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Su Bei nodded and glanced around, but noticed that the compass needle's position in every direction looked about the same. Clearly, the needle wasn’t all-powerful—it worked inconsistently when nothing significant was happening.
Seeing this, Su Bei made a decisive call: “Let’s go back and find Jiang Tianming and the others. We split up earlier because we weren’t sure whether to accept the mission and didn’t want to waste time. Now that we’ve taken it, there’s no harm in regrouping.”
It was a valid reason, but not the main one. Su Bei wanted to reunite with Jiang Tianming because he knew that things were bound to be more eventful around the protagonist.
Mo Xiaotian had a great quality—he listened. He nodded without hesitation. “Sure! Strength in numbers!”
The two confirmed Jiang Tianming’s location on the map and headed in that direction.
Oddly enough, after deciding to find Jiang Tianming, it didn’t take long for them to encounter a Nightmares—a monkey-like one. This was surprising, considering they had walked for so long earlier without encountering even a single one.
The dark, monkey-like beast seemed to approach them of its own accord, possibly because they had wandered into its territory. Out of nowhere, they were hit with stones, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.
Realizing the source of the attack, Mo Xiaotian exclaimed excitedly, “Wow, we ran into one so quickly! Our luck is amazing!”
No, Su Bei thought the real “lucky” one was Jiang Tianming. But he kept that to himself and instead turned his attention to the monkey. He launched a gear in a probing attack.
Unsurprisingly, the monkey dodged effortlessly. Its monkey-like form naturally excelled in speed, allowing it to move through the forest with ease.
Su Bei’s expression darkened. He quickly realized that this monkey might be even more formidable than the lizard beast Qi Huang and the others had fought earlier. Both were extremely fast, but the lizard moved in predictable, fixed patterns, while the monkey was darting unpredictably across the treetops.
Mo Xiaotian, with his keen battle instincts, accurately pointed out their disadvantage: “It’s too fast. I don’t think I can hit it... even trapping it would be difficult.”
Hearing this, Su Bei had to abandon his original plan. He had intended for Mo Xiaotian to use air blocks to confine the monkey to a small area while he attacked. But since Mo Xiaotian had already predicted and dismissed this strategy, it was time for a new approach.
Having faced countless battles, Su Bei quickly devised a new plan. If the strategy of Mo Xiaotian trapping and him attacking didn’t work, they could simply reverse roles. Su Bei would handle containment, leaving the attack to Mo Xiaotian.
With the plan in mind, Su Bei dodged the monkey’s relentless barrage of stone projectiles while asking, “What’s the maximum number of explosive blocks you can make at once?”
“Three,” Mo Xiaotian admitted a little sheepishly. “If I make more than that, I can’t control their detonation timing properly.”
“That’s enough,” Su Bei replied, nodding in satisfaction. He appreciated Mo Xiaotian’s honesty—trying to overdo things would only backfire.
After surveying the terrain, Su Bei quickly issued instructions: “Place explosive blocks at three locations—on the treetop of the tree at twelve o’clock, on the tip of the branch midway up the sixth tree to the right, and where the monkey is now. Can you do that?”
Mo Xiaotian nodded immediately, narrowly dodging two falling stones in the process. Despite the chaos, he remained unfazed and even seemed excited. “So, Brother Bei, you’re going to rely on my bombs to attack the monkey?”
At this point, he wasn’t worried about dealing enough damage. Mo Xiaotian was smart—he understood that a creature with such high speed likely had weak defenses. Otherwise, the academy wouldn’t have left it here.
While his bombs might not be effective against tougher foes, they should be enough to take down a fragile monkey.
“Yes, I’ll force it to those three positions, and you’ll decide the right moment to detonate. Got it?” Su Bei didn’t wait for a response before emphasizing, “You only get one chance.”
He wasn’t trying to pressure Mo Xiaotian—just stating the truth. The monkey was clearly intelligent. It refused to get close to them, instead provoking them with mocking cries while trying to lure them into a trap.
Against such a clever enemy, once it realized Mo Xiaotian’s attack method, it would undoubtedly adapt. And since Mo Xiaotian’s bombs were relatively rigid in their deployment, they would become easy to evade if the monkey were prepared.
Thus, as Su Bei said, Mo Xiaotian only had one real chance. While the three blocks gave them more options, only one would ultimately detonate.
Hearing this, Mo Xiaotian nodded in understanding, his expression unusually serious.
As they discussed, the monkey’s stone attacks continued without pause. Su Bei could feel the frequency of the stones increasing. He couldn’t help but wonder about the monkey’s abilities—was it creating stones out of thin air? Did it never run out of energy?
Either way, he needed to speed things up. With this thought in mind, Su Bei began unleashing a series of gears in rapid succession, sending them flying in rows at the monkey. Forced to dodge the relentless assault, the monkey swung through the trees, gradually moving toward the first explosive block.
It passed the first block without triggering an explosion. Su Bei said nothing and continued to push the monkey toward the second block.
“Chatter-chatter!” The monkey screeched as it swung through the foliage, dodging Su Bei’s gears and retaliating with stones.
“Hiss!” A stone struck Su Bei’s arm, causing him to gasp in pain. But there was no time to clutch his injury—he rolled to avoid the next projectile.
Unlike earlier, when their attacks were evenly split, Su Bei now bore the full brunt of the monkey’s aggression, making the situation much more intense.
Currently, the Nightmare Monkey’s attacks had intensified. It prioritized targeting Su Bei since he was the one constantly attacking it. Meanwhile, Su Bei, focused on controlling his gears to aim at the monkey, had to divide most of his attention.
As a result, Su Bei could no longer dodge attacks with 100% accuracy. A moment of distraction meant getting hit by a stone.
In truth, if it were any other first-year student in his place, their body would likely already be covered in injuries.
Guiding the monkey past the two explosive blocks without detonating them, Su Bei pressed his pale lips together, saying nothing as he continued to lead it.
After prolonged use of his mental energy, Su Bei didn’t have much left. On top of that, he had been struck by stones four or five times, leaving him in pain all over. He was desperate to end what felt like a one-sided beating.
Still, he didn’t complain or even glance at Mo Xiaotian behind him. 'If you trust someone, you don’t doubt them.' Since Su Bei had decided to entrust the single chance of victory to Mo Xiaotian, he wouldn’t pressure him unless he was on the verge of collapse.
He believed Mo Xiaotian would find the perfect moment for a decisive strike.
Finally, just as Su Bei began the second round of luring the monkey toward the third explosive block—
“Bang!”
“Screeech—!”
The sharp sound of an explosion rang out as the monkey let out a miserable scream, black blood spurting from its body as it tumbled from the treetops to the ground.
Seeing this, Su Bei’s spirits lifted. Without hesitation, he launched several more gears toward the monkey’s landing spot. After all, leaving an enemy alive was as good as wasting effort.
Once he was done, Su Bei immediately checked his watch to check the task progress. Seeing the task bar had changed to (3/5), he let out a long sigh of relief.
It was clear that not only had they succeeded, but the others in their group had also made progress.
“Brother Bei, are you okay?” Mo Xiaotian, wiping the sweat on his forehead, came over with concern. Only now did Su Bei notice that, despite the cold weather, Mo Xiaotian was sweating.
Although Mo Xiaotian’s role earlier seemed minor—just setting off one explosion—it was actually incredibly challenging. Using a small bomb to kill a fast-moving Nightmare Monkey required immense focus.
He had to concentrate fully and determine the exact moment when the monkey was near enough for the explosion to deal lethal damage.
Each time Su Bei got hit by a stone, Mo Xiaotian’s pupils contracted involuntarily, and more sweat dripped from his forehead. But he restrained himself, focusing entirely on completing the task Su Bei had entrusted to him. Mo Xiaotian understood that only by killing the monkey himself could he repay Su Bei’s effort.
Fortunately, he succeeded.
“There’s something wrong, actually,” Su Bei muttered, glancing down at himself.
Hearing this, Mo Xiaotian’s expression tensed, and he looked guiltily at Su Bei’s bleeding arm. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault for being too slow earlier. What’s wrong? What do you need me to do?”
Su Bei snorted with laughter, tearing a piece of fabric from his undershirt and skillfully bandaging his wound. Once he finished the quick and simple bandage, he reached out to ruffle Mo Xiaotian’s hair. “I’m hungry. Let’s find something to eat.”
He wasn’t lying. Although it was only a little past 10 AM, far from lunchtime, the constant walking and fighting since entering the alternate space had drained a lot of his energy.
Hearing that Su Bei was hungry rather than seriously injured, Mo Xiaotian perked up and raised his head, which he had lowered in guilt. “Alright!”
Then, as if remembering something, he asked eagerly, “Can we eat Nightmare Monkey meat?”
Su Bei chuckled. “Never been to the academy’s points cafeteria, have you? It’s edible.”
With that, he stepped forward to inspect the monkey’s corpse. Despite being a Nightmares with black blood, the edible parts of its body were likely similar to those of normal animals.
Using his gears, Su Bei cut several pieces of blood-drenched meat from the monkey and handed them to Mo Xiaotian. Then, glancing around, he said, “Let’s find a place to make a fire.”
At this, Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh. Although he had learned how to survive in the wild, it would have been much easier if Qi Huang were around.
Still, with Mo Xiaotian by his side, starting a fire wouldn’t be too difficult. Su Bei gathered small branches and formed a nest, added some wood shavings, and prepared fire-starting sticks. Once everything was ready, he turned to Mo Xiaotian.
“Create an air block filled with pure oxygen over this,” Su Bei instructed.
With sufficient oxygen, the material quickly ignited.
Su Bei unscrewed the cap of his bottled mineral water, poured out a little, and rinsed off the blood foam from the meat. He then skewered the meat onto a sharpened wooden stick and handed it to Mo Xiaotian. “Can you grill the meat yourself?”
“Of course!” Mo Xiaotian replied enthusiastically. “I even worked part-time at a barbecue restaurant before!”
Seeing his confidence, Su Bei immediately handed over his share of meat as well, clasping his hands together. “I’ll leave it to you. Help me grill mine too!”
There was no other choice. Su Bei knew his limits. While his cooking might not be deadly, it was definitely not tasty.
Honestly, even he didn’t understand why his cooking always turned out bad. Did he offend the god of food in a past life?
Mo Xiaotian was more than happy to help. With a cheerful smile, he held a skewer of meat in each hand, propped them on his knee, and started grilling them over the fire. He occasionally turned the skewers, looking like a seasoned barbecue master.
Sitting cross-legged with his face propped on his hands, Su Bei watched Mo Xiaotian grill the meat. After a moment, he suddenly asked, “By the way, you said you worked part-time at a barbecue restaurant? But aren’t we both underage?”
Hearing this, Mo Xiaotian explained, “Actually, it’s a restaurant owned by my uncle. I just helped out during the summer holidays.”
“I see,” Su Bei nodded thoughtfully and then smiled as if making small talk. “Having a relative who owns a barbecue restaurant is great—free food and drinks. If only I had parents who owned a convenience store, life would be perfect!”
This comment clearly struck a chord with Mo Xiaotian. His eyes lit up, and he looked at Su Bei as if he’d found a kindred spirit. “I think the same way! When I was little, my dream was to open one of those convenience stores right by a school!”
Su Bei teased, “Why’d you give up on the dream? Did your parents forbid it? When I was a kid, I said I wanted to be a pirate, but my dad brutally crushed that dream with his superior fighting skills.”
“Hahaha!” Mo Xiaotian burst out laughing. After his laughter subsided, he answered Su Bei’s question. “I was raised by my grandma. She wants me to do something that contributes to society. Running a convenience store felt too trivial, so now I aim to become a powerful ability user and eliminate Nightmares!”
“Too trivial?” Su Bei frowned slightly. “If you turned that convenience store into a chain, you could benefit countless students. Kids are the future, the flowers of the nation. Helping them isn’t trivial at all!”
As Su Bei spoke, Mo Xiaotian’s eyes grew brighter, almost glowing with excitement. “You’re so right! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“So, who told you it’s trivial?” Su Bei asked casually.
“Teachers, classmates, grandma… basically everyone,” Mo Xiaotian replied after thinking for a moment. “You’re the first person to think it’s a great idea!”
“Ask Jiang Tianming and the others. I’m sure they’d agree with me,” Su Bei said with a smile, though there was no real warmth in his eyes. Realizing he wasn’t hiding his emotions well, he quickly closed his eyes, pretending to rest.
Seeing this, Mo Xiaotian thought Su Bei needed to rest, so he stopped talking. In truth, Su Bei was deep in thought.
From what Mo Xiaotian had said, Su Bei could tell there was something off about the people around him. It was understandable if teachers and guardians dismissed an idea as childish. But for his classmates to consistently discourage such a dream was strange.
To most kids, a convenience store near school was paradise. Even if they didn’t dream of owning one, they wouldn’t ridicule someone else’s dream.
This made Su Bei suspect that the classmates Mo Xiaotian mentioned weren’t normal kids.
Considering Mo Xiaotian’s background as a member of the Black Lightning Organization, Su Bei couldn’t help but think more deeply. He opened his eyes and asked, “By the way, where did you go to elementary and middle school?”
“I attended a private school in a small county. It was a direct progression from elementary to middle school, so you probably haven’t heard of it,” Mo Xiaotian said as he handed over a perfectly grilled skewer of meat. “Here, it’s ready!”
Su Bei glanced at him, accepted the skewer, and said nothing further. Whether or not Mo Xiaotian had deliberately interrupted the questioning by handing him the meat, Su Bei knew better than to press further.
He hadn’t forgotten Mo Xiaotian’s terrifying reaction when they first met, after noticing Su Bei observing him. Until he was fully prepared, it was best not to dig too deep.
The grilled Nightmare Monkey meat tasted quite good—similar to chicken. Although it lacked seasoning, Mo Xiaotian’s grilling skills elevated the meal. The meat was tender, juicy, and had a unique flavor.
As he ate the beast meat, Su Bei felt his stamina slowly recovering. Compared to ordinary meat, consuming Nightmares meat could enhance one’s physique, and certain types even improved mental power. No wonder the academy specifically offered it in the points cafeteria.
Speaking of which, after this monthly exam, Su Bei would finally be able to indulge at the points cafeteria.
“The smell seems to be coming from over here.”
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a voice came from nearby.
It was Zhou Renjie’s voice!
Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian exchanged a glance, quickly stuffed the last bit of meat into their mouths, stomped out the fire, and darted into the bushes to hide.
Just as they settled into their hiding spot, Zhou Renjie pushed his way through the dense grass. Behind him were Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua. Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin, however, were nowhere to be seen—they had likely been abandoned to fend for themselves.
“The people here must’ve heard you and ran away just now,” Ai Baozhu said, looking at the still-smoking fire pit. She pouted, “But I’m already hungry. What do we do now?”
Zhou Renjie let out an awkward laugh, sniffing the air. “They were probably grilling Nightmares meat. If we catch one, we can eat too.”
What might be a difficult task for most was nothing to this trio. Ai Baozhu turned to Si Zhaohua and said, “Zhaohua, we’re counting on you.”
After speaking, she couldn’t help but chuckle, though her tone carried a hint of concern. “I didn’t realize your ability could be used like this. Be careful in the future, okay?”
“Don’t worry,” Si Zhaohua replied as he tied his silver hair into a ponytail, exuding an artistic aura. “It’ll be fine.”
Listening to their conversation, Su Bei nudged Mo Xiaotian with his elbow, intrigued. “What do you think his ability does to attract Nightmares?”
Mo Xiaotian shook his head, looking puzzled. “I have no idea. Should we leave?”
“Of course not!”
Su Bei replied confidently, “This is the perfect chance to complete our mission.”
They only needed one more Nightmares to finish the task. If Si Zhaohua really could lure Nightmare Beasts, staying put would let them take advantage of the situation.
In the clearing, Si Zhaohua had already activated his [Angel] transformation. He soared into the air, his white feathered wings flapping gracefully. If there had been sunlight, he would’ve looked truly divine.
But then again, forests and elves are generally more suitable, and the presence of an angel in a forest felt oddly out of place.
After about five minutes of flying, the first Nightmares appeared as if on cue. It was another Nightmare Monkey, charging straight toward Si Zhaohua. There was no doubt—it had been attracted by the [Angel] ability.
“It’s the aura…” Mo Xiaotian muttered to himself.
Indeed, it was the aura. The [Angel] ability likely emitted a unique energy that attracted Nightmare Beasts.
For the ability user, this was undoubtedly dangerous. Ability users were already prone to drawing the attention of Nightmares, but having an ability that amplified this effect made things worse. In uncharted spaces or un-cleared wilderness, Si Zhaohua would be extremely vulnerable. If he didn’t use his ability, he couldn’t fight back against the Nightmares. If he did, he’d attract even more.
What puzzled Su Bei, though, was Mo Xiaotian’s expression—he looked envious.
He envied the ability to attract Nightmares?
Why?
If Mo Xiaotian were a powerful ability user capable of easily defeating Nightmare Beasts, his envy might make sense. But based on their earlier encounter with the Nightmare Monkey, it was clear he wasn’t at that level yet.
So why desire such a dangerous ability? Was he courting death?
The more Su Bei learned about Mo Xiaotian, the more pieces of the puzzle emerged, yet he couldn’t connect them into a coherent picture.
Back in the clearing, just as the Nightmare Monkey lunged, Ai Baozhu activated her [Elegant Domain] effortlessly repelling the monkey as it attempted to attack within her field.
“Eek!”
The Nightmare Monkey screeched, baring its teeth, and pounced again, slamming into the barrier of the [Elegant Domain].
Ai Baozhu’s face paled. Her domain was powered by mental power, and the monkey’s attacks were rapidly depleting her reserves. If the attacks became strong enough, they could even overwhelm her mind.
“I’ll handle this!” Seeing her state, Si Zhaohua wasted no time, using his feathers to strike.
Unlike Su Bei’s previous encounter with a Nightmare Monkey, this one was fully focused on breaking through the barrier, thanks to Si Zhaohua’s powerful allure.
This single-minded aggression made it much easier to target. After enduring several fierce attacks, the monkey’s dazed mind finally registered the danger and decided to retreat.
But before it could move, a gear appeared out of nowhere and silently sliced across its neck before vanishing without a trace.
The moment the gear disappeared, a white feather landed on the same spot. The timing was so close that it looked like the monkey had been killed by the feather.
This sneaky kill didn’t arouse suspicion from Si Zhaohua or his group. Su Bei and Mo Xiaotian exchanged a smile, their mission accomplished, and quietly withdrew.
Note: If I had abilities, I'd totally go for a support-type power, 'cause let's be real, I wouldn't survive in a direct fight. And TMI, but I've been super obsessed with the song 'Colors' by Stella Jang lately! 🎶
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