Chapter 79

Chapter 79

"I'm so tired."

The first thing he said upon emerging was about his disturbed sleep, "I didn't sleep well last night. I kept feeling as if someone was talking by the window. Did you all hear it, or was it just my imagination?"

Jiang Mo Pei remarked, "You fell asleep pretty early."

And the fact that he could sleep at all was even more impressive.

It being her first time in the game duplicate, she was so frightened last night that she suffered from insomnia. She only managed to doze off in the latter half, always in a half-awake state. Even now, dark circles lingered under her eyes.

He Wei clicked his tongue in dismay, "I usually work the morning shift, so my internal clock hasn't adjusted. As soon as the sun set, I felt drowsy. That's why I went straight to bed as soon as I got to the dorm."

Chen Yun informed him, "There were indeed voices outside the window last night. It wasn't your imagination."

Chen Yun's choice of words was precise—it was the sound of voices, not as He Wei initially described: someone talking.

She then looked towards the rest, especially the group of participants who looked like diminutive radishes, asking, "Did you hear it?"

With her head bowed, avoiding everyone's gaze especially Pei Qing Rong's, Ji Shan Shan's cheeks were so red they seemed as if they could bleed. In a feeble voice, she whispered, "...I heard it."

Zhang Cai Xia and Jin Xi echoed, "Yes, we heard it too."

"Ah? What did you all hear?" He Wei grew anxious, fearing he had missed crucial information, "I only heard voices last night but couldn't discern what was being said."

"It seems they were—" Wu Yue Han cast a glance over the group, "everyone's innermost thoughts?"

Ji Shan Shan gently slapped her own cheeks, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance evident on her face.

Of course, there were those who remained unfazed and calm, like Liu Bu Hua, Bu Jiu Zhao, and Pei Qing Rong. Whether it was due to their thick skins or because they didn't consider those words secrets, their stoic expressions earned Xie Yin Xue's admiration. After all, such mental fortitude was on par with his own.

"Thank you, Wei Xiao!" Yun Mei Zhen ran over to thank Wei Xiao, "It was after hearing your inner thoughts that I turned off my light last night."

Lei Cheng Lei asked her, "What would've happened if you hadn’t turned off the lights?"

"It might've broken school rules. Many schools have regulations requiring lights to be turned off at a certain time," Yun Mei Zhen replied with lingering apprehension, "I hadn't thought of it initially."

"Right... I hesitated about whether to turn off the lights, but eventually did because..." Liu Yi paused here, swallowed hard, and touching his still-swollen lips, said shakily, "I pulled back the curtains to look outside..."

Having smaller bodies was quite inconvenient. It wasn't that they literally turned into children; after all, children of such tiny stature in reality might not even be able to stand. Yet, they could run and jump. The real problem was their reduced height and diminished physical strength.

Thus, for Liu Yi to pull back the tightly drawn curtains, he first had to move a chair from the desk to the window. Only when standing on it could he reach the curtains.

The reason he did this was that Liu Yi had heard footsteps outside—consistent, rhythmic, as if someone was patrolling. Yet when he pulled back the curtains, he saw no figure outside—just the pitch-black rooms opposite him, their lights turned off.

At that moment, a thought struck Liu Yi: If everyone in this dormitory had turned off their lights except for him, wouldn’t his room stand out in the darkness, as noticeable as a candle?

Sometimes, moths aren’t the only things drawn to light.

Was the absence of a figure outside because he had misheard? Or was someone lurking in the shadows, eluding his vision?

Thus, no matter how fearful he felt, Liu Yi eventually turned off the lights.

Hearing this, Xie Yin Xue remarked, "I opened the curtains last night as well."

Liu Yi queried, "Did you see anything?"

"Yes," Xie Yinxue replied with an even more nonchalant tone than Bu Jiuzhao, Liu Buhua, and Pei Qingrong. "I saw the Dean of Discipline right outside my window."

Liu Yi's eyes widened in shock, clearly startled by Xie Yinxue's words.

"So, we have to turn off the lights? We'd be breaking the school rules if we don't turn them off at bedtime?" Sun Lingxi heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness I overheard Wei Xiao's inner thoughts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of switching off the lights."

Lei Chenglei patted Wei Xiao on the shoulder in gratitude, "Thanks, brother."

Hearing all the compliments, Wei Xiao was a bit embarrassed, "Seems like my inner thoughts saved everyone."

Everyone then confirmed: Every night in this dormitory building, one's current deepest concerns would be revealed—except for the teachers.

But to Xie Yinxue, this might not be a good thing.

This feeling intensified especially when they were about to ascend the academic building.

"Another four floors to climb," Liu Yi murmured in pain, rubbing his legs. After being beaten yesterday, he dared not speak loudly anymore, anywhere.

Jiang Mo enviously commented, "I wish I had drawn a teacher's ID card too."

In this current scenario, it seemed everything favored the teachers: those with a teacher's ID wouldn't shrink, had unrestricted stamina, so climbing four floors wasn’t tiring at all, and they could stay on the first floor of the dormitory.

Many seemed to agree with Jiang Mo’s sentiments, casting envious glances at He Wei, Wu Yuehan, and Chen Yun. Xie Yinxue raised an eyebrow, "Are we envying them already?"

She initially thought such feelings would arise only during class, especially for participants who turned into students.

After all, nobody knew what kind of lessons awaited them in this school.

However, the consequences of violating school rules were clear. Nobody wanted to face the brutal punishment Liu Yi received from the mysterious Dean of Discipline. So despite exhaustion, they hurried to classroom 404 before the bell, collapsing to catch their breath once inside.

The teachers, seemingly unaffected by the exertion, focused on the chalkboard, frowning at words written in red chalk.

[Lead Instructor: Xie Yinxue

Assistant Instructors: Chen Yun, He Wei, Wu Yuehan]

Meanwhile, the broadcast echoed with the voice of the guiding NPC, "Is everyone in their classrooms? Now, today's lead instructor, please open the teaching plan on the podium and get ready to begin the lesson~"

Xie Yinxue had no choice but to step onto the podium and open the red-covered book laid out in front of her, examining its contents closely.

Wu Yuehan asked him, "How is it?"

"Only the first page has text," Xie Yinxue replied after a brief glance, lifting her gaze to meet Wu Yuehan's. "It says that before the class officially begins, the three assistant instructors must go to the cafeteria to retrieve today's teaching materials."

"Retrieve teaching materials?" He Wei paused upon hearing this, "Are you sure it's not 'ingredients'?"

But even "retrieving ingredients" didn't make sense. They were here for a lesson—what did that have to do with the cafeteria?

"No," Xie Yinxue gently urged the three, "Regardless, you must hurry. The lesson plan states that you must return before class starts, or it will be considered tardiness."

Without further ado, Chen Yun headed for the door, with Wu Yuehan quickly following.

"Damn, had I known, I wouldn't have overslept!"

He Wei paused for a split second, then, slapping his head in realization, dashed out of the classroom.

Though the school wasn't large, there was still some distance from the academic building to the cafeteria. When the trio reached the cafeteria entrance, both He Wei and Wu Yuehan were panting heavily. Only Chen Yun, who had undergone physical training in reality, seemed relatively composed.

However, neither He Wei nor Wu Yuehan noticed this detail, their attention completely seized by the sight inside the cafeteria—centipedes, scorpions, geckos, bloated toads, and brightly patterned, strange snakes writhing everywhere. Their collective movement was like a surging wave, so dense that it gave one goosebumps just looking.

Wu Yuehan shivered, murmuring, "...Is this the 'teaching material' we're supposed to retrieve?"

On the verge of tears, He Wei retorted, "What else could we possibly capture in the cafeteria?"

Conveniently, a large white container, half a person's height, was placed at the entrance, presumably for them to deposit the captured creatures.

"How many do we need to catch? Do we fill the container?" Wu Yuehan, suppressing her fear and disgust, carefully grabbed a less aggressive gecko and placed it in the container.

"I don't know," He Wei shook his head, "And aren't some of these creatures venomous? Is it safe for us to handle them without protection?"

They didn't want to end up poisoned before they could even return with the "teaching materials."

After surveying the cafeteria briefly, Chen Yun informed the duo, "We don’t need to catch them individually. Just sweep them into the container."

"Huh?"

Before Wu Yuehan and He Wei could react, Chen Yun had taken the container's lid, using it like a dustpan to swiftly sweep up the crawling creatures. In less than a minute, the container was full, and he secured the lid.

Stunned, He Wei remarked, "That works?"

"The scenario won’t give us an unsolvable problem, especially not at its onset," Chen Yun stated succinctly. "Class is about to start; let's quickly take the box back."

On hearing the words "class is about to start", both Wu Yuehan and He Wei put aside other concerns and, alongside Chen Yun, hastened to the academic building with the white box.

The trio had barely set foot in Classroom 404 when the class bell began ringing throughout the campus.

He Wei gazed wide-eyed at the white box, his eyes filled with the relief of a narrow escape. Had they actually tried to catch those creatures by hand, they might not have been poisoned, but they likely wouldn’t have made it back in time for class.

Inside Classroom 404, the participants turned students had already settled into their seats, guided by the name tags on the desk.

Seeing them return, Xie Yinxue approached the box, pressing on its lid as she asked, "Is this the teaching material?"

"Yes," Wu Yuehan stepped back a few paces, distancing herself from the box before cautioning Xie Yinxue, "Be careful."

Instead of opening the box directly with her hands, Xie Yinxue used the red lesson plan book to nudge the lid open.

Wu Yuehan's breath caught as she watched, yet instead of the feared insects and animals, the box contained neatly arranged covered tea cups.

Xie Yinxue lifted one, feeling something alive within, then turned to the three, questioning, "Is this what you retrieved from the cafeteria?"

Jin Xi, looking puzzled at the tea cup, remarked, "This thing can't move or run. Why did it need to be captured?"

Wu Yuehan and He Wei exchanged glances, their bewilderment no less than Jin Xi's. If not for witnessing Chen Yun sweeping countless toads, geckos, and scorpions into the box and never losing sight of it, they might've suspected a switch had occurred. How had the creatures turned into tea cups?

Finally, their gaze settled on Chen Yun, who had also visited the cafeteria. They saw her try and fail to open one of the tea cups.

"Can't open it?" He Wei inquired.

"Correct," Chen Yun confirmed gravely.

Observing this, Xie Yinxue once again consulted the red lesson plan book, which, unlike typical lesson plans, appeared more like a guidebook, continuously revealing instructions for their next move.

"The lesson plan has new text," he relayed to the group. "It says that once the assistant instructors distribute the teaching materials to every student, they should come up to the front for a classroom demonstration. Today's lesson topic is—"

Xie Yinxue halted mid-sentence.

Everyone else was left in suspense, unable to see the lesson plan's content, only witnessing Xie Yinxue's slightly widened eyes, as if he had come across something extraordinarily peculiar.

Pei Qingrong, who had remained silent until now, broke the quiet, "What is it?"

Lifting his eyebrows, Xie Yinxue simply uttered, "Eat."

Lei Chenglei remarked, "Seems pretty straightforward."

"Eat?"

Liu Yi, both famished and exhausted, would've collapsed onto his desk if not for the fear of violating the school rule against "inattentiveness during class." The mention of "eat" instantly invigorated him. Gazing at the tea cup He Wei placed on his desk, he inquired with a hint of anticipation, "So, we're supposed to eat what's inside this cup?"

As he spoke, he grasped the cup's lid, curious about its contents. Yet, like Chen Yun, he couldn't open it.

Sun Lingxi pondered and looked towards Chen Yun and the others on the podium, suggesting, "Perhaps we can only open it after the teachers' demonstration?"

"Exactly," Xie Yinxue nodded, "Each assistant instructor must demonstrate. The lead instructor is exempt. The demonstration is also today's class assignment."

Wu Yuehan, clutching the red lesson plan in her hands, paled dramatically, her voice trembling, "...So today's assignment is to eat what's inside the tea cups?"

"Precisely."

Xie Yinxue closed the red lesson plan, her gaze steady as she asked Wu Yuehan, "What exactly did you see as the teaching material in the cafeteria?"

Wu Yuehan remained silent, or rather, her fear had rendered her speechless.

Seeing Wu Yuehan's terrified expression, Xie Yinxue said nothing more. Just as she had done with the box earlier, she gently lifted the lid of the tea cup with the red lesson plan.

As the lid fell, a snake, patterned with red, darted its head out from the cup, flicking its black tongue menacingly.

Yun Meizhen has a particular fear of snakes. She exclaimed in panic, "There's a snake in there?!"

Chen Yun, being closest to the cup, also recoiled instinctively, taking a step back, while He Wei couldn't help but curse.

Only Xie Yinxue remained composed beside the cup, her gaze fixed on the remaining creatures inside: a toad, a gecko, a centipede, and a scorpion. She calmly stated, "It's not just a snake."

"What else is in there?" Zhang Caixia, after observing the instructors' reactions, wondered aloud, "Please don’t tell me there are cockroaches. I can’t stand things with too many legs."

Xie Yinxue pondered briefly, "Well, there aren’t any cockroaches."

Zhang Caixia sighed in relief, "That's good, then."

Her relief, however, was short-lived as Xie Yinxue continued, "But there are centipedes, which have more legs than cockroaches, and geckos, toads, and scorpions, which have fewer."

Zhang Caixia: "..."

Centipedes, geckos, scorpions, toads, and venomous snakes—traditionally considered the "Five Poisons" in folklore—were all now confined within this diminutive tea cup.

"Whoa, all five toxins combined?" Liubuhua immediately exclaimed in curiosity, holding up the teacup, "Are they refining a Gu (a kind of magic bug)?"

Even Xie Yin Xue felt somewhat relieved at this moment. Not only did she draw a teacher card, but she also became the lead lecturer today. Because assistant lecturers are required to do classroom demonstrations, which means... Chen Yun, Wu Yuehan, and He Wei have to consume what's inside the teacups in front of all the students.

"I won't eat it, I won't..." Wu Yuehan kept waving her hands and backing away, almost reaching the classroom door.

He Wei added, "Who would dare eat this stuff?"

Before the teachers could express their opinions, a student from the audience pushed the teacup forward, saying indifferently, "I'm not eating."

Xie Yin Xue looked up to find the speaker – it was Bu Jiuzhao. His face read, "Whoever wants it can have it." His defiant demeanor left her with no doubt that if this were a regular school, Bu Jiuzhao would be the most troublesome student for the teachers.

"But if we don't eat—" Pei Qingrong lifted his gaze from his teacup, looking at the lecturers, "We won't be able to open the lid."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuehan was taken aback, asking Pei Qingrong subconsciously, "Do you actually want to eat what's inside?"

"Who would want to?" Sun Lingxi sighed, "But if we don't eat, we won't complete the assignment and won't get a reward star."

He Wei argued, "We still have five days. Can't we earn five stars in the next five days?"

"Can you guarantee the tasks in the next five days will be easier? If you guys don't want to pass the challenge, I do." Zhang Caixia rolled her eyes at He Wei, "I'll eat. At least snakes have fewer legs than cockroaches. Or I could eat a gecko. Which teacher wants to demonstrate?"

No one on the podium responded.

Xie Yin Xue could choose not to eat. Wu Yuehan and He Wei didn't want to eat. Only Chen Yun remained silent, staring at the teacup, looking deep in thought.

Seeing this, He Wei incredulously asked, "You're not seriously considering eating it, are you?"

"Aren't you afraid of dying? There was a news report about someone who died after eating a gecko during a bizarre live broadcast," Wu Yuehan exclaimed, shocked. "The snake, centipede, and frog look poisonous."

"Then I'll eat the scorpion." Chen Yun glanced at Wu Yuehan, then looked at Zhang Caixia, "I'm scared of dying, which is why I must eat it—to pass the challenge."

With that, Chen Yun pressed the snake's head with the teacup lid to prevent it from biting, quickly pinched the scorpion's tail, removed its stinger, beheaded and declawed it, and then popped it into her mouth. After a few quick chews, she swallowed.

Her actions were smooth and swift, displaying determination and courage without a moment's hesitation.

Author's note:

Xie Lao: Great, I don’t have to eat. Will you?

NPC: I'm having a lemon.

Xie Lao: ?