CH 14.1

If Time Could Be Turned Back (1)

The members of the Bureau of Administration were split into several teams and arrived at the emergency entrances of each zone in an orderly manner. Although the atmosphere in the control room was still tense, it regained its previous order.

At the same time, with the emergency repairs of the appropriate technicians, some functions in the combat simulation system were finally restored.

Although most of the large screen on the side was still dark, some zones had begun to light up. Although it was still impossible to locate the specific location of each student, it was now possible to see how many students were left in each zone, which at least eliminated the need for an inch-by-inch search.

"Glacier zone, two people. Rainforest zone, forty-eight people. Desert zone, nine people. Forest zone..."

The staff member looked down at the list, and suddenly paused: "Scorched earth zone, two people."

"Scorched earth zone?" The head person  asked. Was that the zone where the abyss crack was said to be located……?

The staff member's expression also became unsightly. He mumbled, "Yes."

Although he didn’t know anything about combat, he still understood…….for these two students, the odds were against them rather than in their favor.

The head person took a deep breath. He raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. His face seemed tired and old.

He said, “Go on, regarding the scorched earth zone, I'll talk to Chief Mu about it.”

After advising repeatedly about the plan of action, the head person walked towards Mu Heng, who was not far away.

Mu Heng turned his head to look over, and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

The head person spoke up, "Chief... there is a very unfortunate situation."

He took a deep breath and said, "I just found out that two new students are also trapped in the scorched earth zone."

The head person hesitated for a moment and continued, "Do you think they still have the possibility of surviving?"

Mu Heng paused. "Maybe."

"...Whatever the case, thank you very much." The head person sighed and passed over a watch. “Hold onto this. Although the map’s GPS has no use, it can still tell you if a student is within a hundred meters of you.”

Mu Heng nodded. He accepted the watch and put it in his pocket: "I'll try my best."

Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, "What are the names of the two students trapped in the scorched earth zone?"

The head person was taken aback for a moment, as if he did not expect the other party to ask such a question.

He replied: "This... We don't know yet, the system has not fully recovered. We only know the number of trapped students in each zone; we don't know the specifics of who is trapped."

The head person asked, "Which student are you looking for?"

Mu Heng retracted his gaze. "No, I was just casually asking."

*

Lin Yanming kept peeking at Shi An who was walking in front of him.

In the darkness, the adolescent’s pale profile face was blurred and distant; he could only vaguely see the clear and neat outline of his lower jaw, which looked familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

Even though he had walked a short distance, the burnt smell still lingered in his nose.

Lin Yanming blinked.

The after-effects of the fire seemed to remain on the retina. The dark spots left by the hot light still loomed in front of him.

He took a deep breath, did enough mental preparation, and finally spoke up: "Shi An..."

Shi An turned his head and said heartlessly, "Hm?"

The expression on his face was too natural, as if the terrifying fire had nothing to do with him.

"Just now, that... your magic power, that fire..."

Lin Yanming racked his brains to come up with adjectives.

"Oh! That!" Shi An showed a stunned expression.

You understand!

You understand what I want to ask!

Lin Yanming felt rejuvenated and looked at him expectantly…

…Only to see the adolescent scratching the back of his head embarrassedly, and saying,

"It's not that I didn't want to listen to your suggestion before, but about this light, I really don't know."

Lin Yanming: "......"

You understand my ass.

Distracted for a moment, Lin Yanming suddenly mistepped.

He was startled, and after staggering a few steps, he barely managed to stabilize himself and avoid falling directly to the ground.

A backup light source illuminated the small patch of land in front of them.

The soil was a thick and deep pitch black type, but had no moisture at all. It was as if it had been scorched. Irregular cracked lines spread across the land until it was engulfed by darkness.

Wait a moment……

Lin Yanming froze.

He suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have encountered trees or rocks for a while. He didn't know when his surroundings became empty, as if he was walking on a shelter-less plain.

Lin Yanming felt like his brain was like a rusted gear which could no longer turn and made futile clucking noises.

He raised his head sluggishly, and used the backup light source to illuminate the darkness in front of him, carefully discerning the road shrouded in darkness in front of him.

Definitely not the rainforest zone.

And certainly not the forest zone.

Then, it could only be...

"Shi–Shi An," Lin Yanming heard himself say in a trembling voice.

When Shi An heard him, he stopped and turned his head. Unaware, he asked, "What's up?"

"Are—are you sure, you know the way?"

Shi An: "I’m sure, why?"

"But, this–this place, I don't think this is the forest zone." Lin Yanming said slowly.

Unexpectedly, Shi An seemed to be unaware of his strangeness, and nodded very naturally: "Yeah."

Lin Yanming: “.......”

?

??

?????

Lin Yanming was stunned. He could hardly believe his ears.

He turned his head dumbfounded, staring blankly at the adolescent beside him.

Only to see the innocent face of the other party continue in a matter of fact way, “This is the easternmost zone. Don't worry, I definitely didn't go the wrong way!"

The easternmost zone is...

S-level danger zone, scorched earth zone.