Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the ruins, illuminating the swirling dust inside the armored vehicle.
Leaning back against her seat, Bai Feifei was momentarily stunned by the voice in her head.
Were those words... comforting her?!
How could that be? When did this Evil God change his ways? No, something was off...
Shouldn't he be mocking her, belittling and threatening her in every way possible, and ultimately telling her that Dawn City was beyond saving?
A single sentence had actually caused Bai Feifei to break out in a cold sweat.
Yet, it also pulled her out of her slight depression, and a look of determination returned to her eyes.
If it weren't difficult, why would the Old-Timer say that Dawn City's destruction was inevitable?
Since she had resolved to change the ending, she had to be mentally prepared to face all kinds of difficulties.
Perhaps the Evil God was right about one thing—how could one defeat a demon if they were weaker than the demon itself?
She looked up at the road ahead and spoke in her mind:
“Okay!”
“I understand.”
Xu Mo didn't quite understand why this girl had suddenly fired up.
She was acting like some shonen manga protagonist...
But this was fine too. As an Old-Timer, he understood the art of leadership. Even with a hot-blooded protagonist, he couldn't keep piling on the pressure forever.
Applying a little pressure here and there was enough; it would be bad if she snapped.
Bai Feifei took a deep breath, a spark returning to her eyes as she continued to ask.
“So what exactly should I do?”
“I'll tell you when the time comes,” Xu Mo said casually.
At the same time, he added in his mind: Because I don't actually know yet either.
The North District was the most bizarre region in all of Dawn City.
Although its maximum danger level couldn't compare to that godforsaken Black Smoke Coal Mine—after all, even the Evil God's heart had appeared there, and it was unlikely there would be a more terrifying place in the early game.
However, the problem with the North District lay in its instability.
Back when he played the game, he had noticed that every time he started a new run, the issues that arose in the North District were different!
It was as if the game's code randomly spawned a disaster each time.
Sometimes it was a random outbreak of aberrations, other times an energy riot that mutated everyone instantly, and once, he had barely taken a few steps before an earthquake triggered, burying him directly under the rubble.
Thus, it was difficult for him to predict exactly what would happen right now. He could only take precautions against various possibilities.
Of course, he wouldn't tell Bai Feifei this; he had to maintain his aura of mystery.
“We'll talk once we get there,” Xu Mo said. “Remember, the North District is different from the coal mine. Danger here is highly likely to strike without warning. When the time comes, don't hesitate. Listen to me.”
“Hesitation leads to defeat. When I tell you to do something, don't ask why!”
Bai Feifei nodded. Perhaps because of Xu Mo's earlier words, this was the first time she had chosen to truly trust the Old-Timer.
The armored vehicle rolled over the gravel, and the view ahead was finally no longer just barren wasteland and ruins.
In the distance, vehicles from other academies had already parked. The banners of Yaoguang, Lieyang, and Tiandou Academies fluttered in the wind.
It was unclear what route these vehicles had taken to get here, but it certainly proved that their previous driver had taken a detour on purpose.
Qingping Academy's armored vehicle slowly came to a halt.
The door opened, and Bai Feifei was the first to jump down.
The moment her figure appeared in the sunlight, the entire assembly area fell silent.
Everyone's eyes turned toward her in unison.
The look in everyone's eyes conveyed a single thought:
She's here.
Bai Feifei didn't look at anyone. She simply turned back and waved to the students in the vehicle.
Ye Yu was the first to jump down, followed by the other students.
Their appearance made the silence feel even more eerie.
The students of Qingping Academy still bore the marks of their recent battle. Their clothes were slightly disheveled, and some had dust on their faces, but the look in their eyes was completely different from that of the surrounding students.
It was a sharp gaze, tempered by real combat.
The students from the surrounding academies subconsciously took half a step back and began to whisper among themselves.
“Is that Qingping Academy? What were they doing before this?”
“Look at them... It looks like they just got into a fight.”
“A fight? Are they crazy? Coming to the North District is already about fighting, and they had to fight beforehand too?”
Whispers rippled through the crowd, and quite a few people cast hostile glances their way.
Ignoring the tense expressions of those around her, Bai Feifei paid no attention to their whispers and walked straight toward the center of the assembly area.
Wan Qianhong got down from another vehicle and quickly followed behind her.
The Deputy Dean leading Tiandou Academy, Jiang Guoli, was a shrewd man who knew how to read the room.
Sensing that something might have happened, he grabbed a pack of cigarettes and jogged over to one of the Scavengers who had accompanied Liu Yun and the others.
After a brief chat, the other party tucked a cigarette behind his ear, leaned in close to Jiang Guoli, and began to whisper.
Jiang Guoli stood there with a smile still plastered on his face, but the more he listened, the more off things felt.
Are you kidding me, man? Are you telling me a fairy tale?
By the end of it, he turned to look at the man in sheer horror, blurting out, “Is that true?!”
Once he confirmed that the other party wouldn't dare joke about such a matter, he quickly returned to his academy's camp and whispered to his subordinates, “Put a hold on all our previous plans.”
“Stop all plans targeting Qingping Academy, including any provocations!” Sweat beaded on Jiang Guoli's forehead. “Xu Hu is dead—the head of the North District! She killed him!”
Carried by the biting wind of the North District, the news quickly spread to everyone's ears.
The leading instructors from the other academies, who had originally been dissatisfied with Qingping, fell into a long silence upon hearing this.
Then, with tacit agreement, everyone cast aside their previous schemes.
Originally, many of them had planned to find opportunities to suppress Qingping during the Graduation Show, and they had even harbored thoughts of provoking them with a few mocking words.
But now...
Xu Hu was the head of the North District, and a member of the Xu family!
Yet during the short time Bai Feifei had been late, she had actually managed to kill him?
And for such a severe matter, how could everyone act as if nothing had happened? Even Tian Guannan and the Prophet were completely avoiding the topic.
They all knew Bai Feifei was a troublemaker, but they hadn't expected her to be this out of control!
The entire assembly point fell into an eerie silence.
The people from the various academies gave Qingping Academy a wide berth, not daring to get close.
Even the trucks that had been parked right next to theirs were silently moved over a dozen meters away, as no one wanted any contact with the students of Qingping Academy.
Sitting in Qingping Academy's temporary camp, Bai Feifei looked at the large empty space around them, feeling a bit puzzled.
“Why is everyone avoiding us?”
Ye Yu, who was drinking water nearby, nearly choked. She stared at Bai Feifei in shock.
“Are you seriously asking that?”
“You just killed someone, Teacher Bai.”
“Is that so...” Bai Feifei nodded, her expression serious. “But that man really deserved to die.”
Ye Yu's mouth twitched.
Sure, whatever you say. Who would dare argue with you anyway?
“Haha, fair enough...”
“Still, with your deterrent force, Teacher Bai, it's saved our academy a lot of trouble. All those potential troublemakers have behaved themselves.”
Rate on N.U.
