I want to follow you

"In the end, I underestimated the Ink Pavilion."

"What a waste of this batch of prime human slaves. They could have fetched a good price if shipped to the Demon Clan..."

The young man looked at the text message on his phone, his expression cold.

"Those useless fools in Xinhai City can't even get their intelligence right."

"It's time they went to follow God's glory, too."

Wisps of murderous intent filled the quiet room.

He picked up his phone again and dialed a number, but this time his tone became much more respectful. "Lord Divine Attendant, I think we can set the plan in motion ahead of schedule."

"The Ink Pavilion responded very decisively this time. They must have been prepared, and I suspect they've already set their sights on our Divine Cult."

"Yes, I know the experiment hasn't been fully perfected yet, but if we keep dragging this out, I'm afraid the Ink Pavilion will..."

"Yes, of course."

After hanging up, the smile gradually vanished from the young man's face, and his expression darkened. "Idiot. Not a brain in your head, and you still want to drag this out another month!"

"If you didn't have such a good younger sister to rely on, how could someone like you have risen to that position?"

"Let's see how you clean up the mess if something goes wrong!"

With a cold snort, the young man smashed the wineglass on the table onto the floor, producing a crisp shattering sound.

On the wall nearby hung a map of Jiangbei Province.

Mobei City had been circled in red and marked with an X.

The abandoned factory.

It was nearly dawn.

Everyone was exhausted, but after several mental shocks, none of them felt like going back to sleep.

In fact... seeds of fear had already been planted in their hearts.

Everyone was waiting for daybreak.

For the first time in their lives, they longed so desperately for the sun to rise, as though its dazzling light could wash away all their tension, fear, and... cowardice.

Only Du Xu, Zhao Zicheng, and two other students remained seated around the corpse, staring at it with their eyes wide open.

Even as they smelled the pungent stench of blood.

Even as...

They looked at the corpse's bulging eyes.

Perhaps the only thing to be thankful for was that Yu Sheng had killed cleanly and decisively.

If he had been prone to violence and mangled the corpse beyond recognition, that would have been a true nightmare.

Fortunately, although their faces were still somewhat pale, the fear in their eyes gradually faded. Almost without realizing it... the dead no longer seemed quite so terrifying.

At least he wouldn't move or hurt them.

"Say, if we asked them to kill someone now, would they dare?"

Ever since adding Yu Sheng as a friend, Wang Wenxuan had abandoned any thought of continuing to hide in the surveillance room. Instead, he stuck by Yu Sheng's side and nudged him lightly with his arm.

Yu Sheng shook his head. "I don't know."

"Ah, buddy, you're a bit too dull."

"Wouldn't it be nice to smile more and lighten up?"

"Like me."

As he spoke, Wang Wenxuan even forced a smile onto his face.

Yu Sheng remained silent.

Only after a moment did he speak hesitantly. "In Sin City, the first to die... are always the ones who talk too much."

That single sentence left Wang Wenxuan speechless.

But seeing that daybreak was still a while away, he couldn't stand the boredom. Risking another cutting reply, he asked, "Just out of curiosity, how many people have you killed?"

Yu Sheng gave it some serious thought. "I've never counted. Probably not that many."

Wang Wenxuan froze.

If it wasn't that many, couldn't you just give it a little thought and come up with a rough fucking number?

You've already lost count, and you call that not many?

Who the hell taught you math?!

"Then is there anything fun in Sin City?"

Wang Wenxuan swore he was genuinely curious about Sin City now.

"Hmm..."

"Does cutting out the tongues of people who talk too much count?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment before replying.

An inexplicable chill ran down Wang Wenxuan's back, and he promptly shut his mouth.

He kept feeling that Yu Sheng was taking a jab at him, but he had no evidence.

He did, after all, have a fearsome reputation as a "fierce warrior" in Baichun City. A mighty Fourth Awakening expert, yet he couldn't display any of an expert's imposing presence in front of Yu Sheng.

After all, every awakening brought earth-shaking changes to one's strength. Calling it a complete transformation was no exaggeration.

Liu Qingfeng, who had listened to the entire conversation, couldn't help smiling.

At last.

When the first light of dawn arrived, everyone silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Wenxuan finally put his driver's jacket back on and stood amid the crowd, calling, "Kids, you can go home now!"

The students looked somewhat lost, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

They could laugh because they could finally return to the safety of the city and their warm, comfortable homes.

They could cry because... they were nowhere near as strong or decisive in killing as they had imagined.

Like useless people, they couldn't move forward even when faced with nothing more than a corpse.

Their dreams of being heroes, nurtured for years, had shattered like bubbles in a single night.

"What's there to be upset about?!"

"If everyone were strong-willed, brave, and fearless, the word 'hero' wouldn't hold such grandeur, and 'martyr'... wouldn't weigh so heavily on people's hearts."

"You're lucky to have met a good teacher."

"He let you see yourselves clearly in time, instead of only discovering your own helplessness when faced with a life-or-death crisis!"

"Get in!"

They had arrived in several vehicles, but on the way back, everyone squeezed together, looking like frost-wilted eggplants.

Monitor A and Monitor B stayed behind to handle the corpse and fill out the assessment summary. Afterward, they would return directly to Baichun City.

Facing the corpse, both wore calm expressions and handled it with practiced skill. Clearly, this wasn't their first time.

In times like these, being a clerk really wasn't just a matter of processing some paperwork.

In other words... these students, who had been frightened completely out of their wits, weren't even qualified to become clerks.

Just as Liu Qingfeng had said, perhaps being ordinary people would be their greatest blessing.

Of course, it was possible that one day their mindsets would suddenly change, and they would become resolute and fearless. But at least... not now.

"Yu Sheng, I'll take care of that thing for you as soon as I get back!"

By now, Zhao Zicheng had completely recovered. He nudged Yu Sheng and spoke quietly.

Yu Sheng paused, failing to catch on for a moment.

But his eyes soon lit up, and he solemnly patted Zhao Zicheng on the shoulder. "You're a true brother!"

Hearing those words, Zhao Zicheng was so excited he nearly cried.

Had he finally accepted me?

And that acceptance had come far too quickly, too suddenly, and even a little too easily.

For a moment, he couldn't stop imagining just what a vile bastard Yu Sheng's father must have been, and what he had done to Yu Sheng!

Du Xu also quietly moved closer.

"I want to follow you."

"Teach me how to kill."

Though the assessment had lasted only a day, it had dealt Du Xu a tremendous shock as well.

But compared with the others' confusion, he felt even more strongly... that he needed to be tougher and fight harder.

Otherwise, he could only remain a useless fool, serving as a backdrop for others time and again.