"They're coming," even Li Qingming couldn't help but sneer and look askance as he raised his hand to cover Ji Xiaoxiang's eyes. "Close your eyes, the fourth wave of panic is about to hit."
"No, no, please no..." Ji Xiaoxiang, in a panic, slapped Li Qingming's hand away as tears welled up in his eyes. "Or... just finish me off quickly, so the Vanguard can come in..."
"You'll only die before I do."
With that, Li Qingming solemnly rose to his feet.
Gurk—
The saw-sword unsheathed.
"Everyone sit back down, no one can invade my Secret Realm." Li Qingming brandished his sword around the room, surveying it with a stern gaze. "This is not just a command, it's also a threat."
"Hahaha! Did you all hear that?" Cai Zhixin, on the other hand, was delighted and raised his own saw-sword towards Li Qingming, "He's not trying to protect anyone, he's forbidding rescue from coming in! Do you understand? Li Qingming's goal is not to lead us to complete the Secret Realm, but to enjoy it for himself! To hog the treasure all to himself!"
Accompanied by Cai Zhixin's words, in the face of that last sliver of hope, the crowd could no longer restrain themselves and erupted in rebellion.
"Aaaaaah!!! I've had enough!!" A girl screamed as she stood up, clutching her head and howling, "Who cares about school rules anymore, why not just make room now and have the rescue come in before the next class?!"
"To hell with the damn Nether Domain!!!" A boy leapt to his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Li Qingming, "There can't be any issue with what Zhixin said this time, if you're blocking us, then it's do or die!!"
"Uprising!! Uprising!!!" Another person kicked over a table, "Following Li Qingming is a dead end, rescue is the only way out! Li Qingming wants to kill us! Uprising! Don't chicken out, you cowards! Everyone rise up!!"
The crowd flared up like a spreading fire.
And Cai Zhixin, the one who lit the fuse, stood amidst the flames, cackling loudly:
"Hahaha, hahahaha!!
"I get it now! I get it!!
"As long as we abandon the rules, we become invincible!
"In contrast, it's only Li Qingming who's vulnerable.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Li Qingming is the only one who dares not break the rules now!
"Quick, who will make a move, hurry up and take care of someone to make room for the rescue Vanguard."
As he laughed, he tried to hand out saw-swords.
But the frenzied people, all shrank back at the same time, not one of them daring to take it.
Those familiar faces they had been around day in, day out, in sleep and in wakefulness, became the very last bit of cold reality.
After several rounds of passing saw-swords, Cai Zhixin also had to let out a bored sigh.
"All right, I'll do it.
"Remember, this is a collective decision...
"Come on, let's vote on who to deal with first...
"Never mind, there's no time... I'll just name someone...
"If you agree, nod your head.
"So, the first person we will use to make space is..."
As Cai Zhixin was speaking, he suddenly turned towards the back row by the window, dramatically lifting his saw-sword, spitting as he shouted: "Zhang Qingyi! You bitch!! Die!! Die for me!!"
Immediately, there were echoes of agreement.
"Good! It's her!"
"She deserves it! It should be her!"
"The minority must obey the majority, it's unavoidable."
"It's for the collective!"
"Hurry, hurry... Zhixin! Do it quickly!"
In the midst of their shouting, they presciently restrained Zheng Ruixing.
While none of them had the courage to pick up the saw-sword, they all took the initiative to hold down Zheng Ruixing.
"Have you all gone mad?!!" Zheng Ruixing was pinned to the desk by a group of people, her tears and snot flying as she desperately screamed, "We can't do this... how could we... have come to this... no, please no!!!"
At the same time, with the frenzied eyes of the crowd upon him, Cai Zhixin licked his lips and stepped towards the window, wielding the saw-sword, "Ye Qian, move."
"Impossible." Ye Qian stood up in front of Zhang Qingyi, looking down at Cai Zhixin with a gaze devoid of any sunshine, "Go back."
"What if I don't?"
"Then even if you survive, I'll find a way to kill you."
"......" Cai Zhixin's face darkened, but soon his expression turned dramatic again, as he danced crazily, tugging at his hair, "I remember now, Li Qingming promised to do his best to keep us alive!"
"Now's the perfect chance!
"Get rid of a few dormant ones, let the Vanguard come in for rescue, and we can all survive!
"If Li Qingming doesn't do it, then he's breaking his promise, he's lying and will be punished by Sea Urchin Head.
"So there's no need for me to take action, Li Qingming has to do it!
"Hahahaha, I'm a damn genius!"
But before he could finish.
"I was lying," Li Qingming said indifferently.
"?????" Cai Zhixin's face was blank, "How is that possible... Aren't there school rules against lying?"
"There's no such rule, I made it up." Li Qingming himself didn't notice that the sunshine which had faded from Ye Qian's face had appeared on his own, "Quite funny, right?"
"Ah......" Cai Zhixin looked bewildered but didn't have the brainpower to think any more, just stared with his eyes wide open as he dragged the saw sword towards another fallen person, "Then I'll just have to do it myself..."
Reaching the side of a dormant person, he took aim at the nape of the neck and raised the saw sword high: "Cai *beep*, you were the first to yell, right..."
Just as the saw sword was about to fall, a figure suddenly leaped forward.
A right arm in a motion, firmly locking around Cai Zhixin's neck!
His series of movements were so skilled and swift...
But it surprisingly wasn't Li Qingming!
It was Ye Qian!
"You motherf***er..." Cai Zhixin struggled fiercely, "I'm saving everyone here..."
"You're killing everyone." Ye Qian, without much effort and with a steady breath, even casually turned his head to send a message to Li Qingming, "I didn't know what to do, so I had to do this."
With that, he abruptly turned, pressing his right palm directly against Cai Zhixin's face, smashing him into the ground!
Thud—
Cai Zhixin's head hit the ground.
"Urgh..."
As he stared in dry heaving, the saw sword slipped from his fingers.
Ye Qian kicked the saw sword with his foot, giving it to Li Qingming, then sat straight down on Cai Zhixin, clenched his right fist, and a gleam the likes of which had never been seen before appeared in his eyes.
"Been wanting to do this for a while," he said.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
After the third thud, Cai Zhixin was already without groans.
But Ye Qian was hitting harder and harder.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
No one could understand why he could be even scarier than Li Qingming, why it was him.
After who knows how many hits, Ye Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and shaking the congealed blood from his hand, he looked at Li Qingming: "Fighting turns you into a bad student, but you have to make it to the end, sacrificing the chariot to save the general, you get it, right?"
"Got it, let's go," Li Qingming waved his hand.
"What I said earlier still stands." Ye Qian then went back to his seat and picked up Zhang Qingyi, not forgetting to tap the treasure at his waist, while giving Li Qingming a cool nod, "My plan is massive, see you outside."
Then...
Nothing changed.
He just stood there looking cool for two seconds.
Ye Qian's eyebrows twitched, and he tapped his waist again.
Still, nothing changed.
Pat pat pat pat pat...
Furiously tapping.
Still no change.
"......" He could only look at Li Qingming blankly.
Li Qingming was just as puzzled: "Where did you get that from?"
"The black market..."
"Which black market?"
"A very professional one... Dark web or something, very well hidden, took me days to get..."
"Which black market."
"The Free Front Exchange."
"Pfft... you really... That's just a bunch of low-level hackers, making up stories and posting short videos everywhere." Li Qingming covered his forehead, laughing out loud, "So this really can trick people... Hahaha, hahahaha... too funny... this is really too funny... sorry, just thinking about the earlier stuff, I can't help but laugh..."
".........."
Clang.
Ye Qian just sat down on the spot, tilting his head, babbling, and just like that, his brief moment of coolness was grounded.
"Shoot, I really sacrificed the chariot to save the general..."