Chapter 10: Station 21: The School Doctor

Chapter 10: Station 21: The School Doctor

She stood silently in the light, her dark eyes fixed upon them.

It was hard to tell if she was alive or dead just by her complexion, but overall, she seemed more human than the dorm supervisor who had appeared earlier that morning – at least, she looked like one.

Supporting herself on the door, she panted weakly.

Unsurprised by their presence, she closed the door behind her and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"I've been looking for you for so long... You're injured, huh... Apply some iodine again... Wounds need to be disinfected..."

This time, despite her speaking a different language, everyone grasped the meaning of her words.

She walked over to the medicine cabinet, selecting a bottle of ointment. Indeed, she retrieved iodine and even prepared a tray with tweezers and alcohol swabs.

"That child..."

As she unwrapped the plastic packaging, she muttered to herself:

"So reckless, perhaps I should've told the school back then... Or let her die on the hill, then none of this would have happened... But she looked so helpless at that moment... I couldn't just turn a blind eye."

"We're all guilty... But some don't deserve death... That child... If only they had never existed, if only I hadn't agreed back then..."

She approached with the tray, her pale face illuminated by the light.

"Who's in worse condition?"

Yan Qiling lifted his bandaged hand and replied,

"I am."

The female school medic put down the stainless steel tray. As her fingers grazed Yan Qiling's wrapped hand, the man's heterochromatic eyes suddenly flickered, and a flash of silver appeared before them!

From Ming Yiyang's sleeve, a silvery rope like a snake slithered out – it was the Spirit Binding Rope!

It wrapped around the medic's neck, lifting her right up to hang from the ceiling fan in the infirmary!

Everyone looked up in shock. Yan Qiling grabbed someone nearby and whispered urgently:

"Let's go!"

The female school doctor let out an otherworldly scream, as the flesh on her body transformed into thick, viscous ink that dripped down, melding into a mass of intertwined black mud.

Yao Kunrui was so frightened that he tumbled off the bed and scrambled out of the room in a panic.

Realizing the situation, the crowd scattered in all directions.

Human form melted into a viscous black fluid, gradually slipping from the restraints, endeavoring to recompose into a coherent shape.

Inky tendrils, resembling countless squirming appendages, shot out from the mire and adhered to the ceiling, rapidly spreading outward and utterly blocking out the light within the school infirmary.

The door was firmly latched by some object, making it impossible to open even without a lock!

Ming Yiyang extended his hand forward, and with an unknown gesture, the sealed door crumbled to the ground like a block of tofu, fragments of black mud vibrating gently from the impact.

Though wondrous indeed, at this moment, none harbor the inclination to delve into its mysteries.

The infirmary was in a separate building from the academic block. Yao Kunrui, running at the forefront, was so panicked that he didn't even realize his shoes had come off during their escape.

A grotesque creature, barely recognizable as human, muttered eerily from behind:

"Revenge... If I could consume souls... I could... avenge... the children..."

One by one, they rushed into Building One. The monster, once the female school nurse, failed to decelerate and immediately splattered against an invisible barrier like a burst blood bag!

Sliding down the thickened air, it retreated to a short distance away. It seemed unwilling to leave, lingering outside while emitting a hoarse whisper.

"That mother and daughter... They deserve to die... She, they... deserve to burn... Burn them... Burn..."

"Pay the price... Everyone must pay the price... Including... them..."

Si Shuhao panted, relieved to have survived the ordeal:

"Haa, it almost caught up with us... It looks somewhat like that 'teacher' who came yesterday..."

Ming Yiyang, still holding the school ID in his hand, had just begun to form a theory when Yan Qiling voiced out his thoughts:

"There might be two entirely different factions within this school."

Gently stroking the disordered Spirit Binding Rope, Yan Qiling observed the eerie presence lingering outside.

"Yesterday's 'Teacher' was one faction, and today's 'School Doctor' is another. Their relationship is clearly strained, or else it wouldn't have been unable to enter Building One."

Hu Gaoming took his own scatterbrained actions from the previous day as a lesson.

"But knowing this doesn't help us much. No matter how they relate, we're still just the main course on their plates."

"No, this can actually aid us," Yan Qiling smiled.

"In the Unseen Master's conflict, it's a zero-sum game – the victor takes all. So between them, it's a fight to the death. At times, eliminating each other might even take precedence over hunting outsiders."

Si Shuhao perked up.

"So what should we do? Is there anything that could provoke them against each other?"

Recalling the pencil in his pouch and the anomaly he noticed last night, he pondered deeply.

"I'm not sure. We need more clues."

With limited information, they could only temporarily return to Classroom 1130.

Yesterday's gruesome scene seemed like a nightmare. The classroom was spotless, not a single trace of the brown stains remained.

However, their seats were now occupied by the figures in black plastic hoods.

Recalling the corpses bisected by "the teacher," the newcomers couldn't help but turn pale.

Without hesitation, Ming Yiyang kicked the hooded figure off his seat.

This time, however, the hooded figure counterattacked!

He swiftly sidestepped, nudged it, and flipped it onto the ground. Then, with precision, he crushed the spinal column at the back of its neck.

The hooded figure convulsed on the floor, and he delivered another kick.

Ensuring that it couldn't rise, he repeated the process, clearing the other hooded figures for Si Shuhao.

Observing the stunned girl, he casually tapped the desk.

"Take a seat."

While others watched him eagerly, he calmly turned his gaze to Yan Qiling.

Despite the change in attire and the removal of his old-fashioned clothing, the man still exuded an unhurried composure.

Yan Qiling met his challenging stare with a light laugh.

The silver cord in his sleeve split into two, then four, swiftly encircling the masked person's throat.

With a deft touch, the masked individual was yanked away and slammed into the wall, collapsing to the ground, unable to rise again.

The onlookers expressed their gratitude.

Yan Qiling nonchalantly wiped the bench and table clean.

Just as he sat down, Si Shuhao quietly slipped a paper document from her embrace into his hands.

"Yan Qiling... I found two notebooks in the infirmary with Jin Shuen's name on them, but I couldn't quite understand the content."

In fact, when Ming Yiyang had arrived at the dormitory yesterday, he had supervised her to read the dorm rules. Fortunately, Yan Qiling had come to her rescue.

Nonetheless, this incident made it clear to everyone that she could read Korean.

Under Ming Yiyang's curious gaze, the young girl felt a little guilty and pretended not to notice.

Pushing aside her stray hair, Yan Qiling carefully flipped through the documents and began to explain:

"This one is the infirmary's medication record. Jin Shuen has visited several times for medications, including iodine, alcohol, bandages, and some topical ointments. She seems to get injured quite often and goes there weekly."

"The other notebook contains students' medical reports. Jin Shuen has congenital glaucoma, with a milky opacity in her cornea, exceeding 20 millimeters in diameter... Hmm?"

Pausing for a moment, he continued:

"However, her visual acuity tests have consistently shown 2.0, and there's no astigmatism recorded... The school doctor's note suggests that the patient might be using some form of cheating to pass the tests. The exact method of cheating is unclear, but they recommend psychological intervention."

"Ahh, I have a classmate who also has congenital glaucoma."

Hu Gaoming expressed his regret and surprise:

"That classmate was still visible in kindergarten, but due to the severe clouding of her eye, with a diameter over 15 millimeters, she couldn't see anything, so she transferred to a special education school."

"Jin Shuen's clouding is 20 millimeters, yet her vision is still 2.0? If I were a teacher, I'd also suspect there's something off about her."

Si Shuhao pondered, resting her chin on her hand:

"I'm wondering... could it be that Jin Shuen encountered school bullying because of this issue? The four names she circled are probably the bullies."

Su Bo was slightly puzzled:

"Would they then count as two factions? Judging from the current situation, it seems Jin Shuen has already taken her revenge... What role did the female school doctor play in this, an accomplice?"

Si Shuhao slowly shook her head:

"From what the female school doctor said, I feel like she helped Jin Shuen at some point, but Jin Shuen made some wrong choices."

"Didn't she mention 'avenging the children'? Jin Shuen is just one person, so she definitely doesn't fall under the category of 'children.' That leaves only the bullies who Jin Shuen has already taken revenge upon."

"It was clear from the roster that many students here share the surname Jiang, likely indicating a local clan's influence. The school nurse's signature also starts with the same character."

Hu Gaoming suddenly understood:

"So Jin Shuen took revenge by killing the classmates who bullied her. Then, those classmates' relatives developed a deep hatred for Jin Shuen, leading to an irreconcilable conflict between them! They both want to eliminate the other!"

Yao Kunrui, though lacking energy, joined the conversation unusually:

"But what's the point? Aren't they still unable to get rid of each other?"

Hu Gaoming glanced at him before turning to Yan Qiling:

"Shouldn't we create an opportunity for them to do just that?"

Yan Qiling smiled slightly:

"Very imaginative."

Receiving praise, the group was about to continue when the sudden sound of the bell signaled the start of class.

Bang, bang, bang!

The sound of classroom doors closing in succession echoed once more, and everyone subconsciously sat up straight.

A spine-tingling sticky whisper reverberated through the silent corridor.

A formless, black "teacher" appeared within the classroom.

Three names subsequently materialized on the blackboard.

Ming Yiyang: |

Yao Kunrui: ||

Yan Qiling: |

Yao Kunrui's face was deathly pale.

He had no idea how two bars suddenly appeared beside his name; yesterday, there wasn't even a mention of him!

Should he make just one more mistake, there was a high chance he would be eradicated by this world on the spot!

He knew it... He must be the target of some sort of vendetta...

The masked figure on the ground was dragged out of the classroom by the black tendrils.

The crimson liquid that seeped out as it moved resembled a haphazard drawing sketched with crimson crayons.

The bizarre creature in black buzzed with a cacophony of garbled noises. Its tone remained shrill and distorted:

"Hand over the answer before the end of class."

Its massive form shifted slowly, revealing the large chalk-written message on the blackboard.

This time, it was a message that everyone could understand.

Death.