TYMIMA Chapter 23

Zhan Pingchuan didn’t act like one of those stupid cannon fodder characters in horror movies who, after someone notices something wrong, still stands there arrogantly boasting, “Where’s the ghost? I’m not afraid. Come kill me if you can.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan very obediently ran with little Lance, running more professionally and sincerely than anyone else.

 

Of course, this excellent reaction ability and the fine quality of listening to his wife’s advice also benefited from his childhood experiences. Since he was thrown into various strange underground cities by Old Zhan before awakening his abilities, running away had almost become his essential skill.

 

Once, even a single goblin could scare him into a breakdown of tears, swearing to sever his father-son relationship with Old Zhan.

 

Old Zhan roared angrily: “Sever it!”

 

Zhan Pingchuan’s mother raised her hand for a big slap: “Sever with whom?”

 

Old Zhan, covering his face, muttered sullenly: “…Severing is impossible.”

 

Parents are children’s best teachers. Such teaching by example left a deep impression on Zhan Pingchuan’s young mind.

 

“Little Lance, how did you know it was dangerous there?” Zhan Pingchuan asked casually, turning to look at Lance with interest. He noticed Lance was preoccupied, seemingly forgetting to remove his hand from his arm.

 

Where they held each other was separated by a layer of jacket, but body heat still permeated through, tingling. Zhan Pingchuan had no intention of reminding him.

 

Actually, just before Lance shouted “run,” he had already felt uncomfortable, but this feeling was very faint—like planning a trip for a long time only to have the flight canceled. Rather than discomfort, it was more like irritation.

 

He even thought it was an illusion caused by staying in the enclosed space of the underground city for too long and being exposed to the bloody smell of Pouncers.

 

But when Lance pulled him to flee, he suddenly became alert.

 

The reason he felt it faintly was because the other’s level was higher than his, making it difficult for him to detect the threat.

 

Higher than S-level—this was almost unimaginable.

 

However, amidst his relief, he hadn’t completely lost his rationality. He was surprised at how Lance could be more sensitive than him, an S-level.

 

Normally, an ordinary college freshman should have never seen beasts, let alone have such decisive and firm judgment.

 

Add to that Lance’s obviously professionally trained, explosively sexy moves.

 

Zhan Pingchuan couldn’t help but speculate that perhaps the one he had been looking for…

 

Lance’s fingers unexpectedly slipped a bit, and Zhan Pingchuan immediately lowered his eyes to look at his arm.

 

If Lance had shown panic in his eyes at this moment, nervously withdrawn his hand, or answered the previous question haltingly, then Zhan Pingchuan would definitely have known he was hiding something.

 

Lance curled his lips, openly hugging Zhan Pingchuan’s arm tighter, quickly offering an explanation: “My first-tier ability can predict danger. If we had stayed there, we might all have died.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan was stunned, his determined expression dissipating.

 

This answer indeed surprised him—first, that Lance’s ability was so practical, and second, that Lance had revealed his ability to him without reservation.

 

For any Awakened, their ability was a very private matter, because once disclosed, it was equivalent to revealing all their weaknesses.

 

“You just told me like that?” Zhan Pingchuan couldn’t believe it.

 

Lance thought to himself, you August-born little idiot, what does it matter if big brother tells you something false?

 

But he mumbled aloud: “You’re different from others.” After saying this, as if somewhat embarrassed, he turned his face away, deliberately not looking at Zhan Pingchuan.

 

“!” Zhan Pingchuan’s heart felt like it had been pulled out and rolled in syrup, his pancreas almost smoking from the sweetness.

 

The suspicion in his heart completely vanished. He had overthought it—Lance was being bullied by a B-level Alpha’s pheromones that night, so he couldn’t possibly have had time to kill Erdiff.

 

Moreover, on the day Boras was assassinated, Lance was showering in the bathroom. When he returned, Lance’s long hair was still wet.

 

Zhan Pingchuan felt tenderness rise in his heart. With a flick of two fingers, a light blue transparent barrier arched, firmly encircling Lance in the center.

 

He desperately wanted to release gentian pheromones to please the innocent Omega before him.

 

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let you die, I swear.”

 

Lance should have been amused, proud of his superb acting skills, but upon hearing Zhan Pingchuan’s words, his chest suddenly tightened, almost unable to breathe from the dull pain.

 

Why did he feel so sad?

 

He suddenly clutched his chest, and before he could figure out why, the voice from his childhood Spirit Realm system flashed across his ears—

 

“To see you, thousands upon thousands of times.”

 

“Brother Zhan, what are we running from?”

 

A question interrupted Lance’s daze.

 

Liu Bo, being farther away, hadn’t heard the conversation between Zhan Pingchuan and Lance. While running at full speed, he couldn’t help but look back and ask.

 

“Are we… giving up on… first place?” Tang Li also asked. He had actually started running only after seeing Zhan Pingchuan run, following without thinking.

 

After all, when a snow mountain starts to move, it’s never a good sign.

 

“Don’t ask, just run.” Zhan Pingchuan had no time to explain. The damp, moldy wind in the passage swept past their cheeks, and the oil lamps on both sides emitted a nauseating burnt fragrance.

 

Ashlen found it incredible. He dramatically raised both hands, spreading them before everyone: “They ran? Hahaha, they ran?”

 

He had thought that after dealing with Tu Mo, Zhan Pingchuan would be the next to challenge him.

 

This person had been extremely arrogant since the first day of school, not only arriving late on registration day but also daring to confront Dean Erdiff in front of everyone.

 

Later, he found out that Zhan Pingchuan was just a country bumpkin whose family picked up scraps, probably not even knowing how strong an elemental system A-level Awakened could be.

 

Ashlen had originally planned to say some harsh words to suppress Zhan Pingchuan’s momentum, but he hadn’t expected him to be so cowardly, turning and running after seeing him kill Tu Mo.

 

Ashlen lifted his eyelids, revealing undisguised ambition and madness, saying sinisterly: “Since that’s the case, this Frightening Bird is mine.”

 

By now, the white mist spewing from the nest had become even thicker, like a cloud cluster, blocking all vision.

 

Ashlen turned around, his arms gradually transforming into claws, the tips emitting a chilling aura. “I want to see just how good knives made from this thing’s bones are.”

 

Ashlen unceremoniously stepped over Tu Mo’s corpse, charging into the white mist with cheetah-like speed.

 

Squelch!

 

Gurgle, gurgle…

 

The white mist blocked everyone’s view, with only spine-chilling sounds spreading through the mist.

 

A pool of blood spread along the dried straw, growing larger and larger, quickly forming a puddle.

 

“Has Brother Lun… succeeded?”

 

“Our team is first!”

 

The expression on the male student’s face changed from bewilderment to ecstasy. He beamed, his eyes sparkling with excitement: “Brother Lun, come out! This year’s championship is ours!”

 

His excitement was still on his face, but there was no response from the white mist.

 

The silence at this moment was like a time bomb buried in everyone’s heart, each heartbeat seeming to hover on the edge of explosion.

 

“Brother Lun, you—” The male student’s throat was dry as he involuntarily stepped forward, wanting to investigate the white mist.

 

Bang!

 

“Holy shit!” The student jumped in fright, scrambling away.

 

Ashlen’s corpse, with its internal organs emptied, was thrown out of the white mist like garbage.

 

His skull was completely shattered, brain matter spilling out. His chest had been torn open with a huge gash, his ribs collapsed inward, and his blood-soaked abdominal cavity was exposed to everyone, almost drained of blood.

 

“Aaaaaahhhhh—”

 

“How is this possible? That was an A—”

 

“Damn, what is that thing!”

 

From the once-thick white mist emerged a head covered in golden scales. This head had a face resembling a human’s, but with a beak like a screech owl. Ashlen’s intestines still hung from its beak, swaying back and forth.

 

In the already dark and cramped underground city, suddenly seeing such a face would terrify anyone to their core.

 

“Run! Run quickly!”

 

“Don’t pull me, get lost!”

 

“That’s not a Frightening Bird, that’s not a Frightening Bird!”

 

“Someone’s dead! Help! Is anyone seeing this? Help!”

 

Some students desperately tapped the cameras on their bodies, hoping the Blue Pivot inspection team outside would come to the rescue immediately and get everyone out.

 

There were two ways to open an underground city: one was to kill the highest-level boss inside, and the other was for someone outside to forcibly open it with a crystal ore.

 

The first option was impossible now, so she could only hope for the second.

 

Everyone scattered in panic. They dared not imagine what terror Ashlen had experienced in the white mist, only knowing that before this massive creature, even an A-level was nothing but an insignificant ant.

 

A stampede quickly occurred in the crowd. Everyone was only concerned with their own escape, with no regard for teammates beside them.

 

The creature suddenly emitted a piercing screech, extending a bloody flesh wing from the white mist.

 

Its flesh wings were covered with countless waxy yellow small claws. These claws seemed to have their own consciousness, frantically scratching. One could imagine that these were what had emptied Ashlen’s abdominal cavity.

 

“Ah, save me!” A student caught by the claws desperately shouted once, but was quickly dragged back, turning into a pile of meat paste amid the creepy sound of bones breaking.

 

Then, several more students were dragged back, instantly silenced.

 

That human-like face showed a long-absent smile, stiff and eerie, incongruous with the half-intestine hanging from it.

 

Fortunately, Lance’s Sky team had run early and wasn’t injured in the stampede. Tang Li, seeing the chaos behind, couldn’t resist turning his head to look back.

 

With just one glance, he nearly rolled his eyes and departed from this world: “What, what, what… what the hell is that thing!”

 

Lance thought to himself, S+ beast, Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl.

 

That dog of an Outer God had once told him that it had created a handsome and mighty mount in its dreams, which would one day greatly shock this weak and lowly human.

 

Just now, the Outer God had sensed its existence, so Lance had also sensed it.

 

He couldn’t explain why the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl would appear in a C-level underground city, but that thing was indeed shockingly ugly.

 

At the same time, a commotion erupted on the Federation network.

 

[[Night Walker Guild] HandsBlue: We’re watching a live broadcast, why did the screen suddenly go black?]

 

[[Galaxy Guild] Flora: What’s going on? All perspectives are invisible. Where are the technicians?]

 

[[High Tower Guild] HomeHasMyDarling: Restore the broadcast quickly! Do you understand how terrifying it is when strangers discuss whether an AO is impotent?]

 

[[Hera Guild] Hercules: High Tower HR bro, you still have time to care about gossip at a time like this?]

 

[[Ghost Eye Guild] NotBuyingBathroom: What’s so scary? It’s not like he’s really impotent.]

 

[[High Tower Guild] HomeHasMyDarling: It’s scary precisely because he’s not really impotent!!!]

 

[[Ghost Eye Guild] NotBuyingBathroom: ……]

 

A Blue Pivot inspection team member rapidly reported to Si Hongche: “Director Si, representatives from all major guilds are making a fuss, demanding the immediate restoration of the live broadcast.”

 

Si Hongche, sitting in the car, had his hands folded, motionless.

 

He was like a cold statue, expressionlessly watching the screen in front of him, seemingly unconcerned about the protests from the major guilds.

 

The inspection team member hesitated for a moment but still didn’t dare to continue persuading, only nodding and withdrawing.

 

He knew that high-level Blue Pivot officials like Si Hongche wouldn’t take the seven major guilds seriously at all.

 

Those guilds were organizations established by unofficial ability users at the beginning of radiation expansion. Later, because these organizations developed too quickly and absorbed too many high-level ability users, they became impossible to completely eradicate.

 

After the rebellion suppression, the Federation government was severely damaged and needed to rebuild. Thus, they had no choice but to cooperate with these large-scale, powerful guilds, giving them legitimate identities while having them work for the Federation government.

 

But everyone with clear eyes knew they were always thorns in the side of the Federation government.

 

And institutions like Blue Pivot existed precisely to eliminate the hidden dangers to the Federation government.

 

Lance’s Sky team had already run to the underground city gate, but there was nothing there.

 

This meant that those watching the live broadcast hadn’t reacted at all.

 

Lance narrowed his eyes, a habit he had when thinking alone.

 

Lan Wendao didn’t like it and had countless times used his hand to smooth out his brows and eyes, telling him that heavy thoughts made for a tiring life, and he should think less.

 

Tang Li’s lips were pale: “What’s going on? Why hasn’t the gate opened yet? Aren’t the Blue Pivot people right outside?”

 

Liu Bo trembled: “I’ve heard that in ancient times, they would make poor people fight fierce beasts for the entertainment of the rich. Do you think those guilds…”

 

“Impossible,” Lance said with certainty.

 

“Right, impossible,” Zhan Pingchuan wanted to tear off the camera on his body but suddenly found it had been applied with some kind of control system ability.

 

He secretly used [Linear Bending], trying to cut open the clothes with the camera attached, but found he couldn’t cut through at all. He couldn’t even take off his clothes.

 

“Can’t remove it?” Lance frowned and asked.

 

Zhan Pingchuan sneered.

 

Control system S-level ability—Si Hongche was truly thorough in his actions.

 

“Tsk, it has to be the Blue Pivot inspection team. They never planned to catch the killer at all, simply going for a complete wipeout. Who cares who it is?” Zhan Pingchuan’s tone was still lacking seriousness.

 

Lance leaned against the wall, noncommittal, but his brain was rapidly thinking.

 

With Si Hongche’s methods, a complete wipeout wasn’t impossible, but he felt something was off.

 

Did the Blue Pivot inspection team really have the ability to control an S+ beast?

 

If they were planning a wipeout, why broadcast it so grandly for the seven major guilds to see?

 

Even if they later claimed it was to completely eliminate the Black Lantern Society, they couldn’t escape the charge of disregarding human life.

 

And what was the point of using a restraining ability on these cameras?

 

Could they analyze who the killer was through their fighting?

 

But the death scenes of Boras and Kluova clearly left no traces. Neither Zhan Pingchuan’s barrier ability nor his sniper rifle could be analyzed through fighting patterns.

 

What did Si Hongche want to do?

 

However, there was no time for further thought as Tang Li screamed: “It’s coming after us!”

 

The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl moved extremely fast, slaughtering nearly half of the five hundred people in an instant. Students had to scatter to reduce the probability of death.

 

Lance and Zhan Pingchuan both stared at the increasingly close Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl, tightening their palms.

 

Zhan Pingchuan thought that he was the only one here with the power to fight back. Even if he couldn’t win, at least he could send Lance away.

 

Although… he rubbed his fingers, he still couldn’t fully master [Void Realm].

 

Lance knew the only way to solve this thing was to summon the Outer God, but his body simply couldn’t withstand two summonings in such a short time.

 

He did have an escape route. If he felt it wasn’t working, he could notify Mad Clown to take him away with an anchor point.

 

But… what about Zhan Pingchuan?

 

Zhan Pingchuan would die, then completely disappear from his life.

 

They had only been together for a short week, which was truly insignificant in his long life.

 

Perhaps in a month or two, he would forget about Zhan Pingchuan. He would still be the young master of High Tower Guild, the White Pharaoh of the Black Lantern Society.

 

Perhaps in the next mission, he would meet someone similar to Zhan Pingchuan.

 

He understood everything, but he…

 

He didn’t want Zhan Pingchuan to die.

 

Just then, someone shouted excitedly—

 

“The door! It’s the main door! They’ve come to take us out!”

 

The panicked students immediately perked up and quickly surged forward.

 

“Great!”

 

“Don’t push! Let me through! I’m running first!”

 

Lance and Zhan Pingchuan exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other’s eyes.

 

Because they knew full well that Si Hongche would never be so soft-hearted.

 

But there was no better option at the moment, so they had to run toward the direction of the shouting.

 

It was indeed the familiar iron door of the underground city, with rusty patches covering the edges. In the center of the door was an eerie totem with a string of unidentifiable text—

 

Oculus rudis vere (Eye of the Living Spring)

 

The students in front didn’t hesitate to push the door.

 

A careful student suddenly shouted: “Wait! The text is different!”

 

Although he didn’t recognize that ancient script, he remembered that it was different from the string of characters they saw when they first entered.

 

He seemed to have thought of something unpleasant, his voice trembling: “This might not be the exit door at all. Perhaps… have you heard of double-layered underground cities?”

 

“Ah! No!”

 

“Help—”

 

Two more students died miserably under the claws of the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl. The scent of human blood filled the entire passage. It was getting closer and closer.

 

The girl who discovered the door said in exasperation: “Not entering means certain death. Entering doesn’t necessarily mean death. If you’re afraid, stay behind. I’m going in!”

 

Her words were absolutely irrefutable, instantly convincing everyone.

 

So they all rushed into this slightly eerie door.

 

Lance, however, recognized that line of text.

 

Since it was called the Eye of the Living Spring, it couldn’t be a dead end.

 

He actually breathed a sigh of relief because he didn’t have to choose whether to leave Zhan Pingchuan to die alone.

 

Liu Bo: “Brother Zhan, can we not…”

 

“We can enter,” Lance directly answered for Zhan Pingchuan, then took the lead in stepping through the iron door.

 

The moment he entered the iron door, it was as if he had sunk into the deep sea. His chest felt tight, his breathing difficult, his consciousness momentarily blank.

 

He instinctively reached for Zhan Pingchuan’s hand, but only saw that string of characters becoming increasingly blurry before his eyes, until they disappeared completely.

 

His eyelids felt heavy, his consciousness fuzzy, his spirit slowly withdrawing.

 

Like a dream, like the endless darkness in the Spirit Realm system, like the days and nights pursued by fear, that dog thing wouldn’t—

 

“Lance!”

 

Zhan Pingchuan’s deep voice awakened him. Lance suddenly opened his eyes.

 

He found they were still in a damp passage, oil lamps burning on both sides of the walls, the floor covered with scattered corpses of Pouncers.

 

What was going on?

 

Could it be a maze, and they had returned to the original path?

 

But clearly, there was no longer the screech of the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl behind them.

 

Just then, someone in the crowd said loudly—

 

“Next should be this underground city’s boss, the Frightening Bird, right?”

 

“Don’t compete with us. The Frightening Bird’s first kill must be Brother Lun’s!”

 

The oil lamp flames danced, the smug taunts extremely arrogant. A damp wind swept through, the firelight flickering on faces as stiff as wax.

 

Lance incredulously touched his ear, where the hot temperature was being transmitted to his fingertips with unmistakable clarity.

 

“Zhan Pingchuan?” Lance murmured.

 

“You guessed right,” Zhan Pingchuan paused, his tone playful. “We’ve gone back one hour.”

 

##

 

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(advanced chapters available on kofi)