Divine and Demonic Breeding Grounds

Su Yu listlessly slouched over his desk, with earphones plugged in, listening to a news broadcast. A small radio was tucked away in the drawer of his desk. Su Yu was greatly influenced by his grandfather and, in his free time, had developed a habit of obsessively listening to news reports on the radio. In the lecture hall, Professor Ma was passionately teaching "Advanced Mathematics," gesturing energetically. Unfortunately, few in the audience were paying much attention. This made Professor Ma silently lament that his students were hopeless cases. The time was around 2:45 PM, during the first afternoon class, at AJ City Vocational Technical College, a university that could barely be considered fourth or fifth-tier. The class was "Computer Science Class 2," with a total of 27 students. Su Yu adjusted his sleeping posture to make himself more comfortable, and casually glanced around. His desk mate and best friend, Zhang Zhongmou, had already started snoring softly, with a trail of drool forming at the corner of his open mouth. He occasionally rolled his eyes slightly; this guy had a lot of quirks when he slept. In the front row on the left, three seats ahead, the dream girl Ning Yan was sitting quietly, attentively listening to the lecture. Ning Yan was recognized as the campus beauty of the Computer Science department, and the object of secret admiration and desire for Su Yu and most of the other boys in the department. From Su Yu's current position, he could only see the snow-white nape of Ning Yan's neck, her jade-like skin, and the casually tied-up hair that exuded an indescribable charm. Su Yu swallowed, and even felt a little less sleepy. The girl sitting next to Ning Yan suddenly turned her head and caught Su Yu's gaze, their eyes meeting for a moment. This girl seemed to know exactly what Su Yu was looking at and suddenly glared at him, her eyes filled with a clear sense of warning. Su Yu quickly averted his gaze, feeling a bit guilty. The girl sitting next to Ning Yan was named Su Yu as well, though with a different character for "Yu" in their names. The two families lived close to each other, and Su Yu and Su Yu (the girl) not only shared the same surname, but their names were also similar in pronunciation. They had grown up together. As fate would have it, they attended the same kindergarten, the same elementary and middle schools, and even ended up in the same university, in the same class. One might think they had a sibling-like bond, but in reality, the opposite was true—they could hardly stand each other. Su Yu (the girl) was more fierce and aggressive than most boys, and when Su Yu (the boy) first encountered her in college, he had nearly burst into tears, wondering why he had to meet this "jinx" again. After receiving her glare, Su Yu (the boy) quickly settled back down, closed his eyes, and resumed his nap while still listening to the news through his earphones. In truth, Su Yu wasn't particularly sleepy; he just couldn't muster the energy to pay attention to Professor Ma's lecture. To him, listening to the news was far more interesting. "… Recently, the frequent occurrence of 'sinkholes' across various regions has drawn attention… According to the latest information, at around 10:35 AM today, three consecutive 'sinkholes' suddenly appeared on the north section of Renmin Road. The largest 'sinkhole' had a diameter exceeding 15 meters, engulfing nearly half of a 'Jinhua Supermarket.' Three people are currently missing, and rescue operations are ongoing. Experts predict…" The earphones continued to broadcast news about the "sinkholes." In recent days, there had been news reports about "sinkholes" from all around the world. These "sinkholes" appeared without any warning. The most terrifying of them all occurred in the center of a small city abroad, where a super-giant sinkhole with a diameter of over one kilometer emerged, swallowing nearly half of the city. The "sinkhole" incidents have caused widespread panic, with some even linking them to the 2012 doomsday prophecy. Although experts and professors have come forward to debunk these fears, attributing the phenomenon to natural geological activity, their reassurances have done little to quell the growing anxiety. As Su Yu listened to the news broadcast on his radio, he acknowledged the scariness of the sinkholes, but they felt distant and irrelevant to him at the moment. His thoughts were more occupied with how to strike up a conversation with Ning Yan, what to have for dinner, how many chapters would be updated in the fantasy novel he was following, and when the game Diablo 3 would finally be released… Suddenly, a loud "boom" echoed through the air, followed by a continuous rumbling noise from the base of the teaching building, causing everything around to shake violently. Students who were sleeping, reading novels, texting girls, or chatting on mobile QQ all lifted their heads. Some wore expressions of shock and bewilderment, while most others were still dazed and confused. On the platform, Professor Ma's mouth hung open, forgetting to close. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he bolted out of the classroom without a word, moving with the speed of a world-class sprinter. Su Yu hurriedly yanked out his earphones, looking up in astonishment. Beside him, Zhang Zhongmou, his best friend who had been sleeping soundly, was jolted awake by the shaking and the loud boom. Still half-asleep, he wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and mumbled, "I was just about to reach her thigh… Did it start thundering? Wait, why is it getting dark?" The rumbling and shaking lasted only a few seconds before everything returned to normal, except that the sky outside had suddenly darkened. "What was that? An earthquake?" "It must have been an earthquake, but why did the sky turn dark? Is it going to rain?" The students finally snapped out of their brief stupor, standing up and peering out the windows. Many looked curious, while others were visibly shaken. Outside, there was a constant buzz of noise; the brief moments of shaking and the loud boom had clearly caused a stir throughout the entire college. "Ahem!" A cough came from the door as Professor Ma, who had been the first to flee, returned with an awkward expression on his face. "It might have been an earthquake. Just to be safe, everyone should leave the building quickly and head to the sports field. Don't linger near or inside any buildings." With that, Professor Ma once again made a swift exit, as if afraid the teaching building might collapse if another earthquake struck. The entire building was in an uproar as everyone rushed out of the classrooms, trying to escape as quickly as possible. "What just happened?" Su Yu found himself outside in the hallway, looking up at the sky, which was now overcast with dark clouds, creating a stifling atmosphere. It had been clear and sunny just moments ago, so why had the sky changed so drastically after a few seconds of shaking? Looking down, he saw people streaming out of every building, forming several crowds heading towards the open sports field. The school authorities were likely evacuating everyone to the field as a precaution. All around, there was chaos as people pushed and shoved their way out. Su Yu, stuck on the third-floor corridor, couldn't move forward or backward, but his thoughts were occupied with concerns for his best friend Zhang Zhongmou and his dream girl Ning Yan. "In times of crisis like this, a man can really show his courage. But… where's Ning Yan?" Su Yu thought to himself, scanning the surroundings, but Ning Yan was nowhere to be seen. As more people exited the building, the crowd became less congested. Su Yu regretted not seeing Ning Yan, feeling he had missed a golden opportunity to impress her. Just as he was lamenting, a scream suddenly echoed from afar. In his 21 years of life, Su Yu had never heard such a blood-curdling scream. It was as if a sharp nail had been driven straight into his brain and soul, sending chills down his spine. Everyone who heard the scream turned pale and looked towards the source of the sound. Su Yu realized it was coming from the school's main gate. This was a second-rate college, small in size, with only three teaching buildings, two dormitory buildings, a library, a cafeteria, a supermarket, a sports field, and other poorly equipped facilities. The main gate wasn't far from the teaching buildings. Just as Su Yu was recalling where the sound had come from, a second terrified scream rang out. Su Yu instinctively thought of the two security guards stationed at the gate, and as he stood on the third-floor corridor, he looked down and saw something he could hardly believe. A group of green-skinned, naked creatures, no taller than thirteen or fourteen-year-old children, were rushing in from the school gate. Su Yu's eyesight was sharp, and he could see the creatures clearly. They had large eyes, sunken noses, and gaping mouths filled with sharp teeth. Their entire bodies were a sickly green, and they wielded wooden clubs resembling baseball bats. Su Yu couldn't believe his eyes. Around him, everyone had the same reaction, eyes wide in disbelief. For a moment, almost everyone was stunned, their minds going blank. First, the teaching building shook with a rumbling noise, then the sky darkened after a few seconds, followed by screams, and now a group of monsters appeared? All of this felt like a dream, so much so that some people even pinched their arms to see if they were dreaming. A group of about a dozen green-skinned creatures wielding wooden clubs was rapidly charging towards the crowded playground. Most people were in a state of shock, but a few snapped out of it, letting out terrified screams as they started to scatter in all directions. "s***h!" From the third floor, Su Yu had a clear view. He saw the fastest of the green-skinned creatures swing its large club with terrifying speed and force, smashing it down on the head of a student who was standing there, frozen in shock. The student's head shattered instantly, with blood spraying out like cherry blossoms, mixed with white brain matter. "Aren't skulls supposed to be the hardest part of the body? How did it break so easily?" Su Yu thought, a strange notion crossing his mind in that split second. Then he realized that these green-skinned creatures resembled the goblins he often encountered in many of the games he played. The goblins in those games looked exactly like these small green-skinned monsters. As the first person fell, the group of green-skinned creatures charged into the crowd. Almost every swing of their clubs brought another student down, their heads bursting open. The gruesome sight and the intense smell of blood made the students still in the teaching building start vomiting. The playground had descended into utter chaos, with students running in all directions like headless chickens, screaming in terror. "Quick, call the police!" Finally, someone snapped out of their panic and started shouting frantically while trying to dial the emergency number. At this point, Su Yu also regained his senses. Fortunately, he was used to helping his mother with tasks like slaughtering chickens and cleaning fish, so although the scene was bloody, he didn't throw up. Like most others, his first instinct was to call the police for help. But when he pulled out his phone, he realized there wasn't even a single bar of signal. Some people desperately tried to make calls, but none could get through. "They're coming up! They're coming up!" Suddenly, someone screamed in terror. Su Yu's heart tightened as he looked down to see one of the green-skinned creatures charging into the teaching building, followed by screams from inside the building. The surrounding crowd instantly fell into chaos. Some people instinctively ran to higher floors, while others were so terrified that they jumped down, regardless of what floor they were on. "Hurry, everyone get back to the classroom!" Suddenly, a hoarse female voice shouted. Su Yu's heart skipped a beat when he saw that the one shouting was a bespectacled girl in a dress. He recognized her as the class monitor, Lei Rui. Everyone was panicking, but Lei Rui's shout woke them up, and they rushed back into their classroom. Su Yu quickly followed, and almost instinctively, they began to hurriedly close the windows and doors. "Quick, move the desks to block the door." Despite her normally gentle appearance, Lei Rui showed impressive leadership in this critical moment. Su Yu and a few other male students quickly moved the desks to barricade the door. Most of the people who had made it back were from their class, with a few from other classes. Su Yu looked around and saw that both Su Yu and Ning Yan were there, but his close friend Zhang Zhongmou was not. In the blink of an eye, the third-floor corridor was deserted. Some had escaped to their classrooms like Su Yu, while others had fled to higher floors. A few had impulsively jumped out of the building, hoping to find more ways to escape outside. Su Yu and a few other boys pushed several desks to block the front door. The sounds of screams from outside grew closer and closer, filling the classroom with terror. These young men and women, barely in their twenties, were experiencing the nearness of death for the first time. Some of the girls were huddled together, crying softly. Their legs were so weak with fear that they couldn't even stand. "Su... Su Yu, are we going to die?" Suddenly, Su Yu felt someone tugging at his clothes. He turned around and saw that it was Su Yu. Normally, the two of them would argue whenever they met, but now there was no room for that. For the first time, Su Yu saw the fear in Su Yu's eyes. He felt a strange emotion stir within him. He turned his head away, replying in a choked voice, "I don't know. We... we have so many people... we should be fine..." He couldn't finish his sentence because a loud crash suddenly came from the door, as if something heavy had smashed into it. Su Yu and the four or five other boys were nearly thrown back along with the desks they were using to barricade the door. "Quick! Hold it tight!" The class monitor, Lei Rui, screamed and rushed to help. Su Yu felt a weight press against his back as Lei Rui threw herself against him, pushing with all her might. In any other situation, this might have been an intimate moment, but now no one had the luxury to think about that. Su Yu gritted his teeth, pushing back against the door. Suddenly, he shouted, "Oh no—" With a sharp crack, a wooden club smashed into one of the windows, shattering the glass into countless pieces. A green-skinned creature with a face as fierce as a demon from legend appeared outside the window. Up close, its grotesque expression and terrifying, evil appearance were even more frightening, sending chills down everyone's spine. "Why us? There are other classes here too! Why are they only coming for us—" a girl suddenly screamed in terror, driven to the brink of madness. "I don't want my head to get smashed—" another person shrieked, as the green-skinned creature continued to smash the window with its club. It looked like it would soon break through, and in a panic, someone opened the window on the other side and jumped out. But outside the other window wasn't a corridor; it was a straight drop to the ground. This classroom was on the third floor. As the person jumped, Su Yu heard a blood-curdling scream. "Monsters—" one of the boys suddenly shouted, lifting a desk and throwing it at the window. The green-skinned creature had just stuck half its head through the window when the desk hit it. This university was a third-rate one, with poor facilities, so the desks and chairs weren't fixed to the floor. But in this situation, that turned out to be an advantage. Su Yu looked over and recognized the boy as Qin Jiagui, the class's sports committee member. He was an excellent basketball player, tall and handsome, with many fans in the school. His girlfriend was the belle of the first class of the computer science department. It was rumored that he had once pursued Ning Yan, but after failing to win her over, he settled for the belle and they were now living together. Many boys, including Su Yu, had been envious of him. Qin Jiagui, the sports committee member, didn't disappoint. With his strength, he managed to lift and throw a desk. Unfortunately, the green-skinned creature, sensing the danger, pulled its head back just in time, so the desk didn't land a solid hit. Su Yu noticed this and quickly grabbed a chair, shouting, "Use the chairs!" Qin Jiagui caught on, lifting a chair and waiting for the creature to stick its head through the window again. The green-skinned creature was small enough to fit through the three-segmented iron window, but every time it tried to stick its head through, Qin Jiagui would smash it with the chair. It tried three times and failed each time. Seeing Qin Jiagui holding them off, the others regained their composure, and the boys all picked up chairs. After three failed attempts, the creature got its head cracked by Qin Jiagui, and greenish fluid oozed out, like blood. The creature seemed enraged. It retreated a few steps, then suddenly let out a sharp howl. It stood in the corridor, glaring through the window at the people inside with a vicious, terrifying expression. "What’s it doing? Why isn't it moving?" a girl asked, still trembling with fear, unable to understand what was happening. Qin Jiagui shook his head, equally puzzled. Su Yu thought for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening. His face paled as he said, "It's calling for reinforcements. We're in trouble—" No sooner had he finished speaking than several sharp howls echoed from outside, like ancient beasts. Immediately after, the door was hit with more loud crashes. These green-skinned creatures were incredibly strong, and the door shook violently with each blow. The students inside were terrified; if these creatures broke in, they would all die here.