"Damn, this thing is ugly as hell."
Qian Duoduo couldn't help but remark, looking at the 3D image of a Green-skin that had popped up on the light screen.
It was an upright-walking humanoid creature with filthy green skin. It had a burly, muscular build, a massive head with a protruding lower jaw, and a mouth full of fangs. Its eyes brimmed with a primitive, chaotic brutality.
"Green-skins are a fungal life-form."
"Like the Human Race, they are one of the Cosmic Peak Races."
Shi Potian explained in a low voice, "They have no fixed social structure, instead using a unique Spiritual Field known as the 'WAAAGH!' to coalesce into temporary tribes or warbands. Their technology is incredibly crude and brutal. It relies on their Racial Talent, the 'Power of I Reckon,' to hammer piles of scrap metal into weapons that can fire and explode."
"'The Power of I Reckon?'"
Qian Duoduo was completely baffled. "What the hell is that?"
"It's a psychic, illogical Spiritual Energy phenomenon."
Qin Feng chimed in while looking at the files, "Simply put, if enough Green-skins 'reckon' deep down that a hunk of metal can shoot, then it really can shoot. Even if it doesn't have a trigger."
"That's insane!"
Qian Duoduo's eyes went wide. "High-level Martial Artists also cultivate Mental Power and use Spiritual Energy, but there's no way they can just 'reckon' things into existence like that…"
"That's why they're considered a first-class menace in the Cosmos."
Shi Potian continued, "Their method of reproduction is by spreading spores. When a Green-skin dies, its corpse decomposes in a short period of time, releasing hundreds of millions of spores. If the environment is suitable, these spores will quickly take root and grow into new Green-skins. This means they are nearly impossible to wipe out."
"So, you're saying that for this mission, we don't just have to kill them all, we also have to deal with their corpses?"
Qian Duoduo asked.
"The mission briefing doesn't say anything about that, so we probably won't have to."
Qin Feng pointed to another data file. "Look here. An individual Green-skin's strength is directly proportional to its size and the darkness of its skin color. The bigger they are and the greener their skin, the stronger they are. The ones we're up against this time should all be of the lowest rank: the 'Green-skinned kid' level. They have low intelligence, are fearless in battle, and prefer to use crude choppers and axes for close-quarters combat."
"To summarize."
Shi Potian turned off the light screen. "Our enemies this time are a pack of Beasts. They aren't smart, but they're very strong and unafraid of death. Their weapons are trash, and they have virtually no tactics. They just swarm you and fight to the death."
"Sounds like they won't be too hard to deal with."
Qian Duoduo breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't get careless."
Shi Potian glanced at him, his tone serious. "The files say that when Green-skins get excited in a fight, they secrete a special hormone that numbs their pain and gives them a slight boost to their strength and speed. It'll be a huge problem if you get surrounded."
"That's right."
Qin Feng nodded. "Our advantage is that we're organized, we have tactics, and our equipment is better. We absolutely cannot let this devolve into a chaotic brawl. We need to leverage our dorm-based squad coordination and take a steady, methodical approach."
The three of them quickly exchanged information and formulated a preliminary strategy.
「An hour passed quickly.」
Wu Shangfeng's figure reappeared at the podium.
"Time's up."
"Attention, everyone."
"Connect to the Subspace Transmission Network. Target: Gamma-7. Move out!"
Wu Shangfeng's voice echoed through the silent Martial Arts Room, like a general giving the order for an all-out assault.
He raised his left wrist. On it was a dark-gold, wrist-mounted terminal, its design far more archaic and substantial than the students'.
He reached out with his right hand and tapped the terminal's screen.
HUMMM—
A wave of Spiritual Energy—far more powerful and vast than what the students had produced when activating their passes—erupted from Wu Shangfeng.
The floor of the Martial Arts Room—its usually unremarkable metal panels—seemed to come to life.
Invisible Energy Circuits etched within the panels activated in an instant, flaring with a dazzling silver light.
Like surging rivers, the light flowed from every corner of the room, converging at the center.
Within seconds, a massive, circular Teleportation Array over twenty meters in diameter, composed of countless complex and arcane runes, slowly materialized in the center of the room.
At the center of the Array, space began to visibly distort, rippling like the surface of a calm lake after a stone has been tossed in.
A profound and vast aura—one from a distant dimension, beyond mortal comprehension—seeped out from the heart of the distortion.
At the same time, the Subspace Network terminal on every student in First-Year Class Three emitted a crisp notification chime.
Qin Feng looked down. An invitation initiated by Wu Shangfeng had popped up on his light screen.
[Your administrator [Wu-003] has invited you to join the team teleportation sequence.]
[Destination: Planet Gamma-7 (Empire Border Exploration Zone)]
[Teleportation Method: Subspace Network Directed Deployment]
[Accept?]
"Everyone, accept the invitation."
Wu Shangfeng's voice rang out again, clear in every student's ears.
Without a moment's hesitation, the students tapped the "Accept" option on their terminals.
The moment Qin Feng tapped 'Accept,' he felt an invisible, subtle connection form between the terminal on his wrist and the massive Teleportation Array in the center of the room.