Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Regardless, the massive Nightmare Snake successfully intimidated the people by the river. Even those who didn’t want them to join and take up space didn’t dare say anything.

After all, if they had the power to kill a Nightmares, dealing with these people would be like brushing off minor obstacles. Confronting them now would be akin to courting death.

As the snake meat sizzled over the fire, its enticing aroma gradually spread with the wind.

In this forest, there were no other animals besides the Nightmares. The people by the river had been running from these beasts all day and were now exhausted and starving. The smell of roasting meat made them swallow hard, and their stomachs grumbled in response.

The green-haired boy thickened his skin and approached, “Can you spare me some? I can share some information with you.”

He knew that directly asking for food would likely result in ridicule, so he immediately revealed his trump card.

“What kind of information?” Jiang Tianming asked, intrigued. They had more than enough snake meat, and carrying it all was inconvenient. If they could exchange some for useful information, they’d be more than willing.

But first, the information had to be valuable.

The green-haired boy confidently said, “We found a mission tablet that rewards 1,000 points! Interested?”

1,000 points?

Jiang Tianming was stunned. They had only earned 500 points for killing five beasts. What kind of mission offered 1,000 points?

“Alright, I’m interested. What’s the mission? Did you complete it?”

As he spoke, Su Bei checked the points leaderboard. Sure enough, the top three teams had thousands of points, indicating they had likely taken on this mission. His team, along with Si Zhaohua’s team, were far behind.

The green-haired boy nodded proudly, “Of course, and it’s a simple task—just turn in your watch.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tianming and his team realized none of the people by the river had watches on their wrists. It wasn’t due to their oversight; they usually kept their watches under their sleeves to prevent the glass from getting damaged.

“Why would such a mission offer 1,000 points?” Mu Tieren frowned, sensing something was off.

The green-haired boy explained matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it obvious? With the watch, we can locate teammates, complete tasks, and steal others’ points. Without it, we can’t do any of these. If we lose that ability, we deserve some compensation!”

It made some sense. However, Jiang Tianming noticed a flaw: “Why not wait until the last moment to complete the task? That way, you can earn the previous points and still complete this mission.”

The green-haired boy’s eyes darted nervously before he answered, “Because the earlier you turn in the watch, the more points you get. The first to turn it in gets 1,000 points, the second 950, and so on, decreasing by 50 points each time.”

That explained why he was willing to share the information. Enough time had passed since he took the mission, so it probably didn’t offer as many points now compared to what his team had already earned. Otherwise, he’d be foolish to share such a lucrative tip.

“I see,” Jiang Tianming realized. “So, you plan to stick together until the end of the three days?”

“Exactly!” The green-haired boy chuckled. “That’s also why I’m telling you this. I can lead you to complete the mission, and then you can stay with us until the exam ends safely.”

“You just want free bodyguards,” Jiang Tianming said, rolling his eyes.

The green-haired boy didn’t deny it and eagerly asked, “So, what do you say?”

He knew this team well. Despite most being from Class F, they ranked in the top ten of the individual battles. With them around, he wouldn’t have to worry about being eliminated on the last day.

In reality, even if they were eliminated, it wouldn’t matter much. Their watches weren’t with them, so they couldn’t lose points. At most, they’d be deducted a few points, which wouldn’t significantly affect their ranking.

Jiang Tianming hesitated. Although it seemed like the green-haired boy was right and completing the mission now wouldn’t yield many points, giving up their watches didn’t mean they couldn’t earn more points. They could still gain points by eliminating beasts or other students. The benefits outweighed the risks.

However, something about the mission felt off. Why would the exam need to boost the scores of weaker students?

“No.”

While he hesitated, Su Bei spoke up, smiling with interest. “But we want to see that tablet.”

As he spoke, he tossed a grilled fish that Mo Xiaotian had just handed him to the green-haired boy. He used his mental power to control it, but the green-haired boy didn’t know this, catching it clumsily. “Hey, hey! You can’t just throw it. What if it fell?”

Ignoring him, Su Bei continued, “Consider this your payment for guiding us separately from Jiang Tianming’s promise.”

“Deal!” The green-haired boy agreed readily. He had planned to lead them there anyway, and earning an extra piece of snake meat was a bonus.

At this point, Jiang Tianming returned to Su Bei’s side and told the green-haired boy, “We need to discuss something. Go ahead and fill your stomach first.”

Mu Tieren spoke with a grim expression, “The watch is the only tool ensuring we can leave this alternate space.”

They hadn’t considered this point before, but Jiang Tianming’s summary of the exit methods suddenly brought it to light. Compared to the uncontrollable options like “killing all the Nightmares” or “eliminating all the students,” the other three easy ways to leave were all connected to the watch!

This made it clear: the task requiring students to hand over their watches was definitely problematic! It essentially cut off their easiest escape routes from the alternate space.

What’s worse, if they were to encounter fatal attacks without their watches, would they still be able to leave the alternate space safely?

If they could, there wasn’t much to worry about. But if they couldn’t, it would put everyone in a very dangerous situation.

“What’s going on? Is this some test the school designed to evaluate our analytical skills?” Wu Mingbai frowned, half-joking. “Maybe not taking this mission will earn us extra points instead.”

This was indeed a reasonable assumption most would have after realizing the issue—after all, without an omniscient perspective, who would think that enemies could exist in a school-controlled alternate space?

Su Bei neither confirmed nor denied the theory, instead fiddling with his watch. “Maybe. Anyway, I’m planning to move on my own from here.”

“What? Why!” Everyone was stunned by this sudden announcement, with Mo Xiaotian directly asking, “You’re not taking me with you?”

Su Bei nodded. “This place is pretty interesting, and I want to explore on my own. Now that the group has reunited, you can stick with everyone.”

He had been eager to regroup with the protagonist’s team earlier because he was worried about being in danger without the protection of their “plot armor.”

But after seeing the mission tablet, his anxiety eased. From the tablet’s content, it was clear the mastermind wanted to trick the students into removing their watches.

This implied that the watches’ teleportation function couldn’t be directly stopped. The mastermind had to resort to this roundabout strategy. So, as long as Su Bei kept his watch on, he wouldn’t need to worry about being unable to leave.

With that in mind, he decided to use this time to explore freely. Staying with the protagonist group guaranteed involvement in major events and plotlines, but it also lacked mystery and autonomy.

Following the protagonists too closely would inevitably make him a supporting character in their story. Only by maintaining a low profile could he create his own storyline. From the beginning, Su Bei hadn’t intended to align himself completely with the side of justice. Joining a villainous organization could provide him with more clues and might even help him accomplish his ultimate mission.

Lan Subing whispered a warning, “It’s risky to go alone.”

“Don’t worry. Worst case, I’ll just quit.” Su Bei waved his watch with a carefree smile.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Tianming asked, “Do you know something?”

This question was hard to answer. After a brief pause, Su Bei conjured a [Gear of Destiny] and said, “I still owe you a chance to predict fate. Let’s settle that now.”

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming’s expression grew serious. If Su Bei chose this moment to use the prediction, it meant he felt it was necessary.

If Wu Mingbai’s guess was correct and they had the advantage, there would be no need to use this rare opportunity.

This meant Wu Mingbai’s guess was wrong—critically wrong—or else Su Bei wouldn’t be doing this.

Jiang Tianming nodded. If there were indeed hidden dangers they hadn’t realized, he wanted to know them through fate’s guidance.

Su Bei channeled his mental power into the gear and directed it toward Jiang Tianming and the others. The large compass needle pointed to a specific direction. With his advanced mental power, Su Bei could now predict the fate of up to five people simultaneously instead of three.

After the gear absorbed their fates, Su Bei’s face turned pale. He released the gear, allowing it to display its findings.

The moment he let go, Su Bei felt a large portion of his mental power being drained. Despite the headache, he endured the discomfort and looked up at the gear along with everyone else.

To their surprise, this time the guidance from fate was unusually simple.

It was an arrow pointing southeast.

“What does this mean?” Mo Xiaotian scratched his head. “Are we supposed to head in that direction?”

The others shared the same thought. This was the most straightforward interpretation. They all looked at Su Bei, expecting him to explain further.

Su Bei had indeed pieced together some ideas. The hint was too obvious. However, he needed time to plan, so he said cryptically, “When the time comes, its meaning will be clear.”

Hearing this, Jiang Tianming couldn’t help but recall their first prophecy. At the time, they couldn’t make sense of it, but when they saw the murderer’s purple-red eyes, they immediately understood what the prophecy had meant.

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