Chapter 173: Two Is Fine Too

In the Instructor's Meeting Room.

The instructors, who had been leisurely watching the exercise just moments before, were now embroiled in a heated argument over the final individual scores for this training.

"No, I think giving Baili Tuming 17 points is too high. The total score is only 20. He only used the Forbidden Object's power to break the Spider Child's soul web, and after that, he didn't accomplish much. He wasn't even the main force when dealing with the Sound Hunter. 17 points are too high."

"But you can't deny, if he hadn't rescued those over a hundred recruits, they wouldn't have been able to go after the Spider Child."

"That's true, but if we're going by that logic, Cao Yuan only used his strength to stall the Sound Hunter for a few minutes. Even 16 points might be a bit high."

"Ridiculous! A Sound Hunter in that state is top-tier even in the Chuan Realm. For a kid from the Chi Realm to last so long against it, 16 points isn't high enough? Could you have done that in your Chi Realm?"

"I agree, pure strength can make up for a lot of shortcomings!"

"Fine, let's do this then. Shen Qingzhu gets 16 points. Any objections?"

"Hold on, Instructor Hong. Why did you write 16 points while everyone else wrote 17? He did lead the Spider Child hunt and even went into the warehouse to face the Spider Child alone. 16 points seems too low, don't you think?"

"His temper is too short, acting on impulse. It's only natural to deduct one point for that!"

"…In that case, should we lower Yang Zi's score as well? After all, she didn't participate in the direct combat. 17 points might be a bit too high."

"No, it's not too high at all. The situation in Building 3 was different from outside. If it wasn't for Yang Zi, the female soldiers might have been wiped out, let alone killing the Sound Hunter. If it weren't for her lack of offensive abilities, I might have given her 18 points."

"What about Mo Li? I think—"

The meeting room was in an uproar, with instructors slamming tables and shouting at each other. Amidst the chaos, Yuan Gang sat quietly at the other end of the table, holding Lin QiYe's score sheet, lost in thought.

After a long pause, Instructor Hong walked up to him, holding a thick stack of papers.

"Commander, the scores for everyone else are mostly settled, but we haven't been able to score Lin QiYe… We're not sure what to do. What do you think?"

Yuan Gang raised an eyebrow. "Not sure? Why not? Share your thoughts."

Instructor Hong nodded. "Because Lin QiYe's performance in this exercise was exceptional…

He was the first to figure out why the others were in a deep sleep—because they woke up late. Then, he noticed the anomaly in Building 3. Instead of rushing to investigate, he first led people to the warehouse to gather weapons. Although there were some mistakes when facing the Spider Child, overall he handled it well.

In Building 3, he deduced the Sound Hunter's killing mechanism with just one look, then figured out the pattern after four shifts in space, killing both the Cube and the Spider Child—two powerful Chuan Realm beings.

And he was the only one who saw through the Atmosphere Team's disguise.

Throughout this exercise, whether it was combat ability, insight, leadership, or deduction, Lin QiYe was top-tier. If we score him according to the rules, he should at least get 19 points, possibly even a perfect score."

Instructor Hong paused, then continued, "The issue we're grappling with is, if we give him 19 points, that's fine, but if we give him 20… No one in this training camp has ever gotten a score that high."

Yuan Gang pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly, "Give him 19 points."

Instructor Hong was taken aback. "Why?"

"One more point and he might get too proud." Yuan Gang's eyes narrowed slightly. "Nothing is absolutely perfect, and neither are people."

He lightly tapped his fingers on the table, speaking in a voice only he could hear, "And besides, trying to hide the Cube's corpse will always come with a cost…"

In the Mental Hospital of the Gods.

Dressed in a white lab coat and wearing plain glasses, Lin QiYe walked down the corridor of the mental hospital. It seemed unusually peaceful today.

No, rather, it was peaceful as long as Merlin didn't lose his temper.

Nix lay on a rocking chair in the yard, enjoying the sunshine. Merlin was sitting alone in the reading room, engrossed in a copy of Health Handbook for Seniors. Li Yifei was busy in the kitchen, the sound of chopping vegetables echoing through the halls…

Everything was so serene and quiet.

Hiss… It was starting to feel like a retirement home! Lin QiYe thought to himself.

Not wanting to disturb anyone, he quietly made his way to the director's office, pushed open the door, and then entered the underground passage.

After walking through a dim and damp stone staircase, Lin QiYe heard the sounds of heart-wrenching cries from the cells ahead...

"Waaahhh…

Why? Why do you have to kill me? What did I do wrong… Waaahhh...

Bad guys, all bad guys! Bullying a child!

Mom, I want to go home, waahhh..."

Lin QiYe froze for a moment upon hearing the voice, confusion flickering in his eyes.

What is this? Why is there a child locked up?

Wasn't it just a spider and a Cube? Where did this child come from?

He quickened his pace and arrived in front of the cell. Looking inside, he saw a little boy, his face covered with spider patterns and his eyes blood-red, hugging his small self in the corner, crying uncontrollably.

When the boy saw Lin QiYe, he immediately stopped crying and pouted, as if controlled by kidnappers—wanting to cry but too scared to.

Seeing the familiar face, the boy seemed to remember his own death, his face turning pale with fear.

Lin QiYe stared at the boy for a while, then said in surprise, "Are you the spider?"

"You're the pig!" The little boy muttered under his breath, audible only to himself.

Lin QiYe: ...

Honestly, Lin QiYe had never imagined that the spider was actually a little boy. He had thought the voices he heard were just hallucinations, but now he realized it was actually the boy speaking…

Killing a child like this still left Lin QiYe with a bit of guilt in his heart.

He sighed and looked up at the panel that appeared in the cell.

Criminal: Soul Weaver Spider

Choice: As the one who killed this mythological creature, you have the right to decide its soul's fate:

Option 1: Directly obliterate its soul, erasing it completely from the world.

Option 2: Bring its fear value to 60. You can then hire it as a hospital caretaker to look after the patients, offering a degree of protection in return.

Current fear value: 359

Lin QiYe: … What is this 300-plus fear value? Am I really that scary?

He looked helplessly at the boy in the cell, who shivered suddenly, his face turning even whiter.

"You… you… Please don't kill me, okay?

If you really want to eat braised spider legs, I can give you one…

Two… two is fine too!"