Chapter Seventeen: The Last Member of the KB Faction

Inside the special ward, Chen Qi carefully watched the video he had secretly recorded of the former mayor entering the hall twice. At last, the final piece of the puzzle in his mind fell into place.

Seeing that it was still early, Chen Qi quickly tapped on his tablet, eager to see how the various countries in this world viewed the terrorist attack at Stranlan Middle School.

Amidst the uniform expressions of “condemnation… outrage… sympathy… assistance…” Chen Qi suddenly noticed the Northern Alliance President’s statement.

It was a single, terse sentence:

“The Northern Alliance will not compromise!”

Letting out a deep sigh, Chen Qi lay down to sleep. The thought that he would be leaving this world tomorrow, perhaps forever, left him inexplicably heavy-hearted.

“Damn it! I actually feel some attachment to this world that almost cost me my life,” he muttered.

Night once again shrouded Stranlan City, though it could not conceal the bloodshed of the previous day.

This incident was like a wound on the giant bear that was the Northern Alliance. It would heal and scab over, but it would forever remain, a scar that the Northern Alliance would least wish to mention in the future.

At dawn, Chen Qi, who had gone to bed early, slowly awoke.

Back on Earth, he was a true night owl, staying up late browsing short videos and novels.

He glanced at the nurse beside him, who was dozing off and drooling slightly, then quietly slipped out from under the covers.

He forced himself not to look at her lovely, innocent face, nor to give in to the urge to steal a kiss before leaving this world.

Quickly, he donned the combat suit on the table and took his beloved pistol.

Even though he would vanish from this world, Chen Qi decided that these last moments of his gear should be spent inside his storage space.

Quietly, he left the ward, the deliberately muffled sound of the door closing disturbing no one.

Except for the two sentries on night duty outside the generals’ ward across the hall.

Chen Qi walked past them without changing expression or showing any sign of nervousness. Though the sentries looked puzzled, they said nothing.

Soon, Chen Qi arrived at a ward with the lights still on. Without knocking, he pushed the door open and entered.

The principal of Stranlan Middle School was sitting at the desk, deep in thought.

As the person in charge of Stranlan Middle School, the tragedy that had occurred weighed heavily on her, subjecting her to immense psychological pressure and public censure.

Coupled with some secret matters, she had not slept even at this late hour.

Seeing Chen Qi enter, the principal cast him a look of doubt.

Chen Qi calmly sat opposite her, meeting her questioning gaze, and enunciated:

“Madam Principal, are you an accomplice of the KB terrorists?”

The woman’s expression remained unchanged as she retorted, “Are you insane?”

Ignoring her tone, Chen Qi stared her down.

After waiting for several seconds without seeing any sign of panic, he spoke, somewhat disappointed:

“I have three questions to ask you, Madam Principal.”

When she did not respond, he began his interrogation:

“First! Where were you when Keshfu entered the hall?”

She replied, “I was actively communicating with the KB terrorists, trying to secure better conditions for the children.”

With a wry smile, Chen Qi continued, “Second! Why did the hostages upstairs say you kept going back and forth between their rooms and the terrorists’?”

For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed her previously unchanging face. She argued, “I was still negotiating until you stormed in.”

Chen Qi’s smile deepened. He pressed on, “On the morning the KB terrorists took the hostages, some of them had already entered the school. Where did they hide? Where did they stash their equipment?”

The principal finally lost her composure, but stubbornly replied, “That only proves my negligence. You have no evidence.”

Chen Qi sighed and slowly raised his pistol.

He would not tell her that the most crucial evidence was the mission prompt given by the space.

[Remaining KB terrorists: 1/26]

Seeing Chen Qi raise his pistol so brazenly, the woman stopped pretending. She took a sip of tea and pleaded, “Let me tell you a story.”

When Chen Qi didn’t shoot immediately, she hurried on:

“There was once an ancient land, where the people lived freely. Until one day, the emperor came—he invaded, cruel and murderous.”

“The people resisted, and years of rebellion made them formidable fighters.”

She continued,

“The emperor fell. Then came the Northern Alliance. They coveted the people’s fighting strength, forcing them to fight in their name!”

“All the people wanted was independence. They longed for freedom, for an end to the oppression of the Northern Alliance. They yearned…”

“Bang!”

Chen Qi fired. The woman fell, her story unfinished, her corpse twitching slightly before going still.

Facing the body, Chen Qi explained, “I understand your logic, and I know another saying.”

He added, “The position of your backside determines the direction of your mind!”

Then, Chen Qi called out to the space:

“I request to leave this world immediately.”

He had no intention of explaining anything to the army that would soon arrive—he would not be staying in this world anyway.

[Detected: the chosen is not in combat. Request approved!]

[The chosen will leave this world and return to the Sprout Space in 30 seconds. Please prepare in advance.]

Seeing the soldiers drawn by the gunshot, Chen Qi calmly waved at their shocked faces.

Before they could act, the world began to blur. His entire vision filled with strange lines, twisting and intertwining, forming geometric shapes Chen Qi had never seen—peculiar, yet beautiful.

Before he could focus, his vision went black, and his consciousness grew hazy. Deafness overwhelmed his ears.

...

When Chen Qi regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange space.

Unlike his first entry into the “Sprout Space,” which was transparent and open to the starry sky, now he was in a gray, undecorated space, like a sealed box.

Just as Chen Qi was utterly bewildered, a prompt appeared in his retina.

[Teleportation complete. The chosen has returned to the exclusive room.]

[The exclusive room is an absolutely safe location—no one may enter without permission from the chosen.]

[The chosen has returned to the Sprout Space. World rewards will now be calculated.]