"What...what are those things?"
"I don't know, but I estimate that thing will be my nightmare for the next ten years or so."
"More than ten years? Do you really think you can live that long?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if these monsters weren't just appearing in our school... but throughout the entire Great Xia?"
"Like a zombie outbreak in a movie?"
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean."
"Forget it, Lin Qiye just said that only our school is affected, and we'll be safe once we're rescued."
"Lin Qiye...who exactly is he?"
"..."
The spacious auditorium was now half full, with students rescued from the second floor gathered here. The only entrance and exit to the auditorium was guarded by the Axe Squad, making it arguably the safest place.
At this moment, the auditorium was filled with cries, words of comfort, discussions, and arguments. Despite the efforts of those trying to maintain order, the noise could not be silenced.
An Qingyu sat quietly behind the door, his eyes closed, lost in thought.
Da da da—!
Three knocks sounded in succession, two long and one short. The eyes of the Axe Squad members behind the door lit up, and they quickly moved away the obstacles blocking the doorway.
"Li Yifei is back."
An Qingyu opened his eyes and turned to look behind the door.
Li Yifei walked into the auditorium panting heavily, looking like he had just run 800 meters, drenched in sweat.
"How is it? Have all the students from other places been evacuated?" An Qingyu stood up and asked Li Yifei.
"They've all left. I ran through half the school in one go, and I didn't see any other students besides this one. Damn it, I'm exhausted..." Li Yifei plopped down on a stool and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"That's good." An Qingyu nodded.
"Let me tell you, when I ran to the playground just now, I heard a loud bang coming from the art building. It sounded like a building collapsed," Li Yifei said hurriedly to An Qingyu, as if he had remembered something.
"That's an exaggeration?"
"They must have found the monster's true form and are fighting it," Li Yifei said, leaning back in his chair and letting out a long sigh. "If I didn't have to do the search and rescue, I'd love to go over and take a look."
"It's a battle of gods; you'd better stay away."
"Yeah, that's true."
"What's the name of Lin Qiye's organization again?" An Qingyu asked Li Yifei, as if he had just remembered something.
"The Night's Watch."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yifei covered his mouth, thought for a moment, then put it down again. "Never mind, it doesn't matter if I tell you, since everyone here is going to have their memories erased anyway."
"Erase memories?"
"Yes, they have something that can erase people's memories on a large scale. After all, too many people saw the monster this time, and if someone were to reveal it, it would cause a lot of trouble."
"And what about you? Do you want some too?"
"I don't need to." Li Yifei chuckled, then leaned close to An Qingyu's ear and whispered, "To be honest, after this incident is over, I should be able to join them."
An Qingyu nodded. "What are the conditions for joining them?"
"What, you want to go too? It's not that easy. Their standards for accepting people are very high." Li Yifei waved his hand. "Either you awaken your abilities like Lin Qiye, or you have to demonstrate your value to them."
"You've awakened your abilities too?"
"No, I demonstrated my value to them," Li Yifei smiled.An Qingyu nodded slightly, her gaze as calm as a deep pool. "Indeed, your performance this time was truly outstanding. If I were them, I would have accepted you too."
Just as the two were chatting, there was another knock on the door, the sound of which was irregular.
The members of the Axe Squad immediately became alert, and Li Yifei also stood up, looking solemnly at the door.
"Who?"
"I am Lin Qiye."
Upon hearing the name Lin Qiye, everyone's eyes lit up, and they breathed a sigh of relief. They opened the door, and Lin Qiye, carrying a sword on his back, slowly walked in from outside.
"How is it?" Li Yifei stepped forward and asked hurriedly.
"We succeeded." Lin Qiye nodded. "We killed the true form of the Nanda snake demon."
Li Yifei breathed a sigh of relief, patted Lin Qiye on the shoulder with a smile, and said, "Amazing, Qiye! You guys actually took it down! Now everyone is saved."
Upon hearing Li Yifei's words, the entire auditorium erupted in cheers. These students, who had personally walked through the gates of hell, were finally about to leave this terrifying school and escape from those man-eating monsters!
The axe squad nearby cheered, threw their axes aside, and excitedly embraced each other.
Li Yifei winked at Lin Qiye, then leaned close to his ear and whispered:
"I'm saying, I've done a really good job this time, so joining the Night's Watch shouldn't be a problem, right? I don't want to be brainwashed..."
Lin Qiye stood there silently for a long while before speaking softly:
"Perhaps."
Li Yifei was taken aback.
Just then, An Qingyu silently pulled a pistol from his pocket behind him.
The black muzzle of the gun was pointed at the back of Li Yifei's head.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the Axe Squad,The trigger was pulled!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three gunshots rang out in quick succession, like thunderclaps across the sky. The surrounding noise and laughter came to an abrupt halt, and the lively auditorium fell into dead silence once again!
The joy on everyone's faces froze. They turned their heads stiffly toward the exit, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Li Yifei turned his head in astonishment and saw An Qingyu calmly holding a gun, with a wisp of smoke gradually dissipating from the dark muzzle.
Li Yifei paused for a few seconds, then asked in confusion:
"An Qingyu? Why did you shoot?"
An Qingyu stood there, without saying a word.
After a long while, Li Yifei finally came to his senses and slowly reached up to touch the back of his head...
Click!
The spent cartridge case fell to the ground, making a crisp hum.
On the back of his head, three shallow bullet holes were gradually healing, with only a few drops of blood oozing out. Li Yifei wiped them away, and they disappeared without a trace.
Li Yifei looked at the few streaks of blood on his hands and muttered to himself.
"I was shot...why didn't I die?"
He looked up at Lin Qiye and extended his blood-stained hand to Lin Qiye's face.
"Hey, Qiye, look at me! Why am I not dead?" His pupils trembled slightly. "Have I... awakened an ability?"
Standing in front of him, Lin Qiye looked at him with a complicated expression, and after a long while, shook his head slightly.
"You didn't have an Awakening…
You,
are the Nanda Snake Demon."
Upon hearing this, Li Yifei's pupils suddenly contracted, and he staggered back two steps, shaking his head repeatedly.
"Impossible! What are you talking about? How could I be a snake demon?! I'm Li Yifei!"
Lin Qiye shook his head, stepped forward, and forcefully pulled Li Yifei's chest!
Crack!
The zipper on Li Yifei's school uniform broke, revealing his chest, where a faint gunshot wound lay quietly like a brand.
"You are the Nanda snake demon, or rather... you are a part of the Nanda snake demon."
"The traces you left behind can fool others."
"But you can't fool me."