35: The homeroom teacher had a recipe for aphrodisiacs hidden in her lesson plan.

Thick blood writhed on the blackboard like countless dark red earthworms, twisting into several eye-catching characters in running script.

[Teacher Loyalty Supplementary Test].

Su Chen stood at the side of the podium.

Watching white chalk dust spewing out from the gaps in the floor tiles beneath his feet, the originally eerie secret room transformed into a lecture hall that filled him with physiological disgust in less than ten seconds.

This restructuring, which defied physical common sense, made the hair on the back of his neck stand up slightly, and his right hand subconsciously reached for his lower back.

That was where he habitually drew his blade, though now there was only a cold piece of compressed biscuit he had just swiped from the bronze coffin.

As if pulled by some invisible force, Qin Ya walked onto the podium with stiff steps.

Her usually smooth white shirt was now crumpled, the collar hinting at a disorganized sort of temptation, but the expression on her face was worse than that of a dead person.

*Clatter.*

A thick lesson plan dropped onto the podium, its yellowed pages flipping open automatically.

Su Chen took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the lesson plan like a knife before that inexplicable pressure could completely seal off the classroom.

Having spent three years in Class 1, Senior Grade 3, he was all too familiar with Qin Ya's handwriting.

It was a Slender Gold script that carried the gentleness of a Jiangnan woman, yet revealed a hint of vigor in the turns of the strokes.

But at this moment, a piece of paper sliding out from the layers of the lesson plan caused his pupils to shrink suddenly.

It was a "prescription," or perhaps more accurately, a "witchcraft formula."

[Yang-Boosting Foundation-Strengthening Decoction: Exclusive supplement for the Sacred Yang Physique.]

[Main Ingredients: Strands of hair (Female Essence), Blood of Extreme Yin (Yin Origin Catalyst)...]

Su Chen stared at the paper, his stomach churning.

This ancient and sinister formula had actually appeared in the lesson plan of a public high school teacher who advocated science.

What chilled him even more was the date at the bottom.

Three days before the apocalypse descended.

*Screech—*

The sound of sharp fingernails scratching the floor interrupted his thoughts.

Su Chen looked down and saw Zhao Wanting lying in the shadows below the podium like a dying fish.

Her fingers dug into the hard composite flooring, scratching out four bloody characters.

[She knew all along].

Zhao Wanting's eyes rolled back, turning into white dead-fish eyes, then her head slumped to the side as she fell completely unconscious.

"Teacher Qin, care to explain?"

Su Chen pressed forward a step, the aura of a martial arts master venting out without reservation, as the hot Sacred Yang Qi blew the stray hairs at Qin Ya's temples.

"Three days before the apocalypse, you had already planned to 'nourish my body'? Isn't your dedication to teaching and nurturing a bit too avant-garde?"

Qin Ya's body trembled violently. She looked at the prescription as if looking at a death warrant.

"Su Chen, I never thought of harming you..."

Qin Ya's voice shook out of tune. She subconsciously tried to back away, only to bump into the cold blackboard.

"The Principal gave me a list half a month ago, saying you were a 'Sacred Yang Divine Body Alert Target'."

"My mission... my mission was to get close to you and record your physical data. That prescription was forced on me by them, saying it was to ensure the vitality of the 'experimental subject'."

"Experimental subject?"

Su Chen sneered, his right hand slamming against the blackboard, trapping Qin Ya in his arms.

He could smell the scent of cold sweat from her extreme fear, mixed with a faint, ripe feminine fragrance.

"So, you pretending to pass the playground every day to watch my morning exercises, and staying those extra two minutes during room inspections at night, were all to complete some so-called KPI?"

This humiliation of being observed like a specimen made him angrier than being attacked by monsters earlier.

"It's not like that!"

Qin Ya suddenly looked up, tears streaming down her lovely cheeks.

"I did record your movements, but the reports I finally submitted were all fake! I told them you were just an ordinary martial arts enthusiast, with a physique not even as good as the special recruitment students on the track team, because I saw..."

She gasped for air as if trying to drain all the oxygen from her lungs.

"I saw that you don't sleep at all at night, guarding the back gate alone just to prevent those thugs from outside the school from coming in to steal the girls' underwear."

"Su Chen, you thought you hid it well, but I saw everything... Why should a fool like you be treated as a sacrifice by them?"

As if having made a decision, Qin Ya suddenly tore open the third button from the top of her shirt.

In the center of her snow-white collarbone, a dark green rune was actually branded.

The rune was pulsing slightly in sync with the blood characters on the blackboard, emitting a cold aura.

"This is a 'Tracking Talisman' they planted. As long as I am near you, it will collect your vital energy."

Qin Ya smiled miserably, her fingernail slashing hard across the rune, and blood immediately seeped out.

"But on the day I was in danger and you stood in front of me, I already destroyed it. I used my internal breath to forcibly clash with the rune. In this lifetime... I might never be able to advance as an Awakened One again."

Su Chen was stunned.

He stared at the somewhat hideous scar, the fire in his heart doused as if by a bucket of cold water.

He could feel that there was indeed a violent and chaotic aura remaining at the wound; it was a mark of forced self-mutilation, something that couldn't be faked.

*Buzz—*

Just then, the lights in the classroom suddenly went out.

The bronze key in Su Chen's pocket seemed to sense something, erupting with a dazzling golden light.

The light illuminated the last page of the lesson plan, where there was a line of text smaller than a grain of rice that only Su Chen could see: [If there is true affection, the test may be waived].

The system was not only toying with bodies but also teasing souls.

Qin Ya tremblingly reached out her hand, gently pressing it against Su Chen's chest, which was as hard as granite.

This time, there was no coercion, no fear.

It was the final gamble she made in a desperate situation.

Her icy palm pressed against Su Chen's burning chest.

Sensing this pure emotion, the Sacred Yang Qi was no longer violent, but instead flowed into her palm like a warm current.

The blood characters on the blackboard seemed to be washed away by some invisible force; the eerie red quickly receded, replaced by a brilliant dark gold.

[Teacher Qualification Certification: Passed].

*Boom!*

The classroom before his eyes collapsed instantly.

That intense feeling of weightlessness made Su Chen's head spin. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in front of the door of the survival bus.

All the spoils of war were also automatically teleported into the bus, which was extremely eerie.

Lin Mengyao was leaning against the bus door, her face terrifyingly pale, clearly not yet recovered from the "wedding ceremony" earlier.

Qin Ya followed behind Su Chen, her eyes somewhat evasive. The broken button hadn't been fastened yet, revealing a breathtaking patch of white.

"Brother Chen, hurry up and get in! Something's wrong with the fuel gauge!"

A girl's terrified shout came from inside the car window.

Su Chen composed himself and stepped onto the bus.

But the moment he stepped onto the stairs, the entire survival bus shuddered violently without warning.

That vibration didn't come from an uneven road, but rather felt like the steel monster itself was shivering.

Su Chen frowned, his nostrils twitching slightly.

In the air filled with the smell of gasoline, he caught an extremely dense and ominous scent... of rouge.

On the rusty casing of the fuel tank, the hard metal actually bulged out in a small lump like human muscle, even opening and closing slightly.