Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Daylight broke.

Today was the third day, and I was still in one piece.

“It’s fine now. You can go back,” the auntie said as she opened the door for me.

I returned to the dormitory just as my roommates were waking up.

“How was it?” Xiao Ze greeted me.

I shared the information I had pieced together the previous night with everyone.

Once I finished, I walked over to Zhou Yiqiang’s bed and gave him a punch.

“You were the one laughing the loudest last night!”

I’m the type of person who really holds a grudge.

“Brother Gu, there was nothing I could do. It wasn’t on purpose. I’ll buy you lunch today, okay?” Zhou Yiqiang gave me a sheepish grin.

That was more like it.

I didn’t have an 8:00 AM class today, so I planned to head to the Library.

Zhou Yiqiang had the same idea.

Huang Pang and Sun Huawen had morning classes, so they couldn’t come.

Xiao Ze and Tao Ran exchanged a look and decided to hide out in the Library as well.

[The Library is absolutely safe.]

We all loved learning. We all loved the Library.

Xiao Ze, Zhou Yiqiang, Tao Ran, and I set off for the Library together.

On the way, we overheard some people talking: “Someone couldn’t take it anymore. They’re climbing over the wall to try and escape.”

“Didn’t they say you absolutely cannot leave the school while it’s under lockdown?”

“Who knows? Maybe they went crazy. The consequences of breaking the rules are right there for everyone to see,” another person said.

“Want to go take a look?” Tao Ran suggested.

We were all thinking the same thing, so the four of us nodded in unison.

The school gates were wide open, yet no one was entering or leaving.

I saw a boy leading a girl out through the gates.

Several other boys were scaling the wall.

Eventually, the boys who climbed over the wall let out screams of terror from the other side. We didn’t know what happened to them.

As for the couple who walked through the main gate, red top hats appeared on their heads, and their silhouettes vanished at the end of the street.

[Under no circumstances should you leave the school before the lockdown is lifted!!!]

“Let’s go. Don’t think about it.”

I knew that right now, no one could get out alive.

“Damn it, that scare just now ruined my mood for studying,” Zhou Yiqiang grumbled before we entered the Library.

I rolled my eyes.

As if you actually had any intention of studying in the first place.

The Library was very quiet. Knowing that the people here were all normal made me feel much more at ease.

After sitting in the Library for half an hour, I suddenly needed to use the restroom.

This time, that fellow who wanted to borrow paper appeared again.

“Classmate, do you have any paper?” a voice drifted from one of the stalls.

I didn’t answer, but I didn’t rush to leave either.

“Could you lend me a sheet of paper?”

The rules said not to talk to the people in the stalls, but they didn’t say I couldn’t lend them paper, right?

Besides, the Library was absolutely safe.

I walked over and slid the paper through the gap under the door.

“Thank you.”

After a moment, the voice spoke again.

“The one who made the rules is the one who wants to keep you here forever. Whatever you do, do not stay in the school for the full seven days. Don’t take Bus Route 17. Don’t follow in our footsteps. We hate the Student Council! We hate the people in red top hats!”

After that, the voice fell silent.

The paper I had passed in reappeared at my feet.

I picked it up and found a line of text written on it.

[1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. One of the numbers has run away.]

What did that mean?

Just as I was about to put the paper away to show Sun Huawen, the words vanished the moment I stepped out of the restroom.

[You must remain quiet in the Library, or you will be punished by the Librarian.]

I didn’t tell Zhou Yiqiang and the others about what had just happened yet. I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to control themselves and might make a noise.

That information was vital and couldn’t be shared carelessly. I would wait until we were back in the dorm tonight to reveal it.

After staying in the Library for two hours, the other three had to go to class.

Sun Huawen’s class had just ended, so I arranged to meet him in the Study Room.

We were in luck; we ran into Tang Zhen there.

Questions were posed, and we all answered correctly.

There was no Traitor.

For safety’s sake, we decided to communicate via our phones.

Tang Zhen: Any information to exchange lately?

Me: What do you want to know?

Tang Zhen: I want to know about the dormitories that were wiped out.

Me: I have that. I want to know how to get out. Do you have anything on that?

Tang Zhen: Isn’t it written in the rules? Stay for seven days, then take Bus Route 17 to leave.

It seemed Tang Zhen didn’t know yet…

At the same time, Sun Huawen glanced at me.

Me: Then do you have any info on the Student Council? Like, when they’ll make their move against us?

Tang Zhen: Yes.

And so, we exchanged information.

I obtained a new piece of intel.

[The Student Council will launch an unconditional attack in the final days. The method to evade the Student Council’s attack is unknown.]

“The rule-maker wants to keep us here forever.”

The voice from the restroom seemed to echo in my ears again.

Tang Zhen: You said earlier you wanted to know how to get out? Is there something wrong with the exit method mentioned in the rules?

Tang Zhen was quick on the uptake.

Me: I was just asking. It would be better if we could leave sooner. I heard some people climbed over the wall, so I thought maybe they had a way out.

Tang Zhen: Forget it. They’re all dead.

Next, we chatted about some trivial matters for a while.

After leaving the Study Room, I was about to explain things to Sun Huawen.

With his intelligence, he must have realized I was acting strangely.

“Shh, wait until we’re back at the dorm tonight. You think I don’t trust you?” Sun Huawen gave me a small smile.

In that moment, I felt a warmth in my heart.