Chapter 61

Chapter 61

"What's so great about the Hungry Academy? Why not come with me?"

Ji Xinghai did not intend to fully devour the werewolf.

In the copy, there were numerous anomalous creatures, wearing NPC disguises and performing tasks as required by the scenario. Yet, their actions varied greatly, much like how dragons have nine offspring, each with distinct personalities. And this werewolf had a rather interesting character.

Werewolves, in Western legends, were monsters on par with vampires, for whom harming or killing people was part of daily life. However, this one had a good nature, even when following the plot, it had an attitude of 'I don't want to work, I just want to lie around,' leaving no real evil deeds behind, only legends to attract tourists.

This was why Ji Xinghai was even willing to sacrifice one of his arms, just to 'tame' this giant beast.

Food is most delicious when willingly enjoyed.

"My dear Hai, he is truly not human."

This move left the JiuZhou spectators outside speechless.

The psychologists from the Command Unit could not fathom his thoughts. Sometimes, Trainee Ji Xinghai was so reliable that no suspicion was needed, but other times, he displayed self-destructive tendencies that were alarming.

And most ordinary people did not wish to speculate about Ji Xinghai's intentions; they cheered when they saw the werewolf subdued. They felt sorry for the elbow Ji Xinghai sacrificed, but any sacrifice was worth it if it brought results.

It was uncertain whether the werewolf could be tamed and added to the *Taotie Food Canon* as another entry.

They hoped it could be.

Humans, after all, always pursued such things, wanting everything good to... return to the embrace of their homeland.

Others might only obtain treasure chests and supplies from NPCs, but JiuZhou was different; they had Ji Xinghai.

If vampire teeth could have such high-end effects, there was no reason the werewolf, appearing alongside them, could only provide a bit of wolf meat for sustenance—of course, having wolf meat was excellent too; they were not picky, having eaten synthesized food every day until they were sick of it.

"Damn it, the JiuZhou people are being picky! If you don't want the synthesized food, give it to me!"

Some foreign viewers watching teared up, tears streaming down their faces. Forget eating wolf meat; they had to fight for even synthesized starch!

To achieve stable and peaceful lives, one needed a powerful government with a unified voice, but not all countries had such conditions.

Despite the happiness of the JiuZhou people, a prodigy still fell from the sky—it was so unfair!

"But wait, you're all focused on the werewolf? Didn't anyone notice something strange? Didn't Hai's body stiffen for a moment before his arm was bitten?"

"Huh? Now that you mention it...it seems true."

"I noticed that too."

"That's the special talent of that student named Paul, a puppet technique that can be used after brief physical contact. Remember when he shook hands with Hai? He used this to kill an official student."

"Darn it! With such a talent, he should be fighting monsters, not killing his own kind!"

"This ability only works on humans. Still, people like him are as disgusting as cockroaches."

The audience belatedly realized that Ji Xinghai had been tricked. Meanwhile, inside the exam, Ji Xinghai was still choking the werewolf with a cross necklace, kneeling half over its body and persuading it, "Is a salary of eight hundred worth risking your life for?"

Veins bulged on the werewolf's neck, but all struggles were futile.

Having devoured several powerful monsters, Ji Xinghai was no longer the weak newcomer. He looked thin, yet possessed immense strength, enough to pin down the werewolf, known for its warrior-like prowess, without hope of escape.

Of course, the cross necklace inscribed with runes and the vampire tooth dagger directly piercing the werewolf's chest, forcing it to transform from a giant wolf back into a werewolf, were also significant factors.

"I know it's not right, but..."

In the tranquil forest, darkness and blood intertwined, the human and werewolf (in human form) locked in a cycle of biting and killing, love and hate, under the moonlight filtering through the branches, creating a beautiful and romantic Tyndall effect around them...

It was akin to the peculiar beauty during the vampire slaying, which led to a sudden surge of gushing enthusiasts in the livestream.

With few entertainments in recent years, the JiuZhou people had learned to appreciate such moments, connecting anything and everything, especially since Ji Xinghai himself was not particularly cautious.

First, he embraced the blonde vampire and bit it, now he was stroking the werewolf's face (misinterpretation), saying something along the lines of 'you are a fine person.'

When straight men showed off, they could truly outdo fanfiction.

But ultimately, he wanted to devour them. Ah, shards of glass mixed with sweetener, openly bad and clearly heartless.

The werewolf was not easily convinced, but Ji Xinghai had the power to 'win hearts and minds.'

Yes, he was the type who made up for lack of eloquence with brute force.

"I cannot promise you freedom or anything else. In fact, whether you work for your former employer or for me, freedom will not be an option. However, if you cooperate, I will only devour a small portion of your energy, allowing you to retain most of it, and you'll merely change places to lie around. But if you do not cooperate, I will have to devour you entirely, just like that blonde vampire, leaving you as nothing more than a bound puppet."

When Ji Xinghai mentioned the blonde vampire, the werewolf reacted strongly.

"You mean it? It was also...?"

"Why would I lie to you?" The vampire tooth dagger was still piercing its heart.

Seeing the werewolf's intense reaction, Ji Xinghai summoned the vampire.

The blonde vampire had been forcibly devoured, and it still appeared somewhat depressed and weak, with a sour expression, until it saw its old acquaintance pinned to the ground.

"You?"

Seeing its significantly weakened rival, the werewolf burst into laughter, saying nothing, and directly tore off the wolf pelt covering its body, recognizing a new master.

As long as you beat the vampire, everything is negotiable!

Thus, another powerful monster came under Ji Xinghai's control.

Once the werewolf joined the family, the previously uncooperative vampire also changed its attitude, subtly reminding Ji Xinghai that, as a mage, it was far more useful than a brute, hoping Ji Xinghai would realize who was truly beneficial to him.

Well, harmony between humans and werewolves relies on the vampires, and harmony between humans and vampires relies on the werewolves, huh?

Truly worthy of being rivals for millennia, loving and hating each other.

Ji Xinghai didn’t get involved in their disputes. He waved his hand to make the vampire disappear, while he had other plans for the werewolf.

The werewolf was subdued, leaving behind many spoils on the spot. Apart from the brass treasure chest, the rest were standard loot drops from monsters.

The audience became excited, urging him to open the treasure chest, but Ji Xinghai had an urgent matter to attend to—he tore off his sleeve and tightly bound his left arm. Then, he took out the demon blade and slashed at the spot two inches below his shoulder.

His arm fell with a thud, blood spurting out. Ji Xinghai suddenly closed his eyes, his features almost contorted, and his face turned ghastly pale in an instant.

"Ahh." He let out a sound before clamping down hard on his lips. The muscles on his face and body trembled, but he tried to control it, blood trickling from his mouth.

Finally, he recovered, revealing a grim smile on his sweat-drenched face.

"Yo, enjoying the show?"

Ji Xinghai looked toward a certain spot in the forest, where there seemed to be nothing, yet he gazed as if staring at someone.

This sudden change turned the joyful faces in the live stream into expressions of horror.

What happened?

"H-Hai... Brother Hai..."

"Just now, I wanted to say this: Didn't you notice that Brother Hai’s arm, which was bitten by the werewolf, started to become diseased? Vampires have corpse poison, and werewolves have lycanthrope poison. In legends, those bitten by werewolves who don’t die will turn into werewolves themselves. And the werewolf’s teeth can’t detoxify; it’s irreversible damage. Brother Hai decisively cut off his own arm. He’s truly a real man."

They thought of that unlucky student who encountered the vampire team and was bitten, leading to a disease.

Yes, the one who provided the clue about the vampires to Ji Xinghai and was ultimately saved by him.

Eleven hours after being bitten, the corpse poison entered the bloodstream, and the student began showing symptoms like photophobia and a thirst for blood.

Fourteen hours after the bite, the organs were taken over by the toxins, and the student could no longer control himself.

At that time, both the student and the viewers outside felt that his death was inevitable.

But death wasn’t scary. At worst, they’d start over in the next instance. What was truly terrifying was the possibility of becoming part of the monsters in this instance and being trapped here forever.

It wasn’t unheard of for students to remain stuck in the instance world, unable to return to the real world.

If the student who provided clues to Ji Xinghai had the courage to cut off his arm right away, he wouldn’t have had to face the agony of infection.

Fortunately, this person had good luck, encountering Ji Xinghai. Now, he was fine and had collected half of the tickets needed to board the Ark, with a high chance of success.

In comparison, Ji Xinghai was truly a tough guy, willing to cut off his own arm without hesitation. It was just a pity that this would reduce his combat power by at least half.

There were still many days ahead. What should he do?

"It’s all because of that guy named Paul. Otherwise, Brother Hai wouldn’t have been bitten."

The viewers were furious, but Ji Xinghai never dwelled on the past or hypothetical scenarios. After recovering, he washed the bleeding wound with fresh water and wrapped up the stump with bandages prepared beforehand.

If it weren’t for the points spent on the item, such a simple bandage wouldn’t have stopped the bleeding. Instead, the wound produced a slight itch alongside the intense pain, as if healing rapidly.

"…" He had been prepared to cauterize the wound with charcoal to constrict the blood vessels and stop the bleeding.

Drenched in sweat but standing tall like a pine tree, he tried moving the remaining stub of his left arm. The phantom sensation of his arm still being there, accompanied by intense pain, lingered.

To him, this was within his tolerance. But for the viewers watching on their screens, even those few minutes were emotionally devastating, tears streaming down their faces.

The viewers in the live stream were truly heartbroken.

Heaven and earth, my beautiful and frail student wasn’t trying to reach the heavens. All he wanted was to do some good deeds for mutual benefit. All he wanted was to ‘consume’ some demons and monsters for nourishment.

Give it to him!

Why did you have to cut off his arm?

Witnessing their student being harmed under their watchful eyes, the JiuZhou viewers were angry and aggrieved. They directly flooded Paul and Friesen’s live streams. The viewers in these two streams dared not speak out against them.

If it weren’t for the existence among the plotters who exchanged attention for luck, with JiuZhou’s population size, they could have easily destroyed that live stream too.

When Ji Xinghai lost his arm, it was as if JiuZhou lost its arm. When Ji Xinghai suffered, JiuZhou suffered. This couldn’t be tolerated!

The viewers didn’t know that Ji Xinghai had acted according to the situation. They only knew that this outstanding student, who could be considered a beacon of humanity, had been harmed by a conspiracy. Facing werewolves under a full moon and a disadvantageous situation, he was forced to cut off his own arm due to someone’s treachery.

Strength aside, he was also beautiful and tragic.

The viewers could feel the pain of "tragedy is the destruction of beautiful things for you to witness" through the screen.

"When he enters the next instance, the arm he personally severed will return, but the decisiveness and firmness he displayed in this event will forever remain in the real world. Heartbroken viewers will always remember how the hero was harmed by a conspiracy and the grimness of cutting off his own arm.

"In the future, even if he makes mistakes or takes action against other students, the people of JiuZhou, and even those from other countries, will show him exceptional tolerance. After all, he was targeted to this extent without doing anything wrong and even greatly enhancing the survival chances of other students." said the head of the Command Unit of JiuZhou.

He wasn’t as grief-stricken as the ordinary viewers, even feeling that this was what Ji Xinghai sought.

Ordinary people, knowing their injuries would fully heal, would want to cut themselves to see. Of course, ordinary people usually just think about it and wouldn’t really do it, but Ji Xinghai…was he an ordinary person?

According to his subordinate, the “game player,” Ji Xinghai probably saw it as getting a new “arm-severed skin,” possibly even thinking it was cool, embracing an alternative form of beauty.

Whether the momentary stiffness was due to being caught off guard or acting according to the situation, the head didn’t know. However, in terms of results, using his arm as bait to take down the werewolf was the method that caused the least damage.

Unlike the last encounter with the vampires, it was night, and a full moon, giving the werewolf an inherent advantage. If Ji Xinghai hadn’t acted decisively, he might not have been able to take it down so smoothly.

Moreover, the severed arm would regrow in the next instance, not causing permanent damage. Therefore, factually speaking, the decision to cut it off was correct.

But reason was reason, and emotion was emotion. Regardless, the viewers must be nearly broken by now, right?

This is merely the first instance; the unity among the participants nearly matches that of the inaugural White Moonlight students of Jiuzhou—a promising future lies ahead.

‘Ding dong.’

At this moment, within the instance, Ji Xinghai had just finished wrapping his bandages and even tied a neat bow in the shape of a butterfly. Another private message arrived. This was the fifth message, seven minutes since the first one.

Those two were quite eager to confirm his current state.

He opened the message, reading over the words. The young student, his body stained with blood, slowly revealed a shark-like smile. He took out a quarter of a ship ticket, dabbed it in some blood, and sent it off.

"Transaction concluded. This is the payment for the information provided."