NOVEL WEB Chapter 70: Chapter 70: When Hope Turns Into Horror...
Ring ring ring!
The alarm clock buzzed.
The hour was up.
All the instructors immediately snapped to attention and left the rest area, heading straight to the exit of the Forbidden Zone.
Moments later…
The first student emerged.
Behind him, the portal lit up in yellow.
A yellow evaluation.
One tier above gray still considered a poor rating.
The student walked up to his teacher and greeted him respectfully.
But the teacher's face was clearly displeased.
"What happened? You only got a yellow rating? In Forbidden Zone #2, you at least earned a green one!"
The student gave a bitter smile. "Sir, just wait and see for yourself…"
The teacher didn't understand but waved him off. "Go rest."
The student could only shrug and walk toward the rest area.
Soon after, the second student arrived.
Also yellow.
Then the third…
This one was from Godslayer Academy.
Yet, his evaluation was yellow too!
Instructor Walter Wayne froze.
He recognized this student Jason Sun. A top prospect with a natural bond to an A-Class Hero ability. In Zone #2, Jason had received a purple rating, a high-tier result.
But now? Yellow?
"Jason Sun, what happened? With your abilities, this is beneath you."
Jason sighed. "You'll understand once Damon and the others show up."
Next came the fourth student. Yellow.
Fifth. Yellow.
Sixth. Still yellow.
Whether from Godslayer Academy or War Saint Academy, top talents or average students it didn't matter. Everyone emerging had only a yellow rating.
The teachers weren't fools.
By now, it was obvious something had gone very wrong.
Then another student from Godslayer Academy walked out. A girl. Again, yellow.
Walter Wayne stopped her immediately. "Faye Shaw, what happened in there? Why is everyone coming out with a yellow rating?"
Faye pursed her lips, clearly annoyed. "It's all because of Elias Vale and his group! They stole the original zombie right at the beginning, leaving us with nothing to fight. We didn't even get a chance to prove ourselves!"
The instructors finally understood.
Their expressions turned complicated. They wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words.
To be fair, this situation…
Actually benefited the weaker schools.
Their students rarely had the chance to earn high ratings. A universal yellow across the board wasn't a bad outcome for them.
But for Godslayer Academy the top martial university in the country this was disastrous.
Walter's face darkened. He frowned and asked, "They didn't send back any zombies at all?"
He had known about Elias Vale's plan in advance and had even instructed Damon Lawson to leave a few zombies in Renjia Town for the other students.
Clearly, that advice had been ignored.
"Not a single one," Faye complained. "We couldn't do anything, even if we wanted to."
Walter's eyes flared with anger.
If most of his students came back with yellow evaluations, he would definitely be held accountable. Maybe even face disciplinary action.
Still, he hid it well and calmly said, "Go rest."
More and more students returned.
No surprises. Yellow ratings, across the board.
Regardless of talent, background, or academy… all were treated the same.
But there was one upside.
Nearly zero casualties.
Most schools had a full roster return safely.
No zombies meant no deaths. Safety had soared.
The only person clearly unhappy with this outcome was Walter Wayne.
Godslayer Academy was the top university. How could they be lumped in with the so-called "trash schools"?
Even if Elias and his team got a red rating, the rest of the class dragging down the average would still make him look bad. The school would never let it slide.
Unless…
Elias and his entire team could achieve a miracle: gold ratings.
The legendary highest score just like the one War Saint Academy got last time.
That thought eased Walter a little.
He trusted Damon and the others. They could pull it off.
He'd also heard that War Saint Academy had been treating their two best students like national treasures.
If those two didn't make it back, their instructor Terry Yan might lose his job over it.
As time ticked on, most students had already returned.
Only two schools still had people missing:
War Saint Academy: 2 students unaccounted for
Godslayer Academy: 6 students missing
With less than a minute left, Terry Yan was starting to get nervous.
Something wasn't right.
He felt it in his gut.
Meanwhile, Walter stood calmly, arms crossed.
The climax always came last.
And then…
A new figure appeared at the exit.
A beautiful young woman, poised and graceful.
Terry's eyes immediately lit up.
It was her Autumn Summer!
More importantly, the portal behind her suddenly glowed with a blinding gold light.
All the teachers gasped in unison.
The students watching were equally stunned.
Only a month had passed, and the legendary gold rating had reappeared!
"Autumn Summer!!"
Terry Yan shouted with joy, rushing toward her.
"Sir!" Autumn smiled as she greeted him. "It's so good to see you again."
"Good, good! You've made your teacher proud!"
Behind him, Walter Wayne's eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
Why?
Why was this girl still alive?
Where were Elias Vale and the others?
Now it was Walter's turn to feel a creeping sense of dread…
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