What Did You Say Just Now?

The Extraordinaries were filled with suspicion and bewilderment at the arrival of "Senior Zhou." Take the three Titled Extraordinaries: none of them had taken this anomalous individual seriously before. Yet they had witnessed with their own eyes Commander Han's failure to capture it. And right after that, a squirming flesh-and-blood high-rise had brazenly popped right out! They had every reason to suspect that this flesh building and the inverted demon within it shared an inextricable, secretive bond with this anomalous individual! "It's him!" Commander Han croaked in a weak, hoarse voice, his eyes bulging with rage as he raised a trembling hand in accusation. "Just now, it was him who stirred the teaching building and awakened the School Demon—" "He definitely knows a great deal—it's even possible that he's the mastermind behind everything!" As he spoke, he looked toward the three Titled Extraordinaries standing at the forefront, warning them in dead earnest, "Be extremely careful! Don't be fooled by his seemingly weak exterior!" "Now that the flesh building is rushing toward us, he's definitely colluding with the demon inside to launch a pincer attack—" "We're surrounded by them!" A horde of Extraordinaries, surrounded by just two anomalies! This made Commander Han treat the situation like mortal peril, rasping out his frantic warning. But the trembling finger he was pointing vehemently at Bai Zhou was promptly pressed down by the grave-faced Rusted Silver Knight. Commander Han: "?" *What are you doing?* *With wolves ahead and tigers behind, confronted by a formidable foe, why would Sir Knight press down my finger without a word?* Commander Han stared at the silent Rusted Silver Knight, bewildered and utterly uncomprehending. "You said it yourself: it's an anomalous individual, a member of this school—" "How could an anomaly summon a demon? It isn't even human; how could it possibly be the mastermind behind all this?" The Rusted Silver Knight said in a low voice, "It is only natural that it knows of the demon's existence. Even if it truly released the demon, that would be logical—after all, you were hunting it down, and it most likely knows the secrets hidden within this school, just like that quasi-King of Wicked Desires!" "If it were truly in league with the School Demon, it would make no sense for it to prematurely awaken a School Demon that was still in an embryonic state, nor would it have any reason to show itself today!" "Looking at it from this angle, I even have reason to suspect that it is actually meant to stand in opposition to the School Demon!" "—Just like that quasi-King of Wicked Desires! The relationship between the gatekeeper and the sealed entity is one of irreconcilable hostility. How could they possibly be allies fighting side by side?" Yuanmeng Middle School and the School Demon had to be viewed separately. Thinking back now, this "Senior Zhou" had actually been protecting the trio of Explorers all along, standing on humanity's side. Perhaps from the very beginning it had wanted to convey the message that "there is a School Demon here" to humans, only to be stopped midway by the Principal for some reason. Could it be that Commander Han's pursuit was what pushed this "Senior Zhou" toward the ambiguous, unknown side? —Of course, the Rusted Silver Knight did not dare voice this aloud. For one, Commander Han was a decorated veteran of the organization whose heart was in poor health. For another, when Commander Han went after "Senior Zhou," the rest of them had stood by in silence, quite pleased to see it happen. Now that trouble had erupted, not one of them could escape responsibility! With these thoughts in mind, the Rusted Silver Knight turned his gaze to Bai Zhou. Seeing how the fog parted around Bai Zhou as if bowing before him, the knight's eyes flickered, and a bold hypothesis suddenly surged in his mind. "In fact, I have every reason to suspect—" "That it is the very 'successor' mentioned by the quasi-King of Wicked Desires!" "If that's the case—" The heir to Yuanmeng Middle School! The successor of the gatekeeper! If so, could the purpose of this newly appointed gatekeeper's appearance right now be—? With flickering eyes, the Rusted Silver Knight looked at the newcomer and whispered a caution to the panting Commander Han, "So right now, the most important thing is... do not provoke it!" The enemy of an enemy was a friend. Even if they had been at each other's throats just a moment ago! Such was the way of the mystic world. Commander Han: "..." Bai Zhou: "..." Bai Zhou blinked. *Oh? So that's what I'm like?* Originally, Bai Zhou had been fretting over how to appear before everyone without being overwhelmed by a swarm of robotic hounds and drones, or how to avoid being cleaved clean in two by the Rusted Silver Knight's greatsword. But hearing the knight's words now, he was thoroughly amused. *You've come up with every excuse for me—so I might as well reluctantly go along with it.* "Tsk, completely seen through." Shaking his head, Bai Zhou put on an air of helpless resignation. "As expected of the backbone of this group. It seems there are still reasonable people here after all—" "Yes, you're quite right." Nodding, Bai Zhou outright confirmed the Rusted Silver Knight's deduction. He raised a hand and pointed toward the squirming flesh building standing silently nearby. "I came for it." "To tell the truth, prior to this, I had nothing whatsoever to do with it." "And that mastermind you spoke of—perhaps he's hiding somewhere this very moment, watching you—" As he spoke, Bai Zhou's gaze swept casually across the mist drifting elsewhere. Even after becoming Principal, capable of "seeing" every corner of Yuanmeng Middle School, Bai Zhou hadn't caught the slightest trace of the Major. Yet he refused to believe the Major was truly absent. Just as criminals often return to the scene of the crime to admire their masterpiece, how could the ever-arrogant, confident Major remain indifferent to the School Demon's emergence? —Not to mention, the timing of the School Demon's emergence definitely diverged from the Major's original plan. There was no way he was sitting leisurely outside the Reflected Ruin Realm, calm as a mountain! "However, right now, I happen to have a tiny bit of business with it," Bai Zhou continued. He withdrew his gaze and nodded toward the gathered Extraordinaries, keeping a friendly, safe distance from them. "Because right now, I'm no longer Senior Zhou—I am Principal Zhou!" "—I have become the new gatekeeper." With that, Bai Zhou let out a soft sigh, his eyes falling upon the mountain of flesh not far away. Only by standing before this monstrosity and facing the divine might of a demon directly could one truly feel the maddening pressure it radiated. But what else could he do? Now that he had stepped forward, he had no choice but to bite the bullet. If he didn't take advantage of the three Extraordinaries still being alive to join forces—once they were all dead, Bai Zhou would be left to face it all by himself. Ever since the School Demon showed itself, the entire school had been locked down; even Bai Zhou could not escape. It must be destroyed—which meant stepping forward now was the only option. Bai Zhou's eyes flickered, his palm unconsciously brushing against the surface of the Thunderous Heavenly Bow. To be frank, relying solely on this thunder bow to deal with a demon was definitely not enough. Deputy Director Liu had already demonstrated that fact with his miserable defeat. Even if Bai Zhou brought out his Fate Principle, hung that little white sun on an arrow, ignited it, and fired it, it wouldn't accomplish much. However... Bai Zhou blinked, slowly pressing a hand against his chest. Since he dared step forward, he naturally hadn't come unprepared. Within his robes, a shrunken Trojan Horse was trembling ceaselessly. To be precise, an item stored inside the Trojan Horse was vibrating and throbbing. Ever since the flesh building underwent its violent transformation, this item had been vibrating; Bai Zhou had simply been too preoccupied with running away at the time to notice the stir in his chest. The closer he got to the building of flesh, the more violent the Trojan Horse's tremors became. *If it's this thing...* Bai Zhou's eyes brightened. "Honestly, I really feel like I'm repaying injury with kindness here." "After all, just moments ago, your people were hunting me down." Casting a sidelong glance at the embarrassed crowd, Bai Zhou slowly walked forward, placing himself between them and the building of flesh. "And now, here I am saving you—" "After this, I will keep Yuanmeng Middle School in check. If you manage to get out alive, I hope that for the sake of my intervention today, you will show Yuanmeng Middle School some leniency." "Otherwise—" Bai Zhou raised the Thunderous Heavenly Bow in his hands. The center of the greatbow pointed from afar straight at the Inverted Maiden situated at the core of the flesh building. The inverted demon had been silently observing Bai Zhou the entire time. No one knew what it was watching; its pale white eyes betrayed no emotion whatsoever. Only when Bai Zhou looked up did its voice, like an amalgamation of vast consciousnesses, echo once again in everyone's ears: "You have come." Hearing this, Bai Zhou was taken aback. "Was I... not supposed to come?" The demon shook its head. "You should have come long ago... yet you should not have come." Bai Zhou blinked twice. *Makes no sense to me.* Thus, he sensibly shut his mouth and said no more. Communicating with a demon required extra caution. Although this was the first time in his life dealing with a genuine demon, in the environment where Bai Zhou grew up, those Black Robes weren't much more honest or innocent than living demons— During their special training, Crow had once told Bai Zhou a story about communicating with demons: Supposedly, there was once an Extraordinary named Jacobs Davaragini who wished to forge a pact with a demon. To that end, he scoured ancient texts, stole forbidden tomes, fasted for three days without a single bite of food, burned incense to scent the forbidden tome in his hands, and prayed with single-minded devotion until Friday night, when he commenced the ritual. Normally, such rituals used snakes or frogs as sacrificial offerings, but this Extraordinary, following his own reasoning, chose a live pig. Rather than reptiles steeped in pagan tradition to deter demons, he believed that a live pig, regarded as an unclean beast in the faith of the Cross Religion, was far more fitting. He then drove the squealing pig into a ring of fire, threw a holy vestment meant for purging demons over it, frantically chanted angelic names and ritual incantations, and finally sliced the wretched pig in two with a sword. —The figure of the demon materialized slowly, and the two began to bargain: "I wish to forge a three-hundred-year pact with you. If you agree, enter this pig." "Three hundred years is far too long. Merely wishing to live three hundred years is greedy enough on your part!" "No, after my death, the souls of my descendants will belong to you as well—so this is a long-term pact spanning three generations. Complain no more, let us seal the contract!" And so, the demon signed its name with great reluctance. Yet soon enough, the Extraordinary discovered he had been duped by the demon. When he took back the pact bearing the demon's claw mark and examined it closely, one zero from the three hundred had miraculously vanished. Three hundred years had become thirty years. Jacobs beat his chest and stamped his feet in agonizing regret, but the ritual had already concluded. —In the end, relying on the talent and special powers granted by the demon, Jacobs climbed to the pinnacle of Extraordinaries in a mere twenty-nine years, building an immense order with his own hands. Then, on the eve of his coronation as Pope—the exact day marking thirty full years—Jacobs was found dead in his bedroom, the cause of death being "choked to death on pork." This farcical tragedy, dubbed "Jacobs's Pig" in the history of Extraordinaries, was often cited by authorities to educate Extraordinaries on the cunning and wickedness of demons after the Federation banned demon worship. Perhaps while engaging in what seemed like an ordinary conversation with a demon, one would unwittingly step into a trap it had laid! "Beware of the demon! Don't converse with it too much!" Behind him came the nervous warning of the Rusted Silver Knight, who seemed terrified that this mysterious ally who had dropped from the sky might be charmed and led astray by the demon. "What... do you intend to do?" the Sword of Winter abruptly asked. He scrutinized Bai Zhou's back, lingering suspicion and wariness still evident in his eyes. "Me? Didn't I come with this bow?" Bai Zhou waved the greatbow in his hand. Its archaic form looked like nothing more than an abandoned, withered branch, completely unremarkable. Bai Zhou felt the question was utterly redundant. "Having a bow and not shooting? What else, whack people with it?" "That's not what I meant—" The grim-faced Sword of Winter fell silent. Even Deputy Director Liu, wielding the Thunderous Heavenly Bow, had been swatted away like a fly by the demon. What could you possibly accomplish— Yet Bai Zhou had already raised his hand, intending to draw the bowstring. And then he noticed— Why didn't this rotten branch even have a string? Though arcs of lightning flickered across it from time to time, during the intervals between sparks, both its appearance and texture in his hands genuinely felt no different from a rotten tree branch. "Don't tell me you don't even know how to draw a bow and need to figure it out right now—" Emerald Flame, finally regaining her senses, turned to look at Bai Zhou intensely studying the greatbow, suddenly struck dumb. *Great. This is the gatekeeper—we're doomed!* "You won't be able to draw the Thunderous Heavenly Bow." Emerald Flame sighed softly, warning him with absolute certainty, "The Thunderous Heavenly Bow is a Spirit-Name Secret Treasure. To wield it, one must be an entity surpassing Rank 6 Titled status. Translated into the ranks of anomalies, that means an authentic King of Wicked Desires!" "Otherwise, one must be a Destined—" Saying this, Emerald Flame shook her head, despair deepening in her eyes as she went on. "Yet among us, only Winter is a Destined." "How could an anomaly like you possibly command a Spirit-Name Secret Treasure like this?" "If you have any other ideas, please hurry and—" Her voice cut off abruptly. For a piercing resonance suddenly rang in everyone's ears, like the cry of a thousand birds! Or the crash of heaven's five thunders! *BOOM, RUMBLE—!* The familiar roar reverberated, the dazzling thunderlight reflecting in Emerald Flame's dazed eyes—lightning manifested as a bowstring, and the rotten wood began to shift its form. Bathed in thunderous light, Bai Zhou abruptly turned his head, blinking amid the rolling thunder, and met Emerald Flame's gaze with mild puzzlement. "By the way—what was it you just said?" "The thunder's too loud! Speak up, I can't hear you!"