Chapter 28: Yaoxing Academy 28 Part 2

On the road from the Teaching Area to the Back Mountain stood the Abandoned Botanical Garden. In earlier years, it had been used for biology classes as a hands-on learning spot. Later, the city built a large botanical garden, making the school’s outdated. There was no need to demolish it, but keeping it served no purpose, so the school simply locked it up.

Untended for so long, it gradually fell into ruin, becoming a forbidden zone no one visited.

Lu Zhou’s breathing was heavy as he hurried through broad grass blades that towered half a head above him. He casually tore off a grass leaf and wrapped it twice around the glowing object on his neck, then pressed his left hand back to his right shoulder. The bloodstain there clearly showed he was injured.

A Black Mask covered his face, adorned with a silver floral numeral “7”.

Suddenly, his footsteps halted.

In the dim Abandoned Botanical Garden, only the omnipresent cameras flickered with eerie green lights. Lu Zhou couldn’t see what lay ahead, but his instincts sensed danger.

Rustle, rustle—the sound of insects crawling through the grass.

Perhaps it was an illusion. Lu Zhou steadied himself slightly and took a step forward.

Whoosh!

A sharp whoosh cut through the air from above. A thick Wolf Fang Mace gleaming with cold light smashed down toward his head.

Lu Zhou reacted swiftly. In the instant he crouched to dodge, he grabbed the terrifying weapon with a backhand yank!

The sneak attacker, who had apparently jumped from a nearby tree, wasn’t steady to begin with. With such a forceful pull, he crashed to the ground with a cry of pain.

Lu Zhou’s palm was punctured with tiny bloody holes by the mace’s spikes. He wiped off the sticky blood on his pants and pointed the mace’s handle at the man on the ground.

“Give it to me.” He spat out two cold words.

The man scrambled to flee but was kicked over by Lu Zhou. The Wolf Fang Mace smashed toward his face amid his terrified scream, knocking off the Black Mask marked with the number “12”.

“You lost. Give it to me.” He repeated.

The man was covered in snot and tears, his voice full of fear. “Let me go, I don’t want to get shocked again, please! Ri-right, No. 7! We saw each other during last night’s warm-up. You were surrounded and beaten by several people, and I even…”

Lu Zhou frowned impatiently and grabbed the man’s neck.

Around his neck was a Magnetic Collar, with a glowing silver Star in the center.

The Star was yanked off mercilessly. In that instant, No. 12 on the ground convulsed like a live fish thrown into boiling oil, his body jerking spasmodically.

“Ah… guh… urgh urgh…” Broken sounds escaped his mouth as he rolled his eyes in agony, saliva dripping from the corner of his lips.

Lu Zhou ignored him and opened a small pouch at his waist.

—Inside lay a silver Star quietly.

As Lu Zhou moved to put the one in his hand inside, a gust of wind suddenly whistled past his ear!

A hand struck like lightning, snatching the Star from his grasp, then without pause, slotted it back into No. 12’s collar.

The moment the Star clicked into the collar, the intense shock stopped. No. 12’s eyes were dazed, seemingly unaware the torment had ended, his body still twitching faintly.

Lu Zhou swung the Wolf Fang Mace at the intruder without hesitation.

The person wore all black, tall in stature, with a Duckbill Cap on his head. His Black Mask bore the number “33”. A flicker of doubt crossed Lu Zhou’s mind—he clearly remembered only 32 people were participating today.

But his body didn’t slow. As the mace swung, his feet nimbly shifted, blocking the retreat.

No. 33 had some skill. Instead of dodging, he advanced, his cheek grazing the mace dangerously close. One hand clamped Lu Zhou’s waist while his leg swept viciously at Lu Zhou’s calf.

Lu Zhou’s calf already bore a large deep-purple bruise. The kick brought instant cold sweat, slowing his movements. No. 33 pressed the advantage, snatched the Wolf Fang Mace and tossed it away, then wrenched Lu Zhou’s arms behind his back, pinning him chest-to-back against himself.

A ruthless glint flashed in Lu Zhou’s eyes. Without hesitation, he twisted his neck and lunged to bite the Star on No. 33’s collar!

He was slightly shorter than No. 33, turning it into an advantage now. His canine teeth pressed against the cold collar like a beast biting a prey’s throat— one bite would taste sweet victory.

But Lu Zhou froze.

He smelled a familiar scent.

Uncle Li had said it was cedarberry fragrance, a VIP limited edition from some high-end shampoo brand. Uncle Li had given him a bottle, which he still hadn’t borne to use.

—It was Xun Ji’s scent.

“Why aren’t you biting?”

A familiar voice came from under the mask.

Familiar, yet not quite. Lu Zhou had never heard Xun Ji’s tone so icy.

“Bite off my Star. Make me like the one on the ground, shocked until I cry and beg.”

Xun Ji released him and stepped back a few paces to meet his gaze.

“Lu Zhou, isn’t this what you’ve always done?”

Lu Zhou felt his limbs go numb, unable to move a step. His tongue was numb too, unable to utter a word.

He had sent Xiao Ting away and hidden it from Xun Ji precisely so they wouldn’t know this side of him.

He knew they wouldn’t approve.

But even knowing that, he had come. He had no excuse to defend himself.

His vileness, his darkness, his brutality—now all laid bare before Xun Ji.

His heart pounded numbly. Like a withered grass blade in the Botanical Garden, Lu Zhou hung his head, awaiting his withering fate.

Would he hate him?

He would hate him.

“I’ve joined the game now,” Xun Ji said. “Lu Zhou, only one of us can win.”

But he didn’t want to be hated by him.

Lu Zhou removed his mask and dropped it to the ground.

“Xun Ji.” Lu Zhou called out.

Why don’t humans have tails? Lu Zhou thought.

Fortunately, humans don’t have tails.

Otherwise, Xun Ji would have noticed long ago—those mornings squeezing shoulders casually down the stairs, noontimes pretending to hand in homework while passing the senior classroom, evenings deliberately putting away the hairdryer to wait for him to come damp after his shower.

So many moments. Every moment.

His tail would have betrayed him. Spoken for him. Screamed the secret, greedy desire in his heart.

—Like him, like him, like him.

Like him so much.

Lu Zhou reached for his neck and pulled off the Star.