Chapter 485

Chapter 485: Good Student

Only after stepping onto the real battlefield did El realize that the battles he had previously experienced were merely skirmishes.

In fact, Hope City, or rather the Speaker’s humanitarian care, was quite sufficient. Given his youth, he was granted ample choice.

However, driven by both a sense of responsibility and his own desires, El wished to play a more significant role in this war.

Petty thefts could never make a mark, and as his knowledge expanded, El gradually came to understand this.

After gaining access to senior levels and learning about some of Hope City’s past plans, he developed a more comprehensive understanding of his former enemies in the inner and outer city.

For decades, the essence of the gangs in both the inner and outer city had been deliberately crafted by the parliament as a pressure release valve.

Those who could endure Hope City’s exploitation would inevitably spend their youth toiling day and night in factories.

As for the unstable elements, rather than allowing them to roam freely, it was better to integrate them into organizations with unspeakable backgrounds.

This approach served a dual purpose: it diverted the conflicts of the lower classes and enabled the shadowy figures in power to handle matters they couldn’t address openly.

If a gang leader grew too defiant, black-gloved superpowered individuals would step in to resolve the issue.

Disobedient employees might face a sudden death after a night of drinking or an unexpected violent clash…

Yet, very few were privy to these inner workings. Most gang leaders, until their demise in some incident, believed they had simply been outmaneuvered by their rivals.

Now, whether it was the rule-makers or their subordinates, the majority were either dead or contributing to Hope City’s textile manufacturing industry.

As for the Ashen Gang, or rather the successfully transformed Ashen Security Company, since El had avoided recruiting individuals with criminal backgrounds from the start, its transition was remarkably smooth.

The gang—no, the team’s—biggest issue turned out to be its low education level, which even led the boss to enroll as a transfer student in a middle school.

El was undoubtedly a fortunate individual.

He had been hunted, lived in the sewers, and experienced the ordinary life of a young man in school.

He was lucky enough to witness the end of Hope City’s chaos, yet he was also acutely aware of the impending beast tide…

It seemed that whenever his life was on the verge of improving, some new trouble would always arise.

Yet El did not consider himself unlucky; instead, he believed he was meant to do more.

This sense of dissatisfaction and anger ultimately drove El to make a choice.

Though his combat abilities were not exceptional, he was resilient enough to survive most encounters. Thus, he joined the battlefield as a mobile force, relying on his communicator linked to [Skydome] and his Leap ability to save numerous soldiers and Extinction Legion fighters over the past month.

At that moment, he had just rescued a soldier whose calf had been bitten by an extraordinary beast when he caught sight of a horrifying scene on another section of the city wall.

A small group of extraordinary beasts had breached the defenses and leaped down from above.

Simultaneously, [Skydome]’s voice crackled through his communicator:

"El, look to the right front!"

The urban planning of the inner city was, in fact, somewhat flawed—

The high walls, similar to those in the outer city, were less about keeping extraordinary beasts at bay and more about guarding against their own kind.

Over the past decades, not a single extraordinary beast or rioter had ever breached this area, which meant the inner city walls lacked the military camps and training grounds that dotted the outer city. Instead, basic facilities were occasionally built there, as if seeking the protection of the towering walls.

At that moment, El clearly saw where the extraordinary beasts were landing.

This was a place he had become intimately familiar with over the past month, and under the sudden mental strain, the usually composed young man couldn’t help but curse:

"Don’t you dare destroy my school!"

Schools were peculiar structures; while most people didn’t particularly care for them, the prospect of their destruction by extraordinary beasts was universally opposed.

Moreover, the evacuation of outer city citizens had caused the inner city’s population to swell several times over, turning every space—except for research institutes—into makeshift evacuation sites. Schools, in particular, were now temporary shelters for countless people.

Below the city walls, on the playground, screams rose in waves.

No matter how mentally prepared one might be, the sight of extraordinary beasts landing just a hundred meters away would inevitably provoke screams from deep within.

El was about to use a series of Leaps to address the situation when he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder.

"Fulan?"

"Let’s go together."

The multicolored cat’s claws hooked into El’s clothes, and after a few flashes, they drew closer to the target. El grew increasingly anxious as he watched—

The extraordinary beasts had yet to harm anyone, but the panicked crowd was already causing a stampede.

His Leaps became more frequent, and just as the extraordinary beasts entered his range, El raised his right hand.

The three extraordinary beasts closest to the humans suddenly convulsed, their organs and bodily fluids rearranged in a random order by El’s power.

The three beasts collapsed mid-stride, falling before a group of young people, their mouths spewing unidentifiable substances.

El landed smoothly, stepping onto the head of the foremost beast as he surveyed the crowd—

He had to restore order quickly; otherwise, people would be trampled to death!

Meanwhile, Fulan had already leaped from El’s shoulder mid-air, creating several duplicates that conjured illusions to confuse the extraordinary beasts.

Her main body scaled the city wall, using her powers to temporarily seal the breach while awaiting reinforcements from the Extinction Legion and the city defense army.

Once El dealt with the chaos below, he would join Fulan to help hold the line; their roles were clearly defined.

Now, Fulan’s illusions no longer required hypnosis or brainwashing—they were as vivid as holograms.

As her duplicates surrounded the extraordinary beasts, the creatures, accustomed to battle, hesitated in fear at the terrifying scenes before them, retreating from the illusory foes.

As Fulan closed in, she began removing mycelium from the small extraordinary beasts; these were potential recruits, ready to join the fight after reverse brainwashing.

Though the three extraordinary beasts were dead, the crowd’s panic persisted, with people still pushing and shoving in desperation.

In the face of a true life-or-death moment, humanity’s restraint began to unravel, and many once-held moral boundaries started to blur.