CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: RANKINGS SOARING

After Chu Chen and the other four finished cleaning up all traces, the third wave of Gray Rock Ants arrived on schedule.

This time, their number increased from three to seven.

Seeing this, Chu Chen was not surprised at all, as if everything was within his expectations.

"Spring Tree Demon, get ready to control the Gray Rock Ants at the rear, and make sure they don’t escape."

Cold Face nodded solemnly at this, as these seven Gray Rock Ants were not enough to scare her. What truly unnerved her was the increasing number of Gray Rock Ants with each wave, leaving her uncertain about how many waves her team could withstand.

Under Chu Chen’s command, the five-person team once again wiped out the Gray Rock Ants.

The noise from this battle was somewhat loud; fortunately, being far from the Ant Nest, it did not alarm the distant foraging Gray Rock Ants.

"Quickly clean the battlefield and prepare for the next wave of Gray Rock Ants." With that, Chu Chen took the lead in action.

Soon, the five faced the fourth wave of foraging Gray Rock Ants.

This time, their number increased from seven to fourteen, doubling.

Seeing this, Chu Chen could not help frowning; the number of Gray Rock Ants exceeded his expectations.

"Everyone, stay alert. The number this time is quite large, but as long as we cooperate well, we can still kill all these Gray Rock Ants without alarming the Ant Nest."

Soon, fourteen Gray Rock Ants arrived at the dirt pit.

Chu Chen said in a deep voice, "Wang Lu, have the Angry Wind Elf blow them into the pit."

Hearing this, Wang Lu dared not have a moment of hesitation and promptly commanded the Angry Wind Elf to carry out the order.

The Angry Wind Elf unleashed a Wind Tornado towards the Gray Rock Ant group.

The violent wind swept towards the Gray Rock Ant group at extreme speed, blowing more than half of the Gray Rock Ants into the pit, with the remaining few swept into the pit by the Iron Armor Giant Lizard’s tail.

Seeing this, Chu Chen again directed, "Cold Face, control them, and the rest attack with full force."

The battle ended quickly; within just a dozen seconds, all the Gray Rock Ants were slain.

"Clean the battlefield and remove all traces, then we’ll leave immediately. Remember not to take the bait with us."

Hearing this, the four quickly did as instructed.

A few minutes later, the five left as if fleeing.

"Scholar, quickly explain to us, why does the number of Gray Rock Ants increase so much with each wave?" Gangzi couldn’t help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen explained with a smile, "Worker Ants leave pheromones for their companions while foraging, the purpose of which is to notify them that there’s food here. As the pheromones accumulate, other worker ants will think there is a lot of food here, thus attracting more and more worker ants."

Hearing this, the four suddenly understood.

"Then why leave the bait?" Gangzi asked again.

"It’s simple. Gray Rock Ants are not very intelligent; leaving the bait allows the following Gray Rock Ants to obtain food. They won’t suspect that their companions have died but will think they received the wrong information. This way, we can use this method again and continue to exploit it." Chu Chen explained patiently.

Hearing this, several people looked at Chu Chen with a hint of caution in their eyes.

Seeing this, Chu Chen couldn’t help but laugh and said, "What kind of look is that?"

Wang Lu laughed and said, "Don’t worry, everyone, I’ve known Chu Chen for years and understand his character; he won’t harm us."

"Nonsense! I’m not some disaster, and why should I be merciful to Star Beasts?"

Upon hearing this, the wariness in their eyes dissipated.

They blushed with embarrassment and said awkwardly, "It’s all a misunderstanding, Scholar, don’t mind it."

Chu Chen could only shake his head helplessly; if he wanted to do anything malicious, they wouldn’t notice it.

They went around to the other side of the Ant Nest and employed the same trick again.

Every time the five of them only killed four waves of Gray Rock Ants and then left immediately.

After several such ambushes, the points for Chu Chen and the other two have reached the first tier, with Chu Chen currently in fourth place with two hundred ninety-nine points, only four points away from third place.

Wang Lu’s rank also rose to sixth with two hundred eighty-seven points.

Gangzi’s rank climbed to thirteenth with two hundred forty-nine points.

The rapid rise in their rankings left other students extremely surprised, especially Ji Mingyue and the other two.

Being the three strongest contestants in this assessment, they had no pressure about entering the Elite Class; they were more concerned with ranking within it. With this trend, they would soon be pushed out of the top three rankings.

Ji Mingyue, looking at the leaderboard, was momentarily stunned.

After a brief silence, she said to the people beside her, "Is this Chu Chen the scholar?"

"Yes, that’s the scholar."

"His strength is only at the Eighth Rank Slave Level, how has his score risen so fast?"

"Probably got very lucky; it’s likely short-lived, you don’t need to pay much attention."

"Let’s hasten our pace as well; increase the promised reward by ten percent."

Upon hearing this, they immediately showed joy and put more effort into searching for Star Beasts.

Qian Jiadong angrily pointed to the six people behind him, "What’s the situation with these three people, can anyone tell me?"

"Brother Qian, those three are probably from the same team and likely encountered an injured group; don’t worry, they won’t catch up to us."

"Humph, everyone stop earning points, heavily injure the Star Beasts and let me finish them off."

Upon hearing this, their expressions turned sour, but they dared not oppose and had to comply.

The Qian Family’s influence in the city is great, so these ordinary students couldn’t afford to offend them, especially with the many benefits promised to them.

Zhao Peng’s face darkened as he listened to a young woman’s analysis.

"This Chu Chen is quite interesting, daring to compete for the top three with just a Yellow Rank Cultivation Talent. Look into his background; if he lacks backing, we might recruit him."

Hearing this, the young woman immediately replied, "Rest assured, young master, I will handle it after the assessment."

"Hmm, for now, focus on finding Star Beasts. Being pushed down would be embarrassing."

The six people behind him replied in unison that they understood.

The three’s performance had been monitored in full by the school authorities, as the Communication Bracelets recorded all the students’ activities over the three-day assessment, and the school conducted real-time monitoring.

"Principal, there’s suspicion of cheating among these three; should we intervene?" The dean asked in a low tone.

"Ye Qing, you’ve been at the school for ten years, right?"

"Principal, your memory is excellent; it’s exactly ten years including this year." Ye Qing replied with a smile.

"Hmm, haven’t you seen few such cases in these ten years? Familial and great influential backing is also a form of capability since nurturing a Guardian Beast requires immense resources. Moreover, we have no evidence to prove they’re cheating; the test topics were released only half an hour before the assessment."

"Principal, you’ve taught me well."

"Hmm, this kind of assessment can’t be hidden from those people. Mobilizing a large number of City Defense Army is enough for those with some power to guess our intentions." Chen Haoxiang said in a serious tone.

Ye Qing nodded, "I’ve been taught; will Chu Chen be targeted, though?"

"It’s not really targeting, more like training. After the assessment, if he makes it into the top three, have him come to my office; I have some matters to handle, leaving this to you." With that, he left, riding his Guardian Beast.