Chapter 285 - 169: Day 17! Helped the Stone Claw Eagle Escape? A+ Class Rating

Chapter 285: Chapter 169: Day 17! Helped the Stone Claw Eagle Escape? A+ Class Rating

Xu Jun couldn’t help but complain at the sight. "Hey, is it looking down on us?"

Wang Biao wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Let’s go. We need to hurry back. If Chen Chong can’t handle the Bloodthirsty Vine King, we can lend a hand."

Qi Zhen said, "I don’t think a situation where Chen Chong can’t handle it is possible, given his strength."

Wang Biao knew that, of course, but his loyalty to Chen Chong still made him feel a sliver of worry.

"It’s best if nothing happens, but I’m worried about the ’what ifs.’ I won’t be able to rest easy until I see it for myself..."

Qi Zhen had no objections and picked up his pace as well.

Xu Jun was so tired he could barely stand. Seeing the Tiger Striped Dog, Wang Biao, and Qi Zhen leave one after another, he wore a bitter expression.

"What kind of mess is this..."

Ever since they’d used the Stone Claw Eagle to get back above the abyss and the two Extraordinary Creatures became entangled, the group had been rushing out of the cave at full speed.

The cave was extremely long, however. Even though they had wasted a lot of time by moving slowly and cautiously through the first half on their way in, it would still take them one or two hours to get out even at a full sprint.

To save time, Chen Chong had carried the three men and the dog, using his Jump Enhancement to its fullest to leap through the cave.

With a Transcendent’s physique, carrying several hundred pounds was no problem at all; it just slowed him down.

Thanks to Jump Enhancement, a journey that would have taken over an hour was shortened severalfold.

After they exited the cave, Chen Chong left on his own to get back to the school as quickly as possible.

With the help of Jump Enhancement, his speed far surpassed the others—even the Tiger Striped Dog was no match for him.

Even though Chen Chong had gone on ahead, Wang Biao, Xu Jun, and Qi Zhen wasted no time, frantically racing toward the school without a single break.

They had just survived the perilous ordeal deep in the abyss, only to immediately set off again at a full-speed run.

The sheer exertion pushed their bodies to the limit. An ordinary person would have collapsed and died halfway.

It was only because they were all Transcendents that they could endure it, but they were still so exhausted they were beginning to question the meaning of life.

In the end, Xu Jun forced himself to rally and followed them...

...

Xu Jun was about to die from exhaustion.

He felt like he was burning through his Life Value just to find the strength to walk from the school gate to the apartment building.

The moment he arrived, he saw several team members cleaning something up.

A closer look revealed the corpses of Parasites.

Xu Jun’s heart skipped a beat. ’Brother Chong was right,’ he thought. ’Parasites really did get into the apartment complex.’

At the same time, the last of his worries completely vanished.

No matter how you looked at it, the scene before him made it clear that the crisis was over and Chen Chong was in no danger...

"Where’s Brother Chong?" Xu Jun asked, grabbing the nearest person.

"Oh, Brother Jun. Brother Chong is in the medical room. Brother Wang Biao and Brother Qi Zhen just went over, and Brother Dog went in with them..."

Nearly all the team members addressed Chen Chong and the other core members as "Brother," and the Tiger Striped Dog was no exception.

The reason was simple: everyone knew the Tiger Striped Dog wasn’t an ordinary hound, but a genuine Extraordinary Creature.

After all, its size and appearance, which far exceeded any normal canine’s, and the image of it pinning down a Parasite and snarling in the plaza were more than enough to show that this was no ordinary dog.

The people at the school both feared and naturally revered such Extraordinary beings.

So, they couldn’t treat the Tiger Striped Dog like a regular pet. Everyone was incredibly respectful, giving it a wide berth from a distance, terrified of getting in its way.

Some even went so far as to start calling it "Brother"...

Xu Jun hurried into the medical room, which was crowded with people.

Besides Chen Chong, Wang Biao, Qi Zhen, Shen Xinrou, the Medicine Lady, and a few other familiar faces from the team, he was shocked to see an injured Ning Yu and an unconscious... Sima?

’What are people from the Survival Association doing here?’

"Brother Chong, what happened?"

Chen Chong, who had already dealt with everything, was sitting on the sofa and calmly recounted the events.

Xu Jun was surprised. He hadn’t realized how dangerous the situation had been. Thankfully, Ning Yu had been there. Otherwise, the people in the apartment building would have likely been wiped out before the Fortress Defense Line could be established.

But as for why Sima and the others from the Survival Association were here...

Chen Chong wasn’t entirely sure himself.

"Ning Yu is unconscious, but the Medicine Lady checked her out and said it’s nothing serious. She mostly has external wounds, none of them life-threatening. It’s just exhaustion from overexertion. Being a Transcendent gives her a constitution far beyond ordinary people, so she should be fine after we bandage her up and she gets some rest."

"As for the people from the Survival Association... it seems they were poisoned by something they ate. They ran into the Parasites on their way to the medical room."

"We don’t know what they ate yet. Some cases are more severe than others. Xinrou and the Medicine Lady are still treating them now."

Chen Chong didn’t ignore Sima and his people just because they weren’t on his team.

He had never been a fan of the Survival Association, but Du Ming, the one he had the most conflict with, was already dead by his hand. Sima may have been Du Ming’s leader, but thankfully he wasn’t stupid enough to burn all his bridges with Chen Chong.

Second, they were all fellow students, and the importance of manpower went without saying. Chen Chong didn’t want to see the school lose another group of students for no reason.

And third...

He wasn’t helping them for free.

Once they woke up, they would all have to pay for their treatment. Not a single one of them would get away with it.

"Geez, they survived in the jungle for over half a month, and they still managed to get food poisoning?"

"And so damn many of them, too. There must be forty or fifty, right?"

Xu Jun couldn’t wrap his head around it.

In fact, if the Parasites hadn’t killed a portion of them, there would have been twice as many people here.

...

The sky had turned completely dark.

Chen Chong had explored the depths of the abyss, then journeyed a great distance back only to fight Parasites. No matter how much stamina he had, he was exhausted.

So, instead of going to the library or the gym, he confirmed that Ning Yu and the others in the medical room were okay, and then headed home.

Xu Jun, Wang Biao, and the others did the same. Everyone was just too tired.

Back home, he stuffed the wild rabbit from his bag into a cage, and tossed the fox, black crane, and other birds into the cellar to be dealt with tomorrow. He didn’t even feel like cooking.

They just grabbed some bread from the cellar to eat before each heading to their own rooms.

Chen Chong lay on his bed. The Tiger Striped Dog rested beside him, and at the head of the bed stood the Rock Armor Eagle...

The Rock Armor Eagle’s growth in the last day was astonishing.

Its rock-like armor was pitch-black and hard, its feathers had grown thick and dense, and its talons and beak possessed the unique sharpness of an apex predator.

Of course, the biggest change was its size.

It had grown a full size larger. Just standing on the ground without spreading its wings, it was over a meter tall.

Even as a juvenile, it was already much larger than the Tiger Striped Dog and the Lion-headed Goose...

Chen Chong couldn’t help but suspect the Rock Armor Eagle’s transformation wasn’t solely due to the rations from the Forging Furnace. It was highly likely to be rooted in its species’ bloodline.

After all, as the offspring of an S-Class Extraordinary Creature, it was perfectly normal for its growth to have some unusual aspects...

Although Chen Chong was startled by the Rock Armor Eagle’s changes, he was also delighted.

This meant it had completely left the fledgling stage and entered its juvenile period.

Though not yet fully grown, it already possessed some combat ability. It could "leave the nest" to hunt and kill, cultivating its killer instinct.

At this thought, Chen Chong decided it was time to start taking the Rock Armor Eagle out with him.

Having an aerial combat asset would be a huge help.

Staring out the window at the pitch-black night, Chen Chong had no idea what time it was, but he guessed it must be close to midnight.

Feeling the drowsiness wash over him, he wondered if he could stay awake long enough for the daily settlement notification.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Just as Chen Chong was about to lose the battle and his eyelids began to feel heavy, a familiar voice sounded in his mind.

[Daily settlement has begun. Based on your gains and performance over the past day, a Rating will be assigned and automatically exchanged for a corresponding Card reward.]

[Over the past day, you have: cultivated top-quality crops and harvested a large bounty of produce; refined some of your team’s rules; witnessed your subordinate Lion-headed Goose advance in strength and mutate; captured a small amount of prey with traps; explored the lair of the A+ Class Extraordinary Creature, the Bloodthirsty Vine King; slaughtered the last group of Parasites within the school grounds; and successfully helped the A+ Class Extraordinary Creature, the Stone Claw Eagle, escape confinement...]

The daily settlement message hadn’t even finished appearing, and Chen Chong was already stunned.

’Helped the Stone Claw Eagle... escape?’

’Me?’

Though confused, Chen Chong continued to read.

When he saw the final score and rating, he was stunned once more.

’This score... it’s a rare one.’

Even the Rating had reached A+.

’So, what will today’s settlement reward be?’

...