The young man in the mirror still had a pale complexion from blood loss, but the fragility caused by intense pain and weakness in his brows was gone, replaced by a deep, calm stillness like an ancient well.
Only his eyes were deeper than before, as if they could swallow all light.
He took off his shirt, soaked in blood and mucus and torn at the back, revealing his lean upper body.
Below his shoulder blades, two dark purple Thunder Wings marks, like mysterious tattoos, were branded on his skin.
On his chest, the wound he had personally cut open and embedded with the crystal core had now formed a thin, dark purple scab.
Finally, he walked to the control panel and pressed a button.
Hiss—
The hatches of several cultivation tanks nearby slowly opened.
The ice-blue nutrient solution quickly drained.
Inside the tanks, three Purple Lightning Bats, slightly smaller in size but also covered in dark purple fur and with dark golden patterns flashing around their eyelids, slowly opened their eyes.
Their crimson pupils still held the daze of post-hibernation.
Ling Chen's gaze fell on them.
The cold pressure belonging to a first-level Ghoul, fused with a portion of the Purple Lightning Bat's original aura, instantly wrapped around them like invisible chains!
The bodies of the three Purple Lightning Bats stiffened abruptly!
Their crimson pupils suddenly constricted, revealing an instinctive, extreme fear as if facing a natural predator!
They stood frozen at the bottom of the tanks, their wings tightly folded, not even daring to tremble.
"Come here," Ling Chen's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable tone of command.
As if hearing an imperial decree, the three Purple Lightning Bats immediately flapped their wings, stumbling out of the cultivation tanks, and, like the most docile pets, reined in all their ferocity, carefully landing on Ling Chen's shoulders and the hood of his back hoodie.
They even voluntarily suppressed the faint electric arcs jumping at the edges of their wing membranes, curling their bodies to minimize their presence.
Ling Chen felt the slight weight and furry touch on his shoulders, his eyes cold.
This was the best cover and aid.
Beast Taming ability?
Very reasonable.
He turned and walked to an inconspicuous storage cabinet in the corner of the secret room.
Opening the cabinet door, inside were neatly stacked a dozen packs of military compressed biscuits and dozens of 500ml bottles of mineral water.
These were his "props" prepared for "going out to find food."
He weighed them, and finally only took five packs of compressed biscuits and six bottles of water, packing them into a worn black backpack.
Not too much; for a "severely injured and weak" person, bringing back this much was already the limit.
With the backpack on, he took one last look at the secret room, filled with blood and cold technology, then turned and walked towards the alloy secret door.
"Drip—click."
The moment the door slid open, the strong smell of blood and the dust of the ruins from the outside world rushed in.
The Blood Moon's light was even more eerie than before, dyeing the entire ruin a dark red.
Only on the first night of the apocalypse was the moon blood-red, which was merely due to the scattering and refraction of light caused by the spiritual energy's resurgence; subsequent nights would not feature a Blood Moon.
Ling Chen took a deep breath, completely suppressing the surging dark purple energy within his body to its deepest parts, along with the presence of the Thunder Wings.
His eyes became tired and weak again, his back slightly hunched, and his steps became somewhat unsteady, as if he was severely injured and struggling to move.
He stepped out of the secret room, re-entering this blood-soaked apocalypse.
On his shoulders and hoodie, three dark purple bats quietly curled up, like the most loyal shadows.
...
Linghui Academy, Class 3, Grade 12 classroom.
Time seemed to freeze in the torment of anxiety and hunger.
The Blood Moon outside the window had already set in the west, dragging a long, dark red trail across the sky, like congealed bloodstains.
In the corner, Wang Lei's roar had weakened, leaving only intermittent gasps like a broken bellows.
The air was filled with the smell of blood, stench, and despair.
"Ling Chen... why isn't he back yet..." Chen Xue sat in the corner, hugging her knees, her voice heavy with sobs and unconcealed fear.
Her gaze was fixed on the blocked back door, as if trying to see through it.
"It's been almost three hours..." Wu Tao leaned against the wall, his face ashen, holding half a crushed biscuit crumb in his hand, but with no appetite.
Hunger gnawed at his stomach like a venomous snake, and thirst made his throat burn.
Li Mingyu paced back and forth restlessly; his newly acquired power gave him excess energy, but nowhere to vent it.
He punched the wall, making a dull thud: "Damn it! Outside are all monsters! He's alone..."
"Shut up!" Sun Qiang snarled, his metallic face also full of agitation, "Ling Shao said he'd be back! He must have a way!"
Despite his words, his tightly clenched metallic fist betrayed his inner unease.
Lin Wei stood alone by the window, her back to everyone.
Her fingertips unconsciously traced the cold windowsill, which was stained with a bit of dried, dark, almost black blood.
Her gaze pierced through the broken glass, looking out at the campus ruins, shrouded by the Blood Moon, like a giant graveyard.
Three hours.
That figure, dragging a "severely injured" body, entering hell alone, was he alive or dead now?
The cloud of doubt in her heart, far from dissipating, grew larger like a snowball.
The abnormal healing speed of his wound, the faint chilling aura in his blood, the overly "coincidental" deterrence of mutated creatures... and his seemingly weak but unusually firm steps when he left...
Who exactly was he? Or rather... was he... still human?
This thought, like a cold viper, coiled around her heart, making her shiver.
If he wasn't human, what was his purpose for sneaking in?
Just then!
"Rustle... rustle..."
An extremely faint, yet unusually clear sound of footsteps, like stepping on dry leaves, came from deep within the corridor outside the classroom's back door!
Everyone's nerves instantly tensed!
They jumped up like startled rabbits!
Their gazes collectively, intently, fixed on the blocked back door!
Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang instantly pounced to the door like leopards, their muscles bulging, their abilities ready to be unleashed!
Zhou Yunguang's flashlight also lit up with a faint white light!
The footsteps grew closer and clearer.
It wasn't the heavy, dragging, beast-like footsteps, but rather... human footsteps, although somewhat unsteady, with a clear rhythm!
"It's Ling Chen!" Chen Xue was the first to shriek, her voice full of wild joy and disbelief!
"Quick! Move it!" Wu Tao also shouted excitedly.
Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang immediately got to work, working together to move the heavy iron cabinet and the remains of tables and chairs blocking the door.
"Creak—"
Accompanied by the grating sound of the door hinge, the back door was slowly pulled open a crack.
A strong smell of blood and the dust of the ruins rushed in first.
Immediately after, a figure appeared in the dim light filtering through the door crack.
It was Ling Chen!
He was carrying a worn black backpack, his face terrifyingly pale, his lips cracked, his forehead covered in fine cold sweat, and he was swaying, as if he could collapse at any moment.
His left arm was still bandaged, but there seemed to be no new blood seeping out.
Most strikingly, on his shoulders and the hood of his back hoodie, three fist-sized bats, covered in dark purple fur and with their eyes closed as if asleep, were curled up!
"Ling Chen!" Chen Xue cried and rushed over, wanting to support him.
"Don't come over!" Ling Chen suddenly raised his hand to stop her, his voice hoarse and urgent, with a barely perceptible tension, "They... just fell asleep... don't wake them..."
His gaze swept over everyone, and a weak smile was squeezed onto his tired face: "I... I'm back..."
"Food..." He laboriously took off his backpack and handed it to Li Mingyu, who was closest.
Li Mingyu took the backpack, which felt heavy in his hands!
He impatiently pulled open the zipper—
Five sealed packages labeled "Type 09 Military Compressed Biscuits," and six 500ml bottles of mineral water!
"Food! Water!" Li Mingyu's voice changed pitch with excitement!
"Whoosh—!"
After a brief silence, the classroom erupted in a wild joy like surviving a disaster!
Everyone gathered around, their eyes gleaming green, like hungry wolves seeing fresh meat!
"Ling Shao! Awesome!" Sun Qiang slapped Ling Chen's shoulder hard, his metallic hand making a dull thud.
Ling Chen stumbled from the slap, grunted, his face grew even paler, and his body swayed, as if about to fall.
"Sun Qiang, be gentle!" Chen Xue lovingly supported Ling Chen and glared fiercely at Sun Qiang.
"Uh... sorry! Sorry!" Sun Qiang finally reacted, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Ling Chen, how are you? Is your injury serious?" Chen Xue helped Ling Chen lean against the wall and asked with concern.
"It's nothing... just... a bit tired..." Ling Chen waved his hand, his voice weak, "On the way... encountered some trouble... luckily... I had them..." He pointed to the three dark purple bats still sleeping with their eyes closed on his shoulder.
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on the three bats.
Their dark purple fur shimmered with a strange metallic luster in the dim light, and around their closed eyelids, fine dark golden patterns resembled mysterious runes.
Although they were quietly curled up at the moment, the chilling, ominous aura belonging to mutated creatures still faintly lingered.
"This... this is..." Wu Tao cautiously stepped back.
"Mutated bats?" Li Mingyu also frowned, clenching his fist.
"Don't be nervous..." Ling Chen took a breath, explaining intermittently, "They... seem... injured... not aggressive... I... tried... to use the method... I used to train dogs... to soothe them... I didn't expect... they would... follow me..."
He raised his uninjured hand, carefully and with extremely gentle movements, lightly stroking the back of one of the bats with his fingertips.
The bat seemed startled, slightly moved its wings, and let out an extremely faint "squeak" like a dream, then buried its head deeper into its fur and continued to "sleep."
This docile, pet-like reaction slightly relaxed everyone's tense nerves.
"Beast Taming... is this Beast Taming ability?" Zhou Yunguang looked at the three bats, a hint of curiosity and envy flashing in his eyes.
"Something like that..." Ling Chen closed his eyes tiredly, as if he was almost out of strength to speak, "They... are very quiet... won't... hurt anyone..."
Lin Wei stood on the periphery of the crowd, observing everything with cold eyes.
Her gaze, like the most precise scanner, swept from Ling Chen's pale and weak face to the three eerily quiet bats on his shoulder, and then fell on his seemingly limp right hand, whose fingertips were unconsciously slightly curled.
His weakness was impeccable, and the bats' docility was reasonable.
The food and water also solved an urgent problem.
But...
Her gaze finally settled on Ling Chen's neck.
The hoodie's zipper was pulled all the way up, but as he slightly tilted his head, a small patch of skin was exposed at the edge of the collar.
There... there seemed to be an extremely faint, dark purple pattern, like a lightning bolt, that flashed and disappeared!
Was it a trick of light? Or...
Lin Wei's pupils slightly constricted.
She subtly moved a step forward, wanting to see more clearly.
Just then!
"Uh... ho ho... ho..."
In the corner, Wang Lei, who had been on his last breath, suddenly squeezed out one last gasp from his throat, like an old bellows being completely torn apart!
Immediately after, his entire body convulsed violently, and his ashen skin rapidly lost all its luster.
His wildly rolling crimson eyes instantly lost all their vitality, completely solidifying and dimming!
He was dead.
Completely devoid of life.
A stronger, sweet, putrid smell of decaying corpse instantly permeated the classroom.
Everyone's attention was drawn to this sudden death.
Ling Chen also "weakly" opened his eyes, looked at Wang Lei's corpse, a hint of pity seemed to flash in his eyes, then he closed them tiredly again.
Lin Wei's footsteps stopped.
She looked at Wang Lei's stiff corpse, then at Ling Chen, who was resting with his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything, and the cloud of doubt in her heart expanded like ripples on a lake into which a stone had been thrown.
She ultimately said nothing, simply retreating silently to the window, her gaze once again cast towards the ruins outside, shrouded by the Blood Moon, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the dried, dark bloodstain on the windowsill.
The night was still long.
The light of the Blood Moon illuminated every face in the classroom, making them appear ghostly.