Fierce Beasts, Fear, Annihilation, One Ton!

"Holy shit! What was that sound?!" When that shrill cry shook the heavens, a wave of startled shouts rose in the classroom. Li Guanglin shot to his feet in a flash, excited and curious. "Let's go look!" Huang Tian nodded, stood, and walked out of the classroom. It was break time, but because of the school rule "try not to stay in the corridors during breaks," most people remained in their classrooms. Now, at the sudden strange sound, quite a few students surged out in curiosity, and in a moment the corridor was packed. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! That's a huge bird!" Staring up at the eagle-like bird high overhead, its wingspan seven or eight meters, many students cried out. "It's like a small plane flying up there!" "Does Shangyuan City even have birds this big? How come I've never seen one?" "It won't suddenly fly down and bite us, will it?" "It shouldn't, right? I've never heard of news about birds eating people, unless they're eating corpses. They shouldn't dare provoke humans." "Ah, how great it would be if we could sit on a bird's back and fly!" "Do any of you feel a little warm? Hiss—I feel kind of hot. I'm not running a fever, am I?" "Huh, now that you say it, I feel a bit hot too—" While the students talked all at once, Huang Tian drew his gaze back from the giant bird as it swept off into the distance and silently sensed this world. The rules of this world, its laws—or rather, its Dao—were similar to those of the Sea of Chaos before, but not the same. That was no surprise. This realm was the one and only True Realm, while the Illusory Realm he had been in before was like a projection of the True Realm, no more than a shadow. That they should resemble each other was inevitable; that they should be wholly the same was impossible. Still, it was no great problem. For me, so long as I spend some time deducing and carry out a cultivation adjustment, I can walk this world's Dao fairly smoothly. He pondered. And then there was the planet he was on now, the one named New Star. I can feel an unknown energy within this planet gradually growing denser. For now, I'll call this energy spiritual energy. At the same time, the sky was also showering down countless drops of water that promoted evolution— He raised his head, brows faintly knit. By a will and spirit far beyond ordinary people, he could dimly "see" the "points of light" scattering through the void. They were exactly the Star-Purifying Dew that Fan Ya had poured out. This stuff had an evolutionary effect on the human body, which was why the students around him felt somewhat warm. But it did not only work on the human body; it benefited animals and plants as well. In particular, judging by that giant bird just now, this spiritual water helped animals most clearly, humans next, and plants least— In other words, animals evolved faster, and humans more slowly. But there was a cost. The faster the evolution in a short time, the greater the pain. That was why animals would turn violent, while humans, though slower, would show no overly obvious reaction in their bodies, as if they were merely going through an ordinary cold. This—seemed as if someone were manipulating and directing things from behind the scenes? If it were only a "spiritual-energy revival," he would not have been inclined to suspect anything. But spiritual water inexplicably scattering from the sky was truly rather abnormal. Although this spiritual water was very pure and had no real side effects, it was as if someone were deliberately "force-ripening" the living beings on this planet? Scheme or not, seizing the chance to cultivate and raise his strength came first. Once his strength was there, dust could be swept away at leisure. He slowly fell back to the rear of the crowd, to a spot against the wall in the corridor, and tried using spiritual force to draw the "spiritual water" scattering from the sky. At once, the Star-Purifying Dew drifting down in flurries was pulled helplessly toward him and poured into his body. The next second, violent pain struck! Huang Tian could clearly feel it. Beneath his skin, it was as if something were burning. Every inch of flesh and blood was scalding hot, and all his sinews and bones gave off low cracking sounds. Ordinary people could only absorb this spiritual water passively. Their transformation was slow, but safe. I am drawing it in on purpose, so the transformation is undoubtedly faster—only a bit more painful— Though in pain, his expression did not change. Only a faint redness tinged his skin. Outsiders could not tell anything was wrong; they would only think his complexion looked much better. The whole process went on for nearly three minutes. Only when the Star-Purifying Dew showering from the sky had vanished completely did Huang Tian stop. He clenched his fist slightly, and a surging power answered. The effect of this spiritual water was not bad. I've stepped into the early first rank—throw a punch, and there will be a ton of force. Basic self-protection should be no problem. Quite satisfied, he was just about to try absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, which was gradually growing denser, when a potbellied middle-aged man walked out of the stairwell in the corridor. It was Luo Xiong, director of academic affairs at Shangyuan City Experimental High School. His brows drew together, and he waved a hand. "Students, don't linger in the corridor. There are too many people; it isn't safe. If a stampede happens, that would be bad. Go back to your classrooms first. The class bell is about to ring—everyone back, everyone back." At his word, students from several classes along the corridor had no choice but to head for their classrooms. Suddenly— "Ah!" A girl's scream rang out. Everyone couldn't help looking, and saw a black cat with filthy fur, its hair standing on end all over. One paw swept out and scored several bloody scratches across the neck of a round-faced girl. The girl clutched her neck in terror and fell into a sitting position on the ground. Hearing the scream, the black cat grew even more frenzied. Its eyes were blood-red. It leaped nimbly through the crowd and along the corridor's outer wall, now and then sweeping down a paw and leaving deep bloody scratches on students' faces, necks, and arms. For a moment, screams came one after another, and blood flew. "Students, don't panic! Don't panic! Everyone scatter and run into the classrooms!" Luo Xiong roared. At the same time he snatched a stool from the classroom beside him, charged out, and cursed at the black cat. "You damned cat! Bullying children—what kind of skill is that? Come over here if you've got the guts!" At the sound of his voice, the black cat actually halted all at once. It stood on the corridor's outer wall, staring at Luo Xiong with blood-red eyes, and let out a strange low growl. Its body swelled a size. Savage muscle bulged and knotted until it looked like a small cheetah. Then, with a boom, it lunged at Luo Xiong! "Holy shit!!" Even Luo Xiong was stunned by the sight. He instinctively blocked with the stool. "Bang!" A single paw clawed the stool to pieces. It fell apart, and the legs flew. Luo Xiong's face went pale with shock. Facing the black cat as it lunged with another paw, his body went rigid, and a thought inexplicably rose in his mind. Who bought these desks and stools? The quality is this awful. The purchaser is a goddamn beast! Yet the fierce attack he imagined never came. Coming back to himself from his daze, he saw the black cat, still mid-leap, struck squarely on the head by a student swinging a stool! With nowhere to brace in midair, the cat was immediately knocked tumbling to the ground. It roared, about to rise and pounce back, but the student quickly stepped forward, raised the stool, and smashed down hard! Once, twice, three times—more than a dozen blows in a row beat the black cat into a bloody pulp. Brain matter mixed with blood, and the stench was foul and thick in the extreme. "Hiss—" Luo Xiong drew a light breath. The students around him did the same, and some shouted, "Holy shit!" "Badass!" "Student, are you all right?" Coming to his senses, Luo Xiong hurried forward. Huang Tian threw the stool aside, took a small packet of paper from his shirt pocket, simply wiped the blood from his clothes, and shook his head. "I'm fine." With his strength now, dealing with a stray cat in the early stage of mutation was extremely easy. One kick could have killed it. The reason he had struck so many times before killing it was only to conceal things a little. It was not yet time to fully expose his strength. At the least, he would wait a day or two. If someone really was watching from behind the scenes, then, without knowing their intentions, he had to keep a few tricks in reserve. Still, there was no need to play weak. In this great age of evolution, I can be the number-one genius in the whole world, and then gradually become the number-one powerhouse in the whole world? If they were well-intentioned—for instance, if they meant to take a disciple—then I would naturally come to their notice because of this. If they were malicious, some of the means I keep hidden can still let me turn the situation around at the critical moment— In the turning of these thoughts, Huang Tian had already set his plans for the future. Director of Academic Affairs Luo Xiong asked with concern, "Student, what's your name, and which class are you in? I'll help you back to class to rest first." "Huang Tian, Class 1, Senior Year 3," Huang Tian answered. "I'm not hurt. No need to help me. It's the other students who were injured." Only then did Luo Xiong remember the students the black cat had scratched. He said hurriedly, "I nearly went blank. Call an ambulance first!" He hastily pulled out his phone and dialed. The call connected quickly. "Hello—what? There are a lot of injured people in the city, and all the ambulances have been sent out? Then how long do we have to wait— "At least two hours? No, no. I can wait, but the students can't. How about this: I'll drive them over from here. Can the doctors on your end be in place? I know your hospital is overflowing, but these are all students— "Ah, that won't work either? It's chaotic outside? There are frenzied beasts everywhere? Your ambulances can only go out with Patrol Bureau protection?" Luo Xiong was completely at a loss. Something seemed wrong. How had the world changed so much in a short ten minutes or so? He stood stunned for two seconds, then hung up. His expression grave, he looked around, saw several teachers, and waved them over. "Teacher Yang, Old Guo, Little Zeng—take the injured students to the school clinic and have Doctor Niu take a look." The school clinic at the experimental high school was very small, and it had very little medicine, which was why he had originally planned only to send the students to a major hospital. But now the situation was chaotic, and they could only make do. The teachers whose names were called did not refuse. Each called a few people to help support the injured students downstairs, and they headed for the school clinic. Then Luo Xiong waved his hand again. "Everyone into the classrooms, everyone into the classrooms! Shut the doors and windows tight, so nothing unexpected happens again. The stronger boys can find something to defend themselves with and protect everyone." The students had not yet recovered from their fright. Especially after hearing "there are frenzied beasts everywhere outside," they grew even more uneasy. Fortunately, they were at school at that moment and could band together. Otherwise they would have had no sense of security at all. They went into the classrooms, quickly shut the doors and windows, and boys and girls alike looked for weapons that lay ready to hand. Luo Xiong walked up to Huang Tian and said kindly, "We owe this to you. If not for you, more students would have been hurt. I'll explain it to the principal and give you a public commendation. There may also be a reward for righteous bravery." Huang Tian smiled. "Thank you, Teacher." "I'm the one who should thank you. If you hadn't hit that cat with a stool, I would at least have been bitten and scratched by it," Luo Xiong said. "Ah, enough of that. You go back to class first. I'm going now to work with the principal and organize the school security guards so our defenses are in place. If what comes next—" He shook his head and did not finish. If the situation worsened, they might still have to organize the students to protect the school together. They were all just schoolchildren. How could they fight mutated beasts? If they were hurt— He sighed, turned, and went downstairs with a clatter of footsteps. The moment he left, some students of Class 1, Senior Year 3 who had not yet gone into the classroom instantly boiled over. Li Guanglin lunged in front of Huang Tian and said excitedly, "Badass! Way too badass, Old Huang! Weren't you scared then? That stray cat was huge! Like a leopard, and you actually dared to hit it with a stool, and beat it to death outright!" "Yeah! I felt like it could bite me to death in one go!" another student said. "Brother Huang is awesome!" "So handsome it blinded me!" "Huang Tian, have you trained in martial arts? You were actually that calm just now—" Huang Tian smiled and said nothing. He went into the classroom a step ahead of them. Li Guanglin and the others followed him in, talking excitedly, while he sat in his seat with his eyes closed as if resting. In fact, he was rapidly drawing in and absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. "Huff—cough—" Just then the door was shoved open. It was their homeroom teacher, Fang Hao, hurrying in and gasping. "Is anyone in our class hurt?" "No!" Everyone looked at one another and answered in unison. "Good that no one's hurt. Good that no one's hurt." Fang Hao let out a breath at once, then looked toward Huang Tian, deeply gratified. "Huang Tian, well done!" After the praise, his expression grew much more serious. "Everyone get something ready to defend yourselves. Try not to leave the classroom. If you go out to the bathroom, you must tell me, and at least five people have to go together." With him this serious, the students' moods grew heavy as well. Suddenly, class monitor Liu Qingya raised a hand. "Teacher, can you check the news on your phone? Right now we know nothing about what's outside the school—" "Yeah." Many students chimed in. Fang Hao pressed his lips together and nodded. He took out his phone. He didn't even need to search. News items popped up one after another. "Large numbers of incidents of wild beasts injuring people have appeared in countries all over the world—" "A two-headed wolf shocks Mowan City!" "A dragon suspected in Lake Bisi?" "Officials of every country have issued warnings, telling people to stay home as much as possible and lock their doors and windows, to keep beasts from getting in—" The more he looked, the heavier Fang Hao's mood grew. Looking at the students, he said slowly, "In short, the situation is not optimistic." At those words, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive. "Roar!" "Awoo~" Suddenly, another burst of roars and strange cries from mutant fierce beasts came from far away, and many of the girls turned pale. No one spoke. Time passed slowly like that. About half an hour later— "Bzz—bzz—" The sound of a phone vibrating broke the silence. Fang Hao picked up the phone, saw that it was Director of Academic Affairs Luo Xiong calling, and answered at once. "—What? Is that true? I—I understand—" The call ended. He dropped onto his chair with a thud. Cold sweat seeped out, and his voice was strained. "Students, an army ordered to reinforce Shangyuan City has been wiped out to the last. The situation is even more chaotic. The school has no choice but to organize teachers and students together to protect everyone. Right now, our class needs to send ten people. Who is willing to volunteer?" The moment the words fell, the whole class was thrown into panic. Huang Tian's brows drew slightly together. With the abilities those mutant fierce beasts had now, how could they be strong enough to annihilate an army? Even a small unit of a hundred or so was not something fierce beasts could handle. Could someone really be manipulating the situation from behind— While he was still thinking, Fang Hao said it again. "I'll volunteer myself. That counts as one spot. We still need nine. Which of you is willing to sign up?"