The thirty students were not worried about arriving in this strange world. They had forgotten many things but their numbers and instinct. But that was enough for them. “We have three days to prepare.” No. 5, Zhou Qi, placed his hands on the lectern. “The exit three days later might be dangerous, and it’s also our chance to find freedom.” “We shouldn’t specify a goal so soon.” A student at the back of the class twirled the pen in his hands. He crossed his legs and dressed like a ruffian. “Since the teachers, other students, and the neighbors might be our enemies, why not consider killing them? The buildings seal ghosts. They want to sacrifice us, so we can sacrifice them too.”
“No. 9, your thoughts are too dark.” Zhou Qi knocked on the blackboard. “Currently, our focus should be survival. Don’t focus on taking revenge.”
“If you don’t bully others, you’ll be bullied. I’m doing this for everyone’s benefit.” No. 9 glanced at his notebook. His name was Tang Ning. “We can’t even remember our names. Why care about morality in this situation?”
“As long as all of us are still together.” The male student who sat in front spoke. He was larger than the other kids, like something scary was hidden within him. His notebook’s name had been wiped away, and his number was 1.
Once number 1 spoke, no one else objected. “No. 5 is the one who has the best leadership skills. He can quickly assess the risk and observe the situation. No. 5 should be the class monitor.” The leading kids nodded. No. 9 didn’t object either.
“If we’re sacrifices to ghosts, then at least we’ll be safe for three days. We need to use this time to understand this world and ourselves. We can only rely on each other.” No. 1’s presence was different from everyone else. His eyes had pain that others couldn’t understand.
“This world is very dangerous. We might not be able to survive.” No. 1 looked at everyone. “I’ve forgotten most of everything, but I have a feeling that we’ve experienced things worse than this.”
“Yes, I have that feeling too.” The kid without the legs silently cleaned up his table. “For children who haven’t been abandoned, this might be hell, but this is just another cage for us.” “We’ll treat this as a game.” No. 8, who wore spectacles and was small in stature, spoke. He held the notebook that was covered in cartoon stickers. “Chen You, I quite like this name.”
“You all are so optimistic, even though you resist death. You are conflicting.” A thin and tall student sat in the corner. He kept writing the number 4 on the paper. They connected to form a self-portrait. “Death is the only release. Living is too tiring.”
The thirty students had their own personas. They were found all over the world by Immortal Pharma. Each persona represented a secret deep inside humanity. Some of them were weak, and some were strong. Some were optimistic, and others were pessimistic. They formed a unique class. They would survive in the Unmentionable’s wishful future.
…
Holding the medicine bottle, Han Fei walked down the corridor. His world was engulfed by shadows. Many things changed shapes in his eyes. It felt like he was walking into nightmares.
“Teacher Gao Cheng? Why did you leave the infirmary? You need to go back and lie down. I’ll take over your class for these few days.” A warm voice appeared behind Han Fei. He turned around to look. There was a middle-aged man standing not far away. The man was very well-dressed, like it would drive him insane if he weren’t.
“You are?”
“Have the mental corruption affected your memory?” The middle-aged man supported Han Fei. “I’m Principal Crow. Can’t you recognize me?”
The crow who fed on decay was squeaky clean.
Before Han Fei could answer, the man took out a bottle from his pocket and tossed a pill out. He shoved it into Han Fei’s mouth. “The suppressive power of the medicine will get weaker. You should take half a pill to have your body adjust to it first.”
After taking the pill, Han Fei felt the pain fade away. However, he felt extremely lethargic too.
“What medicine is this?”
“A medicine to save your life.” Crow helped Han Fei to his office. There was another teacher standing outside his door. The man looked about 30, and he had a long scar on his face. “Teacher Wang, do you need anything from me?”
The scarred man’s name was Wang Chuqing. Chuqing was his girlfriend’s name. He took her name after she died. “The students will leave the school in three days. Teacher Gao wouldn’t be able to do that in his state. Why don’t I take his place?” When the man spoke, the temperature dropped. He looked at Han Fei viciously.
When Principal Crow heard that, he smiled. He stared at the other man unblinkingly, “Based on the order, it should be your Class Five already. Why? Have you really considered yourself their father?”
“I just want to help Teacher Gao.”
“Put away your unwanted pity. You just don’t want to feed Class Five to ghosts, so you want to replace them with Class 7.” Crow leaned against Wang Chuqing. “This is not kindness. If you do that, you’re a murderer who violates the rules.”
Han Fei had already noticed something was wrong. He noticed a problem in the conversation. The exam three days later was not simple. Every class had a quota to feed the ghosts.
“Teacher Gao, don’t worry. Everything will follow the order.” Principal Crow became his sunny self again, “Rest for these three days so that you can join the children in the test three days later.”
“What is the test?” Han Fei leaned against the wall.
“Have you forgotten that too?” Crow frowned. “The test is a simple test. It’s to trigger the hidden persona in each student to see if they’re food or spark.”
“What will happen to them?”
“Food will be eaten, and spark will be extinguished.” Crow’s voice was so cold that it woke Han Fei up.
“The student’s textbook says that 2/3 of the city has been taken over those things but the reality is that 9/10 of the city has been dominated by them already. And that is when they haven’t been actively expanding.” Crow pointed at the city map. “We need to find a new way to coexist with them. That is the purpose of the school.”
Treating children as food? Is this a school or a canteen?
Han Fei didn’t voice his thoughts. His focus was on how to save the thirty children. This time his enemy wasn’t only ghosts but also the other teachers and the people living around the school.
“You were the best teacher I had. If only I’d stopped you when you went to that Strange Building.” Crow said with regret. Gao Cheng appeared to be very popular in school.
“I’ll recover as soon as possible.”
“Don’t give yourself too much pressure.”
Han Fei used his mind to stop the drowsiness. He left Crow’s office and planned to tell No. 2 about the test first. He walked to his class. He was dragged into the shadows when he passed by a corner.
“Teacher Wang?” It was Wang Chuqing who pulled Han Fei. He looked agitated.
“Gao Cheng, I have medicine that I’ve taken out of Red Building. It might cure your illness.” Teacher Wang took out a glass vial with blood out of his pocket. “I wish to use this bottle to exchange a promise from you.”
“What promise?”
“On the day of the exam, have your students enter the building instead of Class Five.” Teacher Wang looked harsh, but he really cared about his students. He was probably also the only teacher who wanted to protect his students within the rules.
“Those kids are just food. Why do you want to sacrifice so much to protect them?” Han Fei used Masterful acting.
“That’s my business, not yours.” Teacher Wang stared into Han Fei’s eyes. “Our powers come from persona, consciousness, and ghost. You’re mentally corrupted. You can use the power of persona. You’re a useless person. You know how the school treats the useless, right?”
“Then, I need to examine your medicine first. What if it’s poison?” Han Fei took the medicine from Teacher Wang. The system sang, “Notification for Player 0000. You’ve discovered Grade F Item, diluted ghost blood. Using this medicine can lower partial mental corruption, but there’s a chance to be cursed.”
Han Fei grew up eating curses. He was highly resistant to curses. This medicine was crucial to him. Han Fei opened the vial and took a small sip. It felt like ice had flowed through his blood.
“It appears to be useful…” Han Fei kept the vial.
“So you’ve agreed?” Teacher Wang was surprised.
“Yes.” Han Fei nodded. He didn’t plan to have his students join the exam. He wanted to use something outside of the rules to lead everyone out.
“No wonder you’re Crow’s chosen heir. You’re bloodless and cold.” Teacher Wang praised Han Fei, but his eyes were filled with disgust. After that, he left.
Han Fei found a secluded corner and drank the blood. He felt like his body was frozen.
Han Fei rubbed his arms to stop himself from sleeping. Soon, there was a warmth spreading through his body. The negative emotions in his brain depleted slightly.
“Notification for Player 0000. Your mental corruption is now 29. You’re still in the danger zone.”
Han Fei felt better, but he acted like he had not. He held the wall and slowly moved into the teacher’s lounge. He found his seat and looked through his files.
“Notification for Player 0000, you’ve found the key to Room 204 at Teacher’s Apartment.
“Notification for Player 0000, you’ve found Grade E special item—strange mirror.
“Strange Mirror: The only thing Gao Cheng took out of the Strange Building, Third Ocular Hospital.”
Han Fei noticed some problems. Goa Cheng was not simple. He was blind before the big tragedy, but after the tragedy destroyed Xin Lu, he regained his sight.
As the least popular teacher, he had a good life and was the only teacher who managed to survive five trips into Strange Buildings.
Based on his file, Gao Cheng had a twin brother who was trapped inside an unknown Strange Building. Gao Cheng would dream about his brother every night.
