Even though No. 2 was an Unmentionable, and he could see the future, in his heart, No. 1 was always a No. 1. The tentacles crawled all over the sky. The headmaster was like a deepsea monster. The endless ghosts assimilated in his body charged at No. 1. No. 1 was unfazed. He smiled and focused his attention on his right hand.
The real fearless was not abandoning everything but standing unwaveringly in the face of despair and difficulty.
Starlight appeared in the night. No. 1 ignored all the darkness. His right hand phased through the hatred and hit the headmaster’s mutated persona. The sound of shattering traveled through the night. The headmaster looked at his body in disbelief. The persona he had collected throughout his life was cracked. As the memory fell into the abyss, the headmaster’s tolerant personality exploded. His large body fell back. All the ghosts in his body started to fight back. The good side of the headmaster rapidly mutated. His good left hand raised. He couldn’t control the raging ghosts anymore. He could only watch as his body was consumed by the ghosts. The headmaster collapsed in the middle of the merchant’s street. Yan Lan paused and looked at everything with wide eyes.
Han Fei also didn’t expect this. No. 1 didn’t have the normal fearless persona. His existence was a miracle.
“I only shattered his persona. The things that destroy him are the things that he has forced into his body. He destroyed himself, not me.” No. 1 didn’t look happy. He only had pity. “Persona is the value of one’s life. He had the tolerant persona, so he was once a good person.”
“But he was changed by the tragedy. The hardest thing to do in this world is not to be a good person but how to not be changed by the world.” No. 2 nudged Han Fei. “Sir, it’s your turn.”
“My turn? The headmaster is about ash now.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be good at healing?” No. 5 looked at Han Fei lazily. “I can’t tell you more about No. 1’s power, but he used everyone’s persona to complete the one-hit kill. Everyone needs your healing.” Han Fei looked around. Everyone stood around and used their powers, like No. 29’s tragic persona, No. 28’s lucky persona, and No. 4’s self-destructive persona. No. 2 unleashed the maximum potential of every kid. It was of the kids’ unconditional trust that No. 1 could be so fearless.
“You are impressive.”
No. 2 didn’t tell Han Fei the plan, but at least he allowed him to participate. Han Fei examined every kid and used the starlight to lessen their negative emotions. Han Fei finally moved to No. 1. The tall kid looked much younger than Han Fei, but his gaze was filled with gentleness and tiredness.
Han Fei used Soul-depth Touch to look into No. 1’s soul. It had a pure light. When Han Fei saw No. 1’s soul, he saw Rest-in-Peace. Han Fei used the starlight to repair the cracks on No. 1’s persona. These kids’ persona grew daily. However, if they pushed themselves, they would be injured.
“I feel quite useful.” After Han Fei healed all 29 kids, except no. 2, his altar mission’s progress increased a lot. The mission required Han Fei to heal 100 patients. After Han Fei healed all his kids, Yan Lan walked over. However, Han Fei waved at her, and they jogged to the headmaster. The spirits were consuming the headmaster. The power of the Pure Hatred was going out of control. The headmaster was only a few memory fragments.
“Your power comes from tolerating ghosts, but you have taken in too much.” This was something the headmaster had told Han Fei before. “Luckily, you’ve run into me. I’ll heal you.” Han Fei triggered the greed abyss. The mist consumed the headmaster’s massive body.
The greed persona was excited. The healing persona shone. When the headmaster was fully dragged into the abyss, the endless abyss appeared behind Han Fei. When a persona was strong enough, one could manipulate the altar world. The ghosts assimilated by the headmaster were hunted by the ghosts inside the abyss. After the headmaster died, he joined with the power of the Pure Hatred and became a ghost with a tolerant persona. He radiated Pure Hatred’s presence, and he slowly returned to normal. His wounds were healed by Han Fei.
“Notification for Player 0000! Greed Persona seeks a breakthrough. The number of ghosts that can be trapped inside the greed abyss has increased to 13!
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve trapped the unlit Pure Hatred—the headmaster.
“The headmaster: Has the tolerant persona! Power unknown.
“Notification for Player 0000! Du Niao is now a Medium Lingering Spirit!
“Notification for Player 0000! Envy has broken through to become a Medium Lingering Spirit!
“Notification for Player 0000! Once Wuchang experienced another massacre, there’s a chance for it to evolve into a Large Lingering Spirit!”
The abyss behind Han Fei disappeared. His mental corruption rose to 35 again. However, he had a healing persona. As long as he didn’t use the greed persona, his mental corruption would slowly decrease again. The headmaster’s trace was wiped away. Even his soul was consumed.
Yan Lan saw Han Fei’s persona improve again. She retreated. In the past, she felt Gao Cheng was dangerous. Now, he was even more dangerous.
“Teacher Yan, don’t hurry to leave. My students want to talk to you.” Han Fei smiled kindly.
“What do they want to talk about?” Compared to Han Fei, Yan Lan was more interested in Class Seven.
“You can ask him. He’s the cleverest in my class.” Han Fei carried No. 2 to Yan Lan. Yan Lan looked at the thin and weak No. 2 and felt that he was unfamiliar.
“Teacher Yan, the old headmaster has been killed. The Pure Hatred he worked with won’t let this rest. This is when the school is at its most dangerous. If this is not handled well, everyone will be killed.” No. 2’s tone was mature, and his tone was calm.
“Then, what is your plan?”
“We now have two choices. Select a new headmaster so that she can continue the trades with the Black Building. Sacrifice more kids to appease the Pure Hatred.”
“Sacrifice more children?” Yan Lan shook her head. “What’s the second choice?”
“Select a new headmaster that everyone can follow and lead all the survivors to Zone C, which is closest to us. We will unite with the Tragedy Investigation Center.” No. 2 pointed at Zhang Menglan. “Your friend’s lover was a messenger of the center. Her family is there too.”
No. 2 gave Yan Lan two choices, but actually, there was only one.
“The death rate of the Tragedy Investigation Center is seven times the death rate of other bases. Are you sure you want to join them?”
“Even so, there are many people who willingly join them monthly. Many are willing to risk their lives to become messengers.” No. 2 looked at Yan Lan’s bleeding hands. “If everyone is forced back by danger, then danger will eliminate everyone.”
“Okay. I agree to send all the survivors to the center.” Yan Lan nodded. “Then have you considered who to be the new headmaster?”
“Of course.” No. 2 patted Han Fei’s shoulders. “Teacher Gao has killed and murdered. He is an evil person. People won’t like this. The best candidate is you, Yan Lan.” Han Fei touched his nose. He wanted to throw No. 2 off.
“Me?” Yan Lan frowned.
“You were the one who killed the headmaster tonight. We didn’t interfere. You discovered his evil plan and did your best to kill him.” No. 2 smiled at Yan Lan. “Don’t worry. The normal citizens around the school have been convinced to overthrow the previous headmaster. The managers have been eliminated. No one will rise against you. They will even thank you.”
“But what if some don’t want to leave?” Yan Lan was worried.
“Simple. Teacher Gao used his persona to trap the headmaster. We can use the headmaster’s power to destroy the base’s food and water center. They have to go.” No. 2 said evenly. “If we don’t do this, the Pure Hatred will kill everyone.”
“Then, what do I need to do now? Go back to the base to inform the survivors or contact the other teachers to stop the exam?” Yan Lan was reminded of something. “Other than the headmaster, there’s another teacher who drew the black building. If we didn’t rescue him, he and his class would be killed.” “Teacher Wang has exchanged exam location with me.” Han Fei took out Wang Chuqing’s black stick. “So you don’t need to worry about him.”
“Yes. All you need to do now is to practice acting from Teacher Gao.” No. 2 stretched. “We’ll contact the other students and teachers to plan everything. When the sun comes up, you’ll appear as a hero.”
“How about I go to convince them?”
“There’s no need to complicate things. We’ll just ask them if they are willing to come with us or not. If they don’t, then we’ll have to ask them to accompany the headmaster.”
No. 5 carried No. 2 away. They found the students from the other classes and rested in the shops.
Han Fei gave Yan Lan acting lessons. He only needed Yan Lan to show herself.
The fearless persona had a charm that would make others follow her.
The night faded away. The light appeared down the horizon. The survivors who huddled behind the room squeezed to the door. They looked at the empty streets and wondered how many kids could return that night. The yearly exam was the cruelest night for the school. The young lives formed the foundation for the school. Those who didn’t know the truth worried about the kids; those who knew the truth worried that not enough kids had died.
The first to return was Class Two. Yin Yan’s back had a wound that cut to his bone. He lost five students. The innocence of the kids disappeared. Their eyes were dominated by hatred and fear.
The second to return was Wang Chuqing. Because he had Han Fei’s white stick, none of his students died. He was the only one who suffered the injury.
The classes who drew the Red Buildings returned. In the end, there were only four classes that hadn’t returned, including the two classes that got the Black Buildings. Wang Chuqing lit a cigarette and thought about Gao Cheng. He had given him the white stick so he would probably not see him again. Even though Gao Cheng was a bastard, he gave him the way out.
Wang Chuqing and the others continued to wait.
More citizens came out. At that moment, there was a gasp among the crowd.
The weak light fell outside the base. Yan Lan’s large figure appeared in everyone’s sight. Behind her followed the students from the four other classes. She had brought everyone back!
