novelsite Chapter 2 Danger Zone
Chapter 2 Danger Zone
Classroom of Grade 3, Class C.
The students stared at the empty seats in the corner, whispering amongst themselves.
"Hasn't that loser arrived yet?"
"I got beaten half to death by Ma Shuang from Class B in yesterday's practical class. I bet he's still lying in bed unable to get up."
"That's interesting. Skipping class without reason will just send her to Class D, where she can hang out with the real losers."
"Then you'll be disappointed, the man surnamed Li is here."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ming, the freckled boy, turned his head. The moment his gaze fell on the classroom door, his eyes widened like saucers.
A tall, slender girl walked in slowly, wearing the standard school uniform of Hanchuan No. 2 Middle School: black top and black pants with a white shirt, looking neat and dashing.
His gray hair was loose and flowing, his wine-red pupils were bright and sharp, and his eyes and brows carried a coldness that kept strangers at bay.
[Wang Ming, a martial artist at the fifth level of Body Tempering, with a strength of 2000kg. Evaluation: Mediocre, weak speed, old right knee injury.]
Shen Zixuan, a sixth-level Body Tempering martial artist, with a strength of 2400kg. Evaluation: Skilled but weak, suspicious and sensitive.
Li Hui's cynical voice echoed in his mind.
At the same time, faint "golden patterns" flowed in Li Ai's irises, and when she focused on a target, the target's data information would appear.
[How about that? This is "power"—observation. It, along with modulation, is one of the powers of the galactic center.]
Observation rights?
Ignoring her classmates, Li Ai took her seat and began to observe herself. A stream of information floated before her eyes:
[Observation Target]: Li Ai
[Cultivation Level]: Fourth Level of Body Tempering Realm
[Qi and Blood]: 1600/1600
[Attributes] Strength: 1579kg | Defense: 1026kg (including tempering) | Speed: 12m/s | Spiritual Awareness: 123
[Special Constitution] Original Meridians: 108/108 (Severely Blocked/Linguistic Energy Loss) | Capacity: 0/1000
[Talent] Forged Through Trials and Tribulations (Purple): Extremely high pain tolerance; Defense coefficient Strength × 0.65 (normal people 0.4-0.5)
[Galactic Core Powers] Plunder (Decomposition/Fusion - Incomplete) | Observation (Analysis/Reconstruction - Incomplete)
Tuning Simulation: Battlefield Aftermath: 5 days, 17 life-or-death experiences, muscle memory etched into instinct | Cooldown: 64 hours
[Technique] Basic Tempering Method, Fourth Level | [Martial Arts] Basic Spear Technique, Mastery
Upon seeing the meridian capacity, a painful recollection flashed in Li Ai's eyes.
Once upon a time, his meridian capacity was measured in hundreds of thousands. At the age of 17, he was a genius among geniuses, having reached the ninth level of the Qi Condensation Realm.
Now, however, he has been tortured by the people sent by the Lin family, who administered Qi-stagnation powder to the point that his meridians are blocked and his capacity is almost zero.
"But it's still very impressive." Li Ai cleared her mind of distractions and sincerely praised.
This so-called observational power can analyze itself so clearly that it is more accurate than any data test.
However, if that's all there is to it, it won't be of much use to their situation and won't change the fact that they are weak.
[Silverheart's powers don't stop there; the power of "plunder" is key to your strength. Not only can you plunder humans, but you can also plunder filthy beasts!]
Click~
The classroom door was pushed open again.
A middle-aged man with a cold face walked in, frowned, glanced around, and his gaze lingered briefly on Li Ai, hiding a hint of mockery.
His tone was calm, devoid of any extra emotion. "Everyone, assemble on the playground and board the bus to the danger zone. Today's lesson is—resource collection."
Danger zone...
Li Ai's expression grew even more grim as she thought of the blood-red characters again.
The danger zone is located in the wilderness outside the city. Once you're in the wilderness, there's no law or order, so it's not surprising that anything can happen.
Moreover, the danger zone is infested with "filthy beasts" and has an abnormal environment, which already poses a considerable risk.
"What are you all standing there for?"
Teacher Zhao snorted coldly: "Everyone line up, assemble on the playground, and board the bus immediately to depart."
"yes!"
Li Ai had no choice but to leave with the group, a strong sense of unease lingering in her heart, feeling that this resource gathering would not be so simple.
Something terrible awaits her ahead...
.........
Danger Zone - Blackthorn Jungle.
The moment the vehicle drove out of the city, Li Ai was in a state of complete tension.
Beyond the city walls is never a pure land; there are always vile beasts lurking in the shadows, waiting to tear apart their lone prey.
"That's strange, why is the road so far this time?" one student couldn't help but complain.
Wang Ming was playing a mobile game and said casually, "The nearby areas have already been completely cleared out by those bastards from Class D of each grade. I can only go deeper and deeper."
"That makes sense. Otherwise, we wouldn't have needed to send our Class C."
Li Ai looked out the window; the thick miasma, like ink that couldn't be dissolved, dyed the towering ancient trees a strange deep green.
The armored bus forced its way through the dense black thorns, the cracking sound of the thorns breaking mixed with the scraping of metal, which was particularly jarring in the silent jungle.
The miasma is poisonous, and the thorns are barbed; an ordinary person wouldn't last more than 45 minutes inside.
These practitioners, who inhale miasma for extended periods, also experience dizziness and blurred consciousness, and must periodically practice internal energy cultivation to expel the miasma from their bodies.
Moreover, who knows what kind of vile beasts are lurking in this thick fog?
Li Ai's fingertips caressed the shaft of the iron spear, the thin layer of sweat on her palms being absorbed by the strips of cloth wrapped around the spear.
The sense of crisis grew stronger, and her gaze grew colder. In a daze, she understood the warning from the blood-red characters.
Surviving by any means necessary—it's really that simple and easy to understand...
squeak!
The armored bus came to a stop in a clearing in the woods, its tires screeching.
The team leader opened the car door, and a gust of wind carrying a mixture of decaying leaves and fishy smell rushed in.
The driver stretched and got out of the car to smoke. The team leader's cold gaze swept over everyone, pausing slightly on Li Ai, as if with a deeper meaning.
"Everyone, set up camp here."
The gathering course will last for three days. As is customary, after setting up the camp, students are free to move around and enter the danger zone to gather resources.
Nearly a hundred students on the bus took out their tools and set up their own small individual tents.
Li Hui floated in mid-air, utterly bored: "Can't you move a little faster?"
Li Ai, hammering a nail, curled her lip upon hearing this: "You think you're wearing pants, that you can just pull them up and leave?"
The two bickered intermittently, and the tent was gradually set up.
"Hello..." A clear voice rang out from behind.
A shy and quiet girl with short, princess-cut hair walked over quickly: "Excuse me, can I team up with you? There are more people, so we can help each other out."
The girl looked timid, like a frightened little rabbit.
Li Ai frowned slightly: "A freshman?"
She had never seen this person before, but that was normal—collecting lessons were group activities, often with older students mentoring newer ones, with third-year students paired with first-year students.
"Ah? Yes!" The girl nodded repeatedly, "My name is Zhou Siyu, a first-year student."
She said shyly, "This is my first time leading a data collection class, and I'm very scared..."
"I'm so scared~~" Li Hui floated to Zhou Siyu's side, propped his chin on his hand, and chuckled coldly: "A burden, or a conspiracy?"
Li Ai thought to herself, "It's common for freshmen to be afraid of encountering filthy beasts and feel uncertain, so they often seek out other people to team up with."
Li Hui sneered inwardly: "Then why did I specifically choose you?"
He didn't say anything more, and floated back into the air to admire the distant jungle scenery.