Chapter 33: Club Recruitment (Ten)
...someone is on the ceiling of their classroom?!
This idea made Li Ke and Fu Xiaoju shudder.
Seeing Lu Chongnian moving the ladder, Li Ke swallowed and said, "Lu Chongnian, the rules say..."
Article 3 of the Activity Center Rules: If you hear a knock on the door in the classroom, you can open it; if you hear a knock on the door from somewhere else, please ignore it and concentrate on club activities.
It would be better to ignore the knock on the door... ?
Fu Xiaoju quickly understood Lu Zhongnian's idea this time: "If nothing happens if we ignore it, then there is no point in this dungeon setting, right? Maybe the rules can also take advantage of the players' psychology and lead them astray?"
Since there was a knock on the ceiling, there must be someone up there, or maybe it wasn't a person... it must be something else.
If they ignore the knock on the door, they may be able to avoid some risks, but at the same time they may also lose some important clues.
Without the important clues, they might not be able to find the monster generator.
Fu Xiaoju said to Li Ke, "Senior, just sit here. I'll go and help Brother Lu."
Li Ke nodded quickly and signaled him to come over.
Fu Xiaoju ran over to help Lu Chongnian hold the ladder steady, and looked up.
The ceilings of these classrooms were very high, but Lu Chongnian was also tall, so he touched the ceiling after climbing five or six steps.
The ceiling was snow-white and there was nothing unusual about it.
Lu Zhongnian stretched out his slender fingers to touch the white piece and observed it. Soon, he found something in the white piece. He used his index finger to draw a vertical line against the wall.
After about 40 centimeters, his index finger turned right, forming a right angle, and continued to draw a horizontal line of about 30 centimeters, then turned upwards at a right angle and continued to draw. This is...
Fu Xiaoju opened his eyes wide: "Is this a small rectangular door?"
Lu Zhongnian didn't look down at him, his voice was very calm: "The gap is very small, you have to be very careful to see it."
No wonder he and Li Ke failed to discover the mechanism here when they inspected this classroom before.
The knock on the door has not sounded again since it happened twice just now. At this moment, has the person knocking on the door already left... or is he quietly waiting above this small door, waiting for them to push it open?
Fu Xiaoju couldn't help but lower his voice: "Brother Lu, could it be those two people who went to the literature club on the third floor...?"
"The community association office is not located on the third floor."
Lu Zhongnian withdrew his hand.
Above their classroom should be one of the offices on the third floor whose doors cannot be opened.
But Lu Zhongnian didn't think that the person knocking on the door was in those offices.
Firstly, those offices didn’t even have signs, no functional attributes, and no guidance in the rules. Lu Chongnian didn’t think those offices would play any important role in this copy.
Secondly, because of his intuition, he didn't think that the knocking sound came from the other side of the ceiling and that the person knocking was at the corresponding position on the third floor.
Fu Xiaoju also knew that what he said was unlikely, but wasn't this the safest guess, so he just said so...
He said awkwardly, "So, should we open this door?"
Lu Zhongnian's answer was straightforward and decisive. He made a move - an attempt to push the small door upwards.
The next second, Fu Xiaoju saw Lu Chongnian's hand pressed tightly against the snow-white wall as if it was sucked by something, and his thumb flowed into a gap like liquid!
"Brother Lu!"
Lu Zhongnian was prepared and withdrew his hand quickly, successfully pulling his thumb out of the gap!
Fu Xiaoju was almost scared to death, but fortunately Lu Zhongnian's thumb was safe and sound, just slightly red.
Fu Xiaoju was confused: "This door really can't be pushed open, so what does this setting mean?"
If that thing above the ceiling is a monster, then they can be safe as long as they don't push the door... ?
It’s that simple? ?
Lu Chongnian pondered.
He suddenly remembered a rule.
Activity Center Rules Article 2: Please knock on the door before entering, and pay attention to the time when knocking. Remember to close the door after entering the classroom.
Just now, when he knocked on the doors of classroom 201 and classroom 203, he looked at the time, which was 8:06 and 8:07 respectively.
From the beginning of the dungeon to now, the thirteen players have knocked on doors many times. Most people should have recorded the time of knocking on the door, but so far Lu Zhongnian has not seen the role of these "times" in the dungeon.
But what if the timing of knocking on the "door" is not the key point, but the timing of knocking on the "ceiling door" is?
Lu Zhongnian glanced at his phone.
Time, 8:14.
Two minutes should have passed since the first knock on the door. Based on this calculation, the actual knock on the door time was around 8:12.
*
Classroom 203.
The door of the classroom was pushed open a crack, and a hand picked up the note outside the door and took it in.
Ten minutes ago.
Qi Shan and Hao Jia spent a long time discussing and writing down the matters they wanted to discuss with "Uncle Zhang" at the stray animal protection base.
It was not until Ye Sui, Mu Yu and Lu Chongnian came back from their exploration of the third floor, wrote the notes and distributed them, and the two people from the Literature Club went to the third floor that their classroom really started the first step - making a phone call.
Qi Shan was responsible for making calls, and every call was made on speakerphone.
Ye Sui types quickly and uses a laptop to record the content of the call.
Hao Jia was responsible for paying attention to whether Qi Shan had missed anything and reminding him in time.
After the three of them finished their division of labor, Qi Shan made the call.
After three beeps, the phone was picked up, and Uncle Zhang's full-throated voice sounded on the other end:
"Xiao Qi, why did you call me again? I just wanted to ask you something, but you hung up without saying anything. I'm busy here and didn't have time to call you back!"
Sounds so much like real-world people!
Hao Jia was a little depressed. How great would it be if this Uncle Zhang was a real person? Then they could ask him to help call the police!
Qi Shan did not forget his mission. He calmed himself down and talked to "Uncle Zhang" calmly.
This "Uncle Zhang" readily agreed to Qi Shan's request to go to their stray animal protection unit for a social practice, saying that they were short of manpower and were eager for Qi Shan to bring people over.
This sounds like something Uncle Zhang would usually say.
Qi Shan couldn't shake off the familiar feeling, and his voice softened involuntarily: "Then let's make an appointment at..."
"How about an appointment before ten o'clock tonight?"
Qi Shan and Hao Jia froze.
"I'm free before ten o'clock tonight. You can bring students from your club here at any time!" Uncle Zhang said cheerfully.
Qi Shan and Hao Jia woke up with a start.
Before ten o'clock...that means before the end of this copy!
How could Uncle Zhang from the real world make an appointment at this time? This is indeed a fake person created by the copy.
They were a little embarrassed and annoyed.
Ye Sui sighed.
As he typed, he glanced at the three train tickets lying aside.
The time and place on the ticket began to emerge.
The date is today and the time is before 10 o'clock tonight.
The location is: X City Stray Animal Protection Base.
City X is right next to Xinlian City, and the bus can reach it in about an hour and a half.
I don’t know if it’s because the progress of the plan has not been enough, the color of these lines of text is still very light, and there is still a long way to go before they can be clearly seen.
In addition to agreeing on the time, according to normal procedures, Qi Shan also has to discuss with "Uncle Zhang" what to do after all members of the club arrive.
For example, helping to clean the place and feeding stray cats and dogs...
"Uncle Zhang" suddenly said, "By the way, we recently received a group of stray dogs, and among them there is a Border Collie, black and white, very smart."
"Was he also abandoned by his owner?" Qi Shan answered naturally.
Ye Sui paused and glanced at Qi Shan.
"I don't know. There are no injuries on the dog. I checked and it's not sick. It might have gotten lost, but the person who found the dog couldn't find its owner after searching for a long time. It was inconvenient to keep it at home, so he sent it to me."
"It's strange, isn't it? The fur of this dog doesn't look very dirty, and it doesn't look like it has been lost for a long time. The owner should live nearby, but no one has come out to look for him..."
Qi Shan subconsciously tightened his other hand on the table: "Which district is it from? How old is that Border Collie?"
"It's in District XX. The dog looks to be only three or four years old."
"Male or female?"
"Female."
"Does it have a butterfly-shaped patch of white hair on its back?"
Ye Sui stopped typing and patted Qi Shan on the shoulder.
Qi Shan seemed to be awakened.
"Uncle Zhang" answered him at this time: "I don't remember. What's the matter? Did your friend also lose a Border Collie? I'll go check it out for you later."
"Ah...well, thank you for your help, Uncle Zhang. I have something to do here so I'll hang up first and call you back later."
"OK."
After hanging up the phone, Ye Sui asked, "What happened?"
He thought Qi Shan should know that the person opposite him was not the real Uncle Zhang, so why was he still talking about Border Collie with him?
Qi Shan seemed a little uneasy: "I also lost a Border Collie, just a month ago, and it was in City X, but it's a bit far from the area he mentioned..."
Hao Jia was surprised: "Your mind was read by the copy? But this sounds fake. Didn't Uncle Zhang say that the Border Collie has no owner?"
If Qi Shan had lost the dog himself, how could he not go looking for it?
"Well, how should I put it... My parents bought our Border Collie without my consent when I was in my second year of high school. I really like dogs, but I always wanted to wait until I got a job before getting one. But my parents - I don't know what they were thinking at the time. They were getting a divorce and were acting crazy every day, and they suddenly bought Qiuqiu back."
"Later, I was going to take the college entrance examination. I was admitted to the science and engineering school. I really wanted to study here, so I had no choice but to leave the ball in my hometown. Then last year, my parents divorced completely, and my mother left the ball at my grandmother's house."
"My grandparents live in a village in X City. They don't like dogs and let them roam free every day... I was saving money and was thinking of moving out of the dormitory and renting a house outside next semester to bring Qiuqiu over, but before I could do that, Qiuqiu was lost..."
Hao Jia suddenly didn't know how to comfort him: "Do you think your grandparents threw the ball away on purpose...?"
"I don't know. Maybe it wasn't intentional. But if the ball was lost, they definitely wouldn't go out and look for it carefully. By the time I found out, half a month had passed. I went back to my hometown to look for it, but found nothing..."
Ye Sui interrupted them: "Senior, the ball can't be in the copy no matter where it is. The copy is taking advantage of your feelings for it."
"I, I know, I just subconsciously..." Qi Shan bit his lip and asked, "Why did the copy mention this to me?"
"I don't know." Ye Sui adjusted his glasses with the back of his hand, "But you'd better not be led by the nose. There must be a trap here."
"I, I understand." Qi Shan let out a breath and raised his hand to wipe his eyes.
His arms were very thin, so thin that it seemed as if only bones were left, which attracted Ye Sui's attention.
Qi Shan put down his hand, and Ye Sui's gaze also fell downward, his brows slightly furrowed.
...Are Qi Shan’s arms originally so thin?
Seeing Qi Shan dialing the phone again, Ye Sui suddenly asked: "How about I take charge of this call?"
Qi Shan was stunned for a moment: "No need, are you worried about me? Don't worry, I know what's going on."
Since he said so, Ye Sui didn't know what to say.
After the call was connected, seeing Qi Shan talking about business with "Uncle Zhang" normally, Ye Suibian turned back and continued to tap on his keyboard.
Because they often had to discuss some new issues that might become "pitfalls", the phone calls came and went, and each call did not last long.
*
At 8:01, Mu Yu knocked on the door of their classroom and asked if there was anything unusual in the classroom.
Mu Yu wouldn't ask such a question for no reason, so Ye Sui was stunned.
Qi Shan behind him was still talking to "Uncle Zhang".
He paused, shook his head and said, "No, what's wrong?"
Mu Yu briefly told them about the situation of the basketball club, including that they could not "do nothing" in the classroom for more than one minute, and that the transparent monster would imitate them knocking on the four doors. Qi Shan and Hao Jia were horrified when they heard it.
After the door was closed, Hao Jia asked in a low voice: "Every classroom has a death mechanism...? Then what will be in our classroom?"
Qi Shan had no intention of talking to "Uncle Zhang" and was staring at Ye Sui nervously.
Ye Sui looked at Qi Shan.
Qi Shan looked confused.
"Hello? Xiao Qi, are you still there?"
"Ah, I'm still here." Qi Shan answered absentmindedly.
"Oh, right, I just checked for you, and guess what, there really is that butterfly-shaped patch of white hair on the Border Collie's back! Is this the dog your friend lost?"
"Ah?" Qi Shan fell into confusion.
"I'll let it bark for you to hear. Come, Xiaohuahua, I'll call it Xiaohuahua, hahahaha!"
"Woof!"
A dog barked at the other end of the phone, and Qi Shan's attention was immediately drawn away.
He subconsciously called out: "Ball?"
"Woof woof woof!" The dog on the other end seemed to hear its owner's voice and barked excitedly.
Qi Shan opened his eyes wide in shock. The next second, Ye Sui stepped forward and hung up the phone.
Qi Shan raised his head and looked at him: "That was really Qiuqiu's cry!"
Ye Sui's tone became solemn: "Since the copy can read your memory, of course it can also read the cry of Qiuqiu in your memory."
"But..." Qi Shan's eyes turned red, and he murmured, "But it really sounds like this. I haven't heard its voice for a long time..."
Ye Sui suddenly noticed something and pressed Qi Shan's forehead, forcing him to raise his head.
Qi Shan was startled, and at that moment his actions seemed to be instinctive -
He pushed Ye Sui away with force, pushing him one meter away, and he hit the corner of the table with a clanging sound!
Hao Jia was also frightened and jumped up reflexively.
The classroom was suddenly silent, and the three people stared at each other.
"Senior." Ye Sui called in a deep voice.
Qi Shan seemed to realize that something was wrong, and he shouted in panic: "Don't come over here!"
Ye Sui still wanted to go over.
"Don't come over!" Qi Shan yelled.
After he finished speaking, he bared his teeth and made a strange snoring sound in his throat.
When Hao Jia heard this sound, he was so frightened that he took two or three steps back, his face full of shock.
——The sound coming out of Qi Shan’s throat was actually like a dog’s!
It was also at this moment that she suddenly noticed Qi Shan's arms and legs.
Qi Shan's arms and legs became so strange...
From the forearm to the upper arm, it is so thin that it doesn't look like a human arm. It is not until the upper arm approaches the shoulder that the muscles suddenly develop and become strong.
The same goes for the two legs, which are long and thin at the bottom and suddenly widen at the hips.
Qi Shan slightly arched his back and tilted his neck forward...that was exactly the posture a dog would have when on alert!
Ye Sui stared at Qi Shan's mouth.
All the teeth in Qi Shan's mouth turned into fangs at some point.
He is gradually turning into a beast...
How did it happen?
Is it because the Border Collie story has magical power, and that anyone who answers the phone will change after hearing this story?
Qi Shan was also very panicked. He subconsciously groped the table and touched the phone. When he turned around, he saw his hand.
——His five fingers had all shortened at some point. His thumb was stretched apart from the other four fingers and shrunk into a corner. His palm became thick and his whole hand looked like a canine's claw.
He suddenly withdrew his hand and knocked over the phone. Ye Sui took the opportunity to step forward, but he suddenly turned around, and Ye Sui had to stop again.
The atmosphere in the classroom was tense and ready to explode.
Hao Jia didn't even dare to breathe.
Suddenly, she received a look from Ye Sui.
The next second, Ye Sui strode towards Qi Shan. Qi Shan jumped up as if he had received an attack signal!
He first took a step back, and then he pounced towards Ye Sui as if his instinct had exploded!
Ye Sui dodged, but the classroom was too small and the distance between them was too close, so it was impossible for him to completely avoid it.
Qi Shan twisted his body and pounced on him, biting his left arm hard. His sharp fangs instantly pierced Ye Sui's sleeve and stabbed into his flesh!
"Ye Sui!" Hao Jia ran over, holding two ropes used to tie A4 paper that he had found in the corner!
Ye Sui exerted force and threw Qi Shan to the ground. Then he turned Qi Shan over, with his back facing up, and tied his hands behind his back: "Hurry up and tie up his hands!"
The two ropes were very thin, but there was nothing else that could be used better at the moment, so Hao Jia hurriedly stepped forward and did as he was told.
"Tie it tighter!"
“Okay, okay!”
Ye Sui suppressed Qi Shan with force, and Hao Jia moved quickly. They restrained Qi Shan's hands before turning him over.
Qi Shan's chest heaved, and his face had an expression that was hard to tell whether it was shock or a murderous look. He was still baring his teeth fiercely at them, his eyes bloodshot.
Ye Sui half-knelt down, lifted Qi Shan's chin and looked into his eyes: "Senior, are you still awake? If you are, tell me!"
Qi Shan did not answer. He clenched his teeth, threatening snoring sounds continued to come from his throat, a wrinkle appeared between his nose, and tears filled his eyes.
Ye Sui stared at him for two seconds, let out a long breath, and let go of his hand.
Hao Jia asked fearfully, "How is he?"
"Still awake."
Crying means he is still conscious. He gritted his teeth, probably trying hard to resist the urge to attack them.
"So, what should we do next?"
Ye Sui walked back to the table and looked at the three tickets.
The font on the ticket began to reappear a little, but it was not enough and was not completely clear.
"What else have we not discussed yet?"
Hao Jia quickly picked up the paper they had used to record their previous discussions and said, "There are still some issues involving costs that we haven't discussed clearly yet!"
"I see."
"You, you know?" Seeing Ye Sui about to pick up the phone, Hao Jia quickly stopped him. "We haven't figured out why Qi Shan became like this. If you make this call without figuring it out, won't you also be likely to become like Qi Shan?! By then, both of you will lose your minds. How am I going to take these two people to the community union office?"
The same thing applies in reverse. She makes the call, then turns into a beast and loses her mind. Ye Sui can't control both her and Qi Shan at the same time!
Ye Sui opened his mouth and was about to say something when four knocks on the door sounded again, interrupting their conversation.
There was silence in the classroom.
Ye Sui signaled Hao Jia to calm down first, then walked over and opened the door a crack.
Soon, he brought in the note outside the door.
Hao Jia asked nervously, "What's written on it?"
The handwriting on the note was not from Mu Yu. Ye Sui judged that it was written to them by the man named Lu Chongnian.
“1. If the club president dies, the club ceases to exist and the key is discarded. The remaining members must change clubs and apply to re-enter the classroom.
2. When players apply to change clubs, the symptoms imposed on them by the death mechanism will be instantly raised to the maximum level.
3. Jin Sheng and Zhao Jiayang are dead. Jin Sheng disappeared and should still be in the dungeon map; Zhao Jiayang has left the student activity center and entered the fog.
Ye Sui's gaze lingered on the last line of words for a moment.
He handed the note to Hao Jia, letting her read it, and said:
"Let me make the next call."
"Since 'Uncle Zhang' wants to bring up the Border Collie, then the senior's current state must be related to their conversation."
"If that conversation reminded me of the past and caused me to have certain emotions, which led to changes in my body, then I have never raised any pets, so this trick of the copy will not work on me."
Hao Jia was reading the note. When she heard this, she looked up and pointed out the loophole: "But what if the death mechanism in our classroom doesn't work like this?"
Ye Sui said in a steady voice: "Then we have to think about what other purpose Uncle Zhang can achieve by talking about those things."
"For example, maybe he was simply using this method to delay our call."
*
8:18
Classroom 201.
The door was quietly opened.
Bird brother stuck his head out and looked out into the corridor.
The corridor was deep and empty, with no one in sight.
He retracted his head, went back into the classroom and closed the door.
Yu Hui asked: "Have those two people from the literature club returned?"
Bird brother sighed and shook his head: "Anyway, I didn't see anyone."
He walked over and asked, "...How is Ayu?"
Mu Yu was sitting in the corner.
He was still wearing the same snake-patterned dress and the same wig. Except for the necklace that Bird Brother had taken off for him at the beginning, he had not taken off any of his other jewelry.
Mu Yu was holding a piece of paper in his hand. It was handed to the door of their classroom by Lu Chongnian a few minutes ago. Before Mu Yu had time to read it, it became like this.
At this moment, he leaned against the wall as if he had no strength in his body, his face slightly raised, his eyes seemed to be entangled with Bird Brother unintentionally, lingering around him, that look...
Brother Bird shuddered and touched his arm, feeling as if he was entangled in spider silk.
Yu Hui asked Bird Brother uncertainly: "Where do you think he is now?"
Bird observed for a moment and said cautiously, "I think it's in the hair ornament on his head..."
Yu Hui stretched her neck and looked at the gorgeous golden hair accessories on Mu Yu's head.
She called out to the hair ornament: "...Muyu?"
Of course, the gorgeous hair ornament responded to her with silence.
Yu Hui pursed her lips: "...I feel that the time his consciousness stays in his body is getting shorter and shorter, what should I do?"
"There is no other way. We can only assess him before he loses consciousness completely."
However, Mu Yu had said a few minutes ago that the people from the literature club should be back soon - if they are still alive - Mu Yu was of course willing to believe that Jiang Shuyue and Wang Haiyang were still alive - so they would first listen to what the two people from the literature club said before they set off.
Mu Yu said that next they should open the door every two or three minutes to see what was happening outside.
However, it is already 8:18, and the two people from the literature club have been gone for more than 20 minutes and have not returned yet.
Can they really come back?
This question has probably already surfaced in the minds of all the remaining players.
Seeing Mu Yu become like this, Bird Brother also became restless. After a while, he stood up and said, "I'll go take another look."
He walked over and opened the door, paused this time, and shouted, "There's a man lying outside!"
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