Number 3 was much easier to find than they had imagined. She was sitting at the main entrance of the activity center, loosely draped in her school uniform jacket, covered in blood, looking completely different from before.

Lying beside her were the unseeing corpses of Number 4 and Number 6.

Both of their chests were ripped open, flesh turned inside out, revealing ribs that had been broken and inserted upside down into their hearts.

"You're late." Number 3 tilted his head slightly, his hair falling to one side, revealing half of the hollowed-out back of his head.

Then she wiped the blood off her hands on Number 4's clothes, stood up lightly, and walked up to Xiao Cheng and the others: "If you're looking for your original companion, I'm sorry, she's dead. But if you're looking for me, I'd be very happy."

"Ah, that doesn't seem quite right either." She blinked innocently. "After all, I am her now."

"You're her roommate too?" Xiao Cheng frowned, looking at the bloody hole on the back of her head, his mind filled with images of tentacle monsters.

"Huh? My roommate?!" "Number 3" exaggeratedly covered his mouth, looking incredulous.

Then, she suddenly burst into unrestrained laughter, even laughing until tears streamed down her face: "So that's what you've always thought? How silly! I've never seen such silly containers as you."

"No wonder they failed. It must have been because their intelligence was affected after they took over your bodies, right?" Number 3 wiped away the remaining tears from the corner of his eye. "Don't worry, I'll stay far away from you. After all, I've already found my own container."

She made a playful expression, then put her hands behind her back and skipped away, quickly disappearing from the three people's sight.

Looking at the horrific state of the corpse on the ground, Xiao Cheng was momentarily speechless.

"Want to go inside the activity center?" Liu Xiaoying asked casually, patting her shoulder.

"Let's go in, since we're already here." Xiao Cheng looked away and said this as she took the lead and walked inside.

Blood was everywhere, half-dry and sticky on the ground, making a splattering sound when stepped on. The unique, strong, sweet-smelling smell of blood filled her nostrils, stirring up the violent emotions hidden deep within her.

"Are you alright?" Fang He keenly noticed the slight change in her expression, his brow furrowing slightly as he asked with some concern.

Xiao Cheng's expression instantly relaxed. She gave a faint smile and gently shook her head: "It's okay, the corpse was too disgusting."

There were no obvious changes in the activity center; the electronic announcement started right the moment they entered.

"Welcome to the activity center. Your new student status has been verified. This is your first time here. Please start checking in."

"This is the first time. It seems we have indeed returned to the beginning of the timeline." Xiao Cheng subconsciously glanced at the stairwell. Clearly, it was impossible for another Player 3 to come out from there this time.

Suddenly, soothing piano music drifted out from the innermost painting room on the first floor.

The tune sounded familiar. Xiao Cheng thought about it carefully and realized it was the same piece that Number 2 had played in the piano classroom.

Fang He had obviously thought of that too. The two exchanged a knowing glance and turned to walk towards the painting studio.

"What's wrong?" Liu Xiaoying didn't understand why they were so sensitive to piano music. "That should be the art room. I've seen it before; it's full of plaster statues."

Just as Hua Xin realized what was happening, Xiao Cheng stopped in his tracks and looked at her seriously: "A plaster statue?"

“Yes, it’s the innermost one.” Liu Xiaoying nodded, puzzled. “I thought there might be something fishy going on, so I even knocked on one to check, but it turned out to be just pure plaster.”

Xiao Cheng didn't speak, but simply nodded, as if agreeing with her statement.

However, the next second, she suddenly struck with lightning speed, grabbing Liu Xiaoying's arm and delivering a powerful knee strike, swiftly and decisively pinning her to the ground.

"Are you Liu Xiaoying?" Xiao Cheng used his knee to hold down Liu Xiaoying's two arms, which were bent behind her back, and grabbed her neck with one hand. He twisted her neck backward with a little force, and heard a slight grinding sound from the bones.

She looked indifferently at Liu Xiaoying's face, which was forced to be raised, and leaned slightly closer to her ear: "Perhaps I should ask you a different question, what are you?"

"Hah...hah..." Liu Xiaoying's face flushed red, and because she was having trouble breathing, her mouth was slightly open, and she was making rough panting sounds. "Little Orange, are you...are you crazy?"

Xiao Cheng stopped talking, her hands tightened, and then she forcefully swayed to the side.

There was a crisp cracking sound.

Liu Xiaoying's eyes quickly dimmed as her neck was completely broken. As Xiao Cheng released her, her head silently drooped down, hitting the ground at an odd angle.

Immediately afterwards, blood began to spurt from the back of her head like a fountain. Then the blood hole slowly widened, and a dark mass extended its fine tentacles, trying to crawl out from inside.

Xiao Cheng was caught off guard and his face was splattered with blood. He impatiently wiped it off with the back of his hand, but the blood only spread and became more and more unbearable to look at.

"Stop wiping, are you applying paint?" Fang He walked over, gently took her wrist, and pulled her up from the ground.

Xiao Cheng readily stopped and looked down at the half-emerged black ball: "What do we do with this thing? We can't kill it all. It might even try to possess us, and it can even evolve to the ultimate form. It's the 'chosen one' of the current version."

Fang He thought for a moment, then bent down and pulled the black ball out.

As "Number 3" said before, this thing should be exclusive to Liu Xiaoying. The one in front of them was obviously only for Liu Xiaoying. It had almost no deterrent effect on them. It was limp and curled up in a ball, looking pitiful.

"Can we just kill it now?" Xiao Cheng looked at it with disgust.

The black ball seemed to understand, its tentacles trembled violently in fright, and then it made a weak whimpering sound: "Please, don't kill me, I'll take you to save the real Liu Xiaoying."

Both of them were taken aback upon hearing this.

Fang He thoughtfully picked it up and shook it: "Not bad intelligence?"

"One hundred and one hundred!" the black ball of fur answered immediately, even playfully hooking his finger with its tentacles. "Believe me! Liu Xiaoying is really still alive!"

Xiao Cheng stared in disbelief: "There's someone as servile as you?"

“You humans have an old saying, ‘A wise man submits to circumstances.’” The black ball puffed out its body, as if proudly straightening its chest. “Anyway, I’ve already fallen into your hands, so there’s no need for me to lie to you.”

Xiao Cheng didn't say anything, but looked up at Fang He.

"A letter?" She raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I believe you." Fang He nodded almost imperceptibly, then flicked the black ball of fur with his finger, making it whimper again.

"Where is she?" he asked in a cold tone.

Upon hearing his words, the black ball of fur became extremely excited, hovering in mid-air, spinning and jumping with its eyes closed.

"The art room! I'm not kidding! There really are lots of plaster casts there!"