100: Chapter 100 Victory Celebration Banquet? Another feast is about to begin?

"Gu Fan."

Instructor Iron Man's voice was unusually hoarse. He stared fixedly at Gu Fan with eyes that looked as if they were beholding an alien creature that had overturned thirty years of his understanding.

"Tell me... what exactly happened in there?"

Gu Fan yawned and lazily sat up a bit from the sofa.

"Nothing much, just... a normal assessment."

He pointed to the people on his side.

"Look, aren't we all fine? Not a single person missing. We even took a sauna while we were at it; it was quite comfortable."

Iron Man's gaze slowly shifted to Lei Zhen, who was being carried on a stretcher, and then to the members of the Elite Class who looked like defeated roosters. He felt his temples throbbing violently.

"Then what about them?"

"Oh, them."

Gu Fan thought for a moment and said in a very sincere tone, "They might have been over-passionate and got heatstroke. Instructor, you should pay more attention in the future—balance work and rest. You see, on such a hot day, going in for a sauna is bound to cause problems."

Iron Man: "..."

He was actually speechless.

Because he realized what Gu Fan said seemed to have... a sliver of twisted logic.

Ultimately, Iron Man gave up thinking. He waved his hand, his face written with exhaustion.

"You guys... won. According to the regulations, your class will receive the academy's highest-level resource rewards."

"Oh? Really?"

Gu Fan's eyes lit up. "That's great. To celebrate our narrow escape and triumphant return, I've decided..."

He looked around at his teammates.

"We're having a celebration banquet tonight! Hot pot!"

The moment he said this, Xiao Fan's eyes instantly lit up like light bulbs, and Lin Xue unconsciously swallowed her saliva.

Only Xiao Hei silently pulled out a small notebook and began calculating the budget for groceries and the soup base.

That night, Dormitory 404 was steaming hot.

A huge folding round table was set up in the center of the dorm, covered with a disposable tablecloth.

In the middle of the table, a giant Yin-Yang pot was bubbling away. One side was a red soup churning with beef tallow and chili, while the other was a bone broth stewed to a milky white.

The domineering aroma filled the entire dorm and even drifted out through the cracks in the door and windows, making the students of the entire dormitory building weep with craving.

Every member of the Lying Flat Society was present, and even the lion named Wangcai had its own exclusive bowl for meat and bones in the corner.

The only outsider was Instructor Iron Man.

He had been "enthusiastically" invited by Gu Fan and was currently sitting by the table in a daze, staring into the pot.

He wasn't looking at the tumbling tripe and fatty beef.

He was looking at the object propping up the pot.

A flame crystal core.

That S-Rank ultimate treasure, enough to make any fire-attribute Grandmaster go mad, was currently being propped up by a few bricks under the pot, continuously emitting stable and efficient heat.

Its thermal energy output was more perfect than the most Advanced induction cooker, keeping the soup in the pot at the optimal state of being just about to boil without overflowing.

If all the teachers in the school knew about this scene, they would likely suffer a collective myocardial infarction.

A strategic-grade resource... was being used as a heating source for hot pot.

"Come, come, Instructor, don't be polite, eat!"

Gu Fan used serving chopsticks to give Iron Man a serving of freshly blanched premium marbled beef. "I specifically had Xiao Hei go buy this; it's very fresh."

Iron Man woodenly stuffed the beef into his mouth and chewed.

It was delicious.

But he couldn't taste it.

He took another sip of ice-cold beer, then gulped down the whole glass in one go. With bloodshot eyes, he grabbed the shoulder of Xiao Hei next to him.

Xiao Hei was currently wiping a drop of oil that had splattered on the table from a precise angle. His movements paused at this action, his brow furrowed, and a extremely dangerous look appeared in his eyes.

"I... I was wrong!"

Iron Man was drunk. A brawny man over two meters tall was now crying like a three-hundred-pound child.

"I've been teaching for ten years! I've always told my students to work hard! To be passionate! To use sweat to struggle!"

"But only today did I realize! I'm the fucking biggest fool!"

He pointed at Gu Fan. "Look at him! He sleeps! He eats snacks! He turns an S-Rank dungeon into a resort! But he just wins!"

"Tell me! Has my ten years of educational philosophy all been fed to the dogs?!"

With a face full of disgust, Xiao Hei tried to push Iron Man away.

"The boss stipulates no 'scamming' during working hours. Also, your tears and snot have dirtied my freshly disinfected cuff. The cleaning fee is five hundred; please settle it."

Iron Man's crying hitched.

Lin Xue silently swished another slice of mutton, dipped it in sesame sauce, and stuffed it into her mouth.

Watching this absurd yet harmonious scene, she made an important decision in her heart.

The Chain Abyss mission... could be put aside for a while.

After all, the food here was just too good. Infiltration—she must continue to infiltrate!

Just as the dormitory was filled with laughter and joy...

Downstairs, several sneaky figures were approaching under the cover of night.

They were another wave of assassins hired to investigate Gu Fan, much lower in Rank than 'Shadow'.

"The target is in 404. It's said to be heavily guarded; even the S-Rank Shadow fell there. This time we only scout, absolutely don't..."

The leader hadn't finished his sentence.

The window of 404 upstairs suddenly opened.

Xiao Hei walked out carrying a bag of trash, mostly leftover bones.

He seemingly found it too troublesome to go downstairs to throw it away. He glanced at the pitch-black bushes below, swung his arm, and several bones in the bag flew out in a parabolic arc.

Those bones traced eerie curves in the air, as if they had eyes.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Several muffled sounds rang out.

The assassins below didn't even have time to react before being accurately struck on the back of their heads. Their eyes rolled back, and they fainted.

After throwing the trash, Xiao Hei clapped his hands, closed the window, and went back to mopping the floor.

Hiding his achievement and fame.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the celebration banquet reached its end.

Iron Man was already drunk and slumped under the table, still mumbling about "my youth."

Xiao Fan's stomach was bulging, and he was rubbing his belly which felt like it was about to burst.

Gu Fan leaned back on the sofa, playing with the flame crystal core that had already returned to being ice-cold.

"Hmm?"

He suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise.

He discovered that in the deepest part of the crystal core, there seemed to be a wisp of extremely thin, faint black Qi.

That aura was cold, evil, and filled with destruction and ill omens.

It was different from all the energies he had come into contact with before.

[Detected residual aura of the 'Guixu Cult.' Level is too low; no direct threat.]

"Guixu Cult?"

Gu Fan raised an eyebrow, not yet having time to think deeply.

In his mind, the System's notification sounded again, this time with an unprecedented warning tone.

[Warning! Warning!]

[Detected S-Rank 'World Malice' is awakening...]

[Judgment: A massive horror is about to descend, potentially leading to the collapse of the world line.]

[Suggestion to host: Eat more, save some stamina. Something big is coming.]

The expression on Gu Fan's face stiffened.

He sighed, casually tossed the flame crystal core onto the table, picked up his chopsticks, and grabbed the last piece of tripe in the pot.

"Can't you let me finish this meal before I save the world?"