[Player He Zhihan should abide by the rules.] The voice responded coldly.
He Zhihan merely frowned. "The rule never said I couldn’t kill it."
He pushed himself to his feet, hauling the trembling boy up by his collar.
Thud!
A decapitated corpse slammed onto the desk they had just been crouching behind, painting the floor in a hot spray of crimson.
The boy screamed.
In the center of the room, the Teacher’s head snapped a full hundred and eighty degrees toward the sound, a grotesque grin spreading across its face. "There you are."
"It’s open!" the doctor shouted.
The back door of the classroom had somehow been forced open. Carrying the little girl in his arms, the doctor bolted into the hallway without looking back.
The remaining fourteen survivors scattered in blind, hysterical panic. He Zhihan dragged the deadweight boy along, following the fleeing crowd into the dimly lit corridor.
Behind them, a piercing, inhuman screech tore from the Teacher’s throat, vibrating through the building.
Panic divided them instantly. Shadows split down diverging hallways, desperately hunting for any unlocked door. Within seconds, the group had thinned until only He Zhihan, the boy, and the frantic doctor remained in the same corridor.
Despite carrying the unconscious girl, the doctor was surprisingly fast.
"Run faster," He Zhihan released the boy’s collar, letting him run on his own momentum as the rhythmic, terrifying echo of footsteps pursued them from the dark.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He Zhihan’s eyes swept the ceiling as they rounded a sharp corner.
He abruptly skidded to a halt. Right above them hung a heavy iron ventilation grate against the wall.
"Wait." He reached out and snatched the boy by the scruff of his neck like a stray kitten.
The doctor skidded to a stop a few paces ahead, turning back with wild, bloodshot eyes. "Why did you stop? We need to hide!"
He Zhihan tuned him out entirely. He calmly rolled a stale piece of mint gum across his tongue.
"Six hours..." he murmured under his breath. "And we’ve barely started."
His dark gaze dropped down to the trembling boy shivering in his grip. "Hey."
"W-What?"
"How old are you?"
"...E-Eighteen."
He looked younger. He was scrawny, narrow-shouldered, and small enough to squeeze into the tight blind spots that an adult’s frame would never clear.
He Zhihan tilted his chin up, pointing a single finger toward the ceiling. "Can you pop that vent open?"
The boy paled.
The doctor stared at He Zhihan as if he had lost his mind, clutching the unconscious girl tightly against his chest. "Are you insane?! That thing just ripped someone’s head off! Don’t tell me you’re planning to use him as bait!"
Ignoring him completely, He Zhihan grabbed the boy by the collar and gave him a firm tug, forcing him onto his tiptoes and away from the doctor’s protective gaze.
"I asked you a question," he said calmly. "Can you open that vent, or do I need to throw you up there and let your head break it? We’re in a hurry."
He stopped mid-sentence as a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the hallway. It ended abruptly.
The boy’s face turned deathly pale before he nodded frantically. "...I can."
He Zhihan ruffled his hair once. "Good."
Crouching down, he let the boy climb onto his shoulders. The boy stretched both arms up and slid the ventilation cover aside with a metallic scrape.
The doctor finally approached them.
"Now," He Zhihan said quietly, "lift it slowly from the edges. If you let it fall..." He glanced down the dark corridor. "...we die."
The boy gritted his teeth, his face flushing red as he struggled with the heavy metal grate.
"You could’ve just asked me," the doctor muttered, stepping closer. "It looks heavy."
He Zhihan glanced at the unconscious girl in the doctor’s arms. She couldn’t have been older than twelve. What was a child doing in a game like this? The thought flickered through his mind before disappearing just as quickly. It wasn’t his problem.
The boy finally managed to pry the vent free. He Zhihan lifted him high enough for him to crawl inside.
Once he was safely in, the boy carefully lowered the heavy grate back down with a grunt. He Zhihan caught it with both hands.
Without waiting, the doctor lifted the unconscious girl toward the opening. The boy’s eyes widened in panic, but he still grabbed her arms and pulled her into the ventilation shaft.
The doctor let out a relieved breath before turning to He Zhihan expectantly.
He Zhihan looked back. "...What?"
The doctor blinked. "Aren’t... aren’t we hiding in there until the six hours are over?"
"No."
He Zhihan shifted the heavy iron grate onto one shoulder. Its weight tugged at his prison uniform, exposing part of the black dragon tattoo winding across his neck.
"I only wanted this." He hefted the thick slab of metal in one hand, testing its weight like a club.
The doctor stared at him like he was a lunatic. "...Why would you..."
He stopped abruptly as frantic footsteps echoed down the hallway.
A man and a woman came sprinting around the corner. Their eyes were bloodshot, their clothes soaked in blood. They didn’t even glance at He Zhihan or the doctor as they rushed past, too consumed by terror to notice anyone else. They were being chased.
The Teacher appeared a second later. Her elongated neck stretched unnaturally around the corner before the rest of her body followed, her grotesque smile widening as she pursued her prey.
The doctor’s expression changed instantly. "Shit."
He slammed both palms against the wall. A crimson glow spread across his hands, seeping through his scrubs. The next second, he began running straight up the wall like a gecko.
"Hey, kid!" he shouted toward the vent. "Take the little girl and keep crawling! Don’t stop!"
He was about to call for He Zhihan as well, but then he caught sight of him.
He Zhihan wasn’t retreating. He was charging toward the Teacher.
The heavy iron grate rested on one shoulder, his fingers tightening around its edge.
"Children shouldn’t run in the hallway." The Teacher’s smile widened.
He Zhihan smiled back. Without slowing down, he swung the grate with every ounce of strength he had.
Bang!
The iron slammed directly into the Teacher’s head.