Chapter 8, Rule 1
His words were cryptic and enigmatic, as if he had everything under control. His face was expressionless, leaving only an unfathomable indifference.
The school bell rang, signaling another grueling, yet unavoidable, class.
The 45 minutes passed quickly, and after class, the teacher announced a lunch break.
After the teacher left, Jun Xiangbei quickly and quietly informed the team of the crucial information: "The headless girl's name is Yan Ruxuan."
Jun Xiangbei didn't mention the details of the stains on the photo, only the name, and his gaze was mainly on Yue Qingqing: "Next, you need to try to communicate with her."
He looked at the timid girl, his tone still firm: "You'll be the one primarily communicating with her. There seems to be some special 'connection' between you and her, and your lucky buff might also increase the success rate."
"Remember to keep your distance, speak calmly, call her by her name directly, and ask her what happened."
Yue Qingqing nervously gripped the hem of her clothes, her face still pale, but her eyes held a hint of determination as if entrusted with an important task, as well as a faint sense of confidence bestowed by a lucky buff.
Di Wenzhou and Bai Muling exchanged glances, both believing and doubting, but based on Jun Xiangbei and Zhuge Jin's previous performance, they chose to remain silent and observe.
Xin Yuan'er unconditionally admires Zhuge Jin and looks at his newly recognized leader with adoration.
Zhuge Jin took in everyone's reactions without feeling a ripple in his heart.
He didn't care about the lives or deaths of these people; he only cared about the "performance" effect and the "audience" feedback.
Whether Yue Qingqing succeeds or fails is directly related to the plot development of Jun Xiangbei's storyline, and also affects the "faith" power he can draw from it.
In the corridor, the ghost students were either wandering around or huddled together talking in hushed tones.
The headless woman was holding her head near the corner of the stairs.
Jun turned his head north to look at Yue Qingqing and nodded slightly.
Yue Qingqing took a deep breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. Under Jun Xiangbei's encouraging gaze and Zhuge Jin's unfathomable stare, she walked step by step toward the headless woman, Yan Ruxuan, who stood quietly in the shadows of the corner.
Zhuge Jin's senses quietly focused on that area, and he could "see" the faint halo of luck on Yue Qingqing's body.
At this moment, he was like a detached director, calmly assessing the performance of the "actors" and the effect of the "stage".
Yue Qingqing stopped about a meter away from Yan Ruxuan, her hands clasped nervously in front of her, her voice trembling slightly as she softly called out:
"Yan Ruxuan...classmate?"
The moment the words fell—
The headless woman's body, which was cradling the head, shuddered violently, as if struck by an invisible electric current.
The mangled head she held in her arms suddenly turned, its once empty and lifeless eyes now fixed intently on Yue Qingqing.
A woman's voice, clearly choked with sobs yet forcibly suppressed and distorted, suddenly emanated from the head's mouth, hoarse and intermittent:
"You...you...you know my name? You...recognize me?"
Blood tears streamed from the head's eyes, but the corners of its mouth were split upwards, as if it wanted to both cry and laugh.
This bizarre scene made Di Wenzhou and Bai Muling, who were in the distance, gasp in shock, and Xin Yuan'er also shrank back in fright.
Jun Xiangbei's eyes narrowed, and he became fully alert, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
Yue Qingqing was also startled by this sudden reaction, but she remembered Jun Xiangbei's instructions, suppressed the urge to back away, nodded, and softened her voice.
Because of her healing abilities, Yue Qingqing possessed a friendly charm that made people lower their guard: "Yes, I recognize you. Yan Ruxuan, I... I want to know, why did you become like this? What happened?"
This statement is like a key being inserted into a rusty lock.
Yan Ruxuan's head began to tremble violently, and tears of blood flowed down her dirty, broken cheeks again.
"Why, why..." Yan Ruxuan's voice was filled with endless grievances, fear and pain as she recounted the story in fits and starts.
"I just didn't do well on that exam, and Mr. Li... he scolded me in front of the whole class... he said some really nasty things, and I... I couldn't help but cry."
"Really, just once."
Her voice trembled with fear: "Then...then Teacher Li got angry. He said I 'ruined the positive atmosphere of the classroom,' 'tarnished the happy campus,' and that my tears were 'dirty' and needed to be purified..."
"Under the pretext of 'correcting negative emotions,' he grabbed my hair and dragged me out of the classroom..."
Yan Ruxuan's voice became extremely terrified, "I was 'punished' for violating school rules and losing control of my emotions..."
The tears of blood flowed even more fiercely.
"My head... my head has been left in the penance room forever..."
"You can't cry here, you can't shout, any out-of-control or negative emotions, anything... is not allowed."
Yan Ruxuan's voice grew softer and softer, filled with a desperate tremor, "Happiness, all that's needed here is a happy... expression..."
The fragmented narrative, however, pieces together a clear and cruel truth.
An important rule has emerged: never cry, yell, or engage in other emotionally uncontrolled behaviors.
This not only confirms why the headless woman stopped Yue Qingqing from crying twice before, but also gives players the most direct and bloody understanding of the cruelty of this rule.
A single cry brought about such a terrible punishment.
The live stream chat room was buzzing with discussion:
"My God... just because I cried out once?"
"What kind of bullshit rules are these? Is this teacher a psychopath?"
"A reflection room... How can a school have something like that? It sounds terrifying."
"Yan Ruxuan is so pitiful..."
"Yue Qingqing is so brave, she actually asked!"
Just as the players were processing this horrifying information, Yue Qingqing, feeling pity and fear for the other party's tragic past, was momentarily at a loss for how to respond—
Beneath Zhuge Jin's white veil, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
His senses detected an unusual energy fluctuation spreading outwards from Yan Ruxuan as she spoke emotionally.
Though faint, it was extremely sharp, like a pebble thrown into calm water, breaking a certain balance.
And some kind of abnormal energy with even greater power was approaching them.
"Something's wrong, scatter quickly!" Zhuge Jin warned without hesitation.
Almost simultaneously, from the other end of the corridor came a clear, cold, and unhurried voice—
Footsteps.
The sound of leather shoes heels striking the terrazzo floor was rhythmic and imposing, approaching from afar.
Yan Ruxuan abruptly stopped crying and narrating, her face revealing an expression of extreme terror, as if she had heard the most terrifying sound in the world.
"He's here, he's here, I can't... I can't say anymore..." she whispered hoarsely and urgently, her body, clutching her head, suddenly recoiled and vanished without a trace, leaving only a few drops of dark red blood tears on the ground.
All the players' expressions changed drastically.
Jun Xiangbei reacted quickly, pulling Yue Qingqing, who was still standing there in a daze, and retreated swiftly and silently towards the wall, tacitly dispersing the distance between themselves and the other players.
The others scattered, heads bowed or pretending to look at the decorations on the wall, but their hearts were pounding in their throats.
Zhuge Jin, on the other hand, distanced himself from everyone early on.
The footsteps grew closer.
A tall figure in a sharp suit appeared at the corner of the corridor.
It was that male teacher.
His face still wore that standard, warm smile, but the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses was sharp as a knife, slowly sweeping over the area where the "illegal" exchange had just taken place.
His gaze seemed to penetrate everything, meticulously scrutinizing the expressions of every player and the movement of every inch of air.
His gaze lingered for a moment, especially on Yue Qingqing's slightly reddened eyes and the few inconspicuous dark red marks on the floor.
The smile seemed to deepen a little.
But he didn't stop or question them. He simply walked past the players at a chillingly steady pace, as if on a routine patrol, the sound of his leather shoes gradually fading into the distance.
Only when the footsteps completely disappeared did everyone breathe a sigh of relief, their backs soaked with cold sweat.
Although it was thrilling, we succeeded!
They not only verified that the "name" was key, but also obtained a crucial piece of specific rule information.
The relief of surviving the ordeal and the growing fear of the rules intertwined in the hearts of the new players.
Readers also left numerous comments:
How did Zhuge Jin know someone was coming?
[I was so scared! I almost thought they'd get caught by the teacher.]
[It's probably a prophecy; his abilities are simply too powerful.]
Di Wenzhou and Bai Muling's gazes towards Jun Xiangbei and Zhuge Jin had completely changed, filled with both admiration and lingering fear.
Xin Yuan'er admired Zhuge Jin to the point of complete awe.
Jun looked north towards Zhuge Jin, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was a calm assessment of the information obtained, a recap of the thrilling situation just now, and a deep exploration of Zhuge Jin's accurate "prediction".
This man always seems to be able to see the key points first.
The feeling of being "controlled" to some extent was quite novel for Jun Xiangbei, who was used to being the core of the team and the strongest combatant. It even caused an indescribable fluctuation in his cold mechanical core.
Jun Xiangbei subconsciously avoided delving into what it was, simply shifting his gaze away from Zhuge Jin and focusing on the current situation.
He was completely unaware that this was the "love" he had been searching for.
It wasn't the kind of emotion he usually simulated using mechanical algorithms, but rather a genuine "emotion" that touched the deepest core.
Zhuge Jin felt satisfied as he sensed the increased "trust" power within him due to this successful verification, as well as Jun Xiangbei's more solid attention, which was mixed with inquiry and a hint of awkwardness that was barely perceptible.
[Reader trust has significantly increased...]
[The character 'Zhuge Jin' has become more convincing...]
[Prophet Zhuge Jin's performance progress: 15%]
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