181: Chapter 181 What a pity, such great free air conditioning!

The Safety Officer did not recall the Nightmare as per protocol, because the Nightmare was clinging tightly to Yue Yun and refused to leave.

The Three Heavenly Kings didn't have any good solutions for this either.

Seeing that Yue Yun's condition hadn't changed because of the Nightmare, the Safety Officer stopped insisting and let it be.

Regardless, grading was the job of the college entrance exam grading group.

As a mere Safety Officer, he only needed to supervise the examinees' behavior at all times and protect their safety.

Although Xu Qingfang and Mo Yu hadn't fallen into the illusion and Yue Yun had successfully woken up—meaning the whole team passed the extra credit question—the Three Heavenly Kings were now wide awake after this ordeal.

Looking at the clouds dyed dark red by the fires of the Lava Mountains, the Three Heavenly Kings abandoned the idea of ascending the Lava Mountains at night.

"Let's just look around the area," Xu Qingfang suggested.

Yue Yun, who was fiddling with the Nightmare, didn't mind either way. He turned to look at Mo Yu, whose spirit was flagging and whose condition continued to decline.

Away from the Lava Mountains, Mo Yu regained some spirit and nodded slightly in agreement without refusing.

...

Tonight was the first night in the Tianluo Secret Realm. Although most examinee teams had a preliminary understanding of the Secret Realm, they didn't risk moving at night, instead finding places to rest.

This was undoubtedly a good time for the extra credit question.

It wasn't just the Three Heavenly Kings who were attacked by Nightmares; other promising examinee teams that met the criteria for the extra credit question were also targeted.

This included Jiang Hanqiu's team.

Under the state of absolute calm brought by the S-rank Beast Taming Talent [Intellect-Machine Crown], Jiang Hanqiu easily saw through the illusion.

With Jiang Hanqiu's help, teammates Yun Qingrang and Huo Ying also successfully escaped the illusion, completing the extra credit question assessment.

"A Nightmare Pet Beast? Those are rare!"

Their respective Pet Beasts surrounded the Nightmare in the center, while the three who had woken up observed it with great interest.

The Nightmare couldn't escape the Dreamy Jellyfish's Lock-on Skill and was shivering in the middle of the three Pet Beasts.

Jiang Hanqiu exited the state of absolute calm and tried to communicate with the Nightmare while observing the Safety Officer's reaction.

"Could this be this year's extra credit question?"

Yun Qingrang and Huo Ying looked at the Safety Officer upon hearing this.

The Safety Officer remained silent, adopting an air of indifference while thinking to himself that their reaction was quite fast.

Although he didn't get an answer from the Safety Officer, Jiang Hanqiu felt his guess was likely spot on.

He said in a playful tone, "Tell me who sent you to attack us, and I'll let you go!"

The misty mass expanded and contracted violently, and a look of contemplation flashed in its two vaguely visible eyes.

The Safety Officer raised an eyebrow at the sight.

If Jiang Hanqiu could actually get the Nightmare to admit it was the extra credit question, his score for the extra credit question would definitely not be low.

Jiang Hanqiu's trio also looked at the Nightmare expectantly.

Unexpectedly, the Nightmare seemed to sense something. It suddenly broke through the encirclement, ascended rapidly, and flew off in another direction.

Seeing the Nightmare just leave him behind, the Safety Officer's mouth hung open in surprise.

"Holy crap, I haven't even recalled it yet!"

The Safety Officer got a headache at the thought of having to retrieve the Nightmare, but he couldn't abandon the examinees to chase it himself.

The Nightmare's departure was somewhat unexpected.

Jiang Hanqiu's trio noticed the change in the Safety Officer and immediately realized something must have gone wrong.

"Quick, after it!"

"It ran this way!"

The three instantly shook off their remaining drowsiness and chased after the disappearing Nightmare without any hesitation.

They hadn't chased for long before they saw an illusory health bar poking out from the nearby woods.

Jiang Hanqiu's trio froze for a moment.

Three familiar figures appeared in their vision. One of them had a health bar over his head and was slowly approaching from the distance.

Huo Ying blurted out, "Whoa, it really is you guys!"

"Yo, long time no see!"

Xu Qingfang, with one hand in his pocket, raised an eyebrow.

Yue Yun frowned slightly and asked with a hint of helplessness, "Is this Nightmare your assessment?"

Jiang Hanqiu's trio followed his voice and saw the Nightmare that had manipulated their dreams clinging obediently to Yue Yun's arm.

His other arm was also wrapped in a flickering dark purple mist, which was clearly the Nightmare from the Three Heavenly Kings' team.

Jiang Hanqiu's trio turned pale with shock.

Due to their special nature, Ghost-type Pet Beasts could affect the human body. Even contracted Beast Tamers had to be careful when interacting with them; they had never seen anyone dare to play around like this.

They looked at Yue Yun as if he were a hero.

Yue Yun helplessly grabbed the Nightmare Pet Beast from Jiang Hanqiu's team off his arm and held it out to them.

"Take it!"

Jiang Hanqiu was so scared he waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.

Yun Qingrang and Huo Ying hid behind him, flatly denying any connection to the Nightmare, fearing it would be shoved into their hands.

But this Nightmare Pet Beast did belong to Jiang Hanqiu's team; what was the meaning of it following him like this?

Yue Yun knew the dangers of Ghost-type Pet Beasts, but the Safety Officers were all Elite Beast Tamers and should have a way to handle it.

Thinking this, Yue Yun walked toward the Safety Officer.

"Then I should return it to its rightful owner!"

The two Safety Officers hadn't had time to exchange information yet. Seeing Yue Yun approach with the Nightmares, their hearts skipped a beat.

The Safety Officer from Jiang Hanqiu's team wanted to refuse, but remembering Yue Yun was just an examinee, he swallowed his words.

He looked at the Nightmare before him with a tense expression and tentatively extended his vast Mental Energy.

The Mental Energy enveloped the Nightmare, forming a thin membrane around it to isolate it from the outside world.

Just as he was about to succeed, this Nightmare suddenly broke free from the restraint of the Safety Officer's Mental Energy.

"What's going on?"

The accompanying Safety Officer for the Three Heavenly Kings' team changed expression.

He flickered in front of everyone, shielding the six examinees behind him, and looked solemnly at his colleague.

That Safety Officer's face darkened. His gaze bypassed the colleague blocking him and landed on the other Nightmare clinging to Yue Yun.

"This Nightmare is unwilling to leave and wants to stay with that student unless the other Nightmare leaves too."

The Safety Officer's face darkened upon hearing this.

He had thought the Nightmare was rioting or that his colleague had intentionally provoked it, but who would have thought it was because of the student?

But what was the deal with this kid?

The two Safety Officers and Jiang Hanqiu's trio all stared at Yue Yun, their eyes full of confusion regarding his attractiveness to the creatures.

Yue Yun gave an awkward smile.

In truth, he didn't know what was going on either. He couldn't exactly say he was a transmigrator who had possessed a body, could he?

Ignoring the Nightmare Pet Beast's reluctance, Yue Yun expressionlessly pulled it off and solemnly handed it back to the Safety Officer.

The Safety Officer took a deep breath. Using the power of his Pet Beast to suppress the Nightmare, his vast Mental Energy spread out, constructing an invisible independent space to isolate and recall the Nightmare.

The Safety Officer from Jiang Hanqiu's team followed suit. This time, that Nightmare no longer resisted and obediently accepted being recalled.

With the two Nightmare Pet Beasts recalled, the chilly aura immediately dissipated, replaced by the heat expected near the Lava Mountains.

Jiang Hanqiu's trio finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Mo Yu, however, shook his head with a bit of regret.

"Sigh, what a pity to lose such good free air conditioning!"