"Zhou Lin, when will this be done? The water will boil if this continues, and even if they aren't cooked, they'll get scalded!"
"If we go out now, won't it be very dangerous too?"
The metaphysics professor harbored another worry: what if this was cured, but another problem arose? What would they do then?
"No, the reason I'm using the medicinal water is to protect their bodies from scalding. The temperature is still there, so rest assured, they won't be cooked. But even if they were, the water fiend wouldn't easily allow it."
Zhou Lin knew their concerns, but there was no other way. Were they just going to watch them all die?
As time passed, the screams of these fellows became more and more tragic, mainly because they were painful to hear.
It was even worse than what those students who had been afflicted by the fire fiend had experienced.
Gurgle, gurgle—
"Do you smell something?"
A student nearby was inhaling deeply, as if catching a whiff of cooked meat.
"What's cooking?"
"Holy crap, could it be our classmates? They're in the pot right now!"
"It's their flesh that's cooked. Damn it, does human meat smell like this?"
"This is the first time I've smelled it."
The students nearby were initially shocked, then they glanced at Zhou Lin, who appeared very calm.
Their worries lessened considerably, but the conversation had taken a serious turn.
The metaphysics professor, Guo Liang, and Captain Bai were very worried, but seeing Zhou Lin so calm, and hearing the sounds from the large pot, they felt a sense of relief.
If it were anyone else, the smell of cooked meat would have meant death, but with screams still coming, there shouldn't be any major problems.
In the livestream.
"Damn, what's going on? They're actually cooking flesh."
"Is it edible yet? Should we add some salt or something?"
"Get lost. What time is it, and you're still in the mood to joke?"
"Then what do you suggest? What can we do except watch? The big shots are all calm now, so worrying is useless."
"That's true. As long as the big shots say it's fine, then it's fine."
...
Zhou Lin was constantly monitoring the situation above.
"How are you all doing now? How do you feel?"
"We're... so hungry, and it really hurts..."
"Me too, it's so uncomfortable."
"Captain, I'm really in so much pain."
Hearing their cries of hunger from inside, Zhou Lin knew it was a good sign.
He then extinguished the flames, letting them soak for a while longer.
They could come out once the water cooled down.
There was still one problem.
It was the branches. The system had them, but...
The wood fiend was a difficult entity to deal with. These things could hide, making them very hard to find.
"Professor Zhou Lin, is there something difficult?"
Captain Bai saw Zhou Lin holding a branch, deep in thought.
"The wood fiend is a very difficult fiend to handle. It's a fiend that starts to become transparent. This type of fiend is much harder to deal with than others. These students are currently hidden."
"I need your help."
Zhou Lin turned to look at Captain Bai and the mercenaries.
"Just say the word, as long as we can do it."
Captain Bai said without hesitation.
"I need you to help me. Later, I will use Taoist magic to draw them out. At that time, you will have to shoot, kill those students..."
As soon as Zhou Lin finished speaking, Captain Bai, the metaphysics professor, and Guo Liang were stunned.
They thought they had misheard. What did he mean?
Kill them?
"Professor Zhou Lin, did you say something wrong? Killing them... wouldn't that be..."
"Did I mishear?"
Captain Bai thought he had misheard and quickly looked at Zhou Lin, eager to hear it again.
"You didn't mishear. I want you to shoot them, but only in the body, not the head. Do you understand?"
Zhou Lin still felt uneasy and said this.
He was worried they might hesitate.
Captain Bai's mind was reeling, his ears ringing.
Zhou Lin's words echoed in his head.
Kill them.
They had only ever shot at enemies or terrifying creatures, never at civilians, let alone students.
This...
Captain Bai felt as if his gun weighed a thousand pounds.
The metaphysics professor and Guo Liang exchanged glances. Was something else going to happen?
In the livestream.
"Oh no, did I mishear? What's going on? Kill these students, why? What does this have to do with the wood fiend?"
"Yeah, if they're going to kill them, why save them in the first place? Why not just give up?"
"You people are so naive. Who do you think the big shots are? Don't you know? If the big shots say it, they have a plan. You have to trust them."
"Exactly, what the big shots say is always right, and there's a reason for doing things this way."
In the Dean's conference room.
"This is getting pretty intense. Boiling these children was understandable, but now it's so direct? They're going to kill these students?"
Professor Hu still felt that Zhou Lin was being too extreme.
"Is the wood fiend that serious? Does Zhou Lin really need to act like this?"
Professor Wen looked at the large screen, feeling that this was not normal.
"If Zhou Lin says it's difficult, then it's difficult. Besides, without Zhou Lin, who among you could even mention the wood fiend? You wouldn't even know what a wood fiend is, would you?"
Professor Hu couldn't help but mock Professor Wen's ignorance.
Professor Wen felt a surge of anger but didn't know how to retort.
"This is not the issue right now. There are other problems. If this news gets out, what will happen? The students' parents will find out too."
The Dean spoke slowly. Zhou Lin wasn't being careful with his words; wouldn't this cause trouble for their academy later?
But it seemed trouble had already arrived.
As he finished speaking, the Dean's phone rang.
"Dean? I'm a parent of one of your students. Why are your professors going to kill our son? Why? Don't you owe us an explanation?"
Before the Dean could speak, the other party had already taken the offensive.
The Dean smiled wryly. He knew this would happen.
"You have to trust us. Our professors wouldn't risk your children's lives easily. Please trust us."
"Now your people are going to kill my child. How can I trust you? Tell me, how can I trust you?"