Li Yifei clicked his tongue. "When it comes to being ruthless, you're the king!"
Lin QiYe was about to respond when a voice came through his earpiece. His expression shifted slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"Something happened on Hong Ying's side." Lin QiYe didn't hesitate. He grabbed the black box and dashed out of the classroom.
"Hey! There's only a minute left until class starts!" Li Yifei instinctively reminded him, but then realized this wasn't the kind of world where they could sit in class peacefully anymore.
He quickly followed Lin QiYe to the door, only to crash straight into the English teacher.
"Li Yifei? Class is about to start! Where are you running off to in such a hurry?" The teacher scowled at him.
"Class?" Li Yifei brushed past the teacher and sprinted ahead, shouting as he went, "Who cares about class at a time like this? The times have changed, teacher!"
The English teacher: (｀⌒´メ)??!
Li Yifei, running at full speed, chased after Lin QiYe to the girls' dormitory building, where a large crowd had already gathered.
"Did you hear that? There was an explosion inside!"
"I heard it! And some kind of screaming. It was terrifying!"
"Impossible! All I heard was the explosion. Maybe someone hid illegal electronics, and they caught fire?"
"Has anyone called the police?"
"Someone's already on the phone. The fire trucks should be here soon. Let's seal off the area for now."
"Huh? Why is there no signal?"
"Yeah, me neither!"
"That's strange…"
Outside No. 2 High School.
In a hidden corner, Leng Xuan set down a signboard and lightly sliced his fingertip with a blade. A few drops of blood seeped out.
Expressionless, he reached out and drew a long streak of blood across the signboard's surface.
"How did Old Zhao do it again…" Leng Xuan muttered, recalling for a moment before clapping his hands together and pressing downward.
"Forbidden Ruins, [The Zone of No Fear]."
One second, two seconds, three seconds… Ten seconds passed, yet the signboard remained motionless.
Leng Xuan's face twitched slightly. Thinking for a moment, he muttered, "Maybe there wasn't enough blood?"
He took the blade again and made a deeper cut on his left hand, smearing more blood across the signboard.
"Forbidden Ruins, [The Zone of No Fear]!"
Still, there was no reaction.
Impatient, Leng Xuan slapped the signboard, as if trying to fix an old, malfunctioning TV.
After two slaps, the signboard trembled faintly. An invisible screen unfurled from its center, connecting to two other signboards and stretching over the entirety of No. 2 High School.
"This time it worked." Leng Xuan stood up, satisfied, and glanced into the distance. Suddenly, he froze.
"Huh? Why does [The Zone of No Fear] look a little different this time…"
"Holy crap! Look! The sky turned green!"
"Wow, it really did! Amazing!"
"Hurry, take a picture!"
"Who got so unlucky they earned such a massive green hat?"
"How badly does someone have to be cheated on for the sky to turn green?"
The suddenly colored sky drew everyone's attention. Even teachers and students left their classrooms to point at the phenomenon in awe.
"QiYe, what's going on?" Li Yifei stared at the greenish sky, feeling uneasy.
Lin QiYe frowned. "Not sure, but it might be related to [The Zone of No Fear]. Either way, it's not important."
His gaze shifted to the crowd blocking the girls' dormitory entrance. His brows furrowed slightly.
"They've sealed off the dorm. With so many eyes watching, it'll be hard for me to get in. I need you to create a distraction and draw their attention away."
"Create a distraction?" Li Yifei froze. "What kind of distraction?"
"Anything. Pretend to have a heart attack or perform a striptease—whatever works to pull their focus."
"I… I don't know how to do that!"
"Li Yifei."
"Yeah?"
Lin QiYe turned and looked him in the eyes. "If you're planning to join the Nightwatchers after this, you must be ready to sacrifice everything… including your dignity."
"Wait, why does joining the Nightwatchers mean sacrificing my dignity?" Li Yifei was exasperated.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone in the crowd. After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth.
"Fine. Go. I'll distract them."
Lin QiYe nodded and circled the crowd, stopping near the barricade. He gave Li Yifei a signal.
Li Yifei took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wu Shujie!!"
The loud yell immediately silenced the crowd. Everyone turned to look at the boy standing outside the girls' dormitory.
Among them, Wu Shujie also turned, her face full of confusion as she looked at Li Yifei.
Lin QiYe twitched slightly. "Don't tell me this guy's about to…"
"Wu Shujie!" Li Yifei yelled again. "I like you!!!"
The crowd instantly erupted in cheers.
High schoolers were like this—anything unrelated to studying piqued their curiosity. Whether it was a fire or a public confession, their enthusiasm was boundless.
Clearly, the latter drew more attention.
Everyone's inner gossip instincts ignited as they turned their focus to Wu Shujie. Many even stepped back, creating a circle around her.
Seizing the moment, Lin QiYe slipped over the barricade and dashed into the dormitory.
Wu Shujie lowered her head, unable to meet Li Yifei's gaze. After a moment of silence, she softly said, "I'm sorry… I like someone else."
Li Yifei's mind went blank at her words. For a brief moment, he finally understood what Wang Shao had felt earlier.
"Who… who do you like?"
Wu Shujie's cheeks turned pink. "I… I like Lin QiYe…"
"…"
The mention of Lin QiYe's name left Li Yifei's expression utterly bewildered. He glanced toward the dormitory entrance, but Lin QiYe was already gone.
After a long silence, Li Yifei slowly looked up at the green-tinted sky, his eyes growing misty.
Liu Yuan… Don't cry. I, Li Yifei, understand you.
Boom!
A fiery spear tip tore through the darkness like a brilliant red tassel, scattering flames in its wake. Rose-colored sparks lit up the dim corridor as Hong Ying moved like a shadow among the monsters. With a single sweep of her spear, one monster's head flew high into the air, burning to ashes.
The remaining creatures seemed frightened, retreating several steps in unison.
Standing before them, Hong Ying held her fiery spear, her long hair flowing as she walked forward slowly.