109 Wu Mingran's Visit

In a hotel far from the Foreign Language High School, several awakened contractors were already seated, waiting.

"Why bring me here? What about Zijian and the others?" Han Xue demanded.

"Enough, stop shouting," Zheng Wei said. "Why worry about so much? Isn't it nice here?" He picked up an apple from the table and took a bite. "Carpe diem, little girl."

"Brother Zhenyu, look at him!" Han Xue said, her face flushed. "Aren't I just worried about them?"

Tantou glanced at Han Xue and said, "I believe that guy Zijian will be fine."

Han Xue froze for a second; this gentle tone was completely different from his usual icy demeanor.

"Is everyone here?" At that moment, Li Xinxin, Wuye, and Zhou Zitong walked in.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly," Su Mu said impatiently. "You wouldn't have called us all here if it weren't something important."

"It is indeed something important," Wuye told the group. "Everyone's current abilities are too weak."

"Weak?" Zheng Wei was displeased and unleashed his Shadow Ghost ability. A black shadow spike shot toward Wuye, who didn't even look at it, effortlessly shattering Zheng Wei's attack.

"That is exactly why I said you are weak. To help you improve your abilities quickly, we have invited the Plum Blossom contractor, Zhou Zitong, to provide you with an imaginary combat space. As long as you win, you can come back out."

"Wait, what if we can't get out?" Su Mu asked anxiously.

Li Xinxin smiled and said, "Then it simply means you aren't qualified to continue."

"Wind God's Binding!" Li Xinxin flicked her bronze fan and instantly entered her awakened state. A powerful wind pressure restrained everyone, and then Zhou Zitong activated her Plum Blossom 10 ability: Reality Distortion!

Crystalline rocks began to sprout beneath everyone's feet, spreading over their bodies. In the end, all the awakened contractors were sealed within giant crystal statues.

"Is this really okay?" Zhou Zitong asked after finishing the task.

Wuye shrugged. "There's no other way. This is the fastest way to improve their abilities."

"Alright, you two don't need to worry about this anymore," Li Xinxin said. "You two go to the Foreign Language School and the Affiliated High School. I will watch over this place."

Zhou Zitong and Wuye exchanged a glance and hurried out of the hotel.

Meanwhile, back at the high-rise in the forest, we each went to our respective rooms. Aside from Feng Qian, Sun Cheng, and the high school students he was protecting, everyone else had been given individual rooms. It seemed the results of the trial had been announced in advance; as soon as Chen Hao reached his room, he messaged me to say his room had been upgraded from a double to a king suite. I just smiled and told him to get some good rest. This hard-won week of peace would allow us to recover from the exhaustion of battle.

Just as we returned to the building, the second wave of contractors for the second trial had already set off. Among them were people I knew: the boisterous, tomboyish Sun Xiaoxiao, who possessed the ability to control size, and Xue Ning, the little lady we had rescued. I was relieved to see them traveling together, as I had urged them to bond before I left. Besides them, there was Hu Xing'er, the ponytail-wearing sidekick of Lin Xiayue, who possessed the Heart 5 air-control ability; she would surely stick with Sun Xiaoxiao and the others. It was safer for those of us who knew each other to stick together rather than cooperate with strangers. Also participating were the leather-pants-wearing Hu Qingqing and the unrestrained, yellow-haired man who had caused the camp to scatter. The five of them and five high school students boarded the bus, and I could only pray the girls would be safe.

Back in the room I shared with Feng Qian, I found he had turned on the TV and was sitting on the bed, watching intently.

"Oh, little brother, you’ve finally recovered, have you?" I teased.

Feng Qian’s eyes remained glued to the screen, as if he were entranced.

"Hey." I raised my voice and slapped his round head.

Feng Qian yelped in pain, "What are you doing!"

I sat down next to him and looked at the screen. "What are you watching?"

I was immediately drawn in, finally understanding why a TV program could have Feng Qian so mesmerized. It was a live broadcast. On the screen was a bus carrying one man and nine women—the very people who had just left for their trial. The angle was clearly from a hidden camera. It seemed our trials were always being monitored by someone. Although I had suspected this from the start, I never imagined they would broadcast the whole thing, just as they had done before at University D.

Broadcasting our trial process to other contractors allowed them to learn their opponents' suits and specific abilities in advance, creating the perfect conditions for internal slaughter. If one's abilities were known beforehand, the opponent would surely be on guard and might even have targeted countermeasures. Furthermore, if one could track the movements of each contractor during the trials, those skilled at calculation might deduce the true identities of the Kings.

Conversely, if someone used public opinion to slander others, that person would face total disaster. It is easy to frame someone, but proving one's innocence is incredibly difficult. In an age where a lie repeated three times becomes the truth, it wouldn't take much to rally a few people to frame an innocent person. If everyone realized this, the contractors in the building would likely start forming alliances.

A moment later, Chen Hao called me. "Brother Zijian, someone from next door just came to ask if I wanted to join their team." Chen Hao didn't seem to realize that some of the smarter ones had already started making moves.

"Chen Hao, what did you say?"

"I told them I was with you and the others. Then he said he would come find you, so he'll probably be at your place soon."

"Alright, go get some rest." I hung up. Chen Hao was so simple that he had exposed our alliance and my location, but I hadn't been counting on his intellect anyway. The thought reminded me of Lin Wan, the slightly scheming engineering student. It was a pity he would never return. To ensure his death wasn't in vain, I had to find the Kings as soon as possible and end this endless cycle of trials.

"Brother Jian, look!" Feng Qian patted me, signaling that something strange was happening on TV. The scene shifted; Sun Xiaoxiao and Xue Ning had gotten off the bus, but the surveillance feed continued. The monitoring equipment was clearly much more advanced than we had imagined, capable of following contractors without them noticing.

Sun Xiaoxiao and Xue Ning led the two female high school students toward an abandoned building—a construction site that had been abandoned before completion. At least the environment was much better than our ghost village. Hu Xing'er, surprisingly, wasn't with them, but was instead with the leather-clad Hu Qingqing. The yellow-haired man was alone, with a trembling high school student who dared not leave his side.

It was clear three factions had already formed. A line of text appeared at the bottom of the screen, explaining their trial task: "Survive in the abandoned building for three days."

The task was basically the same as our ghost village trial, but who knew what might happen? Feng Qian’s contract card, the "Imperishable Bone" of the Zombie lineage, had nearly killed all of us; if not for Tantou, we would have been finished there.

The screen zoomed to the roof of the abandoned building, and I saw a young man. It was only a flash, but my heart pounded violently. If I wasn't mistaken, that was Wuye, the one with the strongest Spade A power. Whether Wuye’s appearance was a coincidence, these three days of trials would likely reveal.

A sharp knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. It was likely the person Chen Hao mentioned. I unlocked the door. The doors in the building had special security locks; those inside could not be forced, and the keys used identity recognition, so no one could sneak in.

I opened the door, and the person standing there was my former roommate, Wu Mingran.

Wu Mingran smiled and said, "Brother Zijian, may I come in and talk?"