Zong Jiu kicked open the door of the washroom.
Not far away, Zhuge An was standing in front of the sink, his right hand under the tap.
"Splash splash splash —"
The cold water that flowed down washed away the scarlet bloodstain on his palm and swept it into the sewer.
His black hair hung down, and strands of long hair stuck to his face, which made his eyebrows even sharper and his eyes brighter, and his facial features even more profound.
The cold water made his usually indifferent black eyes even more profound, making it impossible for others to see what he was thinking.
"You're injured?" Zong Jiu went straight to the point.
Zhuge An didn't reply, his lips pursed tightly. He turned off the tap and took out a piece of tissue to wipe his wet fingers.
Zong Jiu frowned, he walked over quickly and slapped Zhuge An's head.
Very good, there was nothing there.
The man lifted his eyelids, looking at the white-haired youth in the mirror.
"It's just a small injury, it's not a big deal." He played it down, his voice cold.
"An injury that the main system can't heal and you're telling me it's just a small injury?"
Zong Jiu laughed coldly, grabbing Zhuge An's wrist, his gaze sharp as lightning.
This man, who was invincible in the Infinite Cycle, was actually very skinny. Normally, when one looked at his clothes, one could see a large gust of wind in his sleeves. His Daoist robe, embroidered with black flying clouds and flowing patterns, accentuated his tall and straight back, which made him look like an immortal.
But when he grabbed hold of his wrist, he could feel how skinny he was. He was so skinny it was as though there was only a layer of skin wrapped around his bones.
Perhaps because he was in the wrong, Zhuge An didn't stop him. Instead, he lowered his eyes, looking at the white-haired youth's hand on his wrist.
Magician arched a brow. "You really think I don't know?"
The other Grade S's might have thought that Zhuge An was resourceful, had his own way of doing things and knew more than others.
After all, this was not the first time Zhuge An had surprised others. Back in the Cursed Mask dungeon, the surprise he gave others was equivalent to a fright.
Only Zong Jiu knew that a lot of advanced information was obtained by Zhuge An by deducing the Eight Trigrams Plate day and night and observing the stars at night.
These were all things that Zhuge An had told him when he came to his dormitory about twenty days ago.
Zong Jiu purposely did some calculations in the bathroom and found that everything this person said was true. There was no falsehood, and he was very sincere.
Perhaps it was the result of that conversation that made Zhuge An realize that he was not on the same side as the devil. Or maybe it was because the other Zong Jiu did not realize it. Either way, who would reject the information that was delivered to their doorstep?
"All prophecies come with a price. You know it so well. How much did you pay?"
Zhuge An slowly pulled his hand out. "I told you, it's just a minor injury."
"Every step that comes next requires careful calculation. One wrong step and you'll fall into a deep abyss."
"This is the result that my teacher has been working so hard for. Now that it's about to happen, how can I not be anxious?"
As if responding to his words, the Eight Trigrams Plate that Zhuge An placed on the sink glowed faintly.
Zong Jiu's eyes scanned the thin Eight Trigrams Plate. He did not comment. "The value of your life is much more meaningful than wasting your life to predict the future. Your brain is better than anything else."
At this point, Zhuge An gave him a deep look. "I know what I'm doing."
"My mission is to help you. Before you achieve your goal, I'll be fine. "
"That's for the best." Magician shrugged.
Zhuge An did not reply. He tossed the tissue into the trash can. "Let's go, we'll discuss the rest of the matter."
When he brushed past Zong Jiu's shoulder, he paused and left behind a sentence that was almost inaudible.
"Thank you for your concern. I appreciate your kindness."
.....
In the next ten days until the next instance dungeon was opened, the trainee dormitory was rather quiet.
Zong Jiu opened an S-grade item from the S-grade blind box.
The item looked like a light gold earring with a vertical line. When held in the hand, it immediately turned into a … crowbar.
Zong Jiu:???
It's just a crowbar, it can't shoot bullets at the end. Why is it an S-grade item?!
[Congratulations to trainee Zong Jiu for obtaining an S-grade item: Sacred Sword of Physics.]
[Item Usage: This is a weapon that will never break. It is equally effective against supernatural beings and non-supernatural beings. It can even easily break steel bars with its hook. It is made of an unknown material and has max hardness.]
[Item Note: Compared to its power, the luck it adds to the user is more important. Once, there was a famous senior who used this crowbar and single-handedly cleared the Terror Instance Dungeon without any injuries. That was how it became famous. It was said that as long as you held it, you would have the courage to stand in front of thousands of soldiers and horses. It's just like the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber obtaining the world. Everyone cares more about the world. Who cares about the power of the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber?]
Zong Jiu: "…"
He recalled the No. 2 Caligula Demon Blade, the No. 3 Tai Chi Eight Trigrams, and the No. 5 Ten Thousand Ghost Summoning Banner.
He then looked at the Sacred Sword of Physics in his hand.
Well, it was still a rare S-grade item. It was much more reliable than tarot cards that could only be used for prophecies.
Zong Jiu comforted himself as he walked to the bathroom and put on the earring.
Just as the main system said, the Sacred Sword of Physics was made of an unknown material. It felt very comfortable to hold in the hand. Whether it was the earring or the crowbar, although the size was different, the weight was exactly the same when held in the hand. It was unbelievably light and felt great.
Moreover, the light gold color of the earring complemented the long white hair. It didn't feel out of place.
After thinking this through, Zong Jiu became more and more satisfied.
He was indeed lacking another way to attack. If he kept using cards, it would be a waste of the survival points he spent on himself.
Especially after he found out that Xu Su had obtained permanent free healing authority from the main system from the A-level blind box.
"Your luck is pretty good. It's almost comparable to Tokumon." Zong Jiu was surprised.
Xu Su squatted on the ground with his head drooped. He looked discouraged.
He was really upset.
He originally wanted to use this A-grade blind box to get an item reward and catch up to Xu Sen. But now, even if he survived the extremely dangerous Halloween event where he could lose his life at any time, in the end, it was all for naught.
What was even more annoying was that after that day of separation, he and Xu Sen had become even more distant.
Cold and distant. They were not like friends who could talk about anything. Instead, they were more like strangers. Even when they saw each other, they would quickly look away. Their relationship had fallen to a freezing point.
"Okay, don't look like you've lost your fighting spirit. There will always be opportunities. It's just bad luck."
The white-haired youth patted his shoulder. "You'll be in the same team as me in tomorrow's dungeon. If we get an item in the next dungeon, I'll give you priority to dice."
Xu Su endured and asked quietly, "What about Xu Sen?"
Zong Jiu answered casually, "He's in the same team as Zhuge An."
They had already divided the team arrangements for the team dungeon.
Zong Jiu led one team, Zhuge An led another, Fan Zhuo led another, Tokumon led another, and the Exorcist led another. There were a total of five teams.
Fan Zhuo's team was made up of Night people. Needless to say, they were the strongest among the teams. Tokumon and the Exorcist's team were B-grade trainees. They were evenly matched with newcomers. On the other hand, Zhuge An and Zong Jiu's teams had a lot of newcomers. This was also the best solution after considering their abilities.
"Pull yourself together. Even if I'm leading you, you have to understand that the next dungeon is S-grade difficulty."
"S-grade?" Xu Su was tongue-tied. "This, this, this, this …"
He immediately ran behind Zong Jiu and flatteringly massaged his shoulders. "Brother Jiu, I'll pull myself together immediately. I definitely won't be a burden to you. So … look at your thigh, can you let me hug it? "
Magician smiled. "That depends on your performance."
Compared to the high school student who was controlled by the demon in the first dungeon, Xu Su was much more natural than Sheng Yu even though they had similar attributes.
Zong Jiu still remembered how Sheng Yu stood there and screamed while the nurse was checking the pills. He attracted everyone's attention and made them hate him. Moreover, with the appearance of a newcomer, it was hard for people to suspect him.
Based on this point alone, it could be seen that the demon was extremely bored. He liked to use puppets to control all kinds of strange people and stir up trouble. The mastermind behind this was extremely annoying.
Soon, it was the second day.
In the morning, the trainees gathered at the studio on time.
The sunlight was projected from the distant sky, across the sparkling sea level, through the huge Ferris wheel and the steeple of the castle in the distant colorful amusement park, and into the transparent curtain wall of the studio, plating the scarlet carpet with a layer of golden light.
[Time is up. The studio has been locked down.]
This time, after the main system's cold voice sounded, the curtains around the studio did not fall. Instead, they slowly lifted up into the air and continued to turn into an inverted glass dish.
[The fourth dungeon is a team dungeon. Trainees are free to form teams. More than ten people will be counted as a team. Note: The maximum number of people in the dungeon is 30. Teams will be split automatically if the number exceeds this limit. The remaining trainees without a team will be randomly assigned to a team.]
[There are 15 minutes for trainees to form teams. Please hurry up and confirm the team name list.]
Wow —
The main system's sudden decision shocked most of the trainees.
Other than the S-ranked and A-ranked who already knew about the team dungeon, the rest of the trainees did not know that the next dungeon was a team dungeon. Only Xu Su and Xu Su, who had been assigned to a team in advance, now knew why the big bosses had arranged for them to be grouped.
The trainees who had already been assigned to a team quietly gathered together. The other trainees who did not form a team were like headless flies, walking around in circles and chatting with everyone they met.
Other than those who had already been assigned or were veterans who were originally members of large organizations, the newcomers did not dare to go up the stairs and ask the big bosses if they were accepting people. They only dared to form teams with trainees of the same rank.
Xu Su walked from C-ranked to A-ranked. He did not know how many envious, jealous, and hateful gazes he received along the way.
The next dungeon was an S-ranked dungeon. The team mode also determined that the newcomers could not easily hug the thighs of the veterans.
Think about it. How could a team of twenty D-ranked trainees survive in an S-ranked dungeon where even A-ranked trainees could be wiped out?
Without the main system's random allocation and the difficulty setting to match the trainees' strength, throwing these low-level trainees into a high-level dungeon was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
The low-level trainees only had two ways to survive. One was to be like Zong Jiu and quickly accumulate strength in the previous dungeon to reach a height that was not inferior to the veterans. The other was to be like Xu Su and hug the thighs of someone with potential or directly hug the thighs of the veterans and join their team.
Halfway through the thriller trainee competition, there were not any newcomers who did not stand out. A few of them had also received invitations from the Witches and Devils Association or the Holy Cathedral and successfully rose to the upper echelons. There were also newcomers who had a good personality and were eloquent. Their strength was not considered to be weak, but they had made many friends and mingled with the senior trainees.
This competition had always been cruel, especially halfway through the competition. After leaving enough room for the newcomers to develop, the bloody road of elimination finally began.