novelraw Chapter 254: The Guide
Chapter 254: The Guide
"As expected..."
Su Zhan sneered inwardly.
His prolonged and solitary trek through the Mist World, facing unknown dangers at every moment, had honed his senses to an extraordinary sharpness.
His observational skills regarding his surroundings and his intuition for danger had both been elevated to a high level.
First, he dispelled his Aberrant Form.
It was better to keep a low profile for now. Activating it only when encountering enemies would be more prudent.
Su Zhan silently slid down from the other side of the rooftop, using the cover of buildings to conceal his movements.
He made no sound as he moved, and his breathing was suppressed to a minimum.
These were skills he had been forced to learn during his long time in the Mist World.
What Su Zhan needed now was information. He needed to understand the specific situation in this area, then find an opportunity to slip away unnoticed.He proceeded to traverse the campus grounds.
A distinct sound of chewing came from a slightly ajar door in a nearby classroom.
Su Zhan halted, held his breath, pressed his body tightly against the wall, and peered cautiously into the classroom with just one eye.
Inside the classroom.
A figure in a school uniform, a female student, was crouched on the floor, seemingly... eating?
And on the floor lay what appeared to be a... mutilated, incomplete corpse?
Judging by the uniform style, it should have been a male student.
The girl had her back to him.
As if sensing something, her chewing paused for a moment. She tilted her head slightly, as if about to turn around to check.
Su Zhan immediately pulled his head back and completely suppressed his aura.
It wasn't because he feared her. Based on the level of power she displayed, she was only at the Low-risk Eighth or Ninth Tier. He could handle her with one hand.
He avoided her simply to consider his next move.
Lin Wei felt it was probably just her imagination and refocused on her meal.
Su Zhan's mind raced, and he made a decision.
He released the Pressure belonging to the Medium-risk Tenth Stage.
It enveloped Lin Wei inside the classroom!
Lin Wei's body stiffened violently.
As a Low-risk Eighth Tier, she perceived the Medium-risk peak-level aura behind her with crystal clarity.
It was a power she absolutely could not contend against.
Her movements froze instantly, just as she was about to turn her head.
A hoarse, halting, and stumbling voice sounded behind her:
"Stop... Don't, don't turn around... or else, die!"
Lin Wei immediately locked her neck in place, not daring to even let her eyes dart around. "Th-this... esteemed sir... wh-what are your instructions?"
She clearly sensed that the aura emanating from the person behind her was purely that of an Aberrant—a fellow kind.
A fellow kind was definitely safer than a human Awakened individual, but it wasn't absolute safety.
Besides, why was this esteemed sir's speech so... strange? So fragmented and stumbling, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time and his tongue was clumsy?
If Su Zhan knew her thoughts, he would definitely say: After being a mute wild man in the Mist World for over a year, it would be strange if he *could* speak smoothly.
Simultaneously, a strong, pungent body odor wafted into her nostrils.
This smell... it was as if he had crawled out of a garbage dump and hadn't bathed for a year!
Did this esteemed sir have some peculiar... fetish?
Lin Wei silently cursed in her heart, but dared not show the slightest hint of it on her face.
Su Zhan struggled to adapt to the feeling of reorganizing language. "You... are you from the Transcendence Society?"
Lin Wei didn't dare delay, quickly answering, "In reply, sir, I... I am not yet. I am still undergoing the trial. Only after completing the trial can I formally join."
"Trial?"
Su Zhan's speech was halting. "Th-there's a trial?"
Lin Wei's heart stirred.
The other party actually didn't know about the Transcendence Society's entry trial?
Then he definitely wasn't a member of the Society.
A powerful, wild Aberrant not affiliated with the Transcendence Society...
Now she absolutely dared not turn around.
The Law of the Dark Forest.
This was an unwritten iron law of survival among all Aberrants not part of the Transcendence Society system.
Because no one could guarantee that, if captured by humans, the other wouldn't betray them to save their own life.
Human interrogation methods against Aberrants were utterly ruthless and left no stone unturned.
Therefore, the best method was...
Once your identity was known by a fellow kind, you must find a way to eliminate them, cutting off all future trouble!
Precisely because of this.
Lin Wei now absolutely, positively dared not turn around. Even if the person behind her ordered her to, she wouldn't dare.
Once their eyes met and their appearances were mutually remembered, it would become a fight to the death.
And given her strength, facing a Medium-risk peak-level opponent, the outcome was beyond any doubt.
Seeing her silence, Su Zhan emphasized his tone: "Didn't... hear me?"
Lin Wei jolted from her thoughts, hurriedly saying, "I heard! The Transcendence Society's trial... doesn't have high requirements for strength. The most important things are loyalty, and then faith.
The faith must be the Society's core doctrine—only with the descent of the Mist can one transcend.
As long as these two points are met, one can basically join."
She finished speaking rapidly, terrified that her answer might not satisfy the esteemed sir behind her, inviting a fatal disaster.
Su Zhan grunted in acknowledgment, then fell silent.
Lin Wei grew even more tense, awaiting judgment.
Su Zhan was clear about his current predicament.
He desperately needed a guide.
The identity of "Su Zhan" was already that of a dead man and absolutely could not be used again.
And having lived within the Vermilion Bird Academy, he was almost completely ignorant of the outside world, especially the distribution of forces in various cities of Daxia, the social rules, the hidden gray areas, and so on...
He was like a prisoner just released from jail.
Having been isolated from the world for years, he possessed power but was extremely unfamiliar with the rules governing society's operation.
In such a situation, acting blindly was no different from seeking death.
Su Zhan needed someone to help him integrate quickly, to help him obtain a legitimate new identity, to help him understand the local situation, and to find a safe hiding place.
When choosing a guide, an Aberrant was far more suitable than a human.
The reason was simple: mutual leverage, forming a fragile balance of power.
A human might temporarily submit out of fear of his power, but there was no guarantee they wouldn't secretly report him to the authorities.
An Aberrant, especially one like the one before him who hadn't yet joined the Transcendence Society, was already tainted. Once exposed, it meant certain death.
If he mastered the other's identity and appearance, it would be equivalent to grasping their lifeline.
The Law of the Dark Forest was the sword hanging over their head.
Su Zhan understood the brutality of this law well.
It prevailed among non-Society Aberrants precisely because they lacked the absolute loyalty born from the unified, fanatical faith found within the Transcendence Society.
The Transcendence Society members he had encountered mostly chose to self-destruct upon capture, with very few betraying.
Except for that gambler in Black City.
But among wild Aberrants, trust was almost non-existent.
Therefore, choosing this Low-risk Eighth Tier female Aberrant as a breakthrough point was the optimal solution currently available.
Medium-risk Tenth Stage versus Low-risk Eighth Tier represented absolute dominance. If she had any brains at all, she wouldn't dare to resist easily.
If he knew her identity, he would hold that leverage over her, making her even more desperate to prevent him from being captured by humans.
With the deterrent of force and the leverage, even with the Law of the Dark Forest in play, she would have no way to act against him.
Of course, this also carried risks.
She might take a desperate gamble, or have more complex backing.
But compared to the risk of blindly charging into human society...
This was already the choice with relatively controllable risk that Su Zhan could think of.
"Taking a gamble..."
Su Zhan thought to himself.