Chapter 62: Holding That Slender Waist Tight

His speed was too fast—almost as if he was intimately familiar with the virtual scenario’s access system.

The operator, shoved aside, stared dumbfounded as Shen Yu skillfully navigated the controls.

The moment the passage was activated, the young man cast them aside, gripping his own wrist as he connected mentally. A mere afterimage remained before he disappeared in an instant.

The whole process was so fast it felt like it had been played in double speed.

He was gone in a flash.

The instructors blinked, stunned, before belatedly reacting.

“Th-This is reckless!”

“Reckless?”

Aiger immediately defended his prized student, retorting, “This is what you call caring too much!”

His tone even carried a hint of pride. “That kid’s finally matured. Not bad, not bad—he actually cares about his junior cadets now.”

The other instructors: “…”

Now is NOT the time for you to be feeling proud!

Helpless, they exchanged glances.

“Let’s go, open the passage and get inside to assist.”

“The Empire’s reason for infiltrating is still unclear. Making the freshmen handle this alone is far too risky, just like Aiger said. We’re their instructors, after all—we shouldn’t let them bear the brunt of this alone.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Satisfied, Aiger finally released Philo with a cold snort.

“Then what the hell are we waiting for? Hurry up already.”

He turned to the stunned technician.

“Open the simulation passage—let us in.”

“Y-Yes!” The operator hastily complied, fingers dancing over the blue-lit screen—only for his expression to change.

“What’s wrong?”

The operator stammered, “I-Instructor Aiger, the command… it’s suddenly been locked. Alphas can’t enter or exit.“

“What?!” Nishiyama was shocked. “That means we’re locked out?!”

At those words, the instructors’ expressions darkened, their Alpha presence turning oppressive.

The small Beta operator trembled under the suffocating tension.

A gentle, calm voice broke the silence, rescuing him.

“Perhaps there’s been an error—could you check again?”

Philo smoothed out his wrinkled collar and offered a polite smile to the operator. “Shen was just using the system a moment ago. Maybe he disrupted something—double-checking wouldn’t hurt.”

The operator nodded repeatedly. “Y-Yes! I’ll check right away!”

Knowing how serious the situation was, the operator worked swiftly on the blue screen.

However, the results were the same.

The restriction program was still locked in place.

“It’ll take at least thirty minutes to break through.”

The operator was panicked. “Everything was normal before, but it looks like someone deliberately locked us out.“

Philo sighed lightly. “I wonder how Shen managed to get in…”

Aiger narrowed his eyes. “Are you suspecting Shen Yu?”

Philo’s expression was helpless. “How cou—”

“How could he?!“

Before Philo could even finish, Eugene had already jumped in.

After spending hours working with Philo, Eugene had come to deeply respect him.

Seeing Aiger attempt to pin the blame on Philo, Eugene refused to stand by. Holding his head high with arrogance, he declared, “That’s absolutely impossible!”

“Instructor Philo knows Shen Yu as well as I do.”

“Shen Yu is too proud. He’d never stoop to such petty tricks!”

“If you ask me, this is definitely the Empire’s doing. Instructor Philo, I’m sure you think the same, right?”

He looked to Philo, seeking confirmation.

“…Of course.” Philo smiled.

Eugene was satisfied—until he turned and found Aiger giving him an unreadable look, scanning him from head to toe.

“You’re not bad, kid.”

Eugene: “?”

He tensed warily, but Aiger had already looked away. Left with lingering suspicion, Eugene chose to drop it for now.

Since the system was locked, they couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.

Following Philo’s earlier suggestion, they first released the antidote to neutralize the mutation trait, easing the burden on those inside.

The next step was to send in Beta cadets and instructors first.

The remaining Alpha instructors had no choice but to wait for the program to be unlocked.

For Alphas—who were used to leading the charge—this was beyond frustrating.

Aiger leaned against the wall, irritated.

“Those brats better hold out…”

---

“Can you still hold on?”

Ji Laili fired a shot, hitting an Imperial soldier in the arm and crippling their movement.

He turned to the Alpha who had fallen to the ground, extending a hand to help—only to be refused.

“This little wound? Like hell this is enough to take me down. I can still take them on eight hundred more times!“

The Alpha got back on his feet, glancing at Ji Laili with a complicated expression.

“But if you can’t hold out, just say the word. I’ll be there.”

Ji Laili blinked, then broke into a bright grin.

“Alright.”

As one of the key fighters on their side, Ji Laili was probably the most exhausted.

He had the best memory among them, able to recognize all their allies besides the upperclassmen. To avoid friendly fire, anyone unfamiliar was sent his way for identification.

In short—he was the verification checkpoint.

With the battle dragging on, more people had joined the chaos after hearing the commotion.

More than a few of them had suddenly turned into enemies.

Ji Laili hadn’t had a moment’s rest.

It was around this time that his visor transmitted an incoming message.

Most of the hot-headed Alphas had already smashed or crushed their own visors, leaving Ji Laili as the only one with a working device.

Glancing at it amid the chaos, his eyes lit up.

Good news!

If they could get rid of this damn mutation setting, they wouldn’t be stuck in this endless cycle of battle.

However—after seeing where the antidote was located, he wanted to curse.

The medical building had three floors.

He and Zhai Yifei had already searched the first floor.

They ran into Lei Po on the second floor, who informed them that the antidote wasn’t anywhere in the three floors.

That was because—it was in the basement.

Ji Laili: “…”

They really knew how to hide things.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Laili quickly relayed the message.

“Po-ge, Zhai-ge!”

Time was running out. He raised his voice—not just for them, but for everyone nearby.

“The instructors are aware of the situation. Reinforcements should arrive soon, but we need to get the antidote first to remove the mutation setting. We—”

“Laili, you go.“

Zhai Yifei cut in, his voice calm and steady. “We’ll hold things here.”

“Tch, this poison bastard got ahead of me.” Lei Po smirked. “Go. We’ve already memorized who’s who.”

Ji Laili hesitated only for a second before deciding.

“Alright. I need to get to the stairwell.”

“I’ll cover you! Move!”

Lei Po cleared a path with his blade.

Zhai Yifei, injured, stayed behind to handle sneak attacks.

Even so, progress was difficult.

The Imperials had overheard Ji Laili’s plan.

They wouldn’t just let him through.

A flood of enemies surged toward them.

The freshmen cursed, scrambling to intercept.

“Damn it—your opponent is right here! Why are you running?!“

Chaos erupted.

Lei Po clicked his tongue in annoyance.

At this rate, there was no way through.

“Bro—toss me over.“

Ji Laili looked ahead. “We won’t make it through by just walking.”

Lei Po furrowed his brows, not entirely agreeing with his approach. “If you do that, your back…”

“Brother, there’s no time. Besides, a real man bleeds but doesn’t cry.”

Ji Laili took it lightly, even joking with a grin. “Getting a little hurt isn’t a big deal. Consider it a warrior’s badge of honor.”

“Hurry up, bro.”

Since he insisted, Lei Po stopped persuading him and grabbed his wrist.

“You ready?”

Ji Laili raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Bring it on!”

Lei Po seemed to click his tongue, as if he were complaining about something, but Ji Laili didn’t catch it—because in the next moment, he was hurled forward with immense force!

He could swear that if Po-ge put his wrist strength to use in sports, he’d put a whole bunch of athletes out of work.

His body soared into the air, the weightless sensation hitting him instantly.

After a brief moment of discomfort, Ji Laili twisted midair, found a foothold, and used his astonishing agility to propel himself forward once more!

This method was far more effective than forcing their way through the crowd.

Ji Laili landed on one knee, his chest rising and falling rapidly. As he looked ahead, beads of sweat rolled down from beneath his chestnut-colored hair, tracing across his sharp, handsome features.

He was getting close to the stairway!

Just a little more effort.

The massive physical exertion made him wobble slightly as he stood up.

Fortunately, this wasn’t a fight he had to face alone.

Amidst the chaos, someone caught him and shouted:

“Step on my shoulders! I’ll throw you up there!”

Ji Laili turned and saw a familiar yet not entirely recognizable face. There was a fierce urgency in the Alpha’s expression, the kind of fire and impatience unique to their kind.

Without hesitation, Ji Laili grabbed his hand.

Then, using the Alpha’s strength, he leaped into the air once more.

He was so close to his goal!

But just as he was about to reach it, a sharp gust of wind swept toward his back, sending a jolt of danger through him.

“Watch out—!”

He heard the Alpha’s warning, but his body was already at its limit—he had no strength left to dodge.

Then—click.

Something suddenly tightened around his waist, locking in place.

The next instant, he was yanked upward.

Ji Laili’s vision spun wildly.

He crashed into a cold yet faintly iris-scented embrace.

The impact sent the other person staggering back a few steps, their upper body tilting backward.

Startled, Ji Laili instinctively reached out—

Almost by pure reflex, his dry, calloused palm clamped firmly around that slender waist.