Chapter 51: King of Insects (Part 8)

Tap, tap, tap.

The footsteps echoed continuously against the cold walls of the sewer, creating the illusion of many people walking together.

Zhou Ke moved through the space, the pitch-black blade of the Spirit Key dragging along the ground behind him, occasionally striking the rough surface and sparking faint embers.

Though called a weapon, it was essentially a fragment of his own truth.

Even if damaged, it could be repaired by expending some ether.

Zhou Ke’s gaze fell downward, where at his feet lay a corpse with bulging eyes and a grim expression frozen in death.

“Twelfth plus eight thirty-fifths.”

This was the count of bodies he had found along the sewer path. As for the fractions, he had been bored and meticulous in his tallying.

After walking several dozen more steps, Zhou Ke finally encountered a living person—and a familiar one at that.

Looking down at Liu Xing’s weakly rising chest, he crouched and waved a hand, “Hey, twelfth plus twenty-six thirty-fifths.”

At this moment, only Liu Xing’s torso remained; his intestines were shredded and smeared across the floor, his lower body nowhere to be seen.

Clearly, death was imminent.

Hearing the noise, Liu Xing struggled to open half an eye, choking on the blood clogging his throat, “Zhou Ke, it really is you.”

“Seeing me right before you die must be pretty frustrating,” Zhou Ke said with self-awareness.

Simultaneously, he examined Liu Xing’s wounds, deducing that he had been severed cleanly at the waist in an instant.

He had seen Liu Xing’s truth ability before; his speed was only slightly slower than Zhou Ke’s own when he first entered the exam.

“To be caught so easily at that speed… this is troublesome.”

Just as Zhou Ke was busy indirectly estimating the power of the Insect King, Liu Xing tugged at the hem of his pants.

Zhou Ke stepped back subtly, “What, you want me to write ‘miserable’ on my leg?”

Liu Xing seemed not to hear the distancing tone. The consciousness of one near death is often confused.

“Zhou Ke, do you think I’m bad at everything?”

Liu Xing’s voice was faint, barely audible—luckily Zhou Ke’s hearing was sharp, or else he wouldn’t have caught the words.

But having heard them, he didn’t know how to respond.

He could have offered comforting words like “No, you’re doing well,” but he said nothing.

It wasn’t resentment over Liu Xing’s past actions; Mr. Zhou simply disliked irresponsible judgments.

“Who knows,” he finally replied after some thought, giving an even less responsible answer.

Liu Xing’s breath grew faint. “I wish I could be like you—confident, independent, indifferent to others’ eyes, just being myself. I really want to be that kind of person.”

“So I’m that tall and mighty in your eyes?” Zhou Ke chuckled smugly at a dying man.

“I just wanted to work hard and get good grades, to be recognized by everyone—why does it always feel like I’m doing it wrong?”

“How can you think that way?” Hearing such negativity seemed to trigger something in Zhou Ke; he immediately grew anxious.

He grabbed Liu Xing’s wrist eagerly, “Hold on a bit longer. I’ll tell you a fairy tale about rebuilding confidence.”

But as soon as he said this, Liu Xing’s life slipped away.

“Sigh.” Zhou Ke gave up with regret, gently closing Liu Xing’s dim eyes. “Enough with the sentimentality. If you want me to avenge you, just give me the enemy’s intel.”

He stood and walked away, solitary in the darkness. Long after, a cold, indifferent voice echoed:

“In my opinion, whether seeking meaningless approval or anything else, as long as you live true to yourself, there is no wrong.”

[Emergency Notice, Attention! Exam suspended. All examinees must return to the safe zone immediately! Repeating, exam suspended!]

Countless ether eyeballs hurriedly conveyed the message to the examinees.

Chaos reigned on the ground; monstrous figures rampaged everywhere, their numbers surpassing all previous waves combined.

All proctors were mobilized, racing against time to rescue examinees trapped amidst the monsters.

The score leaderboard displayed on the sky screen was temporarily shut down due to the emergency; the entire sky now bore a sickening shade of dark green.

Words alone could not capture the utterly grim situation.

“Fourth group, Carp Leaps the Spine!”

Wu Bai, light as a swan, leapt high. His spear bloomed like an iron pear in hand, crashing fiercely onto a cotton-ball-shaped monster.

The force was again diminished; the Insect King’s arms absorbed only a tenth of the strength, yet the ground beneath it cracked, and it staggered backward.

“You and your truth are strong,” the Insect King wiped green blood from its lips and sneered greedily, “but soon, it will all belong to me.”

“Delusional!” Wu Bai’s words struck with finality, though his heart was heavy with gloom.

“This monster’s abilities are countless and unpredictable, impossible to guard against.”

“And its stamina is bottomless. After fighting so long, I’m already growing fatigued, yet it’s still no different from when we started.”

He knew well that if this dragged on, defeat was inevitable.

Yet—

Wu Bai glanced at the ether eyeball inside his shoulder armor, which was transmitting exam updates.

“Because of the newly appeared monster commander, the number of monsters has surged; the proctor team is now severely understaffed.”

“If this abnormally strong monster moves to other areas, the consequences would be unimaginable. Weaker proctors might not withstand a single attack.”

At this thought, Wu Bai’s gaze grew resolute, faintly revealing a self-sacrificing will: “I must now shoulder the responsibility of chief commander.”

“Proctors, we’re here to help you!”

At that moment, the sound of running feet approached from afar.

Wu Bai turned his head and saw more than a dozen examinees rushing out from one side of the street.

With fresh combatants joining, their chances of victory would certainly improve. He couldn’t help but rejoice.

“You came—”

“Just in time.”

Before Wu Bai could finish, the Insect King echoed the same phrase.

He looked back in confusion, catching the eerie smile on the monster’s grotesque mouthparts.

Only then did he realize why this area alone had no other monsters.

“No, run! Get out of here!”

Wu Bai shouted, raising his spear to charge.

However, the Insect King was faster. It absorbed the spear attack with its cotton-like body, then changed direction, rushing straight toward the newly arrived examinees.

Those examinees had fled the monster swarm in panic, and finding this spot free of monsters, felt a surging hope.

Then, seeing Wu Bai confronting the monster, they rushed to aid without hesitation.

They never suspected that it was all a trap.

A trap designed to lure their food directly to them.