"Dormitory building? Why go there first?" Vortex paused, rubbing his stomach. "I want to go to the canteen and grab a meal first..."
"The canteen isn't serving food right now," Tianping rolled his eyes. "I've made it clear—our numbers are our disadvantage, and with our realms suppressed to the Lantern realm, we can't handle a wheel battle. So we must eliminate the biggest threat right from the start!"
"Oh... So after we take the dormitory building, can we go eat in the canteen?"
"..."
"Let's go with Tianping's plan, take the dormitory building first," Wang Mian spoke slowly. "But be careful, it's probably become their stronghold now. Don't let your guard down."
"Yes, sir!"
...
Underground base.
"This Lin QiYe is something. He managed to break out and almost blew up Vortex's mask," one instructor marveled.
"After all, you can't be an agent without some skills."
"His close combat skills are impressive, but so far he hasn't shown his Seraphim traits. That's Sequence 003's [Mortal God Realm]. If he had used it just now, he could've broken out without setting off explosives, right?"
"Intel shows that his Divine Wasteland doesn't seem fully formed."
"But with his terrifying reasoning ability and close combat skills, he's already one of the most promising in the entire rookie camp."
"I'm curious, though. What would it be like if he faced off against Wang Mian..."
Yuan Gang watched the screen, rhythmically tapping his knuckles on the table, seemingly deep in thought.
"Sir, what are you looking at?"
Yuan Gang extended his hand and pointed to a young boy sitting in the corner, holding a knife and meditating.
"Look at him."
"Him?" The instructor scratched his head. "I remember he's been sitting there the whole time since the match started. What's so special about him?"
Yuan Gang threw a file onto the table. "You all take a look."
The other instructors grabbed the files, their eyes widening as they read, finally gasping in shock!
"He's…"
...
"Dong Yuan, why are you just sitting there? Come discuss the tactics with us!"
A young man pushed open the dorm door, glancing at the boy sitting alone in the corner and sighed.
Dong Yuan slowly opened his eyes and spoke calmly. "You guys talk. I don't need to be involved."
"What? Dong Yuan, you don't even want to beat the Masked Team and end the training? Just sitting here, this is too passive!" The young man looked at him with frustration.
"When the Masked Team comes, are you just going to sit here and let them eliminate you?"
"Yes."
"..."
The young man, seeing he couldn't make any progress, sighed and closed the door, turning to leave the corridor.
"Shen Ge, he still won't come over."
In the corridor, a group of new recruits had gathered. In the center stood another high-risk, forbidden wasteland holder, chewing gum and wearing a backward military cap.
Shen Qingzhu waved his hand dismissively, speaking coldly. "Forget about him, he's just a coward. Even if we get him to join, he'll be useless."
"Shen Ge, what should we do next?"
"Let's lie in wait here. When the Masked Team arrives, we'll wait for the people from the other building to engage and deplete their forces. Then we'll strike unexpectedly and crush the Masked Team!"
"Good!"
"Yeah!"
"Right!"
"Idiot."
"Brilliant!"
Amid the chorus of responses, a strange voice mixed in.
The group froze for a moment, turning to look. They hadn't noticed when a man, holding a short sword and wearing a crescent-shaped mask, had appeared behind them.
The crescent-shaped mask twisted slightly, and the man's lips curled into a smile.
"You..."
Bang! Bang!
The man, Moon Ghost, moved with lightning speed, using the hilt of his short sword to knock two of the new recruits unconscious, effectively eliminating them. The others finally reacted, drawing their blades to strike!
Before they could land a hit on Moon Ghost, his form blurred and vanished from sight.
"He can turn invisible!"
"Watch out!"
The new recruits shouted in panic.
Shen Qingzhu's face darkened. He quickly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap—!
In an instant, all the air within a ten-meter radius was sucked away, creating a vacuum zone!
The recruits surrounding Shen Qingzhu suddenly squeezed their throats and twisted in pain, their faces contorting in agony!
They collapsed to the ground, struggling to crawl away. But when they reached the edge of the vacuum zone, an invisible air barrier stopped them, and they could not escape.
Shen Qingzhu remained indifferent to his comrades' suffering. His eyes scanned the surroundings.
"I know you can't hear me, but you should be able to read my lips."
"In a vacuum, humans won't die immediately. After the external air pressure disappears, the gas inside the human body expands and is expelled through the mouth, nose, and anus. The blood vessels' microbubbles also expand, causing foamy blood to block the vessels, leading to internal bleeding..."
"Humans can survive in a vacuum for at most 16 seconds. Seven seconds have already passed."
"Now, you'd better take off that mask yourself. I don't mind killing you and your comrades right here!"
Shen Qingzhu's eyes glinted with murderous intent. At that moment, a sword light appeared right in front of his neck!
Shen Qingzhu's pupils shrank. He instinctively drew his blade to block. Just as he did, Moon Ghost's figure reappeared, delivering a powerful kick to Shen Qingzhu's chest, sending him flying!
Shen Qingzhu crashed outside the forbidden wasteland, and the air returned to the space. The recruits on the ground gasped for breath and began coughing violently.
"Cough, cough... You lunatic!" Moon Ghost gripped his short sword, his gaze icy as he stared at Shen Qingzhu.
Shen Qingzhu grinned as he stood up. "If I didn't do this, how could I force you out? Now, things are much easier."
*Boom!*
Shen Qingzhu reached out and grabbed the air. Immediately, the surrounding air compressed rapidly, forming a high-pressure cage that trapped Moon Ghost while continuously forcing the air into his body!
Moon Ghost's eyes flared with coldness. Half of his body turned into moonlight, breaking through the air cage, and his short sword shot toward Shen Qingzhu with lightning speed!
Shen Qingzhu clapped his hands, and a wall of air appeared in front of him. He swiftly retreated, tossing a few recruits behind him into the dormitory corridor.
At the same time, Moon Ghost's sword nearly slashed through the air wall. Shen Qingzhu took a deep breath...
He blew a bubble from the gum in his mouth and flicked it toward Moon Ghost.
The next moment, a deafening explosion erupted!