Chapter Forty-Six: The Big Boss of Class Three, Senior Year

After the award ceremony ended, the members of the Jin and Xu families said their farewells to Elder Zhou and left in a hurry, looking rather dejected. As Xia Moyan was about to take her leave as well, Elder Zhou spoke up and asked, “Moyan, I’m very interested in your team’s work this time. Would you let me meet the architect behind this hunting ground?”

Xia Moyan was taken aback for a moment, then turned and smiled. “Did Elder Zhou see through it?”

Elder Zhou laughed loudly. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re capable of, you clever girl? You have a kind heart, and spreading positive energy has always been your goal. So the theme this time must be your idea, I have no doubt about it.”

At this point, Elder Zhou suddenly changed his tone. “However, when it comes to the construction of the hunting ground, your weakness is also evident. With your usual approach to designing hunting grounds, such a platform-style horror scenario certainly wasn’t your idea. Take this food chain design, for instance—it seems humane enough, providing plenty of resources. But on closer inspection, it’s actually a terrifying setup.”

“This design captures the essence of human nature—greed, envy, destruction, revenge—all laid bare. The ugliness of humanity stands in sharp contrast to your kindness, yet somehow they’ve been cleverly intertwined. This isn’t your style, so there must be an expert behind it.”

Standing by Elder Zhou’s side, the Hunting War God of District 16, Luo Ji, who hadn’t spoken until now, became especially interested and addressed Xia Moyan, “Moyan, Elder Zhou is right. Your hunting ground is really extraordinary. I’d also like to meet this person. Why don’t you introduce us?”

Elder Zhou’s words struck Xia Moyan deeply. When Fang Nian proposed this design, she’d noticed all these points, but at the time she wasn’t familiar with him, so they hadn’t discussed it in depth. Now, it seemed that her destiny-bound husband was more remarkable than she’d imagined.

Xia Moyan nodded and smiled. “Alright, to be honest, the person responsible is my husband. The design for the platform hunting ground was his idea. He’s up in the stands right now, but because of the rush to finish the hunting ground, he hasn’t rested well for days and is now fast asleep. Perhaps we can arrange another day…”

But just then, the girl in the black trench coat beside her interrupted Xia Moyan. “Oh, stop pretending! Do you know how many people in District 16 have tried everything to meet Grandpa Zhou, and none succeeded? Now your Xia family gets this chance, and you’re playing coy? Do you really think your family can turn things around just because of this ridiculous hunting ground theme? What a joke.”

Luo Ji looked embarrassed as he responded, “Ah… Moyan, don’t mind her. Rui’er has always been spoiled by her father and speaks without restraint. If she’s offended you, I apologize.”

Xia Moyan was startled. She had guessed that any girl who could stay by Elder Zhou’s side must have a special status, but she hadn’t expected her to be the daughter of District 16 Governor Duan Hongyi, Duan Rui.

For a moment, Xia Moyan felt awkward. She glanced at Fang Nian, still fast asleep in the stands, and bit her lip in hesitation.

“Brother Luo, you’re being too cautious. Rui’er’s words are honest, but my husband’s condition today…”

Yet before Xia Moyan could finish, a staff member from the convention center rushed out and anxiously called to Elder Zhou, “Elder Zhou, something’s happened with a hunter backstage. Please come quickly!”

Elder Zhou frowned. He had invited all the hunters for this event, so any trouble would be his responsibility. Without hesitation, he turned and headed backstage with Luo Ji and Duan Rui. Halfway there, he looked back, “Moyan, you should come too.”

Xia Moyan was momentarily surprised but nodded and followed.

…

When the four of them reached the backstage area, nearly every participating hunter was gathered nearby. Amid the crowd, several emergency medics were examining Fang Jie, who lay on a flat bed.

“Elder Zhou’s here.”

“Make room for Elder Zhou.”

“Hurry, stop crowding, let him through.”

As Elder Zhou and the others made their way through the crowd, they saw Fang Jie lying on the bed and frowned. With their experience, they could easily tell what had happened—Fang Jie had clearly suffered mental trauma inside the hunting ground.

But the hunting ground was only rated E+, which, while somewhat dangerous, shouldn’t have caused this level of harm. It didn’t make sense.

At that moment, Fang Jie’s assistant, who had come with him to the competition, erupted in anger and questioned Zhou Xingcheng, “Elder Zhou, the young master was invited to District 16 to help, and now he’s ended up like this. I expect a reasonable explanation, or else our Fang family in District 4 will not let this rest.”

Elder Zhou’s expression darkened as he turned to the doctor. “How is he?”

The doctor looked grim, shaking his head with some difficulty. “His brain nerves suffered severe trauma in the hunting ground—serious damage. If we operate to remove the necrotic spongy tissue, he should survive, but…”

The assistant’s expression grew somber. “But what?”

The doctor replied helplessly, “But after the removal, he won’t be able to hunt again. Without that spongy tissue, he can’t enter hunting grounds.”

The doctor’s words exploded like a bomb among the crowd.

Elder Zhou’s face was grave. He knew all too well how powerful District 4’s Fang family was. Offending them would have a serious impact on District 16—something he didn’t want to see. If the cause was traced, the Xia family would bear most of the responsibility.

But he couldn’t fully blame the Xia family, either. He shouldn’t have misjudged things—with a hunting ground of this level, such an incident shouldn’t have occurred. So, perhaps, something unexpected had happened inside the hunting ground.

Thinking this through, Elder Zhou realized the key was to investigate thoroughly. He turned to Fang Jie’s assistant. “Sir, let’s focus on saving Young Master Fang’s life first. We can discuss the rest later.”

The assistant was clearly shrewd, nodding but his gaze remained icy. “Fine, as Elder Zhou says. But our Fang family will not let this go. District 16 must provide a reasonable explanation, or else…”

…

The hunting tournament ended abruptly amid this unexpected incident. Although the Xia family won the championship, Fang Jie’s situation cast a shadow, and while they gained a temporary reprieve and a chance to turn things around, an invisible gloom was quietly settling over them.

After two days of intense recuperation, Fang Nian returned to his usual spirited self. He was now lounging in Fatty’s shop with Xu Zhuo, Xia Moyu, and Fatty himself, boasting and chatting.

Xu Zhuo took a sip of wine and looked at Fang Nian in surprise. “Brother Nian, so according to you, Fang Jie was actually the big boss in the hunting ground ‘Class Three, Senior Year’?”

Fang Nian bit into a chicken foot, nodded, and said with a meaningful smile, “Yeah, I have to admit, the guy’s got something. He almost fooled me.”