Chapter Fifty: Get Out of Here

In what was once meant to be a luxurious high-rise apartment, only the bare walls remained, the expanse around them empty and desolate. Now, dozens of blazing campfires illuminated the night, making the space dazzlingly bright.

With so many new students gathered here, they had erected defensive measures and cleared the surroundings, so the conditions in which Zheng Haoyue and his group found themselves were far better than those of most newcomers. They did not have to hide in cramped spaces in the dark, as others did.

“Our progress has been swift,” Zheng Haoyue addressed his core team, “but Zhen Qiang’s group isn’t slow either, and another team is formed by the elite from several top universities. Looking at the situation, it seems we’ll be the first to break through. But everyone must be careful—the beast king here is the Sand Rat King, which operates mainly underground.”

“We can’t afford to enter and exhaustively clear them one by one. The losses would be enormous, the danger immense, and the gains wouldn’t justify the risks. Our plan is to charge in—and then…”

Zheng Haoyue was briefing his team on the next steps, and the core members, emboldened by their recent successes, listened with fervor. He was quite pleased—not only did he want to boost his ranking, but more importantly, he sought to expand his influence from Sea City University to the entire university sphere.

Suddenly, howls echoed from several directions.

“Something’s wrong! We’re under beast attack…” someone exclaimed; it was the agreed-upon warning signal from the perimeter guards.

“What the hell is happening? These beasts dare launch a mass assault at night?” Mao Yiqiang cursed, seeking Zheng Haoyue’s guidance.

“This isn’t right,” Li Daoze rose, worry etched on his face. “There are alerts from every side—this is a full-scale attack warning.”

“Everyone, don’t panic! Return to your squads, defend first!” Zheng Haoyue was as confused as anyone, but forced himself to remain calm and direct. As commander, he knew he could never lose composure.

The group dispersed immediately; Li Daoze and Mao Yiqiang led their teams out with Zheng Haoyue to investigate.

They’d faced counterattacks before, but they had been well-prepared, with ample core members and opportunists from the periphery—nearly two thousand people. In every fight, they held the advantage.

Zheng Haoyue had assumed that even if another beast attack occurred, it wouldn’t be too severe. He hadn’t expected the Sand Rat beasts to emerge in full force, recklessly charging with abandon. Their numbers were staggering. The scattered newcomers at the rear, sensing the anomaly, retreated hastily in the night.

His group was entrenched, numerous, and could only bear the brunt.

“Ah… I’m quitting!” Amid screams, someone was gravely wounded by the rat beasts and used their wristband to request an immediate withdrawal.

In such large-scale battles, experts always lurked above. If someone wanted to leave, a flying sword would whisk them away instantly.

Thus, even during a mass beast assault, unless one’s luck was especially bad or stubbornly refused to withdraw, choosing to exit in time meant there would be no mortal danger.

Zheng Haoyue sensed things were spiraling out of control. He tried several maneuvers, but in the night, with so many rat beasts, once the front collapsed, chaos reigned.

He even led a charge, but seven or eight of his own were severely wounded, some choosing to withdraw as well.

“Retreat,” he finally commanded, seeing the situation deteriorate rapidly. There was no way to resist head-on.

They could only fall back, gaining more depth, letting the rat beasts scatter so more newcomers could hunt them individually. Once dispersed, hunting them one-on-one wouldn’t be so difficult.

If faced directly with thousands of rat beasts, even he and his men couldn’t hold.

“Damn it, these rat beasts have gone mad. Even if we wiped them out, so long as they hid underground, their losses wouldn’t be huge. Why are they throwing themselves at us like this? What are the Education Ministry people doing…” Mao Yiqiang grumbled as they fled alongside Zheng Haoyue.

“It’s a huge blow. Our group has scattered. If we’d had a few more days to cement cohesion, it would’ve been better…” Li Daoze glanced at the few dozen gathered around them.

At the last moment, Zheng Haoyue signaled them to call more people over.

Once the group scattered—some withdrew, others drifted away—regathering would be difficult.

Zheng Haoyue’s face was grave; he could only silently curse his luck.

They had prepared escape routes in advance and quickly outpaced the others, retreating over ten miles to an office building. It was ideal for defense, and here, even if the rat beasts followed, their numbers wouldn’t be significant.

Moreover, they had prepared—unlike other newcomers, at least a thousand were still entangled with the rat beasts.

Even in the darkness, on their way, they saw flashes of sword light as flying swords carried away those who chose to withdraw.

At least one or two hundred would be forced to leave in this round.

Normally, in the first week, mass withdrawals were rare—tonight was extraordinary.

The command center was watching closely, monitoring in real time.

“We should be safe here; the area has been cleared, but keep vigilant. Li Daoze, take your team and contact others, try to regroup…” Once they’d steadied themselves, Zheng Haoyue immediately began reorganizing.

A promising situation had become a wreck, but all he could do was gather his forces and press on.

“Who’s there?”

“Get out… Bang…”

Just then, the scouting team Zheng Haoyue had brought shouted out, but the man who called was sent flying.

In such tense moments, this sudden turn put everyone on edge, their eyes fixed on the interior.

“That voice?”

Zheng Haoyue, Li Daoze, and Mao Yiqiang—who had all dealt with Lin Qingyun before—frowned at once, for the shout to get out sounded all too familiar.

Out stepped Lin Qingyun, bearing knife wounds, his face pale, clearly gravely injured and hiding here to recover, now disturbed and visibly annoyed.

“Lin Qingyun, it really is you…” Mao Yiqiang, seeing his battered state, was both shocked and elated, especially delighted by his sorry appearance.

Not just him—Li Daoze and many others nearby couldn’t conceal their satisfaction at Lin Qingyun’s condition.

“So, you found me—planning to ambush me while I’m wounded?” Lin Qingyun looked at them coldly, as if he’d expected this moment, certain they had come just for him.

He had no idea what was happening outside, but knew that Li Daoze, Mao Yiqiang, and the rest wouldn’t waste this opportunity.

After all, he’d forced over a hundred to withdraw in the past few days; word must have spread, even if they weren’t from the command team.

“Hahaha, you really think highly of yourself. That we’d all come just to find you? You think you’re the sun, and we revolve around you?” Mao Yiqiang retorted with a laugh.

Li Daoze sneered, “Lin Qingyun, while we’re all out hunting beasts, we keep hearing you’re targeting fellow freshmen—forcing many to withdraw, humiliating others. Didn’t expect you’d end up like this. But given what you’ve done, you deserve it.”

His words were full of venom.

“Not only did he injure people and force them out, those he beat were nearly disfigured, teeth knocked out, men stripped naked and burned—he’s ruthless…”

“Anyone who acts like that won’t meet a good end…”

“People shouldn’t be so arrogant…”

...

The group, still rattled from the rat beast pursuit, now took pleasure in Lin Qingyun’s misery.

Most of those who’d followed Zheng Haoyue, Li Daoze, and Mao Yiqiang out were Sea City Student Council freshmen, all core members recruited by them.

Many had experienced Lin Qingyun’s humiliations firsthand, twice before.

Over the past days, news repeatedly circulated—so-and-so was forced out by Lin Qingyun, so-and-so suffered miserably at his hands.

Now, seeing him wounded and recuperating, with Li Daoze and Mao Yiqiang leading the charge, they were delighted.

“What, you see me wounded and want to take advantage? Dream on. If you don’t want to end up like the others, leave now. This is my place for recovery—get out!” Lin Qingyun, fierce though frail, drove them away, reminding them that even injured, he remained defiant.

He didn’t know if the scene would draw attention now, but knew it would be noticed later. Everything had to appear natural.

To do that, he needed Li Daoze and Mao Yiqiang to see an opportunity and strike first.

“Damn, even injured you’re still ranting. You think this is school? That you’re still Young Master Lin? Are you out of your mind?” Mao Yiqiang looked at Lin Qingyun as if he were a fool.

“Lin Qingyun, you’re already the enemy of all freshmen. We’ve said before, if we meet you, we’ll avenge everyone you’ve bullied…” Li Daoze, though reluctant to act directly, glanced around and sought Zheng Haoyue’s approval.

Zheng Haoyue, silent all along, was observing Lin Qingyun.

“What are you looking at? Keep your two dogs in check and get out, take your pack and leave—I despise schemers like you. Think you’re smart, but you’re worthless…” Before Zheng Haoyue could decide, Lin Qingyun turned his fury on him.

Zheng Haoyue’s eyelids twitched. He hadn’t confronted Lin Qingyun directly before, but each encounter had ended badly for him, fueling his irritation.

“You’re reckless—clearly the lesson wasn’t enough. Stop staring; someone like you should be forced to withdraw.” Despite having other considerations, Zheng Haoyue had long been simmering. Now he decided to act, directing his men to deal with Lin Qingyun first.

With Zheng Haoyue’s command, Mao Yiqiang shouted and led his group forward.