Chapter 85: Charge! Charge My Ass!
Outside the hilltop villa.
The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and the smell of coriander-flavored instant noodles still lingered in the air.
Long Aotian pinched his nose, endlessly complaining. "Shen Lie, who exactly did you learn your taste from?"
"It's bad enough that it's coriander flavor, but you actually added two scoops of chili oil? Won't that set your throat on fire?"
Shen Lie held his noodle bowl, the tips of his ears turning red, yet he defended himself earnestly: "Coriander enhances the freshness, and chili oil adds fragrance..."
"Yaaaawn..." Zhuge Jing let out a long yawn. "Bedtime, bedtime. We have to get up early tomorrow."
"Does training really start tomorrow?" Long Aotian asked curiously. "Are there many beautiful girls in our camp?"
Zhuge Jing thought for a moment. "I'm not sure about your Combat Department."
"The Academic Department seems to have some, but I didn't pay much attention."
"You call yourself a man..."
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion blasted out. The villa's glass windows vibrated with a violent buzz.
The smell of gunpowder instantly permeated the air.
Zero abruptly sprang up from Chen Yu's shoulder, his furry tail stiffening straight as a rod.
Chen Yu's hand, still holding his chopsticks, froze. His Observation Haki spread out instantly.
"What's happening?"
"Why was there an explosion?" Zhuge Jing subconsciously reached for the coin in his pocket.
His fingertips barely grazed the metal before the coin slipped out, rolling across the tabletop and coming to a stop at Chen Yu's feet.
This abnormal 'luck' made his face darken immediately. "Something's wrong. That explosion seems to have come from the direction of the training grounds."
High above the quiet late-night training camp, a sharp, piercing sound tore through the air, like a bird of prey ripping through the clouds.
A grey-blue figure spread massive wings, feathers gleaming with a metallic luster under the moonlight. held firmly in its sharp beak was an alloy longsword.
Surrounded by turbulent air currents, it was clearly the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Gyrfalcon. Every flap of its wings whipped up a gale as the blade slashed fiercely toward a figure in black.
The black-robed figure wore a hooded cloak that obscured most of their face, revealing only a sharp jawline. In their hand, they held a longsword that glinted with a cold light.
Facing the attack, they didn't dodge. Instead, the corners of their mouth curled into a playful smile. They raised a hand and slashed at the empty air. "Slow-Slow Beam: Fivefold Slow!"
An invisible wave rippled out. The blade light slashed by the falcon instantly decelerated, as if someone had pressed the slow-motion button. The originally ferocious attack became completely non-threatening.
The black-robed figure tapped their toes against the void, dodging nimbly, and swung their sword backhanded, releasing a flying slash.
"Is that bird Instructor Huo? Why is he fighting someone?" Shen Lie's eyes went wide.
"Who is that in the black robe? They can walk on air? Are they a Master (Tier 7)?!"
At this moment, Ling Yue appeared holding Aisha. Her other hand was already gathering pale blue frost energy as she looked warily at the sky. "Is it an enemy attack?"
As soon as her voice fell, they heard the piercing sound of sirens from the distance. Red warning lights began to flash on the exterior walls of the villa.
A cold, mechanical voice played on a loop: "Emergency Alert! The base is under an unidentified attack. All students must immediately evacuate to the rear mountain forest!"
"Repeat, evacuate immediately!"
Inside Dorm Building 3.
Several students who had just finished showering were gathered around a table playing cards. Hearing the alarm, they assumed it was a routine drill. Someone with a cigarette in his mouth laughed and cursed, "What the hell is this?"
"Pulling the 'hazing new recruits' routine? It's the middle of the night, let people sleep."
"Exactly. I just hung up my laundry. If we actually evacuate, I'll freeze to death."
A student in a tank top rubbed his eyes, leisurely looking for his jacket while scrolling through his phone with one hand, completely dismissing the alarm.
In the dorm next door, He Yan was sitting in meditation. Hearing the noise outside, he frowned deeply. "Red Alert? The frequency of the siren... that's the highest level."
"How do you know?" Gong Wei, a long-haired boy, asked.
"Did you not read the training camp handbook?"
"Who reads that crap?"
Gong Wei climbed out of bed, intending to go out and check. Suddenly, a loud CLANG came from the dormitory hallway.
A blood-soaked instructor stumbled along the wall. His left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and a wound on his chest was gushing blood, staining most of his uniform red.
"Why are you still standing there!" The instructor's voice was hoarse, accompanied by rapid gasping. He coughed with every word, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "Run to the back mountain! Hurry! If you wait, it'll be too late!"
Seeing the instructor's horrific state, the students finally panicked. Someone's face went pale. "In-Instructor, you're not pranking us, right? It's not a drill?"
"Look at the situation, why would I lie to you!" The instructor was sweating profusely from anxiety. He reached out to push the nearest student. "Quick..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
A black shadow suddenly darted in from the window at the end of the corridor, moving so fast it left only an afterimage.
Before the students could react, a longsword flashed with a cold glint.
Swish.
Blood splattered across the white walls. The instructor's head rolled onto the floor, his eyes still wide open and filled with anxiety.
Hot blood sprayed onto the face of one of the students. Panic instantly drowned the entire dormitory building like a tidal wave.
"Mur... Murder!!" Someone screamed, their voice cracking with tears.
The group of students couldn't hold back anymore, screaming as they bolted out of the dorms.
Some ran so hard they lost their shoes; others knocked over lockers in the hallway, scattering books and clothes everywhere.
He Yan gritted his teeth and dashed out of his dorm, running straight into Su Qingqing, Gong Wei, and Jin Ling'er in the hallway.
The four exchanged glances, seeing the spark in each other's eyes.
Avoid his sharp edge?
He Yan clenched his fist. "Team up!"
Behind Su Qingqing, nine fox tails stiffened as deep purple fox fire ignited. "Agreed. Mythical Zoan types haven't feared anyone yet!"
Gong Wei amplified his body size tenfold, transforming into a small giant.
Jin Ling'er manipulated the metal railings in the corridor. The four of them charged toward the black-robed figure simultaneously.
"Hmph, commendable courage." The black-robed man sneered. "But utterly stupid."
His figure flashed and vanished. When he reappeared, he was already at the other end of the corridor.
Zheng!!
A soft sword hum resonated. A beam of sword light slashed across the outer wall of the dormitory.
Crack, crack, crack—
Cracks spread across the structure, debris flying.
The dormitory building had been sliced in half with a single cut.
Chu He looked at the four fading afterimages behind him, the corner of his mouth curling up. "Well, not completely stupid."
At that moment, downstairs outside the dorms.
Su Qingqing cursed furiously, abandoning all image. "Is there something wrong with your brains?!"
"Couldn't you sense what realm the opponent was in? And you still wanted to rush him blindly?!"
Earlier, the moment Su Qingqing lit her fox fire, she had generated an illusion and immediately dragged the other three to run.
Jin Ling'er had wanted to argue, but the next second, she saw the collapsing dormitory building.
The three of them chose to shut up obediently. Jin Ling'er immediately activated her Float-Float Fruit, lifting the four of them on slabs of stone to fly away.
However, they hadn't flown far when another black-robed figure suddenly leaped out from the side.
"Charge!" He Yan raised both hands, magma surging forth.
The black-robed figure didn't dodge or evade. instead, dozens of pitch-black gun muzzles extended from his body.
As a hardcore firearms fanatic, Gong Wei recognized the models of these weapons at a glance. "Holy shit?!"
"What is it?" The others, already startled like birds hearing a bowstring, asked in unison.
Gong Wei opened his mouth. All the technical parameters of those guns converged into two words in his mind:
"Charge my ass! RUN, DAMMIT!"
"Road closed," the black-robed man mocked with a smile. "Bang."
As his voice fell.
Gunshots rang out, and another mushroom cloud rose from the empty ground outside the dorms.
...
(To be Continued)