Who left their last words here?

Chapter 117 "Abnormal Individuals"? Junior Martial Arts and Senior Craftsman Zhou (6.5k)

"Report! Numbers 7 and 56 have been taken to take the freshman exam. All signals have been blocked from the moment they entered the exam room!"

"Report! Students number 4, 5, 93, and 101 have encountered delinquent students hiding in the restrooms who were skipping morning exercises. They're trapped inside and can't get out!"

"Report……"

Reports from the monitoring personnel kept ringing incessantly in the command vehicle.

The situation seems quite bad, with all sorts of bad news coming in one after another.

Each abruptly ended projection signifies the loss of an extraordinary individual and symbolizes the silent annihilation of a life.

In less than half an hour, the number of images projected on the wall had plummeted from over a hundred to thirty or forty!
These "wild" extraordinary individuals ultimately lacked experience in exploring dangerous places, and their abilities were all uneven, making them relatively weak in the perilous Dream Realization Middle School.

Meanwhile, the advisors were working at lightning speed, and the campus model projected onto the center of the command vehicle was being rapidly improved.

With his unkempt mushroom-shaped long hair, the skinny man stared intently at the images.

His mind raced, and he muttered to himself as he quickly summarized all the available information:
"Suspected: The gray fog can block the sound of teachers and students in the school, but it is ineffective against the sound of gunfire."

"It is confirmed that there is a clear hierarchy among students, and different types of students have very different ways of attacking others and different abilities."

"Questionable: Do the strange creatures seem to have a way of sensing the presence of living beings from the gray fog?"

"Sure:……"

No one knew how much information he was processing and analyzing in his mind at the same time; all they saw was his dead fish-like eyes bulging and red, as if they were about to burst.

But perhaps that's why he's in such a high position, able to oversee the overall situation.

"Sir..."

After reporting the latest intelligence, the secretary, seeing that the gaunt man had temporarily ended his brainstorming session, hesitated with concern.

Noticing his secretary's unusual behavior, the gaunt man lowered his head, took a sip of strong tea from his thermos, and turned his lifeless eyes to look over:

"What's wrong? Tell me!"

After hesitating for a moment, the secretary carefully considered her words:

"I still don't quite understand..."

"Don't you understand why I recruited these people to alert the enemy, instead of using more efficient agency members?"

The gaunt man understood, and turned to signal his secretary to follow him to a dimly lit corner of the command vehicle, as if instantly shutting out the noisy and busy environment.

"Wild Beyonders are always like this; they are almost all no match for official Beyonders."

The weary, gaunt man, blowing on the steam as he sipped his hot tea, would occasionally lower his head and offer his comments:
"Aside from a few prodigies of unknown origin, like the enigmatic [Gem Witch], the potential of ordinary wild extraordinary individuals is limited, and their value in recruiting them is quite low."

Mentioning the "Jewel Witch," the secretary's eyes flickered, and she said:
"I heard that the Special Administration Headquarters has extended an olive branch to the [Gem Witch], intending to include her in their evaluation and recruit her into the agency, so as to fill the training camp quota that needs to be handed over to the higher-ups at the end of the year."

"The training camp..."

The gaunt man's eyes were complicated, as if filled with some emotion, but he quickly shook his head a few times, not intending to linger on the topic.

“I understand your thinking. Instead of wasting time watching these wild extraordinary individuals running around inside the school, it’s better to organize our own people and start attacking directly.”

"In the end, all these resources and time will be wasted, and it is very likely that all efforts will be in vain, with the results far from matching the investment."

"but……"

The gaunt man's voice paused there.
"In fact, FZDC had already alerted the enemy the night before last, before the broadcast was even released."

"The higher-ups dispatched three of their most elite tactical teams to infiltrate the school immediately. Each team leader is a Level 4 Extraordinary being carefully trained by the organization!"

Level 4 Exceptional Leadership! Three of the most elite tactical teams!
The secretary's eyes widened in shock; she was clearly unaware of what had happened before their arrival.

"But in the end, they were all wiped out, and all signals were lost."

The gaunt man's eyes were sinister.
"We don't even know what happened to them inside."

"But what is certain is that the school is shrouded in some invisible rules, and those who do not follow these rules will inexplicably encounter various misfortunes—"

"For example, being caught by the suddenly appearing head of the teaching department and taken to the office or the examination room, and then never heard from again."

“In this situation, facing the complex and ever-changing rules and environment within the school, standardized tactical forces would appear cumbersome and inefficient. We need someone to help us figure out exactly what these intangible rules are.”

"...So, the higher-ups sent me here."

The thin, hunched-over man in the overcoat turned his head, holding a teacup, to look at the hardworking people in the command vehicle:
“These young men have already contributed a lot to the Federation, and it’s not easy to train these talents.”

"At times like these... we need some cheap labor."

As he spoke, the gaunt man's gaze fell again on the projection screens:
"Of course, they are also very clear about their position. It's a mutually beneficial relationship, and I have no intention of harming anyone. All promises will be kept afterward."

"Moreover... the department does need to give these extraordinary individuals a chance."

The man's voice paused here:
"Haven't you noticed? Disasters are becoming more frequent. This is not a good thing. Departments need more manpower, and the government needs more talent!"

"Even the Special Administration can recruit the [Jewel Witch] without any reservations, so we...FZDC can no longer continue to be complacent!"

As if lost in thought, the man sighed softly, his gaze wandering back and forth across the projected screen, hoping to discover some hidden gem that would catch his eye.

"I see……"

The secretary suddenly realized and muttered in a low voice:
"It served two purposes: to find talented individuals among the wild extraordinary, to reduce casualties among headquarters personnel, and to simultaneously gather intelligence on the school..."

"A triple win! Commander, you truly live up to your reputation as the renowned 'Investigation Fox' of FZDC!"

"……what?"

The gaunt man came to his senses and vaguely heard someone calling out the nickname that shamed him.

Then he saw the secretary become solemn, bow slightly to him, and answer with reverence:

"I say, sir, your insight is brilliant!"

"Drip...drip...drip..."

In the noisy environment of the command vehicle, various devices flashed and made soft noises, seemingly becoming more urgent.

It sounded like someone's uneasy heartbeat.

……

The "intruders" are frantically groping their way through the gray fog.

"Crunch, crunch..."

A tooth-grinding sound echoed softly in the gray fog, and the iron gate, covered in scarlet rust that resembled bloody handprints, swayed but could not be pushed open no matter what.

Since there was no handle on the outside of the door, and even the lock was not visible, forcibly breaking down the door to create noise was even more inadvisable.

"It seems this door cannot be opened from this side."

"What kind of lunatic designed this door?"

While cursing and swearing, the three extraordinary individuals used their personal cameras to film the iron gate before moving on to explore the next area.

These three extraordinary individuals, two men and one woman, were officially assigned exploration numbers 9, 31, and 42.

Number 9 looks like a sporty female college student in her early twenties with a single ponytail, wearing a baseball cap and a sports jacket tied around her waist. She is tall and has a cheerful smile, and seems to be the backbone of the three extraordinary individuals.

Number 31 was a burly man in overalls, about 1.9 meters tall, with a buzz cut and a square face. He obediently followed behind Number 9, carrying an enormous backpack slung over his back, which was crammed full of various unidentified tools.

Number 42 was a chubby boy with messy hair and thick glasses. He was out of breath after taking just a few steps and was currently looking around nervously.

"Well, it's alright."

Listening to her companion's complaints, Number 9 shook her head, and the single ponytail of black hair that peeked out from behind her baseball cap swayed and swept through the air.

“I always felt uneasy about this iron gate; it didn’t necessarily lead anywhere.”

"Let's go look somewhere else!"

After saying that, Number 9 slowly began to explore the depths of the gray fog to the side.

The other two nodded in agreement and followed the voice of number 9.

...In fact, despite their unremarkable appearance, they were considered to be the most cautious, capable, and well-coordinated group among these "invaders."

Unlike other temporary teams, they were childhood friends who stumbled into the extraordinary world during a mountaineering expedition and embarked together on the incomplete path known as the "Explorer".

The ancient scroll of the Explorers mentions the origin of this path at the beginning, saying that it was a clumsy imitation of the Adventurer's path by an Extraordinary being of the 'Chen' attribute.

However, after years of struggling in this mysterious world, they have never heard of the "Adventurer" path, or even the related terminology.

"Adventurers" and such... are they really not extraordinary predecessors who were affected by some evil spirits and hallucinated, mistaking myths or fantasy novels for reality?

Although the incomplete [Explorer] path itself is unremarkable, weaker and more prone to getting out of control compared to the official standard path, it is already quite good among wild extraordinary individuals, and the three of them working together are not to be underestimated.

"boom!"

In the distance, the gray fog rang out again with the sound of explosions, followed by screams of agony.

Then everything came to an abrupt halt, and the gray fog returned to its eerie stillness.

"We can't go in that direction anymore!"

Number 9's expression changed, he stopped in his tracks, and all the muscles in his body tensed up.

"Miss..."

Number 31 shrank back, while the 1.9-meter-tall muscular man showed a fearful expression and retreated behind the two.
"Should we really continue exploring?"

Number 9 nodded solemnly, then turned and headed in another direction: "There's nothing we can do about it!"

"Our methods are unstable, and our exploration of the Reflection Ruins has been tainted by much pollution..."

"If we don't get the official purification agent soon, even if they don't come to clean us up, we're on the verge of losing control!"

"This exploration is our only chance to survive!"

Those who are considered extraordinary are not as happy as they initially thought.

With various official oversight bodies constantly watching over them, they can't reveal their extraordinary abilities in public. They have to be extremely careful while also constantly facing the risk of things spiraling out of control and going crazy...

In Number 9's eyes, the extraordinary ones are more like terminal cancer patients struggling to survive, waking up every day with a worried expression and pondering the countdown to their lives.

I wish I could get an official position.

With this in mind, the three of them immediately signed up for this dangerous disaster prevention recruitment.

"This is……?"

Suddenly, number 42 raised his hand and pushed up his thick glasses, his chubby face jiggling twice.

As they ventured deeper into the gray fog, a display wall with an iron frame came into view.

The glass on this display wall is dim and yellowish, and the iron frame is badly rusted. Inside are faded headshots of students, with many small words below them.

"A wall for punishing underachievers?"

Number 42 read out the top word, blinking twice in confusion.

"I've only ever heard of walls showcasing outstanding students, but this is the first time I've ever seen a wall of punishment for failing students..."

Number 42 couldn't continue his rant halfway through.

Because this really does look like an "execution" wall.

The students' headshots, judging from their collars, suggest they are wearing black and white prison uniforms, but each one is unmistakably a creepy, faceless monster.

The text listed below the photos included the name, the score of the most recent exam, a confession, and the punishment.

Total score in the last mock exam: 450 points.

Confession: I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong. I'm sorry to my parents, I'm sorry to my teachers, I'm sorry to my classmates, I'm so sorry...

Criminal punishment: Clean public toilets for one month.

Last mock exam score: 401. Confession: From this day forward, I will study all night long, until my dying breath!

Criminal punishment: Deprivation of the right to rest and sleep for one month.

Total score in the last mock exam: 371 points.

Confession: The first two statements are correct.

Criminal punishment: He was hung from the top of a street lamp at the school gate for a week.

"...So, in this school, those who don't do well in school are publicly executed?"

As I looked at each of the 42 students, I couldn't help but shudder. I remembered the days when I would sneakily make tea, eat hot pot, and read comics in the back row of my school's evening study hall.

Standing to the side, number 31 couldn't help but complain, hugging his bulging biceps, seemingly feeling the cold.

"It seems that this school has a pretty good college acceptance rate."

"...Something's not right!"

Suddenly, Number 9 shouted.

She hurriedly looked away from the display wall and whispered a reminder to the two of them:
"We can't look anymore! There's something wrong with this wall!"

"Ta-da!"

Without asking why, the two people who were reminded immediately looked away and took two steps back.

After No. 9's explanation, the two of them noticed... that the student headshots posted on the execution wall had undergone a horrifying change!
What were originally three photos of a faceless man slowly grew facial features, and his appearance gradually became similar to the three people outside the wall!

Fortunately, as they looked away and distanced themselves, the facial features of the students on the execution wall immediately stopped "growing" and even began to degenerate and disappear.

"That was close... I had a feeling that if those features had grown out, the three of us would have been the ones executed!"

Number 9 let out a slow breath and pulled down the brim of his baseball cap.

She didn't want to be hung up from a street lamp!
But in a sense, this can be considered a blessing in disguise:
"The impenetrable iron gate, the execution wall like a trap—I've recorded them all on camera. These peculiar things are exactly the intelligence that FZDC needs most!"

Risk, of course, also means reward!

"only……"

Number 9 hesitated to speak.

Since plunging into the fog, I've encountered two suspicious and dangerous items after only a few steps... Isn't this frequency a bit unusually high?
How many more places like this are there in this school? Can FZDC really succeed in eradicating this place?
"clatter……"

As Number 9 was pondering, several footsteps came from the gray fog.

"Someone's coming!" Number 31's muscles bulged, and he immediately pulled a chainsaw from his backpack, ready to start it at any moment.

Number 9 and Number 42 were on high alert, their eyes fixed on the direction from which footsteps were coming from the gray fog.

"clatter……"

The figure gradually became clearer.

Instead of the faceless students searching for intruders, it was five burly students with wide-open mouths who came together.

Compared to normal people, they have no nose or ears, only a mouth and a pair of eerie black eyes, making them even more bizarre than those who are completely faceless.

"Are you a newly enrolled student?"

The student in the lead was the most robust, with a chubby face. His lips moved and gradually parted, revealing a gaping maw and sharp teeth.

It sized up the three of them and asked in a drawn-out, leisurely tone:

"Why don't you greet your senior when you see him?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the four students behind it immediately stood up like lackeys and roared at the three of them:

"How can this year's freshmen be so rude?"

"Is this how you treat your senior classmates? Do you even know that Senior Wu is a key member of the Student Union's Sports Department Equipment Section, responsible for managing all the hula hoops in the school?!"

"—Hurry up and introduce yourself!"

The roaring sound shook the gray mist floating in the air.

Five students slowly approached, surrounding the three, their oppressive aura overwhelming them.

"I understand……"

Number 42 suddenly realized that the overly familiar scene before him had awakened some unpleasant memories of his school days.

Then he spat on the ground and cursed aloud:

"Damn it...isn't this school bullying?!"

He never imagined that he, at twenty-three or twenty-four and already a college graduate, would have the chance to experience something like this again in his lifetime!
"You just swore at someone, didn't you?"

The burly student in the lead turned his pupil-less, pitch-black eyes and stared straight at number 42, making number 42 feel a chill run down his spine.

"You don't greet the senior students, and you speak rudely to the student council members... You're great, you're absolutely amazing."

Looking at the three people standing nervously back to back, the martial arts senior slowly stretched his lips into a wide grin, revealing a menacing, bloody mouth where his ears should have been:
"I think you guys really need to be taught a lesson."

"Thorn..."

A hissing sound rang out, followed by a notification from the monitoring operator over the walkie-talkie:

"Be careful! The camera footage shows that the spiritual energy fluctuations of each of these five strange creatures are approaching the level 3 threshold!"

"The leader is an even greater anomaly, equivalent to a Level 3 Extraordinary Being... Please be extremely careful, the three of you, and try your best to escape!"

"—There's no need to say such nonsense!"

Number 42 gritted his teeth and cursed.

When it comes to things like being unable to win, who has more authority to speak on the matter than those present at the scene?
Level 2 extraordinary individuals who are close to the threshold of Level 3 are rare even in Tinghai; at least, they rarely come into contact with each other in the three of their circles.

Any one of them alone would be enough to make the three of them feel like they were facing a formidable enemy and give it their all!
But in this damned Yuanmeng Middle School, these things are wholesaled everywhere like cabbages, and five of them just popped up out of nowhere!
5!
There was even a huge guy who was equivalent to a Level 3 Extraordinary!
We can't beat them! We absolutely can't beat them!
The trio stood back to back, tense and nervous, as the five men pressed them against the wall.

This is so reminiscent of school bullying... but they have absolutely no option to run away and tell the teacher. The sky at Yuanmeng Middle School is darker than a coal ball!
"Buzz! Buzz buzz!"

The chainsaw started spinning, and the muscular man, number 31, mustered all his courage, exhaling two puffs of stale air from his nose, his eyes faintly glowing red:
"We have no choice but to fight!"

Through the cameras, and under the watchful eyes of everyone in the monitoring vehicle, a battle of vastly unequal strength is about to unfold in a deserted corner of the campus shrouded in gray fog.

"They're probably beyond saving, what a pity..."

After making a very objective and calm assessment, the slightly regretful, gaunt man looked away from the projection screen.

The Explorer's Path: In the mist-shrouded Dream Realization Middle School, he had initially held certain expectations for this path...

pity!
"and many more!"

"What is that?!"

Suddenly.

The monitor's voice once again drew the gaunt man's attention.

"Da da……"

In the projected image, the sound of footsteps approached from afar through the gray fog, gradually drawing nearer to the location.

"...Who is it this time?"

The trio looked over.

The five bullies also turned their heads to look impatiently.

The monitoring operator and the gaunt man in the command vehicle also took notice.

Then--

As the figure emerged from the gray fog, they gradually became clearer and saw a boy in a school uniform strolling leisurely towards them.

The boy's eyes were clear and bright, quite different from the stiff and numb students at Yuanmeng Middle School. He even... covered his face with a black cloth.

"His facial features!"

Number 9 was the first to exclaim in surprise, her single ponytail at the back of her head jumping up in fright.

Most students are "faceless," and even the "senior martial arts student" in level 3 is just someone with an extra smelly and hideous mouth.

But this special student, who was wearing a similar school uniform, had eyes and ears that were clearly no different from those of a living person. Even through the black cloth covering his face, one could vaguely see the prominent bridge of his nose...

It's practically a living person! So lifelike!
What level of strangeness is this?!

The trio felt like the sky had fallen.

"An abnormal individual!"

Number 42 took a deep breath, his fat trembling.

In the Realm of Reflected Ruins, and even in the entire Extraordinary World, the abnormal and the special are essentially tied to another concept—

powerful!

"I've hit the jackpot..."

The chubby boy number 42 looked worse than if he were crying.

However, for some reason, as this "abnormal individual" approached, the trio simultaneously felt a strange and inexplicable stirring in their hearts.

It felt like reverence, like intimacy, and also like an indescribable...favor?!
A strange admiration for a student disguised as a person from the Reflection Ruins?!
This throbbing sensation seemed to come from somewhere deeper than the soul, as if it came directly from their destiny, from the path they had taken.

Incomprehensible! Indescribable!
The trio were shocked. They looked at each other and realized that they all seemed to have similar feelings. Soon, they saw their own distorted and horrified expressions reflected in each other's eyes.

—What level of incomprehensible weirdness is this?!
"Say something! Say something now and help me evaluate it!"

On the 31st, someone tried to communicate with the walkie-talkie, but the walkie-talkie only crackled and remained silent.

Clearly, the command vehicle was also busy analyzing and recording the information of this masked "uninvited guest."

At this moment, the burly leader of the bullying group, seeing the newcomer's school uniform, stood at attention solemnly and nervously stammered out:

"Senior!"

"I'm Xiao Wu from the Equipment Section of the Student Union's Sports Department. I'm quite familiar with Senior Liu from the Equipment Section. May I ask who you are...?"

Senior?

really!

The three, trembling with nervousness, all suddenly felt their vision go black.

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

Don't despair when you're in dire straits, because a hero might just appear out of nowhere—

Then you discover that this tough guy is actually Diablo, standing behind the Great Demon King, just like you never know how many deeper holes lie behind the bottom of life.

"cough!"

The "abnormal individual" coughed twice and straightened the wrinkles in his school uniform.

With his eyes darting around, the boy surveyed his surroundings and quickly grasped the general situation.

Then, his gaze swept past the trembling trio and landed on the student who called himself "Xiao Wu":

"You're Wu, right? You can call me... Senior Zhou."

"So, what are you all doing here?"

Bai Zhou's eyes narrowed slightly, his voice calm and unreadable, but this only made the "junior martial arts student" stiffen his neck and become even more uneasy:

"—Could it be that they are bullying the freshmen?"

(End of this chapter)