No need to read too much into it.

In a dream.

Su Qi was playing an online game.

Before his eyes,

A colossal demonic shadow, woven from pure dark energy, let out a final, unwilling wail before shattering into countless motes of light.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You have successfully slain the ‘Lord of Nightmares’ (Projection)]

[Calculating experience points…]

[Congratulations! Level up!]

[Congratulations! Level up!]

[...]

A series of pleasant chimes echoed in his mind.

Then, an endless golden rain descended from the sky, enveloping Su Qi entirely.

The sensation was indescribable—

A warm, pure energy coursed through every inch of his body, seeping into the deepest recesses of his soul.

All fatigue vanished in an instant.

Every cell in his body sang with joy, brimming with exhilaration.

His strength surged at an unbelievable rate.

The sheer pleasure nearly drew a satisfied sigh from his lips.

This was bliss.

Like soaking in the finest hot spring while ten masseurs worked on him simultaneously.

Bathed in golden light, Su Qi felt as though he was floating.

When the radiance faded, his soul seemed purified, elevated.

Just as he was about to savor his newfound power, an odd sensation abruptly engulfed him.

A warm, living mass spread over him without warning.

Soft yet elastic, it clung tightly with an uncanny grip,

Slowly, rhythmically writhing upward.

A slime?

The thought flashed through Su Qi’s mind.

No way. How could such a low-tier creature appear in the Nightmare’s domain?

He tried summoning his energy, but the surge of power felt trapped behind an invisible barrier, impossible to harness.

The "slime’s" embrace grew tighter, pressing down with near-suffocating force.

It had no fangs, no spikes—no overt aggression.

Yet, in the most primal way, it eroded his will to resist.

With each rhythmic contraction,

Su Qi felt his strength draining rapidly, his focus scattering.

He was defeated.

Defeated in the most baffling way.

One last thought crossed his mind before darkness claimed him:

Damn… this slime is something else.

---

Su Qi’s eyes snapped open.

The first thing he saw was the enlarged, innocent face of his younger sister, Liu Yuan.

She was leaning over his bed, her large, dark eyes blinking curiously.

"Brother, you’re awake?"

Her voice was slightly muffled.

"It’s time. We need to head to the assembly point."

Su Qi’s mind was blank.

He sat up slowly, his body aching with weakness.

A hollow exhaustion weighed on him, as though he’d fought nonstop for three days straight.

He’d just slept—why did he feel worse than before?

Glancing down, he confirmed his pants were still on.

But then—

His gaze returned to Liu Yuan’s guileless face.

A faint trace of foam lingered at the corner of her lips.

As she spoke, it quivered slightly before dissolving.

"Brother, why are you staring at me?"

Liu Yuan tilted her head, her dark eyes brimming with pure curiosity.

Noticing something amiss, she casually flicked her tongue out, licking the residue away.

Boom—

Thunder seemed to explode in Su Qi’s mind.

That dream…

The slime…

The strange, gripping sensation…

The rhythmic, consuming pressure…

His throat tightened.

No words came out.

While he was asleep…

"Brother, why aren’t you saying anything?"

Liu Yuan waved a hand in front of his face, concern flickering across her features.

"Did you sleep too hard? Come on, hurry up."

Her tone was playful, carrying the natural coquetry of a young girl.

And a faint, milky scent.

Su Qi forced his near-boneless body out of bed.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his legs buckled, nearly sending him crashing to his knees.

Su Qi: ???

No restraint at all?

"Brother!"

Liu Yuan gasped, quickly steadying him.

Her body was soft, carrying a subtle sweetness.

But the instant her hands touched him, Su Qi stiffened involuntarily.

"I’m fine."

He gritted the words out.

The hollowness inside him was too real.

Too visceral.

---

Half an hour later.

Su Qi practically had to be dragged by Liu Yuan to reach the assembly point.

The site was a ground base on the forest’s outskirts.

High steel walls encircled the area.

Several prefabricated alloy structures stood in orderly rows, radiating a cold, militaristic aura.

Soldiers in standardized combat uniforms stood guard.

After a brief identity check, Su Qi was allowed through.

---

Surveillance room.

Lin Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, expressionless as he watched the screens.

When Su Qi appeared—pale, barely standing, supported by Liu Yuan—his brow twitched imperceptibly.

But he said nothing.

On the screen, two columns of glaring red numbers stood out.

One displayed the rankings of the participating teams:

[1st Place: Essence Convergence Team — Total Points: 7,830]

[2nd Place: Essence Dragon Tide Team — Total Points: 6,540]

[3rd Place: Essence No-Thoughts Team — Total Points: 6,110]

[4th Place: Essence Flow Construction Team — Total Points: 5,980]

[...]

The other column showed the reference scores of the military elite squads:

[1st Place — Total Points: 18,212]

[2nd Place — Total Points: 17,950]

[3rd Place — Total Points: 16,710]

[4th Place — Total Points: 15,180]

[...]

Every military squad’s score dwarfed the trainees’ by a staggering margin—a silent testament to the chasm between them.

Gradually, more teams emerged from the forest.

Most were ragged, exhausted, yet their faces glowed with hard-won satisfaction.

They huddled in small groups, quietly recounting their three-day trials.

Then, the last team appeared.

The chatter died instantly.

Every head turned.

Every movement stilled.

Li Ran, Liu Feiyu, Yang Fu, Chi Chan…

The full roster of the Yun Huang squad had finally arrived.

Not a single one was unscathed.

Their bodies were caked in dried blood and mud, the stench of battle clinging to them.

They moved slowly.

Li Ran’s usual arrogance was gone.

In its place was a hollow silence.

A vicious claw mark ran from his left temple down to his jaw, the torn flesh a grotesque sight.

Liu Feiyu's glasses were shattered on one side, hastily patched with black tape. Behind those lenses, his eyes no longer held their usual sharpness—only a stagnant, lifeless calm remained.

The rest of the team kept their heads down.

Each of them bore injuries, some light, some severe, all exuding an icy aura that warned others to keep their distance.

Even Yun Huang wasn’t faring much better.

Her left arm and right leg were wrapped in bandages.

Beneath the white gauze, crimson blood continued to seep through.

Her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color.

But her cold, clear eyes were brighter and sharper than they had been three days ago—like twin blades forged from glacial ice.

Zhao Teng’s team stood not far away.

The arrogance that had once been plastered across Zhao Teng’s face was now completely gone.

He stared at Yun Huang’s team, his expression complex.

There was resentment, but more than that, an undeniable, bone-deep shock.

He couldn’t fathom what this team—one he had dismissed as "weak"—had gone through to emerge in such a battered state, yet still claim fourth place, leaving him firmly in fifth.

His own team had lost a key member early on, then been ambushed by a wolf pack, leaving everyone injured.

Their hunting efficiency had plummeted, and their final score barely scraped them into fifth.

They had been overtaken.

Thoroughly, decisively overtaken by a group he had never even considered a threat.

Lin Xiao stepped out of the monitoring room.

His gaze swept slowly over each member of Yun Huang’s team, lingering for a moment.

He said nothing.

Instead, he turned to face all the assembled teams.

His voice, loud and unyielding, echoed throughout the base.

"The initial scoring round is over."

Silence fell as Lin Xiao’s words settled over the crowd.

He didn’t announce the results or offer any commentary.

Instead, he simply waved to the soldiers behind him.

"Medical team, tend to their wounds."

"The rest of you, take thirty minutes to rest. After that, we’ll announce the detailed rankings and the rules for the next round."

With that, he turned and walked back into the monitoring room, leaving the students to exchange bewildered glances.

After all, he wasn’t just responsible for these seven teams.

There were other academy recruits undergoing special training as well.

Medics quickly moved in, prioritizing Yun Huang’s team—the ones who looked like they were barely holding themselves together.

The hiss of antiseptic meeting raw flesh filled the air.

Li Ran’s face twitched in pain, but he made no sound, his gaze fixed rigidly on the ground.

Even the medics couldn’t help but think:

These kids are pushing themselves too hard.

A few centimeters to the side, and that wound would’ve taken his eye.

……

Inside the monitoring room, Wu Gong rubbed his hands together, looking eagerly at Lin Xiao.

"Lin, what’s the verdict? Fourth place—that’s way above their projected score, right?"

Lin Xiao didn’t answer. Instead, he projected a data sheet onto the screen.

[Yun Huang’s Team]

"That’s not the important part."

Lin Xiao pointed to another set of figures—the breakdown of individual scores.

[Yun Huang: Personal Score—1950]

[Li Ran: Personal Score—790]

[Liu Feiyu: Personal Score—710]

[Yang Fu & Chi Chan: Personal Score—750]

……

Aside from Yun Huang, the others’ scores were all roughly similar.

But Lin Xiao’s finger finally settled on the detailed combat logs.

[Log: During engagement with the ‘Shadowfang Wolf’ pack, team members Li Ran, Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhang Meng… triggered the ‘Emergency Rescue Protocol’ (non-self). Protocol was manually overridden—ruled as non-violation.]

Li Ran’s facial injury had come from that very moment.

"Wait…" Wu Gong’s expression twisted as he read the fine print.

Triggered, then canceled?

What kind of move is that?

Pulling back from the brink?

Lin Xiao’s face remained impassive.

"It means they overcame their fear in the end."

"Or rather, that girl—Yun Huang—gave them no time to be afraid."

"Wu Gong, you’ve struck gold."

"That Yun Huang—her resolve, her instincts, her combat intuition—all top-tier."

"Those pampered brats following her? They lucked out."

"Messy process, but the result? Not bad."

Thirty minutes later.

All the students reassembled on the training grounds.

Lin Xiao stood before them once more, his expression stern.

"Final rankings—now."

As soon as he spoke, a massive holographic screen flickered to life before them.

[1st Place: Essence Convergence Team | Initial Score: 7830 | Weighted Score: 8232]

[2nd Place: Sourceflow Construction Team | Initial Score: 5980 | Weighted Score: 7983]

[3rd Place: Essence Torrent Team | Initial Score: 6540 | Weighted Score: 6940]

[4th Place: Essence Slacker Team | Initial Score: 6110 | Weighted Score: 6541]

[5th Place: Zhao Teng’s Team | Initial Score: 5120 | Weighted Score: 4811]

……

A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd the instant the rankings appeared.

Most eyes instinctively turned toward Yun Huang’s team.

The outcome defied all expectations.

That ragged, bloodied squad—the one that looked like it had been dragged through hell—had surged to second place.

Though their total score only placed them fourth, their underdog status meant their overperformance carried extra weight.

"Silence!"

Lin Xiao’s sharp command cut through the chatter.

"These rankings reflect only the initial round. They are not your final standing."

"Starting now, the military will supply all resources for your next month of training."

"In one month, the second hunting operation begins."

Once Lin Xiao finished, Su Qi finally approached the team.

Li Ran looked up.

Su Qi had arrived.

Beside him was his sister, delicate as porcelain.

Aside from his unnaturally pale complexion, there wasn’t a speck of dust on him.

He walked slowly, leaning on his sister for support—fragile, as if a breeze might knock him over.

The contrast between him and the rest of the team—drenched in blood and mud—was staggering.

The entire squad froze, watching him in silence.

The air grew heavy.

Someone from Zhao Teng’s team couldn’t resist—a quiet, derisive snort escaped them.

The sound was soft, but in the hushed base, it rang out like a gunshot.

Every member of Yun Huang’s team darkened.

That laugh wasn’t just at Su Qi’s expense.

It was aimed at them—at the fools who’d fought tooth and nail for a leader like this.

Su Qi finally stopped before them.

His gaze traveled over each of them—Li Ran’s near-disfigured face, Liu Feiyu’s shattered glasses, Yun Huang’s blood-soaked bandages.

He saw the dried blood crusted on their bodies and caught the heavy stench of blood and sweat lingering in the air.

Then, he spoke slowly.

"To..."

Before he could finish, Yun Huang cut him off: "Don't flatter yourself. We didn't push ourselves for you."

"It was to leave our cowardly selves behind."

"Whether you were here or not, the outcome would've been the same."