Chapter 19 Chat Groups Come Together
After the explosion, the laboratory's glass shattered everywhere, and the air around the historic university building was filled with a mixture of chemicals and a burnt smell.
The students who escaped, including you, are all standing downstairs. Unlike in the real world, no one is afraid of the laboratory explosion.
The locals, in particular, chatted animatedly as if nothing had happened, just like before class.
You outsiders were looking for an opportunity to slip away, but somehow several police cars and fire trucks appeared out of nowhere.
It seems that even though this is a strange world, the basic logic of how the world works still exists.
Everyone was cordoned off, and the fire department mechanically used water hoses to extinguish the chemical-filled laboratory—you had learned a lot about safety for this lab class, and even you knew that there were many strange chemicals in the lab, and that you shouldn't just use water to put out fires like this—but no further accidents occurred.
Meanwhile, the police launched an investigation according to standard procedures.
The group of police officers, dressed in black uniforms and fully armed, set up a makeshift shed and directed the students to disperse and begin interrogating them on the spot.
Knowing in advance that the outcome of the lab accident would be no consequences, you weren't worried. Instead, it was the other outsiders who frequently cast concerned glances your way.
They may not have thought that you deliberately blew up the lab, but they certainly know that this accident is related to you and your team.
The girl who previously offered you a tip patted your shoulder, gave you a thumbs-up, and winked at you; you smiled back.
One by one, everyone went into the small shed, and it was your turn last.
Two young police officers, a man and a woman, look at you with relaxed smiles, as if what has happened here is not a terrible accident but someone setting off fireworks: "Vasistpass."
Perhaps the poor speech of the previous seven outsiders had shocked them, because when they faced you, they used the simplest words and spoke at the slowest pace.
Even though you know they're asking you what happened, you still put on a blank expression, acting like you're trying hard to understand and reply, but you're just a stupid foreigner.
The male police officer frowned, exchanged a glance with the female police officer to get her permission, then sighed and waved for you to leave.
Hehe, plan in progress.
Indeed, the saying "it's better to avoid trouble" holds true everywhere.
You stepped out of the small shed, feeling wonderful. The local students had long since left, but the outsiders were still waiting for you.
A woman who looks very gentle and refined walked over and showed you her phone.
"We're planning to grab something to eat later, want to come along?"
After thinking it over, you readily agreed.
These outsiders from the Flower Country still habitually dine at Flower Restaurants, but since there's only one Flower Restaurant in this small town, they'll take you on a train ride to another small town just one stop away to eat.
This is your first time taking a train, and you're filled with curiosity.
Unlike train stations in China, there are no security checks or ticket offices here. The lonely train station building houses a lottery shop, a few bakeries, and automatic ticket vending machines.
As you curiously examine the ticket machine, your older sister smiles at you, shakes her head, and points to your student card.
You then noticed a strange stamp with a wheel on your student ID. You hadn't noticed it before, but after checking online, you discovered that as a student, you can ride intercity trains and buses for free within a certain area with your student ID.
Taking your location in Fuzhou as an example, this card covers almost half of the area. Considering that a ticket for even a single stop costs at least 4 euros, this student card is actually quite affordable.
"Hello, when will our train arrive?" you typed to the woman.
She switched places with you directly; her name is Li, so you silently call her Sister Li in your heart.
Sister Li chatted with you, saying, "These intercity trains run every ten minutes or so, and they're no different from the subway. You can just take one when it arrives."
You can find all of this information on the Little Green Book, but it's still more reassuring to ask someone directly.
The next train will arrive in 2 minutes.
I can't wait!
Two minutes later, the train arrived on time. I knew it! Not all the shares and complaints on Little Green Book are necessarily true; look how punctual this train is!
The eight people boarded the train quietly and obediently, quickly occupying a small corner inside the carriage.
It's neither too early nor too late, and there aren't many passengers on the bus. The few people who are on the bus, however, seem a little off.
They might not be dressed in rags or dirt, but without exception, they all had disheveled, dry, yellow hair and exuded an indescribable stench.
tramp.
Your group getting on the bus naturally attracted their attention. The eyes that looked up at you were cloudy with dilated pupils, making you look like living dead.
You remain vigilant about the general rule that "you are a kept man, not a homeless person," and silently repeat to yourself, "I am a kept man, I am a kept man," not giving anyone a chance to take advantage.
Fortunately, there were many of you, so they only glanced at you a few times before lowering their heads to continue muttering things you neither understood nor wanted to understand.
The next stop is fast approaching; in just a few minutes on the bus, you've already added everyone on your contacts.
It turns out they all came to this instance in the same batch, and even their spawn points were very close, so they formed a group from the very beginning.
You can't help but sigh, "Comparing yourself to others is just plain frustrating."
Compared to some of the outsiders you've witnessed who immediately made a fatal mistake upon entering, your own intelligence and caution are one factor, but you're also lucky. For example, you had Xiaoming's help, and your initially scary male roommate's foolish actions allowed you to discover that the room was absolutely safe. But compared to these other people, you, all alone, have become quite pitiful.
In addition to the small group of seven people, they also added you to the group of students from other countries. Only then did you realize that there were so many other students from other countries in your university.
Everyone in the group is very active. A few chatterboxes tease you a bit after you join the group, but they quickly let you go and continue their conversation.
I wanted to check the group chat for any information related to dungeon rules or scenarios, but after searching around, I found they were just talking about which restaurants were good and where to buy cheap things.
Okay, it's clear everyone's desire to share is overflowing and they have nowhere to release it. They're posting all sorts of things here, big and small. For example, you also know that a guy bought hard-boiled eggs painted in all sorts of colors to make scrambled eggs. He heated the oil in the pan, cracked the eggs, and smack, they were already cooked.
There was another person who didn't care about other people's feelings and just went crazy on their own, saying things like, "In reality, I'm a top student with a score of 589, how could I fail the small exam for the Master's program?" "I'm a bank manager here, and my boyfriend is a famous internet celebrity," and so on.
The more you scroll through this page, the funnier it gets, but people seem to be quite forgiving of this person.
Meanwhile, Sister Li led you all in a grand procession toward that restaurant that's supposedly very delicious.
Unlike the lackluster atmosphere of the flower restaurants in your small town, this place is almost full even outside of mealtimes. The takeout phone at the counter keeps ringing off the hook. You take a deep breath and can't help but be captivated by the fragrant aroma of the flower dishes.
"Order whatever you like, it's on me." Sister Li is a successful 30-year-old who quit her job and brought all her savings to study abroad. She herself has the image of a spirited and confident older sister.
Even more astonishingly, this is actually Sister Li's sixth instance country, which means that as long as she successfully leaves, she will completely end this terrifying "journey".
You casually sent a "tycoon" emoji in the small group chat, which immediately triggered a bombardment of emojis from everyone. You almost forgot what it felt like to be in such a lively atmosphere, and for a moment you felt a little shy, but you still replied with "Thank you, Grandma."
"Twice-cooked pork, sweet and sour pork, boiled fish, dry pot pork intestines, fried duck, spicy chicken, and broccoli beef."
Except for fried duck, which was replaced with scrambled eggs with tomatoes after protests that people didn't want to order this kind of localized, greasy, and only-dip-dish frozen dish, everyone's dishes were served quickly.
Honestly, spending more time here really makes a difference; the restaurants I've picked out are truly delicious.
Every dish was perfectly seasoned; it was salty when it should be, and spicy when it should be, and the offal was cleaned very well and fried to a fragrant crispness.
Ever since you came here, it's been nothing but potatoes, you're practically a potato yourself. Even though you'll have to eat potatoes again when you get home, you still can't bear to eat less, you just shovel rice down your throat.
The group finished their meal in silence and frantically, attracting the attention of some curious locals. However, their presence was quickly diminished as they quietly started typing and chatting on their phones after they had eaten and drunk their fill, and they soon looked away.
The chat content in a small group is no more meaningful than that in a large group, but looking at this nonsense, you feel like you've finally found some sense that you're still alive in this world.
After chatting for two hours, it was almost dinner time, and there were just too many customers. The restaurant owner, feeling embarrassed, came to ask you to leave, and you reluctantly got up and walked out.
Everyone went home, but you still seemed a little reluctant to leave. Boiling potatoes actually lifted your spirits considerably.
While chewing on unsalted potatoes with the skin on, Sister Li sent me a message.
"I'm home."
"Oh, you're asking about that? Well, in my experience, you won't know how to leave a single instance until the last few days."
"One day, suddenly an app appears on your phone that lets you buy travel tickets. When you open it, you'll find that you've already bought a plane ticket, a boat ticket, or most commonly a train ticket or bus ticket."
"Judging from the ticket alone, you are going to some unrelated place, but once you get on, you will soon fall asleep, take a nap, and when you wake up, you will arrive at the next instance."
Thank you, Sister Wanli, for your generous sharing. You look thoughtfully at your phone.
These dungeons really know how to keep things in suspense; they just reveal everything at once.
This secrecy makes you uneasy, wondering if something uncontrollable might happen when you finally leave.
"Sister Li, are there any hidden dangers in the vehicles we used when we left?" you asked.
"Anyway, I've never encountered that," Sister Li replied.
Her chat window continued to scroll with typing, and a short while later she sent a message: "There are some things to be careful about. Don't miss your train. If you miss your train, you'll be stuck here forever."
"Okay, thank you, Sister Li."
If that's the case, then it's easy to handle. Just make sure you arrive at the right time and wait there in advance.
"Hey, did you see today's news?" Y-jie suddenly sent you a message at the top of the screen.
You chat with Sister Y every day, but today you've been too busy and haven't said a word to her yet.
"What news?" You instinctively feign ignorance.
Y replied quickly: "It's the news about the lab explosion! Apparently, a professor died, and the school has already issued an obituary. Go check your email."
This really is a reminder. You should quickly open your email and see how the official account describes this incident.
Indeed, no one was held accountable. But compared to the description of the accident itself, you immediately notice the last line of text.
"All students taking this lab course this semester do not need to participate in the remaining courses, but they still need to write reports on the experiments they have already completed (including this experiment)."
ah?
What, we have to write a lab report? You don't know how to do that, especially not in jargon!
"Did you see that you have to write a lab report? That's not easy to write, is it?" Y seemed to read your mind, sending one message after another. "Actually, I also study chemistry in real life, so I should be able to help you."
Really?
You were just about to happily respond to Sister Y when you suddenly shuddered.
wrong.
A note from the author:
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Good morning!
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