Chapter 96

Chapter 96

"…During the competition, stay in your designated positions and do not cross boundaries. Now, please select your specimen materials. The competition will officially begin after the ticking sound."

After a brief introduction, the specimen-making competition was about to start. However, 'Zhang Ziqing,' who had been secretly confident of victory, felt something was off.

He felt something was wrong, and Zhang Ziqing's original body, watching among the students, felt even more so.

It wasn't the discomfort of seeing his replica; rather, it was a sudden realization that his condition was not right.

Rubbing his temples, he realized that being killed once had significantly reduced his mental strength. Additionally, the negative emotions from the previous scenario had greatly affected him, causing fluctuations in his mental state. This manifested as amplified negative traits: fear, negativity, irritability, and loss of control...

Only when these changes were directly in front of him did he clearly recognize them, which is why he was just now realizing this issue.

However, this influence seemed almost insurmountable. How could he eliminate the hidden dangers?

Zhang Ziqing himself felt that the replica was subpar and couldn't display his true strength, but others didn't care, especially those from JiuZhou.

Perhaps their confidence was bolstered by previous victories; the people of JiuZhou now paid little attention to this former student. The world would continue to turn with or without him.

An hour hadn't passed yet, and no second brave soul had volunteered to challenge the replica, so all external attention remained on this competition.

The two contestants had already selected fresh corpses of snake-like anomalies and sat at their respective positions, with all necessary tools and materials laid out on the tables.

With a ticking sound, the competition was about to begin.

"Bang!" Almost in the instant before the ticking sound, a burning alcohol lamp smashed onto Ji Xinghai's table, shattering glass and splashing alcohol, with yellow flames spreading.

Ji Xinghai dodged the flying glass and alcohol, but the freshly arrived snake corpse did not.

A very fresh corpse suddenly burst into flames, turning black almost instantly.

"The rules didn't say you couldn't act early," said 'Zhang Ziqing' from behind Ji Xinghai.

Turning around, he saw the young man who liked taking narrow paths finally looking smug: "Now that the competition has started, Ji Xinghai, what are you going to do?"

To avoid further trouble, TianPing even used an invisible barrier to isolate the two contestants, ensuring they couldn't physically affect each other—such as damaging the other's equipment and results, or even the contestant themselves. Yet, it still miscalculated.

"This was your hint to me," 'Zhang Ziqing' said, reaching out to touch the invisible barrier, smiling even wider.

Even the snake corpse was deliberately chosen. This anomaly originated from ancient legends, and its weakness was flammability.

Ji Xinghai remained silent, accepting the consequences of his misdeed.

Covering the burning snake corpse with a hood, the flames inside soon extinguished due to lack of oxygen. However, the outer layer of the snake corpse was charred, making the skin unusable. Only the bones inside remained relatively intact, barely suitable for specimen preparation.

Without its characteristic skin and partially charred bones, the value of the snake corpse as a specimen was significantly diminished.

Next door, 'Zhang Ziqing' had already sat down to process the snake corpse, which was still intact, its scales gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Ji Xinghai looked at his material and then at 'Zhang Ziqing's,' frowning.

"Green Lantern," a book appeared in his hand, his expression darkening, "no matter how you do it, smash that thing to pieces."

The green lantern suddenly appeared in mid-air, its light enveloping the snake corpse, which came to life, its two heads colliding, catching 'Zhang Ziqing' off guard.

The vanished smile reappeared on Ji Xinghai's face: If I'm unhappy, how can you be happy?

"!" Even TianPing hadn't expected humans to cause such trouble. In just this short time, one specimen was burned, and another suffered powder fractures.

Given the extent of the fractures, they couldn't be glued back together.

The beautiful skin of the snake corpse was also deliberately damaged, now riddled with irregular wounds.

This was foolish. Setting rules was meant to protect the weak, but by actively destroying the specimen, 'Zhang Ziqing' provided the perfect opportunity for the monster-eating king to retaliate.

Originally, simply making a specimen might have won, but now, it was uncertain.

"I've been waiting for you to defeat me fairly," Ji Xinghai said, holding the mostly charred snake corpse, his gaze slowly shifting to the limp, ragged corpse opposite him.

This was what 'Zhang Ziqing' had said: "Defeat me fairly in my favorite field."

'Zhang Ziqing' turned away, hiding his expression, but Ji Xinghai didn't care. He only needed to ensure the other was in a terrible state.

What he needed to do next was make the specimen.

The nearly half-cooked snake corpse still had usable bones.

"Huh? Dermestid beetles?" A student watching noticed Ji Xinghai finding a small black beetle in the material pile. He placed it in a glass box lined with soft wood chips and put both the beetle and the specimen (the mutated snake corpse) inside, adjusting the temperature and humidity.

"What are dermestid beetles?"

Another student explained, "Dermestid beetles eat skin, soft tissue, and flesh but don't damage bones. Their larvae feed on decay and are commonly used in preparing bone specimens. Snake bones are delicate, and manual removal requires great caution. Using dermestid beetles is appropriate, though it takes time."

But time wasn't an issue here.

Ji Xinghai chose to accelerate the time flow to the maximum, making the actions of the reference object ('Zhang Ziqing's replica) slow down.

Decomposing the flesh on the remains would take days, and he waited with closed eyes.

One day, two days, the dermestid beetles had reproduced twice, but Ji Xinghai didn't feel hungry. Meanwhile, the time on his mission watch and the refresh time of scenario props changed only slightly.

"One minute in real time equals a day here? No wonder."

He had previously suspected whether the BaiZi faction had a similar 'time acceleration' advantage before the competition.

It was just a second, but the competition venue and content appeared complex and complete. Could 'Zhang Ziqing' design the entire competition in just one second?

Further probing confirmed it. Another second, and the competition scene and content updated.

Of course, he guessed that this 'White Faction preparation time' was limited and wouldn't allow them to deliberate indefinitely. That's why Zhang Ziqing designed such a simple and crude venue and content, even using his own specimen exhibition room as a template.

Time acceleration and the ability to force the inclusion of abnormal creature corpses as materials—these were Ji Xinghai's current gains.

Unfortunately, he still hadn't probed the limits of what the White Faction could design. He wondered if the replica had any ideas.

While Ji Xinghai was making specimens, Zhang Ziqing remained motionless.

It was a very 'practical' person, so when it judged that even repairing the tattered snake carcass wouldn't make a qualified specimen, and seeing that Ji Xinghai knew how to remove bones from dermestid beetles, clearly indicating experience in specimen-making, it gave up.

Zhang Ziqing trusted its judgment and didn't waste effort on futile tasks.

This harmonious scene made the hidden scales behind the scenes breathe a sigh of relief.

They feared that person might suddenly go mad and wave at them: "Judges, have you been bored? Want to join the competition?"

Fortunately, nothing happened.

Ji Xinghai waited for the dermestid beetles to finish eating the snake's flesh before retrieving the bones from a pile of molted skins and wriggling larvae, carefully arranging them with tweezers to ensure no bones were missed.

The snake bones hadn't yet undergone the degreasing process, so they still looked dirty and yellowish-brown. He prepared a sodium hydroxide solution and placed each bone into it for degreasing.

Zhang Ziqing silently watched Ji Xinghai meticulously retrieve the soaked snake bones from the degreasing solution and arrange them.

Then he began preparing hydrogen peroxide.

After drying, the snake bones still had a slight yellow tint, which required bleaching with hydrogen peroxide to make them look better.

"You've already won, why bother being so meticulous?"

Zhang Ziqing's question received no answer, and it sneered, "You clearly know how to make specimens but claim you haven't."

"Hmm?" Accused, Ji Xinghai didn't turn around; his hand holding the delicate snake bones with tweezers was particularly steady, "I only said I haven't made animal specimens."

But never said anything about not making human specimens.

Of course, if one insists humans are higher animals, then yes, he lied.

So what? Are there rules against lying?

"If this makes you feel better, fine, I know a bit about making specimens."

Ignoring the increasingly agitated Zhang Ziqing, who felt threatened by death, he continued his work.

If one views humans as large animals, the skills transfer easily. Making animal specimens isn't that difficult. It should be easier than removing the entire vascular system from a human body to make a specimen, right?

"You've already won." Zhang Ziqing repeated.

"Not until the end." Ji Xinghai turned to look at it, "Isn't this your favorite field? Just watching?"

"I won't let such a failure appear in my hands."

Ji Xinghai laughed outright, "So you weren't planning to win fairly from the start? No confidence, huh? So self-aware?"

Zhang Ziqing's expression twisted slightly, but Ji Xinghai continued, his calm tone laced with mockery, "Giving up at the first sign of hopelessness, indeed a 'dignified person.'"

If he were also such a dignified loser, he would have died in some corner long ago. With this level of stress tolerance, being chosen for this game suggests that JiuZhou isn't too bright.

Under the influence of time acceleration, the competition ended quickly.

The spectators often saw accelerated scenes, missing many details. However, the final result was clear—Zhang Ziqing submitted a blank entry, while Ji Xinghai's worst effort would still win, especially since his pristine snake bone specimen was both exquisite and lifelike.

"Truly unexpected, but this means it lost, right?"

"Yes, wonder what happens with elimination."

After announcing the results, eyes opened again to the stone table and chessboard. Across from him, Zhang Ziqing's frozen figure gradually became transparent. Ji Xinghai watched it until it completely vanished.

"Dead?"

Elimination meant disappearance, possibly death—a terrible message. The students anxiously watched, knowing an hour was almost up, and they had to make a choice.

"Anything but Ji Xinghai." He was immediately excluded from their options.

Student Ji Xinghai was terrifying enough; imagine a replica? Who knows how many 'slightly skilled' abilities this person has?

Ji Xinghai, hearing the discussion behind him, suddenly turned to look at the Black Faction—Zhang Ziqing's original form was there, unchanged.

"Replica's points are deducted from the original. Also, duplicate items aren't replicated."

Ji Xinghai appeared beside the stone table at some point, two mirrored faces staring at each other. Ji Xinghai blinked and tossed something over.

The replica caught it—a red apple.

"Eat."

Without asking why, they were one person, understanding all unspoken words.

Biting into the fragrant red apple, Ji Xinghai sat on the stone bench, resting his chin on his hands, watching his replica eat.

Looking face-to-face, this face seemed familiar, like he'd seen it before.

But there was no memory.

Soon, the red apple was finished.

"How is it?" the replica asked.

"Very good." Ji Xinghai smiled.

The replica ate the fruit of wisdom, and he felt an enhancement of energy.

The Hungry Academy is playing word games again.

What replica? There has always been only one person.