sight that was truly heart-wrenching.

The department head and the remaining teachers who could still walk were helping to rescue the wounded.

The old dean stood with his feet in a pool of blood that covered his shoes, looking around at the devastation, his eyes splitting with rage.

"This is not the World Tower," he muttered. "This is an academy."

Hearing the dean's grief-stricken voice, the surrounding teachers and students could not help but sob and choke back tears.

"This is an academy!"

The dean's aged voice seemed to carry the blood-soaked air and the souls of the innocently departed, echoing through the academy and refusing to dissipate.

The long night finally passed.

Light began to bloom on the horizon.

Wang Wen's injuries had improved, and his vision had returned.

But when he opened his eyes, he did not see the golden morning sun.

Instead, he saw a blood-red academy.

Parents came to the academy to collect their children.

To show that the academy had taken care of the students and that no student had been harmed, they did not demand a refund of their tuition.

They simply withdrew their children quietly.

Are you kidding?

The other party is Tiansheng Group.

The second-largest conglomerate in the world!

What could a tiny academy possibly use to resist them? Their heads?

In this world, there is no right or wrong, only the strong and the weak.

Tiansheng Group, possessing a top-tier team of tower climbers, has the inherent right to be unreasonable.

Not to mention, they had an excuse this time.

The students were all gone.

After the wounded were taken away by ambulances, some teachers left as well.

The families of the deceased were still weeping over the bodies that the hospital hadn't had time to process, which were only temporarily covered with white sheets.

In the distance, the collapsed dean's office was a scene of total ruin.

Wang Wen stood up. Behind Yu Zhi and Cheng Queyi, who were by his side, stood their parents, their faces full of helplessness.

He apologized to the parents.

He told Yu Zhi and Cheng Queyi to go home.

Obviously, neither woman was willing.

But he ignored them, walked quietly to the dean, who was busy making endless phone calls, and bowed.

He then bowed to Teacher Gu and the other security guards who had tried so hard to protect everyone.

Finally, under the gaze of everyone present, he bowed deeply to the large number of bodies covered in white sheets.

A long time passed.

He straightened up and walked silently toward the academy gate.

"Where are you going?" Cheng Queyi shouted, chasing after him.

Wang Wen did not look back, did not answer, walked out of the academy, and headed straight into the World Tower portal.

For the first time in his life, he felt the power of a modern conglomerate so profoundly.

He felt pain.

Unprecedented pain.

This broken world is unreasonable.

The people he provoked and offended didn't come for him, but insisted on dragging a large group of innocent people into it.

He deeply regretted hiding inside the academy gate just to shake off his pursuers at that time.

Even after living two lifetimes, he never expected the other party to be so ruthless and decisive.

To hunt him down, they didn't even care about the Academy, killing without a second thought.

Looking at it this way, the root cause of all this sin was actually himself.

Wang Wen believed that the evil he had created should be resolved by himself.

Even if it meant living like a dog, he would not hesitate.

"Department Head, Wang Wen has entered the World Tower," Tong Xiaolei reported.

The old man's hand, which was flipping through documents, paused, and he sighed slightly: "What a pity."

Tong Xiaolei looked back at the office door and asked in a low voice: "Are we just going to watch Tiansheng murder Academy teachers like this? Isn't that group, Mirror, acting too recklessly?"

"Shen Rushuang has always been suppressed by Mo Ran and has long been resentful. Targeting Wang Wen this time is clearly because he saw his cooperation with us and is taking the opportunity to be spiteful." The old man picked up his teacup and blew on it: "If we intervene for Wang Wen, we will fall right into his trap. Seeing how desperate Mirror is, the moment we make a move, it will escalate into a battle between the two major groups. As I said before, our group needs time to establish a firm footing; it is not the time for war, at least not for an unrelated person outside the group."

"But are we just going to keep enduring this?" Tong Xiaolei showed clear emotional fluctuation for the first time: "Including this time, Tiansheng has already probed us several times!"

The old man glanced at her: "That is why we are the First Consortium and they are ranked second."

Tong Xiaolei remained unconvinced: "If we have to endure so much humiliation, then what is the use of being first?"

"Being first relies on strength, not temper. They suffer losses with every probe, while we do not." The old man closed the lid of his cup, his tone indifferent: "When the enemy is weak, I am strong; this is a good phenomenon."

Tong Xiaolei rarely retorted: "Personally, I believe that for a rat that keeps scratching and probing around a tiger, patience is not strength—crushing it with one paw is."

"Haha." The old man suddenly laughed. His patience was exceptionally good today, perhaps because he had many things on his mind that he needed to vent: "My original intention was to use Tiansheng's pressure to recruit Wang Wen for our use. He has my number; if he had made one phone call, I would have sent people without a second thought. Unfortunately, except for that one time he took medicine to save someone, he would rather enter the tower himself than ask me for help. That was something I didn't expect."

"Even if not for Wang Wen, the Academy is too pitiful." Tong Xiaolei frowned: "We investigated, and some of those who died were just ordinary teachers. The Regional Security Department doesn't dare to intervene. If we don't do anything, the world will fall into chaos."

"The Academy, huh." The old man sighed.

He turned his chair to face the floor-to-ceiling window, his voice deepening: "They are just unlucky. If even one student worked for the First Consortium, we would have a reason to intervene."

Tong Xiaolei pursed her lips: "But there are indeed students in my team who graduated from the Academy, and they all received calls from the Dean himself!"

"This is a battle between the two major groups of this era; their weight is not enough." The old man shook his head, his gaze cast toward the distant sky outside the window: "At the very least, they would need to be at the level of a team leader."

The office fell into silence.

Tong Xiaolei did not argue further, feeling only a sense of grievance, and took several deep breaths to adjust her mood.

The old man looking out the window did not turn back, yet he could sense the frustration of his capable subordinate.

After all, one cannot leave their own people out in the cold.

As if to comfort her, he smiled at Tong Xiaolei: "At the end of the day, it is the Academy students who lack the ability. Try to look at it differently."

"Wang Wen is also an Academy student," Tong Xiaolei pouted.

The old man's tone was helpless: "If it weren't for him, the Academy wouldn't have suffered such a catastrophe."

"The person who never entered the tower has now been forced into it!" Tong Xiaolei complained with a face full of unwillingness, then curiously asked: "Which floor do you think he will reach?"

"I don't know which floor he can reach, but I know that if he wants to avenge the Academy, he needs to reach at least the five-hundredth floor."

Wang Wen has entered the tower.

This news came as a surprise to many.

For instance, Shen Rushuang, who was reporting to the young master of Tiansheng.

Upon hearing the news, his heart nearly skipped a beat.

That monster was already so strong without ever having entered the tower; what would happen if he went in now?

Shen Rushuang dared not think about it and could only honestly report the results of his work, hoping that the power of the Tiansheng Group would be enough to crush the avengers from the Academy.