Chapter 47: Terror Attack
The following days passed peacefully—too peacefully. The anticipated assault never came. Instead, XB stayed on high alert, tirelessly patrolling back and forth with unwavering dedication. His persistence was nothing short of commendable.
At the school gates, new students had formed a long line at the registration booth, signing up in an orderly fashion.
It wasn't until 9:20 a.m.—coinciding with Sir Archibald's birthday—that the atmosphere finally began to liven up.
A stage had been erected in front of the main gate of Vick University, encircling the registration area. Regardless of whether they had finished registering or not, even passersby could clearly see the performances on stage.
Zhou Ning had already entered full alert mode by this point. If he were the one planning to throw an alchemical bomb, he would definitely choose this exact moment.
The first event on stage was "Hot-Blooded Dodgeball" from the warrior department, which Zhou Ning also suspected was the most likely moment for something to go wrong.
The rules were simple—two teams took turns hurling balls at each other using warrior techniques, and hitting the opponent's body earned a point. Though the rules were basic, both sides used martial skills and combat aura, resulting in powerful, visually thrilling blows.
To Zhou Ning's surprise, he spotted Sherlock and Bobby on one of the teams, both wearing short-sleeved jerseys. He had no idea how they'd gotten in, but in uniform they looked hilariously like Li Tie. Zhou Ning regretted not having a camera to capture Sherlock's athletic glory.
The match was intense but ultimately uneventful—no incidents occurred. After a while, Sherlock, looking grim, changed his clothes and spoke briefly with Ian and the others before heading over to Zhou Ning.
"How's it looking?" Zhou Ning asked.
"Nothing so far. But we've set up plenty of detectors at the scene. The moment there's a significant alchemical reaction, they'll start beeping."
Zhou Ning nodded. The technology in this world wasn't too primitive; he guessed the detectors were similar to heat sensors and thermal cutoffs found in gas lamps.
After a few more words, Sherlock hurried off again.
The next two performances weren't particularly interesting. Things only started getting exciting with the fourth act, which even drew Zhou Ning's attention.
The performance was given by Elvis Bart from the mage department—a young, handsome man with brown hair, reportedly quite popular with the ladies.
His act was a magic trick called "Retrieving Objects from a Mirror."
"There are ten items in the mirror," Elvis Bart announced charmingly with a smile.
Zhou Ning recalled a similar trick in his previous life, where identical objects were placed on both sides of the mirror to exploit visual misdirection.
At first, Zhou Ning thought Elvis Bart was using the same technique—but he quickly realized this was something else entirely.
Elvis moved with lightning speed, continuously pulling objects from the mirror: a monocle, a matchbox, a hat, a pipe, a cane, a bowtie, a shirt, a staff, a black tailcoat… Each item drew surprised gasps from the audience.
"And now for the tenth item." Elvis reached into the mirror again—this time, he yanked out half the body of a monstrous insect with massive mandibles, flailing limbs, and a total length of ten meters, the other half still stuck inside the mirror.
"Bloodsucker Worm!"
The crowd immediately fell into a panic. This was a monstrous, human-blood-drinking beast native to the northern wilderness. Adult Bloodsucker Worms could grow up to 18–20 meters long and were extremely dangerous.
"Oops, wrong item," Elvis said with a shrug, smiling as he tossed the creature back into the mirror. But when he reached in again, everyone noticed a dark shadow inside the mirror pulling against him.
Once more, the crowd applauded—thinking it was all part of the act. Moments later, Elvis won the tug-of-war and pulled out a glowing black orb, casually tossing it toward the crowd.
Suddenly, a shrill beeping rang out across the venue.
Panic erupted instantly. The change was far too abrupt. Elvis had only just retrieved the black orb before it seemed on the verge of detonation. Even Ian, who was closest, had no time to react—he barely managed to reach for his gun. The crowd surged back in a wave of fear, voices mingling in shouts and screams.
Bang! A gunshot rang out. A bullet hit the orb midair, detonating it into a massive fireball three to four meters wide.
Ian breathed a sigh of relief and turned toward the shooter. Zhou Ning's gun barrel was still smoking, and he was already coolly aiming at Elvis and pulling the trigger again.
Click!
Elvis's body shattered like glass and then reformed ten meters away.
Ian snapped to attention and began firing steadily at Elvis as well.
But Elvis didn't even glance at him. A suit of gleaming azure ice armor materialized over his body, blocking Ian's bullets effortlessly. Ethereal flames flared silently from his arm, coalescing into another black fireball—he hurled it directly at Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning's skill bar lit up: [Gun-Fu: Deadly Rhythm].
Sensing danger, Zhou Ning instinctively dove to the side, tucking into a roll mid-air.
Boom!
The black fireball slammed into the ground, leaving a deep, blazing crater.
Just as Zhou Ning was about to hit the ground, a sharp warning flared in his mind. His innate Extreme Calmness ability kicked in, clearing his thoughts. A shotgun appeared in his hands—he fired at the ground.
Dirt exploded. Using the recoil, Zhou Ning launched himself back into the air.
The system interface flashed:
[Due to intense combat, you have learned a new combat skill: Flying Gun.]
[Flying Gun: A technique that uses firearm recoil to control aerial movement. Requires precise gun control to master flight distance and altitude.]
Whoosh! A gust scattered the dust, revealing a stealthy lightning spell striking the spot where Zhou Ning had just been.
Elvis, having missed his guaranteed strike, shook his head in disappointment.
"Hurricane!"
Sherlock arrived just then, chanting a spell. A cloud of powder drifted toward Elvis.
Whirl! A sudden gust tore through the air, and Elvis staggered under the force. Zhou Ning, still airborne, spotted the opening and fired at his footing.
A flaming bullet wrapped in black energy shot from the barrel.
[Your Ripple Shot hit Elvis Bart. Armament Haki weakened his defenses. You dealt 329 points of true damage.]
With the notification, Elvis froze mid-step. His ice armor shattered, and blood gushed from his wounds.
He looked at Zhou Ning in shock, then vanished and reappeared a dozen meters away—still clutching his wound as he fled the scene.
Although the battle seemed long, everything had happened in under 30 seconds.
Zhou Ning straightened in the air, landed smoothly, and looked at the interface with satisfaction.
It was his first time combining Armament Haki with Ripple Shot—and the results exceeded expectations.
In the distance, two more sharp beeps sounded.
Sherlock and Bobby raced toward the source. Gunfire erupted in that direction. Tables and chairs were overturned, decorations ripped down. A man clutched his chest, groaning in pain from a gunshot wound. Zhou Ning saw Leandro arrive at the scene—he drew his sword and charged at a student-like figure holding an alchemical bomb. In an instant, Leandro's sword left an afterimage—and a severed arm soared into the air.
As expected of a Child of the Plane, Zhou Ning couldn't help but admire.
Just as he exhaled in relief, an even more urgent alarm blared behind him.
Boom! A pair of red-eyed horned horses crashed through the school wall, pulling a bulky public carriage straight into the crowd.
The alchemical bomb was clearly inside the carriage.
XB was the closest. With no time to dodge, he was struck like a truck victim, sent flying, and hit the ground lifelessly.
"Stop!"
"Stop the carriage!"
Several Sunwatchers, including Ian and Cherry, tried to halt the vehicle. But it only accelerated. They shot at the driver, only to watch his body swell grotesquely the moment bullets hit—transforming into a monstrous abomination.
Dark green skin, a bloated face—barely recognizable.
"For the True God Nyastora!" the coachman howled, eyes burning red.
Zhou Ning: …
He recognized the coachman—and immediately pieced together what had happened.
This was a mid-game Undead Puppet, a creation of the Cursed Church. Weak spot: the head. Slow-moving, but not hard to deal with.
Just yesterday, they'd been chatting. The coachman had grumbled about work but also said he'd endure it for his family's sake.
He'd even said hopefully: "Just a few more months and I'll be able to rent a slightly bigger place. My two boys might even get into school."
Tch. Annoying.
Zhou Ning's pupils dilated slightly. He sprinted forward and raised his gun, firing without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mozambique Drill. Ripple Shot. Ripple Shot.
Three flame-imbued bullets laced with Armament Haki shot forward in a straight line, piercing the coachman's skull. A bloody hole appeared in his forehead, his health bar instantly evaporated, and his head drooped.
[You hit Jim's vital point. You dealt 469 + 532 + 623 damage. Target killed.]
Just then, XB—freshly revived—saw the whole scene and gasped in shock. Such a massive monster, taken out in one volley?
How powerful is this NPC?!
The buzzing grew even louder. Zhou Ning let out a sharp exhale and surged forward. His revolver cylinder spun with a click, an empty shell clinked to the ground, and he pulled the trigger again at the charging wildebeest.
Blood sprayed. The beast let out a shrill, tormented screech and collapsed sideways. Due to its massive weight, even the wheels of the public transport carriage were lifted off the ground, tilting it at an angle.
Zhou Ning rushed forward, using the slanted wheels as footholds to swiftly climb onto the roof. He smashed through the top and fired two quick shots down into the carriage.
Bang! Bang!
With those two gunshots, the deafening buzzing in the area abruptly ceased.
Everyone—Ian, Cherry, XB, and the livestream viewers—was dumbfounded by the swift and fluid sequence of moves. Ian's eyes were filled with awe, while XB actually felt his hands trembling. It was just that incredible.
Even though they'd already watched two episodes of the series, this was their first time seeing Zhou Ning fight up close. His composure and effortless, surgical combat style had them completely mesmerized—he was unbelievably powerful.
Someone had even already uploaded the livestream footage to the forum.
Meanwhile, the battle at the other front had also concluded. A prompt appeared on Zhou Ning's interface:
[B-Rank Mission "Conspiracy" Completed. Claim your reward?]
Zhou Ning frowned and selected "No." The mission was clearly complete—so why was it still just B-rank? Could it be that…