Half an hour later.
A massive piece of amber slid out from the pitch-black tunnel.
The attendant deftly picked up a large wooden mallet from the side and, with a couple of swift strikes, smashed the amber into fragments.
Yun Ruoxi rose from the leaf, still amazed at this fully automated mode of transportation that let you sleep through the whole journey.
“Miss, where to next?” Genbeier asked.
“No rush.” Yun Ruoxi glanced at the map on her wristwatch. The Red Dot she’d seen earlier was indeed inside Giant Stone City, so she led Genbeier out of the hall, heading in the direction of the Red Dot.
The layout of Giant Stone City was somewhat different from Swamp City.
Though it was still a city built around colossal trees, with the same division into Crown Layer, Trugan Layer, and Trugen Layer,
There was a huge rock in the city, as large as a small mountain, around which many buildings clustered.
Genbeier said this was a Divine Stone fallen from the sky, said to grant wishes with great accuracy.
Naturally, Yun Ruoxi didn’t believe in any Divine Stone—after all, there were plenty still floating right above their heads.
On the way, she kept her eyes fixed on the Anime playing in the upper right corner.
Logically speaking, the main party that was to rendezvous should have some screen time.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the Anime’s scene switched from Lin Zhen, who was exploring the Underground World, to aboveground, landing on a tall Green Elf.
[Giant Stone City, Kaos]
A subtitle appeared below the Anime.
Kaos, unable to see the Anime, had no idea that the Red Dot in the same city as him was Yun Ruoxi.
He was originally headed to the Red Dot’s location, but now found himself in a bit of trouble under the eaves of a treehouse.
Kaos came to a stop, silently watching the Sealing Line suddenly established by Green Elf soldiers not far away.
He had already confirmed it just now.
This Sealing Line extended all the way from the Crown Layer down to the Trugen Layer, practically splitting Giant Stone City in two.
Anyone who wanted to pass had to have their identity checked.
There was no way to sneak past.
At least, none that he had.
“What’s going on? Did some student make a fuss and alarm the city’s Green Elves?” Kaos glanced down at his wristwatch. The flashing Red Dot on the map was just on the other side of the Sealing Line.
Not only was it close to him, the distance was shrinking, indicating the other party was quickly closing in.
“But it probably isn’t because of them…”
Such a strict lockdown could only mean something major had happened in the city.
But he had only entered the city less than an hour ago, and the Red Dot had appeared here not even twenty minutes ago.
No matter how you thought about it, it couldn’t be trouble caused by the two of them.
Kaos stared at the Sealing Line for a long while, still unable to figure out a way through.
He slowly backed away, planning to look for another method.
But just then—
A blinding white light suddenly flashed in the distance, a tremendous shockwave rising into the air.
Boom!
The deafening explosion instantly drowned out every other sound.
The surging air blast whipped Kaos’s hair and clothing, and he stared in shock at the site of the explosion.
That location was…the Sealing Line!
What on earth had happened there?
But before he could think further, that huge explosion seemed only to be the opening shot, like the first firecracker going off.
One after another, explosions erupted from every part of the city.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The terrifying shockwaves grew stronger and stronger, the tremors so violent that even the giant trees and ground quaked.
Kaos grabbed onto the treehouse, barely managing to keep his footing.
In the distance, a giant tree suddenly creaked and snapped at the base.
The houses built around the tree collapsed in an instant, raining debris like hail, with numerous Green Elves flailing amidst the rubble.
The Sealing Line descended into chaos in a heartbeat.
And now, the situation was perfectly clear.
He didn’t know who the other side was, but this was clearly an enemy attack.
“Talk about…luck!” Kaos muttered. He’d wanted to meet up with his companions without causing a stir, but in these circumstances, it made no difference whether he caused a scene or not.
As long as he was careful, the locals wouldn’t have time to bother with him for now.
A layer of breeze quietly wrapped around his body.
He leapt lightly into the air, spreading his limbs, gliding gracefully like a bird past several giant trees, arriving near the Sealing Line, then quickly darted between the trees with nimble movements.
Just as he was about to cross the Sealing Line, a Green Elf soldier suddenly lunged at him from the side.
“Sorry.”
Kaos murmured softly, striking out with a palm that seemed slow but was lightning quick.
An invisible wave of force sent the Green Elf soldier flying, crashing into the trunk behind him and knocking him out cold.
Kaos pressed on, sending every Green Elf soldier who blocked his path flying in the same way.
Before long, he’d made it through the Sealing Line to the other side.
To escape quickly, he chose to drop from the Trugan Layer down to the Trugen Layer.
But as soon as he landed, he sensed something was off—a gang of yellow-skinned “Green Elves” was rampaging through the area.
They were shouting slogans about Middlefolk and Upperfolk, barging into the Basefolk’s shanties and handing out weapons.
Forcing the Basefolk to either kill their own companions and join them, or be killed themselves.
Kaos saw with his own eyes that their numbers were swelling at an alarming rate, as if they could multiply at will.
He was dumbstruck.
Had he just stumbled into a full-blown rebellion?
“Where there is oppression, there is resistance (not really)”
“There are lords and ministers here too.”
“We’re missing the Fox Maiden for this part, aren’t we?”
“Why keep talking! Do you want to die!?”
“Who slipped this episode into my computer? Get it out of here!”
Kaos didn’t dare mess with this group, so he hurriedly ducked into a narrow alley among the shanties, covering his face and sprinting. Just as he was about to leave the alley, he bumped into someone else about to enter.
Both stopped, eyeing each other warily, then stepped aside, motioning for the other to go first.
Seeing that neither moved, they simultaneously asked:
“Student?”
Kaos hadn’t expected to run into another undercover student at a time like this.
But meeting a student didn’t mean you could drop your guard.
Most of the time, meeting a fellow student during an assessment made things even more dangerous.
Especially when infighting wasn’t forbidden.
He raised his eyebrows. “Which class are you from?”
“Nine Class!” the other replied in a low voice. “You?”
“Wind King from Class Three.”
Hearing the other say Nine Class, Kaos relaxed a little and reported his name.
That was Yun Ruoxi’s class, so there shouldn’t be any trouble.
But as soon as the other heard his name, his eyes widened, and without hesitation, he struck out.
A blinding arc of electricity shot from his palm. If Kaos hadn’t reacted instantly, leaping several meters back, he’d have been hit head-on.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you from Xinglan Class?” he demanded, half-angry and half-surprised.