Han Fei used masterful acting, but Gao Cheng left too bad of an impression on Yan Lan. Time was needed to change that. They faced off in the hostel. Han Fei had just awakened the Greed persona. He wasn’t afraid of Yan Lan. If he wanted, he would run to the Strange Building. Yan Lan wanted to protect her students so she wouldn’t risk her life.
The wind blew up the paper money on the ground. Yan Lan scanned Han Fei as if trying to look through him. She didn’t sense a lie from Han Fei.
“A madman who would sacrifice a whole building for his own life would protect his own students?” Yan Lan thought Han Fei treated his students as leverage, but she realized that might not be the case.
“There are three more days to the exam. I don’t need you to help me. I only need you not to interfere.” Han Fei was very confident, like he had already figured out how to deal with the school. But in reality, he had no plan. If he couldn’t protect his students, then he would be trapped in this world forever, so he had to be confident.
“I’ll give you two days. If I don’t see any changes before the test, I’ll take your quota regardless.” Yan Lan didn’t fight Han Fei.
“Criminals will brute force their way through, but madmen will create new rules.” Han Fei smiled. “Two days are enough.”
“The school is connected to the black building. I have no idea why you’re so confident.” Yan Lan turned around. The special metal on her spine slowly disappeared. “There are many annoying rules at school, but they are there to help the winner. How big is your chance to win?”
Yan Lan leaped into the darkness and disappeared. Negative emotions surged into Han Fei’s mind. Han Fei picked up the wooden boards and fixed the cubicle. He didn’t dare to return to school. He stayed there until dawn.
The city was covered in dark clouds. There was no sun. The survivors mostly hid at home. After a quick breakfast, Han Fei walked to school. When he arrived at the door, he noticed the atmosphere wasn’t so nice. Vines crawled all over the walls. Two guards stood beside the gate. They inspected everyone who entered the school. “Did something happen?” Han Fei stammered like he was going to die.
“Teacher Gao?” The guards knew what had happened to Gao Cheng. They moved away from him. “Yesterday night, Teacher Xu Hui of Class Six was killed. An unknown ghost appears to have appeared around the school. It might have possessed a student or a staff.”
“A teacher was killed?” Han Fei was shocked. All the teachers were very powerful. It was not easy to kill them. Han Fei sucked in a cold breath. He had a feeling that this was related to his thirty students. They had just woken up, and a teacher was killed.
“If you have any info, please tell us. The headmaster has posted a reward. We need to grab the killer before the exam so that the semi-annual exam can be carried out smoothly!” The guards asked Han Fei some simple questions before letting him into the school. They didn’t think Han Fei was the killer. He was barely alive at 39 mental corruption.
Han Fei climbed up the stairs ‘weakly’. The bespectacled Teacher Ma Jing suddenly appeared behind him. “Why are you only at school now? I thought you died last night.” Ma Jing made an unfunny joke. He patted Han Fei’s shoulder. “Headmaster Crow has been looking for you. Let’s go to him together.”
“What does he want from me?”
“Probably to confirm that you’re still alive.”
“Han Fei and Ma Jing entered the office. Crow sat at the office table. There was another person in the room, Yan Lan.
“Everyone is here.” Crow didn’t look too good. He dropped the files on the table. “Xu Hui was killed when he went home yesterday night. The killer is extremely cruel. They even destroyed all the evidence. This is not their first crime.
“Xu Hui has a Research Persona. He is good at investigation and analysis. He likes mind games. He has the highest intellect of the eight teachers, and he was the sharpest too.” Crow held his chin. “Why was he the target?”
“Is the killer targeting our school? And start by killing the smartest person first?” Ma Jing realized the problem too. Normally, Xu Hui wouldn’t be ambushed so easily, so something very unexpected must have happened.
“The exam is coming soon. Accidents happen every time. It’s not the first time staff has been killed either.” Yan Lan didn’t care about Xu Hui’s death. Other than her students, she didn’t care about anyone else.
“The killers know about school very well too.” Crow insinuated, “Yesterday night, the three of you weren’t at school. Can you tell me where you were?”
“My apartment was ransacked. All my furniture is ruined. I don’t dare to stay in school in my current condition.” Han Fei smirked. “I have no power to kill, and I have no motive. In fact, I might be the next to die.”
Crow nodded. He also didn’t think Han Fei was the killer.
“I was out yesterday night to study the exam route. This is the mission given to me by the headmaster. I didn’t have time to get to the other side of the school to murder people.” Ma Jing nudged his glasses. He glanced at Yan Lan. It was clear who he suspected.
“Yan Lan, where were you yesterday night?” Crow narrowed his eyes. His voice changed subtly.
“I was out hunting ghosts.” Yan Lan answered succinctly. “Do you?” Crow opened the document and shook out the picture of the dead body. “Xu Hui was killed by a punch from the back. In the school, only you can do that, Yan Lan.”
“If it were me, I would have crushed his ribs first and not his spine.” Yan Lan said simply. “I always attack from the front.”
“You’re right.” Crow tossed the document into the trash can. “I called you here to remind him so that this won’t happen again. Since Xu Hui is dead, I’ll split his quota among the rest of you. But I hope you can understand this is an exception.”
“Understood.” Ma Jing nodded respectfully.
“You’ll stay in school today. The headmaster will be here in the afternoon. Then I will summon all the teachers to do a draw to pick the exam location for each class.” Crow signaled for them to leave, but Yan Lan stayed. “Is there anything else?”
“Since Xu Hui is dead, do we still need to draw?”
“Of course,” Crow said firmly. “Go back to class. Cherish your last moments together.”
The three exited the office. After Ma Jing left, Han Fei whispered softly to Yan Lan. “What is the draw?”
Yan Lan looked at Han Fei with suspicion and then explained, “The eight classes will have different exam locations. One of them is a White Building, one is a Black Building, and the other six are Red Buildings. The class who gets the White Building will all survive, but if the class gets the Black Building, even the teacher might die too.”
“Crow said that the headmaster picked these locations himself?”
“That’s right. The headmaster has a connection with the black building, so this exam is just a trade.” Yan Lan was agitated. She didn’t kill Xu Hui, and she knew Han Fei didn’t do it either because she was with him yesterday night. So who was the killer?
“Okay.” Han Fei followed Yan Lan. He had no intention of going to his class.
“Are you planning to keep on tailing me?” If they were not at school, Yan Lan might have punched him already. She knew Han Fei was acting, but she wouldn’t expose him.
“Erm… Can I borrow your teaching plan?”
Han Fei carried the thick files and returned to Class Seven. He didn’t need to worry about the thirty students. They were all studying diligently.
“Today, you’ll study on your own again. Just assume that I’m not here.” Han Fei placed the files on the lectern. “If you think I’m being an annoyance, I can leave.”
It was rare to have students like the ones in Class Seven, and it was even rarer to have a teacher like Han Fei. They formed a tacit understanding.
“This is the info I found from the other class. You need to decide the authenticity yourself. I will place them here. I hope they can help.” Han Fei had a very good memory. He read through the files and then handed them to the students. The class soon ended. Han Fei wrote down the important points on the board.
The bell rang. Han Fei moved a chair down the lectern. “That’s all. I won’t disturb you anymore.” With the students watching, Han Fei had ‘much difficulty’ moving the chair out of the class. To not influence the kids, Han Fei sat at the staircase alone. When the bell rang for class, he picked up the chair and then sneaked to the backdoor of another class and sat there. Han Fei wanted to examine the other teachers at the school. At first, he was quite shy, but soon he unleashed himself. He didn’t hide and looked into every class.
“The general teaching direction of this school is not wrong. It’s to help the students trigger the power of their persona. The teaching plan is tailored to each student.” On the surface, the school was indeed cultivating a new batch of ghost hunters.
“Something doesn’t feel right…”
“Hey!” The classroom door opened. Wang Chuqing of Class Five walked over with a dark expression. “What are you doing?”
“I just want to observe your class.” Han Fei picked up the class and planned to move to another classroom.
“Why are you attending classes during school hours when you should be teaching your own class?” Wang Chuqing’s scar wrinkled.
“Fine. Actually, I want to ask you something.” Han Fei lowered his voice. “Do you still have more ghost blood? Name a price.”
“Do your students know that you’re trading with their lives?” Wang Chuqing looked down on him. “I’ve given you my last vial. Leave.”
“Then, can you tell me where you get them?” Han Fei revealed a sinister smile. “I’m dying, and a madman will do anything.”
“The Red Building in Area B4, Shi Wei Eatery.” Wang Chuqing closed the door. “There is more than one Lingering Spirit there. If you go there now, you’ll die.”
Then, the system rang. “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered a random mission, Blood Feast.
“Blood Feast: Enter Shi Wei Eatery. Participate in the Blood feast and survive until the end.”
