The Silent and Eerie School (Twenty-Eight)
"No," Qi Zui said expressionlessly.
"Phew—" Huang Chenchuan breathed a sigh of relief, opened one eye first, and only after confirming that he did not see anything bloody did he open both eyes completely.
This isn't a place where bodies are hidden, which means they've come to the wrong place. They took such a big risk to come here, only to find nothing.
Huang Chenchuan finds it hard to describe his feelings right now; beneath the relief lies greater confusion and fear.
"Is it really just a flower field?" After a brief moment of doubt, Huang Chenchuan cursed under his breath, "Damn it! We guessed wrong!"
"Isn't this black soil?" Wang Fan took a closer look. The soil had its own muddy smell and looked like normal soil.
The black soil is so dark that if other colors are mixed in, it would be difficult to distinguish them with the naked eye.
Li Su glanced at the Polaroid camera hanging around his neck, a guess vaguely forming in his mind. He then picked up the camera and took a picture of the soil in the flowerbed in front of him.
The camera spewed out photographic paper, and Huang Chenchuan asked, full of questions, "Su, why are you holding the camera so low to take pictures of flowers? How can you even get a picture of the flowers like that?"
As the photographic paper slowly develops, large patches of black earth gradually appear on the pale blue paper.
"It's just ordinary soil—" Before Wang Fan could finish speaking, the photographic paper finished developing completely, revealing not only black soil but also densely packed body parts.
The black hair, mixed with soil, was tightly wrapped around the rose stem. The thick roots meandered and coiled, like a python tightening around the white and blue arms. The roots of the rose even pierced into the faintly visible five fingers, making it look as if those arms were supporting the blooming rose.
All the truths became exceptionally clear: this was where Saint Ze High School buried all the students who were killed for breaking the rules, and where they were forever sealed in the soil, with flowers planted to cover up all these grave sins.
The roses grew wildly, nourished by the students' flesh and blood, which is why they were more vibrant and beautiful than any rose the students had ever seen.
Because this is the nourishment of life.
One by one, vibrant lives were lost, but the vast fields of roses grew ever more vivid and passionate.
Li Su's eyes were filled with tears, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Qi Zui seemed to have been prepared in advance, stretching out his long arm to put his arm around Li Su's shoulder and whispering comforting words: "Don't be afraid."
Li Su suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes and removed the photographic paper stuck in the Polaroid camera's output.
He finally understood why there were unrelated instant cameras in the system store; so that's what "magic development" meant.
The long-buried truth will eventually come to light.
[Congratulations to the player for discovering the secret of Saint Ze High School; main quest progress 70%.]
So, players, please think about how to reveal the truth to the world?
[Player has been detected repeatedly violating the rules of Shengze Middle School. The system is about to activate the death escape mode.]
"Damn it!" Huang Chenchuan was covered in cold sweat.
It turns out the system didn't go easy on them; it just saved the punishment for breaking the rules for the last minute!
[Once activated, the Death Escape Mode cannot be deactivated and lasts for 4 hours.]
Wang Fan: "Only 4 hours?!"
If a player is captured by an NPC in Escape Mode, that player will be eliminated.
Huang Chenchuan: "Then let's find a place to hide so we don't get caught by the NPCs, right?"
The system notification that rang out the next second completely extinguished his fantasy.
If the player fails to reveal the truth within 4 hours, all surviving players in the game will be eliminated.
[The escape mode is about to begin. Good luck to all players.]
Whether it was a misperception or not, Li Su vaguely sensed a hint of schadenfreude in the system's words.
"This is really pushing me to my limits!" Huang Chenchuan clenched his fists tightly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably with immense fear.
【5——】
【2——】
【1——】
[Game begins.]
The moment the system's mechanical voice faded, Li Su heard a voice coming from behind her.
"You freshmen over there! Who let you run away?!"
The security guard who had just locked them up rushed towards them from the direction of the cabin, accompanied by two other tall guards. Their faces were contorted with rage.
"Damn it! What do we do?!" Huang Chenchuan instinctively looked at his brother Qi.
Qi Ye smiled instead.
Huang Chenchuan's eyes widened in disbelief. Had his brother Qi gone mad with fright?
Qi Ye picked up the gasoline that Qi Zui had put on the ground: "Run!"
Li Su packed up the photograph and was about to run when he was suddenly suspended in mid-air. When he came to his senses, he was already in Qi Zui's arms.
Li Su: "Myself..."
“You can’t run fast, and we can’t get caught, so let me carry you and run?” Qi Zui answered his question, but his pace didn’t slow down at all.
Li Su did not insist.
He didn't want to die; he hadn't even remembered who he was. He also couldn't bring his companions into this mess.
Qi Zui ran very fast, and Li Su could only feel the cold wind whistling past her ears. Her heart was pounding in her throat, but in Qi Zui's arms, Li Su felt a sense of peace.
It's as if, as long as Qi Zui is by his side, he will never have to worry about those terrible things.
"Then this shovel of mine..." Huang Chenchuan glanced at the shovel still stuck in the ground.
He used all his points to buy this, and now he's just going to throw it away?
Wang Fan grabbed Huang Chenchuan's sleeve, almost yelling, "What are you looking at the shovel for! You little rascal, how are you supposed to carry a shovel and run?!"
"Damn it!" Huang Chenchuan cursed angrily, but he also took off to catch up.
They had no idea where they were in the school, so they could only run forward desperately.
Li Su was held in Qi Zui's arms as she watched as more and more security guards followed behind them.
Huang Chenchuan mustered his courage and took a look, then immediately cried out in horror, "Brother Qi! There are more and more NPCs behind us!"
Qi Zui frowned and glanced at the playground to his left: "Run towards the playground?"
"Huh?" Wang Fan didn't understand. The strenuous exercise had filled his throat with the metallic taste of blood. "Aren't there even more teachers and NPC students over there? And other... students who haven't broken the rules..."
Qi Ye immediately understood Qi Zui's thoughts.
"Just run!"
Qi also glanced back and saw that the NPC security guards were obviously much better physically than them, and the distance between them was getting closer and closer.
Although Huang Chenchuan was completely confused, he could only run towards the playground.
"Stop right there!!! Rules!!! Students with no manners!!!"
The security guards behind them were still chasing desperately, not even panting, which was in stark contrast to the exhausted group of men.
"Damn it... don't these people ever get tired...?"
Huang Chenchuan felt like he was about to run out of breath.
Qi Zui glanced around; they were getting closer and closer to the playground.
"Then, then we... huff—we can't just keep running like this, can we?" Huang Chenchuan continued, panting heavily, "Even if we're lucky enough to survive these four hours... then, once those four hours are up—we'll all be dead!"
Damn, he really wants to cry right now.
Huang Chenchuan raised his hand and wiped his eyes.
Wang Fan's face was flushed from the strenuous exercise. He suddenly ran forward a short distance until he reached Qi Zui's side. "Su, Su, yesterday... weren't you called to the office by that teacher? Is there anything in their office that can... communicate with the outside world?"
Li Su carefully recalled all the scenes from when she entered the office yesterday, and her memory finally settled on a gray telephone on the male teacher's desk.
"Yes, there's a phone on that male teacher's desk in his office!"
Qi Ye: "Then when the playground is in chaos and all the NPCs rush there to arrest people, we'll prepare to run into that office!"
Qi Zui's breathing became erratic, but it sounded reassuring: "Su Su, I'll put you down once we get to the playground. You have to stay close, okay?"
He didn't want to put Li Su down, but holding someone made him stand out from the other students. He had no choice but to put Li Su down if he wanted to confuse the NPCs.
“Mm.” Li Su nodded seriously.
"When I count to one, you run into the students, and then take advantage of the chaos to run to the office with the phone."
“3......”
Li Su saw the security guards behind them get a few steps closer.
“2......”
We're closer now.
“1......”
Qi Zui ran into the playground and placed Li Su among the NPC students and players who were lined up.
"Where did these students come from?!"
"Disobedient students!!!"
The NPC teachers have spotted them and are running towards them from all directions.
"Susu, run!"
Li Su gritted her teeth and ran, bumping into NPC students and players. All the players were thrown into chaos, and the NPC students were also knocked to the ground.
Everyone was wearing the same school uniform, and the few of them were indistinguishable in the crowd.
Li Su gritted his teeth and ran forward as fast as he could, but after bumping into another NPC student, he saw a security guard chasing after him from his right rear.
The security guards had already grabbed the hem of his shirt.
"Follow me!"
Li Su felt her hand being grabbed, and then her whole body was uncontrollably pulled forward.
Qi Ye carried gasoline in one hand and pulled Li Su with the other, weaving through the chaotic crowd and slipping out of the playground entrance.
Li Su turned around and saw the playground behind him in chaos. Security guards and teachers were still trying to search. He could no longer tell where Huang Chenchuan, Wang Fan, and Qi Zui were. He could only silently pray that everyone could escape quickly.
Other players will be fine; they haven't broken any rules, and these NPCs can't punish them.
Li Su was also taken into the teaching building by Qi Ye.
[3 hours remaining.]
The system's cold voice sounded again.
"Do you still remember the way?" Qi asked him as they ran.
Li Su nodded, chose a direction at the corner of the stairs, and ran in that direction.
The office door wasn't closed, leaving a small crack, so Li Su quickly pushed it open and went inside.
The office was empty.
Qi followed behind Li Su and closed the office door.
Li Su took a deep breath and, sure enough, found the phone in the corner of the office. Without hesitation, he ran over, picked up the receiver, and dialed 110.
"Beep beep beep—"
Cold sweat slid down her forehead, and Li Su's heart ached from the continuous beeping.
Finally, a new voice came through the phone: "Internal line. The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please contact the school administrator to reactivate your account..."
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