Chapter 52

In the last week of the graduating class at school, both the school and Zhang Tie and his classmates were preparing for their first wilderness survival trial in life. The students were somewhat uneasy because every year, there would be casualties during the graduates' wilderness trial. This was not a leisurely outing in the wild but rather the first time everyone would experience the harshness of the era with their lives and blood. The world inside the city walls and the world outside were completely different.

On Monday morning, all the students crowded into a large classroom for a lecture. The lecturer was not a teacher from the school but a senior student from the previous year, now a soldier in the Black Flame City Guard.

The senior student recounted the process of their wilderness survival trial last year and how he personally witnessed two of his companions turn into corpses due to a moment of carelessness. The cause of the two young lives turning into corpses was just a seemingly ordinary wild mushroom. During last year's wilderness survival trial, a classmate responsible for finding food picked a seemingly harmless white bone mushroom, cooked it in a soup, and then two people ate it. The next day, they didn't wake up. When other classmates discovered them and came to check, both bodies were already stiff. In the end, the white bone mushroom was found in the remaining soup the two had eaten...

The entire story was quite ordinary, with no thrilling plot twists. The reason for the tragedy was simple: the white bone mushroom, which was highly toxic, looked almost identical to the commonly edible umbrella mushroom. The only way to distinguish the two was the gray ring pattern on the stem of the white bone mushroom, which the umbrella mushroom lacked. The person responsible for finding food did not carefully identify or did not know the difference, leading to his own death. It was a simple story, but precisely because of its simplicity, it made everyone feel a chill in their hearts, immediately experiencing the harshness of the wilderness survival trial. This was the survival trial. The knowledge to distinguish between the white bone mushroom and the umbrella mushroom had been taught by the school teachers in class. Whether you listened and remembered it was your responsibility. Sometimes, the price one has to pay for carelessness and lack of attention could be one's own life or even the lives of others...

The senior student's firsthand account stunned all the students, with an effect far stronger than any classroom lecture. The school probably knew this difference, which is why they arranged such a wake-up call for the graduating class on the first Monday of their last week.

As soon as the Monday morning lecture ended, all the members of the Airplane Brotherhood surrounded Sha Wen as soon as they left the classroom.

"Sha Wen, are the biology notes you took in class over the past two years still around?" The fat guy Barry pressed Sha Wen's shoulder, nervously asking. Zhang Tie and the others listened with some tension. The story they just heard had scared everyone. Over the three years, no one could guarantee that they hadn't missed something crucial. With so many deadly things outside, who knew if the thing you missed would cost you your life in the coming weeks. Dying to a monster was a matter of strength and luck, but dying to your own carelessness was entirely your own fault.

"Still around, what's up?" Sha Wen asked, somewhat puzzled.

"What's up? Of course, we need to take them out and review them carefully to see if we've missed anything..."

"Sure, no problem!" Sha Wen agreed readily, "I've kept those notes well. I have two more at home, I'll bring them tomorrow!"

Hearing Sha Wen say this, the fat guy Barry's eyes twinkled, as if he had a sudden idea, and a golden light flashed in his eyes, "Brothers, we might be able to make a small fortune with Sha Wen's notes!"

Everyone understood Barry's meaning at once, even Zhang Tie couldn't help but admire how quick Barry's mind was. However, by the afternoon, the Airplane Brotherhood's plan to make money had already failed. Just as Barry was planning to compile the crucial information from Sha Wen's notes into a small booklet and decide how much to charge, Bulvik once again stirred up the graduating class.

...

"Quick, go find Bulvik. He has already compiled and printed a 'Manual for Identifying Dangerous Wildlife in the Wilderness Survival Trial' from his years of careful notes and is distributing it for free. Hurry and grab a copy!"

During the lunch break, someone ran into the classroom and shouted. The students in the classroom almost all ran out, leaving only a few members of the Airplane Brotherhood staring at each other. Barry opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only curse helplessly—damn...

At this moment, Zhang Tie suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation...

Bulvik's speed and thorough preparation left Zhang Tie feeling a chill. Starting with the 'Manual for Identifying Dangerous Wildlife in the Wilderness Survival Trial,' all the students spent the next few days of the week preparing for the trial, gathering various equipment and survival supplies. For this trial, apart from the restriction that each person could carry no more than five days' worth of food, everything else—weapons, luggage, medicine, and all sorts of miscellaneous items—could be carried as long as you could carry them...

In the last few days of the semester, Gris and his group were nowhere to be seen in the school cafeteria. After the last incident, it was impossible for them to come to the cafeteria and show off their power. To make Gris and his group queue up in the cafeteria and face a bunch of mocking gazes was something they couldn't bear, so they simply disappeared during meal times and went to eat at restaurants outside the school.

"Guess what Gris and his group are eating for lunch today?" Every day at lunchtime, when the students were queuing up in the cafeteria, someone would always shout this, and all the students would burst into laughter.

With Gris's deliberate low profile, Bulvik became even more prominent, and in just a few days, a large group of people had gathered around him.

For some reason, starting from Monday, Zhang Tie often experienced inexplicable palpitations and sweaty palms, as if his body was weak, often feeling anxious. On Tuesday, when Zhang Tie went to the train station again, he noticed that there were more patrolling security officers around the station. Asking a passerby, he learned that the fire he had seen near the train station a few days ago had apparently killed many people, causing the security officers around the station to be on high alert. However, they hadn't found anything useful yet, so they had increased the patrols.

Zhang Tie came to the grocery store as usual. While calculating, the feeling of palpitation returned, and he made two mistakes, mixing up two entries. Zhang Tie smiled bitterly, picked up the abacus, and quickly reset it, then started calculating again.

"What's wrong?" The grocery store owner, who had noticed Zhang Tie's unusual behavior, stood beside him.

"Nothing, just a bit distracted. I've been feeling this way for the past few days, inexplicably feeling anxious, and my heart rate has been inexplicably increasing," Zhang Tie replied.

"Anxious, heart rate inexplicably increasing?" Tang De's eyebrows furrowed, "Does your family have a history of heart disease?"

"No!"

"Have you ever had this feeling before?" Tang De continued to ask.

"Never, it only started this Monday," Zhang Tie answered honestly.

"Are you a virgin?"

Damn! If it weren't for the serious look on Tang De's face, Zhang Tie would have cursed him.

"Answer me, I'm not joking," Tang De's face was more serious than ever, which scared Zhang Tie.

"I'm a virgin!" Zhang Tie admitted, feeling embarrassed, but then added, "But not for long!"

Tang De pondered, twirling the few sparse whiskers on his chin, clearly not paying attention to Zhang Tie's last remark. After a long pause, Tang De spoke, "Have you heard of 'heart palpitations'?"

"Heart palpitations?" Zhang Tie was confused, then nodded as if he suddenly understood, "I know, I've heard the students talk about it..."

"Heart palpitations, this Eastern secret, someone at your school knows it?" Tang De was surprised.

"Is this an Eastern secret..." Zhang Tie was puzzled, "Many people know it. I heard that when women mature, they have a monthly cycle, and they bleed a lot but never get hurt, it seems very powerful..."

"Damn!" The grocery store owner's eyes twitched, suddenly furious, and he pointed a finger at Zhang Tie's forehead, almost making him jump, "I'm talking about heart palpitations, have you heard of it? Don't talk about those irrelevant things. I've played with more women in my life than you've seen, you little brat!"

Zhang Tie rubbed his forehead innocently, not understanding what he had said wrong. Bleeding without getting hurt, that really seemed powerful, had he misunderstood...

Tang De took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked at Zhang Tie with great seriousness, "Heart palpitations generally refer to a premonition that some lucky people have when a great danger or opportunity is about to come. This premonition is similar to what you've been experiencing—your heart rate inexplicably increases, you feel anxious or excited. This is heart palpitations. This feeling can occur in people with high cultivation and very sensitive sixth senses, and also in virgins. I suspect your recent condition is heart palpitations, and there might be an unpredictable danger approaching you!"

Zhang Tie's face changed, "I'm in danger?"

"Tell me, have you offended anyone powerful in the past few months?" Tang De asked with concern.

Zhang Tie thought for a long time but could only think of Gris. As for Mary, it shouldn't be that serious. At worst, she might have someone beat him up, but that level of danger shouldn't cause this inexplicable palpitation.

"Is it Gris? Besides Gris and his gang, I don't think I've offended anyone else," Zhang Tie replied.

"I don't know. Sometimes, you might not even know if you've offended someone or if someone wants to get rid of you. In Eastern secrets, there are powerful diviners who can predict the source of unknown dangers based on the time of your heart palpitations and other subtle signs, guiding people to avoid danger. I don't have that ability," Tang De shook his head, "But now that we know, we can take some precautions."

Tang De turned and rummaged through the counter, then handed Zhang Tie two items, "You're about to go on the wilderness survival trial. You've worked for me for a long time, so these two items are my gifts for your trial, to give you a bit more preparation in case of danger."

Zhang Tie looked at the items in his hand—both were "premium" items from the grocery store: a small bottle of the highest purity "super rat poison" and a dagger with a sheath. The blade was very sharp, but the real threat of the dagger was not the sharp edge but the powerful mechanism hidden in the handle, which could shoot a needle coated with potent snake venom, paralyzing the target instantly. The needle's force could penetrate a one-centimeter-thick glass within five steps...

These two items were quite expensive compared to Zhang Tie's current financial situation, but after some thought, he didn't refuse and put them away.

Seeing Zhang Tie's generosity and lack of pretense, Tang De nodded in approval...

While Zhang Tie was pondering the source of the unknown danger in Tang De's grocery store, Hake and Sneider were in a small alley near the train station. In front of them were over twenty beggars and homeless children from the area. These people were queuing up, their eyes gleaming as they looked at the large handful of copper coins in Sneider's hand. Each of them took ten copper coins, quickly pocketed them, and then disappeared. These ten copper coins might seem small to most people, but for those living on the lowest rung of Black Flame City, the temptation of a piece of coarse bread was enough to make them do many things, let alone the simple task of finding someone near the train station, with a reward of two silver coins upon success...

After several days of fruitless searching near the train station, the increasingly anxious duo came up with this plan. The train station area had over a dozen streets and several old residential areas. Relying on just two people to find someone who could move around freely in such a large area was too much of a long shot. So, starting from Monday of this week, on Sneider's suggestion, they changed their strategy. Instead of searching randomly, they enlisted a group of small beggars and homeless children to help them look for Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie's age and his distinctive black hair and eyes, as a member of the Hua clan, would make him stand out to anyone looking for him, given the low proportion of Hua clan people in Black Flame City.

As the small beggars and homeless children dispersed like a net cast into the alley, a smile appeared on Sneider's face.

"Will this work?" Hake panted, his fingers cracking like bamboo being stepped on, "In the past two days, they've already mistaken three people, making us run around three times for nothing..."

"I have a feeling we're about to catch that little guy..."

"Once we get back the talisman, I'll rip out that little guy's heart and crush his head," Hake growled.

"As you wish..." Sneider narrowed his eyes, extending his long tongue to lick his lips like a snake, and a cold, cruel aura instantly filled the alley...

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