378: Chapter 378 Semifinals right off the bat?

Those dark shadows did indeed concern Lin Yu a bit, but they weren't important enough for him to waste his own time researching them. After thinking it over, dumping the task on Wen Yan seemed like a good solution.

"I understand." Wen Yan nodded solemnly. "I will immediately use the highest level of authority to thoroughly investigate all surveillance records and spatial fluctuation data inside and outside the venue during the time of the incident. Not a single anomaly will be overlooked."

He didn't ask about the specific characteristics of those shadows, nor did he question Lin Yu's judgment.

After witnessing that miracle, Wen Yan's perception had completely changed.

If Lin Yu said they existed, then they definitely existed.

Regardless of what his actual goal was or whether he truly saw them, since the matter had been handed over, he had to show the right attitude!

"Thank you."

Lin Yu nodded with satisfaction.

The two of them chatted as they walked out.

Lin Yu already had a good impression of Fangs, and Wen Yan was now extremely interested in Lin Yu, so the two of them found each other's company quite agreeable.

In Wen Yan's heart, a heavy stone had actually been hanging.

Although the world-ending scene from earlier was ultimately resolved by Lin Yu using even more inconceivable means, the damage caused was real.

The entire S-Class Duel Arena, along with the surrounding subsidiary facilities, had likely turned into a massive ecosystem.

An accident of this level would be a monumental headache to handle afterward, even for an elite of Fangs like himself.

He had already begun calculating in his mind how to write the report and how to explain all of this absurdity to Commander-in-Chief Qin Zhan.

However, as he followed behind Lin Yu, stepping out of the boundary of that prehistoric jungle and onto the passage leading out of the duel venue, his entire body froze.

A single step away.

Behind him was a primitive world teeming with life and towering ancient trees.

In front of him was a clean, cold, and hard alloy corridor.

The dividing line was as sharp as if it had been cut by a laser.

The emergency lights in the passage were soft, there wasn't a single crack on the floor, and there wasn't even a speck of dust on the walls. The air was filled with the faint scent of the facility's built-in purifier, rather than the fragrance of plants and earth.

Everything was in perfect order.

It was as if the battle that was enough to overturn one's worldview was merely a dream confined within a glass jar.

Wen Yan's footsteps stopped.

He mechanically turned his head to look at the jungle behind him that didn't belong to this era, then slowly turned back to look at the undamaged modern passage before him.

A chill, even more piercing than when he was frozen by the billion-fold Frost Technique earlier, rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

How was this possible?

How could an energy eruption of that scale, that mighty power to create a world, be controlled so... precisely?

Without even a shred of energy leaking out?

A single thought made Wen Yan's blood almost freeze solid.

At first, he had held a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Lin Yu's ability had some sort of natural range limit; though its power was great, its area of effect was limited. While still terrifying, it would at least be within a range that could be understood and evaluated.

But looking at that dividing line...

The perfect dividing line before him ruthlessly shattered his last bit of self-consolation.

This wasn't a limit.

This was control!

It was an absolute, hair-raising control refined to the extreme!

It was like someone detonating a nuclear bomb but being able to precisely control the shockwave so that it only destroyed one house without even cracking the glass of the house next door.

Wen Yan's mind went blank; he even felt his worldview let out a groan under the unbearable weight.

He suddenly remembered the first duel.

Lin Yao's mage legion and Zhao Tianyang's Asura Body had indeed suppressed Lin Yu quite miserably.

At that time, Lin Yu looked like he was giving his all, even ending up at a disadvantage in the end.

But why?

Why did the situation undergo a world-shaking reversal starting from the second match?

Crushing.

A total and complete crushing.

Wen Yan's Adam's apple bobbed as an utterly absurd thought emerged from the depths of his mind.

This kid... couldn't be a Saint Seiya, could he?

Exploding his Cosmo whenever a critical moment arrives?

To hell with that!

"Officer Wen?"

Lin Yu's flat inquiry pulled Wen Yan back from the abyss of his daze.

"Ah? Oh... it's nothing." Wen Yan snapped back to his senses, twitching his stiff face to force a strained smile. "I was just thinking that the defense facilities here are actually quite good."

Even he didn't believe such a lie.

Lin Yu didn't expose him, just looked at him calmly. That calmness itself was an invisible pressure.

Wen Yan felt his heart beating as fast as a drum.

No.

He could no longer treat him as just a 'student' or a 'genius'.

He had to approach him with twelve-fold solemnity, treating him as an equal, or even... a higher-level existence.

"Let's... let's go find Student Lin Yao and Student Zhao Tianyang first." Wen Yan quickly adjusted his mindset and took the initiative to change the subject. "They should have been arranged in the VIP Recovery Room. I'll lead the way."

His attitude was a few degrees more respectful than before.

Lin Yu nodded noncommittally and stepped forward to follow.

The two of them walked one after the other through the quiet passage, the atmosphere somewhat subtle.

Wen Yan led the way, but his mind was a mess. He constantly replayed everything that happened today, trying to build an accurate strength model for Lin Yu, only to find that every model would be overturned the next second by new, even more terrifying speculations.

Ultimately, he gave up.

An existence like this was no longer something that data and files could define.

The only thing he needed to do now was to maintain good relations.

Before the higher-ups of Fangs decided on a plan for Lin Yu, he mustn't provoke him.

The door to the VIP Recovery Room was made of special alloy, with excellent soundproofing.

However, just as Wen Yan's hand touched the access control system, the sound of an irrepressible and heated argument faintly penetrated the thick metal.

"...No! Absolutely not!"

A crisp and somewhat frantic female voice rang out; it was Lin Yao.

"This isn't what we agreed on! Zhao Tianyang, what are you thinking!"

"Miss... Lin Yao, I didn't say anything... Just come play in the league."

Lin Yao and Zhao Tianyang were standing in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window. Outside was a grand, bustling, giant Battle Arena.

At this moment, on the two combat platforms in the center of the arena, four figures were in a fierce exchange. Brilliant skill effects exploded from time to time, drawing waves of mountain-shaking cheers from the audience.

Lin Yao stood with her back to the door, arms crossed over her chest, stomping her feet angrily like a ruffled kitten.

"I don't care! Anyway, I'm not going!" Lin Yao's voice rose a few pitches. "Playing in matches for fun is one thing, but you didn't tell me we'd be cutting in to play the semi-finals right off the bat!"