Warrior?

Meanwhile, at the edge of Rongcheng No. 1 High School's playground, Zhao Jianguo and several school leaders stood in the same spot, watching Su Mu and Ye Qingxue leave.

The teachers only snapped out of their daze when that figure disappeared completely from sight.

"First in the province... and even leaped over the Dragon Gate." The head of the teaching department murmured, "What's going on with our school this year? Ye Qingxue is sixth in the province, Su Mu is first in the province, Leaping over the Dragon Gate. In previous years, either one would be enough to brag about for a year."

"This year, it's all come at once." The old professor stroked his beard, unable to suppress his smile. "This is the first time since the school was founded."

Zhao Jianguo stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze still fixed on the school gate, a restrained smile playing on his lips. He took a deep breath and turned around.

"Alright, everyone, put that away. Don't rush to publicize Su Mu's story; wait for the association to get a unified message."

He paused, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

"Now, let's talk about Wang Hao."

The air suddenly became still.

The teachers' excitement hadn't faded when those words abruptly brought them back to reality.

Wang Hao.

The student who died in the fourth level.

The head of student affairs' smile froze. He subconsciously touched his phone in his pocket; the list of deaths was still lit up.

"Wang Hao, that kid..." a female teacher said in a low voice, "How should we inform his family?"

"His father is a prominent local businessman," the old mentor sighed. "He has a bad temper. If we call him directly and say 'Your son is dead,' he'll probably cause a scene."

"But there's no way to be subtle about this," another teacher frowned. "The death list is issued by the association; it can't be kept secret."

Zhao Jianguo raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Don't rush. Wait for the association's notification and see how they arrange things."

His phone vibrated as soon as he finished speaking.

He glanced down and saw an encrypted message pop up on the screen from the Jiang Province Dungeon Master Association.

He clicked on it and quickly browsed through it.

"The association has issued a notice." Zhao Jianguo looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Regarding this attack on the Nest Cult, the association has drafted a unified statement for public release."

He read aloud what was displayed on the screen.

The gist of the story is that the Nest Cult attacked the Gaokao Secret Realm, resulting in injuries and deaths among some test takers.

The association has categorized the students who sacrificed their lives in this incident as brave warriors who fought valiantly against cult forces and dedicated their lives to the country.

"Warriors?" The head of student affairs paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "That's a good way to put it. At least it won't be so... direct when talking to parents."

"Yes." Zhao Jianguo nodded. "The association will distribute the compensation, and the school will arrange follow-up visits. That way, at least the parents will have some reassurance."

Everyone nodded, their heavy expressions easing slightly.

Then, a young teacher suddenly spoke up, "By the way, Principal, what about Wang Hao's performance in the fourth level... Has the association sent over the combat log? If he acted bravely during the attack, it would be good to tell his parents."

Zhao Jianguo thought about it and agreed. He opened his phone again and pulled up the supplementary materials sent by the association.

There is indeed a video file inside labeled "Rongcheng No. 1 High School, Wang Hao, Fourth Battle Recording".

He opened the video and projected it onto the electronic board next to him.

Everyone crowded around to look.

In the scene, under the gray sky above the ancient battlefield, evil spirits have just transformed into countless Evil Mist Puppets.

All the candidates were desperately resisting; some were directing their biological cards to fight to the death, some were using their bodies to block the core cards, and some were roaring as they unleashed their skills.

And Wang Hao.

His instance projection was tucked away in an inconspicuous corner, where the monsters were only level 18. Although they were higher level than him, they were still much easier to deal with compared to the level 22 or 23 monsters that others faced.

He managed to survive until now by relying on this clever choice.

But when the Evil Mist Puppet split off and level 30 monsters rushed towards him, he huddled in the deepest part of the dungeon, his face filled with terror.

That's understandable. It's normal to be afraid when facing a level 30 monster.

But what happened next stunned everyone.

Wang Hao stared intently in a certain direction, then suddenly burst out laughing.

The smile was twisted and manic, carrying a long-suppressed pleasure.

He opened his mouth, and his voice was somewhat muffled due to distance and background noise, but with the audio enhancement of the secret realm monitoring system, every word was clear.

"Good riddance! Good riddance! Kill him! Kill Su Mu! Who told him to steal my thunder!"

He practically roared it out. His voice was shrill, his expression ferocious, and his eyes blazed with undisguised malice.

"What right does a piece of trash with an F-grade stone have to take first place? What right do they have! Kill him, and I'll be number one! I'll be the face of Rongcheng No. 1 High School! Ye Qingxue will see that I am the strongest!"

In the scene, the Evil Mist Puppet has already rushed to the front of his instance.

His Chaotic Hair Cloak Hammer barely blocked the first one, but the second one circled around from the side and smashed into his core card. His health instantly dropped by half.

Wang Hao, however, seemed completely oblivious to his predicament and continued to roar wildly.

"Kill Su Mu! Kill Su Mu!"

A third puppet burst forth from behind, its claw piercing his chest.

The image freezes. Wang Hao's face is still frozen in that twisted fanaticism, then his whole body turns into white light, shatters and dissipates.

There was a deathly silence in front of the electronic whiteboard.

Zhao Jianguo's face was ashen, and his lips were tightly pressed together.

The head of the teaching department opened his mouth, but no sound came out for a long time. The teachers looked at each other, their expressions shifting from shock to embarrassment, and then to coldness.

After what seemed like an eternity, the young teacher finally spoke with difficulty.

"If this... if this gets broadcast..."

"Play it out?" another teacher abruptly interrupted him. "This kind of thing can be played out? Rongcheng No. 1 High School's reputation, built over decades, will be completely ruined by this one video!"

"And it's the top school in the city." Someone chuckled bitterly. "The top school in the city was cursed to death by its own students, and then the other party died, and we're going to promote him as a hero? Promote what? Promote how much he hated his classmates?"

"What's even more despicable is," a female teacher's voice turned cold, "That at a time like this, he actually hopes for the death of his own people. The Nest Cult is killing people outside, and he's killing his own people inside. If this were during wartime, he'd probably become..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.

Traitor. Spy.