Chapter 172

Chapter 172 Chapter 172 There wasn’t much difference between the two routes, but as expected, the one Lan Subing didn’t choose had a team already moving along it. After confirming their choice was fine, the five went downstairs to follow their planned route. As soon as they exited the clock tower, they were stopped by a burly man who could rival Mu Tieren in stature. Behind him stood four others, men and women, all tall and imposing, looking like they could fight. Si Zhaohua, from the Attack Track, clearly recognized them, addressing the leader: "Wilkins, what do you want?" "Hand over the map, and we won’t trouble you," Wilkins said bluntly, wasting no time. He knew they had maps, and having secured few himself, he coveted theirs. With local students, he’d hesitate due to future interactions, but with exchange students, he had no such concerns. If they succeeded, others wouldn’t blame them—they’d likely praise them. Si Zhaohua activated his Ability, a radiant angelic glow illuminating the area, accompanied by the oppressive pressure of a powerful Ability: "And if we don’t?" Wilkins paled briefly but quickly steadied himself: "The five of us might not beat you, but you have more enemies than just us now. Can you handle all of us?" They couldn’t fight so many, but Si Zhaohua was unfazed, his tone arrogant: "Then how many of you can we eliminate before you take us down?" His words silenced the eager crowd. The event had an elimination rule—once eliminated, all gains were confiscated. They’d planned for Wilkins to take the lead, knowing he’d face criticism but could be compensated with resources later. But if Wilkins was eliminated outright, their compensation wouldn’t suffice. With Si Zhaohua’s strength, he could eliminate more than just Wilkins’ team. If they got caught in the crossfire, it’d be a loss. Who’d profit in the end? Wilkins’ team began to regret their move. They’d considered the criticism for leading but forgot that if the exchange students fought to the end, they’d be the first eliminated. Their families had stressed the importance of bringing back valuable items from this resource Different Space. They’d paid heavily to send him to this academy, largely for this event. If he was eliminated for provoking exchange students, the consequences would be severe. With this in mind, Wilkins wavered. His teammate, a girl with a high ponytail, whispered: "Look at the others." Glancing around, he saw the classmates who’d promised to back him avoiding his gaze, their expressions wavering. Wilkins made his decision: "I was instigated. Pretend I said nothing." Ignoring the shocked stares, he led his team away from the trouble spot. With the leader gone, the others exchanged awkward glances. Si Zhaohua swept a powerful gaze over the crowd and left the clock tower with Jiang Tianming and the others. No one dared move until they were gone, after which the crowd erupted, blaming each other. "Wilkins’ team is too shameless, just leaving like that?" "What else could they do? Get eliminated first? You compensating them?" "No one dared step up to stop them. If someone had, we could’ve swarmed them!" "Then why didn’t you step up?" While they wasted time, Su Bei’s group was already en route to the next map location, far from the clock tower at the Different Space’s edge. From the clock tower’s top, they’d seen only a black river in this direction. Yes, this Different Space had rivers, but the water was pure black, eerily unnatural. "No idea why the river’s water is black," Lan Subing said, frowning, noticing the anomaly. Honestly, if she’d known the map led to this suspicious black river, she might not have chosen it. Seeing the river’s color, Su Bei knew this trip was a sure bet. "The water’s color must be tied to Nightmare Beasts. Not sure what kind, but turning an entire river black..." Jiang Tianming paused, analyzing, "It’s at least mid-level or higher." Indeed, altering the natural environment like this required at least a Mid-Level Nightmare Beast. If the river were longer or wider, he’d say High-Level. Ai Baozhu sighed: "I just hope this resource point’s rewards aren’t too bad, or I’ll feel cheated." Walking this far and facing strong Nightmare Beasts for something common like Mental Crystals, which they already had plenty of, would upset her. "Don’t worry, I asked a teacher. Difficulty correlates with reward quality," Jiang Tianming revealed a tidbit they didn’t know. Everyone looked surprised: "Really? Who’d you ask?" Recalling the teacher’s words, Jiang Tianming replied: "I asked Teacher Meng. Before Su Bei revealed that map, I asked how to find resource points in this Different Space. He said the more dangerous the place, the better the resources, because most resources contain Ability energy, which attracts Nightmare Beasts, so those places are crawling with them." That made sense. Jiang Tianming had thought ahead, asking this early. Now, the others could relax. With the black river’s ominous look, this resource point was clearly significant. "If only we’d brought transportation," Ai Baozhu complained, despite knowing the point’s value, dreading the long trek. Even for Ability users, walking from the city center to its edge was exhausting. Though she endured training well, the pampered miss didn’t like unnecessary hardship. "How do you bring transportation into a Different Space? Build a car here?" Lan Subing teased. To their surprise, Ai Baozhu shook her head, looking at her like she was clueless: "Who says you can’t have transportation in a Different Space? If the entrance is big enough, you drive it in like normal." This caught everyone but Si Zhaohua off guard. Lan Subing asked, puzzled: "If that’s true, why don’t we see transportation in Different Spaces?" "Because it’s unnecessary," Si Zhaohua answered. "Cars can’t handle complex terrain here. Plus, they’re easily damaged by Nightmare Beasts. Unless you’re burning money, no one bothers." "What about bicycles?" Lan Subing pressed. Si Zhaohua was about to say he didn’t use bikes and hadn’t studied them, but Su Bei, reading his expression, cut in: "Biking’s slower than our normal running speed. It only saves energy on long treks like this—otherwise, it’s useless." During the academy’s earlier Different Space missions, Su Bei had researched this. He hadn’t initially considered bringing transportation until he saw someone with a [Unicycle] Ability, which sparked the idea. If Ability-generated transportation could enter Different Spaces, could real ones? Research confirmed it was possible but impractical, as the data suggested. Still, in a situation like this, a bike would’ve made the journey easier. Chatting as they walked, they reached the black river. Another team was already there. Seeing the five exchange students, they showed deep wariness, but soon, as if realizing something, their expressions turned smug. Noticing the shift, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, exchanged glances with his teammates, and approached the water. Ai Baozhu gasped: "Hiss! The water’s like that?" The others were equally shocked, Si Zhaohua even stepping back. The water was teeming with tiny black fish. Only up close did they realize the river’s water was normal—transparent and colorless. It looked black from afar or near solely because of these black fish. Seeing their shock, the other team laughed, satisfied. Their short-haired female leader spoke after chuckling: "These are probably Nightmare Beasts. We tested it— they’re harmless if you stay out of the water. Attacking them is easy, but there are too many. We attacked in rounds earlier, and it made no dent." They believed her. The fish filled the entire river, a dense black mass. Unless they had powerful electric, water, or poison Abilities, dealing significant damage to such a vast number was nearly impossible. "What happens if you enter the water?" Jiang Tianming asked, seeing she was willing to share. The short-haired girl answered: "Their attack is simple—just biting. Their teeth are sharp. Once something enters the water, these Nightmare Beasts swarm, each taking a small bite. No other attacks." She conjured a wooden stick, two fingers thick and thirty centimeters long, and dipped it in the water. The fish surged, rippling the surface. After just a second, she pulled it out. The stick was now a short stub, the submerged part entirely gnawed away, with visible bite marks along the edge. Each bite was tiny, less than half a pinky’s width. But with their sheer numbers, these small bites were formidable. "Thanks for the info. You..." Jiang Tianming began politely, about to continue, when another team arrived—Elvis' trio! The cheerful Ian, the only outgoing one in the trio, waved enthusiastically: "Long time no see! Didn’t expect to meet here!" Elvis nodded at Su Bei’s group, ignoring the short-haired girl’s team. Tiffany was even colder, ignoring everyone. Seeing Tiffany, the short-haired girl’s team instinctively tensed, keeping their distance. Vampires were inherently frightening. Despite Tiffany’s doll-like beauty, her pale, lifeless skin and blood-red lips only heightened the vampire image. They weren’t wrong—she could permanently control others. Who wouldn’t fear that? Tiffany ignored their fear, silently observing the riverbed. After brief greetings, the short-haired girl resumed: "I shared that info because, one, you could’ve tested it yourselves, and two, I think we should cooperate. I suspect the resources are underwater. With so many black fish Nightmare Beasts, only by working together can we clear a space. What do you think?" Seeing Elvis' group confused, she repeated her explanation, despite the resources now being split among more people. Without cooperation, they’d likely get nothing. "We need to discuss first," Jiang Tianming said, not agreeing immediately, and led his team aside to weigh the cooperation’s feasibility. "What do you think? Should we agree?" he asked in a corner. "If anyone has another way, we won’t need to share resources." This resource point was exceptional. Keeping it for themselves was best. Cooperating risked uneven splits, so taking the lion’s share from the start was preferable. "Su Bei, you can handle it, right?" Ai Baozhu said, recalling his feat last night. If he could wipe out so many bat Nightmare Beasts, these black fish shouldn’t be an issue. Facing the others’ curious looks, Ai Baozhu explained eagerly: "You don’t know, last night there were tons of bat Nightmare Beasts surrounding us. I could only hold them off with [Gorgeous Domain]. Then Su Bei acted, and suddenly a lightning bolt struck, and all the Nightmare Beasts vanished." "So that thunder last night was you?" Ian said, shocked. Not just him—others who’d stayed up fighting Nightmare Beasts were equally stunned. They knew the situation last night. As Ai Baozhu said, one lightning bolt wiped out all the Nightmare Beasts. They knew the beasts vanished due to light, not the lightning itself, but Su Bei summoning thunder was astonishing. Elvis' eyes gleamed with battle lust, glaring at Su Bei: "Why didn’t you use this Ability before?" But he quickly realized something: "You summoned the thunder to kill those bat Nightmare Beasts. The thunder wasn’t your tool—killing them was." His words sounded convoluted, almost illogical, but Su Bei understood perfectly. Elvis had seen through his Ability. As he said, making the Nightmare Beasts’ destinies end in death was Su Bei’s Ability. The thunder was just a means, unrelated to Su Bei. He couldn’t summon lightning—only ensure his enemies’ demise. Jiang Tianming pondered briefly, deciding to focus on the present: "So, Su Bei, can you eliminate these Nightmare Beasts?" Su Bei could, as easily as he did the bats. Both shared similar traits—numerous but with nearly identical Destiny Compasses. Changing all their destinies was simple: adjust one fish’s pointer, and most others would follow. With so many fish, Su Bei couldn’t single out the outliers to adjust, but that didn’t matter. If the majority died, the rest could be handled easily. If this were before yesterday, Su Bei would’ve agreed without hesitation. But yesterday’s lesson taught him he couldn’t use this group attack recklessly. Killing so many fish in this river would bring an unknown but surely severe backlash. He couldn’t say this outright, as he wouldn’t expose his Ability’s flaws publicly. Until the manga explicitly revealed his weaknesses, he could potentially alter them via forum readers. This wasn’t the right time, but next time, he might. Regardless, he wouldn’t agree to Jiang Tianming’s request. Using his Ability now, even if the backlash was bearable—like last time’s exhaustion—would leave him visibly weakened, pale and frail. Such obvious weakness, clear to manga characters, would be noticeable to readers. Finding an excuse to change his flaws later would be harder. He needed a reason... or did he? Realizing this, Su Bei shrugged: "I can, but I don’t want to. Fish are so cute—how could I kill them?" Everyone: "..." Jiang Tianming’s face twisted, wanting to say something but ultimately waving it off: "Fine, whatever makes you happy." After so long together, he knew Su Bei’s personality. If he didn’t want to help, he wouldn’t. As for why, his earlier act suggested he wouldn’t explain honestly, so asking was pointless and might just annoy him. Knowing Su Bei could see destinies, the group often attributed a mysterious, reasonable veil to his actions. If he didn’t act, it might cause issues, or destiny forbade it. Plus, he rarely explained properly, so they stopped bothering. If Su Bei helped, they were lucky. If not, it was reasonable. But others didn’t know him. A boy with yellowish-brown spiky hair from the short-haired girl’s team, irked by Su Bei being praised by the pink-haired beauty yet doing nothing, scoffed: "Saying you don’t want to? You just can’t. Stop pretending, okay?" In a way, he was right—Su Bei was partly pretending. But while he could act this way, he wouldn’t tolerate others calling him out. He had the strength—why take such mockery? Dealing with fodder didn’t require mercy, especially someone far weaker. Su Bei flicked a Gear, stopping it at the spiky-haired boy’s neck, its tip grazing his skin. The boy froze, terrified. The Gear moved slightly, drawing a thin, bleeding cut. Su Bei dismissed the Gear casually: "You’re eliminated." Everyone was stunned by the sudden move. The short-haired girl’s team quickly formed a defensive formation, eyeing Su Bei warily. The spiky-haired boy, red-faced, stammered: "How could you..." "Shh," Su Bei raised a finger to his lips, his purple eyes teasing. "Dead people don’t talk." The teacher’s rules were clear: a hit to a vital spot meant death, requiring an immediate exit via the watch. The boy wanted to argue, but his teammates could only dissuade him. Staying would void their team’s gains. Reluctantly, to avoid ruining his team’s efforts, the spiky-haired boy left the Different Space. With him gone, the short-haired girl’s team couldn’t stay. Though they knew the boy’s mouth got him in trouble, he was their teammate. Logically and emotionally, they couldn’t remain unless they dared challenge Su Bei’s group. Staying would yield nothing. Su Bei’s actions were well-accepted by his team. Though decisive, he hadn’t truly harmed anyone. The instigator deserved punishment. After they left, Ai Baozhu suddenly lit up: "Wait, I think I can do it!" She’d been focused on Su Bei’s feat, overlooking herself. Now, she realized her Ability, while unable to kill all the Nightmare Beasts, could clear a space to observe the river.