On how PhDs become human evil

"I think his name is Bai Jie, and he's probably from the East. What's wrong? What's with that expression?"

With a guilty look on her face, Zhenhong said tremblingly, "No, it's just that the cheater on my side said that her husband's name is... Bai Jie."

"..."

Birds of a feather flock together; a man (or woman) who hangs on the wall is also a hanger.

"Are we in a bad situation? What if they team up and get into a mixed doubles brawl?"

"Stay calm, don't back down, we must trust Chaldea as a steadfast ally."

"...Eshid, do you have Parkinson's in your legs?"

"Don't tell anyone..."

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"Achoo!"

In the hotel, Bai Jie suddenly sneezed loudly.

"What's wrong? Have you caught a cold?" Nan Yunshi asked.

"No, that's not it. I just feel like someone's talking badly about me," Bai Jie said, rubbing his nose. "I have a feeling that I'll meet someone very important to me soon. Anyway, compared to that, are you really planning to take this little girl with you?"

The girl Bai Jie was referring to was indeed a sea-human loli sitting on Nan Yun Shi's lap. Nan Yun Shi had picked her up during the day and, along the way, destroyed an entire underground organization, causing Fu Lian to make a mess of things.

“We can’t just leave Miao alone, and there’s a huge maze right near Miao’s hometown, so it’s on the way,” Nagumo Hajime said. “Would you like to come with us?”

"Otherwise, it's easier to get things done with more people, but I remember that the only way through is through the Great Labyrinth of Orcus."

"...I have a bad feeling."

P.S.: I can't take it anymore, I almost rolled my face on the keyboard. I'm going to sleep now, sorry everyone!

Section 253, Part 25: I absolutely love the Azur Lane anime!

Hotel City of Holyard.

This city was built around the entrance to the Great Labyrinth of Orcus. In nature, it was similar to Orario, where Bai Jie had once lived. Therefore, many adventurers, mercenaries, and soldiers of the nation gathered here.

And in order to make money from them, many merchants gather here, making the town always very lively.

Walking side by side with Nagumo Hajime down the street, Bai Jie suddenly said, "It feels like a long time has passed. We probably haven't been here for only a few months."

"I hadn't thought of it before, but now that you mention it, I remember it. It was when we came here with other people before."

Several months ago, before being taken to the abyss by Bai Jie, Nagumo Hajime had visited this city with his classmates and members of the Kingdom Knights. Of course, at that time he arrived as "incompetent," but now, apart from Bai Jie, who is a true monster, he can be said to be the strongest in the world.

With all attributes exceeding 10,000, nearly 30 skills, over 50 derivative skills, and artifacts all over his body... In every aspect, Nan Yun Shi has reached a level that everyone can only dream of, with only Bai Jie surpassing him.

Arriving at the entrance to the Great Labyrinth of Orcus, gazing at the entrance that resembled the gaping maw of a monstrous abyss, Nagumo Hajime said, "Right now, the group from the Heavenly River should be fighting inside the Great Labyrinth."

"Strictly speaking, it should be considered combat training. With their current strength... around the 80th or 90th level of the surface."

The Orcus Maze is divided into an outer layer and an inner layer.

The surface is the well-known labyrinth, where adventurers and mercenaries enter day and night. The first fifty floors have been thoroughly explored, making it practically a backyard.

After the hundredth layer on the surface, you enter the inner layer, which is the real Great Labyrinth of Orcus. It was also the place where Hajime Nagumo and Hakuge fought their battles. The quality and quantity of monsters there are completely different from those on the surface. Even Hakuge could suffer a loss if he wasn't careful. His advantage in ability points is useless inside. To survive, he has to make use of everything he has.

"Nagumo, what do you think would happen if Shirasaki and the others also entered the real Great Labyrinth? How many floors could they get down to?"

"Don't even think about it, they'll be wiped out in two layers at most." Nan Yun Shi curled his lip in disdain. "Having a leader like Tian Zhihe is nothing short of a tragedy. I can say with certainty that he will lead the team to collapse."

"That's quite a blunt statement," Bai Jie shrugged. "You're going to the Adventurers' Guild, right? Let's part ways for now. Call me when you've taken care of things on your end."

"Where are you going?"

"Well... I'm going to visit my good-for-nothing adopted sister."

Bai Jie rested his hand on the hilt of the sword with the four divine symbols on it, and walked with a relaxed and leisurely pace toward the entrance of the Orcus Great Labyrinth.

Watching Bai Jie's figure disappear, Nan Yun sighed, "Why didn't you just say you were worried about Bai Qi? I didn't realize you were such a tsundere. Oh well, I'll go take care of my own business too. I can't keep letting Miao follow Xi Ya around, she'll be corrupted."

------------------

Seventy floors underground.

This is the frontline encampment of the Kingdom's Knights, and stationed here are not only the most elite knights of the order, but also the Knights Commander Meld. They are here for one purpose only—to protect the teleportation magic circle.

To ensure that Tianzhihe Guanghui and others could train in the maze for extended periods, the kingdom set up two magic arrays within the maze: one on the thirtieth floor and the other on the seventieth floor. This way, they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of running down each floor one by one each time.

Of course, considering the extremely powerful monsters deep inside, in addition to the guarding knights, there are also many magical items and formations here, which are more than enough to hold out until reinforcements arrive.

"boom!"

A deafening explosion echoed through the building, accompanied by scorching flames and intense heat, as a charred black object crashed heavily to the ground.

Judging from the insignia on the armor that was not completely burned, these were members of the Kingdom Knights.

Now, the knight is a charred corpse, and his killer is standing not far away.

It was a female demon riding on the back of a four-eyed wolf. Her eyes were the same color as her hair, fiery red as if they were burning. Her clothes were like those of a motorcycle rider, completely black and without any luster.

Looking at the knights who surrounded her, the female demon revealed a contemptuous smile: "I thought the kingdom's knights were so powerful, but I didn't expect them to be such weak trash. It's true that heroes are more fun, even though the heavens are really..."

"Glorious was just underestimating his opponent! He's not naive at all!"

Behind the Knights, a black-haired boy with an almost imperceptible presence roared.

He is Kosuke Endo, a member of the Heroes' Group. He has an incredibly low level of presence, and his calling is assassination. With these two factors combined, even the monsters of the abyss cannot sense his presence.

The fact that he couldn't be perceived by others made him feel inferior.

About half an hour ago, the group of heroes adventuring on the 90th floor suddenly encountered the female demon in front of them. The strength she displayed and the monsters under her command almost crushed the group of heroes, and even the Radiant Sky River was defeated.

Severely injured, Amagawa Brilliant could only ask Endo Kosuke, who was less seriously injured, to sneak back to the surface alone and deliver the information to the kingdom to request reinforcements.

"Don't linger here any longer, Kosuke! Quickly use the magic circle to get back to the surface!"

"....yes!"

Gritting his teeth, Kosuke Endo knew that his job was not suited for this kind of battle of holding the line. Just as he was about to turn around and jump into the magic circle, the magic circle engraved on the ground suddenly lit up!

Someone came down from the thirtieth floor?!

Realizing this, everyone's faces showed a sense of dread; the current situation was definitely not suitable for anyone else to come over!

"Hmm? This taste is... a demon."

A voice rang out from within the light of the teleportation array, and upon hearing it, everyone felt a sense of familiarity, as if they had heard it somewhere before.

As the light from the magic circle completely dimmed, and he saw clearly who had arrived, Endo Kosuke's expression instantly changed from one of utter despair to one of pure joy, and he exclaimed uncontrollably:

"Fafnir!"

P.S.: I only remembered this morning that Azur Lane updated yesterday, but I was too drunk to catch it right away, so sorry! I thought Azur Lane would be just another short anime like Girls' Frontline and Honkai Impact 3rd (by the way, Azur Lane is getting shorter and shorter), but it turned out to be a full 24 minutes long! And the opening scene featured my waifu, Enterprise! I screamed it out right then and there, you know? Even though my dad scolded me after I woke him up, anyway—Enterprise, my waifu! So cool!

Section 254, Chapter 26: You can't even withstand one sword strike, what are you yelling about?

Hearing someone call his name, Bai Jie subconsciously looked over and saw Endo Kosuke lying in front of him, as well as the knights confronting the female demon not far away.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Jie opened his left palm and tapped it with his right fist: "Have you been hacked?"

"Fafner! Help! Glorious and the others are trapped on the 89th floor. This demon has controlled many monsters and is about to kill them!"

"Hey, you're planning to kill Glorious and the others? You've got some nerve."

Bai Jie smiled and said, then slowly drew the Four Directions Divine Sword, whose sharp and piercing aura immediately dissipated.

The instant Bai Jie drew his sword, everyone present almost reflexively tensed up, and the same thought arose in their minds—

This guy is terrifying!

(What's going on with this guy? This level of sword energy and killing intent... This is bad, he's definitely a monster, even more of a monster than that hero!)

Based on her experience alone, the female demon knew that Bai Jie was not a half-baked hero like Tian Zhihe Guanghui, but a true warrior with blood on his hands.

"Well, I'm not really interested in whether you want to kill Tian Zhihe. Although I don't think you can kill him, it's good for him to experience the harsh realities of society. Otherwise, with his personality, who knows what kind of disaster he might cause in the future."

(Huh? What's this guy saying? He doesn't mind if I kill the hero? Isn't he the hero's ally?)

The female demon, having grasped the meaning of Bai Jie's words, was overjoyed. If that was the case, then she probably wouldn't need to fight this monster.

However, Bai Jie's next words shattered her illusions.

"—However, you can kill any hero you want, but I won't let you lay a hand on my naive adopted sister. That girl has delicate skin; if she gets hit, she'll probably cry for a long time. As her older brother, I can't bear to see my sister cry."

"So, you should just go and die."

As soon as Bai Jie finished speaking, he rushed out. Cloud-like sword energy swirled around the sword like a vortex, appearing light and airy, but beneath that light and airy appearance, the ground touched by the cloud-like energy was sliced ​​in a straight line.

You absolutely cannot get hit!

The female demon immediately urged the four-eyed wolf beneath her to retreat, intending to create distance between herself and Bai Jie. After all, no matter how strong Bai Jie was, the attack range of his sword was limited.

"Huh?"

The excruciating pain in her chest caused the female demon to stop thinking. Bai Jie's sword, which should have been several meters away, had already pierced through her chest, and bright red blood was still flowing from the blade.

"You think creating distance will work? You're underestimating me."

Bai Jie's voice rang in the female demon's ear like a death knell.

"Again--"

The sword of the Four Directions God trembled, about to slash her body, but the four-eyed wolf that the female demon was riding suddenly bit Bai Jie's foot. Immediately afterwards, hundreds of venomous snakes attacked from the ceiling, a sight that would drive anyone with trypophobia crazy.

With a slight smirk, Bai Jie withdrew his Four Directions Divine Power and turned around to unleash a flurry of sword shadows. A wisp of sword light split into countless forms like clouds and mist, covering the surface of all the demons like a white ribbon of light.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss!"

The monster's body was continuously cleaved into pieces by the sword light, and bright red blood splattered like waves onto the ceiling, the ground, and the rock walls. The monster's corpse was completely pulverized in the sword light.

The chaotic sword energy swept through like locusts, completely wiping out the demons.