How tough is a Tier-1 spiritual user’s body? Let’s put it this way: during Shen Ning’s first battle at the shopping mall, a boning knife used to slash her ankle dulled after a single hit. Later, even a hammer seized from an enemy dented after a few uses.
“It’s easier to fight when your teammates die.” Normally, that would sound heartless, but sometimes, it’s just the truth—like now.
The Demon Clown devised a way to overcome the bottleneck of the parking lot entrance. He started by tossing over the corpses of their fallen, then used one as a meat shield while inching forward. Others quickly copied him. In the last defensive wave, over twenty enemies had been killed, and now about a dozen bodies were being repurposed as moving shields.
“What do we do, leader?” Shi Lei asked anxiously. “Should we ‘block the door’?”
“Blocking the door” meant pushing corpses from inside against the ones being used outside—like a tug-of-war with bodies. The mere idea made the girls You Jia and Yu Yuwei pale.
After a moment’s thought, Xu Chuyao shook her head. “We can’t hold it. Fall back while fighting.”
The top opening of the tunnel was too wide—they could just climb over like stacking clowns. Luckily, the parking lot’s layout offered strategic depth. They began to retreat into the garage while fighting, piling up more clown corpses in the process. But each fallen enemy became someone else’s shield, making their slow advance nearly unstoppable.
Xu Chuyao clicked her tongue. “Even with a hundred people, they’ve lost nearly half. Under normal circumstances, morale should’ve broken by now.”
So why were they still this crazy?
Yu Yuwei, ever observant, noticed a pattern. “They’re using some kind of spray. Whenever they inhale it, they go berserk.”
“Drugged up,” someone muttered.
Nothing more could be done—they had to keep retreating. Eventually, the group emerged from the narrow passage into the wide underground parking area.
“Gaaaah!”
The first few clowns, stepping into the open space, howled and eagerly fanned out to encircle them. No need for corpses now—this open battlefield gave them the advantage.
The pressure surged. With over a dozen enemies attacking, each student had to handle two or three foes.
“Die, bastard!”
Cheng Li landed a heavy punch to a clown’s chest, likely fatal. But before he could react, he saw another clown in a hyena mask sneak toward their flank—where a weaker classmate, You Jia, was barely holding her own.
“You Jia, watch out!”
But it was too late—until a pink fist shot through the air and sent the hyena clown flying. The sheer force bent his body mid-air, and the follow-up shockwave knocked away You Jia’s other attacker.
Everyone looked in awe at the owner of the punch—their pretty, busty, and surprisingly badass commander, Xu Chuyao.
Tier-2 strength. Terrifying.
Earlier that morning, Xu Chuyao had received 50 villain points at the phone store—just enough to complete a ten-pull and break through to early Tier-2. The megaphone and binoculars she’d used also came from that lucky draw and were stashed in her system inventory.
While early Tier-2 didn’t grant powerful skills, the stat boost alone was game-changing in a tight skirmish like this.
You Jia, nearly collapsing in shock, looked up at her savior bathed in ceiling light—like an angel descending. “Xu… Xu… Sister Xu!”
All the good nicknames had been taken, so this was the best she could manage under stress. Honestly, the only thing stronger would’ve been calling her “Mom.”
“Calm down, You Jia. You’re older than me,” Xu Chuyao said gently, then resumed commanding, “We’ve got a few dozen left. Keep pulling back until Shen Ning recovers some spirit power.”
Outside the parking lot, nearly all the clowns had poured into the tunnel—only a dozen remained behind. Five figures in colorful masks sat nearby, watching the battle like a show.
“How many do you think will be left when they run out of spirit power?”
“Thirty, maybe.”
“Doesn’t matter. They’re cannon fodder anyway.”
These five were the elite—Tier-2 spiritual users sent to clean up after the fodder had worn down the students.
“Why did HQ want the white-haired girl taken alive?”
“Obviously, she’s special. Can you solo-kill ten Tier-1s?”
“That was before. Now she’s Tier-2—we’ll see.”
“If you’re so confident, why aren’t you rushing in instead of waiting behind meat shields?”
“What are you guys talking about?”
A calm, unfamiliar voice chilled them all. They turned and saw a woman in her 40s, dressed like a teacher.
“Enemy—”
Before they could finish the word, flames engulfed them.
No more retreat. No more strength to fight.
During their strategic withdrawal, they left dozens of clown corpses behind—nearly two-thirds of the attackers were down. The student team had only minor injuries thanks to giving ground instead of taking hits.
But they were utterly spent. Even Shen Ning couldn’t summon another spirit fusion attack.
“Hahaha… HAHAHAHA!”
The Demon Clown, having watched his allies fall one by one, ripped off his goat mask to reveal a twisted, drug-ravaged face. “Out of spirit energy? CHARGE!”
He turned back to rally the remaining thirty—only to find no one.
“Where are you? What are you afraid of—?!”
He spun around—alone. Just one woman walking slowly toward him.
There was only one explanation: She had killed the remaining third—all of them.
Panicking, the Demon Clown hastily donned his mask and inhaled a massive dose of the stimulant spray, trembling.
“Who are you?!”
Yu Jing didn’t even look at him. She checked on the students, relieved they were all alive. Then she calmly asked Xu Chuyao:
“What do we do with this one? Take him alive?”
Although unnecessary, she respected her student’s battlefield authority.
“Keep him,” Chuyao replied. “Let someone else interrogate him.”
Not because she was merciful—though she was a good-hearted beauty—but mainly because fire in a half-closed garage? Not a good idea.
“Oh, and also—perfect timing, teacher!”