Chapter 36: Landscape Outside the City
The head teacher, Mr. He, immediately shouted, "Everyone, take out your weapons, release your beasts, and be ready for battle."
At once, everyone took out their weapons from their backpacks or spatial bags. Many wealthy students also donned their combat gear.
Zhao Mengxi quietly walked up to Kent and whispered, "Kent, could you help me set up a tent?"
Seeing her bashful expression, Kent's heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, he agreed.
In the first group, there were only twelve female students, who, unlike the boys, weren't as bold in their actions. Therefore, before putting on their combat gear, they had to set up tents to change inside.
Kent had long studied how to set up tents. He immediately dropped his backpack, took out the components, and quickly set up the tent.
The tents were standard-issue supplies from the school, along with high-calorie food and water. As for more supplies, they were kept in the teacher's spatial bag.
This arrangement not only allowed the students to experience the hardships of a wilderness trial but also saved them a lot of trouble.
After all, not everyone could afford a spatial bag, and those from poorer families couldn't carry too many things with them. This could lead to inconvenience and physical exhaustion, making the trial much harder.
Kent, now a "rich man," wouldn't skimp on himself. After all, money came easily, and not spending it on himself would truly be a waste.
Thus, he bought some high-nutrient, high-value food and drinks online, storing them in his spatial bag in case of emergency. If an accident happened, such as getting separated from the group, running out of supplies would mean they'd be forced to survive in the wild.
Soon, Kent had set up the tent.
Zhao Mengxi smiled sweetly at him before entering the tent, pulling the zipper up. Afterward, a soft rustling sound came from inside.
Meanwhile, Kent glanced at the others.
Mr. He, holding a C-grade war knife, summoned his beast—a short-tailed thorned crocodile with a silver rank, level 42, a lord-class beast, standing guard.
Other students also summoned their beasts, such as Leng Zimu's Wanjue Willow Blade and Zhao Zhi's Red-Eyed Savage Wolf.
The wealthy students then changed into their combat gear. Some wore D-grade gear, while others had B-grade gear, all equipped with sharp weapons—swords, battle axes, spears, and even handguns and grenades—making them fully armed.
"I'm done. Do you want to change?" Five minutes later, Zhao Mengxi appeared in front of Kent, looking impressive in her silver-white B-grade combat gear, making him blink in surprise.
"Wow, it's like night and day. You've gone from a goddess to a general goddess," Kent praised.
"What do you mean night and day? Kent, was your elementary Chinese teacher a PE teacher?" Zhao Mengxi rolled her eyes.
"Uh… you guessed right. It really was," Kent said, rubbing his forehead. "To be honest, my fourth-grade Chinese teacher's wife ran off with someone, so he took a long leave to try to win her back. For one semester, our PE teacher subbed for him. I was pretty much taught by a PE teacher that whole term."
Seeing his serious expression, Zhao Mengxi couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, hurry up and change. Otherwise, we'll leave without you."
Kent entered the tent, his brow furrowed. Everyone knew he came from a poor family and couldn't afford B-grade combat gear—except for Zhao Mengxi, who knew he had an extraordinary guardian.
So… should he wear the B-grade gear?
After thinking for a moment, Kent recalled the city guard's words: While the trial was important, his life was far more valuable. Besides, this was the wild, where someone like Leng Zimu or Zhao Zhi might secretly harm him, and B-grade armor could protect him from bullets and general beast attacks.
"Better safe than sorry."
Before long, Kent was fully armored in B-grade gear, with a military dagger in his leg, a bow and arrow on his back, and a war knife in his hand. All his other supplies, including the tent, were stored in his spatial bag.
When he emerged, Zhao Mengxi looked at him like he had transformed. He went from a fresh-faced boy to a handsome warrior, exuding charm and making an impression on everyone around them.
"Wow, it really is night and day. You look like you've grown up all of a sudden," Zhao Mengxi giggled.
"Looks like your elementary Chinese teacher was also a PE teacher," Kent retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, it's true," Zhao Mengxi laughed.
At that moment, everyone turned to look at them. Zhao Mengxi was in her B-grade gear, and Kent, too, was now wearing the same, which immediately drew curious glances.
Even Mr. He looked puzzled.
"Kent, you're an orphan. Your parents didn't leave you any money. How could you afford a full set of B-grade gear? Did you steal it?" Zhao Zhi sneered.
Kent wiped away his smile and responded coldly, "None of your business. If you have the ability, steal one and show me. If you don't, stop causing trouble and creating discord. It's bad for team unity."
Zhao Zhi was stunned and couldn't respond. He shot a hostile look and muttered, "Alright, we'll see."
Kent ignored him, releasing Garfield from his spatial bag and removing its camouflage. Immediately, the golden beast grew from eighty centimeters to over two meters long, radiating a powerful aura.
Golden-tier beast???
When the golden-tier aura was released, everyone was stunned. No one expected Kent's pet cat to be a golden-tier beast. The shock was immense.
At that moment, many students looked at Kent with envy and jealousy.
Damn it, a poor kid actually owns full B-grade gear and a golden-tier beast. Has the world turned upside down?
The group soon set off again, this time with forty-one more beasts, and the mood of the group lightened.
Along the way, they encountered various ruins: tall buildings covered in green vines, swaying precariously; a long, blood-red grass-covered asphalt road…
They also saw strange, formidable monsters, like black ants with human-sized heads. Their forelegs were larger than the claws of an emperor crab, and they snapped through a rusted steel bar effortlessly.
They also came across a giant serpent, not a python, but a snake over ten meters long, as thick as a bath barrel, with red and green rings along its body and a triangular head. Its mouth spit out a giant, forked tongue, divided into many segments like an alien creature.
This snake was notorious, listed in the monster guide. It was called the Giant Tongue Swallower. Its tongue was covered in sharp barbs, capable of easily killing other beasts and tearing them into pieces to swallow them in stages.
Fortunately, the snake was only a silver-tier beast, level 39, and was severely injured, desperately fleeing. It didn't notice their group.
Soon after, three men emitting a murderous aura, with their own beasts, arrived in pursuit.
In the sky, a giant black eagle, the size of a plane, circled. Its claws were as thick as tree trunks, capable of easily grabbing a car.
As the group ventured deeper, the scenes they witnessed grew increasingly terrifying.