Chapter 39 Grave Numbers Supreme 1 Sixth Middle School
Mei Su observed that once players believe the information left behind by NPCs, they become increasingly similar to the NPCs themselves, and end up doing the same things as the NPCs.
And now that I think about it, Jing Jiang didn't stick close to Guan Lian at first, but in the days that followed, except for the day Jing Jiang went crazy, the two of them were never apart and were always together.
Thinking of this, while Ling Yuanshan was still working hard outside, Mei Su turned on Jing Jiang's phone.
Jing Jiang came from a good family, but her life was very similar to Mei Su's. She was forced to work hard by her parents, and although her family was wealthy, they sometimes mistreated her. She always thought this was normal until a younger brother appeared in her family.
Her younger brother was perfect in every way. Although she was just the older sister, she was expected to be another "mother" to him. She was constantly told things like "the eldest sister is like a mother" and "our parents are getting old, so I have to take care of my younger brother."
The only salvation is compassion.
Guan Lian's family was poor, and she also had a lot of older sisters, younger sisters and younger brothers. She was in the same boat, but it was because she had been through it herself that she felt sorry for Jing Jiang. She felt that the two of them had nothing, so they shared the same plight.
In their chat history, they jokingly said: "Even if you commit murder and arson, I'll probably pretend I don't know anything. If you get arrested, I'll visit you every month."
From a friendship perspective, they have reached the pinnacle of their relationship, sharing everything with each other.
Jing Jiang's family was actually not short of money. They were quite different from children from truly poor families who favored sons over daughters. During Guan Lian's most difficult period of independence, it was Jing Jiang who secretly helped her, even though she herself didn't have much money left after that.
After their jobs stabilized, the two agreed to leave their families and never go back to being blood donation centers, until Mei Su joined the company.
Mei Su is an only child with a mental disability, yet her parents can spend a lot of money to buy her a degree and a job, which Guan Lian is very jealous of.
She was so jealous that she deliberately let everyone exploit her work, time, and energy. Anyway, she was like a fool, exploiting herself in return. Guan Lian just told her not to stop.
Guan Lian loathed all only daughters to the point of being somewhat obsessed. She felt that if she and Jing Jiang's parents had followed the one-child policy, they could have had a better and easier life.
But ever since she got injured one day, it's as if Mei Su has come back to life. She already has so much, so what's wrong with being a fool?
Why should we gradually become more like a person?
Guan Lian was very angry, but she sensed that Mei Su's change was not so simple. She began to pretend to be an older sister, entered Mei Su's life, and began to learn everything about her.
Oh, so Mei Su isn't doing well either?
What's wrong with that?
It's just asking her to study hard. Does she even know how many people don't even have the right to study?
In contrast, Guan Lian thought about how her parents had expelled her from school several times because they had accepted dowry money from others and wanted to sell her off. If it weren't for the teacher calling the police and persuading her, and the principal helping her to pay some compensation, she would never have been able to come to the city.
Mei Su is unaware of her good fortune. As long as she listens to her parents, she can enjoy a life as comfortable as sitting in a wheelchair. Why should she turn around and want to suffer?
Indeed, people always despise what they have, unaware that what they possess is something others could never obtain even after a lifetime of pursuit.
The more Guan Lian got to know Mei Su, the more she hated her. She hated her so much that she kept telling Jing Jiang, "Why should someone like Mei Su live?"
Why isn't she grateful?
Mei Su possessed what Jing Jiang and Guan Lian had pursued their entire lives, something they might never have in their next life, yet she discarded it like trash.
What about Guan Lian and Jing Jiang? Isn't that a joke?
The murderous intent grew stronger each day, and Guan Lian wondered how long Mei Su could keep up the act.
In August, Mei Su resolutely resigned.
On August 2nd, Guan Lian launched into a tirade, hurling insults and hurling abuse at Mei Su along with Jing Jiang, suspecting that Mei Su had resigned because her parents had found her a better future.
At the gathering on August 4th, Mei Su first invited Guan Lian and Jing Jiang, expressing her gratitude for their help over the past year. She explained that she might be going far away after resigning, so she wanted to have one last get-together with them.
Guan Lian felt that she was just showing off, so she wanted to find more people to humiliate her, so Guan Lian found Tian Ji.
Tian Ji never hides what kind of person he is. He is the most disgusting kind of man: unambitious, violent, and irresponsible. He was raised by his parents like a prince, but he turned out to be a grumpy, overgrown baby. He can't make money and dreams all day long that a rich young lady will love him to death. He hopes that the young lady will give him all her family property and become his slave.
People with this kind of thinking are likely to target Mei Su—she's not very bright, she's rich, an only child, has a dull personality, and a strange inferiority complex; she's practically the perfect template for someone who's destined to exploit others.
Mei Su is abnormal. She never realized that she was being targeted. She was not moved when Tian Ji was nice to her. Tian Ji was very angry about this. He felt that Mei Su was ungrateful. He had lowered himself to talk to her, so why didn't she fawn over him?
Guan Lian acted as matchmaker, saying that Mei Su was going to host a dinner party and that she would be the matchmaker to break the ice between them. Tian Ji was overjoyed and immediately agreed.
Following Guan Lian's instructions, Jing Jiang approached Wei Dong. She knew she wouldn't end up with him, but Wei Dong was so devoted and a pervert who liked to take photos secretly, so she felt no guilt about using him.
On the night of the gathering on the 4th, Guan Lian brought another person with her, named Lei Fu, a tall man who was taciturn but looked honest.
Mei Su thought it would just be Guan Lian and Jing Jiang, but she didn't expect so many more people, so she became a little reserved.
Guan Lian then said in a serious tone, "I thought you might not come back, so I invited more people to see you off. It's a custom in our hometown that more people means a safer journey. Come on, do you still remember them?"
Then Guan Lian warmed up the atmosphere. Tian Ji and Wei Dong were not strangers, and Mei Su knew him. As for Lei Fu, Guan Lian said that he was from the department downstairs in the company. He was here to see Mei Su off today and thought that he should bring him along to make the scene more lively.
Mei Su was a kind-hearted person. She sincerely thanked Lei Fu for coming and felt that Guan Lian was very thoughtful.
During the gathering, Mei Su said that she had severed ties with her parents and relatives, and that the future was bright and she would live for herself. She said that she used to live a muddled life and never dared to look at the outside world. Now that she had broken free from her parents' shackles, she finally felt that she had come back to life.
Guan Lian questioned Mei Su unhappily about why she had severed ties with her parents. They had clearly treated her very well. Everyone in the company knew that Mei Su had bought her job for 200,000 yuan. An ordinary family might not even have 200,000 yuan in savings after a lifetime of work.
Mei Su's answer was: "Because I think I'm a normal person."
This answer provoked Guan Lian. It's normal for Mei Su to sever ties with her parents, but it's not normal for them to crave such good parents.
Guan Lian was so angry that she spent the whole night cursing Mei Su in the chat box with Jing Jiang. She wouldn't say these things to her face, but she couldn't help but say them behind her back.
They drank until very late. Guan Lian maliciously asked Tian Ji and Lei Fu to take Mei Su home. Her intention was either that Tian Ji couldn't resist raping Mei Su and, if Mei Su refused, he would lose his temper and kill her, or that Lei Fu would make sure Mei Su never returned.
But Tian Ji, this overgrown child, actually retorted, "Why should I take Mei Su home? It's not safe for anyone to go home at night. My mom said I should go home as soon as possible tonight."
After hearing what he said, even a pervert like Wei Dong thought Tian Ji was crazy.
Mei Su was quite well-mannered, and she said that was quite right, that everyone should be careful at night and go home, thus preventing Lei Fu from taking action.
Guan Lian was very anxious, extremely anxious. She wanted Mei Su to die so that her good parents would suffer terribly, and the boastful Mei Su could disappear from the world forever.
Guan Lian couldn't sleep that night and kept talking to Jing Jiang about it like a madwoman. Jing Jiang indulged her and even tried to help her come up with ideas.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better the next day. Mei Su wanted to go on a trip. She said she was going to a very far and remote place, and if it was suitable, she would stay there. She thought Guan Lian and Jing Jiang were friends, so she specially informed them that the place was called Fengju Village, a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and that they could come to her when they were tired.
It came so easily that Guan Lian became happy again. She said it wasn't safe for Mei Su to go alone, so she took Jing Jiang with her to investigate.
Mei Su was pleasantly surprised, and even felt that it was too much trouble for Guan Lian and Jing Jiang. After all, this was her first step towards independence. If she brought Guan Lian and Jing Jiang with her, wouldn't that be going against her original intention?
But Guan Lian was good at talking, and she had a whole repertoire of persuasive words. She managed to soften Mei Su's heart, and in the end, they agreed to meet in Fengju Village. She had already bought her tickets, but there were no more tickets left for the same train, so Guan Lian and Jing Jiang postponed their trip and thus missed each other.
After deciding to go on the trip, Jing Jiang, following Guan Lian's instructions, also asked Wei Dong to accompany her.
Jing Jiang didn't know the specifics of Guan Lian's situation, but Guan Lian's excuse was that remote mountain villages were definitely not safe, and it was always better to find more people.
The group that finally arrived at the mountain village, excluding Ling Yuanshan who replaced Benli, was exactly the same as the group that had gathered that day. This showed that Guan Lian was still not giving up. She wanted to use the terrain and the long period of solitude in the mountain village to completely kill Mei Su.
Lei Fu was the assassin hired by Guan Lian, Tian Ji was the one who tormented Mei Su, and Jing Jiang even helped in the news—on the day Lei Fu had his accident, Mei Su was planning a barbecue party, and everyone was drinking. Jing Jiang's cold medicine contained cephalosporin, which he secretly put into some of the barbecue that Mei Su liked to eat.
If Lei Fu hadn't caused trouble that day, Mei Su would have eaten the barbecue containing cephalosporin and then drunk alcohol, which would have inevitably led to her death. It would have been impossible to investigate that way. Guan Lian and Jing Jiang were Mei Su's best friends; if they said Mei Su had a cold, everyone would believe them.
Jing Jiang wasn't as strong-willed as Guan Lian. After putting in the medicine and reporting to Guan Lian, she was worried that Mei Su wouldn't dare to take it. But Mei Su was fine the next day, while Lei Fu seemed to be dying even more severely.
Therefore, Jing Jiang collapsed. She was already corrupted, so the players' psychology was gradually influenced and became like Jing Jiang's.
Tian Ji was killed by Guan Lian. That noon, when Tian Ji was discussing things with Mei Su, Guan Lian was also nearby. She wanted to use the excuse of delivering something to Mei Su so that she could give her another dose of paraquat, since Lei Fu was already useless.
Upon hearing this, Guan Lian was furious. She was angry that Tian Ji hadn't followed the plan to torture and kill Mei Su. That night, she even saw Tian Ji come out of Mei Su's room, but Mei Su was perfectly fine, and everything seemed normal.
The next day, Guan Lian, enraged, killed Tian Ji. At this point, only she, Jing Jiang, and Wei Dong remained alive as the masterminds behind the scenes.
Who knew that Wei Dong was also short-lived and died soon after. Jing Jiang, on the other hand, was scared to death. She had always been timid, so Guan Lian was not surprised. In just one day, she was left alone to fight against Mei Su, and she was very angry.
The whole thing became clear at this point: Guan Lian plotted to murder Mei Su and even came up with many ways to cover it up, but she didn't expect that Mei Su would die on the way there because of the rugged mountain road.
Ke Benli's appearance was very abrupt; why he came, and who paid for his room, remained unknown.
Wu Wangwang ran out with a bunch of phones and stood at the door to briefly explain the situation to Ling Yuanshan: "...That's how it is. Guan Lian should still have some sense left. She stopped you from taking the phones because she was afraid of being exposed. The other players were chasing me because they still believed that as long as they killed me, everything would be over before they died."
Wei Dong may not have been influenced to kill Mei Su. He didn't really act according to the original owner's habits. He just wanted to find an opportunity to take down Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang together. It was a good excuse. They were still on the mountain. However, man proposes, God disposes. Wu Wangwang stopped him.
Ling Yuanshan glanced at the five players with distorted faces and said, "Then let's go back to your room now and wait for tomorrow's plan before deciding how to deal with them."
"Okay." Wu Wangwang ran downstairs first, while Ling Yuanshan covered the rear to block the players who followed. They quickly hid back in 502. There was a door in the way, so they couldn't climb in for the time being. After they were completely turned into ghosts, it was unknown whether they would have more abilities.
The two sat down on the sofa, ignoring the strange noises outside the door. Ling Yuanshan shook his hand; the knife was quite heavy, and he would get tired after swinging it for so long.
Wu Wangwang took out the list and spread it out on the table: "I've told you the gist of the matter. Do you have any thoughts? Also, this is the medicine I got from Lei Fu. Can you understand it?"
Ling Yuanshan rested for a while, then reached for the medication. He opened it and read the instructions for a bit, saying, "These are all psychotropic drugs. The quantity is not less than expected. Perhaps they deliberately bought them to give to Meisu. When I was in the hospital, I heard some fellow patients say that if psychotropic drugs are given to normal people, they can actually drive them crazy."
It was a field that Wu Wangwang couldn't understand, no wonder she couldn't comprehend it.
"Is this medicine easy to buy?" Wu Wangwang asked curiously.
“They’re not easy to buy. I checked the labels, and none of them are over-the-counter drugs. That means you can’t buy these drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and they won’t be available in regular pharmacies either,” Ling Yuanshan said with great certainty. He said that he only goes to the best hospitals and occasionally meets some mentally ill children from wealthy families, and that’s where he gets his knowledge.
Wu Wangwang pondered for a moment: "That's not right. If it can't be bought outside, and Lei Fu isn't crazy, how could he buy it?"
Ling Yuanshan paused for a moment, then guessed, "Could the person who's gone mad be Guan Lian? Don't you think that in Jing Jiang's chat logs, Guan Lian doesn't seem like a normal person anymore?"
Regardless of the two days that the player was relatively normal, it was clear from the previous chat logs that Guan Lian had been mentally broken for a long time. However, Jing Jiang was also persecuted by her family, so she never felt that Guan Lian was wrong, and even indulged Guan Lian's crazy behavior.
Wu Wangwang opened Jing Jiang's phone and reread some of the messages. She just felt that Guan Lian was very agitated and angry, and asked with some confusion, "Is this considered crazy by human standards?"
In the original owner's memories, there were many hysterical people like this, and she herself had seen quite a few.
Ling Yuanshan chuckled softly: "From a pathological perspective, yes, but in this world, most people live as normal people while acting like madmen. Society's definition of madness is very extreme. Of course, you can also understand it as everyone being mad, so only the madst will be considered madmen."
However, young people are already trying to reverse this phenomenon. Guan Lian was probably educated and gradually realized that her mental state was abnormal. She secretly went to the hospital and received a bunch of medications.
But she was still living in that terrifying family and wouldn't admit that she was sick or that she had a mental problem. As a result, she never took any of the medications. She wanted to escape her family, but she was trapped by them. She didn't dare to admit that she was sick, as if admitting it would make the things her parents said to her and belittle her true.
People often have a severe stress response to insults, but most people are trained to think that it's over and done with. In reality, if they see or hear the same words again, they will still be startled. This is the stress response to language.
Guan Lian's injuries never healed, nor did she dare to seek treatment. After her breakdown, she found an outlet in Mei Su. When Mei Su actually dared to admit it and try to get out of her predicament, she would feel mocked, which would fuel her murderous intent.
Wu Wangwang couldn't comment on each of the NPCs in this instance. They all seemed to have their own pitiful aspects, yet they all used those pitiful aspects to hurt others, and seemed to enjoy it.
As the old saying goes, there's always a reason why someone is pitiful.
"And what about you, young master? Have you thought about what role you'll be playing in this instance?" Wu Wangwang asked again.
Ling Yuanshan was acting very strangely in this instance, like an outsider. If he hadn't known Wu Wangwang, he probably wouldn't even know why he was there by the time the instance was over.
Now that everyone else has information, Ling Yuanshan's is still very strange. He shook his head: "I can't guess. With so little information, if I could guess it, I'd be a god."
The two sighed simultaneously and decided to take a break while waiting for the list to be updated.
Bored while waiting, Wu Wangwang started playing Candy Crush again, while Ling Yuanshan fell asleep on the sofa.
Finally, midnight arrived. Wu Wangwang kept a close eye on the list and, upon noticing changes in its contents, hurriedly woke Ling Yuanshan.
[August 11th, I feel that this day should mark the end of my trip. Actually, I haven't decided where to go, but it's hard to be found if I leave, so I'll settle down in Fengju Village. Today I'll see my friends off, and then I'll go look for a house. If Benli and I work hard together, we're sure we can live a good life.]
For the first time, a specific name appeared in Mei Su's plan, and it had been disappearing like an invisible man from the very beginning.
This shows that Benli was brought by Meisu herself and had nothing to do with anyone else. In fact, her choice to come to Fengju Village was also for Benli.
But why?
Ling Yuanshan suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "I understand, Benli escaped, and he should be quite young."
Wu Wangwang didn't understand: "What do you mean?"
"That is to say, Benli may be a minor. He escaped from his family's control on the night of the Meisu party, so he was injured, penniless, and didn't have an ID to book a hotel room. But coincidentally, Meisu was someone who was abused by her family since childhood. She must have felt compassion when she saw a child like this," Ling Yuanshan explained simply.
Considering that Mei Su completely erased her past, she must have wanted to use the same method to save Benli. She thought she could take him to a very poor and backward place, live with him for a few years, and then, when Benli turned eighteen, he could re-register as Mei Su's distant cousin and get a new ID card.
They probably felt that the management in small places was not strict, so they could delay, make a living first, and once they were familiar with the surroundings, they could use personal connections to change their identities, thus completely breaking away from their original families.
However, Benli did not have an ID card, so he could not buy a train ticket to come over. Therefore, Meisu must have given Benli some money so that he could transfer to a private bus to Fengju Village. The room was booked for him in advance by Meisu.
If nothing unexpected had happened, the two should have started a new life together at the hotel.
Wu Wangwang suddenly realized: "That's right. Mei always travels because she wants to start a new life, so she couldn't possibly bring anyone else. But she added leaving home to her list of plans. She wasn't in a good mental state when she resigned. The only thing that could make her make an exception is probably... meeting another version of herself."
Saving you is like saving myself back then.
Perhaps this is immoral and illegal to the general public, but they suffer greatly. In order to be able to breathe freely and painlessly, they have no regrets.
According to the list, five players should be sent away tomorrow. Judging from the inertia of the dungeon, since the standard for returning home is to stay in Fengju Village, it has already been achieved. All that's left is to send away those accomplices.
Wu Wangwang rubbed his head: "Now there's still one problem: how do we get rid of those things outside?"
Ling Yuanshan was also troubled. If it were a more brutal instance, he could probably pass the level by going out and killing them all. However, Mei Su was soft-hearted. Even if she found out during the trip that she was really hated and harmed, she would probably just avoid it instead of trying to explain to Guan Lian.
From childhood to adulthood, Mei Su's explanations were useless, and no one was willing to listen to her, except for Benli, whom she met later.
The two spent the whole night thinking about it in the room, and finally decided to use the rope they got from the previous dungeon to tie up all five people, and then drive them out together. Whether they went home after leaving the village was none of their business. Anyway, that's what the list said, so they just did it.
Despite staying up all night, Ling Yuanshan was still in good spirits. He asked Wu Wangwang for a rope and went out. Wu Wangwang assisted in binding the ghosts. Every time Ling Yuanshan knocked one down and wrapped the rope around it, Wu Wangwang would take the opportunity to tie knots, all of them dead knots, ensuring that the ghosts couldn't break free.
Ordinary ropes can't bind ghosts; luckily, this is a prop, so no matter how much they struggle, it's useless.
After spending some time tying up the five people, Ling Yuanshan was a bit conflicted: "How are we going to take so many people down with us?"
The stairwell is a bit narrow and not suitable for walking side by side.
Wu Wangwang didn't care about any of that, and dragged one away: "It's okay, we won't die from squeezing in. Let's hurry up and leave while it's still early, or the villagers will call the police."
The people in this inn won't react to players going crazy. It's unclear what's happening outside, but it's best not to risk going to non-critical areas outside the instance.
The car was the same one from Leifu. Ling Yuanshan quickly went upstairs, found the car keys, and then came downstairs to move the player with Wu Wangwang.
As soon as they went downstairs, they saw the referee sitting with his legs crossed, smoking and drinking the hotel's porridge.
The referee turned around, shaking his leg: "Oh? You two are pretty good at fighting. Usually, the hardest thing for players entering this instance is getting all the players who have turned into ghosts out. There are a lot of them, and ordinary tools can't bind them. It often takes many days, or they are accidentally killed by Guan Lian. You actually only took one night."
The appearance of a referee meant that the dungeon was nearing completion. Wu Wangwang turned to look at Ling Yuanshan and said, "We guessed right."
Ling Yuanshan nodded and followed her as she pushed all five players to the first floor. They struggled, but the rope remained firmly in place.
The referee finished his porridge in one gulp, stood up and said, "Alright, stop making a fuss. I'll send you all away in one car, and don't come back."
After saying that, the referee grabbed five players and left without looking back.
Ling Yuanshan was taken aback: "What does he mean?"
Wu Wangwang smiled sheepishly: "I told him that I couldn't bear to leave my husband and that I had to protect him, and that's why he let me stay. Because I was an extra person created by Wei Dong's props, he couldn't wait to send us both away. You said that couples are the most annoying people in the game."
"..." Ling Yuanshan had a little doubt. How exactly did Wu Wangwang understand what he said?
Fortunately, the matter was finally over. The referee gave them a little leeway and didn't want to see the two of them again. They got into the referee's dilapidated van and swayed out of Fengju Village. On the way, Wu Wangwang was finally able to tell Ling Yuanshan what she knew.
Actually, everyone guessed correctly at first; Wu Wangwang was the extra ghost. It was Ling Yuanshan who firmly believed that Wu Wangwang wasn't, which is why the other players started to doubt each other.
After listening, Ling Yuanshan looked at Wu Wangwang seriously and said, "Thank you for your hard work, and thank you."
Wu Wangwang waved her hand: "No need to thank me. I'm doing this for myself. Wei Dong's plan is very good. I can't let him succeed, and I don't want to live in fear every day from now on."
The car swayed, and her vision shifted rapidly. Wu Wangwang felt herself lying down and being pushed around. She felt like she was being taken into the operating room again, and after the surgery, she was put back into the same ward. She had only just come out of the operating room.
The housekeeper came to see her and said that the Ling family was very sorry about the incident. It must have been caused by the shoddy workmanship of the people who built the greenhouse. The Ling family would compensate Wu Wangwang with a large sum of money.
As the butler spoke, he wiped away tears: "How come you and the young master are both so unlucky? The boy who caused you to fall from the building is now chasing after the young master to kill him, and you both ended up in the operating room on the same day. You're so unlucky..."
The Mid-Autumn Festival was ruined just like that. There were game rewards, and the injuries weren't actually that serious. The two even secretly went to the garden to look at the moon at night.
"The moon is fullest on the 16th, so we've celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival," Ling Yuanshan said, cutting a mooncake and handing it to Wu Wangwang.
They're not allowed to eat this stuff at all, but since nobody's around, they're eating it secretly.
Wu Wangwang poked at a piece: "Delicious! Food from the Ling family kitchen is so much better than anything you can get outside!"
Ling Yuanshan doesn't like sweets, so he just tasted it and then drank tea: "My dad checked. Wei Dong was in a car accident when he went back to his hometown last year. Everyone in the car died, but he was the only one who survived. There are all sorts of rumors online. I reckon he hates those gossips and speculations."
The guesses are nothing more than: why was he the only one who came back alive? And why wasn't the survivor a family member?
This is already considered cyberbullying, and the deceased's relatives even made a scene. Wei Dong often had accidents and kept entering dungeons. If you're not mentally strong enough, you'll break down. Wei Dong later discovered that Ling Yuanshan also had accidents but never died, so he suspected that Ling Yuanshan was also a player.
So Wei Dong came up with a plan to steal the sky and switch places, but he failed twice.
After listening, Wu Wangwang said, "Humans are so fragile."
Ling Yuanshan smiled silently: "Humans can be very strong, but everyone dies because of their weaknesses, which makes humans seem particularly fragile. A weakness of A might not be a weakness of B. I was mentally prepared after I understood the game mechanics."
"What kind of mental preparation? Preparation for the game to discover your weaknesses and target them?" Wu Wangwang looked up at him.
"Well, if you can live, nobody wants to die," Ling Yuanshan said helplessly.
Wu Wangwang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then what is your weakness?"
Ling Yuanshan reached out and patted Wu Wangwang's head: "I'm sentimental, and it's hard for me to kill someone I care about. So, if we were ever assigned to opposing factions, I would probably die in that instance."
Human emotional biases are indeed the biggest reason for failure in dungeons, but if humans had no emotions at all, they would also be unable to pass certain levels. That's the paradox of games.
After finishing the last piece of mooncake, Wu Wangwang said, "It's okay. If you really encounter such a situation, trust me, I'll handle it."
“Okay.” Ling Yuanshan solemnly agreed.
The two sneaked back before the nurses' rounds and stayed in the hospital for half a month. Finally, they were able to go back to school, but as soon as they got back, they had to face the city-wide unified exam, which was the first mock exam for senior high school students.
Wu Wangwang's deskmate was very nervous, saying that the mock exam results basically represent the college entrance exam results. Unless one suddenly has a breakthrough in the last year, most ordinary people are actually at this level. Mental state, family, psychology, and talent can all affect the learning in the following year. Having time to review does not necessarily mean that you can do better on the exam.
"Then why not treat the mock exam as the college entrance exam? That way, we can save a year and go to university earlier." Wu Wangwang found this argument strange.
My deskmate frowned and said, "I don't understand. Maybe the curriculum was originally designed for three years, but everyone is getting more and more stressed. Some schools are starting to cram for the college entrance exam as early as the second year of high school. And some people can actually get higher scores by cramming in the last year. You know? Even if I improve by just one point, I could push 10,000 people out of the top."
The saying "thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge" perfectly describes the college entrance examination, and it's no exaggeration.
With one week left until the first mock exam, Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang became the ones being taken care of. Everyone assumed that since they had been injured twice, they would definitely not perform well, so there was no need to worry and they could wait for the second mock exam.
So while the whole school was on edge, the two of them were more relaxed, especially when preparing for the exam. While others were busy, they ate ice cream on a bench by the nearby school path. Ling Yuanshan also gave Wu Wangwang some English tutoring. Other subjects could be put aside, but English was essential.
With the mock exam approaching, the school has become much busier. Even the nearest art student classroom has opened two more rooms, and art students often stay there to draw until very late.
Their city exam included a listening comprehension section in English. Ling Yuanshan worked hard to adjust Wu Wangwang's pronunciation so that she could read it herself and then it would be easier for her to recognize what others were saying.
After eating ice cream, Wu Wangwang ate a few more. As the two were about to get up and walk back, the surrounding classmates suddenly screamed.
Ling Yuanshan was alert to his surroundings. Only Wu Wangwang looked up suddenly and saw an art student fall down upstairs. A bucket of dirty red water was accidentally thrown out. Wu Wangwang quickly pulled Ling Yuanshan to the side, but the water seemed to be alive and chased after them.
Surrounded by students, Wu Wangwang dared not create any strange phenomena. She could only watch helplessly as the red water splashed all over the students nearby, and Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan were not spared either.
Other students complained upstairs, and some short-tempered boys even started cursing.
Ling Yuanshan noticed Wu Wangwang's serious expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Wu Wangwang raised her hand and wiped the red stain on her pants. She lowered her voice and said, "This is a prop. I don't know if the girl upstairs did it on purpose. Look, it can't be wiped off at all."
Not only could it not be wiped off, but the red color spread like a living slime, and soon everyone's upper body was covered in red. The students' redness was even more severe.
But the next second, the surrounding light blurred, and they entered another campus. The buildings and facilities next to it were completely different from those in the city. The students hadn't noticed yet. Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan exchanged a glance and sighed their bad luck. They hadn't even had a peaceful half month.
Besides the two of them, eight other students were dragged into the game. They were unaware that death was imminent and were still complaining about their dirty clothes.
Wu Wangwang quickly noticed a slender female teacher standing on the playground not far away. She was calmly waiting with a folder in her hand, seemingly waiting for all the students to arrive. Several people were already walking towards the playground, who must be experienced teachers.
Ling Yuanshan looked at the students around him and hurriedly said, "Stop arguing. We've entered a death game called 'Night of Return of the Soul.' Hurry up and get to the referee. We need to know the rules to pass."
When the eight students heard this, they all looked at him as if he were crazy, clearly not believing him. But after their cursing was interrupted, they finally realized that the surrounding environment was different.
One of the girls looked around and said, "Wait, this isn't school. Were we doused with hallucinogens?"
New players who are dragged in by items, or even those who didn't die, find it hard to believe this is a game. Some new players refuse to believe it no matter how others explain it, and end up dying in the early stages of the dungeon.
Ling Yuanshan wanted to say something, but Wu Wangwang stopped him: "It's okay, they're scared, they'll catch up. Let's go find the referee first, first-hand information is very important."
Seeing this, Ling Yuanshan had no choice but to shut up. He also understood that sometimes newcomers were beyond saving; they had to correct their own perceptions before they were worth saving.
The school was quite large. When they arrived at the playground, the other players had been waiting for a long time and were very dissatisfied with their lateness. However, the referee did not say anything, and they did not want to start a conflict at the beginning.
The referee was dressed in a teacher's uniform, with his hair up, a name tag on his chest, and glasses, as if he were going to give a public lesson.
Upon seeing Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan approach, the referee's calm and gentle face suddenly darkened: "What's going on with your school uniforms?"
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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: Has the teacher finally realized that the school uniforms are matching outfits for all boys and girls? [Starry-eyed]
Ling Yuanshan: ...Actually, I don't mind at all [shy]
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