CHAPTER 63: END OF FIRST MONSTER WAVE

The sea was no longer calm. It stank of brine, blood, and the faint metallic tang of fear.

Ling Yu stood at the prow of the ship, her hands still trembling faintly, though not from exhaustion. Her movements were precise and brutal, her weapon an extension of her will as she skewered monster after monster. She had learned the trick from her past life, the one loophole the Apocalypse System had left unguarded. If one could create a concentrated enough slaughter within a short timeframe, the system would recognize it as a wave being "cleared." That was exactly what she had done.

Over five hundred Reef Gnashers, their jagged coral teeth snapping hungrily only moments ago, now floated lifeless in the water. Their corpses bobbed in the crimson waves like grotesque buoys, rolling in and out of sight beneath the blood-tinted foam. Some were still twitching, severed fins slapping weakly before sinking into the abyss.

The students around her had stopped mid-swing, panting heavily, weapons slick with gore. Confusion washed across their faces as a massive translucent system window manifested above the ship.

[Apocalypse System Notification]

[First Wave Cleared.]

[Casualties: 7 Dead, 15 Seriously Injured, 42 Minor Injuries.

Enemy Units Eliminated: 1,327 Reef Gnashers.

Hidden Condition Achieved: Mass Slaughter Threshold Surpassed (500+ kills by one individual).]

[Wave Terminated Prematurely.]

[Rewards Distributed:

Survivors gain +1 Stat Point.

Survivors receive a random [Basic Supply Crate].

Ling Yu receives [Hidden Slayer’s Bonus].

Ding!

[Special notification!]

[Clearing the hidden conditions during the First Monster Wave!]

[As the biggest contributor of the first wave, Awakened Hunter Ling Yu will receive a special reward!]

System Notice: Second Wave countdown initiated. Estimated time before rift expansion: 3 Hours, 27 Minutes. Survivors may rest, prepare, or relocate.]

The glowing panel hovered above them for several long seconds before dissolving into streaks of white light. Murmurs broke out almost immediately.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Is it... Really over? Just like that?"

The students hollered in victory over a supernatural phenomenon, celebrating their first victory. Even then, the seven students who died left a deep injury in their minds.

"Yu’er! Wuwuwu... you are alright, nothing serious happened, right? I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt..." Ru Feifei looked like a scared rabbit who had almost lost its life, whining and hugging her.

"I’m fine, those pesky little things are nothing... don’t worry. Rather, did you get hurt?" Ling Yu chuckled as she saw Ru Feifei’s teary appearance, as if she didn’t care about Ling Yu’s appearance just a few moments ago.

"I’m fine too, see? No injuries! Rather than that, those skwered fish heads were quite annoying, baring their teeth to people like that, so rude!" Ru Feifei pouted as she complained. Ling Yu also understood that this girl didn’t seem to get the severity of the matter yet, as she patted her head.

"Monsters like this will appear from now on quite frequently. Take care of yourself properly, since there wouldn’t be someone to save you each time."

"Come to think of it, what’s going on around the world? Where did those ugly monsters come from?" Ru Feifei put her finger on her lip as she thought, just like a pretty little girl.

’She took it pretty normally?’

Ling Yu wondered why Ru Feifei’s reaction was so bland. She was already sure that Ru Feifei witnessed her monstrous strength and ruthless slaughter she had done just a moment before.

So why would she act as if nothing happened?

Just as Ling Yu was having doubts about whether she seemed normal doing this or not, she heard the whispering among students.

"I— I saw her... she was killing them like some kind of machine, no, like a demon!"

"Ling Yu... how did you even kill those monstrous things?"

The questions piled onto one another, some hushed with awe, others edged with suspicion.

Ling Yu’s entire being was soaked in blood as she stood silent, her expression unreadable.

’That’s right.’

This should be the reaction they should have, not the kind of cozy and comfortable one, unlike Ru Feifei.

Ling Yu was about to say something, to tell the excuse she had prepared beforehand, before she heard Ru Feifei’s screeching shout from the side, drilling her eardrums.

Ru Feifei’s soft fingers tightened around Ling Yu’s sleeve as if anchoring herself to the only reality that made sense in this nightmare.

"Yu’er would never harm us!" Her voice cracked in anger, but carried an undeniable sharpness, slicing through the murmurs of doubt that floated among the weary students. "If she hadn’t fought with her life on the line, all of you guys would’ve turned into delicious monster food by now. You think standing around and screaming like a madman was going to save you?!"

Her words fell into the stunned silence like stones into a still lake.

Several students who had been whispering with knitted brows, glancing at Ling Yu as though she were something alien, something dangerous for others, as she shifted uncomfortably. Their faces turned pale, some out of guilt, some out of sheer unwillingness to admit that they had been questioning the very girl who saved them.

"Feifei..." one boy finally muttered, pushing his glasses up nervously. His face was thin, hollow from exhaustion, but his eyes carried the gleam of unease.

"It’s not that we don’t appreciate her help, but... killing five hundred monsters in one go? Just who could do that? What kind of person is she really? You have to admit that it’s abnormal!"

Ru Feifei immediately rounded on him, her expression shifting from teary to fierce in a heartbeat. "Abnormal?!" Her voice rang so loud the others flinched. "Since when is saving your life abnormal? Since when is risking her own body and life to protect you something to be suspicious about? If Yu’er hadn’t gone wild, you would’ve been in the monster’s stomach already, glasses boy. Do you think your sharp tongue could’ve scared them away?"

The boy flushed, shutting his mouth in shame.