Chapter 247: Good Night

To hear that Quinn was participating in the event was something none of them could’ve expected. Not only that, but instead of the earlier cheers, his name getting mentioned brought on some whispers with the first years.

"But I thought he was a fugitive?"

"He was captured, so maybe they want to make an example out of him?"

"But if he killed a Sergeant then maybe he could probably go toe to toe with a second year?"

"You forget that the second years have soul weapons, and most of them are level 8. Maybe even above."

There were rumors that Originals were beyond that of a level 8, and one of the flaws of the watch system was that it was only capable of measuring MC up to level 8. A random person with a level 8 ability didn’t have the same amount of MC that someone like the Big Four leaders would have, despite them both being at the same level.

Despite them going to military base 1, Quinn wasn’t there.

Under normal circumstances, if they had prisoners they wanted to take to military base 1, they would’ve brought them along with the students. However, due to Quinn’s defiant nature, they knew better than to let him walk in an open area.

As a result, it was hard for anyone to cheer, creating a moment of awkward silence. General Mike simply moved onto the next students after Del’s class. While that was going on, Erin started messaging Quinn.

{Erin} Are you still at military base 2?

{Quinn} I don’t think I am anymore.

{Quinn} I don’t know the full details of it, but they gassed me last night.

{Quinn} When I came to, I woke up in this new prison.

Erin paused, trying to parse her many questions into something comprehendible.

{Erin} Do you know why you’re participating?

There wasn’t an immediate response, which she had to take as him figuring out what the answer could be, or if this was news to him as well.

{Quinn} My best guess is they want to use me to show off the might of military base 2.

Erin realized that Quinn didn’t know the full picture. She quickly got him up to speed about what Layla had said, that they captured him to give him to the Big Four.

{Quinn} So there’s a time limit on me.

{Quinn} After I participate in the tournament, they’ll send me to one of the Big Four leaders.

{Erin} Correct.

Once all of the contestants were called out, they gathered around General Mike and were shipped off together. Since they were important to the events, they needed to arrive sooner than the others.

Erin was a little worried that Layla might act weirdly without someone around, but her worries were quelled when she saw Luke in the crowd.

’If we need Layla’s help, then we can use Luke as a way of talking to her. She can be in two places at once.’

Meanwhile, the rest of the students followed Nathan and Duke off of school grounds. They went around the main central plaza, then to the large wasteland from the first day of school.

"Can’t they get us busses or something?" A student commented, fanning himself with his hand.

"Or one of those fancy flying trains," His friend responded

Erin felt similarly exhausted. She hadn’t put on her white armor since there was no need to, and none of the other students actively wore their gear, so the sun was affecting her more than usual.

In the vast wasteland were several large hangers, but they were strangely all empty. The students were instructed to go inside, and the entrances behind them closed shut.

"They must’ve cleaned this place out recently," Logan noted.

"But why?" Vorden questioned.

Logan and Vorden shared the same homeroom class, so they were separate from Del’s, but the two hadn’t had much time to talk on the account that Logan was a shut in.

"Normally, I’d expect them to use teleporters to take us to military base 1, but such a crucial base would be hidden," Logan noted, "Which would mean—"

"Attention!" Mike shouted, causing the students to stop and salute, "Good night!"

At that moment, Mike placed a mask over his face, and the soldiers, Sergeants, and staff did the same. Gas flowed into the room, and a few students began to panic. Two notable exceptions were Layla and ’Luke’.

"They gassed us on our ride here, and now that we’re moving to another base, they’re doing the sa... ssss...." Logan’s voice faded out, and he collapsed onto the floor.

One by one, other students fell over, slipping into unconsciousness. Fex tried to fight off the sleepiness, but his body slumped onto the ground.

Watching everyone else’s reactions, Layla repeated what they did, and had Luke’s body do the same thing. They both swayed and wobbled before taking a fall to the ground.

[A substance in the air has been detected]

[You are feeling sleepy]

[Resistance +1]

Erin felt her eyes grow heavier, and her movement sluggish, but instead of trying to fight it off, she allowed herself to fall over. Consciousness remained, albeit, rapidly reducing by the second.

’The faster I get through this, the sooner we can get to Quinn.’

A part of her wondered if becoming resistant to the mysterious gas would come in handy later, but at this point, she was fully out like a light.

[Your resistance to the substance has increased]

[Resistance +1]

After the gas did its job, the doors opened, and the soldiers placed black bags over each of the student’s heads. This was an extra precaution incase a student had some sort of immunity ability, which happened a few times before.

After they were done, Layla could hear that the soldiers rolled in a large machine, and as well as a voice that said "Start shifting the students in through the portal one by one."

’Why would they need a portal? Is it because military base 1 is on another planet?’ Layla wondered, ’Or are they using teleporters to take us to another location on earth?’

It made sense for it to be a different planet, as earth was the main hub world for humanity. The only issue was that Layla couldn’t see what color portal they were going through due to the cloth over her head. She could take a risk and have Luke rip off the cloth and see for herself, but that would cause too many issues.

’Normally, I’d take that risk of finding out where the current government of the world was located, but having a second body is too useful to give up now.’

In the end, Layla remained still. Maybe another time she would take that risk.