Chapter 316: Worsening Situation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong did not get up. The situation was not too critical yet. If they put all available resources to use now, they would not be able to hold their defense line for long. However, Ye Chong also knew that he would not be given the chance to command the defensive forces, so he did not even try to interfere. Besides, the students’ mediocre abilities were not enough to interest him, not after seeing the sublime combat performance of the Sang Tribe.

It was too bad that Sang Pu and the rest were not here. The situation was not optimistic, but not to the point where Ye Chong had to worry about his own safety. This level of danger was nothing compared to what Ye Chong had experienced before. Compared to this, the battle at Sang Family Village was truly terrifying!

Everyone around him looked distressed, but Ye Chong himself was composed.

Feiss approached Ye Chong, bowed, and said in a serious tone, "I’m very sorry for my rudeness earlier that hurt you. I’m an alchemist, may I see your hand? I have medicine to stop the bleeding."

Ye Chong kept his eyes closed as he answered calmly, "No need, thank you."

"Ahaha, Fei dear, you’re alright! That’s wonderful," a booming voice came from Fei Si.

Fei Si brightened, and turned to greet him, "Uncle Jalopy!"

The man was only about 160 centimeters tall, but he had a solid build, with angular, bulging muscles that made him look like a towering metal structure. Aside from that, his pugnacious looks made anyone who saw him cautious. The students around him were obviously intimidated by him, and kept their distance.

Unlike those students, Fei Si cried in surprise and buried herself into his embrace, and began to weep. The old man was unused to handling emotional outbursts like this, and received her awkwardly as he consoled her. It was a strange sight to behold. A 170-centimeter tall woman was crying in the arms of a 160-centimeter tall old man. The old man had to stand on tiptoe.

"Fei dear, what’s wrong? Don’t cry, don’t cry, what happened?" The old man was at a loss.

Fei Si’s shoulders trembled as she continued crying. "The chips … The chips are all gone!"

"Ah!" The old man gasped, "Fei dear, how did that happen? That’s your teacher’s life achievements stored in them. Didn’t you store all you work these past few years in them too?"

Fei Si cried even more then, and told him what happened between sobs.

The old man’s expression turned solemn, and consoled her, "Don’t be sad, Fei dear, you’re alive, and that’s all that matters. Your teacher in the Heavens must also be happy for that. If the chips are gone, you can still redo your research; if you are gone, then nothing can be done to save you."

The old man walked to Ye Chong and bowed. "Young man, thank you very much."

Ye Chong was taken by his politeness. He opened his eyes and replied plainly, "You’re welcome."

"Hah!" The old man laughed, and reached out his right hand to pat on Ye Chong’s shoulder. "I knew you’re a good man. You may not be the most handsome man in town, but then, hehe, you’re no ordinary man."

Ye Chong was not used to physical intimacy. He stayed in his cross-legged sitting position as he put his hands to the ground and pushed his whole body sliding to the side.

The old man’s eyes lit up. "You’re a combat expert!"

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In another city on Zhou Jian, at the tip of the highest building there, two people looked down at the tragedy unfolding below them with sorrowful expressions. These two were the Gray Valley duo whom Ye Chong had met on the starship.

"Squad Leader, the situation is worse than we imagined," the long-haired man said grimly.

The middle-aged man nodded solemnly. "Yes, it’s worse than we imagined."

"This is inhuman!" The long-haired younger man said angrily.

The middle-aged man deployed his mech and said, "Enough talking, let’s get to work."

Two mechs flew off into the skies.

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Rui Bing ran as fast as she could, finding her footing on the buildings around her. Her movements were even more powerful than the rats. The buildings flew past her as she ran, leaving only an afterimage in her vision.

A rat suddenly leaped high up like a spring straight towards Rui Bing, who was still in midair between jumps.

Rui Bing twisted her body slightly, angling her body away from the rat in a logic defying moment, despite having no physical support to change directions.

Rui Bing’s lonely white figure stood out in the streets. The countless number of rats on the streets stared at the flitting figure. The rat that jumped up seemed to inspire the other rats, as they began to squeak in excitement.

The rats began to leap up to attack Rui Bing, who was running along the rooftops of the shops that lined the streets.

Rui Bing’s eyes flared up! This was the most dangerous situation she had ever been in her twenty over years of living, but she did not feel scared at all.

She evaded them all! Rui Bing moved like a white butterfly, dancing her way between the rats that continued to attack her from front and back. Her small evasive steps to the left and right were enough to impress even Ye Chong. Even Ye Chong himself could not have done it better!

All her steps were only just large enough to avoid the attacks, but swift and effective.

A rat in front was standing in her way with its hind legs crouched, ready for a pounce. Its crimson red eyes looked vicious. Rui Bing could even see its hind legs’ tense muscles.

Squeak! A huge rat came from above, aiming for Rui Bing. More rats were coming for her from below and to the rear. The rats were everywhere.

Rui Bing shouted, her eyes suddenly lit up brighter than the sun! The move that she had used against Ye Chong was now executed again in all its glory! Moreover, Rui Bing was far stronger than she was back then. The power of this move was now fully realized!

The rat that came from above was almost onto Rui Bing.

Abruptly, without any warning, the rat froze, its eyes bulging. Blam! It exploded. Squeak! The rat squealed in pain. The rat fell lifelessly down from midair to the ground, landing on its brethrens that squeaked with protest.

No attack was more terrifying than this!

All the rats immediately stepped back, and looked at Rui Bing with fear.

Rui Bing was now emanating an aura that was completely different from usual. It was an intimidating quality. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with life.

Rui Bing stepped forward slowly and calmly. All the rats stayed out of her way.

This was her chance. Rui Bing picked up her speed and ran, but none of the rats pursued her this time.

A large door and a line of words came into her sight - Engradie Academy. Rui Bing heaved a sigh of relief, feeling slightly comforted, but her legs weakened for a moment and she nearly stumbled. Rui Bing’s extraordinary stamina was significantly exhausted from her dangerous travel, more than she had expected.

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"Hah, so you’re a combat expert." The old man laughed, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

Fei Si spoke from the side, "Yeah, the student’s got a few moves."

Ye Chong closed his eyes again and ignored them. The battle was imminent, and it was best to conserve his energy.

"Hehe, young man, let me show you something," the old man said in a conspiratorial tone.

Fei Si quickly burst his bubble. "Right, Uncle Jalopy’s a lecturer in ancient machinery. He’s got many tools and weaponry suitable for combat experts, maybe you’ll find a few to your liking."

"Ancient machinery?" Ye Chong opened his eyes wide.

Somewhere from skies came a loud cry, which was immediately followed by a few more. Everyone in the school building was startled. They all knew what this meant. Perhaps there were mutants out there that could fly after all.

The old man’s expression soured as he cursed the creatures aloud, before finally calming down again. He noticed Ye Chong’s indifference, calm as he was, and asked curiously, "Young man, aren’t you worried at all? Are you not afraid? If those creatures get in, we’re all finished."

Ye Chong replied, "Will worrying help? Will being afraid help?"

The old man paused at his words, then laughed heartily, "Haha, to think that I’m humbled by a mere student at my age! I must be getting old."

The situation worsened quickly. Up in the sky, mutant birds attacked the mechs ruthlessly. The most dangerous of these flying mutants were the birds of prey, which were already dangerous before their mutation. Now, they were even more terrifying with their claws and beaks. The sky was their territory. Nothing could move swifter than them in the air, not even the best mech pilots.

The fight on the ground was also becoming increasingly violent. There were many other animals beside rats which had undergone mutation. The most disgusting of all were the insects, such as cockroaches. After mutation, they grew to the size of millstones, but even more staggering were their numbers.

Compared to the other mutants, they were smaller, and greater in numbers, thus making it easier for them to break through the mechs’ defense line.

"Ah!" A female student’s voice reverberated in the building. Girls would definitely hate these creatures. Ye Chong keenly noticed a few things: 1) All the animals that mutated had grown significantly larger, 2) the animals all had red eyes, and 3) after mutation, the mutants became very violent and aggressive.

Ye Chong reacted before anyone else. He stood up quickly and planted a kick on the first cockroach that came in. Whoosh! The cockroach was sent flying.

Ye Chong’s reaction reminded the people inside of what they must do. Mi De and Fatty, who were curled up in a corner, quickly stepped forward to fight. Many of the students here learnt some combat basics, and quite a few of them were actually combat students. As such, the wave of invading insects were, for the moment, halted in their advance.

Nevertheless, while the insects were not as deadly, they were still very difficult to kill. Such was the tenacity of these bugs.

Ye Chong took a look around him, and his eyes landed on a statue in the center of the school building. This gold statue was of a woman, rumored to be the work of a Master of her time, Anye Luoxue. The woman’s naked upper body traced voluptuous curves, and her hands reached up, joining at the wrists with her fingers curling into the shape of a lotus flower.

Ye Chong ran to the statue and toppled it over with a kick. He then lifted the statue by the wrists single-handedly. The statue, which weighed half a ton, was summarily lifted from the ground.

"Out of the way!" Ye Chong yelled.

The students in front looked back and were shocked by the sight. They quickly leaped to the side.