Chapter Fifty: Angel

Inside the Illusory Island.

"Has he been eliminated?" Nangong Yuchen murmured as he stared at the small pit now empty after the light faded away.

After confirming, a look of relief washed over him as he collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. Just moments ago, he had nearly been knocked out. Had he not summoned every ounce of strength to leap into the air at the last second, his body would likely have been riddled with the dense hail of bullets.

Even now, recalling the near miss sent a shiver down his spine. Fortunately, he had managed to defeat his opponent.

"But why did the shield dissipate on its own? Could it be that it couldn't withstand the nerve reflex weapon’s attack?" Nangong Yuchen’s brow furrowed in confusion. It seemed impossible to him because the defensive shield he had chosen vanished under the barrage of bullets, returning automatically to his Time-Space Ring. He remembered that night when Mufeng’s shield had successfully blocked Chen Junhao’s attack without any issue. Why was his shield different?

Unable to unravel the mystery, he pushed the thought aside, deciding to ask Angel when he next saw her. Rising to his feet, he was about to stow away the cannon-style sniper rifle when he noticed the weapon’s energy dimming slightly. Shocked, he muttered, “Could it be like the bombing sniper rifle—that its use is limited?”

Nangong Yuchen froze in place, dismayed. He had planned to keep it as a trump card, but now...

Just as his spirits faltered, the map device within the Time-Space Ring suddenly activated, projecting a flat map. The countdown continued: 59, 58...

“An hour has passed?”

He immediately snapped to attention, eyes scanning the map for his sister, Nangong Kexin’s location.

Her position hadn’t shifted much—still within the ruined urban district. Angel was moving from the icy plains toward the jungle region. If nothing unexpected happened, they would reunite with Kexin in about two hours.

As for himself, he had reached the edge of the jungle; the next area lay beyond—a river.

“How do I cross?” Nangong Yuchen’s eyes darted over the map, the timer showing just 40 seconds remaining. He urgently sought any sign of a boat or bridge—without them, crossing would be impossible.

With just over 20 seconds left, relief flooded him as he spotted a bridge corridor in the southwest upstream of the river.

After marking the bridge’s approximate location, he used the remaining seconds to glance at the positions of other students.

“Nine have been eliminated already?” The total number displayed was 99. His gaze inadvertently shifted, and to his surprise, he noticed Lu Ling and Tuoba Feng were both close to Kexin and seemed to be moving toward her!

Before worrying about Kexin’s situation, he made a startling discovery: three male students from the second and third years were heading toward his position. He caught one name clearly—Xiao Quan. The 60-second countdown ended as the map device retracted into the Time-Space Ring.

“Are they coming for me?” Nangong Yuchen sensed something amiss. An hour ago, it was normal for a student to move toward him—everyone here was essentially an enemy. But now, three individuals approached from different directions. This was different.

“Xiao Quan? Have I had conflicts with him?” Nangong Yuchen muttered the unfamiliar name, his mind drawing a blank.

Suddenly, he recalled that day when he had fought Cheng Shiyu in the cafeteria and had hit Tuoba Feng. He remembered hearing someone call out Xiao Quan’s name then.

“Is it because of Cheng Shiyu?”

Upon realizing the cause, Nangong Yuchen’s expression darkened. He harbored no fondness for Cheng Shiyu. If someone was truly willing to come and die, he might as well take them down. But his priority remained reuniting with Kexin. If he encountered any of them along the way, he would deal with them then.

With that resolved, he put away the cannon-style sniper rifle and broke into a full sprint, becoming a blurred figure racing toward the river area beyond the jungle.

...

“Nangong Kexin! You really are a worry! I don’t understand why Nangong Yuchen cares about you so much,” Angel muttered to herself, watching the map device vanish.

In her memory, Kexin was simply a very headstrong girl, and Nangong Yuchen had worked hard to look after her. Unfortunately, Angel knew little of the details and often misunderstood, acting on her own assumptions recklessly.

But these were not her concerns. Once Nangong Yuchen reached the first tier and officially awakened, her mission here would be complete. She could finally leave this land that had long wearied her.

She had waited over three years for that day. Now, it was no longer far off.

A captivating smile graced Angel’s delicate face—the faintly reddened lips like rose petals, irresistibly alluring.

“Better keep moving. Helping you become a top student wasn’t my original intention, but besides Nangong Yuchen, you’re the only one I’m familiar with here,” she murmured gently.

With that, her graceful figure became light and nimble, like a butterfly dancing over the icy plains, heading in the direction of Nangong Kexin.

“Clack clack!”

As a specialist in speed and neural reflexes, her pace rivaled Nangong Yuchen’s. Here, she reached speeds of 40 meters per second.

With each delicate step, the icy plains sped away beneath her. After half an hour, sparse grasslands and woods began appearing ahead.

A few more minutes of travel and the ice was gone entirely, replaced by dense jungle.

“Step!”

Suddenly, Angel halted, glancing toward an empty forest on her right. She called out softly, “Come out!”

Silence hung thickly. Angel spoke as if addressing thin air.

When no answer came, she chuckled, her voice softening. “How long do you plan to lie hidden in the grass? If you don’t come out soon, I’m leaving. But you’re a strength-type; if you don’t come now, do you plan to catch up later?”

Sure enough, from the right side, a tall boy emerged from the bushes, with vines stuck in his short black hair, his face filled with surprise as he stared at Angel’s delicate figure. He had no idea how she had found him.

“You... how did you find me?” he asked.

Angel smiled sideways. Though the spots on her face somewhat diminished her beauty, the four words she spoke made the boy’s body tremble:

“All things have spirit.”

“Make your move quickly. I don’t want to waste too much time here!”

Though he did not understand the meaning of her words, the boy acted swiftly. A silver light flashed from his Time-Space Ring, and countless tiny red blocks surged forth, weaving and forming over his hands until they shaped into dark red gauntlets.

Sensing a bit of caution toward the girl before him, he planted his left foot and leapt forward, channeling all his strength into his right fist, aiming a violent blow at the unmoving Angel.

As the fist descended, the gauntlet glowed faintly red, like a falling meteor. Even the surrounding air seemed to stir restlessly.

“Fire-element gauntlets?” Angel stepped back slightly. She was no fool—she would not stand still to match strength. Her slender middle finger flickered with white light, and pale blue blocks surged forth like code, coalescing in her hands into a pale blue bow.

“The Ice-Blue Bow!” This was the first weapon she had chosen.

Just as the fist was about to land, Angel drew a blue arrow to full draw, a crescent moon stretched in her grip. She sighed softly.

“It’s been a long time since I used a bow and arrow. Today, let’s use you to eliminate the top student.”