Death of the Principal? I'm Really Not a School Idol!

"Look, it's Zhou-Zhou-Zhou-Zhou—Senior Zhou!" The trio of Explorers poked their heads out cautiously through the gaps in the staircase above. Eyes wide, all three clamped their hands over their mouths at once, doing everything they could not to make a sound. Bathed in blood, "Senior Zhou" stood before the shattered entrance. Moonlight poured in, draping over him like a hazy, crimson veil as he stood amidst the thinning mist. Upon the corpse-strewn battlefield, the youth stood in silence. The three Explorers suddenly felt that a lit cigarette in his hand right now—sparks flickering against his calm, slightly weary face—would have completed the picture. To the three of them, everything that had just occurred felt like a fever dream. They had only heard gunshots ring out, and then the gunshots had stopped. Following the barrage that crackled like firecrackers came a discordant symphony of rising and falling shrieks. Now, the first floor was utter carnage, strewn with severed flesh and mechanical debris. The Iron Thorn squad, who had run rampant through Tinghai City's underworld and struck terror into hearts by ruthlessly capturing Extraordinaries— Wiped out right here, without even putting up much of a fight from start to finish! And the one who had accomplished all this in a mere half minute— Was nothing more than a fucking student in a school uniform! "Going to the temple to get that amulet a few days ago must've really worked. How else could we have run into Senior Zhou right at the start?" the Number 9 girl said, patting her heaving chest with a mixture of lingering dread and immense relief. "Otherwise..." "Zijing Group won't let this go. Let's hope no one notices us." "What if he's lost his mind and decides to kill us too? He didn't seem to like bad students." Chubby Number 42 and muscular Number 31 whispered over each other in hushed voices. "—Quiet!" Number 9's face suddenly tightened, and she shushed them. "Hush—someone else is here! Hide!" Screeech! Clatter! Buzz! Whir! A torrent of bizarre noises flooded the air. Mechanical hounds and drones poured into the classroom building, swarming in from all directions, across the floor and through the air. Flanked and guarded by his subordinates, Commander Han slowly strolled into the building. The first thing that met his eyes was Tinghai City's renowned Iron Thorn squad, now reduced to scrap scattered across the floor. Rubble and metallic debris littered the ground. A Fortress-2 riot shield had been punched clean through the middle. A sniper rifle was snapped in two, and a machine gun barrel had been twisted like a fried dough twist. A jammer still puffed black smoke, sputtering faint sparks, while soldiers in dark-gray combat gear lay strewn about—some embedded in the walls, others slumped in corners. A scene of dead, hellish silence. Only the crackle of burning flames and the faint, involuntary groans of a few critically wounded men punctuated the scalp-numbing stillness. At the sight, Commander Han frowned, and cold sweat beaded on his subordinates' foreheads. Tap, tap... Footsteps sounded—soft, yet distinctly audible. Clack-clack-clack! Enchanted firearms snapped up in an instant. Every heart seized as countless red laser dots locked onto the figure slowly stepping out of the gloom. The footsteps' owner revealed himself fully. Blinding crimson blood coated his entire body, trickling slowly down his pant legs to drip into a small puddle on the floor. Droplets of blood flecked his black hair. Yet this blood-dripping demon possessed a pair of clear, innocent eyes, creating a jarring contradiction. Even more striking was the blue-and-white school uniform he wore, radiating youthful vigor—if not for the grime and blood defiling the embroidered school crest. Not a boy. Not a student. An anomaly. A monstrosity. A man-eating demon! A humanoid natural disaster clad in a school uniform! The Iron Thorn squad, reduced to scattered parts across the floor, was the clearest proof! There was no madness from slaughter, nor the weariness of exhaustion. The boy's calm gaze froze the FZDC agents in place. Knuckles whitened with tension, yet not a single soul dared pull the trigger first. Ignoring the icy gun barrels leveled at him, and sweeping his eyes past the on-edge FZDC agents, drones, and mechanical hounds, the ruthless demon boy scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile. "Um, do you mind making way?" "I'm in a rush to get to evening self-study." Commander Han and his subordinates: "...?" What was this kid talking about? Yet strangely, looking at the youth strolling leisurely through the ruins and hearing his absurd words, their eyes momentarily glazed over with confusion and bewilderment. Then, almost instinctively, they stepped aside, opening a clear path— "Snap out of it!" Commander Han barked, sending a shiver through his men and jolting them back to their senses. The moment they realized what had just occurred, sheer horror flashed in their eyes. When did— When had this anomalous individual influenced their minds? The crowd swiftly closed ranks, blocking the youth's path once more. Mechanical hounds and drones shifted around him, forming a tight perimeter. An inescapable dragnet! An ambush on ten sides! Commander Han's temples still throbbed with bulging veins. He swept a dark, furious glare over his subordinates, none of whom dared meet his eyes. "Pathetic!" He let out a cold scoff, leaving his men looking bitter. They knew they would catch hell once they returned. "Tch." Bai Zhou shook his head and halted. The school uniform's innate bewitchment ability seemed to have grown stronger after its evolution. That was merely a small test, yet it had swayed the minds of several Level 3 Extraordinaries. A pity he hadn't managed to slip past after all. In the end, fists were still the only way— "Sorry, but evening self-study is out of the question for you!" Gazing at the anomalous individual strictly adhering to the Ruin Realm's routine, Commander Han chuckled softly. "Because you belong to us now." Confronted with the blood-drenched, crimson figure, Commander Han showed neither discomfort nor fear. Instead, his eyes burned with undisguised fervor. "No wonder Liu Yisheng was in such a hurry. Not even the Iron Thorn squad was a match for you." "My hunch was right—perhaps you truly can become the next King of Wicked Desires!" "..." Bai Zhou blinked. What did he mean by the next King of Wicked Desires? It sounded impressive. But it certainly wasn't a compliment. The man's greedy stare was like someone appraising an exquisite treasure, giving Bai Zhou goosebumps and making him reasonably suspect this old bastard had some bizarre fetish. Bai Zhou thoroughly disliked that look. Even though the man seemed to value him immensely, the sheer possessiveness and presumptuous entitlement in his eyes made Bai Zhou feel... Treated like merchandise. It was a deeply unpleasant feeling—the casual contempt of someone accustomed to looking down on others. Thinking back, Bai Zhou had experienced that exact same treatment in Wancheng and at Branch 36 of the Special Control Bureau. At the time, he hadn't fully recognized it, or rather, had lacked the power to resist. But things were different now. Now, he could look at that expression and say— "Fuck off!" Cursing out loud, Bai Zhou vanished from where he stood, darting right before Commander Han in the blink of an eye. Since striking first took the initiative, battle erupted once more! Whir! Dozens of mechanical hounds sprang up at once, putting distance between them and lunging with gnashing jaws at Bai Zhou. "Oho, oho—" "A dangerous beast indeed. Strictly for display." Backing away behind a wall of drones, mechanical hounds, and subordinates, Commander Han beamed. His face showed no fright or anger—only pure satisfaction. "No problem at all. The wilder the temper, the greater the power!" "I love a wild stallion—" Seeing the scrawny old man's fascinated, enraptured expression, the subordinates beside him couldn't help but feel a wave of disgust. Everyone in the FZDC knew Commander Han was not only famed for his tactical prowess—a veritable firefighter who was deployed to direct the scene wherever disaster struck— He was also uniquely obsessed with special "anomalies" and "monstrosities." He was a staunch supporter of the popular ideological trend in the east of the Eastern Federation: "learn from anomalies to curb anomalies." This doctrine advocated studying anomalies to develop means of countering them, accelerating human evolution and reducing human casualties in the fight against anomalies. Many official bigwigs were firm proponents of this school of thought. Boom! Bai Zhou threw a punch, and twenty-four mechanical hounds shattered simultaneously. Crossing his hands like twin bladed fans, he wove through the pack of mechanical hounds like a slippery loach, evading the drones' carpet bombing. "This martial art..." Commander Han furrowed his brows, observing Bai Zhou's agile, lethally artistic maneuvers with a flicker of startled suspicion. One punch destroying twenty-four mechanical hounds at once? What kind of technique was this? He had never seen such a secret art among humans. Even for an anomalous individual— "Adjust drone fire frequency! The objective isn't to kill, but to disrupt the anomaly's rhythm!" "Hounds, attack in teams of three! Disperse and keep up the pressure—give it no room to breathe!" "Everyone else, stand by for an opening! When necessary, you are authorized to deploy the Black Box immediately!" Commander Han fired off a rapid series of commands. This was his unique art of command. How else could he have served as the agency's firefighter, dropped daily into all kinds of Ruin Realm battlefields? Though Commander Han did not hold an extraordinarily high rank, he was universally respected within the FZDC and wielded extensive connections, boasting quite a reputation throughout Tinghai City's official circles. Otherwise, Liu Yisheng would not have been kept outside by him, seething with resentment yet not daring to force his way in. —Though naturally, that also had to do with the three Titled Extraordinaries outside, who were fighting so fiercely they were nearly leveling the school. Boom! Boom! Boom! Screeech! As the orders took effect, the pressure on Bai Zhou skyrocketed! Endless waves of mechanical hounds and drones surged toward him, tireless and fearless. The killing intent boiling in their crimson eyes snapped shut like interlocking canine teeth. A mechanical tide, threatening to engulf his small figure at any second. Yet burning fighting spirit danced like fire amidst the cold machinery. Blazing spirituality heated Bai Zhou's body until it felt ready to combust. Qi roared; Heart thundered. Inner and outer domains harmonized into one, shielding Bai Zhou and intercepting the hail of bullets. At this moment, clad in his school uniform, Bai Zhou looked like a peerless warrior tearing through a battlefield. Knowing there was no retreat, he had to charge through the enemy army and claim the enemy general's head. Even if this peerless warrior seemed to have been fighting alone the whole time. Looking at the old bastard's burning gaze—if the old coot suddenly shouted, "State your name, enemy general!" Bai Zhou might genuinely have considered pulling up his steed and replying with sweeping grandeur: "I am Bai Zhou of Wancheng!" Truth be told, the FZDC was the government after all. Compared to Iron Thorn's elite-squad approach, the FZDC posed a far greater threat to Bai Zhou. This battlefield felt like a dead end. Even though the Qi swirling around Bai Zhou encased him stronger than cast iron, he knew he wasn't making meaningful progress. He couldn't afford to fight all day. By the time he broke through the hounds, what awaited him would likely be the rested commander's thunderous strike. Bai Zhou certainly didn't think this commander was some defenseless paper pusher. The moment he had ambushed him earlier, Bai Zhou had clearly felt a hidden, lethal threat emanating from the man! So when would this end? When would victory come? Or when would defeat? Right now, Bai Zhou had to either be swallowed by the mechanical army and drone phalanx, or sever that man's head—there seemed to be no other choice. Seemed. Rumble! Like a thousand claps of thunder detonating at once, or a magnitude-ten earthquake ripping across the ground. Suddenly the earth shook and the building rocked, pitching everyone off balance. "What—?!" Commander Han and the others snapped their heads around to look outside, only to find that the prolonged stalemate on the outer battlefield had finally undergone a shocking shift! Originally, the battle outside the classroom building had been an almost one-sided suppression, with the Principal easily handling the three Titled Extraordinaries. Though the three Extraordinaries' seamless cooperation prevented the Principal from killing them immediately, he had been steadily wearing them down, like bleeding a slaughtered pig. Yet halfway through the battle, the Principal had suddenly grown absentminded, even glancing around from time to time. Feeling the pressure abruptly ease, the three Extraordinaries had been both bewildered and infuriated. "What are you looking at?!" "Are you toying with us?!" "Fight, damn you!" Faced with the Principal's sudden distraction, the three had felt utterly humiliated. They were the elite of humanity's elite, revered Titled Extraordinaries. They could accept dying honorably on the battlefield of the Reflected Ruin Realm, but they could never accept being insulted like this by an opponent. Until— "Because he was watching out for me." A soft whisper drifted through the air. BOOM!!! Then came a crack of thunder. Followed by hundreds, thousands more. Vast thunder echoed through the heavens as an arrow plummeted from the sky. Engulfed in rolling lightning, the feathered arrow pierced straight through the Principal's chest at the exact split-second he was locked in combat and unable to alter his stance! Its momentum unchecked, the arrow carried the Principal flying into the distance, slamming into the ground like a fallen meteor and gouging out a colossal crater. Instantly, the earth shook! Dust billowed to the sky, obscuring whatever lay within the crater. "How could—" The three bewildered Titled Extraordinaries froze in shock before snapping to high alert. At the same time, the figure of a man holding a bow slowly materialized in midair. He had piercing eyes and wore black clothes with a face mask. The large bow in his grip was archaic in design, faintly wrapped in mighty thunder. Without doing anything at all, he stood firmly in the sky as if standing upon solid ground. Proof of supreme power. "D-Deputy Director Liu!" Sword of Winter gasped in astonishment. One of the deputy directors of the Anomaly Investigation Bureau! A legendary existence above Level 6 Titled Extraordinaries! He was here too? Evidently, none of them had known this deputy director would be coming. "Is that Principal... about to die?" Gazing at the billowing dust, Commander Han laughed loudly, pumping an excited fist into the air. Then he immediately whipped around, his eyes burning with excitement as he fixed his gaze on Bai Zhou. "Well? Your backer is gone—" "—Now it's your turn!" Commander Han's loud laughter and mention of the Principal drew the eyes of the three Titled Extraordinaries and the "Deputy Director" in the sky as well. And so, in that brief lull in the battlefield's rhythm— A Deputy Director Liu beyond Level 6, three Level 6 Titled Extraordinaries, and Liu Yisheng lingering outside the building— Gazes ranging from inquisitive to calm to venomous all converged in unison upon Bai Zhou. Amidst the bizarre silence, surrounded by mechanical hounds and pinned by countless stares, Bai Zhou: "?" Wait, why the hell are you all looking at me?! I'm just wearing a school uniform, not running for school idol!