Gao Wu: I'll enjoy the benefits, but you'll bear the side effects.

The group exchanged glances, knowing full well that this was a truly disastrous situation.

Hou Agui is definitely in grave danger; it's almost certain he's doomed.

Now that things have come to this, they know they are powerless to change anything; no one can change this reality, and they can only accept it helplessly.

Subsequently, Gao Jie, Huang Xu, Huang Muran, and Xu Rourou returned to the school dejectedly with zero scores.

Having just experienced that thrilling, life-or-death ordeal, they were filled with mixed emotions.

In comparison, getting a zero on this exam seems insignificant.

It was as if simply surviving was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

After they returned to school, an unusual tranquility permeated the campus.

However, beneath this seemingly calm surface, unseen undercurrents are surging.

It's unclear who sneaked into the laboratory while everyone was distracted.

Like a ghost, it appeared silently and quickly took away the USB drive that had appeared earlier.

The appearance and disappearance of this USB drive is like a mystery, shrouding the entire incident.

Meanwhile, Hou Youcai waited in vain for his son Hou Agui, and a strong sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.

He knew things were going badly.

Using his profound expertise in the technology field, he attempted to use various advanced technological means to search for his son's whereabouts in the virtual world, hoping to save his son from that unknown danger.

He worked tirelessly in front of the computer day and night, his eyes filled with exhaustion and anxiety.

His fingers tapped incessantly on the keyboard, as if it were the only link between him and his son.

However, fate played an extremely cruel joke on him.

No matter how hard he tried, he could never break through that invisible barrier and reach the dangerous world where his son lived.

When Hou Youcai finally found his son, the horrific scene struck him like a thunderbolt, and he collapsed to the ground.

Hou Agui had been tortured beyond recognition by the monster inside, and most of his body had been mercilessly digested.

Only some incomplete limbs and fragments of clothing remained, scattered in that virtual space filled with terror and death.

Hou Youcai plopped down on the ground, staring blankly ahead, his eyes filled with despair and collapse.

"How could this happen? Please, God, tell me why this is happening?"

Hou Youcai clutched his head in his hands, crying out in anguish. His voice echoed in the silent room, filled with endless grief and resentment.

"My son was so young, God, how could you let him die like this?"

His tears flowed like a burst dam, streaming freely down his wrinkled face and soaking his clothes.

Hou Youcai cried incessantly, his body trembling uncontrollably, as if the whole world had collapsed at that moment.

But what good is his heartbroken weeping now?

Everything was beyond repair; his son had left him forever.

Amidst this immense grief and despair, Hou Youcai's thoughts gradually descended into chaos, but soon, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

He remembered his son saying he wanted to deal with Xu Rourou, and now that things had turned into this tragedy, he subconsciously concluded that it must be related to this woman.

Driven by hatred and grief, a cold glint gradually appeared in Hou Youcai's eyes.

He secretly vowed to make Xu Rourou pay a terrible price for her son's death.

Hou Youcai was filled with a mixture of confusion and anger. He paced back and forth in the room, muttering to himself.

"But what exactly happened? How did things turn out like this?"

His brows were furrowed, and his eyes revealed deep confusion and bewilderment.

Despite being filled with doubts, I tried to sort out the mess of events.

He speculated about the possible hidden reasons, but for a moment, he just couldn't figure out what went wrong.

It felt like groping in the dark, knowing full well that something was wrong.

But they could never find that crucial clue and could only wander in endless confusion.

Hou Youcai grew angrier the more he thought about it, his anger burning like an uncontrollable raging fire.

He couldn't help but stomp his feet in anger, the heavy footsteps echoing in the silent room, as if they were the angry shouts of his heart.

However, he also knew clearly that no matter how hard he stomped his feet, he couldn't change the cruel reality that had already happened.

This was merely an instinctive outburst from his despair.

Enraged to the extreme, Hou Youcai grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it hard on the ground.

With a crisp shattering sound, the cup instantly turned into countless fragments, just like his broken heart at that moment.

He roared fiercely at the people around him.

"Immediately issue the order: I will make these arrogant fools pay the price! I absolutely will not allow my son to die so unjustly. I must make them pay, a million times the price!"

His voice was hoarse with anger, and every word seemed to carry endless hatred and power, sending chills down one's spine.

Hou Youcai was in a state of extreme collapse. His only son had left him forever, which was undoubtedly a devastating blow to him.

He couldn't understand how things had suddenly gotten so bad.

He had planned his son's future countless times, hoping he would achieve great things.

But now, all these beautiful dreams have vanished in an instant, leaving only endless pain and regret.

Meanwhile, in a small tavern outside the school, Gao Jie, Huang Xu, Huang Muran, and Xu Rourou, who had survived the ordeal, were sitting around a table.

After experiencing that harrowing life-or-death ordeal, their faces still bore a trace of fatigue, but more than anything, they were filled with gratitude for being alive.

Everyone ordered their favorite dishes. After all, they had almost been wiped out today, and now that they were finally safe, it was time to treat themselves.

Xu Rourou seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, her face beaming with a bright smile as she warmly greeted everyone.

"What do you guys want to eat today? Hurry up and order, it's on me. I was planning to take you guys to get some better steak, but since none of you are going, well, we'll just have to eat something simple."

Upon hearing Xu Rourou's words, Huang Xu and Huang Muran's faces were filled with disbelief.

In this peculiar world, steak is an extremely rare food in Nanjing, with only a handful of restaurants in the entire city selling it.

Due to global changes, beef production has decreased significantly, making it an exclusive delicacy for the upper class, with ordinary people having no chance to taste it.

Even though Gao Jie's parents worked at the beef factory for so long, they only got to eat beef a few times a year.

So how could they not be surprised that Xu Rourou so generously offered to treat them to steak?

Now, Huang Muran and Huang Xu looked completely incredulous.

"You're not really a rich girl, are you? Your family is so wealthy, you can just eat steak whenever you want?"

"If you really are a rich girl, then I'll feel a little resentful."

Huang Muran chimed in from the side.

"That's right. You're not really that rich, are you? But from the first moment I met you, I felt something was off because you're completely different from us."

"Your tone of voice and the way you act are completely different. Hey, what's going on with you?"

Huang Muran and Huang Xu's words made Xu Rourou laugh out loud.

Xu Rourou hadn't been this happy in a long time; this was what it felt like to have many friends.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Rourou said.

"Actually, I didn't mean to hide it from you, but there are some things I can't say. Anyway, it's enough that you know I have no ill intentions."

"Secondly, I don't have anything else to say, I just wanted to chat with you guys."

"However, we still need to discuss the most fundamental issue. They suddenly turned against us like this, and we don't even know who did it. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

"Furthermore, if Hou Agui gets into trouble within the system, there will definitely be people who won't let it go. What should we do then?"

Gao Jie frowned and expressed his concerns with a serious expression.

Upon hearing this, the previously relaxed atmosphere immediately became heavy again.

Gao Jie pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"To be honest, this matter is far from simple, and there are likely complex reasons behind it that we haven't yet figured out. Anyway, things have come to this point, and continuing to drag things out or get entangled in it won't lead to anything good."

"We need to be careful when we go out next. Try not to go out alone. You two girls should stay together as much as possible, and we two boys should stay together as well, so we can look out for each other."

After listening to Gao Jie's suggestion and thinking about it carefully, the others felt that it was indeed necessary and nodded in agreement.

So, after finishing their meal, the group got up to return to their dormitories, and all planned to carefully and cautiously deal with the possible situations that might arise, just as Gao Jie had suggested.

But just as he was heading back to his dorm, an accident happened.

Huang Xu is usually a bit forgetful, and this time he actually left his phone at the bar.

After walking for a while, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, and then he slapped his forehead and realized that he had forgotten to take his phone.

In her haste, she completely forgot Gao Jie's words, her mind only focused on finding her hand again.

He then hurriedly ran back to the tavern by himself.

He rushed back to where he had been sitting, bent over and searched under the table and around the chair for a long time before finally finding his phone in the corner.

He quickly picked up his phone, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

He was still chuckling to himself, about to turn around and go back.

As soon as she turned around, she froze, and the smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of utter terror.

Standing at the entrance of the tavern was Hou Youcai, whose face was gloomy.

Behind him followed several men with serious expressions who seemed to have ill intentions.

"Young man, where are you looking to go? No problem, let's sit down and chat, shall we?"

Hou Youcai wore a seemingly kind smile, but that smile sent chills down one's spine.

"I have a very good temper. Let's find a place to have a good talk, okay?"

As he spoke, he slowly walked towards Huang Xu.

Huang Xu suddenly remembered what Gao Jie had said and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

He secretly berated himself for being a pig-brain, how could he have overlooked such an important matter at such a crucial moment?

He didn't care about anything else at that moment. He made a quick decision and prepared to turn around and run away, thinking that as long as he could get out, he could go back and find other people to help him.

But before he could even take a step and run away, the men Hou Youcai brought quickly surrounded him.

He grabbed him in one swift motion, shoved him forcefully, and threw him to the ground.

Huang Xu was in pain all over from the fall and struggled to get up, but was held down by several people.

Hou Youcai calmly walked to a table and sat down.

He picked up a cup of tea that had already been brewed and sipped it slowly, but his eyes were always smiling as he looked at Huang Xu on the ground.

That look was as if it were scrutinizing prey that had fallen into a trap, sending chills down one's spine.

"Young man, you're really disrespecting me. I brought a whole group with me, what are you up to?"

Hou Youcai put down his teacup, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction and pressure.

"To be honest, I have a temper. If you try to play these pointless games with me, I really will turn on you, do you understand?"

The threat in those words was obvious, and Huang Xu was terrified when he heard them.

But at this moment, he was powerless to resist and could only look at Hou Youcai in despair, not knowing what fate awaited him next.

As he spoke, Hou Youcai moved closer and tugged at his clothes.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly happened back then? Explain it clearly!"

"Don't think I don't know that my son's accident has nothing to do with you. Do you think you can get away with it?"

"I know your name is Huang Xu, and I know which class you're in. If you don't want me to make a scene, you'd better tell me what happened again. Also, I want to know who hurt my son!"

"I must avenge my poor son. I will never let anyone get away with this."