But Samer showed no signs of waking up.
Guo Liang, seeing Samer showing no signs of waking, raised his hand and slapped him.
The slap was crisp, echoing throughout the entire space.
Samer's already swollen face became even more red and swollen, with a faint purple hue, and visible blood vessels.
"Damn, when did the professor get so ruthless? That slap had a hint of national hatred and family vengeance!"
"But Professor Guo Liang has always maintained international friendly relations. Why is he hitting so hard?"
"Ah, stop talking. With Professor Samer's behavior, can anyone be friendly? We've almost died several times because of him."
The students whispered as they looked at Professor Samer.
Jimmy and Gall, standing nearby, wanted to speak upon hearing the students' murmurs, but due to the presence of the mercenaries, they could only restrain themselves.
As for Zhou Lin, he watched silently as Samer's face swelled from the blows.
He stood up and walked to Guo Liang's side.
Seeing that Guo Liang was about to raise his hand again, Zhou Lin intervened first.
At the moment of intervention, Guo Liang turned sharply, the anger still burning in his eyes. But upon seeing Zhou Lin, the anger subsided considerably.
"Professor Zhou Lin, you..."
"Professor Guo, do you have a grudge against him? If you keep hitting him, you'll really kill him."
Zhou Lin's expression lost its usual gentleness as he asked coldly.
"He's not waking up. This guy almost got us killed. This is considered revenge."
Guo Liang's tone carried a hint of annoyance.
"You're a professor, always talking about diplomatic relations between countries. I never thought you'd hit so hard. Anyone would think you had a personal vendetta."
Zhou Lin sneered.
Guo Liang paused upon hearing this.
"What do you mean by that?"
A flicker of wariness crossed Guo Liang's eyes.
"Should I call you Shadow Ghost, or Professor Guo?"
"Legend has it that in the ocean, there was a creature formed from the accumulated resentments of those who drowned themselves or died at sea over many years. It gradually formed a shadow, known as the Shadow Ghost."
"But this Shadow Ghost has a bad temper; it becomes enraged if things don't go its way. You must be it, right?"
Zhou Lin looked at the man coldly, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
Before Guo Liang could react, the archaeological team and mercenaries behind him stared at them in horror.
What was going on? How did Professor Guo become a Shadow Ghost? Then where was the professor?
"You... where did you put Professor Guo? Speak!"
The metaphysics professor looked at the 'Guo Liang' opposite him with great concern.
"Isn't your professor very capable? Let him find out where Guo Liang went."
The Shadow Ghost's voice was also filled with mockery as he looked at him.
Everyone's hearts tightened upon hearing this.
In the live stream:
"Holy crap, this is terrifying. When did it appear? We didn't even know!"
"The most important thing now is our professor. His safety is paramount."
"That's strange, when did this happen? How did the expert find out?"
"I don't know, but the expert seems to know. That's why the expert is here. If it were us, we'd probably be dead before we even knew who did it."
...
Zhou Lin's lips curved into a slight arc as he saw this.
"I don't need to know where Guo Liang is, but I know where your future lies."
Zhou Lin raised his Emei刺 (Emei dagger) and in an instant, he was lunging at the Shadow Ghost.
But the Shadow Ghost was a shadow, and the Emei刺 passed through him without effect. The Shadow Ghost let out a sinister smile.
"I am a shadow formed from resentment. Your weapons are useless. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot harm me."
'Guo Liang' said with a cold laugh.
"I just wanted to play with you before, but now that you've discovered me, there's no need for pleasantries."
The Shadow Ghost then transformed into a shadowy figure, a mere dark silhouette with nothing on its face.
"Why is there only one Shadow Ghost? Where are the others? Come out, I don't like playing guessing games."
Zhou Lin said and then looked back.
The mercenaries and students exchanged glances, their eyes filled with suspicion.
Captain Bai, seeing the looks on their faces and wanting to avoid friendly fire, made a gesture.
"Disperse."
At Captain Bai's command, the mercenaries took a few steps back, maintaining distance from those around them.
Everyone looked at each other with suspicion and vigilance.
"You're not coming out?"
Zhou Lin's voice was devoid of warmth. He then took out his Azure Dragon Sword, and two azure dragons appeared.
"You know your weapons are useless against me. Even if you're a powerful Taoist priest, it's futile."
The Shadow Ghost stood aside, its tone unable to hide its mockery.
"Who said I was going to attack you?"
Zhou Lin scoffed. He then swung the Azure Dragon Sword, and the two azure dragons moved towards the crowd. Several mercenaries and students turned into black shadows.
"Qingluan, Geli, you..."
Captain Bai was shocked to see his comrades transformed like this, looking at them with disbelief.
The metaphysics professor was equally incredulous as he looked at his students.
"Little Baozi, Hongwei, you too..."
The metaphysics professor could never have imagined such a situation, and they hadn't felt anything at all.
"Hmph, kill them."
The Shadow Ghost, seeing its people exposed, finally gave the order. From the shadows where its people stood, a slender shape appeared, resembling a blade.
Qingluan, who was closest to Captain Bai, raised his blade and swung it at a nearby student.
Captain Bai drew his dagger preemptively, blocking the attack.
*Clang—*
Fortunately, they could still block this blade.
"Protect the professor."
Captain Bai managed to shout this out before engaging in an unequal fight with the Shadow Ghost, dagger in hand.
Even if the Shadow Ghost were pierced a thousand times, it would suffer no damage, whereas the mercenaries would sustain injuries.
The remaining mercenaries stepped forward, shielding the students behind them.