Kid, aren't you afraid of me?

Zhao Zicheng nodded thoughtfully, then returned to his original seat, reassured.

Yu Sheng, however, kept his eyes on the driver.

He seemed perfectly calm.

But the hand resting by the wall was hidden inside his sleeve.

It was just as the driver had said.

After only about five minutes, an abandoned factory appeared in the distance. The school bus slowly drove inside and stopped.

More than twenty people were already scattered around the factory's open yard.

There were students in school uniforms, as well as some middle-aged people.

From a distance, Yu Sheng also spotted his homeroom teacher, Liu Qingfeng.

The school bus stopped.

"Sure enough, Du Xu is here too."

"A six-mark genius!"

Rather than hurry off the bus, Zhao Zicheng stared at a particular figure and spoke gravely.

Li Kai looked puzzled. "Which one is Du Xu?"

"See the guy with the full beard?"

Zhao Zicheng nodded toward a figure through the bus window.

That was a... well... person.

A thick, dense beard covered his face like a mask, concealing everything except a pair of utterly placid eyes.

"That's not a face with a beard."

"That's clearly a beard with a face."

Yu Sheng gazed through the window in some amazement.

For once, the other three found themselves in agreement. They exchanged glances and nodded emphatically.

"Let's go. The people from the other two schools and the teachers are already here."

"Yu Sheng, although we didn't reach an agreement, I still hope you'll watch out for that Du Xu."

"He's... very strong."

"I hope you won't disgrace Second High School!"

Zhao Zicheng looked at Yu Sheng with utter seriousness, tinged with the melodramatic bravado unique to boys his age.

"Mm."

Yu Sheng nodded lightly and got off the school bus with Zhao Zicheng and the other two.

The driver got off as well. Leaning against the bus, he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, then sauntered into the factory and opened a rusty iron door.

Two middle-aged men sat inside the damp room, with screens in front of them displaying footage of the yard.

"How are they?"

The driver casually pulled over a stool, sat down, and asked.

The other two shook their heads.

"They lack vigilance and trust strangers too easily."

"They're rather simple-minded, too."

"The higher-ups are oversimplifying things. Self-governance for remote cities is nothing but a pipe dream."

The speaker sounded somewhat disappointed.

The smoking driver, however, nodded thoughtfully, his gaze settling on Yu Sheng in the surveillance footage.

"This little fellow is rather interesting."

"Maybe we'll find a little surprise."

Recalling Yu Sheng's actions on the school bus, the driver spoke casually, but soon smiled again. "Still, there's no need to expect too much."

"Isn't this assignment a complete waste of time?"

"No idea what the higher-ups are thinking."

"Let those blockheads from the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion do the work. I'm getting some sleep first."

As he spoke, he stretched and settled comfortably onto the only single bed in the corner. Even though the sheets were already moldy, he still seemed to consider sleeping an indulgence.

"Not having to go on missions feels so good."

With that sigh, the driver closed his eyes. Before long, he began snoring softly.

The other two exchanged a look, both somewhat resigned, then turned their attention back to the surveillance footage.

The factory yard.

"I'll be leading the team this time."

"The exact assessment details are still unclear. We'll have to wait for the people from the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion to arrive before we find out."

"But the apprentice stage is the only opportunity when everyone stands at the same starting line, regardless of talent."

"At most, he'll be a little stronger than you."

"So this is an incredibly precious opportunity for you."

"Remember..."

"Whatever the assessment involves, you must remain cautious and calm. Only then will you have a better chance of winning than the others!"

Liu Qingfeng looked at everyone gravely as he spoke.

Zhao Zicheng nodded vigorously. When he looked at Du Xu again, his eyes were already filled with fighting spirit.

That's right. We're all apprentices.

None of us has fully awakened yet, so we can't use special abilities.

It still comes down to our own willpower!

When it comes to willpower, I, Zhao Zicheng, am second to none!

Time passed, gradually slipping into the afternoon. Beneath the blazing sun, the people from the Demon-Slaughtering Pavilion still failed to arrive.

The students could not help growing somewhat impatient.

As the sun gradually began to set, a somewhat battered off-road vehicle finally appeared in the distance.

It kicked up a sky full of dust.

The vehicle charged into the factory.

The dust it stirred up settled over the fifteen students present.

Most instinctively frowned and took two steps back.

The door opened.

A burly middle-aged man climbed out, wearing sunglasses and holding a cigarette between his lips. He casually surveyed his surroundings before his gaze settled on the teachers.

He froze briefly when he saw Liu Qingfeng in particular.

"Old Liu?"

"Fuck, I've been looking for you for years! Where've you been?"

Completely ignoring the surrounding students as he spoke, he strode up to Liu Qingfeng and clapped him hard on the shoulder.

Liu Qingfeng's expression also shifted slightly at the sight of the burly man. Only after several seconds of silence did he regain his composure. "Teaching."

"What?"

"You're fucking teach-"

The burly man stared at Liu Qingfeng in disbelief, looking him up and down. When he noticed the missing little finger on Liu Qingfeng's right hand, his voice abruptly cut off.

"All right!"

"Teaching's good too. At least it's more peaceful than the way we risk our necks."

He clapped Liu Qingfeng heavily on the shoulder again, his breathing somewhat labored, yet his face bore an expression of envy toward Liu Qingfeng.

It looked a little exaggerated, though, presumably because he was not good at acting.

Seemingly aware of it himself, the burly man immediately changed the subject. "Which ones are from your school?"

Liu Qingfeng pointed toward Yu Sheng and the others, a rare smile appearing on his somewhat cold face.

The burly man removed his sunglasses, took another deep drag on his cigarette, and bared his teeth in a slight grin.

But...

To them, still students, that grin looked somewhat ferocious.

Especially with his eyes exposed after he removed his sunglasses.

A single glance felt like looking upon mountains of corpses and seas of blood, sending chills down their spines.

The burly man seemed particularly satisfied by the students' frightened expressions, and his grin widened. But he soon paused, his gaze coming to rest on Yu Sheng-or rather, on Yu Sheng's calm eyes.

"Kid, aren't you afraid of me?"

The burly man's smile gradually faded, and his voice was somewhat cold.

At that moment, a faint murderous aura seemed to spread continuously through the air.

It was only a single question, yet it could bring endless pressure to bear.