Chapter 47: Gaoyi Academy (Part Twelve)

Chapter 47: Gaoyi Academy (Part Twelve)

The following day.

With no classes in Chinese or Mathematics scheduled, it was clear that many players and teacher NPCs were planning to visit the library in building three.

Some even acted surreptitiously, claiming they were going for a morning run after getting up, only to disappear without a trace.

Yue Haiyang was growing increasingly displeased with these players. At breakfast, he said to Jie Fangcheng, "Brother Jie, when are you planning to go fetch the files? I'll accompany you."

Jie Fangcheng was startled at the mention of "files": "Do I also have to go??"

"Huh?" Yue Haiyang looked puzzled, "Aren't you going?"

"No, no, no," Jie Fangcheng shook his head vehemently, resembling a rattling drum.

"Oh." Yue Haiyang departed, his expression blank.

These ordinary players still needed to search for the students' files, and considering the possibility of the files being unique, the competition among the teacher NPCs and two groups of players with different stands could potentially escalate to unforeseen events.

By the time Yue Haiyang arrived, it was relatively late. Many had entered as soon as the teaching building opened at seven in the morning, the small library bustling with people, resembling a postgraduate study room at a glance.

Although the library was compact, it housed a considerable collection of books.

Yue Haiyang quickly joined up with Tong Xinxin, only to pause and inquire, "Zhang An and Xiu Xiu haven't come?"

"Hmm." Tong Xinxin nodded, her expression contemplative, "Xiu Xiu mentioned that Zhang An told her he might have found out why a student in her class committed suicide."

Zhang An was the one who spread the news about the student files in the library. Yet, on the day when everyone was here to search for the files, he was conspicuously absent.

He was evidently a person of profound thoughts. His absence not only unsettled others but even Tong Xinxin, a player from the same faction, couldn't help feeling uneasy and urged Yue Haiyang to hasten.

"Let's speed up. It would be great if we find something, but if not, we should leave early."

"Okay."

But before she could finish, the library door opened again.

Zhang An, who was fashionably late, walked in wearing the school-issued uniform, glasses perched on his nose, appearing very much like a teacher.

Upon entering the library, he nonchalantly picked up a book nearby and began reading it with evident interest.

All in all, he genuinely seemed like someone who had come to read.

What on earth is this person trying to do?

Tong Xinxin approached him and asked softly, "Where's Xiu Xiu?"

"In the office."

"She's not coming??"

"The students in her class are somewhat different, so she didn't come over."

Tong Xinxin cast a suspicious glance at him.

Zhang An lifted the book in his hand slightly.

"Aren't we here to find information?"

Tong Xinxin’s gaze swept over the book he was holding — "The Origins of Egyptian Cultural History".

...Is he insane?

Unable to restrain herself, Tong Xinxin rolled her eyes and quickly joined the throng seeking information.

Even though the reading room housed an abundance of books, the space was limited, offering a clear view of its entirety at a glance.

After flipping through for a while, Tong Xinxin quickly spotted a stack of papers with a slightly different hue on a shelf.

She pulled out the stack of papers, and her expression froze as she opened it.

"Is this... the student data from six years ago?"

Tong Xinxin began rapidly flipping through and reading the data.

This set of student data differed from the basic information the players had, including only names and basic details. It was exceptionally detailed, encompassing nearly everything the students experienced since their enrollment.

Tong Xinxin was perusing the data from class 17 of the second year, six years ago, which intriguingly was the very class she was teaching.

The student at the top of the list was named "Xiang Xiaoyang", who had entered the high-performance academy with the fourth highest scores in the entire school during his first year.

From the information provided, this student's history seemed quite average.

Although he had impressive grades, Xiang Xiaoyang’s rankings slipped to twenty-fourth in the school during the first major examination after entering the high-performance academy. Noted in the data was a comment: "The teacher was very upset about this, and severely reprimanded him."

From that point on, his grades steadily declined, and by the second year, he had become a thoroughly average student.

However, his file spanned four or five pages, documenting each of his test scores, the teacher's attitudes towards him, and his reflections after each exam.

Although his grades did not improve, the data illustrated that Xiang Xiaoyang was highly proactive and diligent, staying in the study room every day until just before the lights were turned off.

Tong Xinxin furrowed her brow.

Logically, a student who performed well in middle school should certainly not have any intellectual issues. So why, even with his earnest efforts, did his grades continually decline after joining the high-achievement academy?

It doesn't make any sense.

Tong Xinxin continued flipping through.

However, as she went through the stack of data, her questions only multiplied.

The high-achievement academy clearly prioritized academic performance, yet many students who had good grades upon entry couldn't maintain their initial performance levels, with a notable decline.

But there was a group of students whose grades were not good upon entry; however, their academic performance soared remarkably after a period of study in the academy.

There must be a reason behind this.

Tong Xinxin pocketed this volume of data and continued her search.

Unlike her, who only found quite ordinary students' personal data, among the players, Yu Hanfei, holding the data in his hand, struggled to contain the ecstatic expression on his face.

He despised Jie Fangcheng greatly, and had even secretly treated students the way the teacher NPCs did.

It wasn't that he feared retribution from Jie Fangcheng; after all, their schedules were identical, and Jie Fangcheng had classes when the players did, making it impossible to constantly monitor anyone for mistreating students.

Yu Hanfei held their inexplicably sanctimonious attitudes in disdain.

Students? What about them? Aren't they just a set of data? What's the big deal?

It was clear that, just like those teacher NPCs, flattering the good students and berating the underperforming ones, and ensuring the class's test scores remained the best would enable them to snatch the best students from other players.

This approach to winning was now glaringly obvious; the players had to compete with each other for the limited resource of "good students," securing the ones with high academic performance while expelling the poor performers.

Many players in the game existed in competitive scenarios, and everyone was initially accustomed to this until a certain player stirred empathy for the NPCs amongst them.

It was truly laughable.

However, being kind to students as Xu Xiuxiu was proved to be futile; those doomed would still meet their fate.

It seemed that he could be more unrestrained in the future. If students in his class died, he could simply claim that it was due to his excessive kindness, right? After all, whether treated well or ill, they would die nonetheless.

Yu Hanfei had already decided to learn from the NPCs, and during his search through the data, he indeed found something highly beneficial for him.

It was the student data of class 4 of the second year from three years ago; coincidentally, he was now the teacher of class 4.

Although the students in this data differed from the current ones, Yu Hanfei quickly realized something.

This set of student data corresponded to the students in his current class.

It was akin to a student who currently sat in the first row.

Yu Hanfei paid great attention to pleasing these top students, often calling on those in the front row to answer questions and granting them freedom to speak.

He quickly became familiar with the high-achieving students in the first row, one of whom was a boy named "Qian You", who consistently had excellent exam results, almost always ranking in the top ten. It was apparent that he was a teacher's favorite. Unlike the students in the back rows, who seemed too stiff to even turn their heads, Qian You was very much alive. Not only did he frequently look back at a girl in the rear rows, but during a conversation with Yu Hanfei, he plainly stated, "I want Gu Yaoyao. If you can make it happen, I'll stay in this class permanently."

The top ten students have the privilege to choose their own class. As a student with excellent academic performance, Yu Hanfei naturally hopes that he will remain in class four forever.

But he is also hesitating.

However, the information in his hands has eradicated his hesitation.

According to the documents, the male student with the best academic performance in Class 4 of the second year was rewarded by the teacher after a certain major examination — this teacher directly "awarded" this male student with a girl from the back row as a reward.

Subsequently, the young man remained in this teacher's class up until his senior year in high school.

Later, the girl sitting at the back row ended her life by jumping from a building.

Yu Hanfei couldn't restrain the wild pounding in his chest as he watched.

To be able to retain a student with excellent academic performance in his class, while at the same time removing a student with poor grades, it was indeed killing two birds with one stone!

He cautiously scanned his surroundings.

The surrounding teachers were engrossed in their diligent search for student profiles, unbeknownst to them, Yu Hanfei stealthily slid the student file into his personal backpack.

Half a morning had passed, and every player and NPC had their own "harvest."

After all, the third teaching building isn't the high school second year's building; everyone exhibited a degree of restraint, quickly dispersing one after another.

Tong Xinxin and the others swiftly exited the teaching building, with Tong Xinxin involuntarily throwing a backward glance at Zhang An as she left.

To have obtained the details of so many students so smoothly, and to have retreated safely from the library, could what this person said actually be true?

It couldn't be, could he genuinely be this benevolent?

The group convened in a vacant small study room nearby.

Such study rooms are a common sight within the school, available to both students and teachers for use, provided they return to their dormitories before lights out.

The study room is also adorned with great finesse, with blossoming flowers visible all around.

The flowers throughout this school thrive splendidly, but considering the frequent occurrences of students committing suicide by jumping off buildings, coupled with the evident traces of soil burial on the student NPCs encountered during their stay in the dormitories, it becomes clear why the flora here flourishes so well.

The group gathered together, with Tong Xinxin being the first to present the information she had gathered.

"The data I managed to secure pertains to students from several years ago, lacking any information on the current students."

Liu Hui was the second to contribute all the data in their possession, remarking, "I found the same."

Yue Haiyang and Tan Chen also brought forward their respective sets of data, placing them on the table.

All eyes turned towards Zhang An.

Zhang An produced a book.

"‘Introduction to Basic Mathematics'..." Everyone looked perplexed.

"Why do you have this?" Tong Xinxin asked.

Zhang An seemed to be pondering something and replied casually, "This book was published two years ago."

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

He came back to his senses, glanced at the "Introduction to Basic Mathematics", and through his glasses, nobody could see his expression. However, they sensed a sudden... gap forming between him and the rest of the players at that moment.

It was strange; he was sitting here, but his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere, not on the matter of the instance at hand.

Tong Xinxin furrowed her brow.

Zhang An didn't offer any further explanation, simply taking back the "Introduction to Basic Mathematics".

The table was covered with dozens of documents from various years. Tong Xinxin was the first to speak, "The files I found pertain to the earlier years of our class."

People glanced at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Us too."

"It seems... this library is indeed not ordinary."

If only Tong Xinxin had found information about previous students of their class, it might have been a coincidence.

But now, since everyone found only information pertaining to their respective classes, it was evident that one could only find information about their own class in the library.

Tong Xinxin began to harbor a speculation.

"There's nothing particularly striking in the information I found. Students who initially performed well might experience a decline, while those with poorer performance might improve. The only noteworthy aspect is," she opened a file, "look here."

Liu Hui immediately noticed something amiss.

"The phrase 'criticized by the teacher' appears far too frequently."

"Exactly," Tong Xinxin continued, "In my data, students who performed poorly were more determined and focused on their studies after being criticized by the teacher, showing great enthusiasm regardless of how they performed in the subsequent exams. Conversely, the high achievers would receive 'praise from the teacher', which also boosted their morale."

Liu Hui frowned, "It's the same in my data."

Tan Chen hesitated before saying, "Not in mine. In my documents... there are cases of underperforming students committing suicide by jumping off buildings, followed by an increase in the class's average scores, with both the high-achieving students and the low-achieving students showing improvement."

Yue Haiyang raised his hand too, "Same here."

Tong Xinxin pondered, "What could account for this discrepancy?"

Everyone fell into contemplation, with Tan Chen being the first to identify their difference.

"Could it be due to varying attitudes towards the students?"

Saying this, Tan Chen managed a forced smile.

"I... haven't always been kind to the students. Because... before I died, I was a primary school teacher."

"Huh?"

Tan Chen's smile was faint.

"I taught third grade for a while, right after graduating. My family was well off, so I decided to teach in a remote mountain area. I was quite passionate back then, aspiring to help these kids break free from their mountainous confines. The conditions were tough, I would return home every two weeks, and each time, my mother would prepare an array of necessities and treats for me to bring back. She had heard about the harsh living conditions there, about the children who struggled with hunger and cold. Therefore, I always carried a generous portion of supplies for the children, and the parents seemed genuinely grateful."

"But then, one time when I was heading back, my mother fell ill. Given my rare break, I didn't bother to prepare anything... and it happened that very week."

She didn't continue, but everyone understood.

A profound silence enveloped the room.

It had been a long time since those events transpired, and Tan Chen hadn't mentioned them since entering the game.

Now, she only briefly brought it up, before quickly moving on, "So, I don't hold a favorable view towards any student or school. Given that these students are all NPCs, I've never been courteous to them."

She was candid, "I considered utilizing the teacher NPCs to clear the levels, but refrained as I saw substantial downsides to this method, besides finding it rather simplistic. This is a second-level instance; there's no way it could be cleared just with this tactic, so I didn't use it."

Yue Haiyang awkwardly touched his nose.

"I too have not been kind to the students... Well, not to the extent of those teacher NPCs. At most, I have been biased, favoring the better-performing students during Q&As. Primarily because these NPCs seem so peculiar, so devoid of vitality; each class feels like a visit to a grave, I just can't relate to them at all."

Tong Xinxin understood.

"So, it seems that due to our varying attitudes towards the students, we received different sets of data."

"The common theme among these files is - encouraging us to mistreat the underperforming students while favoring the high-performers. My data seems mundane, yet subtly communicates that treating these students harshly won't matter, as they will only strive harder. Your data, on the other hand, suggests that pressuring the weaker students to the point of death benefits the overall class performance."

The data before them seems to be steering the players towards cruelty, yet, seated in this study room, they represented some of the more compassionate ones when it came to treating the students.

So... what kind of data might the other players have received?

What about the data acquired by the teacher NPCs?

"What do we do now?" Yue Haiyang asked.

Tong Xinxin cast a discreet glance at Zhang An before letting out a cold chuckle.

"We wait."

There certainly would be those tempted by this data.

But for people like Tong Xinxin who could openly share the data they held, they soon realized that compared to being a "strategy to clear the level", this data resembled Pandora's box more, releasing an inner demon that once set free, would be hard to rein in.

They had no intentions of opening this box.

But what about the others?

Will they also share the information they "struggled" to find?

Meanwhile, Zhang An remained silent, rising to his feet only after listening to their analysis and decision.

It was still early, so everyone decided to head to the office to thoroughly prepare and deliberate on their next move.

But Zhang An veered towards the dormitory building instead.

Tan Chen observed his retreating figure, exchanging quiet words with Tong Xin Xin beside her after a long pause.

"Don't you think he... sometimes resembles Jie Fang Cheng?"

"Does he?" Tong Xin Xin queried, her brows knitted tightly.

The two men were poles apart – one bore formidable strength, resembling a floundered fish battered by a 007 agent, reluctant to exert unnecessary effort, with a distinct character that displayed a hatred for evil not aligning with the game's style.

The other carried an air of nonchalance, a serene demeanor that veiled his personal skills and information, even now. Around him seemed to hang layers of dark fog, concealing his true nature.

They were evidently two extremes, where could the resemblance possibly lie?

Meanwhile, inside the dormitory building, Zhang An... no, Zheng Dao An, holding a copy of "Introduction to Mathematics," knocked on Jie Fang Cheng's door.

Shortly, a voice echoed, "Hold on," followed by the sound of slippers shuffling across the floor.

Jie Fang Cheng lazily approached the door, his face displaying an unmistakable "here comes trouble" expression upon seeing him. Although tempted to shut the door immediately, he asked perfunctorily, "What's up?"

Unwilling to waste even a word more than necessary.

Zheng Dao An adjusted his glasses and extended the book towards him.

"Manager Jie, I have stumbled upon some new findings, would you care to hear?"

The sight of the word "mathematics" sent Jie Fang Cheng's eyes spinning.

Even they, the employees of the netherworld, were subject to mandatory education; albeit only nine years above ground, it extended to a whopping three hundred years below.

Now, confronted with these familiar characters once more, Jie Fang Cheng shook his head fervently, "You have a new understanding of mathematics? Please, spare me the discussion, go consult Director Wei instead, perhaps he might reward your insights."

Zheng Dao An smiled, flipping the book to showcase its last page.

"I noticed, most books in the library date back to two years ago."

"Oh..." Jie Fang Cheng responded, somewhat confused.

Zheng Dao An continued, "During the last dungeon, I observed that the magazines and newspapers were predominantly from two years ago as well."

"Ah..."

"I suspect that this dungeon, along with the one I experienced before, were generated two years ago, or perhaps, the game underwent an update two years back."

Jie Fang Cheng gazed at him, sincerely advising, "Teacher Zheng, perhaps you could skip to your conclusion directly?"

Zong Dao'an smiles.

"Which means, the creator of this game is still alive, and it's very likely that this person visited your underworld two years ago."