Hua Country has twelve sacred islands.
The creatures inhabiting each sacred island are different, and Island Seven, the deepest explored by humans so far, is the safest at C-class.
Not long after Lu Zhi hung up with Shen Lu, he received a notification from the school to head to Island Seven. He also found new information about the significant global changes that had occurred over the past three days from the school forum.
It turned out that three days ago, coincidentally after Lu Zhi's Cage of Radiance ended early, all humans worldwide heard the 'Heavenly Decree' announcing the rewriting of world laws, and the war between humanity and anomalies had begun ahead of schedule…
In short, all the plot points Lu Zhi knew from novels were likely to undergo earth-shattering changes. For Lu Zhi now, all futures were unknown.
"We've arrived. Please enter the exclusive aircraft through the Number Twelve special channel. Wishing you a smooth journey." The female driver from the Kuang Ye Guild, who picked up Lu Zhi, handed him a black magnetic card.
"Thank you." Lu Zhi exhaled a breath of cold air, zipped up his outer jacket, put on his baseball cap, and looked up at the gray, snow-falling sky, frowning.
The day after the Cage of Radiance ended early, the global temperature had suddenly plummeted. The reason was still unclear.
The spacious and bright airport was bustling with people. Following the instructions, Lu Zhi used the magnetic card in his hand to enter the Number Twelve special channel, feeling as if he were separated from the lively crowd behind him by two different worlds.
At the end of the channel, personnel in work uniforms were already waiting. After confirmation, Lu Zhi successfully boarded the plane.
Quite a few people were already seated inside, all talking in hushed whispers.
"Lu Zhi, over here, over here." A lively and familiar voice, accompanied by a waving arm, belonged to Wang Cao Tian, whom Lu Zhi had met after seeing him streak naked in the dormitory building. Xia Zhi was sitting next to him.
"Keep your voice down. Don't you see the entire plane is filled with your racket?" Xia Zhi rolled his eyes exasperatedly and said to Lu Zhi in a calm tone, "Your seat is over here."
Lu Zhi walked to the seat across the aisle from them and indeed saw his name on the armrest by the window. He sat down and asked, "Are you guys also going to Sacred Island Seven?"
"We should be the ones asking you this. Haven't you noticed? Everyone here is a senior student. How come you, a junior, are going with us?" Wang Cao Tian squeezed past Xia Zhi from the inside, sat down next to Lu Zhi with a thud, leaned forward, and asked mysteriously in a low voice, "What exactly happened inside the Cage of Radiance? You must know, right?"
Lu Zhi was inwardly startled but showed no hint of it on his face. He feigned annoyance and pushed Wang Cao Tian's face away, saying, "I don't know. I fainted inside the Cage of Radiance. When I woke up, I was already out."
"Really?" Wang Cao Tian looked unconvinced.
Lu Zhi thought, could it be that someone didn't faint at that time and saw everything from the shadows? Including that terrifying anomaly that tore through the sky?
"If you have questions, ask them. When are you going to fix your bad habit of always getting so close to people?" Xia Zhi grabbed Wang Cao Tian's collar from behind and pulled him back.
"Cough, cough, cough… Let go, let go. Are you trying to strangle me?" Wang Cao Tian snatched his collar back, stuck out his tongue, and gasped for breath.
Xia Zhi commanded with annoyance, "Go back to your seat."
"I'm not going. I'm not going. I want to sit with Xiao Lu Lu!" Wang Cao Tian clung to the armrest with both hands, refusing to return.
Lu Zhi: ...Xiao Lu Lu?
Xia Zhi's veins bulged. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Lu Zhi is good-tempered and won't argue with you. If you keep bothering him and asking endless questions, do you believe I'll beat you up?"
Wang Cao Tian put on an exaggerated expression of horror, "Oh my god~ I'm so scared~ Xia Zhi is going to beat me up~"
Lu Zhi watched the two bicker, and his mood involuntarily relaxed a lot. He hadn't seen them for only a few days, yet it felt like a long time.
Time flowed differently inside and outside the Cage of Radiance. Seven days inside equated to only one day and one night outside. Those inside the Cage of Radiance must have felt like an eternity, especially ordinary people.
Another familiar voice sounded from the cabin. Lu Zhi saw Jiang Yue with a pout, perfunctorily saying to the person on the Guang Nao, "Hey, hey, hey, I know, I'm not late. You're so annoying. Alright, I'm hanging up. Bye."
Immediately after, Luo Shiyu and Lan Yushan also appeared in the cabin.
"Brother Luo, Yushan." Lu Zhi happily stood up from his chair.
He had been wondering why he was the only one called to Sacred Island Seven.
"Lu Zhi, it's great that you're here too." Lan Yushan lunged towards Lu Zhi and gave him a big hug. "You have no idea how worried we were when we woke up and found you missing. Luckily, Teacher Shen sent us a message saying your brother picked you up."
Lu Zhi paused, "When did Shen Qi... no, Teacher Shen contact you guys?"
Lan Yushan thought for a moment, then confusedly said, "I forgot." He then casually spread his hands. "It doesn't matter, as long as we all got out alive, right, Brother Luo."
Luo Shiyu nodded and sat down in the seat in front of Lu Zhi, asking, "The school has been chaotic these past few days. It's good that your brother took you back to rest."
Seeing that Luo Shiyu and Lan Yushan didn't seem to be lying, Lu Zhi's dark eyes dimmed.
It should be simple for gods to alter some memories, right?
Three days had passed since the end of the Cage of Radiance until now. Apart from Principal Shen Lu's call, he hadn't received any interrogation.
"What happened at the school?" Lu Zhi asked Lan Yushan.
"Hmm... it seems to be related to Teacher Shen's disappearance and matters concerning the abyss layer of the Cage of Radiance. I'm not sure myself," Lan Yushan scratched his head.
"Xiao Lu Lu, if you want to know, you can ask me," the meddling Wang Cao Tian patted his chest.
Lu Zhi directly ignored the nickname "Xiao Lu Lu." "Senior Wang Cao Tian knows?"
Wang Cao Tian smirked proudly. "Our school is rather special. The principal is re-elected every three years. In another month, it'll be election time."
"This sudden change in the Cage of Radiance, Shen Nan Shen's disappearance in front of everyone in the conference room, and it just so happened that the photography equipment of Team Three Captain Luo Shiqian, which was thrown into the abyss layer, captured Shen Nan Shen's back. Many people are using this to make a big fuss."
Lu Zhi asked in confusion, "Even if Shen... Teacher Shen entered the abyss layer, what's the problem?"
He suspected that Shen Qi was intentionally filmed. Don't ask him why he knew; it was just a feeling.
Luo Shiyu replied, "Although the early end of the Cage of Radiance allowed more ordinary people to survive, the change in the Cage of Radiance rules means that if the Cage of Radiance descends again, there will no longer be a 24-hour window to disappear. To leave safely, one must enter the abyss layer and kill the lord."
Lu Zhi realized and frowned, "So, regardless of truth or falsehood, 'the change in the Cage of Radiance rules' is definitely 'caused by Shen Qi.' Those people want to use this to pressure Principal Shen Lu, causing him to lose his eligibility for the election?"
As expected, no matter the era, there are always self-serving individuals among humans.
Wang Cao Tian crossed his legs and said, "Pretty much. Also, there will be big changes for guilds not directly managed by the state."
"Wang Cao Tian, after gossiping, move your noble backside. You're sitting in my seat now." Jiang Yue, who had been listening to their gossip, grabbed Wang Cao Tian like a chicken and tossed him onto Xia Zhi, then sat down next to Lu Zhi.
"You guys, don't just chat, look at the latest information the school sent you." Jiang Yue, chewing bubble gum, took out her phone to play a single-player game. "Don't say I didn't warn you, the danger level of Island Seven was just changed."
*Pop~*
Jiang Yue blew a bubble and then bit it herself. She turned to look at Lu Zhi, suddenly put her arm around his shoulder, and flashed a smile revealing eight perfectly aligned teeth. "Junior schoolmate, want sister to cover you?"
Lu Zhi: ...