Seeing the situation before her, Yan Yu already had an answer in her heart but couldn’t bring herself to accept it. She turned to the blue-haired twin-tailed girl beside her and asked,
“Um… do the others lying on the ground need more time to wake up?”
“No, they won’t wake up.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re dead. They died in their own illusions.”
The blue-haired twin-tailed girl sighed as she answered Yan Yu’s question.
Hearing her reply, Yan Yu—who had already guessed the truth—stared blankly at her classmates lying motionless on the ground, never to wake again.
Seeing Yan Yu lost in thought, the twin-tailed girl could sympathize with her feelings, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.
She was a digital avatar of Yan Qi, the electronic songstress Miko, who had traveled thousands of miles from Fangfeng City through the internet to reach this place. Without delay, she urged,
“Alright, the dead can’t be brought back. This is the heart of the abyss, the territory of abyssal beasts. Even for superhumans, the abyss is an extremely dangerous place. Quickly tell your classmates to gather and leave with us.”
“W-what? This is the abyss? But how did we end up here?”
Snapped out of her daze by Yan Qi’s words, Yan Yu couldn’t hide her shock.
“You must’ve accidentally passed through an abyssal rift—those unstable spatial tears that appear randomly. That’s how you ended up here.”
“An abyssal rift? No wonder I felt uneasy back on Qingxu Mountain…”
Yan Yu silently recalled the earlier events, finally understanding the source of her unease.
“Enough talk. We need to move quickly. The three-star Heartreaver that attacked you was only temporarily driven away by me.”
“Right, I understand.”
Setting aside her grief for her fallen classmates, Yan Yu steadied her emotions. With Yan Qi’s support, she stood up and hurried over to the remaining survivors.
“Xiao Yu, are you okay?”
Holding her forehead, Xu Ziqi—who had no idea what had happened—looked at Yan Yu being helped over by Yan Qi and quickly stood up, concern evident in her voice.
“Ziqi, I’m fine. But we’re in serious danger right now. We need to leave immediately.”
“Do you know where we are?”
“This is the abyss.”
“The abyss? The one they talk about on TV?”
Yan Yu didn’t answer verbally, simply nodding in confirmation.
“So this is the abyss… No wonder it looks nothing like our world. But how did you know?”
“It was this superhuman who saved us. She told me.”
Yan Yu gestured to Yan Qi, who was still supporting her.
Hearing this, Xu Ziqi looked at the electronic songstress—Yan Qi’s digital avatar—with surprise. Realizing she was the one who had rescued them, Xu Ziqi quickly bowed her head in gratitude.
“Thank you for saving us.”
“Save the thanks for after we escape the abyss. Gather everyone quickly.”
“Got it. I’ll round up the others right away.”
Without wasting time, Xu Ziqi, still able to move, swiftly gathered the remaining surviving students.
Once all of her sister’s classmates were assembled, Yan Qi—who had no desire to stay in the abyss any longer—quickly explained their dire situation and urged them to follow her to safety.
Hearing her words, none of the students—now aware that she was a superhuman—dared to object.
And so, the group of thirteen, including Yan Qi, began descending the mountain along the stone steps, heading toward the foot of Qingxu Mountain in the abyss.
“Strange… Didn’t we get here by accidentally passing through an abyssal rift while descending the mountain? Why isn’t this superhuman leading us back the same way but instead taking us further down?”
Wu Yan, who had narrowly escaped death in the abyssal beast’s illusions, whispered to Zhou Jiamin beside her, equally lucky to be alive.
“How should I know? I’m just an ordinary person, not some abyss expert.”
Zhou Jiamin rolled her eyes at Wu Yan.
“I know you’re not an expert, but I’m just feeling a little uneasy.”
“Then stop asking unnecessary questions. This superhuman came all the way into the abyss—a ridiculously dangerous place—just to save us. That means she’s trustworthy. If we follow her and do as she says, we’ll make it back safely.”
Zhou Jiamin didn’t even turn her head as she replied.
Hearing this, Wu Yan fell silent and, like the others, continued following Yan Qi down the mountain.
After half an hour, they finally left the stone steps and reached the foot of Qingxu Mountain.
The students, still shaken by the abyssal beast’s illusions, couldn’t help but sigh in relief.
At the mountain’s base, Yan Qi—having sensed the fluctuations of abyssal energy—located the exit rift. She pointed toward a grotesque, misshapen tree about two hundred meters away and turned to the group.
“The abyssal rift that will take us out is right there. Let’s hurry.”
With that, she led them toward the rift.
But just then, several abyssal beasts lurking near the twisted tree noticed their approach.
With furious roars, they lunged forward, intent on slaughtering the intruders.
Seeing the beasts charging at them, the students behind Yan Qi couldn’t help but show fear.
But Yan Qi’s expression remained calm.
Facing the oncoming abyssal beasts, she unleashed the full pressure of her three-star superhuman aura, enveloping the creatures in an invisible force.
Sensing the overwhelming power radiating from her, the charging beasts immediately halted.
Then, under Yan Qi’s unflinching gaze, they slowly backed away—too afraid to even turn their backs lest she strike.