Chapter 61: The Crimson Banquet

On the way, Chen Mo saw many classmates desperately running, all racing against the five o'clock deadline.

"Mo, wait for me!" Ding Yan was sprinting behind him, his school uniform buttons askew, showing just how hurriedly he'd left home.

Chen Mo shouted as he ran, "Only five minutes left! I can't wait for you! Run faster!"

There was still some distance to the school library, and Chen Mo didn’t want to fail at the last moment. Gripping his sister’s hand tightly, he pressed forward.

Actually, with their speed as evolved beings, this last stretch would only take a minute or two. Yet, after more than a decade as students, the fear of being late was ingrained in their bones, even though they were now powerful individuals in their own right.

Panting and breathless, at 4:57, Chen Mo and Ning Xuan finally arrived at the library. Ding Yan reached them at 4:58, exaggerating his expression and feigning tears, "Mo, Princess Xuan, you two are so heartless, you didn’t wait for me!"

Ning Xuan stuck out her tongue playfully, "Brother Ding Yan, I wanted to wait for you, but my brother said not to, so I had to run."

Ding Yan stretched out his hand, pretending to be furious, "So it’s you, Ning Xuan, betraying me!"

"Brother Ding Yan, save me!" Ning Xuan laughed, hiding behind Ding Yan.

Ding Yan put on a heroic face, "You villain, if you want to capture the princess, you’ll have to step over my dead body!"

The three bantered and played as always, but several nearby classmates scoffed, "So childish! How could such a little girl rank first in our school? The heavens must be blind!"

"Exactly, it’s just not fair."

Jealousy, envy, admiration—every sort of emotion was present.

Five o'clock arrived, yet strangely, the instructors hadn’t appeared.

The students whispered among themselves; the instructors were usually punctual, but today they were nowhere to be found.

Everyone glanced around in confusion, clearly unsure what to do next.

Even though the Evolution Sphere had already been activated, nobody dared to enter on their own. Previously, a student had entered without the instructor’s permission and was locked in a dark room for three days; by the time he emerged, he was nearly mad.

"Maybe the instructors are watching us from the shadows!"

"Yes, that must be it—they want to see who’ll break the rules and dare to enter the Evolution Sphere."

While the students speculated about the instructors’ whereabouts, only Chen Mo knew they had been injured by him.

It was an awkward situation.

He’d rushed here, afraid to be late, only to find the instructors absent—because he’d sent them to the hospital.

As Chen Mo pondered whether he’d been too forceful, cheers erupted around him.

Moon Fox Instructor and Drumstick Instructor appeared at the library plaza.

Moon Fox, though masked, looked weary and anxious. Her voice, usually alluring and full of mature charm, was today icy and aloof. She spoke flatly, "Instructor Wei Zheng, Instructor Jester, and Instructor Black Bear are attending an important meeting. For the next few days, Drumstick Instructor and I will oversee the other three classes. Let me warn you: until Instructor Wei Zheng returns, any violation of school rules will be punished doubly!"

Several students who’d thought the instructors’ absence meant an easy time quickly abandoned any thoughts of slacking off after hearing Moon Fox’s cold words.

Chen Mo pressed his lips together to suppress a laugh.

An important meeting, they said—Wei Zheng, Black Bear, and Jester had each fought him several times and were seriously injured, most likely recuperating.

Chen Mo could only silently apologize: Sorry about that, esteemed instructors!

Moon Fox checked the time. Only five minutes remained before the Evolution Sphere closed; she wouldn’t let this opportunity be wasted, so she shouted, "Alright, all students, enter the Evolution Sphere in order by class!"

No guidance was needed; the five classes quickly lined up, entering the Evolution Sphere one after another: Class A, then B, then C, D, and F.

The Temple Escape, hell difficulty, began!

Because Chen Mo activated the first Proton Module, he gained access to the map.

Chen Mo opened the map; the surroundings were perfectly clear—there was no path, only a sea of blood, not even a single rock to stand on.

He selected all the map options:

▇ Ordinary people
▇ Evolvers
▇ Evolution Sphere
▇ Special creatures

Instantly, countless purple dots appeared across the blood sea!

Purple dots marked special creatures—likely the piranhas.

From the map, it was easy to see where the purple dots were dense or sparse, even the underwater volcanoes—sources of the meteor fire rain—were visible.

This map module was truly invaluable; Chen Mo used it to chart out a route with the fewest purple dots and volcanoes.

First challenge! On his previous hell difficulty record of 5800 meters, Chen Mo advanced by 500 meters, reaching 6300 meters!

Globally, top experts were stuck at the 5000-meter mark in hell difficulty; gaining even 100 meters was harder than climbing to the heavens.

Still, the map could only assist in finding a relatively safer route, not actually change Chen Mo’s abilities.

Second challenge: Chen Mo used all his newly learned Vanguard Sword, Rage Sword, and Riot Sword techniques, but only managed to add 50 meters, reaching 6350 meters.

Damn it, I refuse to believe I can’t get through! Again! Anyway, I’m not short on alternate accounts now!

Currently, Chen Mo had twenty-two Protons: the main Demon King Proton could wield all his skills, attributes, and equipment.

Kun Dragon Proton was a warrior—equipped with gold gear—capable of inheriting the main’s attributes and skills, but as a warrior, could only utilize warrior-specific abilities and equipment, unable to harness a mage’s power.

Similarly, the Little Prince Proton was a mage, better suited to mage combat.

These three Protons were pristine, with no records in the Evolution Center, so Chen Mo could use them freely.

In addition, Chen Mo had recently added eighteen Shadow Warrior Protons, all warrior roles.

However, he didn’t dare use these eighteen Shadow Warrior Protons for challenges, as their IDs and dungeon records were all stored at the Evolution Center; if he increased their record by 100 meters, the center would detect the anomaly, trace it, and possibly discover him. Chen Mo wouldn’t risk that.

Though he couldn’t challenge with the Shadow Warrior Protons, he could exploit a bug, switching IDs to let them serve as challenge opportunities for the Demon King ID.

Eighteen Protons, fifty-four challenge attempts!

Hell difficulty! Here I come again!