Chapter 56: Nanda Serpent Demon

An Qingyu opened his mouth as if to ask something, but after hesitating for a moment, he wisely decided not to speak.

 He was very curious about Lin QiYe's identity and his extraordinary combat ability, but in front of so many people, asking would probably lead to an answer that Lin QiYe wouldn't share, which would only cause resentment.

 "QiYe, this is the genius of Cangnan City, the treasure of Second High School. Have you heard of him?" Li Yifei introduced.

 "Never heard of him."

 "…"

 "Now is not the time for that." Lin QiYe said lightly, "We need to send these students to the grand hall first. It's safer there."

 Li Yifei paused. "But we can't get down, there are so many monsters on the first floor..."

 Halfway through his sentence, Li Yifei realized he had asked a foolish question.

 "All dead. Otherwise, do you think I would have made it up here?" Lin QiYe looked at him as though he were an idiot.

 "You're really fierce." Li Yifei grinned. "So you're going up to save people?"

 "Of course."

 "I'll go with you." Li Yifei said firmly. "Don't worry, I won't drag you down. They trust me more now, and I can help control the situation."

 Lin QiYe hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Take your Axe Team and come with me."

 Although on the surface, it didn't seem like much had changed, after a day of fighting, Lin QiYe had already killed nearly twenty monsters. Both his physical and mental strength had been severely drained, and he was tired. With Li Yifei and his Axe Team, he could relieve some of the pressure.

 "I'll go too." An Qingyu suddenly spoke up.

 "You?"

 "I can help you strategize and analyze the behavior of the monsters." An Qingyu looked at Lin QiYe without any trace of hesitation.

 Li Yifei leaned in to whisper in Lin QiYe's ear. "I think this kid is pretty smart."

 Lin QiYe hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. "Alright, but I can't guarantee your safety."

 He had already brought an entire Axe Team, so adding one more person wouldn't make much difference.

 "No problem, I'm not afraid of death." An Qingyu's eyes lit up, as if he were very excited.

 After giving some instructions to the other students, Lin QiYe sent them off to the grand hall. It wasn't far from the second-year building, and with the monsters already cleared out, there shouldn't be any more danger.

 "Li Yifei."

 "What's up?"

 "How's the situation upstairs?"

 "Should be fine, stopping the monsters on the fourth floor shouldn't be a problem."

 "Good. Then we'll rest here for a bit."

 Lin QiYe casually found a chair and sat down. There were many monsters on the fourth floor, and to kill his way up, he would need sufficient physical and mental strength.

 "Hong Ying, how's it going on your side?" Lin QiYe asked, activating his earpiece.

 "I didn't catch it. I chased it through most of the school, but it crawled into the woods behind your school and then disappeared." Hong Ying's voice sounded slightly disappointed.

 Lin QiYe's heart sank.

 If its true form is immortal, this incident won't end. Even if he kills all the monsters in the school one by one, it would only be a temporary fix.

 "So, where are you now?"

 "Xiao Nan is trying to track the monster's trail. We'll keep chasing. As long as the [Zone of No Fear] is still active, it can't escape the school."

 "Good."

 "By the way, Wu Xiangnan figured out what this monster is."

 Lin QiYe's eyes lit up.

 "This monster is a Nanda Serpent Demon, probably from a rural legend. Wu Xiangnan searched through all the mythological texts and couldn't find any information, but finally found a fragment in a broken old book."

 "Nanda Serpent Demon?"

 "This kind of serpent demon has extremely strong camouflage abilities and intelligence on par with humans. After swallowing a creature, it can plant a serpent seed inside, transforming the host body into its offspring, controlling their movements.

 But there's a limit to how many serpent seeds it can produce. Even the main body can only generate one per day, and offspring take three days to produce one. Both the main body and the offspring have low combat power, at least while they are still immature."

 "I see." Lin QiYe stroked his chin.

 It seemed this serpent demon had been around longer than he had thought. With so many offspring, it might have been hiding in this school for over a month.

 It was very cautious and prudent.

 While Lin QiYe was deep in thought, An Qingyu quietly approached him.

 "Is something wrong?"

 "I have a question."

 "If you were about to ask if I'm a superhero or an immortal cultivator, then forget it."

 "No, I was wondering… do monsters like this always exist somewhere unknown to us?" An Qingyu pointed outside at the monster carcasses scattered across the ground.

 Lin QiYe hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

 "Then why are we still living so peacefully?"

 Lin QiYe gave him a glance and slowly spoke. "Because there are those who watch over the night for humanity."

 Logically, Lin QiYe shouldn't answer this question, but since they would eventually remember it, it didn't matter when he said it.

 However, that was all he could say for now.

 "I understand." An Qingyu nodded.

 "Don't you fear it?"

 "Fear? Why should I be afraid?" An Qingyu's lips curled up slightly. "I just find it interesting."

 "Interesting?"

 "Turns out, aside from science, there are such amazing creatures in this world." An Qingyu licked his lips, his gaze fixed on the monster corpses outside the hallway. "I really want to bring them back and dissect them for research."

 "…Aren't you just a high school student?"

 "So what?" An Qingyu chuckled. "Do you think high school students can only learn what other high school students learn? Spending three years on dry, repetitive knowledge is just a waste of life."

 "Then you…"

 "I just finished reading the content of a master's degree in biology. I plan to pursue a PhD next semester, focusing on genetics and genetic mutations. I'm also studying clinical medicine."

 "…" Lin QiYe stared at An Qingyu, stunned. After a long while, he could only mutter, "Sorry to disturb you."

 There are really people like that in this world?

 Lin QiYe had always thought of himself as fairly intelligent, but compared to this guy, the term "smart" seemed so pale and powerless.

 He glanced at the time, stood up from his chair, and walked toward the door.

 "Let's go. It's time to save some people."

 Everyone grabbed their weapons and, full of momentum, followed Lin QiYe out. Even An Qingyu pulled a fruit knife from the drawer, smiling as he joined them.

 That expression—he didn't look like he was about to fight monsters, but rather to slice them into eighteen pieces and take them back for research.