Chapter 18 Encountering a Desperate Situation Again
Players pass through the walls and find themselves not in another room or outdoors, but in a completely unfamiliar corridor.
This corridor is unlike any other known area of the teaching building.
The walls were mottled, made of dark red bricks and stones, covered with slimy moss and unidentified stains, and the air was filled with a strong musty smell.
Above them hung an old, creaking chandelier, casting long, distorted shadows that stretched everyone's figures.
The corridor seemed endless, stretching forward and backward, disappearing into a deeper darkness, so quiet that only their own heavy breathing and heartbeats could be heard.
We're safe for now, but this safety feels eerie.
The survivors slumped or leaned against the wall, panting heavily, their faces still showing fear and lingering dread.
The battle that lasted only a few minutes had almost exhausted all their physical and mental strength.
Di Wenzhou patted his chest, still shaken: "My God, I almost died there... Great God, this time we owe you a great debt! Your premonition was amazing!"
Xin Yuan'er plopped down on the ground, sprawling out his limbs without any regard for appearances, but his mouth didn't stop: "That scared me to death! Lady Luck almost failed to protect me. But this chosen one is indeed destined to survive, hahaha, did you guys see that just now?"
"That rock was just 0.01 centimeters away from hitting my head, but then I had a stroke of genius and did a cool head tilt... Ouch!"
He rubbed his arm dramatically, where he had been cut by flying sawdust.
Bai Muling silently checked her equipment, her breathing slightly rapid. Looking at Zhuge Jin, she felt a barely perceptible gratitude and admiration, and whispered, "Thank you."
Jun Xiangbei gently released Yue Qingqing's wrist. In the heat of the moment, he had grabbed her wrist to break through the encirclement, while he stood against the wall, adjusting his breathing.
He still gripped his longsword, warily surveying the unfamiliar corridor. He looked at Zhuge Jin: "Thank you. If you hadn't pointed out the key point in time, we probably..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Just now, in order to protect Yue Qingqing and deal with the siege, he did feel great pressure, and even felt powerless for a moment.
Yue Qingqing was still in shock, tears welling up in her eyes. She whispered, "Thank you..."
She instinctively wanted to get closer to Jun Xiangbei for comfort, but Jun Xiangbei's attention was clearly focused on the environment and Zhuge Jin at the moment. He just nodded slightly and didn't say anything more.
Yue Qingqing could only stand timidly in place, trying her best to use her weak healing abilities to relieve some of the superficial injuries and fatigue for everyone, but the effect was minimal.
Zhuge Jin was the most exhausted of them all. He leaned against the cold, damp wall, his eyes closed, his face pale to the point of being almost transparent. He didn't even have the strength to respond to everyone's thanks, he just waved his hand slightly to indicate that he needed to rest.
Zhuge Jin smiled bitterly to himself.
Being a "prophet" is really not easy.
It all depends on the reader's imagination and the faint perception given by the system to keep it going. Every warning feels like it's squeezing power out of the soul.
If he hadn't had a vague memory of the original plot, he probably wouldn't have been able to find that point.
The worldline has indeed shifted, but the overall direction doesn't seem to have completely deviated.
This corridor... if I remember correctly, leads to that place...
Zhuge Jin suppressed his discomfort and carefully extended his remaining senses, like spider silk, to both ends of the corridor.
Ahead, the familiar energy fluctuations became increasingly clear, accompanied by an indescribable chilling pressure.
Behind them, the teachers' violent assault seemed to be temporarily blocked by that strange wall, but the energy fluctuations did not weaken. This place was their territory, and they would catch up soon.
We cannot stay here for long.
After about two or three minutes, Zhuge Jin felt his headache subside slightly and slowly opened his eyes, although his vision was still somewhat blurry.
He took a deep breath, and the air, thick with the smell of mildew and blood, made him frown.
"We can't stay here any longer." Zhuge Jin's voice was a little hoarse, but he still maintained his composure.
"The teachers will soon find another way to get here."
"So what do we do now? Which way should we go?" Di Wenzhou asked hurriedly. Now, Zhuge Jin's words were golden rules in his mind.
Zhuge Jin did not answer directly, but turned his head slightly, the white veil seemingly "looking" into the depths of the corridor, towards the direction where the energy fluctuations were strongest.
"At the end of this road, the resentment is deepest, and the power of the rules is most distorted... If I'm not mistaken, that should be the 'reflection room'."
"A reflection room?!" Several people exclaimed almost simultaneously.
The tragic experiences of Yan Ruxuan, Sun Yifan, Li Fei, Tan Nianci, Guo Wangfei, and Xu Ziyi whom we just met in the water room all point to this place.
That was an execution ground where extreme pain and rules were imposed!
A chill rose from the soles of everyone's feet.
"What...what are you going there for?" Yue Qingqing's voice trembled, and she subconsciously shrank behind Jun Xiangbei.
Jun Xiangbei frowned, clearly also feeling that going to that core, dangerous place was extremely risky.
But he believed that Zhuge Jin's judgment must have a deeper meaning.
"you mean?"
Just then, Xin Yuan'er suddenly slapped his thigh and jumped up excitedly: "Oh my god, I remember now, the side quest 'Requiem'! Didn't Guo Wangfei say that if we bring the bodies of those six people out of that awful place, they can rest in peace, and we'll even get a reward?"
His reminder brought it to the others' attention. They had almost forgotten about it during the critical situation.
“That’s right.” Di Wenzhou’s eyes lit up. “Guo Wangfei, Yan Ruxuan, Sun Yifan, Li Fei, Tan Nianci, and that Xu Ziyi, their bodies must be in the disciplinary room. If we can get them…”
Bai Muling calmly analyzed, "The risk is extremely high. But the reward could also be very high. Moreover, we are currently being hunted by our teacher, and conventional methods would probably be insufficient to survive the remaining days. Perhaps... this is a breakthrough?"
She looked at Zhuge Jin and Jun Xiangbei, awaiting their decision.
Zhuge Jin thought to himself: It really has come to this.
In the original story, the main characters also accidentally entered the reflection room after being chased by their teacher, where they obtained the bodies of six key ghost students, thus gaining their help and ultimately fighting against the teacher.
Although the timeline has changed, the core setting should remain the same.
This is the current turning point, and... if handled properly, the "prophet's" persona can be further solidified.
Zhuge Jin remained expressionless, his gaze, hidden beneath the white veil, sweeping over everyone before finally settling on the depths of the corridor. He spoke calmly, with a sense of destiny in his voice:
"Good fortune may be the harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be the harbinger of good fortune. They died because of the rules, and the things they gathered from their obsessions may become the blade to defy the rules."
Zhuge Jin paused, as if making a decision, and said succinctly, "Go in. This is the only way to break the deadlock right now."
Jun Xiangbei nodded without further hesitation and said, "Alright, let's go to the reflection room. Everyone stay alert. Mr. Zhuge, please continue to monitor and warn."
The group moved again, with Zhuge Jin leading the way, Jun Xiangbei at the head, Di Wenzhou and Bai Muling protecting the flanks, and Xin Yuan'er and Yue Qingqing in the middle, carefully advancing deeper into the dimly lit corridor.
The further you go in, the colder the air becomes, and the stains on the walls look more and more like dried blood. You can even faintly hear painful groans coming from deep within the walls, which is terrifying.
Xin Yuan'er stopped joking around and nervously looked around, silently praying for the blessings of all the gods and Buddhas.
At the end of the corridor was a heavy, rusty iron door.
There was no keyhole on the door, only a blurry, grime-covered sign that vaguely read "Reflection Room".
Jun Xiangbei tried to push it, and it was easily pushed away.
With a tooth-grinding creak, the heavy iron door slowly opened a crack, and a stream of air carrying the stench of stale blood rushed out.
The interior was pitch black, as if it could swallow up all light.
Jun Xiangbei stepped in first, sword in hand, followed closely by the others.
The interior of the room was more spacious and terrifying than I had imagined.
There were no windows; the walls were cold metal, covered in dark red splatter marks and scratches. In the center of the room was a huge drain.
The surrounding ground was dark red, as if it had been soaked in blood and could never be washed away. Most chillingly, six... or rather six incomplete "bodies" were scattered randomly and twisted around the room.
A headless female corpse with an unusually clean break at the point of her neck fracture.
A short, disfigured corpse with its spine completely twisted and broken, and its head tilted to one side.
A male corpse, cut in half at the waist, with a gruesome cross-section.
A female corpse with her throat slit open, the wound so deep that bone was visible.
A male corpse with rough stitching marks on its body.
A female corpse, her entire body swollen and pale, her limbs twisted unnaturally, as if she had been soaked in water for a long time.
The sight before her was so shocking that Yue Qingqing immediately covered her mouth and barely managed to hold back from vomiting.
Di Wenzhou and Bai Muling also turned pale.
Xin Yuan'er gasped, "Holy crap... this is too... terrible..."
Even Jun Xiangbei's brows furrowed tightly, a hint of reluctance and anger flashing in his eyes.
Zhuge Jin was also shocked.
The impact of written descriptions is completely incomparable to that of seeing it with one's own eyes.
Moreover, he was just an ordinary person in a peaceful world before. He forced himself to calm down and sensed the strong obsessions remaining on these remains.
That's right, these are the ones, as long as you take them out...
"That's all." Zhuge Jin's voice broke the silence, carrying an undeniable calmness.
"Each person take one and leave immediately. This place is not safe to stay."
There was no time for grief or fear; the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything.
Jun Xiangbei silently walked towards Guo Wangfei's body, carefully carrying it on his back. Di Wenzhou gritted his teeth and carried Sun Yifan on his back. Bai Muling chose Tan Nianci.
Xin Yuan'er looked at Li Fei's body, which was broken in two, scratched his head, and finally picked up the upper body: "Dude, just make do for now, I'll put it back together for you when we get out of here."
Yue Qingqing, suppressing her fear and nausea, trembled as she reached out to support Xu Ziyi's swollen and cold body.
Zhuge Jin then walked toward Yan Ruxuan's headless corpse.
When he touched that cold, stiff body, a strong feeling of sorrow and resentment came through his fingertips, making him sway slightly.
He calmed himself down and lifted the body up.
Six people, carrying six bodies, quickly retreated outside the reflection room.
However, the instant they stepped out of the iron door of the reflection room—
The murderous figure reappeared at the beginning and end of the corridor!
Teacher Li, the female teacher, the dormitory manager... all the teachers emerged slowly from the darkness at both ends of the corridor like ghosts, completely blocking their way.
Their faces were no longer contorted with rage, but instead held a chilling murderous intent as their gazes were fixed on the players... and the corpses they carried.
Despair has struck again!
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