Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Chen Lin’s eyes flew wide open as if she had realized something. “The principal said not to go near the Principal’s Office, but Sister Sen went there and didn’t break any rules. That proves what Sister Sen said again: the third rule is fake!”
Xu You understood what Wei Sen meant as well. Picking up where Chen Lin left off, she analyzed, “Since the principal has already tampered with the rules, he definitely won’t let us meet the conditions for leaving this place so easily. So even if we go question him, we may not get the truth. We might even run into danger instead.”
“Mm.” Wei Sen nodded. “To be safe, let’s think of another way.”
Huang Xinze checked the time and said, “No good. I’m almost out of time. I have to head back first. If you need me to do anything, just give me orders in the group chat! For all of you, I won’t hesitate to go through fire and water!”
“Private chat, you idiot!” Lin Xiaoxue puffed out her cheeks.
Huang Xinze understood at once, nodding repeatedly, then quickly picked up his tray and left his seat.
When Huang Xinze left the cafeteria, he happened to brush past Bai Xue and the others.
Bai Xue, Wang Wenlei, Zhou Junjie, and Zhao Yue walked in together.
The moment Xia Susu saw the four of them, her eyes lit up. From who knew where, she dug out a sign and hung it on Window 2 of the cafeteria.
“This window is temporarily closed. Please proceed to the neighboring window.”
“You can do that?” Lin Xiaoxue tilted her head as she watched Xia Susu’s maneuver.
Bai Xue noticed Wei Sen and the others, smiled at them in greeting, then sat down several tables away.
After hanging up the closed sign, Xia Susu came out from the kitchen and trotted all the way over to Bai Xue’s group, sitting down with them.
“What a suck-up! Traitor!” Lin Xiaoxue deliberately raised her voice on the word “traitor.”
Xia Susu was currently chatting and laughing with Bai Xue and the others and paid no attention to Lin Xiaoxue at all.
Lin Xiaoxue was so angry she clenched both hands into little fists.
Xu You smiled. “All right, why bother with her? It’s her freedom to decide who she wants to believe.”
“Hmph. Well, I don’t like her anyway!” Lin Xiaoxue said bluntly.
Chen Lin said, “We should keep discussing what Sister Sen was talking about just now…”
“True. This is the important thing. When the time comes, she’d better not come crying back to beg us!” Lin Xiaoxue snorted through her nose.
Xu You thought for a moment. “We have too few clues right now. I think we should keep investigating more deeply.”
“Mm.” Wei Sen agreed.
“If more students come to the Infirmary later, I’ll try to ask around indirectly,” Xu You said.
Chen Lin also said, “My second class this afternoon is PE. When I let them do free activities, I can take the chance to ask the students in class for information too.”
“My first class this afternoon is moral education. I can get to the classroom early and ask the students too!” Lin Xiaoxue said, then looked at Wei Sen in confusion. “But what should I ask?”
“There are a few people you need to pay special attention to: Wang Hua, Yu Ming, and the Little Girl in Red sitting in the first row. This afternoon, Xiaoxue, you’re responsible for figuring out the Little Girl in Red’s basic situation, and also identifying who Yu Ming is and what distinguishing features he has. You can sync that information in Group B’s group chat.”
“Got it!”
“Then I’ll pay attention to those people during PE too,” Chen Lin said.
“Mm. PE is outdoors, and I’m free this afternoon. I can come to the sports field during PE. We’ll adapt as the situation changes.”
When Chen Lin heard that Wei Sen would come to PE class, it was as if she had swallowed a calming pill. “Okay!”
“Then that’s settled. It’s still early. We can go back to the dorms and rest for a while.”
Everyone returned their trays to the designated collection area together. Aside from Xu You, the others all left the cafeteria and returned to their respective dorms.
As soon as Wei Sen returned to the dorm, she received a message from Bai Xue.
[Bai Xue: How’s it going? Any information to share?]
Wei Sen sat down on the chair, the corner of her mouth curving into a cold smile as she replied.
[Wei Sen: There’s a skeleton in the Principal’s Office. It should be Vice Principal Lin Qiao. Wang Hua and Sun Qiang were punished because they extorted and bullied Yu Ming from Class 2, Grade 3. That’s all I know for now. What about your side?]
[Bai Xue: We obtained a Hidden Rule: “Cafeteria worker Wang Mei and her husband are estranged. Do not mention her husband in front of her, or something unpredictable will happen.” Also, we found several flashlights on our end. We have extras. Do you need one?]
Wei Sen stared at the message, lost in thought.
A Hidden Rule about the cafeteria worker, Wang Mei…
But she had already mentioned Wang Mei’s husband right in front of her!
At the time, Wang Mei hadn’t shown anything unusual, and the color of her clothes hadn’t changed either.
[Wei Sen: Is this Hidden Rule verified?]
[Bai Xue: You’ve already broken it?]
Wei Sen had to admire the woman’s insight and sharp instincts.
[Wei Sen: I saw a crossed-out name in the Principal’s Office. That person was cafeteria worker Wang Mei’s husband, so I asked about it in the cafeteria just now. But I didn’t get any useful information, and Wang Mei didn’t react strangely at all.]
[Bai Xue: The information was found in the Academic Affairs Office. It’s reliable. Maybe the so-called “unpredictable thing” doesn’t happen immediately.]
[Wei Sen: What should I do?]
[Bai Xue: Be careful.]
…
Wei Sen narrowed her eyes slightly.
What a cold-blooded, heartless woman. Bai Xue clearly had a way to save people. She could help Xia Susu, yet she refused?
Thinking of that, Wei Sen typed another message and sent it.
[Wei Sen: What happened with Xia Susu?]
There was no reply for a long time. After Wei Sen waited several minutes, a message suddenly popped up in the main group chat.
[Bai Xue: Sharing today’s major discovery!]
[Bai Xue: Communicating with an Eerie Entity has a certain chance of obtaining an item. Items can resist Eerie Entity corruption, but as far as I know, the items have limited uses. Communicating with an Eerie Entity is also extremely risky, so everyone should proceed with caution.]
Wei Sen stared at the words, deep in thought.
So that was how it worked…
Bai Xue must have obtained an Anomalous Artifact from some Eerie Entity, then used that Anomalous Artifact to save Xia Susu.
However, perhaps Bai Xue hadn’t known at first that the Anomalous Artifact could only be used once. Otherwise, there was no way she would have wasted such a precious chance on saving Xia Susu.
As Wei Sen was thinking, she received another private message from Bai Xue.
[Bai Xue: If you can obtain an item to protect yourself before danger strikes, you may be able to get through it safely.]
Wei Sen didn’t reply. She glanced at the Merit Points on her watch: 400. She was still 100 Merit Points short of her next Card Draw.
Now it was clear that she had already violated a rule, so the consequence mentioned in that rule was certain to occur. She just didn’t know when.
Bai Xue was right about one thing. If Wei Sen could obtain another Anomalous Artifact before then, she would have a better chance no matter what happened.
But gaining 100 Merit Points in such a short time was easier said than done, unless she ran into another extremely dangerous situation and triggered the Danger Bonus again…
Wei Sen pressed a hand to her forehead and thought it over. For now, she could only wait until PE class in the afternoon and see whether she could uncover any more clues, while earning another wave of Merit Points along the way.
Also, Bai Xue had deliberately mentioned that she had found extra flashlights and asked whether Wei Sen needed one.
Why would she be so kind?
Wei Sen carefully went over the details from today, wondering if she had missed anything. Suddenly, she thought of someone.
Zhou Junjie!
Earlier in the classroom, Wang Hua had told her to go to the Gymnasium at midnight, saying he could tell her how to escape the Instance. Perhaps Zhou Junjie, who had been at the door back then, had overheard that conversation too.
Zhou Junjie must have shared everything he knew with Bai Xue. And the reason Bai Xue said she had an extra flashlight for Wei Sen was to test whether Wei Sen planned to go to the Gymnasium tonight!
Wei Sen smiled coldly.
Since they had found flashlights, she would leave the matter of exploring the Gymnasium at night to them.
As it happened, she was also very curious what would happen if someone actually kept Wang Hua’s appointment.
Bai Xue was so smart that she definitely wouldn’t go in person. The only question was who would end up being the pawn who went first…