99: Chapter 99 Soaring Combat Power, A Thousand Faces Weaving a Trap

The atmosphere in the carriage changed subtly because of this; the gazes of the few surviving girls subconsciously drifted toward Fang Che, and their cheeks flushed slightly.

Even Mu Waner, who had been extremely weak just a moment ago, peeked her head out from Teacher Qin Bing's arms, stole a glance at Fang Che, and then quickly buried her head back down, her ears turning bright red.

Fang Che ignored these little interludes.

His attention, along with the breathing of everyone in the carriage, was firmly captivated by the two silver cards floating in mid-air.

Professional Awakening Card.

Two of them.

One meant that a person's destiny would be completely rewritten.

Two, however, made the problem even more complicated; everyone wanted one, but who had the qualifications to take them?

The joyful atmosphere of having just survived a disaster had vanished, replaced by an oppressive silence. Everyone's eyes were filled with longing, but no one dared to be the first to speak.

Jiang Ning cleared her throat, breaking the silence.

"Cough."

She shouldered her fire axe and strode toward the two cards.

Everyone held their breath in unison.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Ning reached out and pointed to one of them.

"Give the first one to me."

Her tone was very flat, yet carried an irrefutable certainty.

"In that battle at the Academic Affairs Office, I was the one leading the charge with Mu Waner and Gu Nanzhi at the front, as everyone saw. My awakened combat talent makes me the second strongest in the team after Fang Che. If we run into tough battles in the future, I can be the first to stand on the front lines."

Her words were simple and direct, yet no one could refute them. The danger in the passage of the Academic Affairs Office was clear to all; Jiang Ning was indeed the strongest melee unit in the team besides Fang Che and one of the biggest contributors. Giving her the first Awakening Card was undoubtedly the optimal solution from the perspective of maximizing team combat power.

Everyone's gaze converged on Fang Che.

Fang Che met Jiang Ning's gaze and nodded.

"Fine."

Having received Fang Che's permission, Jiang Ning grinned and grabbed the silver card.

The card turned into a brilliant silver light in her palm and instantly merged into her body.

"Crack, crack crack."

A series of dense bone-popping sounds emanated from Jiang Ning's body.

Her already tall and athletic figure saw her muscle lines become even more defined within the silver light, and she suddenly exuded an extremely strong sense of oppression.

Jiang Ning clenched her fists, feeling the abundant new power within her, her eyes filled with excitement.

A line of data appeared before her.

[Jiang Ning Awakening Successful]

[Awakening Talent: Iron Wall Battle Body (A-Rank)]

[Effect 1: Steel Physique]

Significantly boosts defense, resistance to strikes, and recovery speed. Bone, muscle, and skin strength are comprehensively enhanced, with extra damage reduction against blunt, biting, and impact-type attacks.

[Effect 2: Damage Conversion]

When receiving attacks, a portion of the sustained damage can be converted into stamina. The heavier the damage, the more stamina converted, though there is an upper limit to each conversion.

[Effect 3: Stronger in Battle]

After continuously sustaining attacks, the body will gradually adapt to the current damage type, increasing corresponding resistance for a short time. The more attacks received, the more obvious the defensive boost.

"Awesome."

Jiang Ning let out a low roar, feeling like she had endless energy in her body.

With the ownership of the first card settled, everyone's gaze focused on the last Awakening Card.

The atmosphere was even more tense than before.

Just then, a thin figure stood up from the crowd.

It was Lin Xinyi.

Her face was pale, she was tightly clutching the corner of her shirt, her voice trembled slightly from nervousness, and her eyes were filled with tears.

"I... um, I want this card."

She gathered all her courage, swept her gaze across the crowd, and finally looked at Fang Che with a hint of pleading.

"I know... I have nothing, no special talent, my attribute points don't compare to everyone else's, and in previous battles, I barely contributed anything, and even held everyone back."

"But I don't want to go on like this... I really don't want to be a burden who can only hide behind others forever."

"Please... give me a chance. I also want to become stronger, and I also want to do something for the team."

Her voice carried a sob; her words were sincere, causing quite a few girls to show expressions of sympathy.

In the corner, Gu Nanzhi remained silent. She kept her head down, making it impossible to see the expression on her face, as if all of this had nothing to do with her.

Everyone's gaze ultimately returned to Fang Che.

As the absolute core of this team, his words would determine the final ownership of this precious card.

Fang Che did not speak immediately.

He stood up and walked to the last Awakening Card.

The entire carriage was very quiet.

Fang Che reached out but did not take the card; his gaze passed over the card and landed on the silent figure in the corner.

"Give the second one to Gu Nanzhi."

His voice was not loud, but it triggered a strong reaction in the carriage; the whole place was in an uproar.

"Why?"

"Gu Nanzhi, she..."

A few girls exclaimed subconsciously, but quickly shut their mouths.

Fang Che ignored everyone's reaction, just looked at Gu Nanzhi, and explained with a calm tone.

"I know everyone has questions."

"Lin Xinyi, I can understand your desire to become stronger, but this Awakening Card is not a sympathy vote to compensate for being weak; it is an investment to make the team stronger."

"To be able to clear the level perfectly this time, Gu Nanzhi's contribution is no less than anyone else's."

His voice echoed clearly in the carriage.

"In the passage of the Academic Affairs Office, facing the infinitely extending corridor, it was Gu Nanzhi who first saw through the rule trap, allowing us to stop our meaningless brute-force sprinting."

"It was she who reminded Mu Waner, finding the hidden school rules covered by blood scabs."

"It was also she who used the loopholes in the school rules to come up with the method to apply for the school bus, saving us all from being erased."

"Finally, in front of the gate of the Academic Affairs Office, facing the rule of paying a part of one's body, it was still she who came up with the method of using hair to replace limbs, allowing us to enter the Academic Affairs Office unscathed."

For every sentence Fang Che said, the surprise on everyone's faces grew. They only knew that Jiang Ning led the team to break through the Academic Affairs Office, but did not know there were so many dangerous details.

Fang Che finally concluded.

"She doesn't have powerful attributes or combat skills, but she used her brain to achieve things that many talented people could not. The large amount of supplies she traded for the team is even more critical to us being able to upgrade the Train to LV3."

"Giving this Awakening Card to Gu Nanzhi, no one is more qualified than her."

After these words were spoken, there was no more disagreement in the carriage.

Even Lin Xinyi could not refute it.

Gu Nanzhi slowly raised her head. She looked at Fang Che, her eyes complex.

Fang Che nodded at her.

"Go take it, this is what you deserve."

Gu Nanzhi took a deep breath, stood up, and took the silver card.

The silver light shone again, merging into her body. Unlike the violent energy of Jiang Ning, this silver light appeared exceptionally gentle and restrained.

After the light faded, there was no change in Gu Nanzhi's appearance, only her eyes became deeper than before.

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

[Gu Nanzhi Awakening Successful]

[Awakening Talent: Thousand-Face Weaving Bureau (S-Rank)]

[Ability 1: Scene Mimicry. Can automatically adjust one's aura, speech, behavior, and sense of existence according to the current environment, making it easier to be regarded as a reasonable existence by rules or others, reducing the probability of being noticed by anomalies.]

[Ability 2: Identity Weaving. Can temporarily weave a false identity suitable for the current scene for oneself or others. This identity comes with a simple background and behavioral logic, with a chance to deceive rule judgments or interrogations by others.]

[Ability 3: Lie Patch. When there are flaws in the disguise or speech of a false identity, one can briefly patch a logic loophole, causing the target to have the illusion that "this is perfectly normal."]

S-Rank Talent.

Fang Che was slightly taken aback when he saw this notification.

He didn't expect the grade of the talent Gu Nanzhi awakened to be even higher than Jiang Ning's.

This luck was indeed good.

With the distribution of the two Awakening Cards finished, the atmosphere in the carriage finally eased.

Lin Xinyi sat back in her seat silently. She kept her head down without saying a word, her black bangs covering her eyes, making it impossible to see her expression.

She bit her lower lip hard until a faint bloody taste spread in her mouth.

She remembered the argument before the Train upgrade before this dungeon.

She was like that then too, having a breakdown because she felt she had no dignity and no future, venting crazily, and almost getting everyone killed because of her own stupidity.

This time she didn't cry or make a scene.

She just suppressed all her unwillingness, grievances, and jealousy deep in her heart and swallowed them.

She responded to this failure in a more mature way.

But the desire to become stronger and prove herself had not weakened; instead, it had become even more stubborn.