Chapter 80: The Great Battle
The breeze at the entrance of the Haibin City Hospital carried the morning chill.
Yi Ning leaned against a black off-road vehicle, his fingers tapping away at Magic Chill on his phone screen.
Inside the car, Chu He sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind.
Seeing Chen Yu and the other three approaching, Yi Ning turned off his screen and waved at them.
Chu He also got out of the car to see them off. "Although security has been increased at the training camp, the 'Blood Carnation' hasn't been completely rooted out."
"Keep your wits about you on the journey."
"Your application for contribution rewards was successful. The rewards will be distributed directly to you at the training camp."
Yi Ning patted Chen Yu on the shoulder, grinning broadly. "Little handsome guy, see you there!"
"Huh?" Chen Yu paused for a moment.
He was interrupted by Feng Qi, who was standing by the roadside, waving at them. "Stop dawdling, we're going to miss the high-speed rail to the Capital!"
Hearing this, Chen Yu and the others bade farewell to Chu He and Yi Ning, then hopped into Feng Qi's car.
Inside the car.
"Sister Feng Qi, why didn't we just use the teleportation array this time?" Dragon Aotian asked in confusion.
"The teleportation array requires too much preparation and is too obvious to those looking for it. For safety's sake, it's better to take the high-speed rail," Feng Qi explained while driving.
"Do you all have your luggage ready?"
Dragon Aotian let out a chuckle and patted his bulging backpack, which was stuffed full of snacks and instant noodles he had specially prepared. "All set!"
Chen Yu's forehead was covered in black lines. "You didn't pack a single change of clothes, did you?"
"Mother of...! I forgot!" Dragon Aotian slapped his thigh.
But he quickly perked up again excitedly. "I heard the training camp is super grand, filled with powerful Awakened. We'll definitely learn a lot of stuff this time!"
Cyrus squatted on Chen Yu's shoulder, his claws clutching half a piece of unfinished cake.
That was something Dragon Aotian had forcefully stuffed into his paws that morning, muttering, "Don't worry, with the Great Me here, just hide in the pocket dimension. No one can touch us."
Ling Yue held the newly awakened Elsa in her arms. The little girl rubbed her eyes, her small hand tightly gripping the corner of Ling Yue's shirt as she asked softly, "Sister Ling Yue, does the training camp have yummy food?"
Driving the car, the corners of Feng Qi's mouth lifted. I hope he remains this excited after entering the camp.
This time, there were no accidents.
The group successfully boarded the high-speed rail.
The scenery outside the window gradually shifted from Haibin City's blue coastline to rolling green hills.
Chen Yu leaned against the window, his fingertips rubbing together unconsciously.
He recalled Chu He mentioning the "purge of geniuses," and his brows furrowed slightly. He felt there was a larger conspiracy hidden behind this.
And then there was the method the Beast Tamer used to escape... no matter how he looked at it, that was the old woman's Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
"Is the author out of their mind? The villain from the opening arc is still alive now!" Chen Yu muttered a curse under his breath.
Ling Yue sat opposite him, combing Elsa's hair.
Ever since bringing Elsa out, Ling Yue seemed to have acquired a living doll, constantly playing dress-up games with her.
Her long silver-grey hair draped over her knees, and the sunlight spilling through the window onto her face softened her usually cold contours.
So cute, I want to...
!!!
How dare this woman try to destroy my Dao Heart!
"We'll arrive at Capital Station in half an hour." Feng Qi glanced at her phone, then suddenly remembered something. she pulled three black cards from her bag and handed them over.
"This is the Training Camp ID Card. You need this to enter the base. Do not lose it."
Chen Yu took the card. His fingertips brushed the textured surface; it felt like some special metal.
It was printed with "108th Training Camp" and a unique serial number.
The high-speed rail arrived at the station.
Although the Capital was Ling Yue's hometown, the group didn't stop for sightseeing.
Feng Qi rented a seven-seater van and drove straight towards the suburbs. The further they went, the fewer buildings lined the road.
Eventually, nothing remained but endless forests and wire fences.
After driving for about an hour, a dense forest appeared in the distance.
Nestled within the dense forest was a cluster of grey buildings, looking like a fortress rising from the ground—that was the Capital Training Camp.
Chen Yu looked through the car window. The outer walls of the training camp were heavy concrete topped with barbed wire. There was a guard tower every few dozen meters.
The guards in the towers wore black uniforms and held energy rifles, their eyes scanning the surroundings sharply.
The massive iron gate of the base was tightly shut, engraved with the Alliance emblem. On the high platforms flanking the gate, several energy cannons were mounted. The whole scene exuded a grim "keep out" aura.
"This place is way too hardcore!" Dragon Aotian pressed his face against the window, his eyes wide as saucers. "It's scarier than the Armed Forces Department back in my hometown!"
Cyrus also poked his head out, looking around curiously.
Feng Qi stopped the car by the iron gate and reported their identities and numbers into the intercom.
She turned to tell Chen Yu and the others, "Alright, you guys go in. My mission is complete; I have to go back and report."
"See you later at the training camp."
"Okay, goodbye Sister Feng Qi." x3
After Feng Qi drove away, the iron gate slowly opened. The scene inside was even more shocking than the outside.
On the vast training grounds, damaged training equipment was scattered everywhere. Some metal posts were snapped in half, and targets were riddled with holes.
The combat arena in the distance was surrounded by a circle of chain-link fencing, and there were still wet bloodstains on the ground.
Further back were several grey dormitory buildings.
BANG—!!!
Before they could even step fully inside, a loud explosion erupted from within the camp.
Chen Yu and the others looked towards the sound. A large crowd of people, about several dozen, rushed out onto the training field. They were divided into several factions and were fighting furiously.
One person transformed into a giant, like a moving hill, cracking the earth with a single punch.
Another sprouted wings from their back, circling in the air and slashing down blades of wind energy every now and then.
There was also a muscle-bound man with a buzz cut wearing red clothes, shouting things like "Justice" and "Kill them all." Magma spewed from his hands, scorching the ground with a sizzling sound.
"What is this?" Chen Yu was stunned. These people beating each other's brains out... surely they aren't the training camp students?
"Die, all of you!!"
A long-haired youth shouted from above. He leaped from the top of a building, hurling a round bomb violently. "More-More: Hundredfold Amplification!"
In the blink of an eye, the bomb grew massive, directly covering the sky above the entire training camp.
???
More-More Fruit? Bro, what are you doing? It's the first day and you want to wipe the camp off the map?!
Dragon Aotian and Ling Yue couldn't tell for a moment if the Blood Carnation had launched an attack.
"Hahahaha!! You ants! Fly for me!"
An arrogant laugh followed, and a blonde girl with an explosive figure raised her hands towards the void.
Everything around her began to rise rapidly into the air. Even the giant bomb in the sky was pushed slightly higher as veins popped on the girl's forehead from the exertion.
BOOM————
A mushroom cloud rose over the training camp.
The gale whipped up by the explosion left Chen Yu completely disheveled in the wind. "Are the folk customs in this training camp really this... simple and rustic?"
On her way back, Feng Qi suddenly slapped her forehead, a look of regret on her face.
"Crap! I forgot to tell them about that!"
(To be Continued)