In court, the young presiding judge, dressed in a black uniform, sat solemnly in the judge's seat, looking down at the six people standing below him.
They stood with their heads bowed, each with a different expression, and around their necks hung uniform white cards in transparent sleeves, each card bearing a single, bold number from 1 to 6.
A huge spotlight shone above the judge's head, bathing him in warm orange light, and he wore a compassionate smile.
“You are guilty,” he declared solemnly. “You will be sent to the Yom Kippur, where your sins will be truly measured by your scores. As your judge, I will be outside the Yom Kippur, watching your every move.”
His smile held a hidden malice as he coldly surveyed the six people below before taking a folded piece of paper from his uniform pocket.
“Now, let’s double-check the list one last time.” He unfolded the paper and laid it out slowly on the table in front of him. “Six, that’s perfect. Now, I will officially announce…”
He deliberately dragged out his words, trying to see fear or cowardice on the faces of the six people.
The spotlight suddenly went out, plunging the entire courtroom into an increasingly eerie darkness.
The judge's face was hidden in the shadows.
He sat up straight solemnly, about to give his final opening remarks.
However, with a muffled thud, a person fell from the sky and landed solidly on the table.
The list fluttered to the ground, and the spotlight came back on, illuminating the judge's ashen face.
Xiao Cheng suddenly woke up. The fall had been quite hard. She struggled to regain her senses from the buzzing in her head, moved her numb hands and feet, and jumped off the table.
He made eye contact with the presiding judge.
His face looked terrible; he was clearly quite angry.
Xiao Cheng paused for a moment, her gaze slowly moving downwards, and then she saw a particularly conspicuous half-shoe print on his clothes.
Xiao Cheng: "..." I think I did kick something when I was moving my arms and legs just now.
Oh, it's you, buddy.
"Uh, well, busy? Sorry, haha." Xiao Cheng chuckled awkwardly, then spotted Fang He among the six players. He wisely backed away towards him, trying to slip through the cracks.
The judge stared at her for a long time, then the coldness on his face suddenly vanished, replaced by an exceptionally warm smile.
"Of course it's alright, after all, I'm quite magnanimous. I miscalculated just now; there are seven sinners awaiting atonement."
On that list, the seventh line of text slowly emerged, like bloodstains on it, leaving fine lines.
Number 7, Xiao Cheng.
Immediately afterwards, seven beams of light burst forth from the paper, engulfing the seven players and causing them to disappear.
The presiding judge instantly stopped smiling, reverting to a solemn, expressionless demeanor, and stood up to slowly brush the dust off his clothes.
Xiao Cheng was dazzled by the sudden light. When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by a completely unfamiliar scene.
Behind me was a vast, empty field, beyond which lay a thick white fog, and in front of me was a school with its doors closed.
Atop the iron school gate, a metal plaque stands crookedly, bearing the words "First Affiliated High School of the Court of Judicial Review".
Each character was outlined by a neon light tube, and amidst the buzzing of electricity, the eerie green light traced the outline of the large characters.
Standing by the school gate was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and carrying a briefcase.
He had been standing there expressionless, but the moment he saw the crowd, he slowly forced a formulaic smile.
"Dear exchange students, hello, I am your counselor, Ms. Si. I hope you will have an unforgettable time here."
Then he raised his finger to make a shushing gesture: "In addition, I want to emphasize that, especially between male and female students, in order to avoid the negative effects of early romantic relationships, please do not whisper to each other without my permission."
As he spoke, he walked over, took out a stack of student IDs from his briefcase, and handed them out to each student one by one.
The moment Xiao Cheng opened her student ID, she heard a familiar system notification.
"Ding-dong."
"Attention all players, the Survival Dungeon Score Priority system has been loaded, and the game rules are being imported. We wish you a pleasant gaming experience."
On the cover of the student ID, blood-red words slowly emerged.
[Attention players, the game has officially begun.]
Rule 1: Initial score cannot be changed.
Rule 2: Fighting among oneself is strictly prohibited.
Rule 3: Sixty points is enough!
Then the blood-red lettering disappeared, revealing the personal information printed on the student ID.
At the top is a photo of Xiao Cheng's face, below which are her name, student ID, and initial score.
"Xiao Cheng, student ID 7, initial score 0."
Great, a wonderful start to campus life from scratch.
After handing out the student IDs, the counselor didn't give them a chance to talk before speaking again: "I know you've had a long journey and need to rest, but before that, please remember to take a good hot shower."
The bathroom was not far from the school gate. The counselor directed them to line up in a single file and personally led them there.
Xiao Cheng and Fang He were standing at opposite ends of the street, and before they could say anything, they could only exchange a subtle glance.
The public bathhouse wasn't very big. The men's bathhouse was on the left and the women's bathhouse was on the right. In the middle of the aisle, there was a worn but clean desk with an old man sitting behind it.
The old man didn't look very energetic; he was as withered as a dried-up bitter almond. He was huddled in a bamboo rocking chair. When he saw someone coming, he lazily peeked out and glanced over.
"Freshmen? It's been a long time since I've had freshmen." His voice was hoarse, as if he had phlegm stuck in his throat. "Men on the left, women on the right, no trespassing, please make sure you take a good shower."
A thick, dark brown cotton curtain hung outside the doors leading to the bathrooms on both sides. Of the seven players, four were girls, including Xiao Cheng.
Number 3 seemed to be a newcomer. Suppressing her fear, she reached out and grabbed number 2's arm, asking tremblingly, "I...can I not wash? It shouldn't be mandatory, right?"
But the tactic of feigning weakness and playing the victim doesn't work well with old men.
He grinned, revealing his missing teeth, and squinted his cloudy eyes, repeating loudly once more, "Please make sure you take a good bath."
At his stern shout, Number 3 involuntarily trembled, and followed Number 2 in a flustered manner, lifting the curtain and entering the bathroom.
Then it's girl number 5.
Xiao Cheng intentionally lagged behind, glancing at Fang He out of the corner of her eye, but due to the scrutinizing gaze of the counselor at the bathroom door, she didn't say a word and brushed past him.
Fang He subtly turned his body slightly to create a blind spot, then gently hooked his finger into Xiao Cheng's palm.
A tingling sensation came over Xiao Cheng, who was slightly taken aback. She clutched the note he had handed her and quietly lifted the bathroom curtain.
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