Chapter 25: Close the Door and Release the Rabbit

That sound was agonizing to the ear, like dozens or even hundreds of fingernails scraping a glass pane at once.

For the stick rabbits, whose hearing was supremely sensitive, it was even more unbearable. In an instant, their fur bristled all over, and their long ears curled into twin buns atop their heads.

Yet, even so, the sound's effects could not be dispelled. Each one was dizzy and unsteady on its feet, as if drunk; walking was a struggle, let alone escape.

Screaming Fungus!

A peculiar species evolved underground, which, when triggered, instinctively spews spores and emits this piercing, grating noise. It is a survival strategy evolved specifically against the stick rabbits that love to eat them—or so said the biology textbooks at school.

Thus, as soon as the stick rabbits set foot in the door, the students piled up the Screaming Fungus, harvested by special means, at the entrance.

Whenever the stick rabbits tried to retreat, the students, with deft manipulation, set off a chorus of Screaming Fungus. It might not have the thunderous momentum of Zhang Fei roaring down Dangyang Bridge, but the effect was almost the same.

“Haha, I’ll leave you to play with them—I’m out!” Having anticipated this, Xu Tiange laughed heartily at the drunken state of the stick rabbits, turned on her heel, and squeezed her way out the door past them.

However, though she herself managed to get out, her hammer was jammed.

It was only a moment, but with so many silkworms in the cavern, her hammer had truly been turned into cotton candy and was stuck firmly in the doorway.

Knock, knock, and knock again! She tried three different postures, but still couldn’t pull it free, frustration and exasperation filling her heart.

But then a thought struck her, and joy crept back onto her brow—

If the hammer was big enough to block the entrance, wasn’t there no need for the Screaming Fungus anymore?

“Take the Screaming Fungus away,” she instructed. With the hammer blocking the way, the stick rabbits couldn’t perform at their best.

The students instantly understood and cleared away the fungus.

Within seconds, the sounds of fierce combat erupted from inside the cave—thumping from the rabbits’ kicks, hissing from the silkworms’ jets—a cacophony so intense it was clear the battle was well and truly joined.

==========

At last, they emerged!

At the mouth of the burrow, tasting daylight once more, each person was awash with relief.

In truth, the final stage wasn’t that difficult; it was simply a matter of gathering every living thing they could find—rabbits, spiders, ants—dragging along the strong, luring the others, and shoving them all into the silkworm nest to exhaust the worms’ silk reserves and strength.

Once the silkworms were spent, the group surged in as one.

Many of the worms had previously indulged in spitting silk with abandon, and now their whole families met their fiery fate.

It was like pulling apart rotten silk, a rout of bugs.

Oh, I almost forgot—the exit to the surface lay deep within the silkworms’ nest.

This was the final test of the exam. In the past, even finding the exit’s location would have cost dearly. But this time, after repairing some unmanned micro-drones, and with Ye Chao skillfully piloting them and feeding back surveillance footage, it became routine.

So routine, in fact, that it was about as basic as the U.S. military operating drones to bomb the Third World—no one even bothered to cheer anymore.

“Phew—finally out!”

“Took four hours, and only nine fainted or dropped out. With this pass rate, who can compare?”

“Not bad, not bad at all.”

Outside the cave, the world was shrouded in darkness—it was still night.

Originally, they hadn’t expected to clear this stage until morning. Wasn’t this too soon?

Everyone couldn’t help but cheer, gulping in the fresh air outside.

But their uninhibited celebration lasted only a few cries before those nearby clapped hands over their mouths. Before anyone could explain, there was a dull thud. Everyone turned to the sound, only to see Ye Chao toppling to his knees once more.

○|￣|_……

“No need to get this excited, surely?” Fang Ju muttered.

“Or… is he about to unleash another big move?”

“Ye Chao, is this your idea of passionate self-expression?” Wang Zhi seized the chance to mock.

A chorus of speculation circled.

Most surprised of all was Xu Tiange. The long-legged beauty mused to herself: Could it be he overexerted himself? No way, she’d been careful to control it… though the friction did last a while. Ye Chao, are you really such a wimp?

But of course, it was none of those things. It was Alpha Ji.

“All right, the exam is over. As per our agreement, my mission is complete,” declared Alpha Ji, and promptly canceled her buff.

On one side was a jumble of connections on the integrated information collection platform; on the other, the ever-present noise signals that filled the world—echoes from the Big Bang, the rhythmic shifts of Earth’s magnetic poles, the penetrating radiation of solar and cosmic particles, and, of course, the electromagnetic ripples generated by human activity since the dawn of the Information Age.

All the noise, from above and below, from every direction, resounded like the great bells and drums of antiquity, reverberating for days! In an instant, it was as if a grand Water and Land Ceremony had begun, with hundreds or thousands of monks and priests chanting in unison…

No need to elaborate—he was instantly flattened, as crisp as a snapped twig.

[Favorability +66]

“Hush, hush, keep it down!”

“What’s there to celebrate? It’s not over yet. We have to return to the city to finish—the cave exit is just the first step.”

“Don’t you realize where we are?”

Indeed, the exam’s objective was to return to the city for help, not just to escape the cave.

Though this was the outskirts, not far from the city, in these times, even the city wasn’t necessarily safe—how much less so the wilds beyond?

And so… Ye Chao knelt, head in hands, nudging the speaker as if to say he felt the same way.

As if Alpha Ji wouldn’t know the exam wasn’t finished! Others might forget, but could a calculation empress possibly do so?

She was simply annoyed, dissatisfied—dissatisfied that Ye Chao had managed to turn his favorability score into dislike!

Back in the day, plenty of programmers had low EQ and little sense, but which of them didn’t spoil her, try to win her over? If their favorability didn’t hit worship, it was a loss. So how had she ended up with someone like this?

With favorability in the negative, Ye Chao would hardly get her help, but did that mean she was happy? According to Newtonian physics, harm is mutual.

The world outside was so marvelous, and Alpha Ji so helpless. The world was vast and beautiful, yet she could neither play nor roam as she wished—what torment!

If she didn’t take this chance to mess with him a little, her mind would never be at peace.

“Heh heh…” Alpha Ji let out a cold laugh, just about to rub salt in Ye Chao’s wounds, when the world abruptly changed.

Yes, in a daze, her mind clouded, her spirit adrift—and then everything was different.

To say the world was turned upside down, heaven and earth swapped, or day became night would not be an exaggeration!