[Player He Zhihan has unlocked the Scenario Truth.]
The System’s robotic voice grated through He Zhihan’s mind immediately.
He threw his head back with a heavy painful sigh, his grip staying firm around the little girl.
[This Scenario is constructed around a narrative. The NPC known as "The Teacher" was once an art teacher who abused the students under her care, including the child in your arms.]
[The child is not an ordinary NPC.]
[Classification: Lockdown.]
[Lockdown is a high-grade Dark Essence capable of overriding Nightmare Scenarios designed for complete Player extermination.]
He Zhihan’s dark eyes narrowed into thin slits.
He had known from the start that this had never been a simple game of hide-and-seek. It was a rigged trap designed purely to slaughter them. The rule had been straightforward: Don’t let the Teacher catch you.
But the school was no safe haven. The monster would inevitably sweep every floor, every closet, and every corner, hunting down every surviving player one by one.
It was all a calculated butcher’s shop.
He Zhihan had suspected something was wrong the second he laid eyes on the child. She was unconscious, holding a worn teddy bear was necessary to rouse her, and she was featured alongside the same Teacher in every single drawing scattered across the art classroom.
None of those details were meant to matter; they were hidden clues the game never expected players to uncover. This was supposed to be a standard Nightmare Scenario where everyone hid in terror until they were hunted down.
Except He Zhihan hadn’t wanted to hide.
He had wanted to kill the monster. And that obsession had inadvertently dragged the game’s secret out into the light.
His gaze shifted slowly toward the Teacher.
The monster that had just torn through Hao Qing’s chest now stood completely frozen and submissive.
In his arms, the little girl’s skin began to transform. A pitch-black corruption spread rapidly from beneath her collarbone, crawling across her tiny body like ink flooding paper. Her fingers elongated into sharp, black talons. Her jaw unhinged, stretching impossibly wide, while her hair rose from her shoulders as wild, writhing tendrils. An overwhelming aura of pure darkness bursted from her frame.
"It’s transforming! Hey!" Dali yelled and every survival instinct in He Zhihan’s body screamed in unison.
He hurled the child through the air.
Her transforming body flew directly to the Teacher. The second she collided with the Nightmare, the Teacher’s massive frame was instantly swallowed by a swirling mass of black liquid, countless tendrils wrapping around her limbs, tearing into her flesh, and dragging her into the abyss.
The Teacher thrashed, her screech cut short in her throat, but it was useless.
The Lockdown devoured her entirely until not even a speck of blood remained where she had stood.
He Zhihan’s cheek twitched. "That’s fucking disgusting."
Dali gasped. "What is that?"
The lockdown compressed itself, shrinking into a concentrated cloud of dark mist. It hovered in the air for a second before darting forward with blinding speed, slamming directly into He Zhihan’s chest.
"Huh?" His eyes widened. "Wait...!"
He Zhihan staggered backward, his hand instantly clamping over his heart as an icy weight settled into his torso. "Why the hell did it go into me?!"
Ding.
[Player He Zhihan has been granted the authority to inherit the Lockdown.]
"Inherit?" He Zhihan slapped his chest, his brows slowly drawing together. "What do I gain from inheriting it?"
[Current functions are sealed. As the host, Player He Zhihan may gradually unlock the Lockdown’s abilities through Scenario progression.]
He Zhihan’s eyes narrowed. "So I can’t even use it yet?"
[Correct.]
"Then why are you calling it a reward?"
[The value of a reward is not determined solely by its immediate usability.]
He Zhihan made a face. "That’s bullshit."
[Hidden Reward Unlocked.]
[Reward: +10,000 Points.]
He Zhihan’s eyes went completely blank. "Ouu?"
[Congratulations, Player He Zhihan.]
[You have successfully cleared your first Nightmare Scenario.]
[Scenario Exploration Progress: 100%.]
[Scenario Completion Reward: +100 Points.]
[Current Points: 10,130/100.]
He stared at the five-digit number hovering in front of him, genuine awe softening his blood smeared face. "Not bad."
He rubbed his chest again. Beneath his aching ribs, a cold, quiet darkness lay dormant, pulsing faintly in tandem with his heartbeat.
He Zhihan had a bad feeling about this.
But he chose to push it aside. If the Lockdown could give him the power to kill monsters like that, who was he to reject it?
He grabbed the blood-soaked white coat lying on the floor and walked over to Jun. Kneeling beside him, He Zhihan pressed two fingers firmly against the side of the boy’s neck.
"He’s still breathing." He shifted his gaze to Hao Qing’s corpse and squatted beside him, completely ignoring the fiery ache radiating through his battered back.
His bloodstained face twitched as a sharp pulse traveled down his spine, but his expression never broke. "May you rest in peace, Doctor."
There was no sorrow in his voice. His dark eyes remained completely empty.
"Now...." He placed both hands flat against his lower back and pushed his hips forward.
Crack!
A loud snap of realigning bone echoed through the classroom.
He Zhihan hissed through his teeth, a satisfied grin cutting through the dark blood on his face. "Ah... that’s much better."
"We’ve completed the Scenario." Dali watched him with a deeply complicated expression.
He Zhihan glanced at her. "Hmm?"
Dali had received her own System notification confirming the Scenario was cleared, alongside her share of the survival rewards. But the System had told her nothing about the Lockdown.
She had watched that writhing black mass devour the Teacher whole. She saw it hurl itself straight into He Zhihan’s chest...
"What was that thing?"
"Why would I tell you?"
Dali’s brows knitted together. "You aren’t a newbie, are you?"
He Zhihan didn’t answer.
"You’ve been pretending this entire time." Dali narrowed her eyes, stepping closer. "Why?"
He Zhihan simply turned his back on her. He reached down, grabbed Jun by the collar, and hauled the unconscious boy upright, hoisting one of Jun’s limp arms over his shoulder.
Jun’s head lolled uselessly against his neck.
"Hey."
No response.
He Zhihan clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Dead weight."
Before Dali could press him any further, a heavy mechanical hum vibrated through the floorboards.
Both of them turned.
A sleek, metallic door had materialized directly against the classroom wall where the children’s drawings had hung only minutes before.
Shhhk.
The two halves slid open, revealing the pristine interior of an elevator.
A glowing translucent panel floated directly above the frame.
[Scenario Complete.]
[All surviving Players will now be transferred to the Endgame Lobby.]
He Zhihan stared at the elevator for a second. Then, without a word, he dragged Jun’s dead weight straight across the threshold.
Dali lingered in the ruined classroom for a moment longer, looking back at the bloodied floor one last time, before turning on her heel and following him inside.