Inside the compartment.
The air felt frozen solid.
Both sides faced off, yet no one dared to make the first move.
Yun Ruoxi needed to protect Aili, so of course she wouldn’t act first and expose any openings.
As for the students forcibly conscripted into this, each harbored their own motives—no one wanted to be the first bird to stick its head out and get chopped down.
The command they’d just received was to kill 219 and 6145.
To make the battle camp change the assessment and have so many of them besiege the targets—
Even if the opponent was just a student with a number in the nine thousands, they would never dare underestimate the enemy before them.
All the more so because—
This opponent wasn’t some unknown, nor did she have a number near the back.
Not everyone was like 498, that unfeeling guy; most of the students recognized their adversary as the same ruthless figure who, eleven months ago, had gone toe-to-toe with 0001 in the combat assessment.
Although this blue-haired girl had lain low for a long time afterward, even a dying camel is bigger than a horse.
The number 219 alone was proof enough—most of them couldn’t last a few rounds against her.
In the suffocating silence, Yun Ruoxi suddenly moved.
She turned her back to the crowd, squatted down defenselessly, and gently set Aili—who had been clutching her sleeve—down by the wall.
“Xiao Ai, rest for a bit.” She reached out and softly smoothed the girl’s messy hair, “It’ll be over soon.”
“But, Sis, you alone…” Aili’s face was full of panic, struggling to rise.
No matter how strong her sister was, facing over a hundred students alone—there was simply no chance of victory!
Yun Ruoxi gently pressed her hand down, smiling: “Trust me one more time. What’s my number?”
“Sis…”
Would a miracle really happen? Aili didn’t know, but as she looked at that smile, she couldn’t help nodding.
If she couldn’t even trust her sister, then who else could she believe in?
So she let go, watching Yun Ruoxi turn around.
Step, step, step…
The girl stood alone, her petite figure casting a thin shadow beneath the lights.
Opposite her, the hundred-strong lineup packed tight, their very shadows massive as mountains and seas.
Yet the mountains held their breath, the seas stilled.
Only the girl, like a mantis blocking a chariot in the face of death, like Jing Ke—the assassin who, more than ten thousand years ago, knew he wouldn’t return.
She strode forward, against the crowd, step by steady step.
Each step was firm, as if she’d made up her mind about something.
Every footfall landed solidly on the alloy floor, and yet it was as if she were stepping on the students’ heartstrings.
Their breathing grew rapid, palms slick with sweat.
They couldn’t understand.
Just what kind of person, with what kind of resolve, dared to face a hundred alone and strike forward?
All they knew was—they couldn’t do it. And now they had to face such an enemy.
Halfway across, Yun Ruoxi abruptly halted.
She drew a dagger and slashed a straight line across the ground, then stood up.
“Anyone who crosses this line—dies.”
With that, the aura around her changed in an instant.
Her eyes sharpened, pupils contracted, and a killing intent so fierce it was almost tangible flared from her.
The next second, she stepped forward again.
Tap tap tap tap tap!
Her pace quickened, from a walk to a run, finally erupting into a desperate charge.
A faint BGM suddenly rose in the background.
The girl charged into that mountain and sea of people—a charge with no hope of return.
From Aili’s point of view, the audience watched it all with wide eyes, watching the girl recklessly tear into the crowd, beginning a bloody, merciless slaughter.
Blood sprayed like rain; wails and screams rose and fell.
She danced through flashing blades, every turn trailing a new spray of crimson.
“Sis, Sis…”
Aili paid no heed to the carnage around her, just stared blankly at that back fighting in the sea of blood, calling out softly as if in prayer.
Whoosh!
Yun Ruoxi leapt into the air, legs lashing out like whips, sending two students attacking from front and back flying with vicious kicks.
Immediately after—
She clamped both hands onto the head of a burly student at her side, swung her entire bodyweight down!
The bull-strong student was instantly slammed to the ground headfirst, feet flailing skyward. Yun Ruoxi rolled atop him, her dagger stabbing repeatedly into his body mid-roll.
Stab stab stab!
The sickening sound of stabbing mingled with spurting blood, spraying from the gaping wounds and splattering across Yun Ruoxi’s face.
Hot and metallic.
She rose slowly, blood trickling down her brow, her pale tongue unconsciously licking the blood from her lips.
Her gaze swept coldly across the students closing in.
There seemed to be some kind of magic in her eyes—those she looked at felt their hearts clench, their feet stopping on instinct.
Amid the steady advance of those beside them, it almost seemed like they’d retreated of their own accord.
“Come on!” Yun Ruoxi growled hoarsely, vanishing once more into the seething crowd.
“Too cool! Isn’t Xiao Xi even cooler than Lao Lin now?”
“Lao Xi is going berserk!”
“Never seen Xiao Xi this ruthless before. The battle camp really pushed her to the edge.”
“Damn, is this still the little crybaby from before?”
The viewers were shocked by Yun Ruoxi’s sudden transformation, but instead of pondering her inner turmoil, their attention was fixed on the production team’s smooth animation.
Fights this well-animated—you never know how many more you’ll get to see.
The battle was exhilarating!
In fact, many viewers had gotten hooked on purely because of its terrifyingly fluid combat animation.
They liked Xiao Xi, but they loved watching her fight.
So, a steady stream of popularity gathered and surged into the blue-haired girl’s body.
But just as the audience was reveling in the seamless combat, the camera suddenly cut to Lin Zhen’s compartment.
He’d already exchanged a round with his roommate.
But both had pulled their punches, neither willing to go for the kill, so just now, the battle camp had issued a warning.
“Only one of you can leave alive. Go all out—this way, no matter who survives…”
Lin Zhen, gasping for breath, looked at the pockmarked boy before him, pain and struggle written all over his face.
“…It’s better than dying together.”
“That’s right. As men, let’s give each other our best.”
The pockmarked youth known as No. 518 straightened up, then suddenly roared: “219!”
“Whoever lives—don’t feel guilty! Carry the other’s share—live well!”
Resolve flashed in his eyes. “I believe—we’ll all leave this hell one day!”
Before the words were finished, he shot toward Lin Zhen like an arrow loosed from the bow.
This time, neither held back, every move deadly—the fight had turned into a true life-and-death struggle.
At the same time—
Desperate screams began echoing from the other compartments.
Zijiu’s silver blade swung for the first time at the partner who’d once sparred with her; Kaios and Yun Che’s fists clashed, streaked with blood and tears; 0002 and the cat-eared boy clashed at high speed; Even the ever-calm 0001 had a mad fire blazing in his eyes.
In the monitoring room, Behemoth gazed at the screens showing student after student descending into madness, nodding in satisfaction.
“Increase the Awakening Field frequency. For area 219, remember to triple the intensity.”
“Command acknowledged.”