Rest Zone;
Inside the Control Room, Feng Xiu, who had been quite stressed a mont ago as the drone captured the presence of a King Tier monster, froze mid-motion.
"Eh?" He leaned closer to the largest display. The CAM 28 showed Lin Fang had vanished completely.
"Where did he go?" Feng Xiu barked, putting down his cup. "Soone—track Cadet 23 through his smartwatch! He was wearing one, wasn’t he?"
The operators flinched, fingers flying across keyboards as data windows popped open.
Commander Nie Rougang frowned deeply. "Mr. Feng, that’s against the regulation. We can’t access the smartwatch tracking unless a cadet presses the SOS trigger."
"Commander Nie," Feng Xiu cut him off sharply, "rember why this trial exists in the first place. It’s not a simple competition — it’s an evaluation under extre survival conditions. And unlike the veterans who applied voluntarily and went through screening, the cadets in Camp Two were forced into this trial. Their safety is our responsibility. My responsibility."
He straightened his coat, his gaze hard. "So whether they want help or not, we’re going to watch over every single one of them."
Nie Rougang opened his mouth to argue, but Commander Albert placed a hand on his arm. "Let him," he said quietly. "If the kid’s really in trouble, arguing protocol won’t save him."
Before anyone could say more, one of the staff mbers suddenly stiffened. "S-sir!" he stamred, eyes wide as he stared at the radar map on his screen.
A single red dot blinked violently on the digital wilderness map.
"Found him," the staff said. "B-but, sir, you might want to see this..."
He zood in.
"What the hell..." Commander Nie whispered, eyes widening. "Is that..."
Feng Xiu’s face darkened. His teacup slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor. "Not Sector 0..."
The room was filled with the faint hiss of static from the nearby screens. Commander Albert slowly stood, with his voice dropping to a low, grim tone. "Sector 0? Why did he escape to that place? It’s off-limits to the trials. No... how in the hell did he even manage to enter the barrier?"
Feng Xiu turned sharply. "Pass the orders—dispatch a rescue unit now!"
Commander Nie slamd his palm on the desk. "No! That’s a forbidden zone, Mr. Feng. Even our aircraft aren’t allowed in its skies. You know who rules that territory—he doesn’t tolerate the presence of humans or monsters, not even our drones. If we send soldiers there, they’ll be slaughtered before they land."
"Are you telling to just abandon him!?" Feng Xiu’s voice echoed through the control room.
Commander Albert exhaled and folded his arms. "Mr. Feng, think rationally. Even if that boy inherited Li Chengfeng’s legacy, we can’t afford to provoke the demigod. Not after what happened the last ti we tried to map that area."
Feng Xiu’s hands trembled with frustration. "You’re talking about the massacre from ten years ago."
Albert nodded grimly. "Exactly. We lost hundreds of our soldiers. Aircraft, missiles, not even nukes work on him. And in annoyance, he shot an arrow and obliterated the entire command center. We won’t risk that again — not for one cadet."
The silence that followed was heavy. Then, with a sigh, Albert muttered, "Forget him. Lin Fang is as good as dead. A pity... such potential."
Feng Xiu clenched his jaw, eyes dimming.
Commander Nie added, quieter this ti, "Still... don’t lose hope. If he managed to teleport into that place, he might just find a way to teleport out."
Feng Xiu nodded faintly, staring at the blinking red signal on the map. "I hope so..."
Sector 0 — Forbidden Territory;
Lin Fang’s scream echoed through the empty mountains as his body materialized on the peak of a colossal cliff. The air felt thick — too heavy for a human to breathe.
A small hut stood a few ters ahead, weathered by ti, its roof covered in silver moss.
Lin Fang collapsed onto one knee, his vision swimming. His body looked like it had been shredded by a thousand invisible blades. His skin was torn, blood was dripping, and bones were grinding with every twitch. Atleast the good part is that he knew what was going on with him and wouldn’t need Alpha’s reminder. His body had been forcibly pushed past its limits.
"Damn it..." he gasped, every word scraping his throat raw. "I can’t... move..."
Alpha’s voice flickered weakly in his mind. "Wait... wait a second, kiddo. I’ll possess your—"
The voice was suddenly drowned out — smothered by another, calm and deep, that didn’t belong to Alpha. "Heal."
Just one word.
A pulse of warmth struck him like sunlight through cold glass. The pain vanished. His torn flesh nded, bones realigned, blood evaporated into thin mist, and even his consud mana was recovered completely. Within seconds, Lin Fang was whole again — not even a bruise left behind.
He froze, eyes darting around. The wind howled past the cliff’s edge, carrying with it the faint ringing of bells sowhere far below.
"Who’s there?" Lin Fang murmured, his voice shaking.
The door of the hut creaked open as if responding to his call.
Slowly — very slowly — a figure erged from within.
At first glance, he looked like an old man who had lived far beyond his ti.
He was frail to the point that his bones were visible. His back slightly bent as he leaned on a weathered cane that seed older than himself. Long, silver-white hair cascaded down almost to his knees, swaying faintly in the cold mountain wind. His robes were tattered at the edges, faded beyond color, and yet there was sothing inexplicably clean about him — like the world itself refused to taint him.
Each step he took was deliberate and patient, the tap of his cane echoing across the cliffside.
When he finally lifted his head, Lin Fang saw his pale-white face, which felt like it belonged to a dying man, and yet, his life force was filled with vitality. His scarlet eyes reminded him of soone, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
As the old man’s gaze then fell upon him, Lin Fang, who still had more than ten seconds, attempted to use the stealth skill to disappear and run away, but Alpha’s voice suddenly burst in panic.
"Kiddo—! Don’t try to run. That’s... that’s a demigod-class being. It’s useless to run — nothing in your arsenal can even scratch him. Keep your calm. Try not to make sudden movents while I think of a way out."
Lin Fang’s blood ran cold. He could feel every hair on his body stand on end at Alpha’s words. Demigod class?
He swallowed hard. He’d never even heard of anyone facing one before...
He tried to recall the ranking scale in his head. The Devil of Peking, the one that leveled half the city just a day ago, was classified as a Class-0 being.
And this... this old man standing before him... was an entire tier beyond that.
A demigod-class being. Level 90 Quasi God Tier in terms of the Monster’s level. Sothing that could erase an entire nation if he goes all out.
Lin Fang knew Alpha was right — escape was aningless. Even Nesis and Alpha, at their peak, hadn’t reached that strength.
"W-what can we do?" Lin Fang whispered internally in panic, barely able to think. His heartbeat was going at a crazy rate.
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