Generation Z Mainland

Chapter 2 Dark Forest (2)

The group walked through the dark forest. Although it was daytime, only a few branches let in some sunlight, and the forest was still eerie and quiet.

Zuo Qihan and Zhang Hanrui, who were walking at the end of the group, were holding each other's arms, looking around as they walked. Suddenly, a voice came from not far behind them: "Aiyaya~"

Not only Zuo Qihan and Zhang Hanrui, everyone turned their heads in horror. Tears welled up in Wei Zichen's eyes again. Yang Jiahao hugged his brother Zhi Enhan and cried. Zhang Guiyuan widened his eyes and grabbed Yang Bowen's arms tightly with both hands, causing Yang Bowen so much pain that he almost cried out.

Three disheveled teenagers stumbled out of a bush behind him. Watching them slowly stand up and brush off the dust and leaves on themselves, Guan Junchen asked, "Who are you?"

The young man glanced at the crowd, stunned. One of them turned around and whispered, "Brother Anxin, why are there so many people here? The magic book records that not many people come to this world."

The boy called An Xin looked Guan Junchen up and down and said, "We are..." Before he finished speaking, another boy beside him had moved a little closer to Zuo Qihan, who was standing next to Guan Junchen. Then, Zuo Qihan said in surprise, "Xixi! Why are you here?"

"Brother Zuo! Long time no see!" Yu Junxi said after hugging Zuo Qihan.

An Xin was confused as she watched the group of people talking and laughing around Yu Junxi, looking very familiar. She poked the boy next to her and said, "Hey, good, Yu Junxi knows them?"

He took a good look at the crowd and said with a smile, "Brother Yu Junxi transferred to Z College before. Ah! They are from Z College!"

Haohao's sudden exclamation drew everyone's attention to him again. Zhang Hanrui looked at his younger brother with a doting smile and said, "Yes, we are from Z College. Yu Junxi attended our school for a year before returning due to family circumstances."

Yu Junxi nodded and returned to An Xin and Haohao. Zuo Qihan asked again, "So, Xixi, you haven't told me why you're here too?"

Yu Junxi looked at his brothers and said, "Oh, let me introduce you. This is my youngest brother, Anxin. Anxin and I were originally on a school trip with Brother Nuo and the others, but we got separated. Oh, and there's him too. His name is Haohao, and he's the elf boy who came out of the magic book that Brother Nuo gave me."

Everyone listened to Yu Junxi's words and looked at the boy in front of him who was about the same age as Chen Junming in disbelief.

"A magic book? What is it?" Chen Junming was the first to raise his doubts. Yu Junxi stretched out his hand, and a large ancient book appeared in his palm. "This is it. My brother Nuo gave it to me. He said I can use it when necessary. The little elf in the book is also the most important companion of Brother Anxin and me."

Yu Junxi had just finished his introduction when a strange laugh came from behind the trees not far away. The more Wang Hao listened, the more familiar it sounded. "That guy must be Senior Yu Yuhan!"

Guan Junchen glanced at him and rushed directly to all his brothers. At the same time, the elf boy Haohao also rushed up, turned to Guan Junchen and said with a smile: "Brother, I will help you protect everyone! This is my mission!"

Guan Junchen looked at this young man who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. Compared with the eighteen or nineteen-year-old young men behind him, he still felt that he was a little too young.
Guan Junchen was just thinking about it when suddenly, Haohao used a huge barrier trick to block the fierce attack from behind the trees and protect everyone present.

The strange laughter behind the trees gradually revealed its true appearance. As the wind blew in, the black cloak that blocked his vision was blown off, and a handsome man in a golden combat uniform fell from the sky.

"Long time no see, kids."

"Yu Yuhan! Senior! It's really you!" Wang Hao was a little excited and almost rushed forward, but was blocked by a magic weapon.

"Brother, please calm down. He is the leader of this dark forest." After taking a good look at Wang Hao, he turned around and stared at Yu Yuhan seriously.

Yu Yuhan tilted his head and looked at Haohao with interest. He smiled wickedly and said, "Hey, isn't this the magical elf Haohao from YX Island? How did you get into my forest?"

"I was ordered to protect Brother Junxi." Haohao said seriously.

Yu Yuhan clapped his hands and said, "Okay, but the person I'm looking for is not you, but someone among you who has concealed his or her true identity."

Everyone looked at each other, whispering whether the other party was hiding some little secret from them. Only Zuo Qihan carefully looked at the palm of his hand, and this action was caught by Zhang Hanrui.

"Zuo Qihan! What are you doing?"

Zhang Hanrui looked at Zuo Qihan's strange behavior, and despite his resistance, he forcibly moved his hand away to check, and found that the mark that had begun to take shape was a mark of fire.

Zuo Qihan turned away with an embarrassed look on his face, not daring to look into Zhang Hanrui's eyes, nor the surprised gazes of the other little friends who were attracted to him.

"At this point, do you still want to hide it? Chi Yan, I've been waiting for you for a long time and want to compete with you!" Yu Yuhan curled his lips and smiled. If it were in the real world, his smile would have charmed countless school girls.

Zuo Qihan frowned and said nothing, hearing the constant questioning from his brothers:
Zhang Hanrui said in surprise: "Xiao Qiqi, what are you doing?"

Yu Junxi asked in disbelief, "Brother, what's going on with you? Okay, what's going on with my brother?"

Haohao shook his head and said, "I only know that this is a fire magic, one of the elemental magics, and it is matched with its combat partner, the Flame Dragon. Elemental magic is divided into five major elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth."

Zhang Guiyuan trembled as he approached Zuo Qihan and asked, "Zuo Qian, when did you show up? We've been studying in the same academy for so long, how come you didn't know about me?"

Yang Bowen stepped forward and carefully examined the mark on Zuo Qihan's palm. He looked up and asked, "I also want to ask, when did you appear? Why didn't you tell us?"

The others surrounded Zuo Qihan, talking one after another, which made Zuo Qihan have a splitting headache. Suddenly, a ball of fire shot out from the mark on his palm, and the color in his eyes turned fiery red, scaring everyone so much that they took several steps back. Zuo Qihan seemed to be controlled by some force. His right hand tightly grasped the left hand that was emitting fire, and he kept walking towards Yu Yuhan.

"Zuo Qihan! Come back! What are you doing! Don't go over there!" Wang Junxi wanted to reach out and grab Zuo Qihan who was passing by him, but found that he couldn't grab him at all.

"Brother Zuo Qihan!" Wei Zichen was frightened to tears again when he saw Zuo Qihan, who had just protected himself even though he was also very scared, being surrounded by a ball of fire and walking step by step towards the leader of the dark forest.

"Zuo Qian! Come back!" Li Jiasen also wanted to grab Zuo Qihan's clothes but missed.

"Brother Zuo Qihan!" Zhi Enhan wanted to run over and be hugged by Haohao.

Zhang Hanrui looked at Zuo Qihan's series of strange actions, and suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He was about to rush to Zuo Qihan's side, but was stopped by Wang Lujie: "Let me go! Zuo Qihan!"

Wang Lujie couldn't pull Zhang Hanrui with both hands. Zhang Hanrui glared at Wang Lujie with tears in his eyes: "Let me go! If you're too late, Zuo Qihan will be in trouble!"

"But you have no choice! You can't do anything!" Wang Lujie shouted loudly.

Tears welled up in Zhang Hanrui's eyes as he watched Zuo Qihan retreat from him, the flames rising higher and higher. He recalled an incredible discovery he had made one night.
Yang Hanbo couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward to scold him, "Why on earth is Senior Yu Yuhan trying to duel with Zuo Qihan? He probably doesn't even know what's going on with his body. He won't be able to handle it if you challenge him to a duel like this!"

Yu Yuhan smiled and shook his head, saying, "No, no, no, he knows best whether he can bear it or not, right? Chi Yan."

At the same time, some images suddenly emerged in Zuo Qihan's mind:
Outside an equipment warehouse of Z College, a group of students and teachers were discussing something noisily. A male college student in school uniform walked out of the crowd, looked down at his palms, frowned, and then clenched his fists.

No one would have thought that an incredible battle took place in this equipment warehouse last night.

Just yesterday, after evening study, Zuo Qihan and his roommate Zhang Hanrui were about to return to the dormitory when he suddenly received a text message on his phone:
"Student Zuo Qihan, please come to Warehouse A immediately. If you are late or don't come at all, you will bear the consequences at your own risk."

Zuo Qihan finished reading the message. Zhang Hanrui noticed something was wrong with him and asked with concern, "Xiao Qiqi, what's wrong with you? Who sent this message?"

Zuo Qihan looked at him, smiled, and said, "It's okay, it's just a scam text message."

Zhang Hanrui said "Oh" and said nothing more.

When they were almost at the dormitory door, Zuo Qihan patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Oh, A'rui, look at my memory. I left something in the classroom and I have to go back to get it."

Zhang Hanrui glanced at his phone and said, "What time is it? Why don't we pick it up tomorrow?"

Zuo Qihan shook his head and turned around without waiting for Zhang Hanrui to speak again. As he turned around, he said, "I'm going to the classroom. You go back and take a shower and go to bed first."

Watching Zuo Qihan running away and disappearing around the corner, Zhang Hanrui became a little suspicious. Did this guy really have to go up there tonight to get it? What important thing was it?

Zhang Hanrui thought so, and quietly trotted to catch up with Zuo Qihan. After watching Zuo Qihan run to the door of Warehouse A, he was stunned. Why was he going to the warehouse in the middle of the night? Wasn't he going to the classroom?

Zuo Qihan didn't notice anyone at the warehouse door; it was only slightly ajar. He wondered, who else besides the teacher could open it? Confused, Zuo Qihan cautiously approached the door. At that moment, perhaps due to the wind or some other reason, the door slowly opened on its own, as if inviting him in.

Zuo Qihan walked in quietly, and the door closed again. Zhang Hanrui watched Zuo Qihan enter the warehouse, so he also quietly slipped to the door, holding it and listening for any movement inside.

"Who? What do you want from me?" He bravely shouted at the dark warehouse.

"Finally here, you've been dawdling for so long." A voice came from right in front of him. Zuo Qihan looked over and saw a man in a cloak.

"I'm already fast enough! I ran here. Besides, I was about to go back to the dormitory when you suddenly asked me to come over! Tell me what's the matter?" Zuo Qihan was not too scared because the man's voice sounded like a student of the school. He slowly approached the man.

When the man turned around, he lifted his cloak behind him and a familiar face appeared before him.

"Huang Shuo? Brother?" Zuo Qihan looked at the man's face and felt puzzled. He hadn't seen him since he transferred to this school. Why did he suddenly appear?
Huang Shuo curled his lips into a smile. Zuo Qihan took a small step back and asked in a skeptical voice, "Why are you here?" Huang Shuo was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head and smiled, "Xiaohan, how are you feeling lately?"

"It's fine, but I've been feeling a little uncomfortable lately, probably because of the changing seasons."

Huang Shuo pretended to be puzzled and asked, "So, you didn't encounter anything strange?"

"Yes, I don't know who played a prank on me and put stickers on me. I haven't had time to wash them off yet." Zuo Qihan said with clenched fists.

Huang Shuo raised his eyebrows and said, "Can I see the sticker in your hand?"

After Huang Shuo finished speaking, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have let something slip, but Zuo Qihan had already cast a puzzled look at him.

".I, I don't think I said it's on my hand? How did you know?"

"Nothing, where did you put the sticker?" Huang Shuo was a little flustered but quickly calmed himself down.

Zuo Qihan looked at Huang Shuo's expression and thought for a while, it was just a mark, it should be fine, so he opened his palm to show Huang Shuo.

"Don't you feel anything unusual?" Huang Shuo looked at the mark and raised his eyes to glance at Zuo Qihan.

"No."

Zhang Hanrui was stunned listening at the door. What sticker? What anomaly? What a mess?

At this moment, a black shadow fell from the sky and stood at the door of the warehouse. He turned his head to look at Zhang Hanrui beside him. Zhang Hanrui was already trembling with fear. The black shadow turned his head away in disdain and kicked the door of the warehouse open.

Zhang Hanrui rolled his eyes in his mind: What? Scary in the middle of the night?

Suddenly, the situation in the warehouse made him look around again:

The black shadow rushed into the warehouse and went straight to Zuo Qihan, trying to take him away. Huang Shuo stepped forward to stop the man. While the man was fighting with Huang Shuo, Zuo Qihan quickly found a safe large equipment to hide, but it did not prevent him from sticking his head out to eat the melon.

After an unknown amount of time, Zuo Qihan heard the noise outside getting smaller and smaller. Huang Shuo panted and said, "Come out."

Zuo Qihan ran out from behind the equipment and asked, "Did that person run away?"

Huang Shuo hummed, then turned to look at Zuo Qihan and said seriously, "Don't tell anyone about what happened to me today, do you hear me? Forget everything you just saw and heard." After he finished speaking, before Zuo Qihan could reply, Huang Shuo chased after him.

Zhang Hanrui noticed something was wrong and quickly ran back to the dormitory before Zuo Qihan.

After Zuo Qihan returned to the dormitory, Zhang Hanrui turned his back to him and pretended to be woken by the sound of Zuo Qihan opening and closing the door: "Did you forget something? You were gone for so long, and before I went to bed, I was thinking of locking you out."

Zuo Qihan shrugged and said, "No, I searched for my things for a long time after I arrived before I remembered they were in the dormitory. Go to bed, it's getting late."

Zhang Hanrui fell down again with his back to Zuo Qihan, his hands soaked in the quilt, staring at the wall in a daze. After an unknown amount of time, he came to his senses, turned over and looked at Zuo Qihan across from him, and whispered, "Xiao Qihan, how many things are you hiding from me?"

The memory ends.

Suddenly, Yu Yuhan curled his lips slightly, cast a spell with one hand, and directed it towards the person behind Zuo Qihan.

Zhang Hanrui was hit by the force of Yu Yuhan's sudden attack. Before he fell, he shouted loudly: "Zuo Qihan!"

At this time, fire gradually appeared in Zuo Qihan's eyes, and he no longer used his right hand to control his left hand. His body was completely wrapped in fiery red light. Everyone was surprised to find that this ball of light changed the color and style of Zuo Qihan's school uniform. Zuo Qihan was wearing sharp and hard armor on his shoulders, a golden coat, and a fiery red cloak. A flaming battle robe gradually appeared in front of everyone under the illumination of the fire.

"Stop! Let go of my friend!"

Fu Ziming stared at Zuo Qihan with his eyes wide open. A roaring fire dragon emerged from the flames and circled above his head, shocking everyone present except Yu Yuhan. He knew that the Fire Dragon Blazing Battle Robe would best demonstrate its fierce power when the user's emotions reached a peak.

"If you want a duel, come at me! Don't touch my friends!" Zuo Qihan almost roared, and the Flame Dragon also rushed towards Yu Yuhan with this roar, but Zuo Qihan, who used this ability for the first time, could not control it well. The Flame Dragon paused two or three meters in front of Yu Yuhan and was suppressed by a sudden trick used by Yu Yuhan. Then the Flame Dragon disappeared, and Zuo Qihan's energy also weakened. The flames disappeared little by little, and his battle robe was shattered. Zuo Qihan, wearing a tattered school uniform, gradually lost his strength and fell to the ground.

Guan Junchen quickly stepped forward to help Zuo Qihan up. Yu Yuhan smiled and shook his head and said, "So you suddenly rushed over to protect your friends? But I have to remind you that you can't protect them with your current ability. You can't control the Flame Dragon well. If you can't control it well, it will backfire on you. I could have beaten the Flame Dragon back for you, but considering that you are still a beginner, I will deal with the disobedient Flame Dragon for you first. When you can control it well, I will come to fight you again." As he said that, Yu Yuhan turned around and gradually disappeared in front of everyone.

"Hey, hey, hey! You're leaving now? You want to run away after beating someone up like this? Also! How can we get out of here?" Wang Junxi rushed to the front and shouted loudly at Yu Yuhan's receding back, but Yu Yuhan acted as if he didn't hear him and disappeared into the depths of the forest without looking back.

"How is Zhang Hanrui?" Zuo Qihan asked weakly.

Yang Hanbo took out a bottle of water from his bag and handed it to Zuo Qihan, who was already thirsty. Yang Bowen unscrewed the bottle cap for him, but Zuo Qihan turned his head away without drinking it. He propped himself up and stood up to go look for Zhang Hanrui, who had just been hit by Yu Yuhan.

"Ari!"

Zuo Qihan, supported by Guan Junchen, walked towards Zhang Hanrui, who was being carefully examined by the elf boy.

"Little Qiqi." Zhang Hanrui responded to Zuo Qihan weakly. After checking thoroughly, he looked at Zuo Qihan again and said, "Brother, are you okay?"

Zuo Qihan sat next to Zhang Hanrui and said, "It's okay, just take a break. Is Arui Zhang Hanrui okay?"

Haohao said: "It's not a big problem. There's no physical injury. Just take a rest."

Zuo Qihan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when Yang Jiahao suddenly ran up to him, tears in his eyes, and said, "Brother Zuo Qihan, you scared us to death! It was so dangerous just now!"

Zuo Qihan touched his hair lovingly and said, "It's okay, it's just a small problem. I'm in good health!"

Then he looked up at Guan Junchen and said, "It seems we need to first figure out how we got here, why Senior Yu Yuhan has strange abilities, and the mark on my body. Maybe if we figure these out, we can go back."

Guan Junchen nodded, looked around, and said, "Since you and Zhang Hanrui are both injured, just rest here for a while. No one should be coming for the time being."

Everyone agreed and rested where they were. Some were in a daze, some said they were looking for food nearby, and some were looking for water. Zuo Qihan and Zhang Hanrui sat together to recuperate. Zhang Hanrui stared at Zuo Qihan for a long time, which made Zuo Qihan smile awkwardly: "Why do you keep looking at me?"

Zhang Hanrui turned his head to look at the elf boy taking Zhi Enhan to see the flowers and plants: "Nothing, I'm just curious about how many secrets you have been hiding from me."

Zuo Qihan was silent for a while. He didn't know how to explain this strange incident to Zhang Hanrui.

"If I hadn't followed you that day, were you planning to keep it a secret from me?" Zhang Hanrui asked with tears in his eyes.

Zuo Qihan turned to look at Zhang Hanrui and was stunned: "What?"

This sentence was said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to be heard by the other people who were still around, and their eyes were once again focused on Zuo Qihan.

[To be continued]

(End of this chapter)