Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Wei Sen opened the group chat messages.
[Group B (6)
Xia Susu: I didn’t expect everyone to still be alive!
Lin Xiaoxue: You’re the one who’s pretty unexpected, honestly #-.-)
Xia Susu: Heh. It proves I have good judgment. Follow Sister Xue, and you find the dorm in minutes.
Lin Xiaoxue: Sister Sen, Sister You, Sister Lin, you have to hurry!!
Lin Xiaoxue: [Image] Look, everyone. I look so weird in the mirror ⊙＿⊙
Huang Xinze: Smash it, now!
Lin Xiaoxue: Whew, thank goodness you reminded me. I almost forgot. School Rules, Rule Four: there isn’t a single mirror anywhere in the school!! Good thing I didn’t make eye contact with it. I’m still scared thinking about it o(╥﹏╥)o
Xia Susu: If you want to get yourself killed, don’t drag us down with you! Why would you send a scary picture like that?!
Huang Xinze: As long as you’re okay.
Lin Xiaoxue recalled a message.
Lin Xiaoxue: You’re that boy from this afternoon 0.0
Huang Xinze: Yeah, I’m that Huang Mao from this afternoon…
Lin Xiaoxue: ==|||
Xia Susu: Can you stop using kaomoji? Are you in primary school?
Lin Xiaoxue: Mind your own business (>-:(
Chen Lin: I believe in them.
Xu You: I’m in the dorm.
Lin Xiaoxue: o(>=v<=)o That's great! What about Sister Sen?
Xu You: Not sure.
Lin Xiaoxue: Come on, Sister Sen! Good people live long, peaceful lives!]
Wei Sen silently finished reading the messages, then typed on the holographic keyboard.
[Wei Sen: I'm in bed.
Lin Xiaoxue: T_T That's great!
Chen Lin: /rose//rose//rose/
Xu You: Hello, Sister Sen.
Huang Xinze: We're the only group with everyone still alive!
Xia Susu: All I can say is the other groups were really unlucky.]
Wei Sen read through the main group and Group B's small group chat once more. After thinking for a moment, she edited another message and sent it.
[Wei Sen: Group A had 7 members, 4 survived. Group C had 7 members, 0 survived. Group C stopped sending messages after entering the teaching building.
Wei Sen: Based on the School Rules and Dormitory Rules we know so far, different areas should have different rules. Group C was very likely wiped out because everyone violated the Teaching Building Rules.
Xu You: Makes sense.
Wei Sen: @Huang Xinze @Xia Susu, did you find any clues in the dorm?
Xia Susu: Why should we share what we found with you?
Lin Xiaoxue: Do you have even the tiniest bit of team spirit? [angry]
Huang Xinze: I do! I found a security guard uniform in the dorm, plus a new set of rules!
Xia Susu: Why are you telling them?!
Huang Xinze: [Zhihui Primary School Security Guard Rules-
1. Your working hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day. Please be sure to arrive at your post on time and remain highly vigilant while on duty.
2. Your primary responsibility is to ensure that no students linger outside the classrooms without reason during class time (P.E. class excluded). If you discover students wandering outside, please promptly guide them back to the classroom or report them to the Academic Affairs Office.
3. During class breaks, please do not leave the Security Booth. Unknown beings outside the school may take advantage of any opening and cause unforeseeable consequences. Your steadfast watch is the first line of defense for campus safety.
4. When on night duty, please remain awake at all times. Do not doze off or leave your post without authorization. Beings outside the school may sneak onto campus when your guard is down, triggering uncontrollable danger.
5. Primary school students do not live on campus. Therefore, if you see a child appear inside the school at night, please take immediate action and drive them off campus! Do not speak with them or make eye contact. Ensure campus safety at night.]
Lin Xiaoxue: Why are there so many rules? Help W(￣_￣)W
Huang Xinze: I suspect I might be this school's security guard.
Lin Xiaoxue: Haha~ For some reason, that really hits my funny bone.
Xu You: Rules 2 and 3 mean that during class time, you have to patrol the school, but during class breaks, you must return to the Security Booth?
Huang Xinze: Maybe?
Chen Lin: What are the things outside the school?
Huang Xinze: I'm not sure. I'll find a way to take a look tomorrow.
Chen Lin: Okay. Be careful.
Huang Xinze: Thanks for your concern, ladies. Sending each of you a flying kiss.
Xia Susu: …
Xu You: Security Guard Rules, Rule 5 conflicts with School Rules, Rule 9.
Huang Xinze: Oh, right. So if I see a primary school student at night, should I close my eyes or drive them away?
Chen Lin: Do you remember School Rules, Rule One?
Lin Xiaoxue: Love for one's post and dedication to one's work are fine virtues for every citizen of the Eerie World. If you abandon your post without authorization, the consequences will be severe. (*^▽^*)
Huang Xinze: I get it. First of all, I'm this school's security guard. I should be dedicated to my post, so the Security Guard Rules take priority over the School Staff Rules!
Xu You: That should be the case. Otherwise, the Security Guard Rules would have no meaning at all.
Xia Susu: Is it possible that Article Nine of the School Rules was created by "It" to confuse us?
Huang Xinze: Damn, that's totally possible! That would perfectly explain why the two sets of rules are different!
Xu You: Sister Sen, what do you think?
Wei Sen: @Xia Susu, what are you?
Huang Xinze: Susu, share it with us. The more information everyone has right now, the better our chances of getting out alive.]
Wei Sen stared at her watch for a long while, but the woman named Xia Susu still refused to sync her information.
Forget it. Based on the information they had so far, they could more or less summarize a few crucial points.
[Wei Sen: As far as we know, everyone has a different identity. There should be something in the dorms that proves each person's identity. The few of us only returned to the dorm after dark, so we haven't been able to gather identity information for now. I suggest that once it's light tomorrow morning, we confirm our identity information first.
Xu You: Okay.
Chen Lin: Okay.
Lin Xiaoxue: Okey-dokey~
Wei Sen: Huang Xinze found his identity information before dark, but he didn't stand guard after dark and he didn't violate any rules, so there may be a Hidden Rule in the Security Guard Rules. It would be best to check again tomorrow. @Huang Xinze
Huang Xinze: Roger that!
Wei Sen: Every location has its corresponding rules, and every identity also has corresponding rules. If rules contradict each other, it could be because of "It," or it could be because of priority. But for Huang Xinze's conflicting rule, I'm more inclined to think it's a priority issue.
Xu You: +1
Chen Lin: +1
Lin Xiaoxue: +1~
Xia Susu: It's obvious Article Nine of the School Rules is fake!
Chen Lin: Could we ask the principal? Article Three of the School Rules says we can go to the principal if we have questions.
Wei Sen: We can try.
Huang Xinze: I'll ask tomorrow!
Xu You: Don't forget you have to be on duty from 6:00 to 23:00. Let's see who's free during the day and have them go find the principal.
Lin Xiaoxue: Agreed (o´ω`o)و
Chen Lin: Have you guys noticed? Group A and Group C both have seven people, but our group only has six.
Huang Xinze: You're right! Why do we get one less person?
Xia Susu: It's just a random distribution of people. What's so strange about that?
Wei Sen: There are too many suspicious points right now. Rest first. Tomorrow, everyone should gather information on their own, then find a chance to meet up and exchange what we know.
Chen Lin: Okay.
Xu You: Good night.
Lin Xiaoxue: I can't sleep. I feel like someone will be staring at me the second I close my eyes o(╥﹏╥)o
Huang Xinze: Don't be scared. As long as we don't break the rules, we'll be fine!]
Wei Sen stopped paying attention to the group messages, only to notice a private message.
[Bai Xue: Are you asleep? Let's exchange information.]
Wei Sen glanced at the time. It was already 0:13.
This woman really was eager to survive.
Wei Sen sent a simple reply: I'm going to sleep. We'll talk tomorrow.
The more someone wanted to survive, the more unscrupulous they would be in order to do so.
Wei Sen believed that when dealing with someone like that, it was best to be careful.
So even if they were going to exchange information, it was better to do it face-to-face. After all, there were many things that couldn't be made clear through text.
Wei Sen looked at the Merit Points displayed on her watch: 203.
She had chatted with everyone a little just now. Perhaps it had been useful to them, because her Merit Points had gone up by three.
///Ding~ Host's current Merit Points: 203. The next Card Draw requires 500 Merit Points!///
"What about the one after that?"
///The following Card Draw requires 1,000 Merit Points!///
The threshold for unlocking each Card Draw was getting higher and higher. Trying to increase Merit Points through opportunistic methods like praise and reminders, as she had done this time, wouldn't work anymore.
"What kinds of things can I get from a Card Draw?"
///Ding~ Host does not currently have permission to view that.///
Wei Sen closed her eyes.
An Anomalous Artifact really could save her life. Unfortunately, it could only be used once. Her System no longer had the Great Pixiu.
If she wanted another Anomalous Artifact, she had to raise her Merit Points for a Card Draw. But if she wanted to raise her Merit Points, she had to do good deeds…
Be a good person in the Eerie World?
Wei Sen found it laughable just thinking about it.
She might as well look for clues tomorrow and figure out how to clear this Instance. Perhaps the reward for clearing it would be far greater than the reward for being a good person.
Early the next morning.
Wei Sen was woken by a class-break bell.
Only after opening her eyes and seeing that she was still in the dorm did she confirm that everything that had happened yesterday wasn't a dream.
She propped herself up and sat, then glanced at her watch. It was 7:30. The sky outside the window was already bright, but it was still shrouded in thick fog.
She was just about to get out of bed when she realized something was pressed beneath her pillow.
[Wei Sen, Chinese Teacher of Class 2, Grade 3, Zhihui Primary School]