By the third day that purified spot 13 had laid in their defenses, roughly 80 percent of the teams had made it back. Their base was swelling with numbers.
Still, there was a worry that hung over them like a dark cloud. This would be their first encounter with a Heavenly Disaster Class.
There were also many students who had their seeds of corruption exposed upon their return. Each time, a wave of panic arose, leaving a sickly and lingering fear in the air even after it was dealt with.
It was a powerful engine of paranoia. One moment, you were laughing with a trusted teammate. The next, their laughter would turn to an evil cackle, and they would be ready to gouge your eyes out.
This Heavenly Disaster Class was far more sinister than any Disaster Class that the third years had come across before.
Li Luo and Jiang Qing’e kept a close watch on the purification towers, and they saw that they were going dim in a line.
Getting ever closer to the purified spot.
The Heavenly Disaster Class Other was coming.
A terrifying truth to accept.
There was nothing else they could do but fortify the purified spot and pray for reinforcements.
One day, news came that Duze Honglian’s squad had shown up outside the purified spot.
Li Luo and Jiang Qing’e immediately hurried over to the entrance. They had been very interested in their movements. Duze Honglian’s squad was the second strongest, right behind Black Swan. Their presence in the purified spot would be a welcome infusion of strength.
And also…
Duze Honglian’s group had been pushing in the exact opposite direction as the line of dimmed purification towers.
Which meant that if they had been bold enough, they might have encountered that terror in the flesh. Which was not good news.
Just the traces it had left behind were already enough to cause widespread panic and turn students. A face-to-face encounter? They had best be wary against Duze Honglian’s group.
As they drew close to the gate, they heard raised voices between the student guards and Duze Honglian’s group.
Both sides ceased when Jiang Qing’e showed up.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her quiet voice radiating with power.
“Senior Jiang, they’re trying to barge in and not pass the Vile Smile Mirror!” one of the guards protested.
Vile Smile Mirror was the nickname that had emerged among the students. Despite its silly name, everyone respected the importance of the test. If Duze Honglian ignored it, she was risking all of their lives.
Jiang Qing’e turned her cool gaze to the incoming squad. “They want us to waste time grinning here like idiots? What nonsense,” they said defensively.
Jiang Qing’e looked closer. Beneath their righteous bluster, there was fear lurking in their eyes.
Ye Qiuding’s eyes were hooded as well.
Jiang Qing’e examined each of them carefully, noting that Duze Honglian was being carried by another member. Her face looked pale as death.
She had remained silent all this while, but she returned Jiang Qing’e’s scrutinizing gaze defiantly.
“You’re badly hurt.” Jiang Qing’e walked around until she was close to Duze Honglian. “You met the Heavenly Disaster Class, didn’t you?” There was a knowing look in her golden eyes.
The students around them gasped and took two inadvertent steps backwards.
“None of your damned business!” Duze Honglian hissed.
“Ordinarily, it isn’t. But the thing is coming here, and soon. We have to make sure there’s no corruption in our ranks,” Jiang Qing’e said calmly. “Duze Honglian. Tell me: are you corrupted?”
Duze Honglian looked away.
The golden eyes swept across the incoming members again, calculating, assessing, judging.
“Put her down,” Jiang Qing’e suddenly said.
The student hesitated, but they eventually set the girl down gently. She was weak from injuries and pain, and her legs buckled under her. Jiang Qing’e caught her before she hit the floor.
Duze Honglian slumped helplessly against the golden-haired girl. “Jiang Qing’e, what are you doing?!” Jiang Qing’e ignored her, instead running a finger lightly across the girl’s back. She sensed a slight, prickling pain in her own finger.
Eyes widening, she ordered female students to form a circle for privacy, with Duze Honglian in the middle.
Ignoring Duze Honglian’s protests, Jiang Qing’e ripped her shirt off, and she grimaced at what she saw.
The female students screamed and ran away.
Right in the middle of Duze Honglian’s back was a sinister face, grinning and moving.
Jiang Qing’e quickly put the shirt back on Duze Honglian. This was not good. It seemed almost branded on her back, a much deeper mark than the other seeds of corruption they had seen so far.
“Greedy for school points, you wanted to clear the empty purification towers behind the Heavenly Disaster Class. But you ended up tangling with it?” Jiang Qing’e guessed.
Sullen silence.
“The corruption is deep, very deep. Before too long, it will start eating you from the inside out. You will then become a puppet for that Other.”
Jiang Qing’e reached out a hand to pat Duze Honglian on the waist. “This beautiful thing will soon be pulp.”
Now Duze Honglian’s fear showed on her face, mixed with despair and a desperate craving for life.
She reached out to grab Jiang Qing’e’s wrist in a vice-like grip, swallowing her pride.
“Jiang- Jiang Qing’e… help me!”
