"Mm, I understand."
"That's all for now. I still have to notify the others. If anything else happens, I'll let you know immediately."
With that, Zhang Hongji's voice vanished from his mind without a trace.
Duan Ming looked at Fang Cheng, who was sitting on the bed.
Judging by Fang Cheng's tense expression, he seemed to know already.
"Zhang Hongji just contacted me using his Power of God."
"I heard him. His ability should let him communicate with several people over long distances at the same time."
Fang Cheng jumped off the bed and prepared for a fight. "They're up to no good. If they dared to break into Divine Power School, these guys must have some serious backgrounds."
"These things are finally going to come in handy."
As Fang Cheng pulled the suitcase containing his secret weapons out from under the bed, Duan Ming stepped outside the dorm room and took a look.
The corridor was deserted.
He looked into the distance. They were a long way from the sports field, and another building blocked the view, so he couldn't see what was happening over there.
By the time he returned to the dorm room, Fang Cheng was armed to the teeth.
He had changed into an outfit made from some unknown material. It looked much like a bulletproof vest.
It looked seriously badass.
He was also holding an incredibly powerful electromagnetic gun.
"Even a Divine Power Master with four Divine Marks would have to drop to their knees and call me grandpa if I hit them with this electromagnetic gun."
"That's true, but only if you can hit them."
"Can't you have a little faith in my marksmanship?" Fang Cheng's face darkened.
"It's not a question of marksmanship. It's a question of speed." Duan Ming took his saber in hand and sat quietly in a chair.
On the roof of Teaching Building No. 1, a man stood beside an astronomical telescope, silently watching the eight people on the sports field.
Peng Sisi stood behind him and said with a serious expression, "They look like followers of the Church of the Dark Night."
"They picked a time when there aren't many people at the school to attack. Looks like they know a lot about the situation here." The man rubbed his chin with one hand. "Zhang Hongji said there are thirty people at the school right now, two first-years and mostly second-years among the rest..."
"Can we beat them?"
Peng Sisi looked deeply worried.
"Mm... I don't know. We don't know what they're after yet. If they're here to slaughter people, they must be pretty strong." The man narrowed his eyes as he saw a burly man on the sports field take an object with an attachment out of his backpack. "A bomb?"
"They aren't planning to blow up the school, are they?" Peng Simin's pupils rapidly contracted.
"It's possible. Blowing up Divine Power School would have a considerable impact throughout the country and even the world. That would be a good thing for them. We have to find a way to stop them."
The man turned to Peng Simin, took off his coat and handed it to her. "Wait for me here. Don't worry, I won't die. I definitely won't leave you a widow."
"You don't have to worry about that. If you die, I'll definitely find someone else. I absolutely won't stay a widow."
"I admire you."
"One each is enough. A bomb is powerful enough to destroy a building."
On the sports field, eight people stood in a circle.
"Remember, our goal isn't to fight to the death. It's to plant the bombs in the designated locations."
"As long as we destroy this school, the whole world will know about it within a day."
"When that happens, the Divine Mark Association will lose all face, and our Church of the Dark Night will gain even more followers!"
"Although time is short, if anyone gets in your way, I don't mind you killing a few people first."
As the middle-aged man spoke, he raised the bomb with its attachment high in the air. "Lord of the Dark Night!"
"Lord of the Dark Night!!"
The others echoed him, raising the bombs in their hands.
This guy is so calm.
Although there was only a little moonlight in the room, Fang Cheng could sense how calm Duan Ming was.
Fang Cheng's limbs were stiff, adrenaline was coursing through his body, and his nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
Yet Duan Ming, sitting in the chair, looked as tranquil as a still lake.
They were both new students, so how could the gap between them be so wide?
"A woman is heading toward your dorm building. She seems to have a bomb in her hand."
Zhang Hongji's voice rang out in Duan Ming's and Fang Cheng's minds at the same time.
"A bomb?" Fang Cheng frowned. "Duan Ming, what do we do now?"
At the same time, Zhang Hongji's voice rang out again. "They might be planning to blow up the school. We don't know how strong this woman is. If you can't beat her, find a way to run."
"Okay, got it." After replying to Zhang Hongji, Duan Ming looked at Fang Cheng and asked, "Do you trust me?"
"Uh..." Fang Cheng froze for a moment. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Good. Take off what you're wearing and give it to me."
"..."
"Is it really okay to take advantage of the situation like this?" Fang Cheng reluctantly took off the outfit and handed it to Duan Ming.
"Wait here. I'll go take a look." Duan Ming put on the protective outfit and walked out with his saber in one hand. "Don't worry. If I have to run, I'll call you."
Fang Cheng stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
Duan Ming didn't know how strong the intruder was.
In fact, the best thing to do now was run.
Staying behind and fighting head-on would be foolish.
Though it wouldn't look very honorable if word got out that they had run away.
But that was what Du Qinggang had taught them: if they couldn't win, they should run.
Even so, someone had to go out and scout ahead first.
It wasn't that Duan Ming was stepping forward to scout because he wanted to play the hero.
Rather, if he took Fang Cheng along, the guy was too slow. If anything unexpected happened, he would very likely hold them back.
The moonlit corridor was silent except for the steady drip of a faucet.
Combined with the eerie atmosphere, it felt rather like a horror movie.
When he reached the stairwell, footsteps coming down from above caught Duan Ming's attention.
He stood at the stairwell with his saber in one hand, watching the passage above without moving.
A man tiptoed cautiously down from above.
Their eyes met, and the man breathed a sigh of relief. "Duan Ming, the first-year? I've seen you before."
"You're a second-year?"
"Yeah."
The building had three floors. At present, first-years lived on the first and second floors, while some second-years lived on the third.
"How many of you are there?"
"Just me. Everyone else went home for the weekend."
"I'm going downstairs to take a look. Wait here for me." With that, Duan Ming crept down the stairs.
The man stood in the passage, watching Duan Ming in bewilderment. "What's that guy wearing? It looks seriously badass!"
"Stop hiding. Come out. I noticed you when you were still on the second floor."
At the first-floor stairwell, a woman stopped what she was doing and slowly raised her head, looking toward the turn in the middle of the stairs.
"What are you doing?"
The woman glanced up and down at the strangely dressed young man, then at the saber in his hand. "Obviously, I'm planting a bomb."