095 The Final Deadline

The ghost's attack was swift beyond measure; by the time I regained my senses, only the cold, sinister voice of the creature echoed through the forbidden forest.

“A contract holder who commands time, huh.”

“This time, you’re out of options.”

The laughter of the ghost reverberated throughout the woods, igniting a furious blaze within me. I gathered radiant light in both hands, shaping it into an ancient copper mirror.

“You! Courting death!” I shouted through gritted teeth, rage surging as Lin Wan’s death struck me like lightning. My mental strength soared in an instant, flooding me with boundless power.

Though it wasn’t a true awakening, I knew that in this state, I could finally stand against the ghost.

Sensing my transformation, the ghost hurriedly fled deeper into the forbidden forest.

“Stop!” I summoned all my strength, intent on pursuing and ending the battle swiftly, but a figure blocked my path.

Without hesitation, I wielded the copper mirror, launching it at the person before me.

“Move aside!” The stranger unleashed a gust of wind, halting the mirror’s advance, then slapped me hard across the face.

“You hit me?” Already consumed by rage over Lin Wan, now someone dared obstruct my path to vengeance. Whoever this was, I would not let him off easily.

The copper mirror in my hands blazed with intense light, surging toward the one who barred my way.

“Zijian! Enough!” Li Ergou’s voice exploded in my ear, and only then did I realize the one standing before me was Li Ergou.

I hurriedly reined in my attack—at least I hadn’t lost all reason.

“Ergou, step aside! I must avenge Lin Wan!” I tried to rush past him, only to be blocked by an ice wall.

“Pang Dongqiang!” I glanced behind Li Ergou to see Pang Dongqiang, Wen Lingyu, and Chen Hao.

“Don’t do anything foolish, Lin Zijian. The dead cannot return.” Li Ergou patted my shoulder, picked up Lin Wan’s belongings from the ground, and placed them in my hands.

“If you go now, you’ll just throw your life away. This surge of power won’t last long.” I knew well this forced elevation wouldn’t sustain itself, yet I couldn’t let the murderer stroll away so casually.

“Don’t worry. He’ll be destroyed in the end.” Zhou Zitong had heard the commotion and hurried over. Though she didn’t know the situation, she guessed the ‘he’ I mentioned referred to the ghost.

“Zijian, let’s go back.” Chen Hao and Wen Lingyu urged. Li Ergou came to support me, and the mental power I’d forcibly drawn upon faded away. As I lost that strength, my mind was struck by a thunderous roar.

I let out a self-mocking smile and finally succumbed to sleep. When I awoke again, a week had already passed.

Chen Hao was still at my side, watching over me. His eyes were red, likely from many days of tears.

I nudged him, and he groggily opened his eyes. Upon seeing me, he broke into a silly grin.

“Brother Zijian, you’re awake!”

“You’ve been unconscious for a whole week.” A week? I rubbed my head, realizing I’d forgotten many important things.

“Chen Hao, how are things now?” My concern was for the ghost lurking in the forbidden forest, and the safety of those under its control.

“A week ago, Brother Zhenyu left and hasn’t returned. The forbidden forest is sealed off by the alliance our contract holders formed, but the ghost inside remains unbeaten.”

“The alliance currently has four main leaders.”

“Spade Ace Midnight, Spade Queen Li Xinxin, Club Knight Zheng Wei, and Heart Nine Zhang Yisheng.”

“The four of them established the alliance, and most contract holders have joined us.”

“After all,” Chen Hao paused, “the final trial task doesn’t involve conflicts of interest, so hardly anyone opposes it.”

“That’s good. Uniting the contract holders gives us great strength.”

“But even so, we haven’t defeated the ghost?” Chen Hao shook his head.

“Sister Xinxin said we can’t go in. The ghost inside is beyond our ability to handle.”

“Those who didn’t believe and tried to enter were slapped back by Sister Xinxin.”

“A few reckless ones did go in, but never came out again.” As I was about to ask more, Chen Hao’s phone rang.

“Brother Zijian, let me answer this.” He picked up the phone, and a familiar voice came through.

“Chen Hao, bad news! They’ve suddenly set a final deadline?” Hearing the voice, I recognized Han Xue, but I hadn’t heard of this ‘final deadline.’

“What deadline?” The other side hesitated, and Chen Hao excitedly shouted into the phone.

“Han Xue, good news! Brother Zijian is awake!”

“What?!”

“Zijian’s awake! Wait for me, I’m coming right now!” Han Xue’s voice trembled, and she hung up hurriedly.

“That girl…” I touched my face, feeling it flush.

“Brother Zijian, don’t be shy. Everyone knows Han Xue likes you—no one’s competing for you.”

“Except Fat Qian.” As Chen Hao mentioned him, I realized Fat Qian hadn’t appeared in ages—or perhaps I hadn’t paid attention.

Moments later, Han Xue rushed in, hugging me tightly and refusing to let go. Chen Hao watched from the side, grinning as if waiting to see what I’d do.

We talked at length about everything that happened after I left, and I soon pieced together what occurred while I was unconscious.

Once I understood the current situation, I set out immediately for the contract holder alliance’s meeting place; some matters had to be addressed face to face.

The temporary gathering spot was the dormitory rooftop. When I opened the door, the four strongest members awaited me.

Li Xinxin greeted me with a slight smile.

“Perfect, Zijian’s here. We can discuss the plan now.”

“I’ve already got a preliminary understanding of the situation.” I organized my thoughts and continued.

“It seems D University is anxious; otherwise, they wouldn’t suddenly impose a final deadline on a trial that had none before.”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Zhang Yisheng snapped, his hostility palpable.

“So what do you suggest? They’ve given us just one more week—if we don’t deal with the ghost, they’ll come for us!”

“Your good friend Zhou Zhenyu has been gone a week. He’s not running away, is he?” Zheng Wei tossed out a sarcastic remark.

“I believe Zijian has a solution,” Ergou affirmed his support for me.

“Hmph.” Zhang Yisheng turned away, clearly disinterested. I kept my composure and pressed on.

“If Tan Tou doesn’t return in three days, we’d best prepare for the worst as well as the best.” Though I trusted Tan Tou wouldn’t abandon me, the journey was long—if he failed to come back in time… I dared not bet on it.

“Let’s try negotiating with our homeroom teacher or the dean.”

“Judging by previous trials, there shouldn’t be a scenario where death is inevitable.”

“But this trial’s difficulty is clearly beyond our capability, so there must be some hidden secret.”

“Ha, that’s your brilliant idea?” Zhang Yisheng sneered.

“Don’t forget, we aren’t qualified to challenge our homeroom teacher. What bargaining chip do you have with the dean?”

“Trust me, she won’t dare kill us all.” I patted my chest, promising.

“Where’s your confidence?” Zhang Yisheng retorted.

“If they wanted us dead, why wait until now?” Li Ergou explained. “Besides, this is only the first stage.” Indeed, Li Ergou still withheld secrets from me.

“Not the right time yet?” I looked at Li Ergou, hoping for a proper explanation.

“Sigh.” Li Ergou shook her head. “Ignorance is bliss—cherish it.”

“When you leave D University, you’ll miss this place.”

“Miss it?” Zhang Yisheng laughed. “Miss the place that torments us?”

“How amusing,” Zheng Wei remarked. “If, as you say, this last task isn’t an ending—”

“—but a beginning.”

“Enough!” Midnight interrupted. “Focus on the immediate issue. Let’s deal with the ghost first.”

Rather than worry about the future, we should concentrate on surviving now.

“In the end, we’ll wait for three more days.”