Extra 15: The Strange Student

The student group in front seemed completely unaware of the changes behind them and continued to move forward silently and quickly.

Gao Meng was panting heavily, his fist was black and exuded a cold aura, but he ignored the pain and pulled the frightened Zhao Sha:

"Go!"

Li Mu was also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. Gao Meng had just used his spiritual power and although he had repelled the thing, would it be a violation of the rules?

Fortunately, it seems that no more dire consequences were immediately triggered.

They didn't dare to delay any longer and sped up to catch up with the group of students in front that was about to disappear.

After turning a few corners, a relatively open hall appeared in front of us. There was a sign hanging on the wall:

【Dormitory area entrance】

Next to it is a huge iron gate that requires a card to enter.

The silent students took out a white card from their pockets, swiped it on the access control, and passed through quickly.

Li Mu and the other two felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, as they didn't have the card.

As the number of students in front of them decreased and the iron gate was about to close, a thin boy who was at the back seemed to notice their predicament.

He hesitated for a moment, deliberately slowed down his pace, and when passing by Li Mu, he quickly stuffed a white card into Li Mu's hand, then walked through the iron gate without looking back.

Li Mu was stunned and swiped his card immediately without thinking too much.

"drop--"

The green light came on and the iron gate slowly opened a crack.

The three of them squeezed in quickly.

Just as the iron door slowly closed behind them, they heard the cold, flat, emotionless voice of the head teacher from far away in the corridor:

"There are still students...who haven't returned to their dormitories..."

"Begin... patrol..."

The iron door was completely locked.

Inside the door was a brightly lit corridor paved with clean tiles, with dormitory doors marked with house numbers on both sides.

The sweet and rotten smell in the air seemed to have faded a lot.

Safe...for now?

Li Mu opened his palm and looked at the white access card with a name and photo printed on it:

Wang Ke, Class 1801.

The boy who helped them.

He raised his head and looked into the depths of the corridor.

The thin boy named Wang Ke was standing in front of a dormitory door. He looked back at them with a complicated expression, then quickly opened the door and went in.

Li Mu's heart sank.

Rule 6:

[Your class is 1801. If someone says you are from another class, please stay away from them immediately.]

This Wang Ke is from Class 1801.

The metallic clatter of the iron door closing behind him was like the hammer of final judgment, briefly blocking out the cold and creepy patrol announcement of the dormitory manager outside the door.

Inside the door, the brightly lit dormitory corridor was too quiet, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of excessive disinfectant.

It barely suppresses the ubiquitous sweet decadence, but brings another chemical, unnatural sense of cleanliness, which is even more disturbing.

Li Mu tightly grasped the access card printed with "Wang Ke, Class 1801", his fingertips were cold.

Rule Six was like a tight ring around his mind.

Now, a real student from Class 1801 helped them and introduced them to the dormitory area of ​​Class 1801.

Is this... a good thing, or the beginning of a deeper trap?

"Find a place to hide first!"

Gao Meng lowered his voice and glanced warily at the identical dormitory doors on both sides of the corridor.

Zhao Sha nodded palely and leaned close to the two of them.

There were footsteps at the end of the corridor, steady and regular.

The three of them felt their hearts skip a beat and subconsciously huddled against the wall into the shadows.

A middle-aged woman in a dark blue uniform and a "dormitory manager" armband walked over.

She held a thick registration book in her hand, her face expressionless, her eyes scanning the doors blankly, as if she were conducting some kind of mechanical inspection.

Her gaze swept across the shadow area where Li Mu and the other two were, without lingering for a moment, as if they did not exist at all.

Only after she walked away did the three of them breathe a sigh of relief.

"She seems...to not see us?"

Zhao Sha whispered uncertainly.

"It's not invisible."

Li Mu looked at the access card in his hand.

"That might be the reason. We swiped Wang Ke's card, so the system might have temporarily identified us as students from Class 1801. So, within this 'safe zone,' the dorm administrators won't actively cause trouble."

But how long can this last? Will Wang Ke himself get into trouble?

A vacant room must be found quickly.

They moved quickly down the corridor, their eyes scanning the house numbers.

1801, 1802, 1803... Most of the doors were closed, and no light came through the gaps.

Finally, in the middle of the corridor, they found a door ajar with the address 1810.

Li Mu carefully pushed open the door. Inside was a standard four-person room, complete with bunk beds, a desk, chairs, and a wardrobe. It was kept extremely tidy, even spotless, with no trace of life in sight.

There was a person sitting on the lower bunk by the window, and it was Wang Ke.

He heard the noise, looked up, and saw that it was them. A trace of nervousness flashed across his face. He quickly made a "hush" gesture, pointed to the three empty bunks, and then pointed to the wall.

The three of them looked in the direction he pointed and saw a plastic-wrapped copy of the "Dormitory Management Regulations" posted on the wall near the entrance. The words on the paper were clearly written in black and white:

【Dormitory Management Regulations】

1. Lights out: 10:00 PM. No noise, walking around, or using any light sources is allowed after lights out.

2. Dormitory Inspection Time: 10:30 PM every night. When the dormitory manager knocks on your door, you must answer immediately and cooperate with the inspection.

3. Each person is only allowed to use their assigned bed and locker and is strictly prohibited from touching other people's belongings.

4. It is strictly forbidden to eat any outside food indoors.

5. If you hear the sound of marbles falling or crying in the corridor, do not be curious, close the door tightly, and never open the door or peek.

6. Your roommate is permanent. If you notice an unfamiliar face or roommate behaving unusually, please report it to the dormitory manager immediately after 8:00 a.m. the next day.

7. Dormitory security is provided from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM. Please do not trust any "security" notices in the dormitory outside of these hours.

Rule 7 reiterated that the dormitory's "absolute safety" was limited in time. And now, it was still some time before eight o'clock.

Wang Ke pointed to the three empty bunks near the door, then pointed at himself, indicating that they were roommates. Then he lowered his head and stopped looking at them. His fingers unconsciously picked at the sheets, looking very anxious.

Li Mu and the other two looked at each other. They had no better choice for the moment, so they could only walk carefully to the empty bunk and sit down.

The bed was cold and hard, and the quilt was folded with sharp edges, like a piece of cold tofu.

Time passed by minute by second in suffocating silence.

It was completely dark outside the window, without any starlight or lights. There was only the pale and dazzling lights in the dormitory area, which illuminated everything and made it even more eerie.