When Lu Zhi woke up, it was already the second day.
"I slept for two days?" Lu Zhi gasped.
Lan Yu Shan nodded and poured him water, "You scared us half to death. The military doctor checked you and said you were just overexerted. You'd be fine after resting for two days. If you hadn't woken up, we wouldn't have known what to do."
Lu Zhi took the water cup from Lan Yu Shan and thanked him, then continued, "Did anything else happen while I was asleep? Is Luo Shi Yu's condition stable? What about Liu Chuang?"
Lan Yu Shan answered one by one, "Everything is fine. After the ghoul died, the entire Fang Jie was re-inspected. Our transcendent bodies are tougher than ordinary people. Luo Ge recovered from his minor injuries within a day of rest. Captain Liu Chuang is still in the medical bay, and his wounds are healing."
Lan Yu Shan scratched his head and continued, "Today, Luo Ge went out with others to scout the vicinity and clear out some living ghouls. They should be back soon."
Lu Zhi nodded and gazed out the window at the bright sunlight and the bustling city. For a moment, he could have mistaken it for the normal world outside the Cage. However, on the empty streets, occasional figures of walking ghouls could be seen.
"You must be hungry after sleeping for two days. I'll go get you some food. Wait a moment."
Before Lu Zhi could react, Lan Yu Shan had already rushed out of the room.
In reality, his body was fine, just still a bit fatigued. Lying on the bed felt too self-indulgent. Just as he was throwing off the covers and getting out of bed, there was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Yang Yue Ying pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing Lu Zhi, she displayed a genuine smile. "I heard you woke up, so I came to see you. Are you feeling alright?"
Lu Zhi bent down to put on his shoes and replied with a gentle smile, "Thank you. I'm fine. I'm sorry for making you worry."
Yang Yue Ying suddenly bowed deeply to Lu Zhi, her voice sincere. "Thank you, and I apologize."
Lu Zhi was surprised and fumbled to reach out and support her arm. "Deputy Captain Yang, you're too kind. This is what we should be doing. Your thanks make it seem like we're strangers."
Seeing Lu Zhi's clear, pure black eyes, devoid of the arrogance of previous freshmen, and coupled with his saving Liu Chuang's life, Yang Yue Ying's positive impression of him soared. She said, "I was being narrow-minded, thinking all freshmen were the same. I had some prejudice in my attitude towards you, and I am truly sorry."
Lu Zhi gave a soft "Ah," and deliberately put on a confused expression. "I don't understand what you're saying, Deputy Captain Yang. Your attitude towards us has been quite good."
Yang Yue Ying paused for a moment, then smiled, understanding that Lu Zhi didn't want to dwell on the topic. She said, "Regardless, I wanted to express my thanks in person. I look forward to our cooperation in the days to come."
Lu Zhi nodded at her words and extended his hand for a handshake.
At that moment, Lan Yu Shan returned with food. Yang Yue Ying then left, but before she departed, she transferred all the data for the residential complex to Lu Zhi, a gesture of trust.
Lu Zhi quickly finished his meal, bid farewell to Lan Yu Shan, and returned to his room to take a shower. Afterward, he felt like he had forgotten something. Looking out at the bright sunlight, Lu Zhi let out a soft sound and called out gently in the room, "Teacher Shen? Shen Qi?"
There was no response, as if Shen Qi had suddenly vanished.
Lu Zhi frowned. It wasn't that he was worried about Shen Qi's safety, but rather he was curious about what Shen Qi was doing now. He still had many questions to ask him.
However, he always appeared when he was needed.
Lu Zhi paused his dressing and muttered, "Why do I have such a strange thought?"
Shen Qi, why would he appear when he was needed? Why did he have such a firm conviction that the other person would definitely show up?
Lu Zhi's expression was a little peculiar. He shook his head, fastened his belt, put on his shoes, and opened the door to leave. Casually checking his Guang Nao, he saw a message from Luo Shi Yu.
All the freshmen entering the Cage had a novice mission: not only to help and protect the people but also to reach the inner perimeter. They didn't need to enter, but rather to experience the difference between the inner and outer perimeters up close.
Sooner or later, they would also have to enter the inner perimeter, and even the Abyss.
Abyss Seeds and Cage Lords were the ultimate targets that transcendent beings were meant to slaughter.
...
Outside the Cage, in the Non-Natural School conference room (1).
The atmosphere inside was exceptionally solemn. The projection displayed the progress of the A-class Cage reconnaissance mission.
In the past, once humans entered a Cage, they could not obtain any information from within. As technology advanced and humanity evolved and grew stronger, they eventually succeeded in combining treasures with technology, enabling them to acquire information from within the Cage.
The scene displayed at this moment was the situation after Captain Luo Shi Qian of Special Team Three entered the inner perimeter.
If the outer perimeter of the Cage was heaven, then the inner perimeter was desolation, darkness, and unending slaughter. Anomalies were all level four and above, possessing their own territories and consciousness. Once accidentally intruded upon, a battle was inevitable.
However, anomalies would also devour each other; the weak were torn apart. Ordinary humans, if teleported here, would have almost no chance of survival.
'Report, Captain, we have approached the Abyss. We have detected a level six anomaly near the Abyss layer. Should we proceed with clearance?'
Luo Shi Qian placed his hand on his ear and replied, 'Find a place to hide and hold position. Wait for my arrival.'
'Yes.'
To date, humanity's understanding of the Cage remained at the inner perimeter. While attempts had been made to enter the Abyss layer, a previous elite team, all A-class, who inadvertently entered the Abyss layer after being in the inner perimeter, never returned.
At that time, humanity's understanding of the Cage only reached the inner perimeter, and they were unaware of the existence of the Abyss layer. However, all 12 members of the A-class team perished without exception, leading them to develop a fear of the Abyss layer, treating it as an untouchable forbidden zone.
Until the appearance of Shen Qi.
He was the only human who had entered the Abyss layer and returned alive.
They still clearly remembered Shen Qi's words, 'The Abyss, humanity's hell. Have you seen a level ten anomaly?'
The highest level of anomaly humanity had encountered so far was only level seven. Killing a single level seven anomaly required at least 12 transcendent beings with A-class strength. Even S-class transcendent beings would not dare to be careless when facing a level seven.
What kind of terrifying existence was a level ten anomaly?
In the silent conference room, Shen Lu's calm voice slowly sounded, "We're almost there."
The Special Department's mission for Luo Shi Qian was to deploy the newly developed miniature reconnaissance camera into the Abyss layer. However, this seemingly simple task required navigating through the numerous anomalies of the inner perimeter. The closer they got to the Abyss layer, the higher the level of the anomalies.
At this moment, the tightly shut conference room door was pushed open from the outside.
Shen Qi's tall figure slowly walked to a chair at the round table and sat down. Disregarding the obvious displeasure in the eyes of several people, he propped his chin with one hand, his gaze lowered as if dozing off.
This arrogant and rude behavior caused Guang Feng, who already harbored prejudice against him, to darken his face.
Shen Lu glanced at his disobedient son, Shen Qi. The aftereffects of using a spirit puppet would leave him weak for three days. Why had he come here at a time like this?