Chapter 762: As You Wish (3.5k)
Outside the practical training base, the lights flickered intermittently, as if short-circuiting.
“Sizzle—”
On the large screen, the images captured by the camera sprites turned into flickering snow, accompanied by occasional static. Staff members from the logistics department rushed out from all directions, beginning to repair the projection equipment.
“What’s going on? Can’t the venue give us an explanation?”
“My son was just about to show off his power, and now all the footage is gone. Damn it, I’m going to complain to you later.”
Below, the audience erupted in dissatisfaction. Most of them were friends and family of the students. They were cheering for someone when suddenly, with a “crack!”, the lights in the entire venue went dark, and the image was lost.
Some people looked worried: “Something might have happened inside. I saw my daughter’s face turn pale the moment it was all shut down.”
Seated at Jiang Hai High School, the grade director looked at her phone, her face unusually grim. She stared intently at the large screen, her palms clenched, causing the tempered glass of her phone to emit a “creak.”
The teacher surnamed Lin, observing her expression, realized something was wrong and leaned in to ask in a low voice, “Director, what did Old Niu say just now?”
“Something happened.”
The grade director replied in a low voice, her red-rimmed glasses completely obscuring her eyes. Her exact expression couldn’t be seen, but the crow’s feet around her eyes seemed to deepen:
“A member of the Ancient God Sect, at the War God level, has infiltrated the competition venue. We don’t know how many hostages he has. We can’t storm the venue directly. If more than fifty people die, even the Grand Commander won’t be able to handle the public outcry.”
“Ancient God Sect… War God level?!”
The teacher surnamed Lin froze in place.
…
“Everyone, please rest assured. There was just a minor accident inside. We have dispatched professional repair technicians to fix it shortly…”
A very standard female voice sounded. The broadcasting room, following the instruction of the venue administrator, began an emergency broadcast to appease the chaotic audience. However, it had little effect, and the scene remained chaotic.
“Administrator Ouyang, the Dragon Hunters have replied, saying they are on their way and have asked us to pacify the audience’s emotions and prevent any other negative social incidents.”
A group of staff members crowded outside the broadcasting room. Someone finally couldn’t hold back and gently knocked on the door.
“Knock knock knock!”
Soon, the door “creaked!” open, and the manager of the venue, a middle-aged man in his late forties or early fifties, walked out. His brows were slightly furrowed. He held a photograph in his hand, showing the marks left by the Ferryman on the side door.
“We have tried to break into the venue, but the door system is completely disconnected from the interior. The internal structure was built during wartime and is extremely sturdy. Forced entry requires destructive power beyond the War God level…”
He scanned the staff members, his expression grim, his voice tinged with a slight lowness. He then sighed and continued,
“However, under the destructive power of attacks exceeding the War God level, students might be accidentally injured or killed. Our only option now is to use the emergency repair channel to allow a significant figure at the War God level to enter.”
Someone asked, “Can we restore some of the camera sprites to normal?”
“Dear parents, hello.”
The middle-aged administrator glanced at him, about to shake his head, when a magnetic voice sounded from outside. He frowned, wondering what was happening.
“Administrator, please look over here…”
Suddenly, a staff member handed him a small tablet. His face was filled with awe. The middle-aged administrator looked at it inexplicably and saw that on the tablet was one of the viewing halls, and in front of the hall, a masked figure appeared on the large screen.
Returning to the main hall, the figure on the large screen cleared his throat. A smile appeared beneath the White Crow Mask. He slowly opened his palm, his white gloves exceptionally striking under the lights.
“I am the Ferryman under the command of the Red-Clad White Crow. Now, your children are gathering towards me. Don’t worry, I won’t sacrifice all of them…”
“Only those unwilling to sign a contract with the Ancient God Sect will be offered to the gods.”
He slightly raised his hand and gestured for a moment. The next second, he suddenly licked his tongue, his crimson eyes lowered, as if he could see the crowd below. His mouth split into a terrifying grin.
“It won’t be long. I will awaken the desires of the monsters within, and they will chase these students, leading them faster to where I am.”
“Oh, right, my two darlings have been hungry for a long time. I pray your children don’t make them too hungry.”
Then, he casually tossed the camera sprite into the sky. The perspective on the large screen shifted to the Ferryman sitting on a rock, fiddling with a pillar-like object, seemingly carving something.
Beside him were a dozen students bound by black mist. The students’ minds seemed hazy, as if under mental control.
The administrator muttered, “The lunatics of the Ancient God Sect!”
“Ancient God Sect?!”
“What’s going on? Didn’t they say it was just a normal short circuit incident?”
At this moment, various exclamations erupted from the audience seats below. After the gasps came waves of curses, almost forming a long dragon that threatened to break through to the heavens.
This gave the administrator a headache. Rubbing his forehead, he waved to a few staff members, urging them to quickly appease the crowd below. Things had truly exploded.
With thousands of students held hostage inside, any mishap would lead to him serving a long prison sentence.
Further away, the old man, holding a bag of snacks, watched quietly. His cloudy eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the pillar:
“As expected, the ritual to sacrifice to the gods will begin soon.”
He did not choose to act. Instead, he silently used his replaced smartphone to notify some relevant personnel (Dragon Hunters Alliance, Law Enforcement Hall, etc.), asking them to observe for now and not intervene rashly. He also indicated that this attack was likely a plot by the Ancient God Sect.
As the highest-ranking Night Watcher in the Huainan region, the old man knew better than anyone that external intervention would lead to more casualties. Now, he could only trust that outstanding junior.
The old man did not know Su Jiu’s specific strength, but he had great confidence in this elder, who possessed a calmness and maturity beyond her years.
Since the plan was already in motion, it was best to trust it completely.
“Administrator! We can now contact some camera sprites with backup lines, but we can’t control their direction. They can only rely on AI to judge based on combat heat.”
Several figures rushed from the main control room to the broadcasting room. The person in the lead reported to the administrator.
“Now, contact them immediately.”
The middle-aged administrator nodded, relieved. At least they now knew what was happening inside. If the situation was dire, they would have to seriously consider the plan to breach the barrier.
“Sizzle—”
The static began to recede, and the animation on the large screen gradually appeared. Each hall had six split screens. Apart from a fixed screen displaying the situation of the Ancient God Sect member, the others began to show the conditions of some students inside. Parents who recognized their children immediately stood up and shouted. The most eye-catching was the group of over a dozen people.
“Ah Feng!?”
The teacher surnamed Lin immediately stood up, his gaze fixed ahead, his expression tense. No matter how sharp-tongued he was, at this moment, he could only play the role of a father.
“Don’t worry, my daughter is also inside. We can only wait for the important figures above to make a decision.”
After comforting the former, the grade director’s gaze shifted inside. Her eyes constantly scanned the students, trying to find her daughter’s whereabouts…
“No, no, it’s not her…”
Beside a pillar in the hall, Niu Sangen leaned against it, muttering to himself. His gaze was cast sideways at the stage, also searching for someone. “Not here. Where did she go?”
According to his speculation, the key to breaking the deadlock should be that special girl he had been watching.
…
Following his gaze into the depths, the sky had completely darkened. Students with fire-element bloodlines walked along the sides, supporting flames that gradually filled the forest. Leading them was a girl carrying a long blade on her back.
Zhou Zhizhi, Huang Shi, and their group formed a temporary team of eighteen people. Unaware of the situation outside, their objective was to move toward the central area.
Because Bairnis looked very young, the group positioned her in the middle. She tiptoed, looked ahead for a few seconds, and then moved to the front of the group.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Zhizhi looked at the strange child with confusion.
Huang Shi and the others glanced at her. They knew she was the priest who helped Zhou Zhizhi and the others become stronger, so they didn’t speak rudely.
“There’s a big guy ahead. It’s fighting with someone.”
Bairnis said softly, looking at the dark forest in front of her. The light blue eyes held specks of light, and her palms glowed with the light of fragmented butterflies…
“A big guy?!”
Upon hearing this, the students abruptly stopped in their tracks. Almost all their eyes turned to the short girl, who was only about 1.4 meters tall. Zhou Zhizhi observed ahead and then flicked a ball of fire, but found nothing unusual. She then asked in confusion,
“But there’s no movement ahead?”
“Roar!!”
Before anyone else could ask, a roar came from ahead, followed by violent tremors on the ground. The trees were bombarded by a gray energy cannon, causing them to fall continuously.
At this moment, they could see a bear-like creature nearly five meters tall standing in front of them. The oppressive aura emanating from the creature even made the students struggle to breathe.
“Meat!”
As if discovering these students, the bear-like creature displayed a human-like sinister smile and slowly stood upright. The crescent-shaped hair on its chest seemed to form an even more ferocious grin.
Looking at the bear-like creature, Zhou Zhizhi wanted to raise her hand to grip the long blade but suddenly froze: “It… it…”
Because she was horrified to discover a bright halo on the back of its head, and an unprecedented fear emerged on her small face.
“Is it War God level?!”
For a good student like her, this was easy to recognize.
Before she could think further, the black bear-like creature suddenly charged towards them, the gust of wind almost knocking the students over. Fear filled all their faces.
“That annoying skeleton is gone, now there’s only meat.”
Perhaps to toy with the students, it even deliberately slowed down, savoring their despair.
“It’s over!”
This scene was also broadcast outside. Some parents with poor psychological resilience fainted directly. Many of the arriving Dragon Hunters were shocked. This must be the Ferryman’s beast pet, right?
“Hoo…”
The figure of the black bear-like creature charging towards them reflected in her pupils, Bairnis stood at the very front and took a light breath. A blue and white scythe appeared in her hand, but she merely tapped it on the ground, lowering her head and softly saying,
“Miss said your name is Feng. I’ll provide you with reinforcement. Repel it!”
Zhou and Guan looked confused at the slightly larger loli beside them, but the former had no time to think further, only managing to grip the long blade and watch the big bear approach.
“Aim for its eyes! We have no retreat.”
As for the others, under the command of their leader, Lin Feng, they each forcefully gripped their weapons. Drops of cold sweat trickled down their foreheads. Under such pressure, some even felt a strange dizziness.
Just as everyone thought the students in the front would be devoured like crispy snacks, a few maple leaves fell from the sky, and a hoarse, low voice sounded. A broadsword bearing the pattern of maple leaves was placed horizontally in front of them.
“As you wish.”
