76: Chapter 76 Going to another world? Do I need a visa for that?

Teacher Shen Qing ignored Jiang You's clumsy attempt at small talk.

She crossed her arms over her chest, her long legs, encased in dark red leather, spread slightly apart in a stance that radiated an overbearing aura.

Ignoring Jiang You's nonsense, she locked her phoenix eyes onto him and threw out the deadly question that made Jiang You's Heart stop:

"Don't give me any of that useless talk."

"I'm asking you, that entire tube of fifth-order Titan Giant Ape blood essence and the space source crystal that Teacher Gu Yan brought you the day before yesterday..."

Teacher Shen Qing leaned forward slightly, her presence heavy with pressure: "How is your digestion of them going?"

"Buzz—" Jiang You's Brain instantly started buzzing.

Tell the truth? Tell her that the priceless box, enough to buy half of Class A, had been completely cleaned out by that godforsaken Faceless Man the very night Teacher Gu Yan delivered it?

No way! Absolutely not!

Leaving aside whether Teacher Shen Qing would believe such an absurd story as "The Faceless Man sawed off the bed leg to steal things."

Even if she did believe it, knowing this she-devil's explosive temper, if she found out he had lost such an important top-scorer reward, her first reaction wouldn't be to catch the thief. It would be to hang him—the one who "failed to guard it properly"—on the flagpole to dry out as an example!

Cold sweat streamed down Jiang You's back as his Brain raced. He had to lie! He had to fabricate the illusion that "I am absorbing it diligently and haven't lost it!" He just needed to survive today, and he could deal with the rest later!

Thinking of this, Jiang You took a deep breath, his face instantly shifting into an expression of extreme piety and gratitude.

He straightened his posture, acting like a model worker reporting for duty, his voice booming: "Reporting, Teacher Shen!"

"Rest assured! I hold such top-tier strategic resources in the highest regard!"

"I have strictly followed Teacher Gu Yan's teachings and wouldn't dare waste even a tiny bit!"

Jiang You spouted nonsense with a straight face: "Every morning and night, I meditate in front of that source crystal, contemplating the mysteries of the universe."

"As for that tube of blood essence, I treat it like a family heirloom! I only dare to pick out a tiny amount with the tip of a needle each time, dilute it in a large bucket of water, and savor it slowly!"

To increase his credibility, Jiang You pointed to his face, which had become crystal clear and rosy from a bath last night: "The effects are truly amazing! Look at my complexion! Look at my Skin!"

"Ruddy and glowing! This is all thanks to the Titan Giant Ape blood essence!"

Teacher Shen Qing narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing Jiang You. Indeed. The kid's complexion was ridiculously good, with a faint, flowing light shimmering beneath his Skin, making him a hundred times better than the weak state he was in when she last saw him. Moreover, there was indeed a powerful surge of blood energy within Jiang You.

However, the naturally suspicious Teacher Shen Qing didn't fully believe it. Her sharp gaze passed over Jiang You and landed on his three shivering roommates behind him—Gou Fugui, Xiang Batian, and Lu Xingye.

"Is that so?" Teacher Shen Qing asked with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes: "Since he drinks it every day in the dorm, you three must have seen it, right? Is what he said true?"

"Hiss—!!" The three roommates all gasped simultaneously. This was a death trap!

They knew very well that the box had been empty since the morning before yesterday! It had been completely stolen by that godforsaken Faceless Man! If they told the truth now, Jiang You would definitely be doomed. If they didn't tell the truth, that would be deceiving their mentor...

Just as the three hesitated, Jiang You, with his back to Teacher Shen Qing, frantically gestured behind his back with both hands, his flip-flop-clad foot tapping a frantic rhythm on the floor.

At the same time, he turned his head and, hidden from Teacher Shen Qing, winked and grimaced wildly at his three brothers. He blinked his left eye once, his right eye three times, and twitched the corner of his mouth.

[Translation of Jiang You's gaze]: "Brothers! Help me!" "Don't slip up! Don't you dare mention the theft!" "Help me cover this up! I'll cover your breakfasts from now on! If you don't help me, I'll tell her you guys drank it!"

Receiving this signal filled with both survival instinct and threats, Gou Fugui was the first to react. As a profiteer, he understood how to read the situation best. If Jiang You fell, who would be the mascot of Class F? Besides, Jiang You was Senior Ji Youyou's "fling"; what if he reported Jiang You now and got targeted by Senior Ji Youyou in Class F later?

Thinking of this, Gou Fugui pushed up his glasses and immediately put on an incredibly sincere smile, giving Teacher Shen Qing a thumbs-up: "Teacher Shen! Brother Jiang is right!"

"We can testify! He is truly diligent!" "Every night, we can hear Brother Jiang drool... I mean, drink water! That's him diluting the blood essence to drink!"

Xiang Batian also reacted. Although he wasn't good at lying, he was good at spouting nonsense: "N-no... that's right!" "Teacher Shen, look at the muscle laxity of Jiang You. It looks loose on the surface, but it's actually internalized! That's the return to simplicity after absorbing the blood essence!"

"He practices the Sleeping Arhat Fist every day to digest the medicinal power. I've seen it all, and I'm moved in my Heart!"

Although Lu Xingye didn't want to help his love rival, he thought about how he hadn't learned the unique flirting method of this kid, Jiang You, and hadn't successfully won the Heart of his goddess yet! He could only grit his teeth and say against his conscience: "Y-yes." "He... is very diligent." "He drinks it very happily."

With the endorsement of these three witnesses, plus Jiang You's genuinely good complexion, Teacher Shen Qing finally withdrew that oppressive gaze.

"Fine, you know what's good for you." Teacher Shen Qing snorted coldly: "I was afraid you'd gotten lazy and tossed such a treasure under the bed to gather dust. Since you're absorbing it slowly, that's good. Keep up this pace and don't embarrass me."

"Phew..." Jiang You and his three roommates breathed a long sigh of relief simultaneously, feeling their backs soaked with sweat. They had managed to scrape through this hurdle!

Seeing that Jiang You's attitude was correct, Teacher Shen Qing didn't dwell on the issue anymore. She turned and walked to the center of the hall, clapping her hands. The crisp applause made all the Class F members, who were still playing dead or watching the show, instantly stand at attention.

"Alright, enough small talk. Now, let's get down to business."

Teacher Shen Qing surveyed this group of odd-looking students, her voice becoming serious: "I'm sure you've all heard about the school-wide [Mist Swamp] special training."

"As the chief examiner for this special training and the lead mentor for Class F, I need to emphasize the nature of this mission to you all."

"The [Mist Swamp] we are going to this time belongs to an S-rank Otherworld fragment."

Hearing the words "S-rank," everyone's expressions shifted slightly, except for a few seasoned seniors. S-rank meant extreme danger; it meant a forbidden zone for life.

Teacher Shen Qing watched their reactions, a reassuring smile curling at the corner of her lips: "However, you don't need to be too nervous."

"This [Mist Swamp] fragment has been developed and cleared by our Magic City Martial Arts University for a full dozen years."

"The ecological environment inside is completely understood by us."

"Those truly terrifying high-order beasts were cleaned out long ago by previous principals."

"Currently, what remains inside are mostly low-order beasts of the first to third order, with at most one or two newly promoted fourth-order minor lords, which are still within our monitoring range."

"So..." Teacher Shen Qing spread her hands, her tone relaxed: "As long as you don't court death yourselves, there is basically no danger to your lives. It's equivalent to... a slightly stimulating spring outing."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Gou Fugui wiped his sweat: "Scared the hell out of me. I thought we were going to our deaths. So it's just a spring outing. Good thing I brought my mosquito repellent."

Lu Xingye also rearranged his hair: "Hmph, a mere fourth-order beast. Perfect for testing my blade."

Just when everyone thought it was "in the bag," a voice, extremely abrupt and filled with a thirst for knowledge, raised a hand and asked weakly.

"Um... Teacher Shen." Jiang You raised his hand like an elementary school student, his face filled with the clear, naive stupidity of someone who was "illiterate": "I have a question."

Teacher Shen Qing raised an eyebrow: "Ask."

Jiang You scratched his head, asking with a confused expression: "You guys keep talking about... Otherworld fragments? Dungeon worlds? Otherworld spaces? What exactly is this stuff?"

"Are we going abroad? Do we need a visa for that? Or are we going to outer space?"

"..." Dead silence. In the hall of Class F, it once again fell into that familiar, suffocating silence.