Chapter 79: Right on Time, the Cockroach in the School

Chapter 79: Right on Time, the Cockroach in the School



In the basement of an abandoned building on the outskirts of Nancheng, Jiao Hongyuan squatted at the staircase entrance with a gloomy expression, his hands clasped together as his thumbs twirled incessantly.

The occasional brushing of his thumbs produced a metallic clinking sound.

After a while, the entrance above the basement was lifted open.

A man with semi-long hair, wearing a sleeveless vest, and a razor tattoo on his chest descended the stairs. He appeared to be in his late twenties.

His frame was slightly slender and not particularly robust, but upon closer inspection, one could see that his muscles were taut and tense, as if his skin was filled with steel, exceptionally hard, and even exuding a sense of razor-sharp sharpness.

Jiao Hongyuan looked up at him and asked, "Bi Jing, how's it going?"

The leader of the Razor Gang, Su Bi Jing, approached Jiao Hongyuan and replied respectfully, "Master, all the test subjects have been transferred."

Jiao Hongyuan nodded, his expression softening a little, but he still frowned and said, "I didn't expect these White Crows to have such sharp senses, actually finding their way here. Fortunately, we had many informants in place beforehand... Did they come here to investigate because they listened to so-called experts who thought this place would experience frequent earthquakes and possibly a 'weak intersection'? Or is it just a coincidence?"

Jiao Hongyuan shook his head.

"Right, how's the situation in Kaiping?"

Su Bi Jing nodded, "According to your instructions, he took 'Number Nine' to Qingfu Middle School. We should be getting news soon."

"Using Number Nine to attract the attention of the White Crows and lead them away is necessary. Otherwise, with such a huge target, it would be easy to expose the Mother of the Tianxu Worm," Jiao Hongyuan said with a hum.

Su Bi Jing couldn't help but complain, "The Kant Company is really not helping at all. We're doing all the work by ourselves..."

Expressionless, Jiao Hongyuan said, "Big companies like that are always calculating. They want to stay clear of any potential fallout from the start to finish. If the plan succeeds, they reap the benefits without getting their hands dirty, and if it fails, they suffer no losses. They're playing a clever game."

"But precisely because of this, we're the ones who get to take on such tasks."

Su Bi Jing worriedly said, "Master, if we succeed, won't the Kant Company turn on us?"

Jiao Hongyuan stood up and looked towards the center of the basement at the sky-blue worm nest that pulsed like a heart.

"How could I not have thought of that?"

"I've already prepared a backup plan... If anything happens to us, the Kant Company won't get off scot-free either."

...

On the playground of Qingfu Middle School, the voices of thousands of students and staff echoed.

Nearly the entire school had gathered on the playground, and all the students were dressed in athletic wear for easy movement.

"Teacher Du, when is Xue Jing coming? Is he on his way?"

At that moment, the elite class students were gathered together, and Li Ge approached the phone-carrying Du Shiwei and inquired.

Du Shiwei nodded, his expression relaxed, "He's on his way, but there's a traffic jam."

Li Ge breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

As the class monitor, he did care about the class honor.

Recently, Xue Jing had been absent from school, and Li Ge was worried he had forgotten about the school's athletic meet.

"Teacher Du, I'm going to the bathroom."

Li Ge informed Du Shiwei and walked towards the bathroom.

It was just after the opening ceremony, and the time was approaching 10 am. The sun hung high in the clear sky, shining brightly.

"What a beautiful day."

Li Ge shielded his eyes from the sun and glanced at the sky.

"Hmm? Who's that?"

Li Ge spotted a man in the distance, wearing a janitor's uniform, a duck tongue hat, and a mask. He was pushing a trash can.

"Haven't seen him before... Must be a new janitor."

Li Ge didn't pay it much mind, only thinking that the janitor had a good physique, tall and sturdy, unlike the typical hunched appearance of janitors who worked long hours bent over.

He turned and entered the bathroom to wash his hands.

As soon as Li Ge entered the bathroom, the trash can being pushed by the janitor suddenly moved.

When Li Ge exited the bathroom, the new janitor had disappeared, and he had no idea where he had gone.

Li Ge returned to where the class had gathered.

"Class monitor, where's Xue Jing? Why isn't he here yet?"

A classmate asked.

"He should be here soon. He's on his way, but there's a traffic jam," Li Ge replied with a shrug.

"Class monitor, give him a call and ask. The first event is the 100-meter sprint, and it's about to start," a short-haired female classmate whispered to Li Ge.

Li Ge scratched his head and sighed, "Alright, I'll ask him."

He took out his phone, opened his contacts, found Xue Jing's number, and placed the call.

...

On the other hand, Xue Jing was indeed stuck in traffic.

He rolled down the window of the taxi and looked ahead and behind, hearing constant honking as the road was packed with cars, leaving no room to move.

"What the hell? Why is there so much traffic today?"

The taxi driver slapped the steering wheel, voicing his frustration.

Xue Jing looked at the situation and thought, 'At this rate, I might not make it in time...'

Just then, his phone rang.

Xue Jing glanced at the caller ID and answered the call.

"Hello, bro? Are you here yet?" Li Ge's voice came through the receiver.

Xue Jing held the phone out the window, letting Li Ge hear the incessant honking on the road.

"I'm stuck in traffic."

"Your race starts in fifteen minutes; the 100-meter sprint is the first event..." Li Ge said.

Xue Jing thought for a moment, then replied, "Don't worry, I'll be there soon."

He hung up and turned to the driver, "Thanks for the ride, I'll walk the rest of the way."

The driver glanced at Xue Jing through the rearview mirror, handing him the payment QR code while asking skeptically, "Walk? This place is pretty far from Qingfu Middle School. Even if you run, it'll take you half an hour. You're better off waiting for the traffic to clear."

After scanning the code to pay the fare, Xue Jing smiled and said, "It's fine, my running speed is a bit faster than most."

He opened the door and stepped out of the taxi.

Instead of following the road, he turned and looked toward the direction of Qingfu Middle School.

"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line."

He muttered to himself.

The driver rolled down the front passenger window and called out to Xue Jing, "Hey kid, if you're planning to run there, I can show you a shortcut..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes widened in shock.

The handsome young man had just leaped off the overpass!

"Suicide?!" the driver exclaimed.

This overpass was at least several stories high!

He quickly opened his door and stepped out, looking in the direction where Xue Jing had jumped.

However, he only saw a tall and slender figure effortlessly bouncing and maneuvering on the ground, swiftly dodging and leaping over obstacles as he ran straight toward Qingfu Middle School.

When the figure leaped and climbed walls as if they were flat ground, scaling a three-story building with ease, the driver fell silent.

So this was what the kid meant by... being a bit faster?

...

"The 100-meter sprint event is about to begin, please take your marks..."

The school's broadcast repeatedly announced the upcoming event, while homeroom teacher Du Shiwei anxiously looked toward the school gate.

"Why isn't he here yet?"

The participating students from the various classes had already taken their positions on the track.

"Huh? What's that?"

A sharp-eyed female student from the elite class pointed in a certain direction.

Everyone followed her gaze.

In the distance, on the rooftops of several buildings, a figure was swiftly moving back and forth, quickly closing the distance between them.

His movements were incredibly light and graceful, almost like he was strolling, yet each step covered a distance of fourteen to fifteen feet, resembling the incredible lightness skill from martial arts novels.

"That looks like Xue Jing!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn, this guy finally shows up, always making a dramatic entrance?"

"He really has been practicing martial arts! He's actually running on walls and leaping across roofs!"

"Wow, our class is invincible now! We'll definitely get first place in the overall score, and we'll get those term-end bonus points for sure!"

The elite class students were excited beyond measure.

Not too far away, Xue Jing had already spotted the school grounds. Instead of going through the main entrance, he leaped from a building's wall, using his legs to propel himself over the wall and into the school's playground.

With a quick glance, he located his class and swiftly closed the distance with a few long strides.

Du Shiwei breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Xue Jing rush over, his face calm and breath steady despite the sprint. "You're finally here."

Xue Jing looked at the students taking their positions on the track and raised an eyebrow, "Looks like I'm just in time?"

"Stop showing off, bro. Hurry up and change, it's your turn soon," Li Ge urged from the side.

Xue Jing looked down at his short-sleeved shirt and track pants, then turned to Li Ge, "Lend me your clothes."

As Li Ge took off his track jacket and passed it to Xue Jing, he couldn't help but express his doubt, "You didn't even prepare your clothes? You must have forgotten about the school sports meet and only rushed over after getting the call, right..."

Xue Jing put on Li Ge's jacket nonchalantly and said, "How could I forget? I washed my clothes yesterday, but with the humid weather lately, they didn't dry."

Li Ge glanced at the bright sun overhead and asked, "Do you hear yourself?"

Xue Jing ignored the question, patted Li Ge's shoulder, and smiled, "Alright, I'm up.

"That's enough chit-chat," Xue Jing said, turning towards the track.

As soon as the runners took their marks on the track, cheers and shouts of encouragement erupted from the students, each class cheering in unison with remarkable coordination.

However, when Xue Jing took his place, the scene turned chaotic.

"Senior Xue Jing!! Go, Senior Xue Jing!! Cheer, cheer!"

"Senior, I want to have your babies!"

Various bizarre shouts and screams caused Xue Jing's lips to twitch.

The other competitors also wore twisted expressions.

At that moment, the physical education teacher, acting as the referee, raised the starting pistol.

"On your marks!"

The runners got into their starting positions.

"Bang!"

As soon as the pistol fired, all the runners sprinted forward.

At that moment, the eight competitors on the field only heard a "whoosh" as a figure darted out, quickly leaving them behind.

Xue Jing effortlessly sprinted down the track, not using his full strength, just running a bit more seriously than during his usual morning jogs.

Even so, it was still a speed beyond the imagination of the other students.

...

On the playground, Lin Shiyu, a junior, watched the figure racing on the track with a complex expression, letting out a soft sigh.

Thinking that she had completely missed her chance, she felt increasingly sad as she watched, and eventually turned her head away, not wanting to see that soul-stirring figure anymore.

Just then, she suddenly noticed a black shadow scurrying across the wall of the nearby teaching building.

The shadow moved extremely fast, and when Lin Shiyu looked again, she saw nothing.

She rubbed her eyes, which were foggy with tears, thinking that she must have imagined it.

"Teacher, I don't feel well. Can I go to the infirmary to lie down?"

Lin Shiyu asked her homeroom teacher softly.

...

As Xue Jing sprinted across the finish line with absolute dominance, countless screams and shouts nearly drowned out the entire school.

Li Ge helplessly rubbed his ears, feeling like his prediction had come true.

Indeed, letting Senior Xue Jing participate in this competition was like asking him to directly break the hearts of his junior admirers, wasn't it?

"Good, good, good..."

After Xue Jing returned to the class gathering point, Du Shiwei excitedly patted his shoulder, exclaiming, "Good" three times.

Xue Jing took a bottle of mineral water from a female classmate, thanked her, then twisted open the cap and took a few sips.

"How many events do I have left?"

After screwing the cap back on, Xue Jing asked.

"Today, there's still the 400-meter race, the relay race... Oh, and the three-legged race..."

Xue Jing interjected with a curious "hmm?" "Three-legged race?"

Du Shiwei explained, "You wanted to dominate all the running events, right? The three-legged race is kind of related to running, isn't it?"

Xue Jing: "..."

Just as he was about to reply, a scream came from the direction of the teaching building.

"Ahhhh!!"

This scream was completely different from the enthusiastic cheers and screams the junior girls had given for Xue Jing; it was filled with fear and panic.

The students turned their heads curiously towards the source of the sound.

Soon, similar screams of fear erupted from the crowd of students.

Not far away, near the teaching building, a beautiful female student with a slender figure sat on the ground, her face filled with terror as she backed away.

In front of her, at the entrance of the teaching building, crouched a monster that made one's scalp tingle.

It resembled a combination of a human and a cockroach, with six insect-like legs, and was currently tearing and chewing on a human's lower body with its sharp mandibles.

"Monster!"

"What is that, a cockroach?!"

"It's eating someone! Who is it eating?!"

"Run, run for your lives!!"

Most of the students fled in panic, rushing away from the teaching building.

Xue Jing's pupils contracted, and his heart trembled.

A cockroach monster?!

After his conversation with the White Crow, he had learned what that cockroach monster he had killed was, and he knew there would be more than one.

No one could understand the cockroach monster's combat power and brutality better than him.

If not for his unique circumstances, his possession of the panel with its myriad skills, and his overly versatile abilities, he would have been nothing but food for these monsters.

How did this thing get into the school?!

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end