In the early summer morning, the air was filled with fog and had a wet and sticky feeling. The weak light shining on the body felt cool instead of warm.
Shi Xin woke up from his sleep with a start. He broke out in a cold sweat, which mixed with the heavy water vapor and made him shiver. Ming Qiao, who was supposed to be next to him, was nowhere to be found. Perhaps the thick fog blocked his view. Anyway, he opened his eyes and looked around but couldn't see him.
His consciousness returned instantly, and Shi Xin moved his fingers twice, only to find that there was something clenched in his palm. When he unfolded it, he saw that it was a piece of note paper with a few words written on it in black pen: Believe what you believe.
The paper was slightly dampened by the sweat from his palms, and the handwriting had spread out a little. Every stroke of the words was written clearly and cleanly. Shi Xin had never seen Ming Qiao write, but the first time he saw it, he felt that Ming Qiao had written it and then stuffed it into his hand.
But where did Mingqiao go? And why did he leave him such a message?
Shi Xin first searched around the library, and when he didn't find him, he went to a group of students not far away to ask someone, but most of them were still asleep, and those who were awake said they didn't know.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Su opened his eyes and saw Shi Xin, who was in a hurry. He stood up from the ground and patted the dirt on his body: "Where is Teacher Ming?"
"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up." Shi Xin handed the note to Jiang Su: "This is the only one."
"Believe what you believe? Is it Teacher Ming's handwriting?" Jiang Su frowned and turned the note paper over and read it several times: "Is there no other information?"
Shi Xin shook his head: "No. I'm not sure if it was him, but there's no one else besides him. Ming Qiao is not someone who would wander around, and he wouldn't leave such a message for no reason."
Their movements startled Cao Haibo, who was still resting. He listened to what was going on and asked, "Should we go look for him?"
Shi Xin hesitated for a moment and said, "No, it might be dangerous to venture out and look for him now. If Ming Qiao falls into the dungeon or is taken away by someone, we will not be able to find him and we will be in trouble."
"We can only wait here." Jiang Su said.
"Yes and no. We can't all wait here. It would be a waste of time." Shi Xin said, "With so many of us, we can divide into three groups. One group will stay and wait for Ming Qiao, one group will go and put the unconscious teachers in a safe place, and the last group will continue to move forward and break through the teaching building. And those who enter the teaching building must be smart enough to deal with all possible situations."
"I'll apply to arrange for the teachers." Cao Haibo spoke first: "My brain can't keep up with the speed of your puzzle solving, so I simply won't go to the teaching building to cause trouble. I can still move those teachers, after all, I'm strong."
"Okay." Shi Xin nodded, then turned to Jiang Su: "I'm going to the teaching building, do you want to come with me?"
"Okay, I'll go with you." Jiang Su said, "I'll pick a few more people to follow us, and the rest will stay and listen to Haibo's instructions."
"Okay, you make the arrangements." Shi Xin looked at Cao Haibo and said, "If you see Ming Qiao, ask him to meet us in the teaching building as soon as possible."
Cao Haibo patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, I will tell him even if you don't tell me. If I see Teacher Ming, I will follow him to find you."
Jiang Su turned around to arrange people, but after picking and choosing, he only found one girl to follow them. The others either did not meet Jiang Su's standards or did not want to take such a big risk.
"My name is Wen Xing."
Shi Xin looked at the dashing girl in front of him and thought she was a good candidate at first sight, so he nodded and said, "Hello."
Jiang Su was worthy of being the president of the student union. He quickly took care of the last things and trotted over to them and said, "Let's go."
The fog did not dissipate for a while, and the road was dim and unclear. The teaching building that was not far from the library in the past was now blocked and only the general outline could be vaguely seen.
The three of them walked forward in a line, Shi Xin in the lead and Jiang Su at the rear. They were all nervous the whole time, walking hurriedly, and no one spoke.
A few minutes later, after walking through the deserted and silent place, the three finally stood in front of the teaching building.
The teaching building of the No. 1 Middle School has seven floors, accommodating all students from the first grade to the third grade of high school, including the teachers' offices. It has not been repaired for many years and is shabby like a dangerous building. The outermost layer of the wall has been kicked off the corners, revealing the red bricks inside. Looking up, the guardrails on the outside of the corridors above the second floor have been rusted. If you look closely at a railing, you can see that there are only a few thin wires left where the railing connects to the wall.
"Are we going in like this?" Wen Xing looked around: "It's too quiet."
Shi Xin murmured "hmm" and walked up the stairs in front of the building: "It's okay, let's go."
The other two quickly followed and arrived at the lobby on the first floor of the teaching building in a few steps. It was only as big as two classrooms, with a large tripod in the middle of the front that was 1.5 meters high, and stairs leading upstairs on both sides.
"Which class are you from?" In the quiet environment, an old female voice came from the corner of the hallway. Several people's hearts trembled and they turned to look over.
A white-haired old woman was sitting on a desk stool in the corner with a thick stack of papers in front of her.
Jiang Su took a few steps towards the man, but was grabbed by Shi Xin's arm.
Jiang Su understood what he meant instantly, and stopped where he was, and replied, "I'm a student in Class 2 (1) of Senior High School. My name is Jiang Su."
It was Wen Xing's turn: "Wen Xing, he's in the same class as me."
Shi Xin didn't say anything. While Jiang Su and Wen Xing were answering, he was observing the old woman's reaction. The old woman lowered her head and wrote something on a piece of paper. She probably finished recording Jiang Su and Wen Xing's information, and looked up at Shi Xin.
"I'm from Grade 12."
Shi Xin did not say his name, nor did he care whether he looked like a first-grade student. But when he saw that the old woman had no reaction and just lowered her head to continue registering, Shi Xin knew that he had guessed correctly.
What she wants is not the name, not the appearance, but the class.
As for why the class is so important——
"Please come and get your exam supplies," said the old woman.
Shi Xin moved first, and Jiang Su and Wen Xing followed him.
The old woman handed each of them a piece of paper, but the contents on the paper given to Shi Xin and the paper given to Jiang Su Wenxing were different.
[Iron rule of examination: Cheating is prohibited during the examination.]
Tip: Plagiarists will bear the consequences at their own risk.
--high school】
[Iron rule of exams: No talking during the exam.]
Tip: Speak at your own risk.
--junior high school】
This was enough for Shi Xin to guess why it was necessary to emphasize classes: one was to divide grades so that different examination rules could be given, and the other was to divide classes so that people could go to different examination rooms.
This time, they are really going to take the exam.
After giving them the things, the old woman ignored them and continued to lower her head, writing and drawing on the paper with a gel pen. Shi Xin took a look and found that the ink in the gel pen had run out.
"The oil can also come out, but it's slower." Wen Xing lowered his voice and said, "Maybe there is a 'revealing potion'."
"...It's not important." Shi Xin led the two away from that corner and stood beside the big cauldron in the middle of the hall: "Can you two form a group?"
"Okay." Jiang Su said.
"So can I." Wen Xing agreed.
"You should not be able to transmit any sound outside after entering the dungeon. Let's meet here at a specific fixed time."
"After the last exam every day?" Jiang Su mentioned a point.
Shi Xin shook his head: "It's too late. We may not be able to catch up. Besides, the end of the exam may cause the NPCs to go out en masse."
Wen Xing explained: "Noon."
"Okay." Shi Xin nodded. "Then let's make an appointment. We will exchange information every noon. If someone doesn't come, it means they are either entangled in the copy or dead. The others can choose to give up this person or reserve their opinions and wait."
"good."
After the three of them made an appointment, they went upstairs separately. The Grade 12 class that Shi Xin was looking for was on the second floor, while Jiang Su and Wen Xing's classes were on the fifth floor.
After Shi Xin went upstairs, he began to search slowly along the corridor.
The corridor was still covered in thick fog, and the visibility here was much lower than when they were downstairs just now. Shi Xin had to look up and squint his eyes to see as clearly as possible the labels hanging on the walls at the entrance of each class.
There was no one in the corridor and it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Shi Xin could hear his shoes making a strange squeaking sound on the ground, like the sound of a mouse or some kind of insect.
When he was almost at the end, Shi Xin finally saw a sign that said Grade 1 (12).
He tried pushing the classroom door, and the wooden door covered with a layer of gray iron sheet opened inward with a creaky sound, and the trailing sound was particularly harsh.
Shi Xin took a step inside.
It turned out that there was someone in the classroom.
And there are quite a few people.
They were all wearing the uniforms of No. 1 Middle School, sitting upright on their seats, with their hands folded on their desks, just like children who had just started school. They kept their mouths tightly shut and stared at Shi Xin, staring at him every step he took.
Shi Xin was also staring at them.
These students looked like normal people, but there was fear and trembling in their eyes.
It is consistent with the reaction that people of their age should have when faced with strange events.
Shi Xin walked to the corner of the classroom near the back door and sat down. The desk was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the original color could no longer be seen.
This class and this seat were where Shi Xin sat when he was in junior high school here, and the table in front of him now seemed to be brought from the past that had been forgotten for many years.
He didn't choose other grades because he knew Mingqiao taught Grade 1. If Mingqiao was really here, then choosing Grade 1 would give him the best chance of running into him.
Two crisp and clean footsteps came in unison from far away.
Shi Xin, like other students in the classroom, stretched his neck to look outside the door.
The door of the classroom was pushed open, and two men in white shirts and black straight trousers walked in.
The person walking in front had his originally slightly long bangs combed up, revealing his clean forehead and a pair of black eyes that looked like the Dead Sea or even more like a black hole.
This is not who Mingqiao is.
Shi Xin almost couldn't help but stand up, but he finally held back.
Although Mingqiao is still the same Mingqiao, he has changed.
He looks...very gloomy.
"Hello everyone, I am the chief invigilator of this exam, my name is Ming Qiao."
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