Chapter 12

With the bright red words on the comment stream, everyone stopped worrying about the sinister energy rain and instead focused on the cramped, narrow underground abyss.

What they saw was a living hell.

Out of the dozen or so contestants who had entered, only a few remained. No one knew if the others had been eaten or assimilated. The surviving contestants were desperately fleeing from the sinister demons.

“Ahhh, Su Lanjin, you deserve to die! I won’t let you get away!”

“Su Lanjin!”

Bian Duhen, running at the front, looked pale and furious, his eyes filled with anger toward Su Lanjin.

They had all watched him enter this place without anyone warning them. Those people… those people are all bastards!

Gritting his teeth, Bian Duhen kept running, wildly throwing talismans behind him, without any reflection on why he hadn’t stopped to restrain the demons.

He had only felt that after trying to restrain them, his own spiritual energy became increasingly sluggish, so he dared not use it again.

【This really is a living hell, with only a few contestants left.】

【If Bian Duhen had listened to Song Juncai earlier, none of this would have happened. But in the end, he was too arrogant, thinking everyone wanted to trap him.】

【What if Song Juncai reminded him again? Even if Song Juncai didn’t, couldn’t others who knew warn him? Letting them go into the underground abyss like this is basically murder!】

【If anything happens to the contestants inside, I will report it to the military tribunal!】

【Are those people inside family members of the contestants? No one owes you anything. A warning is kindness, repeated warnings become crossing the line.】

Bian Duhen’s parents, watching the live stream, saw the comments overwhelmingly against them. With no one defending their son, they angrily threw their teacups.

“Su Lanjin! Song Juncai! If anything happens to my son, I will make sure you both pay with your lives!”

Anger filled his chest as the man glared darkly at the live stream, veins bulging on his forehead.

Setting aside the situation here for the moment, Su Lanjin and the others had no idea what fate awaited the contestants who entered the underground abyss, nor did they care. They had already given warnings but couldn’t stop those willing to die.

The contestants outside, following Su Lanjin’s initial instructions, cleared all the sinister energy from their bodies and then applied the emergency spray again. Sure enough, their injuries improved and even healed, bringing them a sigh of relief.

Many sat or stood with tired eyes but kept glancing toward Su Lanjin’s direction, whispering quietly among themselves.

Used to all eyes on her, Su Lanjin sat on the ground, looking up at the sky.

The sinister energy rain still drizzled continuously, giving a lingering, unsettling feeling. The rustling leaves added a touch of eerie atmosphere to the whole environment.

“This is the first time so many contestants have gathered in one place.”

Ni Shushu glanced at the surrounding contestants, stretching out her hand to count, “Those few on the left must already be a team, each with a double A rank. The troublemaker silently watching us is from Capital Star, the one waving a fan in this cold weather is the playboy, and the one sitting in the corner is the aloof young lady.”

“Wow, now everyone has at least a double A rank. Did the other contestants quit on the first day?”

“It’s the first time sitting with so many big shots at once, no wonder it feels exciting.”

Song Juncai rubbed his nose, bloodshot eyes showing fatigue.

After a whole day, exhaustion suddenly hit him, and all he wanted now was to rest.

“Capital Star, Zeng Yanzhi, pleased to meet you.”

Zeng Yanzhi approached Su Lanjin with a self-assured and graceful air, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes. His hand waved the folding fan without pause, presenting the image of a handsome young man.

“Su Lanjin.”

Su Lanjin nodded, ignoring his smiling face, then withdrew her gaze to look at Gong Jiaxin. “Playboy?”

“Heh, yes.”

Gong Jiaxin barely held back her laughter but finally couldn’t help herself and nodded like a little chicken pecking grain.

In Capital Star, who doesn’t know Zeng Yanzhi? Rumor has it that every high-society lady who ranks among the elite in Capital Star has been teased by Zeng Yanzhi.

Hmph, what a jerk!

“Not at all, not at all. If a man isn’t reckless in his youth, then what’s the point? You just don’t understand yet.”

Zeng Yanzhi shook his head with a sigh, carefree and unrestrained.

…

…

“Boom.”

“Bang bang bang.”

A series of loud explosions echoed through the sky. Everyone instinctively looked toward the source — the underground abyss area was slowly collapsing, and in an instant, sinister energy surged up to the sky.

“Huff huff.”

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh.”

“Help… help me!”

Several contestants staggered out, tears of joy streaming as soon as they realized they were safe, immediately pressing the withdrawal button.

The teachers descended from above as if they had been waiting nearby for a long time, grabbing the withdrawing contestants and throwing them toward the safe zone.

Their spiritual energy surged in their hands, the capture formation’s hit rate was very high. Before long, most of the sinister demons that came out were trapped.

This was the first time Su Lanjin saw a battle outside of the contestants. Her eyes narrowed slightly, watching the teachers’ capture techniques intently, her expression no longer showing surprise.

Compared to the contestants, the teachers’ spiritual energy fluctuations were smoother. The energy released during their capture techniques was also tremendous.

Logically, such immense power should be able to annihilate the sinister demons, so why was it only able to trap them?

While Su Lanjin was deeply puzzled, Bian Duhen, who had just run out from the underground abyss, gasped for breath and shouted toward the teachers, “Teacher, save me!”

But the teachers completely ignored Bian Duhen. Instead, they turned their attention to the contestants who had pressed the withdrawal buttons. When they discovered that someone was still being caught by a sinister demon and was in the process of being transformed into a vessel, they were shocked.

“There’s a contestant here about to be used as a vessel!”

A sharp voice rang out, and several people all looked in that direction.

They saw that the contestant’s legs had already been swallowed by the demon, and now the waist was next. The contestant was still struggling desperately, trying to survive.

“This is bad, he’s about to be assimilated.”

Several teachers disregarded the surrounding sinister rain, not even caring that their arms were being corroded.

They wanted to do their best to save the future hope of the federation before the spiritual energy affected by the sinister energy disappeared.

“This person is probably beyond saving — only half his body is left.”

“Yeah, I can see his pupils have already changed.”

Su Lanjin heard these words but kept silent, though she was filled with doubt.

“Hey, Su Lanjin, don’t go. The teachers have already taken action, they will definitely give this contestant a final dignity.”

Ni Shushu grabbed Su Lanjin’s wrist and shook her head at her.

Others did the same.

Although they had just become adults, having grown up surrounded by this knowledge, they already understood what happened to those taken as vessels by the sinister demons. Being killed by their own people was the last dignity those becoming vessels could have.

Unexpectedly, Su Lanjin shook off Ni Shushu’s hand and darted to the center of the battle.

“Su Lanjin.”

“Boss, don’t go.”

“It’s dangerous over there.”

Jian Xiangxue and a few others behind were shocked and immediately shouted, but Su Lanjin had already approached the contestant being used as a vessel.

“Su Lanjin, what are you doing?”

A nearby teacher frowned and shouted angrily at her, “Leave immediately, this isn’t a place for you!”

Su Lanjin showed no expression and didn’t respond to the teacher’s question. Instead, she looked at the contestant who was still resisting.

The sinister demon behind had already been trapped by the teachers, but the contestant’s body was already being assimilated. Su Lanjin could clearly sense his pain and even that he was still fighting against his own body.

The contestant struggled to lift his head and opened his mouth, trying to speak, but the overwhelming pain made it impossible.

The sinister demon still held the contestant’s body in its jaws and, even though trapped, had not let go.

The sinister energy surged, and the contestant’s breath grew weaker, but he was still struggling relentlessly.

Su Lanjin’s heart trembled. Her expression softened as she raised her right hand and summoned the spiritual energy sword. With a light sound, the sword swung boldly at the contestant held by the sinister demon.

“Su Lanjin!!”

“What are you doing??”

“Hiss…”

The teachers were horrified, and the comment section exploded.

【What is Su Lanjin doing?】

【Oh my, is Su Lanjin trying to kill someone?】

【Are you crazy? The teachers are standing right here, what does Su Lanjin think she’s doing?】

【To be fair, although the contestant should be saved, the dignity should be given by the teachers, not Su Lanjin.】

Ignoring everyone’s objections, Su Lanjin gripped the spiritual energy sword and once again severed the connection between the sinister demon and the contestant.