Chapter 23

The melody of "Für Alice" sounded again, but this time the music seemed particularly distant.

The touch beneath him was damp and sticky, like some kind of chopped fatty and rotten meat. Cen Xun curled his fingers and barely pried open his heavy eyelids a little, but what he saw was a dark red that was almost black.

What's this?

Cen Xun felt very sleepy, but this sleepiness was still bearable. He supported himself on the strange-touching "ground" with his palms and tried to sit up. With this movement, his numb five senses returned, and Cen Xun realized that there seemed to be something heavy pressing on him.

There was a strong stench floating in the stagnant air, as if I had smelled it somewhere before.

Cen Xun felt that something was wrong everywhere, so he pushed himself up harder and lifted up the unknown object that was pressing on him.

At this moment, a vague shouting sound came over, and it seemed to be his name. Cen Xun stopped and listened for a while, and found that the voice was getting closer and closer to him.

A few seconds later, Cen Xun felt his body lighten. Along with the fresh air, he was filled with exasperated thoughts: "You didn't even make a sound when you were awake. Do you really enjoy being buried among corpses?"

Cen Xun's brows jumped, and before he could say anything, a strong arm tightly wrapped around his waist and lifted him out from the gap in the pile of corpses by brute force. For a moment, the world was turned upside down. When Cen Xun came to his senses, he found that he had been carried on Zhang San's shoulders like a sack.

Cen Xun's eyes slowly turned: "You"

Zhang San carried him and leaped nimbly among the mountains and seas of corpses, saying in a harsh tone, "Shut up."

Cen Xun actually found it a little funny. He had always been the one to tell Zhang San to shut up, but he didn't expect that things would change and there would be a day when Zhang San would tell him to shut up.

The upside-down position can easily cause dizziness, and the feeling of having the abdomen pushed up is also very uncomfortable. Cen Xun endured it for a while but couldn't bear it anymore. He patted Zhang San on the back and said coldly, "Let me down."

Zhang San tightened his arms around his legs and lowered his voice, "Just stay still."

If Cen Xun could be honest, he would not be Cen Xun. He started struggling directly on Zhang San's shoulder.

It wasn't until he was caught off guard by a palm strike that Cen Xun suddenly froze.

Zhang San himself froze for a moment, clenching and then opening his fingers, looking quite at a loss as to what to do due to the suddenness of the incident.

Damn it, I used to be good at it, but now

This hand! How could I not control this hand?

After receiving the palm strike on his shoulder, Cen Xun actually stopped moving. He even stopped talking and fell into abnormal silence, which made Zhang San even more anxious.

After finally leaving the area of ​​the pile of corpses and finding a clean place, Zhang San put Cen Xun down with a nervous heart and secretly observed his expression.

Cen Xun's expression was quite calm, as if nothing had happened just now, and he could even ask him calmly, "What's the situation now?"

"That's right." Zhang San found his voice a little hoarse as he opened his mouth. He cleared his throat and pretended to be calm. "That's what you see. The Territory Lord is nearing the end of collecting the sacrifices and is preparing to open the altar."

Cen Xun cast his gaze towards the pile of corpses. In this round, the corpses that were originally buried under the playground appeared on the ground, with all kinds of broken arms and legs piled up together. Some of them kept squirming as if they were alive. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that they were players struggling to crawl out from under the corpses.

Cen Xun also saw many students who were intact in the pile of corpses. They lay on the pile with peaceful faces, as if they were asleep. Cen Xun found a familiar figure among them. He climbed up the pile of corpses and pushed the man's shoulder: "Cheng Feng."

Cheng Feng's body swayed with his movements, but he did not wake up.

Cen Xun frowned: "What's wrong with him?"

Zhang San lowered his eyes and looked at the student, his glazed pupils showing neither sadness nor joy. "Human emotions are limited. Whether it's happiness or fear, they are not inexhaustible. Once squeezed dry, they are gone."

"After so many cycles, they're like tiny sesame seeds that have been squeezed until only their skin is left. They can't hold on any longer." Zhang San sighed, "But they will wake up again."

Cen Xun looked at him.

Zhang San's expression showed no special emotion. "When the strange domain is fully formed, they will serve as followers of the domain master and wake up as low-level strange monsters."

Cen Xun pursed his lips: "So, are they considered dead now?"

Zhang San was silent for a while, and finally said, "They died a long time ago."

The amount of information revealed in this sentence was enormous. Cen Xun stared at him and did not speak for a long time.

"What about me?" Cen Xun asked him calmly, "When will I die?"

Zhang San beside him rolled his Adam's apple, avoided his gaze, and pretended to be nonchalant with a curled mouth: "If you promise not to be the principal, I will tell you."

Cen Xun's face was expressionless for a moment: "I don't really want to know that."

"It doesn't matter if I'm a human or a ghost, as long as I want something, I'll get it."

Cen Xun glanced at Zhang San, turned around and jumped off the pile of corpses.

What else could Zhang San say? He smiled helplessly and jumped off the pile of corpses. Just as he was about to walk in another direction, he suddenly heard a cold "Where are you going?"

Zhang San turned around and saw Cen Xun staring at him. He couldn't help but say with a bit of resentment, "Don't you want me to take care of you? Can't I just leave?"

"No," Cen Xun said without hesitation, "Who knows what you'll do behind my back? You're not allowed to go anywhere today."

""

Zhang San laughed angrily: "Teacher Cen, why are you like this? You are allowed to set fires, but I am not allowed to wander around?"

"You'd better just hang out for the first two rounds." Cen Xun walked to Zhang San's side and took out a puppet string to show him: "Do you see this?"

Zhang San's eyes dropped and his gaze wandered slightly: "What do you want me to see? There is obviously nothing..."

"Why are you pretending? You can see it, right?" Cen Xun calmly exposed his fake performance. "That day, when you bent down to pick up the files, someone downstairs shouted, and you immediately rushed to the window to look, just to avoid it."

Zhang San was sweating profusely. "My employer is in danger. How can I not go and take a look?"

Cen Xun smiled slightly: "If you are really that worried about those people, why would you abandon them at the most dangerous moment and run to the archives to look for files?"

"Besides"

"I remember you told me that you were here to be a bodyguard, but in reality, you didn't care about the rich young man's life at all. You were here just to achieve your own goals."

"Student Zhang, which of your words should I believe?"

Zhang San was speechless and speechless.

He couldn't bear it any longer and retorted, "Speaking of which, I also want to ask, how could Teacher Cen know so clearly what happened in the archives room? It's as if he saw it with his own eyes. If I remember correctly, it was only me and classmate Rong who were there at the time."

Cen Xun said calmly, "Of course, classmate Rong told me."

Zhang San smirked: "Haha, really?"

Cen Xun didn't bother to talk nonsense and directly put the puppet string around his neck, threatening him: "If you take three steps away, blood will splatter three feet."

Zhang San: ""

"He's a ruthless man who doesn't talk much. His familiar, insidious style is worthy of him."

"Then I can find a faucet to wash my hands, okay?" Zhang San spread out his dirty hands and threatened: "Otherwise, I will touch you with my hands like this."

Cen Xun saw his hand and fell silent for some reason.

He slowly turned his head and glanced down.

Although the dirty handprints on the black suit pants were not obvious, they were clearly there and in an awkward position. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell what had happened.

Cen Xun: “”

Zhang San: ""

Zhang San: "How about taking it off and washing it?"

Cen Xun: "Shut up."

Finally, we went to the bathroom together to deal with it.

There was blood stain in the cracks of Zhang San's fingernails, and it took a long time to wash them clean. Cen Xun knew that these were all left by Zhang San when he dug him out from the pile of corpses, and the anger in his heart inexplicably dissipated a little.

After Zhang San washed his hands, Cen Xun drove him out and went to deal with the dirty suit pants himself.

Zhang San waited outside with his arms folded, glancing inside from time to time.

"Will he wash it? Don't let the whole pair of pants get wet."

"Then I'll make him beg me to give him some pants."

"Cen Xun in the door took a deep breath, sneered and threw his pants on the sink.

Zhang San outside the door was still imagining things. Perhaps because he thought that no one could hear what he was thinking, his inner voice became even bolder.

"Although Mr. Cen has a bad mouth and a bad heart, the feeling there is..."

"I still want to take pictures"

"Bouncey"

"Why hasn't he come out yet? I don't hear any sound of water. Is there any accident?"

"I'll just take a look, I guess he's not dead."

Before Zhang San took any actual action, Cen Xun pushed open the door and walked out.

Zhang San subconsciously glanced at his lower body, then looked away as if nothing had happened. He asked calmly and righteously, "Alright?"

Cen Xun stared at him indifferently: "Do you want to see it?"

"Look" Zhang San almost choked, and then refused firmly and righteously: "No, you are a married man, this is not in accordance with etiquette."

Cen Xun: “”Divine gold.”

The two walked together to the main road of the campus. There were few people on the road. It should have been the time when the sun was at its brightest, but the weather was gloomy. There was a sense of deathly silence in the campus. A gust of wind blew, and the only sound in the air was the rustling of leaves.

This cycle starts at 14:00, the time for the first class in the afternoon.

Cen Xun guessed that the next cycle might start at 18:40, the time for the first class in the evening.

The principal is driving his prey into a desperate situation step by step.

Cen Xun narrowed his eyes and looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar campus, but he did not feel afraid of the unknown future.

Zhang San followed him idly: "What should we do next?"

"wait."

"Waiting for what?"

Cen Xun looked at the Xuanri Bell Tower in the distance and said, "Wait until everything is over."

At this point in the game, Cen Xun has done what he should do and collected all the clues he should collect. Next, he just needs to wait for the day of sacrifice to arrive.

The only uncertainty was that Cen Xun looked at Zhang San beside him, the smile on his lips without a trace of warmth: "You really didn't do anything behind my back?"

Zhang San also smiled, with one hand in his pocket, looking very relaxed: "Guess."

Cen Xun withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and didn't waste any more words with him. He turned his eyes, chose a direction, and walked towards the faculty and staff restaurant.

The staff restaurant of H University was decorated in a high-end style. At this time, the restaurant was empty. Some stalls were still open, but the employees inside had fallen asleep on the ground and were obviously unable to continue serving Cen Xun.

Zhang San personally took out a few pieces of blueberry cake and a cup of hot cocoa that was so sweet that it was choking, and brought them to Cen Xun.

Cen Xun sat on a plastic chair, legs crossed, staring at him silently. Zhang San handed him a fork and said nonchalantly, "The only blueberry flavor left."

Cen Xun didn't refuse. He took the fork, picked up a piece of cake and took a bite.

As he picked up the hot cocoa, Zhang San casually mentioned something: "Did you know that high-level monsters actually have no sense of taste?"

Cen Xun paused, put down the cup, and looked at him calmly: "Really?"

"Not only do I have no sense of taste," Zhang San clasped his fingers together and stared at the tabletop, as if trying to see a flower in it, "I also have no sense of pain."

"I can't distinguish colors," Zhang San pointed at his eyes. "I lost my human body and turned into a strange alien."

"Is that so?" Cen Xun chuckled silently, picked up the cup again, and took a slow sip. "In fact, I think this is good. It gives me more freedom and makes me stronger. To monsters, the human body is more like a bondage, isn't it? Vision will disrupt their judgment, pain will make them retreat, and useless emotions will be deceived and exploited by cunning humans, turning them into a sharp blade to stab them."

"Dong!" The cup was put back on the table. Cen Xun leaned back in his chair, raised his finger, tapped his chest, and asked with a smile, "This heart has been hurting me a lot lately. If I could dig it out, would I stop feeling the pain?"

The young man fell silent.

Cen Xun picked up another piece of cake with his fork and looked at the cream dotted on the soft cake base, as if recalling something: "On my first day at work, I also ate a piece of cake here."

"I often wonder why I would be willing to be a small professor in a university."

"Three points and one line, ordinary and plain."

"Stirring up the storm and plunging the entire world into a bloodbath—that's what I want to do." Cen Xun shook his head and sighed softly, "But someone wants me to suppress my nature and be an ordinary person."

"Tolerance and indulgence are not exchanged for truth. Everything that is happening now makes me feel like a joke."

Cen Xun dropped the fork in his hand back onto the plate, a smile hidden in his eyes. "If this is a false world, then I will use my own hands to create the real one."

He stood up, looked down at the forbearing young man, and slowly raised the corners of his lips: "I want no one in this world to cover my eyes, no matter what the price I have to pay for it."

With a "boom", thunder exploded.

The sky outside had darkened at some point, and the light above my head crackled a few times before suddenly going out.

A flash of lightning illuminated the entire restaurant.

Two figures in the darkness, one sitting and the other standing, confronted each other in silence. They were only separated by a dining table, but it seemed as if there was a world of difference between them.

Another thunderclap sounded, and a third black shadow appeared on the glass outside the restaurant.

Cen Xun glanced at the young man, turned around without hesitation, pulled out the joystick, and faced the bloody monster that broke through the glass and rushed into the restaurant.

Compared to the previous round, Cen Xun was undoubtedly stronger this time. He fought and retreated, using the pillars of tables and chairs to avoid several sharp bone spikes stabbed by the monster. The monster screamed angrily, and its flesh and blood tentacles swept across, breaking several heavy beams immediately.

Dust was flying everywhere. While Cen Xun was dodging, he saw Zhang San still standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking at him indifferently, clearly ignoring the monster that was attacking crazily not far away.

On this battlefield, he is a third party who is out of the matter and a transparent person in the battle.

"Boom" the restaurant collapsed in the fierce battle. Cen Xun released the puppet threads as soon as he landed. The dense and colorful threads were emitting a sharp cold light of death, and the murderous intent was boiling as it twisted towards the flesh and blood monster that rushed out from the ruins.

Dense puppet threads formed a web, and the hundreds of tentacles that stabbed at Cen Xun were all crushed in an instant. Chunks of flesh fell like heavy rain. Cen Xun supported himself on the ground with his hands, dodging the continuous attack of bone spurs. The puppet threads on his fingertips flashed with blood, ready to stab the enemy.

The puppet thread did penetrate into the flesh, but it was not the enemy's flesh.

At the same time, the enemy's attack pierced the man's chest.

Blood flowed from the corner of Zhang San's lips. He covered his chest, knelt on one knee, frowned and closed his eyes as if he was enduring pain.

For some reason, the tentacle that had pierced the principal's chest suddenly froze. After a long while, the tentacle slowly retracted, but its reaction was several times slower, and the monster itself also froze in place.

Cen Xun was stunned for a moment, and then he was filled with uncontrollable anger. He retracted the puppet thread and looked at the young man on the ground with cold eyes: "What are you doing here!"

The young man coughed and laughed, stretched out his bloody hand and grabbed Cen Xun's trouser leg: "You want no one in the world to cover your eyes, but I want..."

He closed his eyes, and his last words vanished into the air like a sigh: "I hope there will be no more bloodshed in this world."

Cen Xun's face was gloomy. He stood there, staring at the dead young man, and uttered a very cold voice: "Very good."