A Tragic Night, One After Another

Time will be slightly delayed

That afternoon, when school was dismissed,

The school bell rang out in the twilight, and the fiery clouds in the sky were extremely bright, so bright that they were not orange-red, but dark purple like bruises. Under the reflection of the setting sun, it seemed as if the sky was slowly bleeding.

Occasionally, black-feathered birds would flit across the sky, coming and going in a hurry, even...

There's a hint of tragic panic as they flee for their lives.

The thought popped into Zhou Yibai's mind as he stood at the school gate, but he immediately shook his head.

"I'm not Du Fu, so why am I getting into the literary idea of ​​personifying things, like flowers and birds?"

"Flowers shed tears at the passing of time, birds startle at the sorrow of parting; such sentiments are not suitable for me."

"Even if it's a temporary mistake, I won't hold it against you. The only thing I truly care about is getting into a martial arts university and joining the Nine Schools Alliance!"

He clenched his fist tightly, intending to turn this failure into motivation and strive to break into the top 100 in the grade in the next monthly card!

"Yi Bai, stop standing there and get in the car."

Zhou Xinmin, who was driving over, waved to his nephew to get in the car quickly.

Zhou Yibai hurriedly ran to open the car door and got in, while Zhou Shenghao was already sitting in the passenger seat, looking somewhat gloomy.

This made Zhou Yibai look down on his cousin even more.

With this kind of mentality, I feel I'm not even as good as I am now, having always lived under the high expectations and demands of my parents.

If it weren't for the previous shortage of martial arts resources, I would have surpassed my opponent long ago and become the rising star of the family.

"The martial arts instructor who will be providing on-location guidance at our city's high school will be arriving at Bocheng East High-Speed ​​Railway Station soon."

"Come with me and get acquainted with your instructor first."

After the crushing defeat in the afternoon's practical battle, Zhou Yibai, finding the whole thing rather boring, initially wanted to refuse.

However, the photos projected inside Zhou Xinmin's car surprised him, and not only him, but also Zhou Shenghao.

The tall, mature woman in the photo, with her dark purple high ponytail and a long sword at her waist, bore a striking resemblance to Su Nianyi from noon.

"I asked around through my friends, and the one who was assigned to your school is from the Qingquan Chunhui Hall of the 'Two Heavens of the Imperial Capital,' and he cultivates lightning-based sword techniques. He is one of the top talents among his peers."

"Yi Bai, now that you've joined the elite class, you must seize this opportunity to learn more about the Thunderous Prison Vine Technique and swordsmanship from them."

Zhou Xinmin's words came through.

Upon hearing the name "Qingquan Chunhui Palace," Zhou Yibai immediately abandoned his initial refusal and admitted that it was indeed very appealing.

At the same time, the typical high school boy's mindset at this time led him to fantasize about how he could show talent in the "Thunderous Prison Vine Technique" and swordsmanship, and be noticed by this older, mature female teacher, and so on.

Only Zhou Shenghao stared at the projected photo, his expression growing increasingly grim, even showing signs of resistance.

However, having also been strictly educated by his father since childhood, he dared not show it and remained silent.

The three of them arrived at Bocheng East High-speed Railway Station in silence.

......................

Half an hour later

First, I experienced a level-two emergency alert and was pulled along by my uncle to escape for my life.

Only then did he run back to the edge of the city.

Then came the attack of several warrior-level tombstones and flesh mountains caused by the explosion, as well as the chaos in the area, and she got separated from her uncle.

Feeling utterly unlucky, Zhou Yibai finally arrived at a safe area near the city with his cousin.

Following the city map on their phones, the two navigated through alleyways, and were just about to reach the bustling main street ahead.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Slurp..."

Under a light near the garbage cans and sewers in this dimly lit alley.

A middle-aged man with a protruding belly, shirt unbuttoned, was feasting on the corpse of a Bloodthirsty Predator.

The cracking sound of teeth crushing joints and the sucking of marrow and blood made Zhou Shenghao and Zhou Yibai instinctively cast curious glances as they passed by.

This made the middle-aged man who was eating instantly sense something, and he suddenly stood up and turned to stare at the two students in front of him.

At the same time, the blood-red maw with interlocking canine teeth that appeared on his palms and the blood-red giant Kun pattern on his stomach skin were clearly exposed to the two of them.

"Actually, our Blood God Cult is also keeping up with the times. We don't eat people anymore, and now they investigate murder cases very thoroughly. We just survive by scavenging corpses..."

The man, who looked like a middle-aged unemployed man, spoke in a helpless and dejected tone.

Without realizing it, he had already walked a distance away from the two of them.

However, the moment Zhou Yibai and Zhou Shenghao saw each other, they both stepped back, trying to protect their beloved cousins ​​in front of them.

In this way, the distance between the two sides was not shortened at all.

This prompted the middle-aged man, who had finally realized the situation, to ask, clinging to a sliver of hope:

"Do you believe what I just said?"

At this, the two men, who had retreated to a fork in the alley, shouted almost simultaneously:

"Split up and run!"

In an instant, the two brothers each ran wildly in one direction.

The middle-aged man finally sighed helplessly, and after a moment's hesitation, his gaze fell on the figure wearing a black nano-uniform.

"Students in the elite class of No. 7 Middle School, what promising talents! If my son had been this successful, I wouldn't be in this situation..."

The sound was eventually drowned out by the high-speed rushing of air.

However, none of the three people chasing and fleeing noticed it.

After they left, a red, earthworm-sized leech crawled out from the corner and burrowed into the corpse of the Blood Predator, which was now only the size of a cat.

The next moment, the corpse suddenly trembled, slowly sliding on the sticky, bloody ground, and finally tumbled into the sewer with a splash.

......................

That night

While Li Xijun was practicing in the classroom office.

Zhou Yibai hurriedly ran to his uncle's house where he was currently staying.

When he opened the door and saw that the whole house was pitch black, he almost burst into tears.

Fortunately, the familiar environment allowed him to relax a little. His frantic escape had left him thirsty and hungry, so he quickly took out an energy drink from the incubator and drank it down.

It was at this moment that he realized the bathroom light was on!

He saw a tall, thin figure showering inside, and quickly ran over, opened the bathroom door, and called out, "Cousin, why didn't you open it when you got back..."

"Bang!"

The moment Zhou Yibai opened the bathroom door and saw the other person's body, he was punched on the head and passed out.

In the blurry vision, I seemed to see something red flash by.

..................

Late night

When Li Xijun happily enjoyed a 300-yuan nutritious meal in the cafeteria, had a massage in the accompanying physiotherapy room, and fell asleep comfortably.

Zhou Yibai suddenly woke up, and before he could even shout, he was covered in sweat.

But they found that the luxurious villa they were staying in was brightly lit.

My cousin Zhou Shenghao and my uncle were having tea with a man dressed in a uniform from the Bureau of Epidemic Prevention and Control. He seemed to be an acquaintance of my uncle's.

Upon seeing him wake up, Zhou Xinmin spoke kindly:

"Yi Bai, I've already told the person from the Prevention and Control Bureau about your encounter with the cult. You can also add some details."

"By the way, your cousin overreacted a bit when he went through that life-or-death crisis. When you pushed the door open, he overreacted and knocked you unconscious. Don't mind him."

"Let's order some calming tea first to refresh ourselves."