Chapter 132: Fate Like This (Revised)

Tsk!

Luo Jinyou only felt as if his head had been struck by a sudden blunt blow; the bomb in his hand went astray, and the dust raised by the explosion didn't even touch either of their coat edges.

Their reinforcements arrived?

Luo Jinyou shook his head, instantly regained his senses; spiritual-type Special Ability Practitioners are often the most unpredictable on the battlefield, but their drawbacks are also quite evident.

Spiritual-type Special Ability Practitioners are not very effective in close combat; they devote their energy to strengthening their own consciousness rather than training their bodies, so as long as ordinary people can defend consciously, weaker practitioners find it hard to be effective.

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Qi Hengyu, who had been uneasy in the distance for failing to locate a target for a long time, immediately noticed the red signal flare rising not far away.

Following it came a series of familiar explosions.

"In that direction! Quickly!"

A look of joy appeared on his face, but the unease in his heart grew stronger.

Qi Hengyu instantly pushed his speed to the limit, charging wildly toward the direction where the signal flare rose, with only one thought in his mind.

He must arrive before all the dust settles!

However, when he burst through layers of shrubbery, charging forward with unstoppable momentum to the mountain hollow, the scene he saw instantly froze his passionate blood.

He saw the cave entrance in utter ruin, with explosion marks everywhere, and a faint toxic haze lingering in the air.

Chen Mo Zhi clutched his chest, leaning against the rock wall, his complexion sallow; Meng Kexin, looking somewhat disheveled, hid behind a stone, her once delicate pink long hair now dust‑stained, and her skirt hem bore a few scorch marks.

Inside the cave, Luo Jinyou, using almost exhausted energy, kept a wobbling earth shield aloft, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, completely drained of strength.

But none of this was the focus of Qi Hengyu's attention.

His gaze was fixed rigidly on the dazzling Ying Guang Lu figure behind Luo Jinyou.

Ying Duo stood there, and the massive Cannon Barrel on his shoulder drew even more attention.

That was the target of this Manufacturing Department mission; the Cannon Barrel was surrounded by precise energy conduits and stabilizing Runes, exuding an innate radiant sheen.

Qi Hengyu's eyes widened to the point of tearing, wanting to rush forward at any cost to stop Ying Duo from completing the mission.

Ying Duo moved.

Expressionless, he hoisted the Cannon Barrel onto his shoulder; the muzzle was not aimed at anyone, but tilted toward the clear sky.

Then he fed energy into it and pulled the trigger.

There was no deafening blast, only a low, lingering hum, visibly, Ying Duo's Blue Bar was more than half empty.

The muzzle gathered an intense point of light, then a refined dark‑blue beam shot out like a reverse‑moving meteor, piercing the heavens.

The beam surged into the sky without exploding, instead spreading like fireworks, forming an invisible force‑field ripple that covered a little less than half the assessment area, then vanished in an instant.

Immediately afterward, all the students participating in the assessment, whether running, fighting, or hiding, heard a clear mechanical broadcast ringing in their ears, echoing throughout the entire assessment area.

【Assessment terminated.】

【Condition met.】

【Winning side: Security Team.】

【Key device "Signal Cannon" has been successfully activated and is operating.】

The moment the broadcast fell silent, Qi Hengyu's forward stride froze in place, his facial expression solidifying instantly.

He stared at the Ying Duo inside the cave who still bore the Cannon Barrel, whose Ying Guang Lu hair glowed brighter in the residual energy, opened his mouth, yet could not utter a single word.

Chen Mo Zhi closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

Meng Kexin also stood dumbfounded, watching the "fireworks" that should have been beautiful in the sky, her facial expression complex and inscrutable.

Luo Jinyou, as if a weight had been lifted, was utterly exhausted and collapsed heavily onto the ground.

Won?

We really turned the tide against the wind!

Ying Duo slowly lowered the Cannon Barrel from his shoulder, glanced down at the work he had labored over for so long, nodded in satisfaction; although the blueprint had been greatly simplified, omitting many complex Runes and lacking any lethal power, the framework could still serve as a reference.

Then he didn't even look at the frozen Qi Hengyu and the others outside; he simply walked to the collapsed Luo Jinyou and said in an unruffled tone.

"Look, I told you, one person can build it."

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When the assessment termination broadcast echoed through the mountains, a brief deathly silence was followed by the surviving Security Team members' ecstatic cheers that seemed ready to lift the sky.

"We won! We won!"

"Whoa! Turned the tide against the wind! Really turned it around!"

"That's awesome! I knew there was still hope!"

Those Security Team members who had previously been hiding, nearly desperate, now leapt out of their hiding spots, hugging and high‑fiving excitedly, many even crying with joy.

Even though many of them didn't fully understand what had happened, the words "Security Team Victory" were enough to wash away all fatigue and frustration.

In a corner of jubilation, Jiangdu seemed somewhat out of place.

At the moment the competition was declared over, the Runes that had restrained their movement had already deactivated.

He sat dumbfounded on the ground, head lowered, staring blankly at his own hands as if they were some strange thing.

The last clear memory in his mind was Qi Hengyu's beast‑like charging figure, and the feeling of an unstoppable terrifying force and the void of consciousness separation when he was instantly "killed".

"Jiangdu! Why are you spacing out? We won!" a teammate ran over excitedly, slapping his shoulder hard.

Jiangdu raised his head blankly, with no hint of joy on his face.

"That person is called Qi Hengyu..."

"Ah, why overthink it!"

Another teammate leaned in, cutting him off directly, his face full of admiration.

"Getting taken down by Qi Hengyu isn't shameful! But when you dealt with those ambushing Assault Team members, those moves were really cool!"

"Huh?"

Jiangdu was even more confused, trying to recall, "Did I eliminate an Assault Team member?"

His mind held only a blurry battle of light and shadow and the oppressive aura from Qi Hengyu, with no memory at all of the teammate's described "heroic moment."

The team members looked at his completely out‑of‑the‑loop demeanor and exchanged a look of "just as expected."

"See? It's happening again."

"I told you, Jiangdu, you kid is definitely not ordinary!"

"Amnesia is amnesia, but that reaction, that technique, absolutely isn't something ordinary people can have."

"Exactly, no wonder the Academy made an exception for his admission; there must be a reason!"

The teammates chattered, offering comfort and analysis, their gazes toward Jiangdu filled with curiosity and awe.

Jiangdu listened to these words, looked at his own hands that seemed to hide a secret, and the bewilderment on his face deepened.

He simply could not understand why they were joyful, nor could he blend into it.

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Meanwhile, at the temporary medical station in the assessment zone.

Shen Zexi sat quietly on a simple cot; the spot on his arm where a poisonous spider had bitten him had already been meticulously treated and bandaged, and the lingering toxin in his body had also been dealt with.

When the victorious broadcast sounded, he did not get excited like the others; he merely lifted his eyes slightly and gazed toward the sky.

"Fate remains the same..."