Xia Yu heard the cries for help coming from three different directions.
Not only could he locate the rescuers, but he also knew that including himself, five people had entered the testing ground.
There was no sign of Mo Yidong or Zhang Wenshan’s voices, but he did run into Mu Yiqiu, who was still frantically searching everywhere for trapped people.
The rescue time limit was five hours.
Judging by Mu Yiqiu’s search speed, it was unlikely he would find anyone in that time.
Mu Yiqiu anxiously scoured the building for trapped people, but heard no cries for help and sensed no uneasy aura.
The fire scene was especially hot; staying too long felt like being roasted like a rabbit.
He wondered if Brother Yu and Mo Yidong had been assigned to the same testing ground.
If only they had been together—it would have been a quick victory at least.
Though Brother Yu usually liked to lie down and nap, his learning ability was actually quite good.
Every time they rotated to a different training site, he could quickly figure out and solve the problems there.
“No, I’m really about to die of heat. Water… I need water…”
Mu Yiqiu decided to stop looking for people for now.
He feared that if he kept searching, he would die of thirst and heat before finding anyone.
He’d heard before that someone had died in the training ground, but the cause was never specified.
So everyone was guessing—it might have been drowning, burning, or maybe being beaten to death by a Labor Reform Prisoner from the detention center.
Only the elite class had a chance to encounter inmates serving sentences there.
Just imagining that scene was terrifying.
Mu Yiqiu finally found an Automatic Vending Machine, only to discover it was completely empty.
Even the convenience store had nothing left but trash bags from finished snacks—no bottled water at all.
“I can’t take it anymore… someone… save me, just a sip of water…”
Though he was supposed to be rescuing others, Mu Yiqiu was about to become the one needing rescue.
The training ground had been used so many times.
Obviously, the people who came last—or the time before last—had cleared everything out and no one had restocked.
It was infuriating.
Mu Yiqiu plopped down onto the ground, utterly exhausted.
His fluffy fur was caked with dust, his face dirty and helpless as he sat waiting for the long five hours to pass before automatic teleportation kicked in.
Anyway, this live exercise didn’t count toward their grades.
The worst that could happen was getting scolded by Teacher Qiu.
He was used to it by now—he had learned that from Xia Yu.
Just as he muttered to himself, a dark shadow suddenly appeared before him, followed by a bottle of mineral water seemingly materializing out of nowhere—like a blessing from the Mountain God.
Mu Yiqiu nearly cried from relief.
“This is just… too much…”
He tiredly raised his hands, then looked up to see a flash of silver hair glowing faintly in the fire scene like an angel descending, giving Mu Yiqiu a new lease on life.
“Brother Yu~”
Mu Yiqiu quickly clung to Xia Yu’s thigh, crying out loudly,
“You’re my rebirth parent! Even if I’m not a rabbit in the next life, I’ll repay you!”
“Come on, look at you—you’re filthy, like a lump of coal.”
Xia Yu gave a disdainful look at the pile on the ground and tried to pull his leg back, but Mu Yiqiu held on tight and wouldn’t let go.
“Where did you find the water?”
“Just happened to see some left along the way. The fire’s too hot; I had to prepare.”
Xia Yu had originally planned to rescue just one person and get out, but hearing Mu Yiqiu’s miserable cries from afar, he had no choice but to check on him first.
“Rest up and then let’s go. The rules don’t say how many you have to rescue, nor if you can team up. There’s someone nearby who needs help—let’s get them out first.”
“Okay, okay.”
Soon, Mu Yiqiu and Xia Yu helped an injured person and approached a rest area, when a black-haired boy wearing a black-and-white baseball shirt blocked their path.
“I’ve been waiting for you here a long time, Xia Yu.”
Xia Yu stopped and looked at the unfamiliar classmate before him, noticing the boy’s smug, annoyingly cocky expression.
He immediately handed the injured to Mu Yiqiu.
“You take the injured and go ahead.”
“Okay.”
Remembering what had been mentioned before entering the training ground, Mu Yiqiu nervously glanced at Xia Yu, who nodded and quickly dragged the injured away.
“Who are you?”
Xia Yu’s memory was terrible, especially for names and faces.
“If you ask me again who I am, I’ll carve my name onto your face!”
Xia Yu frowned and carefully sized up the plain-looking black-haired boy.
“Don’t act like my dad. We’re not close. Do I even know you?”
Suddenly, a ball of fire burst from the boy’s palm, and faint red scales appeared on his arm.
The black-haired boy charged at Xia Yu with the fiery ball clenched in his fist, swinging hard at Xia Yu’s position.
Xia Yu stared at the gouge left in the ground, brow furrowed.
This boy’s ability was clearly beyond the level of a regular class student.
Looking closer, Xia Yu saw the flame in the boy’s hand was a different color from the surrounding fire, and the scales on his arm protected his hand from being burned.
That flame must have an exceptionally high density.
“Are you here to rescue people or to kill?”
Xia Yu brushed the dust off his pants, expression serious.
“Who exactly are you?”
“I’m no one, just here to have some fun with you~”
Getting no answer, the flames in the black-haired boy’s palm spun faster and formed a blazing fireball, repeatedly launched toward Xia Yu.
Xia Yu dodged the incoming fireballs, closed in on the boy, and aimed a punch at his jaw—but was stopped by the hard scales.
From the gaps between the scales, a fiery core shot out, attempting to burn Xia Yu’s fist.
Seeing this, Xia Yu immediately withdrew his hand and took several steps back.
If he hadn’t dodged in time, his skin might have been burned to a crisp.
“That one’s your friend, right? Want to join the fun?”
The black-haired boy grinned, finding Xia Yu’s evasiveness boring, then aimed a fireball at Mu Yiqiu’s direction.
Xia Yu’s eyes widened and he instinctively dashed forward.
“Mu Yiqiu, watch out!”
Just as Xia Yu said this, something under his feet flashed a dazzling blue light.
Along with the light came crackling sounds, like he had been shocked multiple times.
Xia Yu suddenly vanished from the spot, leaving only his clothes and hairband scattered on the ground.
The black-haired boy stared fixedly at the bulge in the pile of clothes, as if an active creature was inside.
After a moment, the pile moved and a silver-and-white cat crawled out.
Perfect, he’d fallen into the trap.
The black-haired boy’s mouth curved into a sinister smile, full of excitement and malice, as he walked happily toward the cat in the clothes pile.
“Brother Yu—!”
Seeing the fireball coming, Mu Yiqiu immediately went on full alert and used his ability to quickly drag the injured person farther away.
The direction Xia Yu had run toward seemed like a trap the black-haired boy had set in advance.
Seeing Xia Yu disappear on the spot, leaving only clothes and a restrainer behind, Mu Yiqiu was extremely anxious.
He couldn’t get close to the unknown black-haired youth, even if he tried, he’d just become a roasted rabbit himself.
Mu Yiqiu’s heart pounded with worry.
He had just prayed to the Mountain God before entering.
Now, he only wished the Mountain God would grant him one thing.
Mountain God, please show your divine power and save my Brother Yu—!