Chapter 52: Resolute Hearts (Seeking Continued Reading)

Not long after, Ji Chang led the group back to the writing desk.

Under Ji Chang's arrangement, the Wolf Spider and the Horse Wasp were all gathered by the windowsill of the writing desk, watching the situation outside.

Although Gao Xiang was dead, Ji Chang couldn't be certain that he hadn't mentioned their location to the others.

Even though the middle-aged man was injured, Ji Chang felt that taking some precautions was still a good idea.

"Lingling, are you okay?"

As soon as he arrived at the writing desk, Huang Mang rushed towards the Horse Wasp and immediately embraced Wang Lingling, who had just gotten down from its back.

"Mang Ge, I'm fine. It's just that I used up quite a bit of energy earlier. But on the way back, Captain had already helped me recover a bit!"

Wang Lingling said.

When she saw the bloodstains on Huang Mang's hands and body, her expression tightened, and she asked with concern, "Mang Ge, are you hurt?"

"Hehe! How could I, your Mang Ge, get hurt? This is all the blood of the bad guys."

Huang Mang grinned and then looked down at Wang Lingling, who still had a worried expression on her face. He spoke softly, "In the future, you can't be so reckless. If something were to happen to you, what would I do?"

After giving Huang Mang a once-over to confirm he wasn't injured, Wang Lingling nodded heavily, her eyes glistening with tears as she whispered, "Yes, I understand. I won't dare anymore."

"It's not all Lingling's fault this time; I also share the responsibility."

Chen Lingsnow stepped forward, expressing her apology to Huang Mang and Wang Lingling.

"I'm sorry, Lingling. It's my fault. I didn't know about Gao Xiang..."

Dong Xuan also approached.

"Captain, Xuan'er, it's not your fault. I insisted on going myself. If I had listened to Captain's advice, we wouldn't be in this situation today with Ji Ge and Mang Ge missing!"

Wang Lingling said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Wang Lingling, how did Gao Xiang deceive you into going with him?"

Zheng Haiyu asked curiously.

周军 also looked at Wang Lingling with puzzlement.

"You bunch of bad people! My Lingling just managed to escape danger, and you're now poking at her scars. Do you have any humanity left?"

Seeing this, Huang Mang couldn't help but curl his lips and then stood in front of Wang Lingling, saying, "Lingling, let's not play with these bad people anymore!"

"It's okay, Mang Ge!"

Wang Lingling smiled, then looked at everyone and continued, "Actually, after we got outside the courtyard, I kept asking Gao Xiang where Liu Qing was. But he kept evading the question, and I started sensing something was wrong. But because of the trust I had in him, after all, we're all classmates...

So, I continued following him until we got close to the public restroom. I intended to ask him more questions, but he suddenly grabbed my wings and flung me to the ground!"

While speaking, Wang Lingling's eyes couldn't help but show a hint of sadness.

What made her sad wasn't how painful it was to fall to the ground, but the fact that her classmate, someone she believed in, suddenly turned hostile.

Then, she composed herself and continued, "After I got up, I wanted to fight back, but several people rushed over and subdued me. Then they took me into the restroom, where I met a middle-aged man. He possessed extraordinary abilities, similar to Mang Ge's. He can control metal and change its shape at will..."

"Lingling, is that middle-aged man you mentioned in a wooden house?

Ji Ge defeated that man with a single move, and he even disabled one of the man's arms. If that middle-aged man hadn't reacted quickly, he might have become a corpse by now!"

"That man's arm was directly disabled by Ji Ge's move. If it weren't for that middle-aged man's quick reaction, he might have turned into a corpse by now!" Speaking of the middle-aged man, Huang Mang interjected.

Hearing Wang Lingling's account, Chen Lingsnow and the others were quite astonished. To possess abilities somewhat similar to Huang Mang's, and the ability to reshape metal at will, was a significant feat. Most importantly, he managed to save Ji Ge's life from certain danger. Just this fact alone was enough to leave them in awe.

They were well aware of Ji Chang's strength. Truth be told, without Ji Chang's presence, they would have perished countless times.

"However, that person's strength is formidable. While his mental power might be on par with mine, he's a bit stronger!" At this moment, Ji Chang walked away from the windowsill, pursed his lips, and added his thoughts to the conversation.

"Strong mental power doesn't matter; you still almost got your head blasted open by the Wolf Spider!" Huang Mang raised an eyebrow and continued, "I'm as awesome as ever, Ji Ge!"

"Though that's true, we can't underestimate that person's strength. We must improve our abilities from now on," Ji Chang contemplated and then said.

"Absolutely, apart from Ji Ge, the rest of us are significantly weaker than those people," Chen Lingsnow nodded.

In her view, although they managed to collaborate and evade the pursuit of those individuals, luck had played a major role. If they had faced a situation like what happened with Zhou Jun and Uncle Tang in the morning, their outcome might have been far worse.

"But, how did their strength increase so quickly? We all shrank together!" Dong Xuan looked puzzled, gazing at everyone for an explanation.

The group exchanged glances and then turned their attention to Ji Chang.

"I think it might be related to their diet and the size of their group. You might not have noticed, but both Mang Zi and I overheard something. When we were in the restroom, the first reaction of those people when they saw the Wolf Spider was that they wanted to kill it and have it for a meal! From this, we can deduce that they might have worked together to capture or kill creatures similar to the Wolf Spider in size," Ji Chang speculated.

"That's right, I heard it too!" Huang Mang nodded firmly.

Ji Chang had previously deduced the ways to rapidly increase mental power—first through diet and second through combat. Simulated combat couldn't bring about as significant an improvement as real battles did. Starting from the moment they returned, Ji Chang had been pondering the reasons behind the formidable strength of those people from the restroom.

Although they managed to escape from the restroom, Ji Chang knew that it wasn't a true victory in combat but rather a result of their meticulous planning, combined with the assistance of the Wolf Spider and Horse Wasp. In a direct confrontation, they might not necessarily hold the upper hand.

Ji Chang understood that despite his Wolf Spider and the Horse Wasp having formidable strength, the middle-aged man's extraordinary abilities were equally impressive. During the critical moment, Ji Chang hadn't left the middle-aged man much chance to react.

However, based on the displays of the middle-aged man's extraordinary abilities that Ji Chang had witnessed earlier, he could sense the man's powerful combat capabilities. There was also the burly man who had forced Huang Mang back with a single slash. Despite being directly impaled by the Wolf Spider's claw, his strength was remarkable.

Analyzing the burly man's attacking style, Ji Chang secretly speculated that his extraordinary abilities were akin to martial techniques using weaponry.

"Moving forward, we must pick up the pace!" After a short pause, Ji Chang raised his head to address the group.

Upon hearing Ji Chang's words, a resolute determination glimmered in the eyes of everyone present.

The day's experiences had once again reminded them of their own feeble strength. They were aware that in this familiar yet unfamiliar new world, dangers no longer only came from insect-like creatures; there were also humans on the brink of unleashing their darker sides.