82 Chapter 82 (Two in One)
◎You are not a human being. /How can you curse me?
Dada.
The chair's front and back legs banged against the ground as it moved toward the open back door. It felt like a child was struggling to leave the classroom, dangling from side to side with the chair.
“I don’t want to take the exam anymore…”
"How can you get into a good school or get a good job without taking exams? Wasting time is wasting your life. Come in and continue studying!"
The heated argument spread out into the empty classroom. Zhong Nian stood between the door and the corridor without even raising an eyebrow.
If an ordinary person were accidentally caught in a ghost cave, they would probably be frightened or deceived into empathy by the strange performance. Whether supporting the parents or the students, if they ran to touch the chair, they would be dragged in.
Fortunately, the colleagues who were handling the strange creatures were accustomed to these situations and knew how to minimize losses and resolve strange incidents, so they would not fall for such simple traps on the road.
As the thought came to her mind, Ye Ping'an tiptoed over her and kicked the chair back.
Zhong Nian:?!
"Get the chair out of the way. Whoever's child is responsible for theirs." Ye Ping'an casually closed the door, took a few steps forward, and turned back. "Officer Zhong?"
Zhong Nian looked at the falling apart chairs in the classroom and coughed twice, "This way."
Is intervening in a strange incident that could be easily resolved a trap? That's what Boss Ye calls helping others!
The team had indeed arrived early. Every classroom had at least one strange creature. Ye Ping'an and the other investigators were completely different.
Before reaching the elevator, Zhong Nian watched Ye Ping'an kick away a "newspaper", two pieces of "teaching sticks" and a "projector".
Don't let any one go and don't delay anything.
...She even walked this route faster than when there were no classes on the first floor.
Zhong Nian hesitated to speak and looked at his colleagues.
Since her colleagues arrived, she hasn't even lit a single candle! She said they were going to quickly reach the core of the haunted den. So, was that about finding the shortest route and quickly dealing with the weirdness along the way?
Her colleagues spread their hands to her, one of them used his shadow to push away the ghost slave that was attracted out of the corridor, and the other quickly put away the new weird creature.
Some of the classrooms had lights on and some didn't. When I walked to the elevator, the light tubes flickered dimly, illuminating a huge head lying on the classroom wall, with a keyhole-shaped fleshy ball on its forehead.
His thin body, which looked only about eleven or twelve years old, made his head look particularly deformed.
The student seemed oblivious, hunched over the wall, writing on the test paper with a pen. The tip of the pen had worn off, and it made a teeth-grinding swishing sound as it slid across the paper.
"Manjushri Bodhisattva, cultivate my wisdom.
May Wenchang bless you and may your name be on the imperial examination list..."
The murmurs, sometimes high and sometimes low, were like talking in a dream. A pile of papers had already piled up under the student's feet, covering his calves, as if there was a person growing on the papers.
Ye Pingan sighed, "...Look, the food hygiene in the cafeteria is not up to standard. The children have become deformed after eating. The chef and the principal have to pay compensation!"
Zhong Nian nearly choked, "D-level [Student Standing in Punishment], this is the change it made to the principal. It has been 'studying' here, and just like the one at the school gate, there's no way to solve it directly. Let me answer a test."
Ye Pingan was surprised. "It's so dark, what kind of test are we taking? Let's go."
The papers under the students' feet overflowed like a tide, and the keyhole of the deformed skull swelled again, and countless inaudible mutterings came from the hole.
The invisible whispers were like dark clouds, but they could not drown out Ye Ping'an as she walked past him, nor could they even bypass her.
As Ye Ping'an got closer, the mumbling became quieter and quieter, and the big-headed student fell down with a thud.
Ye Pingan walked past the big-headed student and shook his head when he heard the voice. "He's so sleepy that he's talking in his sleep. That's the good thing about being young. He can fall asleep right away. I have to tell Tushan to take this as a warning when I get home. Don't stay up all night writing novels."
Ye Ping'an pressed the elevator button. The big-headed student behind him was stuck in a pile of papers. Mucus was spurting out of the keyhole in bulges. He became visibly shorter, and soon only one lock was left.
Zhong Nian: ...
Is this the head?
The elevator door slowly opened, and the dim light illuminated the old decoration inside.
The mirror covered with layers of assessment notices was facing the door, and the mirror surface in the gaps between the notices cut the figures of the group into pieces.
As Ye Ping'an walked into the elevator, the light suddenly flashed as if stimulated by something.
The investigators followed without hesitation. As soon as Zhou Xing's shadow grew longer, he found it difficult to move forward.
As the lights flickered, streaks of blood leaked out of the elevator car.
The elevator was covered with bloody handprints, and wherever the eye could see, a string of blood-red slogans appeared.
"Time is life."
"One point improvement kills a thousand people."
"Learn until you die."
…
The words were neatly printed in bold red, like computer-printed block letters, stretching from head to toe. Bloody handprints scattered around the letters were like the silent, frantic howling of a maniac within the neat red text.
Zhong Nian became alert.
She had never seen such a change happen as soon as the elevator door opened. Could it be that a powerful creature had discovered and was trying to devour it?
Boss Ye also looked a little surprised. He must be feeling weird too, right?
Ye Ping'an tutted his words, "The principal is even embezzling the money for the elevator renovation? I'm afraid he didn't pay the workers. Look at the red paint job."
Zhong Nian:?
Ye Ping'an ignored the blood words on the button. Without waiting for Zhou Xing to control the black shadow to press the button, she directly pressed the ninth floor and closed the door.
Squeak... squeak...
The elevator door made a sound like an old, dilapidated wooden door. The buttons seemed to be malfunctioning, and the door stopped stiffly, with streams of black liquid escaping from the door frame.
Zhong Nian opened his mouth.
Hiss… I almost forgot, Boss Ye takes care of every one he sees. Speaking of which, the elevator strangely turned back into a weird thing. I’m afraid the elevator in the ghost cave is no longer usable, right?
"Why aren't you moving?" Ye Ping'an wondered and pressed the button to close the door again.
Crunch——
The escaping black liquid seemed to have hit an invisible wall and was forced to flow back into the elevator. The elevator door made a heavy metallic friction sound and slowly closed.
123……
The numbers on the elevator floor display rose like a rocket, and in the blink of an eye, we arrived at the ninth floor.
Zhong Nian twitched the corners of his mouth.
In the exploration logs, there were stories of elevators dropping directly and viciously, deliberately stopping at each floor when approaching strangely, opening and closing doors to eat people, etc. Compared to these, today's elevators were incredibly well-behaved, fast and stable.
The white walls outside the corridor were spotless, framed with photos of outstanding students. But there were no doors on either side, and the empty corridor seemed endless.
Zhong Nian took out the key he had just obtained.
Outside the elevator, a door vaguely appeared.
The heavy base covers the tiled floor, four pillars support the carved double doors, and the layered wooden eaves look like a miniature palace stuck in the reinforced concrete walls.
The door structure looked strangely familiar, but the excitement and surprise outweighed the strangeness.
There is a way!
Although there is no nameplate for the principal's office, it appears here and must be related to the principal's office.
Zhong Nian's eyes lit up, then quickly went out.
The wooden door appeared for only a moment before disappearing, so fast that it seemed like an illusion. Even the shadow and hemp rope that rushed out at the first moment only caught air.
"It hid?" Yan Mingyue looked solemn.
Ye Pingan was horrified. "No way, the principal ran away? I was waiting to ask him for money! Do you have his phone number? No one goes out without a phone these days. I'll know where he is as soon as he rings."
Zhou Xing was helpless, "You can't get through."
[Ghost Call] I have only been exposed to the aura inside the ghost cave and cannot call the real body through the phone.
"Let's try. The student who was punished to stand just now seemed to have a phone number printed on his test paper. What was the number..."
Ye Ping'an recalled and pressed a string of numbers.
The scarlet phone symbol on the phone screen trembled weakly.
Beep. Beep. The long, drawn-out busy tone continued, as if the call hadn't even gotten through.
Ring!
A faint bell rang suddenly, as if it was from a very long distance.
Ring, ring, ring——
The ringing sound became clearer again, and a magnificent security door suddenly appeared on the white wall nearest the elevator door.
The door was only opened a crack, and the nameplate of the principal's office above the door was shining brightly.
Found it!
The investigators felt relieved, and Yan Mingyue patted Zhou Xing's twitching cheek.
The [Hearse], once in Boss Ye's hands, went from being limited to just crossing the scene of a car accident to being able to travel anywhere he wanted. The [Ghost Call] brought out a strangeness Boss Ye had never seen before, which was understandable.
Finding the "Principal" is not the end. The most dangerous moment is about to come.
Zhou Xing was stunned for only a moment before he quickly followed the others' lead and made preparations. Both surprise and astonishment were suppressed deep within him, leaving only a stern expression and an increasingly determined gaze.
After the third ring, the call was connected and a murmuring of prayers came from the receiver, exactly the same as the sound coming from the door.
"Manjushri Bodhisattva, cultivate my wisdom.
May Wenchang bless you and may your name be on the imperial examination list..."
When Ye Ping'an heard this, he realized something was wrong.
What kind of school would take students to pray to gods and Buddha in the middle of the night?
The police officers were so generous; it turns out they weren't arresting corruption cases, but rather the pernicious cult. No wonder they wanted her to come along to conceal her identity, lest they scare off the den.
Following the call, the half-open door slowly opened, and bright and soft lights illuminated the walls, bringing the sense of security that humans instinctively desire.
Zhong Nian's vigilance has been raised to the highest level.
The core of the ghost cave with two restricted power should have been as silent as when it was first restricted, but now it is obviously different.
The raised wooden tablet had been prepared for a long time, and the iron-faced and bearded facial features appeared on his face like a line of oil paint.
The wooden tablet was like a sword, hanging in the air without falling.
The scarlet official robe was cold and swollen, yet it held an air of righteousness. Strange ghost shapes were crawling on the corners of the robe, forming a faint defensive circle that protected the space between the principal's office door and the elevator.
B-level monster, [Judge]!
All the way into the ghost cave, Boss Ye was so fast that Zhong Nian never expected that she would only start using strange things now.
The gap in the door grew larger and larger, and blue smoke curled up, covering the principal's office with a layer of hazy veil.
Even the smoke itself was glowing faintly, but the light was weak and dim, not comparable to the indoor lights.
Investigators who have used the Pure Candle frequently can vaguely sense the dim light, which is somewhat similar to that of the Pure Candle.
Most of the smoke dispersed indoors, allowing one to see inside at a glance.
A sea of students were wearing school uniforms, and nearly half of them had Investigation Bureau exoskeletons hidden under their uniforms. Some were old, and some still had dried blood stains on them.
They formed a semicircle, and only their heads were seen bowed, praying constantly and kowtowing to the desk in the middle.
An old man in a Zhongshan suit was sitting behind the desk. Three incense sticks were rising in front of the desk, and the thick smoke blurred the old man's face.
Just looking at his clothes and figure, he is exactly the same as the principal originally recorded in the ghost file.
In classrooms and auditoriums, praise for top students is often heard, mixed with prayers, as if countless people were speaking at once.
"Student Li from Class A, Grade 3, did very well on this exam. Grade 3 is a crucial barrier to further advancement. I hope you won't be too proud or impatient and strive to achieve even greater success. What reward would you like?"
"Principal, I..."
The voice was calm and kind, and so certain that it seemed as if anything he said would come true.
The green smoke swayed with the sound, revealing a non-human face of a sculpture!
Half is a mottled stone sculpture of a Buddha's head, and the other half is a golden-faced clay statue with a high crown and a wide belt. The two styles are incompatible, but they are combined in one face.
A face that should have belonged to a human body.
As the face emerged, it became clear that there were no incense or candles lit on the table.
Wisps of green smoke were clearly rising from the heads of the students kneeling below, gathering into three sticks and floating towards that face.
Zhong Nian realized with a chill that the gate he saw for the first time was not an illusion.
That is——
Shrine!
The ghosts that were restricted and controlled by the forces of the two restricted areas not only did not remain silent, but also formed a shrine together.
Whether they devour each other or compromise with each other, it will be extremely bad news for mankind.
In a flash, Zhong Nian instinctively raised the wooden tablet and ordered the strange creature to interrupt the prayer inside.
"Illegitimate shrine and evil worship. I sentence you to—"
The ghost in red robe climbed onto the wooden sceptre, but he couldn't utter the word "sin" that he had to drive.
The "Principal" turned his gaze towards the door and smiled the same gentle smile he gave to the praying students.
The stone and clay sculpture's face looks extremely creepy when it smiles, but the "students" kneeling in front of it are still bowing devoutly.
Two gazes seemed to descend from the sky, seeing countless lives, compassionate and grand.
But his eyes only reflected the light in the principal's office, without a trace of anyone.
"Welcome, matriculation."
The voice is calm, like a spring breeze, making people subconsciously want to trust it.
Zhong Nian felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.
The B-level monster [Judge] was once ranked at the top of the monster-suppressing monument. After repeated testing and reorganization patterns by the Investigation Bureau, she was found to be stronger than the average B-level creature. That's why she was sent to [Yucai Academy] to lead the team.
After Zhong Nian carried it, he went to work as a guard in several restricted areas, and was able to resist the influence of the restricted areas with his own will.
But when the power of the fallen and dead gods really appeared, she realized the extent of the influence separated by the Ghost-Suppressing Monument, and how big the gap was between the ordinary B-level and the power from the restricted area.
Even though they still restrict each other and have not completely escaped.
Just a sight, a voice, and she was almost uncontrollably drawn to the statue.
Her entire vision was occupied by the severed face of the statue, which was so terrifying, yet so solemn and sacred.
The students’ prayers echoed in my ears, and the whispers seemed to come from the bottom of their hearts.
“Believe in Him…
“Follow Him…
"He is infinite wisdom, He is the embodiment of knowledge...
"He will guide you, He will teach you, He will put an end to all ignorance..."
Ghostly shadows were wriggling on the wooden scepter that he was already controlling, and their bodies were actively forming words, as if they were singing praises to the gods.
Her throat seemed to become intelligent, wanting to offer a prayer for Him. Her perception was slipping towards the warm light, embracing a vast mind that did not belong to her...
Human consciousness is like a drop of water falling into the ocean. It is difficult for the drop of water to understand the ocean, and it is even more difficult for it to maintain its own existence in the ocean.
...but the probability is not zero.
The gods are dead.
Zhong Nian, who was sliding towards the abyss of madness or conversion, kept repeating the same sentence in his mind, and maintained a trace of clarity.
Try harder and control the monster to go in while staying awake.
It merely distorted her perception of the forbidden area, preventing her from taking action. It didn't attack them or devour the creature directly. Could it be that it didn't want to? It only meant that it was in a very bad state right now!
His consciousness wandered between trance and persistence, and Zhong Nian vaguely saw someone walk past him and into the door.
Zhou Xing was wielding a C-rank creature, but due to his advanced age, he could only manage to avoid being directly contaminated by the restricted area. Yan Mingyue's creature had just been seen, and wielding a D-rank [Hanging Rope] didn't mean he didn't want to change, but rather that he was struggling to hold on.
Even Zhong Nian was struggling. Although she couldn't see clearly, she knew that the person walking behind her could only be one person.
...The new colleague seems completely unaffected? How did she overcome the power of the forbidden zone?
Maintaining awareness in the face of the restricted area's power shouldn't have distracted him, but Zhong Nian couldn't help but wonder.
Ye Ping'an was also full of confusion.
"What's wrong? Isn't the principal here?"
Ye Ping'an tightened his mask, stepped into the crowd and headed straight for the principal.
The breeze stirred the smoke, and the students, still praying, were lost in their own world, completely unaware of the approach. Only the statue in the center moved, smiling and turning towards the outgoing figure.
"Manjushri Bodhisattva, cultivate my wisdom.
May Wenchang bless you and may your name be on the imperial examination list... Study! Why don't you want to study? "
The students murmured as they stood up, their expressions dull and pious, their eyes filled with anger, and walked towards the elevator.
When Ye Ping'an stepped into the principal's office, it was as if he had broken some restrictions, and the heavy pressure on the investigators' struggling consciousness suddenly weakened.
“…Guilty.” The moment Zhong Nian woke up, he completed the order to drive the monster.
Following the command, the ghosts that rushed out of the wooden hut connected head to tail, forming a pitch-black chain. However, the chain seemed to be afraid of something and did not rush towards the principal, but only entangled the student closest to that direction.
The student lost consciousness and fell down, and Zhong Nian took action immediately. His shadow became longer, accurately fixing the students who were blocking the way, and dragged them away with the hanging hemp rope.
Except for Zhong Nian who was a little surprised, Zhou Xing and Yan Mingyue cooperated well and immediately cleared a path for Ye Ping'an.
Ye Ping'an took three or two steps to the desk, and the face behind the green smoke paused for a moment with a smile.
The lights in the principal's office grew brighter, and the bright light created a physical pressure that pressed several students who didn't have time to stand up almost to the ground.
The overflowing smoke became more and more, and the body of the bound "student" trembled, as if it was about to merge into the smoke and disappear.
The two completely different eyes on the left and right sides of his face moved and stared at Ye Ping'an together, and for the first time there was emotion in his eyes.
Like confusion.
"What are you looking at?"
Ye Ping'an was completely unaware of the changes in the principal's office. He grabbed the principal, full of disgust, and pointed at him, "Students should just study hard! Engaging in these crooked ways and feudal superstitions is harmful! Did you use all the embezzled money to do body painting and cosplay to worship yourself? You've even left the cafeteria with no food. Come, settle the cafeteria bill first!"
Zhong Nian widened his eyes in surprise again.
The principal... the principal was easily pulled up by the collar?!
In Ye Ping'an's hands, the main body of [Yucai Academy] seems to be no different from an ordinary old man except for the strange face.
The face of the "Principal" sculpture has not changed. The head and neck were originally connected as one piece, but now when it was pulled, a gap on the edge was revealed, and a faint black slime was wriggling and spreading downwards along the edge.
There are no longer only "students" in the principal's office. The wood grain of the shrine has emerged from the ground, and the smell of rotting fragrant wood is mixed with the stench of blood.
Boss Ye caught one mysterious crash after another along the way, and Zhong Nian didn't think there was anything strange about the traces exposed in the principal's office.
but……
Did the ghost den really end so easily?
The "Principal" opened his mouth slightly, and the smoke from the principal's office rolled into his mouth and was sucked up in an instant.
The bright lights in the principal's office dimmed, the warm and holy light turned cold, and the sculpture's face gained a thin luster.
The chains left the student, and Zhong Nian's wooden tablet was pressed against the desk, guarding against any sudden and unpredictable attack.
The principal just stared at Ye Ping'an, as if he saw something strange.
The sculpture's eyes were motionless. When Zhong Nian, who was standing next to Ye Ping'an, caught a glimpse of its gaze, he felt as if his skin was peeled off and bones were dissected in an instant, and everything was seen through. His hair stood on end.
Zhong Nian drove the chains towards the principal. The desk seemed to have turned into a quagmire, and the chains made of ghosts trembled, making it impossible to move forward.
Zhong Nian's heart skipped a beat.
The power of the "Principal" has not disappeared, it seems that the scope has only been reduced?
What about Boss Ye?
Zhong Nian glanced at his colleagues. Yan Mingyue was tying up the students with hemp ropes, and Zhou Xing's shadow was standing at the doorway. Each one was calmer than the other.
Yan Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief, as if expecting this. "Boss Ye, handcuffs or ropes?"
In [Hungry Ghost], Boss Ye tied up the Buddha statue and grabbed the golden bowl. This time the restricted area was much weirder and more complete than before, but it seems the process is similar.
Zhong Nian: No? How can you be so calm?
The new colleague had no effect on the "Principal"! Also, are the handcuffs a joke? Are they expecting them to be a trick?
"Don't forget the bonus." Ye Ping'an took the rope handed to him by Yan Mingyue and quickly tied the principal up several times, binding him from head to hands.
The hemp rope tied to the sculpture looks a bit funny.
Zhong Nian: ...It doesn’t seem like you’re joking?
"What are you standing there for? You're under arrest!"
Ye Ping'an pulled the principal out of the desk and said, "Come out quickly and settle the bill before you leave. The cafeteria is still waiting for you to buy food!"
With a pull, the principal's body tilted, and the darkness outside the principal's office window shook violently.
The principal looked at Ye Ping'an steadily, the confusion in his eyes did not disappear, but became even more intense.
A peaceful voice once again rang out from the sculpture's face.
"Why do you help them?"
Zhong Nian keenly sensed something was wrong and shouted, "We just need to catch it!"
Trying to understand the strange words in the forbidden zone may also distort your cognition.
The roar was so close that it made his ears buzz. Ye Pingan was confused. "Yeah, isn't it caught?"
She glared at the principal and said, "If I don't help the police, then how can I help you?"
Just now, the police officers were stunned for no apparent reason. The room was filled with smoke, which might be some illegal hallucinogen.
They've already caught him. If the cult leader runs away with a grudge, it'll be troublesome. She has a small family and a small business, and she still needs to go back to open the shop! How can she cause trouble for herself?
Do you understand the bond between caring citizens and the police? Do you understand the bond between her and her part-time job bonus?
Ye Pingan was so confident that he wrapped the rope around the principal twice more. "I'm a good person, a kind-hearted citizen who bravely stood up for justice. What's it to you?"
The black fog outside the window swayed more and more violently, like torn cotton wool, and strands of sunlight began to shine into the silent campus.
The team outside the ghost den was on full alert. The hedgehog cried out at the same time. The investigator's eyes lit up, "The ghost den... is dispersing!"
On the top floor of the teaching building, the "Principal" heard the answer and looked at the alert investigators one by one.
The two halves of the sculpture's face smiled at the same time, as if amused.
They were laughing, laughing heartily.
The laughter overlapped, and a faint fairy music and a Buddhist chant echoed.
"...But you're not human."
A chill ran up from the soles of Zhong Nian's feet.
Yes, the restricted area strangely regarded Boss Ye as an existence outside of "them"! They were human, so... what was Ye Ping'an?
As soon as the thought came to her mind, she saw Ye Ping'an slap her in the face.
Ye Pingan flew into a rage. "I'm such an honest businessman. I just asked you to settle the cafeteria bill. Why are you cursing at me?!"
The sculptured face was originally natural and flawless.
A slap landed, and five finger marks appeared on the "Principal's" forehead. Black and red blood emerged from between the lines of the sculpture, and the two halves of the face were evenly divided into half on each side.
The "Principal" froze.
Zhongnian's CPU almost burned out.
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