Chapter 5 Headless Woman

In room 205, Jun Xiangbei, lying on the lower bunk, slowly opened his eyes.

He clearly sensed that the brief burst of life energy outside the door had completely disappeared.

Like a candle flame blown out by a strong wind.

Under the rules, death comes silently and efficiently.

In the neighboring dormitory 204, Yue Qingqing and Bai Muling were huddled together on a bed, covering each other's mouths, barely daring to breathe, their bodies trembling slightly with fear.

They also vaguely heard that extremely faint sound, and an ominous premonition poured over them like ice water.

Di Wenzhou lay stiffly on the upper bunk, his wide eyes bloodshot, his pillowcase soaked with cold sweat.

He was closer to the door, so he could hear the sounds more clearly.

That was definitely not a hallucination. Shi Zihao... went out and never came back. And the teacher who suddenly appeared at his bedside just now... he dared not think about it anymore.

This night was destined to be a sleepless and agonizing one for the remaining players.

The next morning, the shrill alarm clock rang precisely on time, breaking the deathly silence.

The players sprang from their beds like startled birds, all pale-faced and with dark circles under their eyes.

When they met in the corridor, a suffocating silence filled the air.

Shi Zihao did not appear.

Jun looked north towards Di Wenzhou, who was a meter away from him, and asked, "What did Shi Zihao do last night?"

"He... left the dormitory, and a little while later the teacher came to our dormitory. The teacher stood by my bed for a while, then turned and left. Soon after, I heard the sound of bones breaking outside the dormitory."

Di Wenzhou remained relatively calm and continued to analyze: "I guess he went to the toilet. He wanted to go during the day yesterday, but he was interrupted."

"The dormitory rules say no noise, could it be that he made some noise when he went to the toilet?"

A glimmer of light flashed in Jun Xiangbei's eyes, then quickly faded away.

Zhuge Jin, who was also a meter away from everyone else, spoke, his tone carrying a hint of certainty:

"Our goal is to explore the hidden rules of the dungeon, rather than being bound by the explicit rules of the dungeon."

"Therefore, Shi Zihao was not punished by the rules because he made a sound."

Everyone looked up at him, but Zhuge Jin's expression revealed a hint of confidence.

The glint that had flashed in Jun Xiangbei's eyes lit up again as he looked at Zhuge Jin with great interest.

“Zhuge Jin is right. We players are not bound by the explicit rules of the dungeon world,” Jun Xiangbei affirmed Zhuge Jin’s statement.

All advanced players know this, since none of them who reach the level of advanced players are law-abiding citizens; they have all violated the rules of the dungeon world to some extent.

As for the hidden rules of the dungeon, as long as you are strong enough and have enough achievement points, you can break them.

"Unsurprisingly, he must have violated the rules about going to the toilet, and he lost another point. With no points left, he's out of luck," Jun Xiangbei said calmly.

The atmosphere on the way to the classroom was terribly oppressive.

"Xin Yuan'er, how about we make a deal?" Jun Xiangbei turned to ask Xin Yuan'er, breaking the silence.

Xin Yuan'er was taken aback, not expecting him to be involved. He asked hesitantly, "What kind of deal?"

“I’ll give Yue Qingqing a lucky buff and I’ll transfer 1,000 achievement points to you,” Jun Xiangbei said calmly.

Gu Yunqing was not surprised to hear that Jun Xiangbei wanted to make a deal with Xin Yuan'er, because that was how the original plot was written.

As for why Jun Xiangbei knew about Xin Yuan'er's superpower, it's even simpler: he possessed an SSS-level item called the Eye of Insight, which allowed him to see through other people's superpowers.

“Okay.” Xin Yuan’er didn’t question why Jun Xiangbei knew about his special ability, but happily agreed.

With these 1000 achievement points, even if he dies in a dungeon, he will be resurrected outside the dungeon.

When Jun Xiangbei saw that he had agreed, he immediately added him as a friend and transferred 1,000 achievement points to him.

Xin Yuan'er quickly bestowed upon Yue Qingqing the superpower of a lucky buff.

Yue Qingqing whispered a thank you to Jun Xiangbei.

The atmosphere quieted down again.

On their way to the classroom, the players encountered many ghost classmates. Regardless of gender, these ghost classmates all maintained a distance of more than one meter while talking to each other.

This is one of the reasons why players have started to maintain a one-meter distance.

The second reason is that the six of them gathered together yesterday and were penalized. To prevent triggering any unknown rules, they consciously kept a meter apart.

Upon entering the classroom, the ghost students were already seated in their places.

The school bell rang.

The male teacher wearing gold-rimmed glasses entered the classroom on time, with the same smile on his face as yesterday.

Good morning, students. A new day has begun. Let's continue to study hard and pursue happiness!

He gave his opening remarks as if it were a routine matter, then picked up the roster and said, "Let's begin the roll call now."

As the names were read out one by one, the ghost students answered "present" in all sorts of strange voices.

When the teacher called out the name "Shi Zihao," she paused, looked up, and said with her smile unchanged, "Shi Zihao? He's not here yet? Is he late? That's not good..."

Before he could finish speaking—

"Squeak—"

The classroom door was pushed open from the outside.

All eyes instantly focused on it.

A figure staggered in.

It was Shi Zihao!

But his appearance at that moment made all the players who saw it instantly feel their scalp tingle and their blood freeze!

His body was soaked in dark red, semi-congealed blood, and his school uniform was torn to shreds, revealing twisted and deformed limbs.

One of his arms was twisted in the opposite direction at an eerie angle, and one leg dragged along limply as if it had no bones. With each step he took, a sickeningly painful sound of bones grinding together was heard.

The most terrifying thing is his face.

On that pale, distorted face, marked with signs of pain, an extremely exaggerated smile was forced out.

His mouth stretched almost to his ears, revealing all his teeth, his eyes were wide open, his pupils were cloudy and dull, yet he was staring intently ahead.

With his broken body and a chilling smile, Shi Zihao walked stiffly step by step toward his seat.

The strong smell of blood instantly filled the classroom.

"Ugh—!" Yue Qingqing was so frightened that her soul almost left her body. She let out a terrified sob and was about to burst into tears.

Just as her voice was about to burst out, a headless female classmate next to her reacted quickly, covering her eyes and forcing her to hold back her tears.

The teacher on the podium seemed completely oblivious to Shi Zihao's terrifying and bizarre appearance, instead revealing a "gratified" smile: "Oh, Shi Zihao is here."

"Although you were a little late, it seems you have a deep understanding of the true meaning of our Happy Campus's pursuit of 'happiness,' and you're in great spirits. Go back to your seat now, and don't be late next time."

He was praising a student who was late, just like he was praising an ordinary student.

Shi Zihao... or rather, the "thing" wearing Shi Zihao's shell, grinned that terrifying smile, stiffly sat down in its seat, and remained motionless.

Only occasionally would those murky eyes slowly turn, glancing over the other players.

The chat was filled with shock at this moment:

"How did he become like this?!"

"This is a million times scarier than being dead!"

"What nonsense is the teacher talking about? This is what they call being in a good mental state?"

"The true meaning of happiness? I get it now. If you lose all your points and die, you'll turn into this kind of 'happy' monster?"

The players felt like they were sitting on pins and needles throughout the entire lesson.

Sitting next to a bloodied, eerily smiling former comrade is a psychological pressure that can drive a person insane.

No one knows if he might suddenly attack someone or do something even more terrible.

The teacher completely ignored all of this and continued teaching as usual, occasionally calling on "Shi Zihao" to answer questions.

The "thing" would answer questions about "happiness" and "discipline" in a distorted and off-key voice, sending chills down the players' spines with each word.

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

As soon as the teacher left the classroom, "Shi Zihao" suddenly stood up.

His movements remained stiff and contorted, his face still bearing that unchanging bright smile, as he limped towards the door, blocking the way for the still-shaken Yue Qingqing.

He tilted his head, which looked as if it might fall off at any moment, and "looked" at Yue Qingqing with his cloudy eyes:

"Hey, what's wrong? You look... terrible."

Be happy and joyful!

"Don't be so afraid of me, I just died, I didn't drop out of school."

"We will always be happy classmates and stay together forever."

His eerie, hoarse words, coupled with his terrifying appearance, terrified Yue Qingqing so much that she almost collapsed to the ground, tears nearly streaming down her face.

Just then, the headless woman who had covered Yue Qingqing's mouth earlier stood in front of her again.

The headless woman held her head in her left hand; her face was a bloody mess, looking sinister and terrifying.

It opened its mouth and said to "Shi Zihao", "Get lost! This is my prey".

Yue Qingqing was protected by a ghost, but the ghost also treated her as prey. She didn't know whether to be sad or happy, and she held back the tears she wanted to cry.

Jun Xiangbei, standing to the side, looked at "Shi Zihao" and secretly activated his ability to try to investigate the state of this "thing" and take Shi Zihao home.

But the feedback was emptiness and deathly silence. The other party was no longer a living being, or even a ghost in the conventional sense, but had completely merged into the "rules" of this instance.

Just then, a clear, cold voice rang out behind Jun Xiangbei. It wasn't loud, but it clearly reached his ears.

"It's no use. He has become part of the rules and will remain here forever."

Jun Xiangbei suddenly turned around and looked at Zhuge Jin, who had somehow appeared behind him.

Zhuge Jin's tone was calm and even, yet it carried an all-knowing indifference: "Resetting credits and physical death are not the end. His soul will become part of 'happiness,' remaining forever on this campus to remind those who come after him."

These words resounded like thunder in the hearts of Jun Xiangbei and the players nearby who could hear them.

Deducting points not only leads to death, but also to assimilation into the instance, transforming into a terrifying being that is neither human nor ghost, forever trapped.

This is the deepest malice and the cruelest rule of the "Happy Campus".

Shi Zihao seemed to have no reaction to Zhuge Jin's words. He still grinned and limped out of the classroom, leaving behind dark red bloody footprints and nearly collapsing players.

Yue Qingqing could no longer hold back her tears, but the headless woman covered her eyes.

"If you want to die, then cry." The headless woman's voice was indifferent.

Yue Qingqing's face was ashen, and she was so frightened by the headless woman beside her that she dared not cry or move.

Reader comments at this time:

[To be permanently stationed here?! Holy crap, this is the first time the author has written such a disgusting premise.]

[To die and then become a monster in a dungeon? An infinite loop? My little sun author, when did you mutate behind my back?]

Has Hou Yi gone to work recently? All the little suns have mutated.

[That headless woman has saved Yue Qingqing several times. Could this be due to a lucky buff?]

I'm more curious about Zhuge Jin than her; his precognitive abilities are just too overpowered.

The system's prompt flashed through Gu Yunqing's mind.

[Reader trust has increased...]

[The character 'Zhuge Jin' has been portrayed with a slightly increased presence...]

[Gained a slight enhancement in perception... Prophet Zhuge Jin's role performance progress 10%.]

Author's Note:

The rules of this dungeon are quite simple; it's mainly designed to showcase the protagonist's prophetic abilities. [doge emoji with rose in hand]