The Silent and Eerie School (Part 8)

"It's starting, it's starting!"

"The doctor has finally started hypnosis. Let me see what little beauty is most afraid of deep down!"

"I still find it strange. I've never seen a school doctor NPC treat patients before. This school doctor NPC is really weird."

"Hmm...maybe it's because the previous players weren't injured? Could this be triggering the school doctor's professional instincts?"

"I don't understand... can horror games get upgraded?"

The moment Li Su met the doctor's eyes, her mind went blank, and tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes.

"Huh? This little beauty is most afraid of white?"

"The person upstairs is laughing so hard. It's clearly a blank page, which means this player isn't afraid of anything."

"Hmm...something doesn't feel right either. You shouldn't be crying if you're not afraid of anything, right?"

"That's right, his situation feels more like the aftermath of having his memory erased."

"Memory erasure? What does that mean?"

Almost the instant the doctor saw Li Su's tears, a different emotion flickered in his dark eyes, and his gaze slowly shifted away. Li Su immediately snapped back to reality and looked at the doctor warily.

At that moment, a small cheer erupted from the queue outside the clinic.

Everyone looked up toward the source of the sound.

The first person to come out was the boy in the second group who was pushed in by the female teacher. Apart from the tears on his face, he looked fine, at least unlike the stiff, puppet-like students in the class.

"How about it?"

What happened inside?

"How can I get out?"

......

Everyone bombarded him with questions, hoping to increase their chances of survival in the upcoming mission.

The boy remained silent with his head down, seemingly immersed in immense sorrow, ignoring everyone.

Huang Chenchuan recognized the man as He Zhilin, who had struck up a conversation with them while they were changing clothes in the storage room not long ago.

A very muscular man finally couldn't stand the eerie silence any longer: "Damn it! Can't you say something?!"

"The system didn't specify what the punishment would be. Are you going to disregard the lives of so many people just for an uncertain outcome?"

The girl with big, wavy hair standing behind He Zhilin was also a little anxious. She was next to enter the waiting room, and she wanted to know what was going to happen inside so she could prepare in advance. She could only suppress the trembling in her voice and ask him, "He Zhilin, didn't we complete the first side quest together? Tell everyone what we'll experience in the second side quest?"

"Just a little hint will do, enough to give us some preparation!"

The blonde man behind the girl with big wavy hair put his arm around her shoulder, and the two looked like a couple.

The blond man pointed angrily at He Zhilin, his voice rising involuntarily: "Are you fucking mute? You just want to freeload off someone else's progress, huh? Damn it, I really misjudged you!"

"You only survived the first hurdle because of us, didn't you? Now you're denying it?!"

"What's all the noise about! Have you no manners?!" The female teacher rushed over upon hearing the commotion, her eyebrows almost raised in anger, her voice becoming shrill and thin: "Line up! The next student, get in here for a medical check-up right now!"

The blond man with the girl in the wavy hair was about to rush forward when the girl stopped him: "Don't be impulsive, the teacher is here. I'm going in. You have to be careful and wait for me at the door, okay?"

The girl had tears in her eyes, but she still gently hugged her boyfriend.

The blond boy's eyes also reddened, and he called out the girl's name helplessly, "Ah Lian..."

The blond boy could only watch helplessly as his girlfriend walked further and further away from him.

The last small consultation room door separated the two.

Not only the second line, but all three lines fell silent.

The blond boy glared at He Zhilin with red eyes, but dared not lash out because the female teacher was present.

Huang Chenchuan frowned. He Zhilin's appearance confirmed his first impression of him. Sure enough, his first impression was still strange, frighteningly accurate.

Anyone who makes him uncomfortable is ultimately not a good person.

He Zhilin seemed to snap out of her daze, and with a panicked expression, she whispered an apology to everyone: "I'm sorry! I... I was so scared..."

No one paid any attention to him anymore. Even those who wanted to ask what was happening in the consultation room dared not bring up anything related to the mission because the female teacher was present, fearing that they might trigger some rule and lose their lives.

Huang Chenchuan said angrily, "Who is this person? They should have said something earlier, maybe they could have given me a hint. Now that the teacher is here, I can't say anything at all..."

Wang Fan gently patted his shoulder, "Alright, stop talking, don't attract the teacher's attention."

The joyful atmosphere that had started because someone had managed to get out suddenly turned eerie.

*

Inside the examination room, the doctor looked away.

"Inspection complete."

It's over? Li Su was still in a daze, caught off guard by the unexpected situation.

He didn't become the stiff figures of the students in the classroom; he still had his own consciousness.

While Li Su was still in a daze, the doctor removed the gauze from her knee. The originally shocking wound had completely healed. If it weren't for the pale yellow medicine residue on her knee, one would almost doubt that she had ever been injured at all.

The cool, wet wipes cleaned away the remaining medicine on my knees, and the rolled-up trouser legs were rolled down again.

What kind of medicine is so effective?

The doctor looked at Li Su, his gaze lingering on her swollen eyes for two seconds before looking away: "You can leave now."

Not daring to think about it further, Li Su quickly got up, the pain in his knee completely gone, and he even started jogging.

The school doctor, who was initially in a good mood after seeing the wound heal completely, suddenly frowned.

"etc."

Li Su stood still, her heart pounding as she heard footsteps getting closer and closer behind her.

The doctor's breath turned icy: "Are you afraid of me?"

Li Su's breathing quickened, her whole body stiffened, and she dared not move an inch, denying, "N-nothing..."

No way, he's scared to death.

The doctor behind them remained silent, and Li Su dared not move; the two seemed to be locked in a strange stalemate.

The moment the cold object touched his palm, Li Su couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

The doctor's tone was emotionless: "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Subconsciously, Li Su was told that if he said he was afraid, things would be very bad.

Li Su stubbornly replied, "No, I'm not afraid... it's just... it was too sudden..."

Little liar.

The doctor subtly brushed his fingertips against the delicate palm before slowly withdrawing them.

Li Su looked down and saw a clean, damp wipe stuffed into the palm of her right hand through her blurry vision.

"Wipe your hands and go back."

Li Su was puzzled for a moment.

Why did the doctor tell him to wipe his hands, and then so coincidentally put a wet wipe in his right hand? Did the doctor know that his right hand had touched the bones?

Without time to think, Li Su gripped the wet wipe in her hand and hurriedly left.

A petty swindler pushed open the door and ran away without looking back.

The doctor's smile froze on his lips for a moment, and he looked inexplicably stiff and strange.

Qi Zui and Qi Ye outside the door came back to life.

Huang Chenchuan's eyes widened the moment he saw Li Su emerge from the clinic unharmed, his voice trembling with excitement: "Su Su Su Su is out! You... are you alright?"

In-game messages cannot be shared; please keep them confidential.

The system reminded me again.

Li Su looked at everyone's anxious and nervous expressions and pursed her lips.

Aren't they living, breathing human beings? If they really do what the system says, then how are they any different from those students who have completely lost their sense of self?

It seemed that everyone had received the system message, and the eager eyes in the team gradually turned dejected, the light in their eyes slowly dimming.

"Chenchuan," Wang Fan called out to him in a low voice.

Although they were eager to know how to complete this side quest, they couldn't bring themselves to put Li Su in unknown dangers.

Huang Chenchuan took a deep breath and sincerely apologized to Li Su, "I'm sorry, Su Su, I forgot about this rule..."

"You don't need to say anything... Leave everything to fate..." His voice trailed off as he finished speaking.

He seemed to understand He Zhilin's actions earlier. No one would put the interests of others above their own, so He Zhilin's actions didn't seem wrong; it was just that everyone was considering different issues.

Qi Zui paid no attention to the reactions of others, his eyes fixed on Li Su.

What will his Su Su do?

“It’s okay.” Li Su nodded. “The doctor inside can hypnotize, and I guess that’s why the system is telling us to make sure we’re conscious and not look into his eyes.”

“Li Su, you—” Jiang Xiaoning looked up in surprise.

Huang Chenchuan was also shocked, and he almost covered Li Su's mouth with his hand.

"Su Su, you just said that?!" Huang Chenchuan lowered his voice: "Wait, system..."

He dared not say the rest, fearing he might jinx it.

Li Su shook her head. "It's okay. We're not mindless NPCs. We should help each other in the game."

“I have completed the mission. The game can’t just kill me outright, otherwise it would violate the game rules, wouldn’t it?” Li Su paused, then continued, “As for other punishments, if there are any, I will have to accept them.”

Seeing everyone's worried faces, Li Su smiled and said, "Alright, don't frown. Besides, I have you all. If I get punished, I'll have to trouble you to take care of me."

"Of course!" Huang Chenchuan nodded vigorously.

The half-joking, half-serious approach did indeed lift the spirits considerably.

A barely perceptible smile flickered across Qi Zui's eyes.

His Su Su is so kind.

The atmosphere eased for less than a second before everyone held their breath, waiting for the system to deliver its verdict on Li Su.