Having vanquished four green-skinned monsters,Su Yu felt utterly drained.Though his left arm surged with uncanny power,the rest of his body was wracked with pain,nearly devoid of sensation.Collapsing to the floor,he heard labored,gasping breaths and forced himself to look up.There,Qin Jiagui stood,gripping a wooden club,drenched in sweat.Before him lay a green-skinned brute,its skull caved in,brain matter splattered across the floor.
This was the final monster.moments ago,Su Yu had swung his club with such force that the creature was sent flying.Seizing the opportunity,Qin Jiagui had pounced,raining blows down on its head until it lay still.Now,Qin Jiagui stared at his right hand,transfixed.A strange phenomenon had occurred:a small,dark,scale-like patch had appeared on the back of his hand—not like Su Yu's protruding black scales,but a cold,steel-like fragment.When he touched it,it felt like iron,and when he relaxed his grip,it vanished as if it had never been.
Su Yu cast Qin Jiagui a grateful glance.Had Qin not slain the last monster,Su Yu might well have perished after killing the first four.The classroom now held only the fallen Su Yu,the standing Qin Jiagui,the freshly risen Su Yu,and Lei Rui,who stood dazed by the door.The rest of the room was a scene of utter devastation.
"Su Yu—"Su Yu scrambled to her feet and rushed to his side,her voice trembling as she took in his gruesome state."Su…Su Yu,how badly are you hurt?"Su Yu managed to lift half his head,surveying the four fallen monsters.It felt like a nightmare from which he was just waking.With a bitter smile,he rasped,"I can't move…the pain's…nearly knocking me out.But Su Yu,I never thought…you'd care this much.Do you like me?Just say it."
Taken aback,Su Yu instinctively slapped the back of Su Yu's head."Don't be ridiculous—"But her slap sent Su Yu plunging into darkness.
Qin Jiagui intermittently clenched and unclenched his right hand,savoring the strange energy pulsing within."I get it now,"he murmured,excitement flickering in his eyes."No wonder Su Yu became so formidable.Killing these monsters actually grants powers beyond imagination…"
When Su Yu regained consciousness,he found himself lying on a hospital bed in the infirmary.The room was filled with the clamor of voices;makeshift beds had been added to accommodate the influx of patients.Glancing around,Su Yu realized he was the most heavily bandaged among them,swathed in white like a box,with only his left arm spared.
"Su Yu's awake,"a voice exclaimed with relief.Familiar faces emerged—Su Yu,Lei Rui,and others."Su Yu,"came a sweet voice.Su Yu lifted his head slightly to see a woman with porcelain skin and a graceful demeanor.She was their counselor and English teacher,Ms.Meng Bo,a statuesque beauty in her mid-twenties,her long hair cascading over her shoulders,dressed in a black skirt that accentuated her voluptuous figure.
"You were incredibly brave,"Ms.Meng said,her usual composure tinged with awe."I never expected you to take down four of those…creatures."At the mention of the monsters,even her poise faltered,a shudder passing through her.
Su Yu's thoughts raced to the at least fifteen or sixteen green-skinned brutes that had invaded the campus."What about the others?What's the situation now?Where's Zhang Zhongmou?"
He almost asked about Ning Yan but caught himself when he noticed Su Yu nearby."Young Master Yu,where've your eyes been?I'm right here,wrapped up like a mummy,and all you care about are the ladies?"came a muffled grunt from the adjacent bed.Su Yu turned to see Zhang Zhongmou,his face half-swathed in bandages,yet unmistakably his best friend.
Relief washed over Su Yu.Though Zhang Zhongmou's injuries seemed severe,he was alive."Seventeen in total,"Ms.Meng reported,"all neutralized.Focus on recovering,Su Yu.The rest of you,please leave—give them some peace."
"Yes,ma'am,"Lei Rui replied,casting Su Yu a concerned glance before turning to leave."Su Yu,thank you,"she said softly.Su Yu was taken aback.This was the same Lei Rui who had always looked down on him."What's this about,Class Monitor?"
"I'm thanking you on behalf of the entire class.If it weren't for you…none of us would have made it out alive.You saved us,"Lei Rui said,her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she recalled her past disdain for him.She quickly ushered Su Yu out,the latter casting a final glance at Su Yu before murmuring to Zhang Zhongmou,"Get well soon."
Zhang Zhongmou feigned surprise."Is Su Yu actually showing concern?How about that,eh,Young Master Yu?"Su Yu groaned,pain lancing through his body."I was out for a while.When I came to,I was here.What's really going on outside?Have the police arrived?Do they know what those monster-like things are?Are they escaped zoo animals or some mad scientist's creation?"
"The police?"Zhang Zhongmou's expression darkened."No one's reachable.Every phone's dead,landlines included.This time…it's bad.Over a hundred dead…bodies piled up outside.The school's arguing about how to dispose of them."
Chills ran down Su Yu's spine,followed by a surge of anger."If the phones are down,can't they send someone to check?The police station's not far.How could no one care about something this serious?"
His agitation aggravated his wounds,and he hissed through clenched teeth.Logically,the injured should have been transferred to a city hospital by now,yet here they were,crammed into the school's rudimentary infirmary,surrounded by the moans of the critically wounded.
Su Yu's anger simmered.Could the school be covering this up?But with so many dead,how?
"No,it's not that they don't care…it's that…no one knows where we are now,"Zhang Zhongmou said,his voice tinged with unease.
Su Yu froze."What do you mean?We're at school,aren't we?This is the school infirmary,right?"
Zhang Zhongmou let out a bitter laugh."Hear me out.If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,I'd think I was dreaming.Outside the school…it's all trees.Endless forests,as far as the eye can see.No roads,no residential areas,none of the spots we frequent,like the Tianyuan Net Café or the billiards hall.Just towering trees as far as you can see."
Su Yu stared,thunderstruck."A forest?What forest?"
"Our school's surroundings…they're not the same.The roads,the neighborhoods,everything's gone.Replaced by an impenetrable forest."
The more Zhang Zhongmou spoke,the more his voice wavered,bordering on a whisper.Such claims defied belief.Su Yu gaped,convinced he must have misheard,then turned to another patient."Is any of this true?"
The girl,terror etched on her face,could only nod,too frightened to speak.
The school had been transported into a forest?Su Yu almost laughed it off as a prank orchestrated by Zhang Zhongmou and the others.But then he recalled the thunderous roars and violent shaking before the chaos,and the sudden darkness that had descended.A chilling realization crept over him—a feeling that the very sky had changed.
"The sky…it's changed?"Su Yu shuddered,a cold dread seeping into his bones.