Chapter 3: Stop 21: The Classroom

Chapter 3 - Stop 21: The Classroom

All the classrooms had been wide open since they entered.

The room they were headed to, 1130, was situated in the inner recesses of the quadrangle building. Even those seated by the windows could only bask in meager daylight.

Given the gloomy weather outside, there was barely any light penetrating through at this moment.

Fortunately, six incandescent bulbs were striving to provide illumination.

Each table was labeled with a number. Si Shuhao continued the previous conversation, muttering:

"You were saying it's the humid southern weather, but there's no such thing in high latitude regions... Could it be a leak somewhere...?"

As she finished her sentence, the fluorescent light above her head flickered twice, startling her into immediately looking up in alarm.

Ming Yiyang paid no attention to this minor scare, simply nodding his chin at her, indicating that she should read the notice posted by the entrance:

"Go translate it for me. I can't understand it."

She turned her head and saw strings of Korean characters swirling in her mind like stick figures dancing, leaving her scalp numb.

"I can manage individual words, but I really can't make sense of this. I haven't studied it specifically..."

Ming Yiyang impatiently uttered a single word:

"Read."

Si Shuhao steeled herself and approached. Apart from recognizing that there were five rules written, the rest might as well have been written in an alien language.

Just as she was about to report her findings, she noticed Yan Qiling standing not too far behind her!

Startled, her body instinctively wanted to retreat, but the other person's breathtakingly beautiful face drew her in.

So, she took an odd step back, then another step forward, before shivering in embarrassment.

Yan Qiling: ?

Si Shuhao: Mom, I'm socially dead!

A brief moment of social embarrassment lingered in her heart, but Yan Qiling didn't seem to take it to heart. He only lowered his eyelashes slightly and gazed into her eyes.

"How was it?" he asked.

Si Shuhao found it impossible to give a casual response to that face. She stammered, "There... were five rules... they should be school regulations or something."

"Anything else?"

She felt as if she was defending her thesis, struggling for a while before admitting, "I... I don't understand them."

Yan Qiling chuckled softly.

Si Shuhao was captivated.

He was born with a natural pout, and when the corners of his lips curved downward slightly, they seemed to lift upward, giving him an effortlessly charming demeanor, even without a smile.

Now, he smiled softly, parting his lips slightly. His eyes brimmed with affection, revealing a hint of his pearly whites before they were quickly concealed behind his upper lip, transforming into a restrained, polite, and demure smile that hid his teeth.

Si Shuhao had never seen anyone smile like that. Her mind automatically applied a nostalgic filter, making him seem like a fairy from an '80s period drama.

Still in awe, she heard him speak in a hushed tone:

"The first rule is to sit according to your class number. If your number is correct, there's no need to give up your seat."

Dazed, Si Shuhao nodded before realizing what she was doing:

"You can read it?!"

Yan Qiling made a shushing sound:

"I've learned a bit. Don't tell them."

He lowered his voice further, adopting an even softer tone:

"The second rule is to enter the classroom before the bell rings for class."

Despite his ordinary tone, Si Shuhao felt as if she was hearing some forbidden words, her face involuntarily flushing and her heart pounding.

"There were three scrambled lines afterward that couldn't form any coherent sentences. Apart from that, there's no other content."

Si Shuhao sat down in her seat as if in a daze.

Ming Yiyang, who sat in front of her, noticed her absent-mindedness. He tapped the desk twice with his knuckles and asked,

"What did they say?"

"…Nothing much, actually. Oh, yes, the rules!"

Si Shuhao repeated the information she had received.

She didn't intentionally lower her voice, so everyone else in the spacious classroom could hear clearly.

Ming Yiyang narrowed his eyes in suspicion, looking at her with a half-smile,

"Didn't you say you couldn't understand?"

Si Shuhao mustered her courage and said,

"I suddenly understand it again."

Ming Yiyang didn't probe further. He glanced at Yan Qiling, who was seated next to him on his right.

There was definitely something odd about this person.

The bell signaling the start of class rang.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

One by one, all classroom doors slammed shut!

The consecutive slamming sounds made the newcomers involuntarily straighten their backs in alarm.

With effort, they suppressed their panic and looked outside.

Thick fog had somehow encroached upon the central courtyard, and the brightness outside the windows was visibly dimming at an alarming rate.

On the other side of the corridor was a solid wall, completely blocking any view.

The sound of footsteps echoed, growing closer.

It should have been the sound of many people walking.

But their steps were so uniform that each movement seemed to be the mechanical hum of a machine.

A figure with a black plastic bag over their head appeared at the classroom door.

Two, three, four...

All these individuals – or perhaps creatures – entering the room had their heads covered in black plastic bags.

They marched in perfectly aligned, even though they couldn't see, and precisely stopped at each desk, sitting down.

Only a few 'creatures' whose seats were occupied by the "outsiders" stood motionless in front of the desks, like immovable posts.

Then, from beneath the plastic bags, came a voice that was both masculine and feminine:

"..."

It was a language that was unfamiliar to everyone.

Hu Zhicheng turned to Si Shuhao for help.

"What are they talking about?"

Si Shuhao's face turned pale as she replied softly:

"They're saying, 'Get out of the way.'"

Despite the goosebumps rising on their skin, nobody intended to budge.

The figure in the black plastic bag trembled, emitting an increasingly eerie and haunting sound.

It seemed that they only remembered the phrase "get out of the way," repeating it like a broken tape recorder on a loop. The monotonous drone echoed dissonantly, creating a chaotic symphony.

Suo Bo, who was the most affected, clutched his cartoon shoulder bag tightly, almost burying his head under the desk.

She could detect a smoky, burnt aroma emanating from the plastic bag person, a bitter, charred scent heavy with foreboding.

Suddenly, the incessant clamor receded like retreating waves.

A sticky, slithering sound of something adhering to the walls echoed from the corridor.

The overhead incandescent bulb started to flicker.

Decayed claws pushed through a slightly ajar crack.

The bizarre width of the claw almost spanned half the door frame, its nimble "fingers" resting on the door panel one by one.

Suzhou covered her mouth to stifle a scream.

Shapeless blackness, like flowing mud, poured into the classroom, bringing with it a putrid stench.

It stood well over two meters tall and, as it rolled, nearly brushed against the ceiling. Tentacle-like appendages extended from what might have been its "head," gradually enveloping the light source at the front of the classroom.

The room was instantaneously plunged into darkness, resembling a temple without windows.

As it moved, the tentacles on its head wriggled along, occasionally dripping a dark, ink-like liquid that was both revolting and eerie.

It stepped onto the platform, its massive body completely blocking the blackboard.

No one saw it open its mouth; strictly speaking, no one knew where its facial features were located.

A resonant, hollow sound emerged from the flowing gelatinous mass, the distorted tone resembling a beast's roar.

Pshhht.

A gentle breeze brushed past, and the plastic bag figure standing in the aisle was sliced in half as if struck by an invisible blade.

The severed abdomen spewed out thick blood, splattering like a geyser of crimson flowers.

Internals tumbled to the ground, and Yao Kunrui, whose clothes were now drenched in blood, retched loudly.

The others weren't faring much better.

Only two outliers, hidden within the crowd, behaved differently from the rest.

Yan Qiling swiftly unfurled his white paper fan.

The timely opening of the fan saved his hair and face from harm, but his clothes were still inevitably stained with bits of organs and splattered blood droplets.

Pulling out a tissue from his silk pouch, he meticulously wiped away any removable dirt.

Ming Yiyang, on the other hand, used the tip of his foot to flip over the collapsed body, reaching into every pocket he could find.

His search proved fruitless.

With his bloodied fingers now crimson red, he casually flicked them off. Glancing up, he found Yan Qiling silently observing him.

What? !

Feeling as if he was being silently reprimanded, he shot back a fierce glare.

Yan Qiling tossed him a tissue without another glance.

The grotesque, unrecognizable creature continued to emit its chillingly distorted voice.

Strangely enough, everyone seemed to comprehend its words this time.

"Hand in your answers before the end of class."

The massive form shifted toward the door, revealing large chalk-written characters on the blackboard.

Si Shuhao quickly poked Ming Yiyang's back and whispered the translation:

"The question is 'Who is she?', referring to the female pronoun."

Ming Yiyang opened his mouth to ask:

"Teacher, is there any hint for this 'she'?"

The peculiar creature ceased its movement. A swollen bulge suddenly emerged from its flowing skin, resembling an angry fish trapped within a viscous body, struggling to break free.

After a few frenzied seconds, the bulge came to an abrupt halt directly in front of them, rupturing to reveal a gigantic eye!

The eyeball was as large as a tennis ball, with an abundance of sclera and a tiny, pinpoint pupil, resembling a thumbnail displayed on a white porcelain plate.

Fine, bulging blood vessels danced vigorously across the white area, exuding a nauseating vitality.

This eyeball fixated intensely on Ming Yiyang, and a distorted voice echoed unnaturally:

"A student must raise their hand to speak."

Suddenly, bloody characters appeared on the left side of the blackboard—it was Ming Yiyang's name, followed by a vertical line: |

Detention? Ming Yiyang arched his eyebrows slightly, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

The fact that he wasn't immediately killed meant he could still make mistakes.

Yan Qiling, sitting next to him, raised his hand,

"Is 'she' here?"

The eyeball slowly swiveled towards Yan Qiling, examining him for a long time, so long that the newcomers' held breaths began to waver.

"Present."

The grotesque, enormous entity slithered away, leaving behind charred, dark marks on the ground. Large droplets of water with an odd smell emerged from it, quickly dampening the floor.

The metallic classroom door slammed shut with a thud.

With her hand over her nose and mouth, Si Shuhao nearly fainted from the overwhelming stench of mold:

"…Does this teacher have a nickname like 'Spring South' or something? It's so stinky!"

Ming Yiyang nonchalantly stepped over the dismembered limbs and went straight to the lectern to search for items.

The sticky dragging sound faded away down the corridor.

Yao Kunrui, covered in blood, darted to the door like a monkey, his face contorted in despair as he tugged at the handle:

"Hell no, I'm not staying in this damn place! Let me out! Is anyone there? Let me out!"

He quickly became neurotic, turning to look at the others.

"This is an escape room, right? I surrender... Let me out, or I'll file a complaint against you! Stop acting! I want to leave!"

Hu Gaoming gave him a baffled glance but ignored him.

Huddled by the door, he muttered to himself,

"I'm dreaming, I must be dreaming..."

Suddenly, he started pounding on his chest and head.

"Wake up! Wake up! I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming!"

Although everyone was indifferent to his madness, the echoing thuds of his kicks on the door made them feel as if they were trapped in a sealed metal barrel, struggling to catch their breath.

If they had previously lacked a clear understanding of the concept of "dying here," the sprawled bodies on the ground and the thick, lingering scent of blood now drove home the gravity of the situation.

Yan Qiling stepped back in front of the school rules and noticed that the third and fourth rules had returned to normal.

III: Please raise your hand to speak in class.

IV: Each person is allowed three mistakes.

Ming Yiyang retrieved a booklet from the lectern and handed it to Si Shuhao.

"Translate."