ASER - Chapter 80
Chapter 80: Prey
Tian Zhongye's eyes were red, utterly heartbroken. Tian Zhongxiang and Rao Xueya comforted him while eating grilled sausages. As they talked, Tian Zhongxiang burped.
Tian Zhongye was enraged and threatened to go home and tell their parents.
Tian Zhongxiang: "Oh? Self-destruct one thousand for killing zero point one enemies? Mom and Dad are still hoping you'll climb from 50th to 49th place."
Damn, so harsh. Tian Zhongye felt even worse.
Meanwhile, A'Diao sat cross-legged, holding a soda in one hand and eating three grilled sausages in the other.
Gulp, gulp, gulp...
The scene was quite disjointed.
"Oh, don't cry. You did alright, you improved."
"But I'm still last!"
A'Diao turned and comforted him, "That's right, you're still in last place, but I'm tenth. Overall, you've moved up twenty places. Aren't you happy?"
From Tian Zhongye +5555!
Tian Zhongye was so angry he wanted to hit A'Diao.
Speaking of mental feedback, A'Diao had been in a good mood. Although she still couldn't answer many questions, people kept giving her mental feedback, especially during the math exam. Everyone in Class 1 collectively sent her mental feedback, pushing her total past 300,000.
A'Diao had just checked the list and realized that students from other classes were giving her mental feedback probably because of the workbooks. Their studies had improved, so naturally, they were grateful. But did the people in Class 1 also buy them?
As far as she knew, those people were very arrogant. Except for the Tian siblings, few others bought them. So...
Song Ling suddenly closed her book and said softly, "The fourth-to-last problem on the math exam, almost the entire class got it right. It's the one you posted in the group chat last time. They're probably feeling quite complicated right now."
A'Diao: "Really? I can make it even more complicated for them."
So, she took a screenshot of the ranking list and tagged everyone in the group chat.
The Class 1 students were still discussing the exam in the group chat when they suddenly saw this troublemaker appear online. Damn! Before they could leave the chat, they were tagged.
"This exam was really difficult. I studied every day after class until five in the morning, my hair is falling out, I've vomited blood several times, and I only managed to score 520, ranking tenth. I'm so angry!"
"I'm so envious of you guys. You just casually glance at the books, spend all your time cultivating, and still get good scores."
"This is probably what they call talent."
Ordinary bragging: I didn't do well on this exam, only went from 41st to 10th. So sad.
Intermediate bragging: 10th? Not bad. I haven't studied much these past few days. 10th place is average. I should have worked harder.
Advanced bragging: I worked so hard, but I only improved from 41st to 10th. I envy you guys, being able to spend all your time cultivating. Although I'm second on the class cultivation ranking, you're all still beneath me.
Damn, that beast Chen A'Diao is inhumane!
From Tuoba +9999!
From Zhongchuan Mingxiu +8888!
From...
From Jiang Yeynai +6666!
The mental feedback exploded.
Song Ling didn't want to laugh, but she couldn't help it. She covered her forehead and sighed lightly, the corners of her lips curling up. "Aren't you afraid of getting ambushed and beaten up after this?"
A'Diao finished her three grilled sausages and casually tossed them. All three flew into the trash can.
"They won't be able to drag me away. I'll bury them alive on the spot."
Including Tuoba.
After the exam, the scene was like a battlefield, the damage far greater than yesterday's cicada competition. It left a deep shadow on the academy students' hearts. Everywhere you went, you could bump into people sobbing.
It was truly terrifying. Most of the students in this academy used to excel academically. Any one of them could score full marks in one or even multiple subjects. But now, the exam papers set by the teaching team were terrifying, truly hellish. Every time they thought they had improved significantly after an exam, the next exam would be filled with questions they couldn't answer.
Probably worried that these children would develop psychological problems, some teachers said, "What's there to cry about? It's not like you're the only one who did poorly. If everyone does poorly, it doesn't matter if you fall behind. If everyone gets scolded, it doesn't matter if you feel wronged. The teaching team has difficulty setting the papers because they're constantly trying to raise your knowledge ceiling. Do you still think this is the old college entrance exam where the difficulty of the liberal arts papers is controlled? To select the most elite, there will be questions that exceed the limits. But based on the admission scores, those who should be admitted will still be admitted. It won't lower your prospects, but rather broaden your upper limits."
Well, that seemed to make sense.
After comparing, everyone realized they were all doing poorly.
But some were quite happy because their rankings had improved.
Perhaps too happy, they couldn't help but share with their friends. So, the little yellow books quickly circulated, and the dormitory aunties conveniently launched the Little Yellow Book Lv.2 edition.
Two thousand copies sold in a single day.
Even first and second-year students came to buy them.
Because they were also starting to implement the third-year study model. How tragic!
Oh my, a daily income of 50,000 mental feedback points. Nice!
However, Rao Xueya and Tian Zhongxiang contacted A'Diao, proposing to sell these little yellow books in their family markets and martial arts studios, targeting the physically strong, and requesting wholesale prices.
A'Diao knew the news had spread. These two also wanted to form a stable interest relationship with her to secure their positions in the team, a reciprocal gesture.
After all, their own scores had also improved, so they could use themselves as examples.
They were all clear-headed people with a strong sense of crisis, knowing how to plan and strive, because they couldn't keep up with A'Diao's progress, and Tuoba would definitely want A'Diao to join their team.
A'Diao actually didn't have that intention, but she was happy to see them willing to help.
Not long after this deal was made, A'Diao's daily mental feedback income soared to 100,000 and continued to grow.
Pushy parents are amazing.
With enough mental feedback, A'Diao now had 1,100 points, which meant 22 opportunities to exchange for Small Spirit Gate cultivation, or 22 hours.
After Wednesday's classes, A'Diao received the medicinal herbs for the D-Grade Aptitude Marrow Cleansing Formula. The two medicines were to be brewed separately, but they didn't need to be soaked separately because the D-Grade version wasn't for bathing; it was a medicinal liquid to be consumed directly.
A'Diao asked the Toilet System if she could take both medicines together.
Toilet System: "Yes, the effect will be better, but it will be very painful."
A'Diao: "Will I lose control of my powers?"
Toilet System: "The current you, no."
Because A'Diao's foundation was now considered solid.
A'Diao was relieved. She started taking the Aptitude Marrow Cleansing medicinal liquid and then entered the pool.
An hour later, A'Diao couldn't move. Xiao Yuanbao extended its tentacles to pull her out, used a prepared nutrient solution, and then controlled the hot spring system to give her an underwater massage.
A'Diao opened her eyes and looked at her pale but translucent skin and slender fingers.
"I didn't expect the third bone dislocation would cause my bones to start growing..."
As her bones grew, the marrow cleansing also began. But the impurities released were strange, a peculiar gray mucus, not typical impurities.
But it felt strange. She felt that all aspects of her being had been enhanced, whether it was her comprehension of talismans, her control over Daoist techniques, or even her sensitivity to Spiritual Energy, a comprehensive, three-dimensional leap in improvement.
Toilet System: "These are the mottled parts of your bloodline. If everyone's bloodline is a pipe, the length and thickness of the pipe are fixed, but the contents can be changed. For example, the truly effective and powerful bloodline might only occupy 10%, and the remaining 90% is useless. By removing them, space is freed up."
A'Diao pondered, "Even if space is freed up, can the effective bloodline grow and fill the space on its own, gradually strengthening the bloodline?"
Toilet System: "Others can't, but you can."
It was unclear whether it was praising her or itself.
Anyway, A'Diao understood. She had to continue spending money on the Muscle-Separating Bone-Dislocating technique, and even more so on the D-Grade Aptitude Marrow Cleansing Formula.
She estimated that several hundred million star coins wouldn't be enough—until she could completely cleanse those mottled parts of her bloodline.
A'Diao didn't dwell on it any longer. She tidied up and went to Fuxiang Garden. But before entering, she sent a message to Song Ling and the others, informing them that they would be heading to the next catacomb on Friday.
On Thursday, she used the Muscle-Separating Bone-Dislocating technique again because she still had a few days' worth of those herbs left. But she couldn't afford the ingredients for the D-Grade Aptitude Marrow Cleansing Formula; she didn't have enough money.
That's why she had to raid catacombs.
Friday morning. The car they drove this time wasn't registered under the Song family or related to the Chen family. It was a car Song Ling bought using No. 7's intelligent account and controlled with No. 7's intelligent driving system.
Anyone related to the five of them must have been under surveillance and easily tracked.
Even having family members drive them would easily expose them.
"But we're going to a Level 2 demonic spirit nest this time?"
"No, a Level 3 demonic spirit nest."
When A'Diao mentioned the Jinxiang Ghoul Catacomb, even Song Ling's expression changed slightly.
Because this catacomb was infamous in the Danzhou region.
Known for its brutality.
Ghouls were ferocious, and the people there were even more so.
"This Jinxiang Catacomb is infested with ghouls, and there are a lot of them. They've mostly crawled out of the catacomb and are spreading and killing everywhere. The local villages and towns have been almost completely slaughtered. Only one small town, inhabited by a large number of pioneers, remains. But there are even more pioneer teams scattered in the wilderness. So, our opponents, besides ghouls, are humans."
Clearly, A'Diao chose this ghoul catacomb to hone their combat abilities.
She specifically mentioned "humans," and the others understood somewhat—the main purpose of this catacomb expedition was probably to fight against other people.
Sunday, 5:00 AM. The sky was still dark, and the faint cawing of crows could be heard in the distance. In a forest within the Jinxiang desolate burial grounds, several tents stood silently, their outer shells stained with blood.
Fresh, red blood from human corpses on the ground.
A small team of seven.
These people had come at dawn to ambush A'Diao's group of five, but they hadn't expected to be ambushed in return by A'Diao and her team, who had already detected them. Now, their corpses were still warm.
After two days of continuous killing, Rao Xueya and the others were already accustomed to taking lives. Without even looking at the corpses, they directly searched them for loot.
In the Jinxiang Catacomb, there were too many pioneer teams engaging in "black-eat-black" tactics, resulting in many wealthy black teams. In just two days, Rao Xueya and the others had each earned over eighty spirit cores.
Extremely profitable!
While they were like this, A'Diao and Song Ling earned even more, over two hundred spirit cores each. But such wealth came with great risks. There were too many strong individuals here; they had encountered several E-ranks. But because they had Song Ling's No. 7 openly monitoring and A'Diao secretly deploying Sparrow for aerial reconnaissance, they had managed to avoid some powerful teams and large groups of ghouls.
Otherwise, they would have been wiped out within three hours of arriving here.
"I have twenty-five."
"I have thirty."
"Eighteen..."
They now distributed the loot based on the number of kills each person made. If they fought together, they would split it evenly. Besides spirit cores, collecting equipment, Spiritual Vessels, and even forbidden artifacts from these people to arm themselves was the most profitable aspect.
In just two days, Rao Xueya, Tian Zhongxiang, and Tian Zhongye had gone from having basic equipment to being elite wilderness forbidden practitioners armed with five to six million star coins worth of gear.
But just as they finished collecting the loot, A'Diao suddenly turned her head.
The grass rustled.
They're here! Everyone immediately grabbed their weapons, and three ghouls burst out from the bushes.
Pale, cold skin, sharp, monkey-like features, somewhat resembling humans, their feet gripping the ground, whip-like tails, sharp claws, and weapons in their hands.
But one of them was strange. After jumping out, it transformed into a two-meter-tall carrion hyena, incredibly ferocious, sprinting towards them for a surprise attack.
This ghoul, a Level 3 demonic spirit, was equivalent to an F-rank monster. Even if its Spirit Power was only at F1, its combat power was significantly higher because its body was too strong. Its claws and teeth were natural weapons, while humans could only rely on weapons and equipment.
With three of them attacking at once, Rao Xueya and the others were under considerable pressure, but they fought steadily, cooperating with the main forces, A'Diao and Song Ling.
A'Diao was already recognized by the school as having a comprehensive combat strength of F7, and Song Ling had demonstrated the ability to kill F-ranks solo yesterday. So, after seven minutes of fighting, the three ghouls lay dead.
"These Level 3 spirit cores are really hard to earn, but each one is extremely valuable."
One Level 3 spirit core = 100 Level 1 spirit cores.
However, ghouls were difficult to fight, often appearing in groups. If there were more than five, even E-ranks and above would have to flee. Three ghouls were already enough to wipe out 50% of the pioneer teams in the Jinxiang region.
In two days, they had obtained a total of ten Level 3 spirit cores. After distribution, everyone's gains were substantial.
Song Ling, her face slightly pale, swallowed a pill to restore her depleted Spirit Power and looked at A'Diao. "Continue or return to the academy?"
"Let's go back. Your injuries can't be delayed any longer." A'Diao glanced at the decaying wounds on the four of them. Although they had brought a lot of expensive anti-decay medicine, it wasn't enough. And because of the intense fighting, they often encountered other teams trying to rob them right after killing ghouls. Without time to apply medicine, even a few minutes' delay would cause the wounds to fester. These instant medicines couldn't exert their full effect; they still needed to go back to the academy infirmary for treatment.
Outside hospitals couldn't fully guarantee medical confidentiality, but the school had confidentiality agreements and wouldn't leak information. At most, the principal and other higher-ups would know.
Song Ling nodded, not asking where A'Diao was going. This person was too strong, uninjured, and definitely had other plans.
Some private training couldn't be done with teammates because of the disparity in strength.
The loot was quickly divided.
A'Diao alone took four Level 3 spirit cores, Song Ling took three, and the others each took one.
This distribution basically matched their strength comparison, but Song Ling vaguely felt that A'Diao was hiding something. This was normal, indicating that the dangers they had encountered so far weren't enough to make her go all out.
By controlling her output and ensuring the team's safety, she was actually helping the others develop.
A'Diao: "The total energy of a Level 3 spirit core is equal to 100 Level 1 spirit cores, but in reality, it can be exchanged for 110 Level 1 cores. Large families buy them. If you're not using them yourselves and want to sell them, either exchange them with the school or with trustworthy people. Don't be scammed by ordinary organizations."
The others really didn't know about this. Song Ling knew, but it wasn't convenient for her to say it explicitly, lest people think she wanted to take their Level 3 spirit cores.
A'Diao said it for her. Rao Xueya, Tian Zhongxiang, and Tian Zhongye immediately looked at Song Ling, who said, "If you want to exchange with me, I can handle it the day we get back. I don't have enough spirit cores on hand right now."
For Song Ling, the energy conversion rate of Level 3 spirit cores was higher, saving her time. But Rao Xueya, Tian Zhongxiang, and Tian Zhongye wanted the total energy amount. Their goals were different, hence the need for a trade.
Outside organizations weren't as trustworthy as the school, but trading with the school would also expose a lot of personal information. It was better to give them to Song Ling.
After the distribution, it was time to leave.
They could also seize flyers from those they killed. Now, Rao Xueya and the others all had low- to mid-tier flyers. After they ascended and left with Song Ling, A'Diao glanced at the corpses on the ground, deliberately cut her palm, let her blood drip, and then, following Sparrow's directions, slipped into the dense forest.
After ascending and being picked up by a hovercar, Song Ling deliberately activated her phone's signal in the Jinxiang region.
Soon, the signal was intercepted, both by the Cui family and others.
In a small room, Shuang Jin of the bandit organization, after receiving the intel from his subordinates, got up and contacted his men in the Jinxiang region.
"Bald Eagle, she's in the Jinxiang Ghoul Catacomb. Find her and kill her!"
Two days ago, they had spent a large sum of money to obtain information about A'Diao and the others from the Transportation Department near Little Tangshan. After verifying it, they confirmed they were students from Jinling Academy, indeed with some background. But they never directly confronted these children of privilege. Since they had come to the wilderness, they had to play by the wilderness rules.
It was their fault for not being discreet, for being so bold as to venture out here.
Three hours later, a mechanical mouse scurried out of the ground, following the scent to find A'Diao's blood. After reporting back, a ten-person team soon arrived.
After carefully examining the ghoul and human corpses on the ground, Bald Eagle, the leader of the bandits, said, "The intel says her combat strength at the academy is around F-rank. It's only been two days; her strength shouldn't have changed much. So, her team should have an average F-rank combat strength to inflict such damage, especially the Song family's Song Ling with her mind control talent. It basically matches the intel."
Bald Eagle was an E-rank expert, and the other nine members of his team were all F-rank. Taking down A'Diao and her team would naturally be more than enough.
"But Boss, they might be injured and returning to the academy. That's why they activated their signal. Could Chen A'Diao have also returned to the academy?"
"No." Bald Eagle had the mechanical mouse continue searching. It twitched its nose and scurried into the bushes.
"She hasn't left; she should have gone down into the catacomb."
"Just as the intel said, highly skilled and daring, venturing into the ghoul catacomb alone."
"So, we chase her?"
"No, that idiot Zhang Ze was killed precisely because he was too reckless."
Bald Eagle was very dissatisfied with Zhang Ze, thinking he was as stupid as a pig, disgracing their organization.
What was their organization for? Bandits who killed and plundered! And he had been robbed instead.
A smart person should lie in wait.
But what he didn't know was that at this moment, a sparrow perched on a tree branch in the distant forest was locking onto them with its small eyes, transmitting clear images to the catacomb below.
Yet their equipment, despite scanning the surroundings, couldn't detect any electronic devices.
The very tree the sparrow was perched on had also been scanned.
At this time, deep within the ghoul catacomb, even A'Diao, despite her confidence, didn't dare to venture too deep. She was currently in a relatively safe corner, checking Sparrow's surveillance feed.
As she checked, her gaze swept across the dark spaces of the catacomb, the pungent smell of decay filling her nostrils. She frowned slightly, activated her device to calculate the air data, and her pupils constricted slightly upon seeing the results. But she quickly regained her composure and focused on the matter at hand.
Before planning, A'Diao first confirmed not whether her combat strength could handle these people, but whether Sparrow's information and reconnaissance technology could surpass the equipment carried by these bandits.
Sparrow didn't say much, only, "If Master wants to sell me on the market, I could probably fetch over thirty million. The small teams of this organization outside shouldn't be wealthy enough to afford intelligent equipment of my level."
Is Chen Xun really trying to kill our father and trying to rope me in as a scapegoat?
A'Diao was shocked at the time, but she also finalized her plan: leave traces, lure people in, determine their numbers, and... their energy levels.
The captured images showed Bald Eagle and the others. Next to the images, Sparrow used its sensory system to estimate their energy levels—Bald Eagle's Spirit Power was at E4, and the others were mostly between F6 and D7. If Song Ling and the other three were here, they would be instantly killed.
Such a team was terrifyingly strong, capable of taking on three low-level E-ranks.
Damn, much stronger than she had anticipated. She had initially thought she could ambush them.
Her single spirit cluster was at E1, and two clusters combined were roughly equivalent to E4, enough to handle Bald Eagle alone. But taking on the entire team was risky, especially since they seemed to be equipped with military weapons and forbidden artifacts—at least Bald Eagle was.
A'Diao knew she couldn't win and was also alarmed by the organization's power. They could dispatch such a strong team in such a short time, indicating that this team was already in the Jinxiang area.
So how strong was the organization as a whole?
The gap between them was too large.
A'Diao even suspected that her future plans were too risky and wondered if she should continue. But these people had to be eliminated now.
But reality had exceeded her plans. What to do?
"I still need over two hundred spirit cores to upgrade the Toilet System to Level 5. I could kill two ghouls first and upgrade it, but Level 5 might not have any usable attack skills. Even if it did, I might not have enough mental feedback."
A'Diao currently had 400,000 mental feedback points, which she needed to reserve for combat. The Toilet System's skill exchange cost hundreds of thousands of points each. She knew that even if she upgraded to Level 5, she wouldn't be able to use it for now.
So... A'Diao suddenly had an idea.
A few seconds later, she disappeared into the darkness, found a lone ghoul, instantly killed it with the E1 level Spirit Power of her two spirit clusters, and then activated the "Even Parents Wouldn't Recognize You" disguise skill. Her pupils scanned the ghoul, recording all its physical appearance data. The skill activated...
Her body changed.
She transformed into an exact replica of the ghoul on the ground.
The Toilet System, realizing her plan, sighed, "You're truly cunning."
If she could win with trickery, she would never engage in a bloody battle.
However, A'Diao deliberately left wounds on herself and smeared blood and saliva from the corpse onto her body, replicating its scent. After a series of manipulations, she disguised herself as injured, then stored the ghoul's corpse in her storage space. Limping and carrying a knife, she ran deeper into the catacomb, screeching as she ran.
This cry was identical to the cries for help from other ghouls she had heard in the past two days.
She had memorized and replicated them.
There might be other teams down in this catacomb, and these teams were definitely not weak. But even such strong teams wouldn't dare to show themselves when faced with these screaming ghouls. Instead, they would quickly take their people and hide.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. Even if they weren't used to it, they had experience in dealing with it.
"Conceal your aura!"
"Invisibility!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Because this was a ghoul's cry for help, a large number of ghouls would soon gather, forming groups. If the number exceeded twenty, even D-ranks would have to hide.
These teams, to have survived down here in the catacomb, were naturally seasoned. As they expected, this "ghoul" indeed attracted a large number of ghouls.
A'Diao, after screeching for a while, suddenly saw about twenty ugly and ferocious ghouls turn to look at her.
Good heavens, the ground was covered in blood, clearly a slaughtered team. The ghouls were eating the corpses. These fierce ghouls turning their heads was terrifying!
But A'Diao's acting could win an Oscar. She remained calm and collected, making another sound with her mouth and gesturing outwards with her fingers.
Among the subjects she had learned, there was Demonic Spirit Linguistics, which included both spoken and body language, covering many demonic spirit racial systems. It was complex and difficult to understand, but A'Diao knew she would be facing ghouls, so she had prepared beforehand.
Her language replication was perfect, her body language about seventy to eighty percent accurate. Coupled with her injuries, these ghouls understood their companion's meaning—there were people outside the entrance, many of them, very strong, seemingly ambushing someone.
Would the ghoul group be afraid?
Their racial traits were: greed, hunger, and cunning.
The first two traits determined that they wouldn't give up the meat in front of them, and the last trait made them... decide to ambush in return.
This group of ghouls quickly took A'Diao outside.
A'Diao had thought they would carefully counterattack, but unexpectedly, the ghouls split up. One group went towards the entrance, and the other moved towards a side passage. A'Diao was puzzled and followed the second group.
Three minutes later, A'Diao looked at a hole in the catacomb and her heart skipped a beat: Did it lead outside?
Sure enough, after A'Diao crawled out with these ghouls, she soon saw the sun and the entrance not far away.
Under the cover of the forest, they gradually approached. Just before they emerged from the forest, a frail, elderly-looking ghoul holding a staff suddenly raised its hand and muttered something. A dark gray light enveloped them, and their bodies became invisible.
A'Diao was shocked.
Group invisibility?
This was impressive.
Before she could think further, the twelve ghouls on their side ambushed Bald Eagle and the others from behind, while the ghouls at the entrance, anticipating A'Diao's approach, suddenly rushed out to attack!
The hunt had begun, you little punks!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment