Chapter 157: The Eerie

Outside the Training Camp

Instructor Hong looked at the middle finger on the screen, letting out a helpless sigh. He then looked down at the evaluation sheet in his hand, silently writing the number "-1" next to the name "Shen Qingzhu."

"Hot-headed, impulsive, a deduction of one point is only natural," he muttered to himself.

"Instructor Hong, is it really okay to leave those three captured Chuanshi Mysticals in the training camp?" Instructor Han Li couldn't help but walk over. "The highest-level recruits here are only at the Pool Realm. What if something happens?"

Instructor Hong's lips curled up slightly. "Don't worry, this is a tradition for our training camp every year. These three Mysticals have already been shackled, so their strength has been greatly reduced. And if things get critical, we can remotely control their life or death. Besides, there are still some hidden personnel in the camp—our 'atmosphere team,' who can step in if necessary. There's no danger."

"'Atmosphere team'?" Instructor Han Li was confused. "Why is it called that?"

"You'll understand later," Instructor Hong said with a mysterious smile.

Inside the Camp

Lin QiYe stood by the bed, scanning Deng Wei's body with his mental power. He nodded in acknowledgment.

"Just like Bai Li Panyang, he's in a deep sleep state."

"Is it the Forbidden Ruins?"

"Most likely," Lin QiYe replied, walking into the corridor, a trace of doubt flickering in his eyes. "But... why did they fall asleep, and we didn't?"

At that moment, all the recruits who were still awake were gathered together—around thirty people. After all, Lin QiYe, as a dual god agent and the holder of the "Starry Medal," might be the only one capable of gaining everyone's trust in such a situation.

Lin QiYe cast a glance over the crowd and noticed Cao Yuan, Zheng Zhong, and Li Shaoguang among them...

Wait!

Lin QiYe suddenly thought of something and asked, "What time did you all wake up?"

The others were caught off guard, and Cao Yuan spoke up first.

"I woke up at 5:20, went to wash up, and then ran into you."

"I think it was around 5:22," Li Shaoguang replied hesitantly.

"5:40," Shen Qingzhu said.

"5:16."

"5:50."

"5:54."

"…"

One by one, the thirty or so people stated the times they woke up. Lin QiYe's eyes grew sharper as an idea began to form in his mind...

"If I'm right, this has something to do with the time we woke up," Lin QiYe sighed. "None of us woke up after 6:00 AM. Six o'clock might be a key time. Anyone who didn't wake up before six had their spirits dragged into some place and fell into a deep sleep..."

The crowd's brows furrowed in concern.

"Did the instructors do this?" Shen Qingzhu asked.

"I don't know, but this 'sleeping in' approach... it feels like something the instructors would do," Lin QiYe shook his head.

"So what should we do now?"

Lin QiYe thought for a moment. If this was some kind of "exercise" orchestrated by the instructors, then what exactly was the standard for completing it...

Waking up the others?

But if the spiritual trap was something the instructors set up themselves, how would they undo it...?

Or, what if it wasn't the instructors, but something else that dragged the recruits into the dream?

With this in mind, Lin QiYe suddenly asked, "What about Mo Lan?"

When he went to wash up this morning, Mo Lan was already up. But why, among these thirty people, was there no sign of him?

"I don't know. After washing up this morning, I haven't seen him," Li Shaoguang shook his head.

"Maybe he went to practice shooting?" Cao Yuan suggested.

"He went at 5:30. If he had been there for so long, and still hasn't noticed that the camp is eerily quiet, don't you think it's strange?" Lin QiYe turned his gaze toward the training field. Under the silent sky, the entire camp seemed to exude an unsettling atmosphere...

Cao Yuan caught on to his unspoken thoughts. "Are you saying... there are enemies in the camp, besides us?"

"That's a possibility. Otherwise, this exercise would be pointless."

"So what should we do now?"

"Does anyone have a Forbidden Ruins related to mental attacks?" Lin QiYe paused for a moment, then asked.

Everyone fell silent for two seconds, all of them shaking their heads.

"I know someone who does." Li Shaoguang suddenly spoke up. "There's a girl named Zhang Xiaoxiao, her Forbidden Ruins is related to mental powers."

"A girl..." Lin QiYe glanced at Shen Qingzhu. "By the way, how's the situation in the other two dorm buildings?"

There were three dorm buildings in the training camp. Lin QiYe and his group were in Building 1, while Building 2 was across from them, and all the female recruits were in Building 3, situated to the side of Buildings 1 and 2.

"The people in Building 2 have noticed something's off. They seem to have started searching the camp, but there hasn't been any movement in Building 3... the girls' dorm."

"No movement? No one woke up over there?"

"No, not exactly. It's just... the atmosphere in the girls' dorm is strange. You'll see for yourself," Shen Qingzhu shrugged.

Lin QiYe walked down the corridor to the east side of the dorm building, his gaze falling on Building 3. His brow furrowed slightly.

He saw the third building standing alone, all the doors and windows tightly shut. The sunlight was shining on the windows, but there was no reflection of light, as if the building was absorbing the light like an abyss.

Normally, if he stood here, he would clearly hear the sounds of the girls laughing and chatting in the third building, but right now... there was nothing but eerie silence.

"Something's definitely wrong in Building 3," Lin QiYe said, his face darkening, his tone certain.

He turned around, thinking for a moment, and quickly instructed:

"Leave a few people here to guard this building. The rest of you, come with me. We'll grab weapons from the warehouse and go investigate what's going on in Building 3."

"Got it."

After a brief exchange, the group was split. Those who were staying behind to guard Building 1, while the rest followed Lin QiYe at a quick pace toward the warehouse.

The warehouse wasn't close to the dorm area. They had to pass through most of the training camp to reach the warehouse door. As they made their way there, just as Shen Qingzhu had said, the camp was eerily quiet—there wasn't a single soul in sight.

When they reached the warehouse, Shen Qingzhu was chewing gum, then blew a bubble that drifted toward the metal doors.

Pop!

With a snap of his fingers, the air inside the bubble exploded, causing the two metal doors to fly open with a loud bang, dust billowing everywhere.

The group quickly entered the warehouse, grabbed their weapons, and turned to leave.

Just then, a series of chilling screams echoed from the distance, reverberating through the air.

"Ahhhhh—!!!"

Lin QiYe and the others' faces changed drastically, and they all looked toward the source of the scream.

"Is that... the cafeteria?" Shen Qingzhu frowned and turned to Lin QiYe. "Which way should we go?"