Chapter 54: Gaoji Academy (Part Nineteen)

Chapter 54: Gaoji Academy (Part Nineteen)

In the evening, Director Wei indeed managed to overcome his fear to inform the teachers whose performance had slipped to move to the student dormitory.

Although in terms of the extent of the decline, the players stood out most prominently, with all but Dou Siqi - who topped the Chinese language subject - featuring on the list.

However, because of Jie Fangcheng's intervention, an NPC appeared amongst those moving to the student dormitory this time.

The math teacher from class eighteen, the same class Dou Siqi is in.

Dou Siqi scored the highest in the Chinese language subject, causing the students to allocate more scores to it, naturally reducing the scores for other subjects.

Besides math and language, students at Gaoji Academy attended other courses, but teachers of those subjects were not given this kind of "attention."

"We can catch up on those subjects during the senior year, a bit of cramming will do, won't it?"

This phrase sounded exceedingly familiar.

Regardless of the diminished focus, the prevailing ethos at Gaoji Academy remained, with those teachers still adept at "encouraging" the students to study diligently.

During this major exam, the students decided to distribute their scores to other subjects after careful consideration, resulting in a natural decline in math scores.

The Chinese language teacher of class eighteen, an NPC named Yan Ran, appeared very young, resembling a fresh college graduate.

When he learned that he was to move into the student dormitory, his face turned pale, his expression not as if he was moving to the dormitory, but rather as if he was facing imminent death.

"Teacher Yan."

At this moment, everyone witnessed the prowess of Zhang An.

This seemingly insignificant teacher NPC displayed a level of familiarity comparable to that with Director Wei.

Soon, although Yan Ran was generally guarded around others, he was evidently more acquainted with Zhang An, engaging in a brief conversation with him.

When Zhang An returned to the group of players, facing their varied expressions, he simply relayed the information he had gathered.

"Yan Ran just joined Gaoji Academy this year, arriving only a month before us."

A month...

Such a short span of time. A group of teachers were hired a month ago, and another batch just a month later - the turnover rate for teachers at Gaoji Academy seems rather high.

Zhang An's next statement corroborated this observation.

"Yan Ran is the only teacher from their batch of seventeen to have survived until now."

Everyone couldn't help but stealthily scrutinize Yan Ran.

This new teacher didn't appear to be someone formidable. His features still carried a hint of youthful naiveté and his demeanor exhibited a certain greenness, seemingly unable to stifle a faint tremble induced by the impending move to the student dormitory.

Was he too meek, too ordinary? How did a teacher like this manage to last until the end?

Harboring these questions, the group arrived at the base of the student dormitory building.

Due to the large number of people, a total of fifteen, the school specially arranged three quad rooms on the first floor for them.

The three rooms combined only had twelve beds, clearly intending to let them decide which three individuals would be ousted.

But this time...

Jie Fangcheng approached the door of another room adjacent to the three dormitories. Director Wei hurriedly interjected, "The dormitory assigned by the leadership does not include this room, it cannot be arbitrarily..."

Ignoring him, Jie Fangcheng kicked the door open, poking his head in for a quick inspection.

Although this room was also abandoned and unused, the hygiene maintenance of Gaoji Academy was excellent, making the unused dormitory appear clean and tidy, albeit devoid of bedding.

"Where are the beddings?"

Jie Fangcheng inquired.

Director Wei tried to steady his nerves, "This is initially a punishment for the decline in your teaching performance..."

Before he could finish, Jie Fangcheng moved a few steps to another dormitory door, reaching out to yank the lock off the neighboring door. The door creaked open, swinging shakily on its hinges.

Jie Fangcheng leaned in for another look, retreating with a disappointed expression after a quick survey.

"This one lacks bedding as well."

Manager Wei: "..."

"Go back and fetch your personal belongings and bedding first."

Saying this, Jie Fangcheng led by example, turning and leaving with decisive steps.

The security guard at the entrance had already locked the gate, yet Jie Fangcheng politely asked the elder man first: "Hello, could you open the gate for me, please?"

Director Wei frantically nodded at the security guard.

However, the security guard looked upon this group of teachers, who had caused the students' grades to plummet, with utter contempt.

"Open the door for what?"

"To retrieve bedding, pillows, drinks, tea cups, pajamas, slippers, eye masks, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and face towels," Jie Fangcheng replied.

The old man was stunned, and then erupted in anger: "You are here to reflect and reform, not to enjoy a vacation!!"

Seeing that the old man had no intention of opening the door, Jie Fangcheng muttered, "If I really wanted to vacation, I wouldn't choose such a shoddy place," before briskly unlocking the gate himself.

Old Man: "…??"

The old man was both shocked and furious, about to say something when Director Wei hurriedly covered his mouth.

Jie Fangcheng swaggered out.

Behind him, a few players exchanged glances, Zhang An adjusted his glasses and quickly followed suit.

Next were Tong Xinxin and others.

Initially, fifteen teachers were punished. Now, with Jie Fangcheng leading the way and taking seven with him, the remaining teachers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Director Wei was so furious that he cursed non-stop, finally ceasing after about fifteen minutes.

Initially, everyone was unsure what was happening, only to see Jie Fangcheng return after a short while, holding his stick in one hand and carrying his bedding in the other, along with a bag of personal belongings, followed by the other teachers.

Each one of them was similarly laden with belongings, resembling not characters in a horror game but rather a group of youngsters finally leaving their village with their belongings to work in the city, including the previously refined Zhang An, who now looked less than elegant with his rolled-up bedding.

Jie Fangcheng showed no signs of the humble readiness usually seen in young men moving to the city for work. Upon returning to the dormitory, he once again scrutinized the room, nitpicking various aspects.

"These curtains don't seem to block out much light, won't we be dazzled by the morning sun?"

Director Wei: "..."

Jie Fangcheng sighed: "Well, we'll have to make do for one night."

Saying so, he started to make his bed.

His earlier words to the security guard were not false. After making the bed, Director Wei watched as he pulled items from the red plastic bag he had brought with him.

A water cup, canned beverages, toothpaste and toothbrush, and a novel from who knows where... Toward the end, he even pulled out several facial masks.

...Grown men using facial masks?!

Director Wei's expression was incredibly strange.

Jie Fangcheng handed a facial mask to Tong Xinxin.

"Thank you, Brother Jie," Tong Xinxin said, receiving it with a bright smile.

The supermarket at Gaoji Academy stocked everything under the sun, and the teachers had access to a staff card with a not insignificant credit limit, even for these "new teachers".

But in previous instances within the game, who would have the mindset to pamper themselves with a facial mask?

However, this time was indeed different.

Tong Xinxin had prepared four portions of the facial mask; one each for her, Tan Chen, and Xu Xiuxiu, leaving one extra which she handed back to Jie Fangcheng.

"It doesn't cost anything, so it would be a waste not to use it," she remarked.

With a wry smile, Jie Fangcheng accepted it and casually placed it aside.

Director Wei’s face contorted, holding back his emotions with great difficulty.

He knew that the Jie teacher before him was not like the others; this man possessed an alarming level of physical prowess, making him a figure that no one at the school could afford to provoke.

But at Gaoji Academy, everything should be aligned towards the pursuit of student excellence!

Even the teachers who excel in teaching feel a sense of urgency, yet these individuals seemed to treat their stay in the student dormitory with complete indifference!

They even planned to use facial masks?!

"Teacher Tong!" Director Wei called out to her in a sinister tone.

Tong Xinxin's smile blossomed like a flower: "What's the matter, Director Wei?"

With threatening undertones, Director Wei fixed his pitch-black pupils on her, admonishing, "You are a teacher, remember your role!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jie Fangcheng lifted the stick in his hand slightly.

Instantly, Director Wei scurried away in a flurry of rolls and crawls, only turning back once he had established a safe distance.

Seeing him turn back, Jie Fangcheng merely responded with a faint smile.

"Look how scared you are, try not to run so fast next time, and mind your own status," he chided lightly.

With a rigid expression, Director Wei exited the scene.

The remaining players glanced sideways at one another.

In the game, NPCs with perverted personalities or bad tempers would frequently appear, so the players had grown accustomed to being threatened by NPCs.

This was the first time... no, not the first time. Every now and then, Jie Fangcheng would find reasons to beat up a few NPCs severely.

...So who exactly is the NPC here?!

(No content to translate)

After Director Wei left, he never returned, and everyone gradually retreated to their dorms to rest.

Sharing a dormitory with Jie Fangcheng were Zhang An, Liu Hui, and Tong Xinxin.

Zhang An goes without saying; the reason Jie Fangcheng chose to stay in the student dormitory instead of the staff quarters was largely for Zhang An.

Tong Xinxin, being someone with considerable personal strength, no one would object to her choosing to stay here as well.

Liu Hui was here due to his affiliation with the Ronghua Guild.

Although the guild has now lost its leadership and administrative layer, effectively rendering it a guild in name only, one indisputable fact remains: whether people are cynically thinking that everyone in the Ronghua Guild is foolish or genuinely admiring the guild, numerous individuals have reaped massive benefits from these “fools”.

Take, for instance, the dungeon strategy guides.

Before the Ronghua Guild, players' strategies were essentially not circulated, at most exchanged amongst members of the same guild. The larger trend was that individuals preferred to keep dungeon strategies as a form of personal wealth. For a significant period, messages soliciting dungeon strategies for a hefty price were commonly seen on the game hall screens.

However, the Ronghua Guild was the first to disclose all internal dungeon data to all players, which, before this initiative, saw the overall dungeon clearance rate linger at a dismal 10%.

Out of about ten people entering the dungeon, only one would emerge alive, with complete annihilation within the dungeon being a frequent occurrence.

Even now, many patterns and principles summarized by players regarding the dungeons are intricately linked to the Ronghua Guild.

Although the Ronghua Guild is no longer in its glory days, with their tower amongst the three guild towers standing desolate, this place hasn't yet vanished from people's hearts.

Once inside the dungeon, Liu Hui rarely made any requests. With the four connected dormitories, Jie Fangcheng could immediately rush over at the slightest disturbance from any side.

Under these circumstances, no one would oppose Liu Hui's desire to share a dormitory with Jie Fangcheng.

With harmony and goodwill, everyone amicably allocated the dormitories and retired to their respective rooms.

The last time they visited this place, everyone was on tenterhooks, walking on thin ice. Now, they even had the leisure to take in their surroundings.

It was Jie Fangcheng’s first time residing here. Despite his verbal complaints, the moment he lay down on the bed, he quickly fell asleep.

Tong Xinxin watched him, admiring him profoundly in many ways.

Time ticked away, second by second.

With the tolling of the midnight bell, the clamorous sounds of students happily leaving school could be heard once more.

Soon, the footsteps approached the dormitories, growing louder and closer.

The sounds outside the door gradually became distinct.

"Oh dear, I don't know why, but I've been feeling so irritable during classes these past couple of days."

"Same here, same here, sigh, I think it's because our school is just too noisy! Why are there so many people at our school?"

"Not only is it crowded on the ground, but even underground! It's so annoying—"

"Oh! Isn't this a coincidence? A lot of teachers have come to the dormitory today! We can go and share our concerns with them, can't we?"

"Let's go, let's go!"

The sound of knocking accompanied by a familiar "thump thump thump" echoed from the doorway.

"Hello, teacher, may we come in to discuss some issues with you?"

Inside the room.

If she had heard this sound before, Tong Xinxin would have found it somewhat terrifying.

But now, as she opened her eyes to see the drowsy Jie Fangcheng, who was stirred awake and sitting up, a smile involuntarily spread across Tong Xinxin's face.