Chapter 16 Summary of Successful Rules
At this critical moment—
A slightly weak but urgent voice suddenly rang out from the other end of the corridor:
"Teacher Li... Teacher Li!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Guo Wangfei appear in the shadows of the corridor at some point. He seemed to have used all his strength to shout that.
Jun Xiangbei's Live Stream:
"It's Guo Wangfei! Why is he out here?"
"Bai Tianjun's interaction with him from the north has indeed paid off! Is he here to repay a debt of gratitude?"
"Sleepwalking? That excuse... will it work?"
The gaunt male teacher, referred to as Teacher Li, paused, his sinister gaze shifting from Jun Xiangbei to Guo Wangfei. The eerie smile on his face lessened slightly, but remained icy.
"Guo Wangfei? Why aren't you back in your dorm resting? What are you doing here?"
Guo Wangfei swallowed hard, his voice pleading, "Teacher Li, I... I have a terrible stomachache and need to go to the restroom. I just saw Beijixing seem to be sleepwalking; he wandered over here in a daze. I was about to wake him up and take him back to the dormitory..."
Sleepwalking? This excuse is clumsy and risky, but in a school with strict rules, it seems to be a barely acceptable reason to explain unusual nighttime behavior.
Teacher Li squinted, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Jun Xiangbei and Guo Wangfei, as if trying to determine the truth or falsehood of their words.
The invisible pressure almost froze the air.
Jun Xiangbei stood frozen at the doorway, his mind racing, calculating all the possibilities.
Guo Wangfei's appearance and explanation were undoubtedly helping him.
But can this fool the clearly more dangerous nighttime rule enforcer?
Di Wenzhou and Xin Yuan'er, who were in the dormitory, were on tenterhooks. They even forgot to pretend to be asleep and stared nervously at the door.
Only Zhuge Jin remained quietly lying in bed, his face beneath the white veil expressionless, as if everything was still as expected.
He even subtly adjusted his breathing rhythm to bring it closer to a state of deep sleep.
Readers directly speculated:
[Zhuge Jin is so calm! Did he already know Guo Wangfei would come? Could his prophetic abilities see such details?]
After a tense standoff of about ten seconds, Teacher Li's hoarse voice rang out again, carrying an unsettling mockery: "Sleepwalking? Ha... A happy campus doesn't need mentally unstable students."
His gaze returned to Jun Xiangbei: "Regardless of the reason, you violated school rules. One credit will be deducted as a warning to others. If it happens again..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the unspoken threat was more chilling than any words.
"Player Jun Xiangbei (Polaris) has violated the rules and has been deducted 1 credit. Current credits: 2."
The cold system notification sounded in Jun Xiangbei's and all the players' minds.
Jun Xiangbei's heart sank; he only had 2 credits left.
But he maintained his composure on the surface, even deliberately showing a hint of confusion in his eyes as he followed Guo Wangfei's words, and whispered:
"Where...am I?"
Teacher Li snorted coldly, seemingly too lazy to argue any further. Or perhaps it was Guo Wangfei's intervention and the barely plausible reason of "sleepwalking" that made him temporarily lose interest in pursuing the matter further.
He swept his cold gaze across the interior of dormitory 205, his eyes lingering on Zhuge Jin for a moment before turning away.
Just as silently as it had arrived, it blended into the darkness of the corridor and disappeared.
The oppressive feeling suddenly disappeared.
Jun Xiangbei immediately slipped into the dormitory, and Di Wenzhou quickly locked the door from the inside.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had been completely exhausted; cold sweat had already soaked their entire bodies.
"North... Polaris boss... are you alright?" Xin Yuan'er asked, his voice trembling.
Jun Xiangbei shook his head, but his gaze immediately fell on Zhuge Jin, who was still "sleeping".
Was Guo Wangfei's appearance just now a coincidence? Or...?
The viewers in Jun Xiangbei's live stream were overjoyed:
"I was so scared! It's a miracle I'm okay even though I lost credit!"
"Guo Wangfei is such a good person (or ghost)! He knows how to repay kindness!"
"What was the meaning behind Teacher Li's last glance at Zhuge Jin? What did he realize?"
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the dormitory door.
Everyone tensed up instantly again.
A low voice came from outside the door: "...It's me."
Di Wenzhou hesitated and looked at Jun Xiangbei, who nodded slightly.
Di Wenzhou then cautiously opened the door a crack.
Guo Wangfei showed no intention of coming in; he simply stood in the shadows outside the door, his eyes holding a more complex emotion than before. He looked at Jun Xiangbei, his voice hoarse:
"Just now... thank you... for being willing to listen to what I had to say..."
He was referring to his conversation with Bai Tianjun about the rules of "respecting teachers".
Jun Xiangbei calmly replied, "We just want to know the truth."
Guo Wangfei paused for a moment, seemingly struggling, before finally whispering, "We—Yan Ruxuan, Sun Yifan, Li Fei, Tan Nianci, and me, Azi—the six of us, our 'bodies' are still in that place, that 'reflection room'..."
His voice was filled with fear and pain: "If you can bring us out, even just a part of us, so that we can leave that hell..."
Guo Wangfei raised his head, a faint light flashing in his eyes: "In return, I can give you a gift."
Almost the instant Guo Wangfei finished speaking, a system notification sounded in the minds of all players:
"Side quest triggered: Requiem."
"Mission objective: Find and bring back the remains or important belongings of six key ghost students (Guo Wangfei, Yan Ruxuan, Li Fei, Sun Yifan, Tan Nianci, and A Zi) so that they may rest in peace."
"Mission Reward: Unknown (Paid by the Ghost Student)"
"Do you accept?"
Side quests present both risks and opportunities.
Jun Xiangbei looked at the other players almost without hesitation.
Di Wenzhou gritted his teeth and nodded.
Xin Yuan'er was even more eager to try: "Let's do it! Maybe we can get some top-tier items!"
“We accept,” Jun Xiangbei said to Guo Wangfei.
Guo Wangfei's face showed a look that was both crying and laughing: "Thank you, but Azi is always in the washroom, so you have to be careful, she might get a little agitated..."
After saying that, he hunched over again and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
The dormitory door was closed again.
No further words were spoken that night, but everyone's heart was heavy.
The next day, the players mustered their energy and used their break time to begin searching for the last key ghost—Xu Ziyi.
Based on Guo Wangfei's clues and their experience that night, they quickly focused their attention on the female ghost lingering near the water room.
This time, Yue Qingqing stepped forward again, still benefiting from the lingering effects of her lucky buff.
Summoning immense courage, and with the support of Jun Xiangbei and Zhuge Jin's gazes, Yue Qingqing moved to a safe distance, far enough away from the female ghost, and softly called out:
"Xu Ziyi... classmate?"
The female ghost, Xu Ziyi, suddenly raised her head, and her two black hole-like eyes instantly locked onto Yue Qingqing on her swollen and distorted face.
An aura of despair and icy resentment erupted.
"Who?! Who called me?!" Her voice was sharp and shrill, with a jarring, bubble-like sound.
Yue Qingqing took a step back in fright, but still forced herself to speak as gently as possible, "We...we want to help you...we know you've suffered..."
"Help me?" Xu Ziyi let out a shrill, eerie laugh, her limbs twisting and crawling.
"Help me? Haha... What can you do to help me? I just... want to go to the bathroom after lights out..."
Her voice was filled with endless grievances and anger: "Teacher Li said I violated the bedtime rules, said I didn't follow the rules, dragged me into the water, held my head down, over and over again, until I couldn't move anymore..."
"My arms and legs were twisted... and they even said... that way I can never... run around at night again..."
Xu Ziyi's resentment almost materialized, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet and even causing a thin layer of frost to form on the floor of the washroom.
"Toilet...water...hahaha...always so cold...so wet..."
She screamed wildly, recounting her miserable state, and in the most bloody way, etched the rule "No one is allowed to go to the toilet after lights out" into the players' minds.
Yue Qingqing's face was deathly pale, and she was barely able to hold on.
Jun Xiangbei stepped forward at the opportune moment, shielding her behind him, and calmly ended the conversation.
With this, the stories of all six key ghosts have been collected.
Six blood-stained rules are clearly presented to the players:
1. Never cry or yell at any time.
2. Teachers must be respected; talking back or questioning them is absolutely forbidden.
3. You cannot go to the toilet after the dormitory lights are turned off.
4. Students are not allowed to look up during class.
5. Gatherings of 3 or more people are prohibited during breaks.
6. Male and female students must maintain a distance of more than one meter.
The rules are clear.
Next comes the most crucial step: submitting the summary.
The players carefully avoided the teachers' sight and gathered in the most secluded corner of the classroom, with Di Wenzhou acting as lookout.
Jun Xiangbei brought up the system interface, ready to input the summarized rules.
Everyone held their breath.
The viewers in Jun Xiangbei's live stream were also extremely nervous:
"The crucial moment! Success hinges on this!"
"I'm so nervous, what if my summary is wrong?"
"Zhuge Jin should have already confirmed the correctness of the rules, right? His calmness is the best guarantee."
Jun Xiangbei's fingers flew across the void as he submitted the carefully worded six rules to the system.
"Rules summary submission in progress..."
"Testing in progress..."
"Judging in progress..."
The brief wait of a few seconds felt like centuries.
finally--
"Passed!"
Hidden Mission: Explore and summarize the unspoken rules of the campus (6/6) Completed!
"Achievement Points: 600 points have been credited to all players' accounts."
The main quest "Survive for 7 days" is still ongoing. Please continue your efforts.
It was a success!
An indescribable elation surged through all the players; they had succeeded, and they had figured out the survival rules for this terrifying school.
However, their joy was short-lived.
The classroom door was suddenly pushed open!
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