Su Qi Is Still Dreaming

Yun Huang shook her head.

The motion was slight, slow.

Yet it struck like a silent hammer, crushing against everyone's heart.

She had nothing to say.

Li Ran's face drained of color in an instant. His mouth hung open, like a chicken with its throat clamped shut—no sound escaped.

The so-called courage that had propped him up, that had emboldened him to throw his flesh and blood against the monstrous beasts—

The last shred of his bravado, the flimsy veil he'd clung to, was now torn to pieces.

Liu Feiyu kept his head lowered, his gaze locked onto the ground.

He had always believed himself to be the rational one, the clear-headed strategist who saw through everything.

He had mocked Li Ran's recklessness, sneered at the others' weakness.

Yet in the end, his so-called composure, his analysis, every decision he'd made—all of it had rested on the assumption of absolute safety.

His rationality was just cowardice in another form.

The others didn’t even dare lift their heads.

The air thickened with suffocating shame.

The excuses—"I was forced too"—now rang like sharp slaps across their own faces, over and over.

They were no different from that eliminated member of Zhao Teng's squad.

No—they were worse.

Yun Huang didn’t spare them another glance.

She simply turned to leave.

Truthfully, if she had a choice, she wouldn’t want teammates like this either.

They filled her with a deep, visceral disgust.

"Carry on," she said, then took a step forward.

Right then—

A long, eerie howl pierced the night, rolling down from the nearby ridge.

Then another. And another.

Wolf cries rose from all directions, weaving into a chorus that sent chills through the silent darkness.

The group, still drowning in shame, stiffened in unison.

The one who had been crying earlier whimpered, "It's... the [Shadowfang Wolves]! And—a whole pack of them!"

[Shadowfang Wolves]—seventh-tier primal beasts. Individually, they weren’t the strongest.

But they were born hunters, notorious for their cunning, speed, and terrifying teamwork.

A full pack numbered at least thirty.

Even elite squads like the Thunder Hawks avoided tangling with them.

It wasn’t that thirty seventh-tier beasts were stronger than a single eighth-tier.

But for a squad formation, a defender couldn’t possibly block thirty simultaneous, scattered attacks.

The others had some defensive abilities, but they paled in comparison.

Facing three beasts of the same tier alone? The pressure wasn’t just additive—it was exponential.

"Run!"

Someone shouted, and the group erupted into chaos.

Survival instinct took over.

They scrambled to their feet, ready to scatter like startled birds.

"Don’t run!"

A sharp command, cold as ice, froze them in place.

Yun Huang.

She had stopped, turning back to face them. Her eyes gleamed unnaturally bright in the dark.

"Do you really think you can outrun them?"

"Where would you even go? Split up, and you’re just gambling on luck—who gets chased, who doesn’t."

"Even your so-called life-saving measures won’t help much here."

Li Ran’s face was ghostly pale, his lips trembling. "Then... what do we do? There’s... too many of them!"

Yun Huang swept her gaze over these so-called teammates, all paralyzed with fear.

"If you want to live, listen to me." Her voice held no warmth, only an unyielding force. "Now. Form a circle, back-to-back. Immediately."

No one moved.

They hesitated, still calculating risks.

"Li Ran!" Yun Huang snapped his name like a whip. "You wanted to be the shield. So be one—or keep acting like a dog with its tail between its legs."

Li Ran shuddered. He jerked his head up, meeting her icy stare.

With teeth gritted hard enough to crack, he forced out a single word: "Fine!"

He was the first to rush to the center, bracing himself in a defensive stance.

With someone leading, the others instinctively clustered together, though terror still twisted their faces.

Rustle... rustle...

From the undergrowth, pairs of emerald-green eyes flickered to life like ghostly flames.

The encirclement tightened rapidly.

"Liu Feiyu!" Yun Huang’s orders came fast and precise. "Range of your mental shock?"

"M-max fifty meters..."

"Don’t hold back! Aim east—flush them out! With that other squad still here, twenty against thirty isn’t impossible."

"Yang Fuchichan, how long can you sustain arrow volleys?"

"F-full output... thirteen minutes..."

Instructions flew from Yun Huang’s lips, assigning roles with brutal efficiency.

She didn’t ask for their strengths—she’d memorized the scraps they’d shown in prior fights and deployed them accordingly.

No tactics. No teamwork.

Just raw, primal division of labor.

Snarling, the first [Shadowfang Wolf] lunged from the dark, targeting the weakest link—a girl at the circle’s edge.

"Hold it!" Li Ran roared, throwing himself bodily at the beast.

Thunk!

Claws raked three deep gashes across his chest, bone glinting beneath.

He grunted in pain but didn’t retreat.

The battle exploded.

Of the thirty-odd wolves, nearly twenty focused on their group.

The rest harassed the other squad—likely because they seemed more exhausted.

Attacks came from all sides.

The wolves moved as one, their assault relentless as tidal waves.

The moment one strike was blocked, another set of claws was already slicing toward exposed flesh.

These students had never faced anything like this.

Panic sent their formation crumbling instantly.

Their "defensive circle" was a joke.

"Aaagh!"

A boy screamed as a wolf pinned him down, fangs aiming for his throat.

Despair flooded his face—his fingers twitched toward activating his family’s emergency talisman.

Then—

A crimson blade slid soundlessly through the wolf’s eye, skewering its brain.

Yun Huang.

She’d appeared like a ghost, kicking the corpse aside and yanking the boy up by his collar.

"Next time," she hissed, voice colder than death, "you die alone."

She wasn’t unscathed. Saving him had cost her—a wolf’s claw had opened a long gash down her arm, blood dripping freely.

She had no life-saving trinkets.

Every wound was real.

Li Ran saw it.

Something in his chest shattered at the sight of that crimson streak against Yun Huang’s pale skin.

"Goddamn mutts!"

He only knew one thing now:

That girl—the one without a single safety net—had more guts than all of them combined.

If he kept cowering like this, what kind of man was he?

Soon, fresh wounds covered his body, his clothes soaked in blood, yet he seemed oblivious to the pain.

...

In the surveillance room.

The balding man hesitated before cautiously asking, "Can I go intervene?"

Lin Xiao remained rigid, his eyes locked onto the bloodied girl commanding on the screen. "No."

Then, for the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed his face.

"What's her name?"

"Yun... Yun Huang..." Wu Gong stammered.

"That soldier—she's ours now."

Lin Xiao's voice was quiet.

Wu Gong froze.

Had he heard right?

This was a direct recruitment offer from the military!

But before he could rejoice, the battlefield situation took another drastic turn.

The fight had descended into chaos.

"Don’t panic!" Liu Feiyu shouted hoarsely, trying to disrupt the wolf pack's assault with his psychic abilities. But the collective killing intent of over twenty direwolves formed an invisible wall, making it impossible for him to lock onto any target precisely.

He could only create minor, scattered disruptions—barely effective.

Meanwhile, Zhao Teng's squad fared slightly better.

Though surrounded by a dozen direwolves, their well-coordinated teamwork kept their defenses intact, preventing any casualties.

Zhao Teng even had the leisure to glance over, his face twisted in smug amusement.

Thud!

Another student was struck by a wolf's claws, screaming as he collapsed onto his back.

Terrified, he stared as a second direwolf lunged for his face, jaws gaping. His mind went blank—only the instinct to activate his life-saving talisman remained.

But a fist moved faster than his thoughts.

Li Ran appeared before him, driving his knuckles into the wolf's skull.

Warm blood splattered across the student's face.

Li Ran's voice was eerily calm.

"Get up."

This time, no one hesitated.

Survival instinct overrode everything else.

They formed a shaky circle, backs pressed together.

Li Ran stood at the forefront, drenched in blood, yet his eyes burned with terrifying intensity.

"Come on, you bastards!"

The formation was crude, but it momentarily halted their collapse.

Yet everyone knew—this was a desperate stopgap.

Their stamina was draining rapidly, while the wolves showed no signs of relenting.

"Yang Fu Chichan!" Yun Huang barked again. "Stop scattering your arrows—focus on one target and keep hitting it!"

"The rest of you, shield Li Ran with your defensive cards!"

"Liu Feiyu, forget area control—use your psychic blast to pin down the alpha in front of me!"

Not suggestions. Orders.

Each command hammered into their ears.

These pampered elites were being treated like tools for the first time.

Strangely, instead of resentment, an absurd sense of reassurance settled over them.

Awooo—!

The alpha—larger, darker-furred than the rest—finally lost patience.

Abandoning other prey, it lunged at Yun Huang like black lightning.

It had realized—this girl was the heart of the pack.

Kill her, and the rest would be helpless sheep.

"Look out!"

Liu Feiyu, pale from exertion, could only manage a weak warning.

Li Ran was entangled with three wolves, unable to break free.

The others were barely holding on.

Yun Huang stood alone.

Facing death, she stepped forward.

Her left hand thrust out—a wall of flames erupted.

Boom!

The fire shield shattered instantly, but bought her a fraction of a second.

She twisted mid-air, her crimson blade grazing the alpha's claws.

Thunk!

The sword left a shallow gash along its flank.

Enraged, the alpha attacked fiercer, its rancid breath washing over her.

Yun Huang staggered back.

She felt her strength waning, her mind foggy from blood loss.

She had no life-saving talisman.

She would die.

The thought crystallized in her mind.

As fangs neared her throat—

"Screw it, I’ve got a talisman anyway!"

A tearful scream rang out.

The boy she'd saved earlier—the one who’d wept about having a talisman—now hurled himself blindly at the alpha.

The impact did nothing.

But it made the alpha hesitate—just enough for its swipe to send him flying.

That was all she needed.

Yun Huang's eyes blazed.

She didn’t check on the boy. Every ounce of strength poured into her right arm.

Her crimson sword wasn’t thrust or swung—

It was driven downward like a hammer, straight into the alpha’s eye socket.

The hilt sank to the guard before detonating.

The alpha’s howl died in its throat.

A fiery explosion engulfed them both.

When the smoke cleared—

The alpha’s charred corpse twitched twice, then lay still.

The remaining wolves froze, staring at their fallen leader.

Fear flickered in their emerald eyes for the first time.

Yun Huang gasped for air, blood dripping from her limbs into a growing pool.

She lifted her blood-streaked face. "Next."

One wolf whimpered, tail between its legs, and fled.

Then another. And another.

Within seconds, the pack scattered.

Well—not entirely.

They turned on the other squad instead.

Preying on the weak—nature’s oldest rule.

The fight was over.

The boy who’d charged the alpha sat trembling, pants soaked.

Li Ran slumped to the ground, staring at Yun Huang’s wounds, then his own superficial cuts. His face burned with shame.

...

Two days later—initial score tally day.

At dawn, Su Qi was still dreaming.

In his dream...