Chapter 35: Welcome to the Thriller World (4)

The floor they were on housed the seventh-grade classes, totaling eleven in all. However, there was clearly one extra homeroom teacher, as Class 5 was designated as the assembly point, leaving only ten other classrooms for eleven players. It was unclear whether the game had intentionally arranged for an extra player or if it was an accidental surplus.

When it finally came time for the assignments, the Dean of Students glanced at Fan Sijin, then looked down at the scattered chalk on the floor, his mouth curling into a grin. "Fan Sijin, you are responsible for promoting and selling the school's newly ordered English exercise newspapers. You must enter every class you pass by to introduce and sell them. The quota for today is six copies."

In an instant, the way everyone looked at Fan Sijin was as if they were looking at a corpse. Everyone knew she had already violated the rules moments ago, and now she had been saddled with a sales task on top of that. For the others, being responsible for just one classroom was already fraught with peril; for Fan Sijin, promoting the newspaper meant she had to shuttle back and forth between every classroom on the floor, exponentially increasing her chances of death.

Gao Yi's lips twitched, his expression complex.

After finishing the assignments, the Dean spoke again in a shrill voice, "The clothing and name tags you wear are symbols of your status as homeroom teachers. Nanning Middle School is a model civilized campus; please ensure you mind your personal appearance and conduct. Attend class when the bell rings and dismiss when the bell rings. There are two sessions this morning; please return here to assemble when the second bell rings. Once you have changed into your uniforms, proceed to your respective classrooms to wait for the start of class."

With that, the Dean let out a sinister chuckle and turned to leave.

The moment he was gone, everyone began scrambling to change their clothes. Although the uniform was officially defined as a white shirt and black trousers, the items they received were all oversized. People simply pulled the shirts over their short sleeves and wore the black pants over their own. The veteran players moved quickly, donning their uniforms and pinning on their name tags within moments. Gao Yi and the others, however, were panicked and hurried, their hands trembling as they dressed, eyes glued to the rules on the blackboard for fear of misreading a single word.

Gao Yi was the first among the newcomers to get dressed. He looked at Fan Sijin with a complex expression, hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "Sijin, you... stay safe."

Fan Sijin looked ready to roll her eyes into the back of her head. After pinning on her name tag, she sneered, "Did you forget something? We already broke up. Can you stop being so nauseating?"

Gao Yi’s expression flickered, but in the end, sympathy outweighed his irritation. He pursed his lips and said, "If you want to break up, I will grant your wish. But my concern for you is real."

"Oh? Is it really?" Fan Sijin laughed. "Then let’s swap. You take over the sales?"

Gao Yi’s expression faltered, and he immediately fell silent.

Fan Sijin dropped the smile. "So, stay out of my sight from now on. Don’t pretend to be so devoted just to turn my stomach."

Gao Yi had always preferred gentle, sensible girls like Lu Ke; he had only gotten together with Fan Sijin because of her passionate, relentless pursuit and the fact that she was a well-known beauty from a wealthy family. Red roses and white roses were an age-old dilemma; once the red rose was plucked, it became nothing more than a smear of mosquito blood on the wall, and he began to pine for Lu Ke’s tender fragility once more. Fan Sijin despised this type of man above all else.

The front and back doors of the Class 5 room were open. The veteran players, including Ren Guowei, had been assigned to classes near the front. With grave expressions, they walked toward their respective classrooms according to the floor plan.

Lu Ke grabbed Gao Yi’s arm, her fingers trembling. "Senior, let's... let's go too."

Their assigned classrooms were adjacent. Gao Yi squeezed her hand comfortingly, and without sparing another glance at Fan Sijin, they walked out of the Class 5 room holding hands. Everyone moved cautiously toward their assigned posts, and soon, a piercing bell rang out.

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling—class is starting! Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling—class is starting!"

Fan Sijin was the only one left in Class 5. Just as she stepped toward the door, she heard a scream from nearby, which quickly dissolved into a rhythmic, "Abandon, abandon, abandon..." It was unclear what had appeared inside that classroom.

Fan Sijin glanced at the floor map on the wall. The principal's office was at the end of the corridor, and the closest classroom was Class 1. She looked at the stack of newspapers piled by the door of Class 5, grabbed a bundle—roughly twenty copies—and headed toward Class 1. Since she had to sell them anyway, she might as well start there and then check out the principal's office to probe the situation and negotiate compensation.

When she reached the door of Class 4, it was shut. She tried to push it open, but it didn't budge.

Sensing a gaze upon her, Fan Sijin looked up sharply and saw a pale face staring at her through the glass pane on the door. It was so pale it looked gray, but the eyes were as red as fresh blood. Meeting her gaze, the figure curled its lips into a smile, the corners of its mouth tearing all the way back to its ears.

"Hi," Fan Sijin blinked and waved a friendly greeting.

The figure’s smile froze, and then it vanished.

Fan Sijin pushed the door again with force, and it swung open. The figure she had locked eyes with through the glass was gone. However, in that instant, she understood why she had heard screams earlier.

The entire classroom was filled with bizarre, monstrous "people." Some had only half a body, the remaining half festering and blue, appearing as if they would fall apart at the slightest movement. Others had eyeballs bulging out of their sockets, dangling from their faces and rolling around as they watched her. Some had nothing but a pair of legs "sitting" in the seats, the upper bodies entirely missing. Nearby, a "person" charred black beyond recognition was mumbling to that pair of legs.

The moment Fan Sijin walked in, every gaze snapped toward her, excited and savage. She could even hear the sound of them swallowing saliva.

Wei Wei, the man from the veteran couple, was also in this classroom. He stood deathly pale before two "students." One was a bloated, rotting, foul-smelling "Student A," and the other was "Student B," who seemed to be lodging a complaint. "Student B" was a head with thick, purulent fluid dripping from its crown. It was snarling at Wei Wei, "His body is crowding me and taking up half my desk! Make him move! Otherwise, it’s going to affect my studies!"