Chapter 39 "College Students" [First Update] Legend has it that in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*...
Zhang Congming looked at the door with disgust. The door was slammed shut after the elderly couple left.
Not long after, Chen Wei came to Zhang Congming to discuss this matter.
“Xiao Zhang, if word gets out that the school holds the Five Elements Sacrifice every year, Principal Jia’s reputation will be ruined, and all the investments we’ve made from the community will be for naught.”
Zhang Congming: "Don't worry, Professor Chen, we have the secret formula of formations passed down by Principal Jia. These people will never know that the students' bewitching is not due to drugs, but to a plant that has existed in the world since ancient times."
“Be careful, walls have ears. Also, move the hallucinogenic tree away as soon as possible,” Chen Weida said, looking out the window. “The sacred tree is worth far more than the lives of five students.”
System reminder:
"Congratulations on triggering the testimony 'Illusion'. Legend has it that the Classic of Mountains and Seas records a divine tree called the Nine-Turned Green Pine. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the original site of Chongli University was almost occupied by the Japanese army. However, just as the enemy entered the forest, all the Japanese soldiers died mysteriously overnight. An ancestor of Principal Jia's family who practiced medicine accidentally discovered that the divine tree was the source of the locals' avoidance of disaster. He then consulted ancient books and began to study this plant, which is why the monster was left behind."
The astonished crowd once again obtained bizarre physical evidence behind the paranormal event.
Yang Xiaohong: "So one of the keys to the formation is trees?"
Wang Xiaoming: "That makes sense! Wood is one of the elements that symbolize life in the Five Elements. Wood has existed since the birth of the Earth. Plants are ancient species that appeared even earlier than humans."
Xie Xiaomei: "Is there any way to break the formation?"
Wang Xiaoming stammered, "I don't know, I'm just a novice."
As everyone was still discussing, a school badge flipped over in the void before them, depicting a strange tree, which should be the Nine-Turned Pine that can be seen everywhere in the old campus.
This tree reminded the investigators that Jiang Yanrui and Zhong Yun had previously hinted that there was a ghost in the school. They never expected that this ghost was not a person but a plant. Could this be the truth behind Principal Jia's connection to the school's murder case after his death?
To explain the whole story, Zhang Congming smiled like an old fox: "Don't worry, the workers are here. This time they will move the feng shui formation to a safe place."
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. After a discussion between the two leadership members in front of them, the fact that a strange plant was growing around the dormitories at Chongli University was further revealed.
At the end of the 19th century, the roots of the sacred tree were dug up.
During the sampling research, Principal Jia's family member made an association: the Classic of Mountains and Seas was not entirely mythology, but an encyclopedia of ancient humans. He began to worship wood, a natural element, and couldn't help but trace back to the culture of the ancient tribal sacrificial era. He then extended this research purpose to his descendant, Jia Zhengyi.
When Jia Zhengyi returned from studying abroad, Bao Zhong always carried various sacrificial books with him. When he personally presided over the establishment of Chongli University and built the university after the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan, the first Five Elements Sacrifice began.
For many years, the rituals have been secretly included in the school's key scientific research projects.
In his later years, Newton became obsessed with theology, and this group of professors also pursued mythology, metaphysics, and the idea of immortality with fervor.
Initially, they only used students who had accidents each year. Gradually, external companies took notice of the research project and invested funds to sponsor it, so the number of experiments and the number of participants needed to increase.
Driven by greed and corrupted by greed, the school's powerful figures wavered. They came up with the idea of planting trees in a vacuum environment without the students' knowledge, creating a feng shui trap.
After countless years of experiments, the school discovered that the roots of the ancient tree emit a scent similar to that of a corpse. If students smell it for a long time, they will be psychologically influenced and become paranoid.
Over time, students will become completely different people, engaging in insane behaviors such as abusing cats and dogs, stealing, cheating, and even jumping off buildings to commit suicide.
Just like the chilling descriptions in ancient texts, this plant has both the magic to broaden one's mind and the power to amplify the evil in the hearts of those nearby, much like the Manjusaka flower on the other side of the underworld.
Some have even concluded through observation that if someone accidentally ingests the pollen of a plant, their skin will crack, turn blue, and develop spots, resembling an alien monster from a science fiction movie.
Jiang Yanrui was the person who suffered the most severe poisoning symptoms from the side effects.
The last time he appeared in the story, he couldn't stand the darkness of the school and went to see Zhang Congming on September 3rd. But after leaving Zhang Congming's office, Jiang Yanrui experienced severe hallucinations.
On September 9th, the nightmare of 404 began. Five boys were possessed and committed murder in a closed environment. The case connected with several points that Li Jinjun's parents had initially questioned.
The plot then moves into the final scene of the strange events that occurred on September 9th.
The school is trying to suppress the news.
Putting aside the series of supernatural and paranormal backgrounds, the main reason for Li Jinjun's death was that he exposed the dark profit-making chain of the school.
Pretending nothing was wrong, Zhang Congming found the logistics staff and used a broom to clean up the footprints of the farmers and women.
“A policeman will be coming today to investigate the ‘hallucination’ matter. Anyone who knows anything about it must keep quiet,” Chen Weida said to him while sipping his tea. “The couple is in your hands now.”
"good."
The settlement agreement on the table stared at me like the eyes of a wronged soul.
On September 10th, Li Jinjun's parents mysteriously committed suicide.
An elderly couple went to a small photocopy shop and spent all their savings to print out a color book of materials, which was then discarded in a gutter. Perhaps this is how the poor die, all wrinkled and worn.
On a warm autumn day, before the seventh day after their son's death had even passed, the elderly couple's bodies were cremated along with their child at the crematorium.
The last piece of evidence found at the scene was a shredded photograph, cut in half, showing Li Jinjun and his parents.
Meanwhile, "The Sacrifice," who had been responsible for reconstructing the scene, gave the case results to everyone. After all the people who knew the truth died, the settlement agreement was replaced by someone else who stamped it with a bloody handprint and identified the murderer as Zhong Jun.
Police have added Chung Kwan to their wanted list.
Everyone looked at Zhong Yun as if waking from a dream, and they could finally confirm that Li Jinjun's death had nothing to do with Zhong Yun.
The veteran police officer and the junior police officer are functional NPCs.
They had no idea what the players were thinking.
The veteran police officer said dutifully, "Students, your school has quite a few problems right now. Tomorrow morning, we must leave here with Director Zhang's body to conduct further investigations into the case."
The players, led by Yang Xiaohong, pretended to agree, but they had deeper doubts in their hearts as they were at a loss.
They looked at the numbered pieces of physical evidence in their hands.
Later, the police let them go home.
The others went to the third floor.
Jian Dieda and Zhong Jun went together. The lights in the dormitory were on. In front of Zhong Jun, Jian Dieda took out a bottle of eye drops and started to apply them to his eyelids. However, when he put the drops in his left eye, he couldn't get them to align with his right eye. His eyelashes poked out a red mark at the corner of his eye.
Zhong Jun's pants tightened slightly. He leaned over and took the small bottle, gently shaking it to avoid hurting his junior, and blowing on it as he did so.
Zhong Jun couldn't stand the silence and broke it, saying, "Come closer."
"Um."
A drop of water lingered on Jian's face for a long time.
After a few seconds of blank staring, her eyes regained their sparkle. Jian Dieda rubbed her thoroughly comfortable eyelashes and stole a glance at the single pillow on the lower bunk.
Zhong Jun lowered his head, fiddling with the bottle in his hands, while secretly watching his junior's hand, which he couldn't reach no matter what.
The mosquito coils under their feet were as winding and twisting as the case; the black part was broken in half, and the gray part just wouldn't fall off, which really tested one's patience.
Jian Dieda bent down, lit the mosquito coil, but still dragged his feet.
Zhong Jun told him to go to bed early, as he had to leave school tomorrow.
On the other hand, the system transforms this information into task prompts that everyone can receive, ending with a beep.
The fourth act is now 82% complete.
At night, Yang Xiaohong still couldn't sleep. Firstly, because she and Xie Xiaomei were sleeping separately that night, and secondly, because Yang Xiaohong was thinking about Zhang Congming's death.
Who exactly brought him to the old campus?
Yang Xiaohong doesn't want to completely trust anyone right now. She went to the power distribution room and discovered something: the door was locked from the inside, and there seemed to be a comatose humanoid creature inside.
Peeking through the door, she stood on tiptoe to look and almost cried out in alarm. Someone was imprisoning the monster senior, Jiang Yanrui, inside.
In an instant, I felt the shadow of death looming over me.
Yang Xiaohong muttered to herself, "Could it really be like that...? The person I've always suspected... the person I've tried to curry favor with several times, he's not only deceiving Zhong Jun, he's deceiving us too..."
She dared not reveal the truth that she was thinking.
Because she doesn't have any evidence yet.
But she should have thought of that earlier.
From the beginning, there were five investigators in the case, but there was one person whose identity was never questioned by anyone.
The murderer who revealed his special nature right from the start had been hiding among them for a long time and had always had communication tools to contact Zhang Congming. This person was neither Jiang Yanrui nor Zhong Jun.
He was also a masked man, using his superb disguise skills to infiltrate the freshmen. Initially, he claimed to be helping the school find a sacrifice, but in reality, he was using the five freshmen as alibis to carry out his ultimate revenge plan.
Based on the game's rule that a chill down your spine always has a reason, Yang Xiaohong sensed a pair of eyes behind her. When she looked up, her face gradually turned pale.
Deep in the thick fog, a person wearing a pale yellow hoodie stood motionless.
As the entire murder drama narrative scene enters its final chapter, the man is holding hydrogen peroxide for cleaning bloodstains in his left hand, while his right hand is behind his back as if he is holding a knife in reverse.
Without saying a word, Yang Xiaohong turned and ran. She wanted to call her companions or the police, but she made a big mistake. She forgot that this person was very likely the mole that Zhang Congming had initially recruited. He knew the school better than anyone else.
After pulling up his hat, the eyes in the darkness slowly glanced at the direction the girl had fled, then the person who had been chasing after her caught up with her effortlessly in the teaching building.
"Don't come any closer—" Yang Xiaohong gritted her teeth and swung the prop card in her hand with all her might.
The other party has already used a 'disguised' tactic.
[You have activated the skill card, 'Werewolf Night Witch Card']
The opponent's 'werewolf' identity has been exposed.
[You have notified your four other teammates to come to the scene.]
Yang Xiaohong fell to the ground. In that instant, she and everyone in front of her felt as if time had stopped. A chill ran through the girl's heart, and the uncanny valley effect of facing a real murderer came over her.
Others rushed over.
The murderer's prop card stopped working, and the imposter ran away from the police and almost committed a second crime, but was exposed, revealing his red lotus birthmark.
This face belongs to Jian Zijin.
Everyone looked at Jian Zijin as if they didn't know him.
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Author's note: I am the host.
I am the dormitory head.
Me too, the ultimate werewolf who turned the tables on the villains—Jianzi.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 15:35:54 on October 8, 2023 and 23:31:17 on October 10, 2023!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 flower and grass;
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Liuye (24 bottles); Gu Beilu (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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