Chapter Thirty-Four: Welcome to the World of Horror (3)

Everyone opened their eyes, still shaken, only to see a large pool of blood on the floor and walls, and... three people missing.

A male student asked with a trembling voice, "Where are Yuchen and the others?"

At the back of the classroom, the man with a scar on his face—one of the five veteran players—spoke coldly: "Have you forgotten the rules? They made the wrong bet."

The moment the man finished speaking, Lu Ke grabbed the arm of Gao Yi, who was beside her, her face filled with terror as if she wanted to bury herself in his chest. "Senior, I'm so scared!"

Gao Yi stared blankly at the pool of blood, mixed with bits of rotting flesh and bone, his expression ghastly.

Suddenly, he recalled something. He snapped his head toward Fan Sijin, who was standing not far away, and then glanced at the chalk scattered near the teacher's podium.

His lips tightened, his expression complex. The second rule on the blackboard read: "Do not damage classroom property. Once damaged, you must go to the Principal's office immediately to provide compensation."

So, Fan Sijin had also violated the rules. Did that mean she had triggered the death condition from the very beginning?

Just moments ago, he had been slapped by Fan Sijin and told they were breaking up. Gao Yi had wanted to say something, but in this instant, he subconsciously took a step back, not even daring to look in her direction.

Fan Sijin let out a scoff, and then heard someone behind her ask, "How did you avoid it?"

It was the scarred man from the group of five veterans, the one who had just explained the situation. He was a man who looked cold yet composed.

He looked at Fan Sijin and asked, word by word, "I remember you all said this was your first time being selected to enter here. Just now, when the bell rang, you reminded everyone that the fifth rule was a lie and not to open their eyes. What did you see?"

"Ah, it was nothing much..." Fan Sijin shrugged. "I just saw those who opened their eyes being dragged away by monsters."

Everyone was stunned. Lu Ke stared blankly at Fan Sijin. "Then, Senior, how were you fine?"

Fan Sijin gave a mocking smile. "Heh, are you very disappointed that I'm fine?"

Lu Ke waved her hands hurriedly, explaining with an aggrieved expression, "I'm sorry, Senior, I didn't mean that. I just... I just wanted to know how you avoided the danger. If you know, please tell everyone, okay?"

Fan Sijin snorted and ignored her.

At this point, the scarred man took a long look at Fan Sijin, then shifted his gaze toward Lu Ke, Gao Yi, and the others, speaking coldly: "I can tell you about the rules of the Horror Game."

The scarred man introduced himself as Ren Guowei. He was a soldier and an experienced veteran who had already cleared six instances.

"Since you are all new, I hope you will remember what I'm about to say."

Ren Guowei remained expressionless, his face and voice cold. "This Horror Game instance is called 'Civilized City.' We have entered one of its random scenarios, 'Nanning Middle School.' In this place, remembering every rule is what you rely on to survive... Also, never damage school property, and never go to see the principal. Finally... our task is to find a key. Only by finding the key can we leave this scenario."

What Ren Guowei didn't add was that this instance, "Civilized City," was currently the one with the highest mortality rate. Those chosen for this instance could only count themselves unlucky.

Lu Ke bit her lip and asked, "Why didn't you tell us earlier? If you had spoken up sooner, Yuchen and the others wouldn't have died."

Ren Guowei glanced at her expressionlessly and retorted coldly, "In this world, no one is obligated to be responsible for your life. Everyone can only rely on themselves!"

Lu Ke's expression stiffened. She bit her lip and remained silent, though her grip on Gao Yi's arm tightened.

Ren Guowei looked at Fan Sijin again. "Being fine just now doesn't mean you will always be fine. You'd better follow the rules."

The rules stated that if property was damaged, one must go to the Principal's office to compensate. But Ren Guowei had just sternly warned them never to damage property or meet the principal, showing just how dangerous that principal was.

Everyone turned to look at Fan Sijin with varied expressions.

Fan Sijin smiled at Ren Guowei. "Thank you."

Regardless of anything else, it was a well-intentioned warning.

After saying that, she added, out of curiosity, "What do people usually use for compensation when they go to the principal?"

The woman in the red camisole dress standing next to Ren Guowei crossed her arms and smirked. "It could be organs, viscera, or even your life... all are possible!"

At those words, the expressions of Gao Yi and his group turned even paler.

Just then, "tap, tap, tap, tap..." the sound of high heels in the corridor grew closer. The entire classroom fell into dead silence.

Fan Sijin looked at Ren Guowei's solemn expression and guessed that the instance had officially begun.

The "tap, tap" footsteps stopped at the classroom door. Everyone's nerves tightened. Suddenly, the door was kicked open.

A woman with a deathly pale complexion, wearing a teacher's uniform, walked in. A name tag hung on her chest, reading "Dean of Students."

She scanned everyone in the classroom, then revealed a smile so standard it was hair-raising.

"Hello everyone, I am the Dean of Nanning Middle School. According to school arrangements, it is my job to assign classes and work duties to all of you substitute teachers..."

As soon as the Dean appeared, the veteran players led by Ren Guowei stood straight with serious expressions. Gao Yi and the others hurriedly turned to face the woman, terrified of violating any rules.

"These are your uniforms. Please listen carefully to which class you are responsible for."

The Dean pushed in a long garment rack from outside the classroom, hung with white shirts and black trousers. The clothes looked brand new and clean, available in all sizes from large to small.

"When I call your name, please come and collect your set."

"Ren Guowei, Class 1, Grade 7. This is your name tag..."

As the Dean called names and handed out uniforms and tags, Fan Sijin took the opportunity to identify everyone.

Ren Guowei was the scarred man from before, who seemed the coldest and most experienced; he was assigned to Class 1, Grade 7.

The bespectacled man who had been following Ren Guowei without speaking was named Wu Feng; he was assigned to Class 2, Grade 7.

The woman in the red dress who was with Ren Guowei, Duan Ruman, was assigned to Class 3, Grade 7.

Among the veterans, there was a couple: the man, Wei Wei, was in Class 4, Grade 7, and the woman, He Yaoyao, was in Class 6, Grade 7.

Lu Ke's roommates, Xiao Ruirui and her boyfriend Liu Jun, were in Class 7 and 8 respectively. Lu Ke was assigned to Class 9, Gao Yi to Class 10, and the boy in the cap, Bai Li—who had been standing cautiously in the corner—was in Class 11.