Chapter 144: Ruins Town
Martial Arts Calendar 2046, April 23rd.
Day two at the Joint Training Base. 8:00 AM sharp. The weather was clear.
On the spacious plaza below the dormitories, a dense crowd of students, neatly dressed and shouldering backpacks, began to assemble.
"Did you hear? Lin Qi was in the Martial Arts Room late last night and broke a Training Lance just by practicing with it."
"Broke it from practicing? Are you sure he didn’t smash it against something?" someone asked curiously.
"They say he didn’t hit anything with it. He just straight-up broke it from sheer force. The guy’s a beast!"
"Whoa, what kind of terrifying strength does it take to break a Training Lance just by using it?" someone said, their eyes wide with shock.
The crowd started murmuring, and the whispers spread to those nearby.
Among the students from Tianhai No. 2 Middle School, Jiangtao heard the discussion and looked at Lin Qi with a teasing smile.
"Brother Qi, the story of you breaking the spear is all over the base now."
The surrounding students looked at Lin Qi with respect. His strength was just too absurd—he could even break a spear just by training with it.
Lin Qi remained calm, unbothered. He didn’t even have to pay for the broken Training Lance.
Somehow, the news had leaked, and now everyone at the Joint Training Base knew.
RUMBLE!!
Following a series of roars, large, dark green military transport vehicles slowly rolled into view.
"Everyone, twenty to a vehicle! Board in an orderly fashion!" a burly officer shouted, his voice echoing across the plaza.
Everyone began to board the vehicles.
Lin Qi climbed into one of the transport trucks. Inside were rows of black seats, and the twenty students from No. 2 Middle School filed in and sat down.
VROOOM!!
A moment later, the military transports started up one by one and headed toward the training site.
The vehicle swayed as it moved. Surrounded by his classmates from No. 2 Middle School, Lin Qi took some materials out of his backpack and began reviewing them to reinforce his memory.
Seeing this, the others also took out their own materials to study, some pulling out their phones to look at digital copies.
"Once we enter Ruins Town, the military will open a Space Gate and release Calamity Beasts from the Otherworld."
"To Calamity Beasts, humans are an irresistible delicacy. The moment the Space Gate opens, they’ll smell us and come charging out."
"Ruins Town will be divided into two zones. The Space Gate in Zone 1 will be controlled to only let out Level 1 to Level 2 Calamity Beasts."
"Only Zone 2 will have Level 3 Calamity Beasts."
"Since all of us are at the Second Realm of Muscle Training, we should play it safe and stick to Zone 1," Qiu Jie said.
"Speaking of which, doesn’t this Space Gate technology seem a little too advanced?"
"They can control where the spatial passage opens, and even its size. It doesn’t seem like technology humans should have at our current level," Jiangtao suddenly asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Yeah, I’ve never thought about that before," Qiu Jie said, slapping his thigh.
From a short distance away, Li Zhou slowly began to speak:
"According to the history books, when the Calamity Beasts first appeared, the sky was torn open like a giant gash in a curtain. Back then, they were called spatial rifts."
"Countless Calamity Beasts poured out of them—everything from Level 1 to Level 9!"
"And they appeared with almost no warning, at any time, in any city, in any corner of the world."
"The spatial rifts were only classified as small, medium, and large."
"Faced with these rifts, humanity was caught completely off guard. So many people were devoured by the Calamity Beasts that rushed out."
"It was like an all-you-can-eat buffet for them."
"Then, twenty years ago, the Space Gate technology appeared out of thin air."
"Suddenly, humanity possessed this miraculous technology that allowed us to lock onto spatial rifts and transfer them to predetermined locations before opening them."
"We even gained the ability to open Space Gates ourselves to let the Calamity Beasts out on our own terms."
"This drastically reduced humanity’s losses."
"It really is strange. No one knows who developed it, but they truly saved countless lives," the others remarked.
Lin Qi listened, also curious. ’How did humans manage that?’
Suddenly, he thought of the Insect Race.
’This mysterious Insect Race... could the technology have come from them?’
According to Yue Feng, the Insect Race was far superior to humans in certain technological fields.
This made him suspect that the technology had indeed been obtained from them.
...
「Half an hour later.」
Deep within the War Base, steel structures rose from the ground, so tall they blotted out the sun.
The transport trucks passed through a colossal gate of silver steel, forged from a special alloy, and entered a base.
CLANK! CLANK!!
RUMBLE!!
"We’ve arrived at Ruins Town! All personnel, disembark!"
The truck doors opened, and all the students quickly disembarked.
WHOOSH...
The air was thick with the scent of slaughter, mixed with the smell of engine fuel and the faint odor of blood.
Lin Qi looked around and found they were in front of a war fortress, its walls constructed entirely of a specially made, silver-gray alloy.
Under the traces of time, its color had begun to darken to black.
"Everyone, proceed to your designated city’s area to receive your combat equipment."
A burly officer shouted the order, repeating it continuously.
Not far away, nine zones had been sectioned off, each marked with an electronic screen displaying the name of a major city.
Piles of metal boxes were stacked neatly, and various sharp weapons were displayed in large cabinets.
[Celestial Sea City]
Lin Qi and the others went to the Celestial Sea City area and lined up to receive their combat gear.
A short distance away, the handsome Wang Qiufeng walked past, carrying a black metal box in his left hand and gripping a sharp Yanling Saber in his right. He saw Lin Qi and smiled.
"Lin Qi, I’m looking forward to competing against you today!"
"I hope you won’t disappoint me."
Lin Qi laughed. "You too!"
Wang Qiufeng smiled at the response and walked away, carrying his metal box.
Soon, it was Lin Qi’s turn.
In front of him was a table with a computer on it. Behind the table were large stacks of metal boxes, and soldiers were retrieving combat gear according to the tags.
"Next!" the male soldier called out.
"Lin Qi!"
"Here!"
The soldier took a completely black mechanical watch from a silver metal box nearby. It had a simple, old-fashioned design with only three buttons: red, yellow, and green.
"This is a smart watch with only three functions. The red button is for rescue requests, the yellow one is to check the point rankings and the map, and the green one controls a drone for offensive and defensive maneuvers against Calamity Beasts."
"And finally... come back safe," the soldier added, offering his well-wishes.
"Thank you!"
Lin Qi thanked him, took the smart watch, and immediately fastened it to his wrist.
"Student Lin Qi, your equipment. And your long spear."
Another soldier came forward, carrying a black metal box.
At the same time, he was struggling to carry a solid black great spear in his right hand.
The soldier stared at Lin Qi, inwardly astonished. ’This spear weighs a full 100 jin. That’s already classified as a heavy weapon. And he’s actually planning to hunt Calamity Beasts with a great spear like this?’
’Is he really a high school senior? This is Innate Divine Strength!’
Lin Qi carried the metal box and the black great spear to the changing room.
He opened the metal box. Inside was a black combat suit. Lin Qi quickly changed, putting on the combat boots, pants, tactical vest, and jacket.
There were also some first-aid supplies in a small pack that he secured tightly to his back.
It would hardly affect his movements.
Finally, he picked up the black long spear. It was jet-black, without any complex patterns, forged purely from refined steel alloy.
Its craftsmanship and cost were inferior to the custom-made Thunder Horn Spear he owned.
This combat gear was provided for free by the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, custom-fitted to his body measurements.
Lastly, Lin Qi placed his own clothes into the box.
Carrying the black great spear, he walked out of the changing room, his entire aura turning sharp and formidable.
By now, many people in the plaza had already changed into combat suits of various colors, mainly black and white, and were holding their weapons.
The atmosphere of slaughter in the air grew thicker. The faces of many were filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness.
...
「Meanwhile, in a conference room.」
Standing on a circular platform, Yuan Ji gave an order to an officer beside him:
"Open the Space Gate. Release the Calamity Beasts."
"Yes, sir!" The surrounding soldiers began to operate the equipment.
Yuan Ji turned his head. Not far behind him, the spacious conference room was divided into several sections, occupied by many unfamiliar men and women not in military uniform.
They were the observation teams from the three top academies.
...
「At the same time, in Ruins Town.」
In an open area amidst a cluster of abandoned buildings stood a giant, cylindrical, pedestal-like mechanical device. It was over three meters in diameter and two meters tall.
BOOM!!
BZZZT—
In an instant, the device let out a deafening roar accompanied by the crackle of electricity. Endless currents coiled around it, and in the next moment, a massive pillar of light shot into the sky.
The pillar of light hovered five or six meters in the air and transformed into a ball of light.
Like a key, the light pillar unlocked a passage. A circular ring of light rapidly expanded, opening the spatial channel.
「A short while later.」
HORK... HORK...
ROAR—
THUD!!
Furious roars echoed from within the ring of light as dark figures charged out, slamming heavily onto the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
...
In the center of the plaza was a high platform with a large screen mounted on it.
Yuan Ji, dressed in a dark green officer’s uniform, was once again projected before everyone.
"Greetings, students!"
"Welcome to Ruins Town!"
All eyes turned to him!
Yuan Ji’s expression turned serious. A powerful aura emanated from him as he began to speak in a loud voice:
"Students, the Calamity Beasts are the enemy of all humankind. They are a threat we must eliminate."
"Today, many of you will take the most critical step on your path of Martial Arts: actual combat!!"
"You will fight the Calamity Beasts with your own hands and forge your transformation in their blood."
"Use the weapons in your hands to kill every Calamity Beast you see! Pierce their throats! Sever their heads!"
"Complete your first transformation as a Martial Artist!"
"Humans and Calamity Beasts have long been mortal enemies. There are only two paths: kill or be killed."
Yuan Ji’s voice was stern and impassioned. As the students listened, their blood began to pump faster, and their expressions grew more and more fervent.
Their spirits began to burn with fighting zeal.
"This practical training exercise will use a points system."
As he spoke, the large screen in front of him lit up, projecting a table.
"Kill one First-Level Calamity Beast, earn one point."
"Kill one Second-Level Calamity Beast, earn 10 points."
"Kill one Third-Level Calamity Beast, earn 100 points."
The table projected on the screen listed the Calamity Beasts they might encounter and their corresponding point values.
"The smart watches you are wearing will rank all students’ points in real-time."
"Out of 2,470 students, those who finish in the top 500 will each receive a reward of 100,000 Xia Country Coins."
"Top 300: a reward of 200,000 Xia Country Coins."
"Top 100: a reward of 300,000 Xia Country Coins!"
"Top 50: a reward of 500,000 Xia Country Coins!"
"Top 10: a reward of 800,000 Xia Country Coins."
"3rd Place: a reward of 1,500,000 Xia Country Coins!"
"2nd Place: a reward of 2,000,000 Xia Country Coins!"
"1st Place: a reward of 3,000,000 Xia Country Coins!"
...