Chapter Fifty-One: A Conspiracy?

The unexpected deaths of Zhang Chunlei and the others did not affect Chu Cheng’s actions. The next day, he continued his journey, leaving the northern outpost to enter the wilderness, purging the scattered alien tribes deep within the Great Golden Wasteland.

The Golden Wasteland was vast; the Cross Fortress lay in the southernmost part of the map, and the northern outpost was a little further ahead, but overall, it was still situated in the southern area of the wasteland. In terms of percentage, human forces occupied only about one-tenth of the entire wasteland. The rest belonged to the alien factions, though previously they were spread so thinly that they were everywhere.

Due to the failure of the first joint operation, most teams suffered casualties to some extent, making everyone extremely cautious in their subsequent actions. As a result, Chu Cheng found himself with almost no competitors, able to earn reputation and money without interference.

Even wiping out a small tribe would yield at least one blue chest, along with miscellaneous goods. These could be sold for anywhere from a dozen or twenty silvers to as much as forty or fifty. Ten such hauls would amount to three or four gold coins—a considerable income.

On the first day, Chu Cheng earned four gold from destroying a centaur tribe, not counting accessories. In the second round, he wiped out more than twenty small tribes deep in the mountains, earning five gold and twenty-two silver, with his reputation soaring to 5,400. Adding the previous 7,200 reputation points, his total reached 12,600.

“Still 7,400 reputation to go.”

"Hmm?"

Chu Cheng suddenly realized that he might be able to max out his reputation at 20,000 without taking part in the main story events. Previously, he had assumed he’d have to wait until the Battle of Blackwater River was over to reach ‘Revered’ status, but he hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. By wiping out small tribes on his own, he claimed all the reputation for himself, so his points accumulated at an astonishing rate.

In less than ten days, he already had 12,600 reputation, as if riding a rocket. With 7,400 left to go, and each small tribe offering at least 200, sometimes 300, reputation points, he would only need about twenty more tribes.

And if the Golden Wasteland had plenty of anything, it was small alien tribes. A medium-sized instance map covered at least a hundred thousand square kilometers, comparable to a province, and the largest ones spanned over a million square kilometers. With such a vast expanse, even a hundred small tribes would make it seem sparsely populated.

In reality, the number of small tribes in the Golden Wasteland instance was definitely more than a hundred. He’d marked over a hundred on his map, and since the school anticipated the reputation points from too few tribes might be insufficient for the exam, they would likely generate even more. The total could be two or three hundred.

However, the tribes near the northern outpost were nearly wiped out by now. To hunt more, he would have to venture deep into the wilderness, which would require careful preparation, since returning would not be easy.

Back at the northern outpost, Chu Cheng immediately sent a message to Zhang Chunlei:

“I’m back.”

He had already received Zhang Chunlei’s reply the day before; he had revived and reentered the instance a few days ago.

At the inn, in a room—

Chu Cheng found Zhang Chunlei and Zhang Qing both wearing grim expressions. Even Cheng Mingyue was present, having also revived. As soon as they met, Zhang Chunlei said,

“The elite class cannot be trusted.”

Zhang Qing added, “Wang Weilong is working with them.”

“???” Chu Cheng looked puzzled.

“I suspect the elite class deliberately eliminated their competition,” Zhang Chunlei declared, shocking Chu Cheng even further.

“Explain,” he demanded.

“That day, when we attacked Blackstone Fortress, we didn’t launch a direct assault. Instead, we lured the garrison out and fought them in the open field. Despite that, we were still outmatched and couldn’t win, even in a pitched battle.

“That alone wouldn’t have been a problem. Even if we couldn’t win, with the remaining summoned creatures and the instructors covering us, retreat should have been safe. After all, every one of us has some means of escape, and those heavy-armored soldiers couldn’t catch us.

“But here’s the issue: during the rout, some of the summoned creatures suddenly vanished, as if their duration had run out. Coincidentally, those creatures were covering the most outstanding students from each class.

“Earlier, when the teams were divided, they suggested grouping the elite class together for better coordination, and the best from the other classes as another group.

“When the retreat turned chaotic, the summoned creatures covering us suddenly disappeared, and two orc officers with terrifying templates led a squad of elite wolf riders after us. Our formation was thrown into disarray. If not for the instructors’ quick intervention, who knows how many would have died.”

“Hmm…” Chu Cheng scratched his head. “Just that alone doesn’t prove much, does it? Maybe it really was a coincidence?”

To be honest, he too felt it was a little too coincidental, but as he said, such subjective suspicion wasn’t enough to convict anyone. Victims’ suspicions alone did not count as evidence.

At this point, Zhang Qing added, “But later, as the situation spiraled out of control, an assistant instructor from Class One got trapped while covering our retreat. Only then did the elite class produce a supernatural-level spell scroll, summoning a sea of fire over a hundred meters long and ten meters wide to cut off the battlefield, allowing their group to withdraw.”

Zhang Chunlei ground his teeth. “Never mind why they didn’t use the scroll earlier in the battle. A fire barrier of that length could have divided the orc forces and allowed us to defeat a portion of them, perhaps even win. But the way they used it, the firewall was cast right in the middle of the crowd, cutting off our escape and leaving us to be slaughtered by the orcs.”

Hearing this, Chu Cheng’s eyes narrowed. This, at least, proved there was something wrong. Claiming it was a casting error would not hold up.

At the same time, he felt a measure of relief—thank goodness he hadn’t been tempted to join their operation. If they really did act intentionally, he would have been in danger too.

“By the way, did you report your suspicions to the homeroom teacher?”

“We did.”

“What did he say?”

“He said everyone has to take responsibility for their own choices. The school has no clear evidence that they acted deliberately.”

“Well… alright then!”

Since the school put it that way, there was nothing more to be done without hard evidence. The school’s stance was not wrong, either—everyone must bear the consequences of their choices. The school couldn’t clean up every mess for them.

Such situations would be common in the real world after graduation, full of scheming and intrigue. The dangers and plots they’d face then would be far greater than now.

“By the way, why did you say Wang Weilong is in league with them?”

“We were supposed to stick together, but when teams were formed, Wang Weilong volunteered to join Class One and didn’t care about his followers from Class Six. Clearly, he knew something.”

“…”

“Just be more careful in the future,” Chu Cheng said. As always, without hard proof, it was all speculation. The suspicion was strong, but not enough to nail them.

As for the motive, it was for the school’s core resources. Resources were limited and could only be allocated to the very best. Usually, even if you could be revived after dying once, your internal evaluation score would drop. When everyone’s scores are close, dying once lowers yours and raises mine, so the opportunity becomes mine.

As for doing all this just for the joint exam rewards, Chu Cheng honestly didn’t understand it very well.

“We’ll have to be doubly cautious from now on.”

Leaving the inn, Chu Cheng let out a breath and began to prepare for his next plan.