40: Chapter 40: All Gathered

Chu Xuan looked at the woman in combat gear before him, suddenly feeling that she was somewhat unfathomable.

“Heh, take this pill first; it's good for your injuries.”

The woman tossed a small blue pill toward him, then continued:

“Let me give you a lesson: when you lie, manage your facial expressions better. You need professional training. Of course, even if you were an award-winning actor, you couldn't fool me. I can sense your mental fluctuations and easily judge truth from lies. There are many similar abilities; some people can even directly probe your inner thoughts.”

I know that, of course, like Mind Reading...

Chu Xuan caught the small blue pill and swallowed it in one go. The System prompts appeared again.

[Your spirituality value -10]

[Your bleeding status has been suspended. Your injuries are slowly recovering. Current status will restore 1 Health Point per minute, lasting 10~15 minutes.]

[Current health points: 65]

[Current spirituality value: 60]

“Do you feel it? This medicine can suppress injuries and draw upon the spirituality within your body to repair it, restoring a certain amount of health points.”

The woman's voice rang out once more: “So now, will you continue answering my previous question?”

Chu Xuan avoided the question and asked instead, “Though I'm fairly certain, I still want to confirm—are you Qin Qing?”

“Mhm.” Qin Qing nodded slightly, saying with a faint smile, “And then? Can you answer my question now?”

“Time is tight. I have only one purpose in finding you: to tell you that the Ritual Node is in Dorm 1104. Can you destroy the Night Demon's Ascension Ritual?”

As he spoke, Chu Xuan stared intently into her eyes. He saw Qin Qing’s autumn-water-like eyes suddenly widen, a look of shock appearing on her face.

“You even know about that? Just what Talent did you Awaken? It should be related to precognition... Wait! Why do you want to destroy the Night Demon's Ascension Ritual? This wouldn't happen to be your System mission, would it?”

Qin Qing's mouth clearly didn't move, yet her voice echoed in Chu Xuan's mind once again.

“Mhm.” Chu Xuan nodded slightly, thinking to himself that as expected, he wasn't the only one in this world who had Awakened a Talent, nor was the System exclusive to him.

Qin Qing's eyes instantly filled with fury, no longer cold and indifferent. She lost her composure and said:

“Are you looking for death? You're just a rookie, a greenhorn. Why would you accept this kind of mission? Tell me, what is the mission penalty? How much spirituality value will be deducted?”

Chu Xuan vaguely guessed the reason for her sudden anger, but he couldn't afford to spend more time explaining. Furthermore, he was unwilling to reveal the secrets of his own survival, so he simply said briefly: “I must do it.”

“Let’s move first!”

Qin Qing’s brow furrowed slightly. “The next night is coming soon. Let’s find a place first...”

“We can’t wait for the next night. It’s highly likely the Night Demon will complete the Ascension Ritual immediately.”

“What?” Qin Qing suddenly looked back and said decisively, “Let's go!”

As she walked, she took a small bottle out of her waist pouch.

“Wait a minute!”

A voice suddenly came from behind. The crowd that had been hiding behind the crystal wall with Qin Qing earlier all caught up. “Sister Qing, you’re not really going to that Room 1104, are you? You said you’d lead us out of here!”

“Yeah, and what’s this about a Night Demon? Could there be more danger? We don’t want to go. Sister Qing, you should take us out of here first.”

“Whatever mission Chu Xuan has to complete is his own business; it has nothing to do with us.”

“Sister Qing, didn’t you claim to be an official? Protecting us students is your job, isn't it?”

The group began to grow rowdy.

Qin Qing frowned, but her pace did not falter.

“Didn’t I already say? I’ve found a way out; it’s on the rooftop. You guys go up first, I’ll be there soon. I’ll figure out what to do then.”

As she spoke, she poured three small red pills from the bottle. After a moment's hesitation, she put one back and swallowed the remaining two.

Chu Xuan’s gaze narrowed. He could see that Qin Qing’s body seemed to be having significant issues.

Meanwhile, those students were still talking incessantly.

“You say the way out is on the rooftop, but what happens when we get there? Are we supposed to jump off?”

“Maybe we should go downstairs and check first...”

Seeing them get more and more agitated, Chu Xuan suddenly said, “You guessed right. Jumping from the rooftop is the hope for leaving this place.”

As soon as he said this, the group was stunned for a moment, then immediately began to berate him. “What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean, making us jump off the building?”

“You’re so repulsive! Sister Qing clearly said she would save us and get us out of here. Just to get Sister Qing to help you, you don't care about anyone else's safety, you...”

The group wanted to say more, but Chu Xuan suddenly shot them a cold glance. They immediately shrank back in fear and shut their mouths.

Right then, several voices rang out one after another.

“I believe Chu Xuan!”

“I believe Chu Xuan too...”

Xu Zhiyou, Lin Tong, and the others who had been scattered by the Black-maned Werewolf earlier all gathered around. Including Tang Zheng, only nine people remained.

“Wait, you guys actually believe something like that?” The group from the tenth floor widened their eyes in disbelief.

“I believe him too!”

Qin Qing suddenly spoke. After taking the two red pills, her face was slightly flushed. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the group and said, “I believe Chu Xuan’s words. Jumping from the rooftop is the way to live. Do as he says.”

“Sister Qing...” Their expressions changed slightly.

Qin Qing's expression was indifferent. “My purpose in coming here was to investigate the Specter's true body. I have already fulfilled my duty to you. I am not your nanny, and you shouldn't be giant babies. Now that the way out has been told to you, the choice of what to do is yours.”

Hearing this, the group looked dejected.

After taking the pills, Qin Qing’s condition seemed to have recovered quite a bit. She quickened her pace, forcing the group to jog to keep up.

Just then, the fire door on the tenth floor suddenly opened, and a chaotic crowd rushed in. The person in the lead was the Horse-faced Youth from the eighth floor.

Previously on the ninth floor, the Horse-faced Youth and the Long-haired youth had blocked Chu Xuan’s path. Seeing Chu Xuan injured and covered in blood, they had wanted to use their numbers to force Lin Tong to hand over the black jade, only for Chu Xuan to kill the Long-haired youth with a single sword strike.

The Horse-faced Youth was terrified, but all the lights in the dormitory building had gone out, and it was nearly four o'clock. 'Daytime' was about to end. The Horse-faced Youth could only grit his teeth and run up with the rest of the people from the eighth-floor dorms.

They had encountered several werewolves in the hallway just now, and the Horse-faced Youth and his group from the eighth floor were scared out of their wits. When they reached the tenth floor and saw Qin Qing, it was as if they had found a savior. They were all overjoyed, nearly moved to tears.

“Sister Qing, we finally found you!”