The Blood Jade Fan gave no hints at all. Qi Dengzui had no leads for now. Between Xie Buyu’s and Pei Su’s invitations, Qi Dengzui chose to accept Pei Su’s.
Pei Su was bringing him to complete the team member identity verification. Although he had invited Qi Dengzui earlier, that was only a preliminary roster change, whether they could actually form a team depended on the system’s judgment.
Moreover, they hadn’t even settled on a team name yet.
Team verification was done in the Team Verification Hall within the Team Lobby, located to the right of the Freshman Assembly Hall, a fairly large space.
When Qi Dengzui arrived, he unexpectedly ran into a familiar face.
In the Team Lobby.
Xie Buyu looked at Qi Dengzui, gave a slight nod, and said in a natural tone, “Here for team verification?”
Qi Dengzui nodded and replied, “What, is Xie Jun also here for verification?”
Xie Buyu inclined his head and said slowly, “No need to call me Xie Jun against your will that’s not your style. Just call me Xie Buyu.”
Qi Dengzui said, “Xie Buyu, you seem to know me quite well?”
Unexpectedly, Xie Buyu admitted it outright: “Yes. I told you, we’re rivals. What do you think?”
He was eager to hear Qi Dengzui’s response.
It had been far too long since he’d experienced the feeling of being Qi Dengzui’s opponent.
Qi Dengzui was wearing a black pinstriped suit today, his tie impeccably neat, the tailored fit accentuating his superior physique.
His nose was high and straight, adorned with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that glinted brightly under the lobby’s lights, softening much of the cold sharpness about him.
Xie Buyu watched the man before him remove his glasses, his voice suddenly dropping several degrees colder.
“Xie Buyu, you’ve overstepped.”
A flicker of subtle surprise passed through Xie Buyu’s eyes, then he said, “Guan Si? When I’m talking to Qi Dengzui, you have no place to interrupt.”
Guan Si shed the gentleness he showed around Qi Dengzui, letting out a cold laugh. “Xie Buyu, are you really so eager to let Brother Qi know everything?”
Xie Buyu was stunned for a moment. “You have a team. The verification is bound to fail. Qi Dengzui will naturally learn everything—you can’t hide it any longer, can you?”
“Or is it.”
Xie Buyu smiled. “Guan Si, are you afraid? Afraid that once Qi Dengzui remembers everything and learns you’re not his sub-personality, he’ll cut ties with you?”
His words tore through Guan Si’s mask without mercy.
Guan Si remained silent.
After a moment, he said, “Even if he’s about to learn the truth, that’s his business. No one else has the right to interfere.”
“Including you, Xie Buyu.”
Guan Si walked into the Team Verification Hall, the overhead lights casting his tall, upright figure into sharp relief.
His voice was flat, yet it carried an inexplicable, overwhelming presence as it reached Xie Buyu’s ears from across the room.
“Stay away from Qi Dengzui. I won’t repeat myself.”
Before long, Pei Su and He Zhu arrived as well.
At the center of the Team Verification Hall stood a platform. Placing one’s hand on it would initiate the team verification process.
The moment Pei Su’s hand touched it, a powerful pillar of light burst from the platform’s core, shooting straight into the sky. The beam shifted through colors before vanishing.
Slowly, an X appeared on the platform’s surface.
[Apologies, you are already a member of a team. Team verification failed. Please check for errors and try again.]
Pei Su was stunned.
“Already in a team? What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it says.”
Pei Su: ?
A voice came from behind Guan Si’s. “Come on, follow me somewhere. I’ll tell you the truth.”
His tone carried a hint of relief, as if a long-borne weight had finally been lifted.
…
Since the very birth of the Paranormal Academy, no one had ever known where it came from, why it existed, or where it was headed.
But in its fiftieth year, it welcomed, for the first time in history, the person most likely to uncover the Detective Society’s secret.
He was the captain of Light Snow, Qi Dengzui.
In the history of the Paranormal Academy, generation after generation of rising stars had fallen.
That year, the most dazzling star of the era stubbed out his cigarette, his voice laced with cold: “Light Snow never keeps trash. If this is still your level, get the hell out.”
The new recruit standing before him hung his head low, silent.
Qi Dengzui turned, tossed the cigarette away, and climbed the stairs step by step.
Pei Su leaned against the balcony railing on the second floor, smoking, watching Guan Si’s dejected figure below. As Qi Dengzui passed by, he teased, “Oho, the great beauty Qi is this fierce? You’ve scared little Guan. If you really crush his spirit later, you’ll be the one coaxing him back.”
Qi Dengzui frowned and said, “Chain-smoker, cut back on the cigarettes.”
Pei Su snorted. “Now you’re lecturing me? Who was the one who started smoking in the first place?”
Qi Dengzui said coldly, “I smoke one every few months. You smoke one every few hours. Don’t compare yourself to me.”
“Alright, alright, Beauty Qi.” Pei Su waved his hand. “Not to criticize, but this kid’s progress is already impressive enough. If he were in our cohort, even if he couldn’t match you, he wouldn’t necessarily be worse than us.”
“I don’t have time to wait for him to grow.” Qi Dengzui leaned drunkenly on the balcony. “The final exam is about to begin.”
Pei Su sighed and said, “I’ll go down and check on him.”
He clattered down the stairs in his leather shoes.
Guan Si heard a crisp sound, and then someone patted him on the shoulder from behind, saying in a somewhat flippant tone, “Little beauty, don’t be upset, Big Beauty Qi will worry.”
Guan Si stood still, his voice low and gloomy, as if deeply dejected: “Really? Does Captain Qi look down on me that much? But I’ve been trying my hardest.”
Pei Su was almost amused by Guan Si’s wilted demeanor. He let out a “pfft” and said, “Isn’t that just how your Captain Qi is? Handsome as can be, but with a sharp tongue. You should get used to it, yeah?”
Guan Si lowered his head. “But I don’t want to make him unhappy, and I don’t want to hold you all back.”
“You’re not holding anyone back he’s just too impatient.” He Zhu walked over. “Captain Qi wants you, me, all of us to have a better chance of surviving.”
Seeming to catch the smell of smoke on Pei Su, He Zhu furrowed his brow slightly, then continued, “Since you’ve joined Weixue, you should understand that what you’re about to enter is a final exam that doesn’t match your current strength at all. In the entire history of the Paranormal Academy, no one has ever cleared it.”
Guan Si asked in confusion, “If that’s the case, why did Captain Qi take me in? I’m clearly.”
His voice grew even more dejected: “I’m clearly just a useless nobody who didn’t even make the top 100.”
“If you keep thinking like that, you’ll never improve.” Qi Dengzui had somehow appeared beside Guan Si, his tone flat. “I don’t make losing deals. I have my plans. Since I let you join Weixue, it proves you have what it takes to be here. But your mindset hasn’t caught up yet. Guan Si, do you understand what I mean?”
Guan Si said, “Captain Qi, I…”
“Come with me.” Qi Dengzui said.
Guan Si didn’t understand his intention, but still replied, “Okay.”
What Qi Dengzui took him to was the simulation arena for the final exam, “Calamity Undead Sacrifice.”
The simulation arena didn’t contain the dungeon’s storyline, it merely recreated the entire arena itself. No props could be used, the scenery couldn’t be damaged, and even the doors couldn’t be opened.
The Calamity Undead Sacrifice arena was scattered with skeletons everywhere, dried blood leaving black stains on the ground. Guan Si looked at the scene and felt utterly shaken, yet also a hint of familiarity.
As he walked, Qi Dengzui said, “See these skeletons? These are the people who were buried in this arena.”
He reached into his pocket, trying to pull out a cigarette. Guan Si noticed and said, “Captain Qi, smoking is bad for you.”
He produced a piece of candy from somewhere and handed it to Qi Dengzui. Qi Dengzui didn’t eat it, but clasped it in his palm, then said, “The final arena is different from other arenas. Other arenas reset every time, so whether it’s the dead or those trapped inside, they all vanish with the reset, leaving no trace behind.”
“But the final arena is different, it never resets. Every team that enters goes to the same arena, and if they die, they die in that same arena.”
“Look at these skeletons each one belonged to the strongest team members of their era. In half a month, we’ll enter the Calamity Undead Sacrifice arena. When that happens, maybe we’ll clear it successfully, or maybe. we’ll become one of these skeletons.”
“I know what you’re agonizing over.” Qi Dengzui said. “I’m no fool. I could’ve easily picked a top-10 candidate, but I chose you, a newcomer ranked outside the top 100. Since I chose you, it means that with you in this arena, we have a better chance of winning than with a top-10 pick. Understand?”
Guan Si had been with Weixue for a while now, but no one had ever told him what ability he possessed that made Weixue pick him from the sea of examinees to be the final support position.
He also didn’t know where he’d found the courage back then, to see Weixue’s recruitment notice and, with a rank outside the top 100, rush over on a whim.
Joining Weixue felt like a dream he always felt it wasn’t quite real.
With that thought, Guan Si nodded and said, “I understand.”
Qi Dengzui saw how obedient he looked and softened a little inside. “The strong never loathe themselves. I spoke a bit harshly just now, and I apologize. But I hope you can pull yourself together and, in the training ahead, stop spacing out and slipping up at the drop of a hat.”
He added, “The mistake you made in the last arena was fatal. If Pei Su hadn’t reacted quickly and pulled you out, you wouldn’t have even made it to the final exam.”
Guan Si knew what Qi Dengzui meant.
In the last examination room, he used a defensive formation to fend off the zombies’ attack, but at the critical moment it suddenly glitched, and the formation dissipated entirely. The zombies surged forward in an instant, nearly tearing him apart.
Guan Si said gloomily, “I understand, Captain Qi. I’ll do my best.”
“Mm.” Qi Dengzui turned and left, squeezing the candy in his hand as he made a waving gesture. “I’ll take the candy.”
“And”
“Don’t call me Captain Qi anymore.”