SCOM - Chapter 42
Chapter 42
When the alarm in the Alpha dormitory blared, the entire north side of the campus was roused. However, a significant number of students lived on the south side, too far away to hear the noise. The south side housed all the Omegas and Betas.
Despite the distance, the students affiliated with the Shadow Disciplinary Committee on the south side had already stealthily slipped into the night. They retrieved weapons from their nearest assembly points and systematically joined their comrades.
After collecting their weapons, a group of students from a south side assembly point melted into the darkness. They hadn't gone far when they spotted two Disciplinary Committee students on patrol. Before they could relax, a shadowy figure lunged at the patrolling students from behind.
“Look out!” shouted a quick-thinking student, simultaneously raising their gun and firing. The Shadow Disciplinary Committee's weapons were crafted by students like Qian Mao from the Weapons Development Department. Since energy blocks for light guns were restricted to special departments and unavailable to students, these weapons were refurbished firearms that the Weapons Development students had scavenged and repaired. While perhaps ineffective against robot dogs, they were lethal against humans.
Gunfire shattered the quiet night on the south side. The two Disciplinary Committee students rolled to the ground, evading the attack. The Shadow Disciplinary Committee students opened fire in unison, cutting off the attacker's escape route.
“He’s not a student!” One of the Disciplinary Committee students, having rolled to safety, turned and finally saw the attacker's face. The man appeared to be at least thirty years old, with a medium, thin build. Most importantly, he displayed a key characteristic of Gashro Empire attackers—vertical pupils. Even a three-year-old in the Federation knew the difference between Gashro and Federation citizens. A chill ran down the student's spine. “Enemy attack!” he yelled.
This cry galvanized the Shadow Disciplinary Committee students, who showed no hesitation in aiming to kill. It also alerted the students awakened by the gunfire on the south side. Those who had been looking out their windows to see what was happening retreated back into their rooms, searching for anything that could be used as a weapon. Meanwhile, other students triggered the alarms in their dormitory buildings.
The other Disciplinary Committee student, having rolled in a different direction, quickly opened his optical computer and tried to contact the instructors, but no one answered.
At that moment, Ji Yuezhi was talking to Jiang Hong in his dorm room.
“Someone attacked the Disciplinary Committee patrol on the north side. Luohuan went after them,” Jiang Hong said, pausing. “One student was killed. A medic is treating another; she narrowly avoided having her carotid artery severed.”
Just then, Ji Yuezhi heard gunshots nearby. He frowned and quickly asked Jiang Hong, “Have there been any important meetings in the capital recently? Any instructor activities?”
Jiang Hong also heard the sounds in Ji Yuezhi’s background and immediately realized the south side was under attack as well. Without time for anything else, he told Ji Yuezhi everything he knew. “Yes, many. The Military Council has been in continuous meetings for the past few days, discussing the northern border. It's a delicate situation, and all the other departments are closely following. There's also an exchange meeting this month between the capital and professors from other universities. Oh, and Instructors Jia Hailan and Kang Guang are at the Military Council with the other three military academies, discussing the war games. Someone's attacking the First Academy during this time? Is it the Gashro…?”
Jiang Hong didn't finish his sentence. The moment the Disciplinary Committee student on the south side shouted “Enemy attack!”, all communication signals within the academy were cut off.
Ji Yuezhi watched impassively as his optical computer went black. Listening to the commotion outside, he followed the sound of gunfire and ran towards it.
When he arrived, he saw that the people chasing the attacker with guns were students from the academy. Two Disciplinary Committee students were also nearby.
“Senior Ji, a Gashro Empire agent just attacked us,” one of the patrolling students said, slightly relieved to see him. “He was shot twice, and some students are already pursuing him.”
Ji Yuezhi glanced at the two Disciplinary Committee students. According to regulations, night patrols were conducted by senior students paired with new students. Tonight on the north side, it was a Beta senior with an Omega junior. The Gashro Empire agents had chosen their timing well. On Saturdays, most instructors were off campus, some visiting other academies. Most third- and fourth-year students were on missions, leaving only the first- and second-year students, like lambs to the slaughter.
“Find everyone from the Disciplinary Committee and gather them,” Ji Yuezhi instructed, noticing several other students carrying firearms flashing through the crowd. These students seemed to belong to some organized group, even spontaneously maintaining order, but he had never heard of such a department.
“…Senior, who are they?” A Disciplinary Committee student, having also noticed this, asked from behind Ji Yuezhi.
Ji Yuezhi saw Qian Mao in the crowd, distributing a pile of guns with the same enthusiasm he had once distributed flyers. Even Guan Xue, still recovering from her injuries, was among them. A glint flashed in his narrow eyes as he recalled the familiarity Qian Mao and Guan Xue had displayed towards Zuo Luohuan during training.
“They’re from the First Academy,” Ji Yuezhi said, looking towards the dormitory building where the students from other academies resided. Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
“Qian Mao, Guan Xue!” Ji Yuezhi immediately shouted at the two in the crowd. “Bring your people and follow me.”
Guan Xue and Qian Mao exchanged glances and followed Ji Yuezhi.
“Room 404 in the Weapons Development Building is the light gun development lab. Second-year Weapons Development students have been there and know how to assemble the parts. There are six guns in total. The lab code is 28965. There should also be a dozen or so energy blocks inside, in the fourth safe from the left. You need both the code and the key to open it,” Qian Mao rapidly explained to a student. “But if you go to the shelf on the right, there's a brown bottle and a blue bottle. Wear gloves, mix the two together, and pour it 20cm above the top left corner of the safe, and you can get it open.”
Guan Xue thought, He’s been eyeing that for a while, hasn’t he?
“After everyone on the south side gathers, get the light guns and join the students on the north side,” Ji Yuezhi instructed after they finished speaking, then led Guan Xue and the others towards the building where the students from other academies were staying.
…
Meanwhile, Zuo Luohuan, after a long pursuit, finally caught the attacker. Upon seeing the vertical pupils, she snapped the man’s neck.
“Come out,” Zuo Luohuan said coldly, tossing aside the limp body.
Instantly, more than a dozen Gashro Empire agents emerged from all directions.
This is just the north side. It seems the Gashro Empire has invested heavily tonight.
Zuo Luohuan glanced down at her optical computer; the signal was gone. There were few instructors at the academy. Did the Gashro Empire want to attack the academy a second time? Their audacity was impressive. They hadn't succeeded the first time, and now they were coming directly to the capital.
However, after engaging them, Zuo Luohuan changed her mind. These agents were exceptionally strong. Deploying so many individuals of this caliber meant they intended to kill her.
No… Zuo Luohuan suddenly laughed, her eyes icy. The Gashro Empire launched a surprise attack. Killing the students and me is just a bonus. Their real target is… An Yingjing.
Zuo Luohuan glanced towards the south side. Ji Yuezhi was there; he should go over. Then I… I just need to focus on killing these people.
…
An Yingjing hadn’t been able to sleep. Using an account he’d snuck from his cousin, he’d been browsing the First Academy’s anonymous forum all night, enjoying the gossip. Reading about the drama at other academies was far more entertaining than studying. So, Yan Yan had been beaten by both Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan. Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan were rivals. Qian Mao had even bragged about getting points deducted by Ji Yuezhi.
Tsk, the relationships at the First Academy are complicated.
He was engrossed in his reading when he suddenly sensed something outside his window. He instantly stuffed his pillow under the covers, rolled to the other side of the bed, and hid underneath.
Someone climbed through the window and stabbed directly at the bed.
Thinking it was someone from the First Academy or the Northern Military Academy playing a prank, An Yingjing reached out from under the bed, grabbed the intruder’s foot, and yanked.
The intruder fell. An Yingjing emerged from under the bed and realized it wasn’t a student.
“Shit!” An Yingjing cursed upon seeing the person in his room.
The intruder didn’t have vertical pupils, but that didn’t reassure An Yingjing. The stronger the Gashro Empire agents, the better they could control their pupil dilation. The aura emanating from this person was too dark; he was almost certain they weren’t from the Federation.
Just then, loud crashes echoed from the hallway.
“What the hell?! Gashro Empire agents?” Luo Shaoyuan’s furious voice came from the next room. “Is everyone at the First Academy dead?”
An Yingjing immediately yelled, abandoning all pretense of dignity, “Luo Shaoyuan, help! Shaoyuan, save me!”
The intruder lunged at him, wielding a curved blade. Several times, it nearly sliced An Yingjing’s throat, but the attacker seemed more intent on digging out his scent glands.
An Yingjing was stronger than the average student, but compared to the elite, he was still lacking. Within minutes, he was covered in cuts, barely dodging fatal blows.
“An Yingjing, are you crazy?” Luo Shaoyuan finally reached his door and kicked it open. “I’m several months younger than you!”
“Little sister, save me!” An Yingjing quickly corrected himself.
Luo Shaoyuan snorted, looking at the person in the room. “A dog from that country dares to come here? I’ll make sure you don’t leave alive.”
However, Luo Shaoyuan forgot one thing. As An Yingjing’s pheromones seeped from his wounds, she gradually slowed down, her eyes glazing over.
Fortunately, others broke through the siege and came looking for them.
After being awakened, Cha Lili realized there were Gashro Empire agents outside. He immediately instructed his non-Alpha teammates to find An Yingjing. “Protect him. He might be the Gashro Empire’s target.”
Not many people lived in this dormitory building. Only students and teachers involved in exchanges stayed there. Currently, only members of the three military academies were present.
The Gashro Empire agents clearly knew their floor and room numbers and headed straight for them. Fortunately, the students from the three academies hadn’t been sleeping soundly and had detected the disturbance early. Twenty minutes after Cha Lili sent people to rescue An Yingjing, they successfully escaped by jumping out the window.
“You go first!” Cha Lili and the others, still upstairs and surrounded by Gashro Empire agents, shouted to An Yingjing below.
Clearly, the Gashro Empire, having gone to such lengths and taken such a blatant action, wouldn’t let An Yingjing escape. Another group of agents appeared silently, wearing gas masks and oxygen tanks.
They were blocking An Yingjing’s pheromones.
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