There were finally no mosquitoes at night, but Mingqiao couldn't fall asleep.
He thought a lot, and although his eyes were so tired that he could hardly open them, he was very excited. So Mingqiao stood up from the table and found a window sill to lie on.
It was pitch black outside, and I could vaguely see the treetops swaying in the wind. Normally, when you are so close to the woods, you can hear a lot of insects chirping, but today there was no sound at all, and the silence was so unsettling.
Before going to bed, he liked to review the lessons he had taught that day and the lessons he was going to teach next. He would reflect on what he had done wrong, what he needed to improve, which teacher to ask for advice, which literature to read, etc. He would think about all of these.
Today I continue this habit and carefully review all my experiences of the day.
What happened at school?
What are those rules trying to emphasize?
He forced himself to think about these questions over and over again, considering every possibility.
From the time he was in the office, the teacher's manual, the student's manual, and later in the restaurant, the employee's manual, and two notices, all of them emphasized the word "rules". "It" seemed to want to establish a kind of order, but it didn't know how to maintain this order. So the consequences of this order were chaotic, and a chain of butterfly effects occurred, making things worse and worse. And when it realized this chaos, it would give a solution, such as Mingqiao's constant transformation of identity, the reversal or acceleration of time, or getting rid of people in chaos.
Mingqiao couldn't tell when something went wrong at school, but it certainly wasn't today.
Maybe it was because of the heavy rain that lasted for a week some time ago. I still remember that Zhang Wanqiao said at that time that Xingchuan City had never had such heavy rain.
It should have been very abnormal at that time.
But these strange things cannot be attributed to just one rain.
What's more, this rain is also part of the strange things.
Mingqiao had a severe headache. He rubbed his temples and suddenly thought of something.
Maybe it's the new principal's problem.
Schools never had these messy rules before. At most, there were some national teacher rules and student rules.
But after the new principal came, these new rules were established.
Who is the new principal?
What does he want to do?
"What do you want to do?"
Shi Xin patted him from behind, and Mingqiao trembled in fear.
"You didn't sleep?" Mingqiao asked in shock.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?" Shi Xin said, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I'm thinking about something." Mingqiao rubbed his temples: "What about you?"
"Get up and go to the bathroom." Shi Xin said.
"Oh." Mingqiao wanted to call him, but he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.
Shi Xin left very quickly and came back in just one minute.
He stood against the wall next to Mingqiao, waiting to see what he would say.
"Do you know where the main power switch is?" Mingqiao asked.
"It's under the stairs on the left side of the first floor." Shi Xin said.
"There are wires on the ceiling I dug up. Be careful when you climb."
"Is it impossible not to crawl?" Shi Xin asked, "Can you just open the door from the outside and let me out?"
Ming Qiao looked at him sincerely and said, "No, that's not an ordinary lock."
"Anything else?"
"There are a lot of people on the third floor, all dressed as employees, and they seem to be taking orders from the old man who issued the card."
Shi Xin had a deep impression of this person. When Mingqiao said that, he seemed to feel the physical and mental discomfort he had felt when he applied for the card.
"Is your first reaction when you think of him disgust?" Mingqiao asked.
Shi Xin nodded.
"Then don't run away or struggle after you get up there."
"Teacher Ming is very experienced in this area."
"...Yeah." Mingqiao didn't want to recall the rag: "Just do as I say."
"I hope everything goes well tomorrow." Shi Xin took a few deep breaths and held out his fist: "Teacher Ming, it's a pleasure to work with you."
Mingqiao clenched his fist and bumped it with him: "Happy cooperation."
After chatting with Shi Xin, Mingqiao’s headache was gone and his mind relaxed, so he fell asleep in a daze.
When he woke up, it was already bright outside. Zhang Wanqiao was eating steamed buns while supervising two students' morning reading.
"Morning, Teacher Zhang."
"Morning, Teacher Ming." Zhang Wanqiao pushed the steamed buns and vegetables to the table in front of Mingqiao: "Eat something. You have to eat anyway."
"Yeah." Ming Qiao grabbed a steamed bun and ate it, and asked casually, "Where is the reporter?"
"He went to the first floor."
"What are you doing on the first floor again?"
"Look for his camera." Zhang Wanqiao said, "I'm not sure either. You can ask him yourself when he comes up later."
"Teacher Ming." Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Shi Xin hung his black camera around his neck and ran to sit next to them: "Good morning, Teacher Ming."
"Good morning." Mingqiao asked, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you so early in the morning."
"Get my camera." Shi Xin said, "Although there's nothing important in it, this camera cost me three months' living expenses. I'd be heartbroken if I lost it."
"My Pear 38promax phone is still new." Mingqiao also lamented: "The Avocado Green 1TB I bought specifically for it is gone just like that."
"Did it fall into the rice bucket you mentioned?" Shi Xin asked.
"It should be." Mingqiao finished the last bite of the steamed bun and drank some water to smooth his mood. "The maze opens at 1:30 pm. What time is it now?"
"It's ten o'clock in the morning." Zhang Wanqiao said.
Mingqiao almost choked on his water. He stammered, "Have I slept for so long?"
"Yes, Teacher Ming." Wang Dada beside him laughed and said, "Teacher, you can sleep better than me."
"Recite your book." Zhang Wanqiao tapped his head, and Wang Dada immediately stopped talking.
Mingqiao cleared his throat and motioned for them to stop: "Then let's split up at half past one. I'll go to the second floor, Shi Xin, you go to the third floor, Teacher Zhang, you take Deng Ya and Wang Dada to wait at the door. Remember to bring some dry food and water, so that you can have emergency help in case of any accidents."
"Okay." Several people said in unison.
Time passed quickly, and the three adults were in no mood to eat lunch, so they only made some for the two students. Before they had finished digesting, the clock had already struck half past one.
"Let's go." Ming Qiao stood up first. He sent Zhang Wanqiao and the other two to the entrance of the cafeteria on the first floor. Looking at their worried expressions, he felt melancholy in his heart.
"If nothing unexpected happens, you will definitely be able to get out." Mingqiao reassured the three of them.
"Teacher Ming." Wang Dada's face was full of reluctance: "Will I be able to see you again?"
"Sure." Ming Qiao said, "I haven't finished teaching you the history knowledge from junior high school yet."
"Teacher, please be careful." Deng Ya said.
"Sure." Mingqiao said, he turned around and looked at Zhang Wanqiao: "Teacher Zhang, I leave it to you."
"Yeah." Zhang Wanqiao gave him a firm look: "Don't worry."
Mingqiao didn't dare to waste time, so he sent the others away and immediately ran back to the second floor. Shi Xin was standing at the stairs, and the two of them looked at each other and calmly walked towards their respective battlefields.
Ming Qiao entered the maze again. This time he walked alone, and with his previous experience, he didn't care about anything. He bypassed various props on the way until he stood in the center of the maze.
When he came here for the first time, he was only concerned with finding Zhang Wanqiao and the others. When he walked here again, he discovered that the center of the maze was actually a large space of about 30 to 40 square meters.
He walked around the inner wall and returned to the starting point, but found nothing special. Just as he was about to sit down against the wall, he suddenly heard the sound of electricity on the radio.
"Attention! Attention! The restaurant staff is being adjusted. Zhang Wanqiao, Wang Dada, Deng Ya, please leave the restaurant. Attention! Attention! The staff adjustment will take half an hour. The time in the maze and the third floor will be accelerated. During this period, please be sure to abide by the rules, otherwise you will bear the consequences at your own risk."
When Mingqiao heard the broadcast, he immediately ran out of the maze.
Zhang Wanqiao and the other two had obviously left. He now had to find Shi Xin first and then act according to their original plan.
He ran very fast, with a layer of hot sweat on his forehead, but Mingqiao clearly felt that his feet were getting heavier and heavier. Every step required a lot of strength, as if they were filled with thousands of pounds of iron.
Colorful little stars gradually appeared before his eyes, suggesting that he was about to faint.
But he couldn't fall here.
He had to find Shi Xin.
He has to get out of here.
He still has parents and relatives, colleagues and students, a job he loves, a life he has never enjoyed, and there are still many things he has not done. He can't just end like this.
Mingqiao dragged his heavy legs and ran a few steps to take a breath, but he did not dare to slow down at all.
He ran for another ten minutes and finally saw the exit.
It’s just forty steps, just walk through it.
He almost broke his back teeth before he slowly moved to the exit.
The moment he came out, all the gravity on his feet seemed to disappear. He himself was not used to it, and his legs were so weak that he had to hold on to the wall to stand up.
Ming Qiao was worried about Shi Xin, so he didn't dare to rest for too long. As soon as he stepped onto the first step, he heard Shi Xin's voice shouting, "Teacher Ming! Run!"
He raised his head and glanced upward.
Shi Xin ran in the front, followed by a group of people. All of them were wearing the uniforms of restaurant employees, and they chased after Shi Xin.
Mingqiao immediately turned around and ran downstairs. But his legs were still weak, so he couldn't run very fast, and after a few steps he was caught up by Shi Xin who was in the front.
Shi Xin grabbed Mingqiao's arm and ran downstairs with him. Mingqiao almost missed the stairs several times, but before he could fall, his other foot stepped on the next stair.
He stumbled down to the first floor, and Shi Xin pulled him to hide over the sink.
There are brainless robots everywhere here. When they squat down, these robots become useful tools for concealment.
Mingqiao was almost out of breath. Shi Xin covered his mouth so that he couldn't breathe. Only when the employees couldn't find him after searching for a long time and returned to the third floor did Shi Xin let him go.
Ming Qiao took a few deep breaths and said, "What did you do? You made so many people chase you."
"I threw the old man into the house." Shi Xin had a triumphant smile on his face. "And when I came out, I blocked the hole in the ceiling."
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