16: No! I haven't even said "start" yet!

What came into view was a scene of utter devastation. Trampled tracks formed a wide path leading straight toward the entrance of the Alien Space.

Dozens of meters ahead, a field of corpses lay scattered.

Among them were the bodies of demon beasts, but also humans!

"Those uniforms... they're from the Demon Slaying Army!"

Qi Tian's eyes narrowed as he spoke in a heavy voice.

Director Liu led the group to the scene.

Aside from the demon beast corpses covering the ground, there were several familiar faces—they were actually members of the Demon Slaying Army who had entered with them!

However, their deaths were horrific; not a single corpse was intact. Some were missing half a head, others were missing a leg, and all were a mangled mess of flesh and blood... This bloody scene was a massive shock to Fang Bai and the others!

"Blergh—"

Qi Tian was the first to lose it, rushing to the side to vomit.

Fang Bai's face was pale. Across two lifetimes, he had never seen such a scene with his own eyes, only in movies... Even A Xiu's brow was tightly furrowed... Director Liu's expression was grave as he said with a hint of sorrow, "They encountered a beast tide."

Although the Demon Slaying Army was powerful, they stood no chance against a beast tide!

"So many people have died. What's the situation with Captain Qi and the others now?"

Fang Bai asked worriedly.

Director Liu looked toward the end of the tracks and said solemnly, "I'm afraid that beast tide has already headed toward the entrance of the Alien Space!"

Fang Bai's lip twitched as he asked, "Then what do we do?"

If the beast tide was waiting for them there, they might not be able to get out.

Director Liu thought for a moment and then said, "We'll follow them and see what the situation is."

"Stay safe and don't leave my sight!"

Director Liu instructed the group.

Fang Bai and the others nodded heavily.

No kidding. In this situation, they wouldn't leave even if they were told to!

As they passed the brutal battlefield, Fang Bai suddenly saw a familiar person.

By a small hill of piled demon beast corpses stood a tall figure. His eyes were now empty sockets, one arm was missing, and his lower body was buried in the pile of demon corpses. Yet even so, he remained upright, dead but unfallen!

Fan Gang!

The Vice-Captain of the demon slaying squad!

A Third-rank Martial Artist!

Fang Bai hadn't expected that even he would be dead!

In his memory, it was still their first time killing a demon wolf, when Fan Gang had given them a thumbs up with an appreciative smile: "Not bad at all!"

And now, he had become a corpse.

Fang Bai fell silent.

He didn't dare imagine how heavy the losses of the demon slaying squad were if even the Vice-Captain was dead!

A hand patted his shoulder, and Director Liu said calmly, "You will encounter more partings of life and death in the future. You'll get used to it."

Fang Bai looked at him.

Director Liu forced a bitter smile: "You may not have seen with your own eyes the sight of teachers, classmates, friends, lovers, or family members dying tragic deaths, but this is the reality of the other side of this world—it is this cruel!"

Fang Bai and the others remained silent.

Director Liu took the lead and walked forward.

Fang Bai and the others followed.

Qi Tian was right beside Fang Bai, and he mused, "If my old man dies one day, it doesn't seem like such a bad thing."

“???”

Fang Bai looked at him in shock: "Are you serious, Buddy?"

Qi Tian said leisurely, "That way, I'd be the sole legal heir to the Qi Family's estate, inheriting enough money to last several lifetimes!"

Fang Bai's lip twitched, then he silently gave a thumbs up: "Filial piety at its peak!"

...Soon, the group arrived near the entrance of the Alien Space.

However, they didn't get close, instead observing from a distance.

At the edge of their vision, a swarm of demon beasts had gathered.

It was a dark, dense mass, staggering in number.

They were all crowded at the entrance of the Alien Space, jostling to push through. But because the space wasn't large enough, some of them were still stuck inside.

"They're breaking out of the Alien Space!"

Outside the Alien Space was the town. Although it was remote, these demon beasts would reach human residential areas in less than an hour!

Director Liu said calmly, "Don't worry, they won't break through. Human forces are holding the line at the town entrance."

He didn't seem particularly worried.

If a mere B-rank Alien Space could cause a collapse, then humanity would have survived all these years for nothing.

Director Liu stood up and looked at Fang Bai and the others, his tone serious: "You guys find a place to hide and wait until the battle dies down before coming out."

Fang Bai asked in confusion, "Then what are you going to do, Leader?"

Director Liu straightened his suit tie: "Kill demon beasts, naturally."

Fang Bai had an odd expression: "Aren't you a civil official?"

Director Liu smiled faintly: "While that is true, I also know a bit of martial arts."

"We'll go too!"

Director Liu raised a hand to stop them, saying, "Your strength is too weak; you can't join a battle of this level. From now on, Fang Bai, your final assessment continues. The criteria is to hide until the battle ends. Everyone must survive!"

After speaking, he looked at the distant swarm of demon beasts, and a terrifying surge of Alien Energy suddenly erupted around him!

Fang Bai and the others were shocked because this was the first time they had seen Director Liu reveal his strength!

This pressure was even more powerful than Qi Zhen's!

Director Liu channeled his Alien Energy and took a step; in the next second, he was already ten meters away, charging toward the battlefield!

Fang Bai stared blankly at his figure: "The old leader's actually got some moves."

Qi Tian said, "Of course. How could someone who's a leader at the Martial Academy be a useless nobody?"

A Xiu asked calmly, "What do we do now?"

Qi Tian said as if it were obvious, "Find a place to lay low, of course! You want to go and die?"

A Xiu didn't look at him, but at Fang Bai.

The latter thought for a moment, then his gaze landed on the battlefield.

Most of the powerful demon beasts were gathered at the entrance of the Alien Space, while some weaker ones were scattered around the perimeter.

Fang Bai then said, "We can't just stay hidden forever; we have to help kill demon beasts! Of course, we won't join the main force; we'll specifically pick off the stragglers!"

Xiao Yuan bumped his fists together, a hint of battle intent appearing in his eyes.

Qi Tian was somewhat speechless: "Are we really going to take the risk? Human experts will handle this. We're still just kids!"

Fang Bai looked at him and said, "Old Qi, if you want to hide, I've no objection. Either way, I'm going to fight the demon beasts. Let's split up for now. Stay safe and don't die!"

After saying that, he ran toward the battlefield.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuan immediately followed. Fang Bai was his big brother, and since he had promised to teach him knowledge, he had to stay close.

A Xiu thought for a moment, then followed as well.

Qi Tian stood there, somewhat angry. He simply sat down and muttered, "What a bunch of lunatics! Always risking their lives! This Young Master isn't playing with you anymore! Once I get out, there's a lifetime of wealth and glory waiting for This Young Master! I am definitely not going to my death! Hmph!"

He watched the three figures running ahead, his gaze somewhat complicated.

At the very front, Fang Bai's gaze was calm.

To him now, it didn't matter whether he joined the Martial Academy or not. Rather than joining the academy, he'd prefer to kill demon beasts in the Alien Space.

After all, his system required killing demon beasts to become stronger!

Upon reaching a large boulder, Fang Bai stopped.

Because Xiao Yuan made too much noise when he ran, it was extremely easy for him to be discovered by demon beasts.

Hiding behind the rock, Fang Bai looked at A Xiu, who had also approached, and said with some surprise, "A Xiu, why did you come too?"

A Xiu said calmly, "Aren't you going to kill demon beasts? I'll help you."

Fang Bai said seriously, "This is very dangerous."

A Xiu looked at him indifferently: "You're the captain, I'm a team member. I'll listen to you."

Fang Bai was a little moved.

Look at that! This is the true spirit of a persevering team!

A Xiu then suddenly added, "Besides, I'm stronger than you, so the survival probability will be higher."

Fang Bai: "..."

Girl, you really didn't need to add that last sentence.

Fang Bai glanced under a massive tree not far away.

Two Pig Demons were gathered there, and a giant python was coiled on the tree trunk.

They were all First-tier Demon Beasts!

"They're our targets. A Xiu, use [Teleportation] to take out that snake. Xiao Yuan and I will deal with those two pigs. Let's try to finish the battle within a minute!"

A Xiu nodded, and then her body instantly vanished from the spot!

Fang Bai was stunned: "Wait, I haven't said start yet!"

Shouldn't she wait for my command?

It seemed that while A Xiu appeared to have a team spirit, she was actually quite headstrong!

Seeing that A Xiu had already rushed out, Fang Bai gritted his teeth and called to Xiao Yuan, "Let's go!"

Xiao Yuan nodded heavily, his tall frame charging out from behind the rock!

The two Pig Demons also immediately noticed the two of them. They hadn't expected two humans to intrude on their territory, and their eyes turned red instantly!