Hao Qing hurried toward the door and shoved the table aside. Before he could pull it open, He Zhihan was already behind him, one hand holding the second table steady.
"Please!"
The frantic pounding grew louder. Together, they pulled the barricade aside just enough to open the door.
A woman stumbled inside. She nearly collapsed onto the floor, trembling violently. Without a word, Hao Qing and He Zhihan shoved the tables back into place, sealing the entrance once more.
Just then, He Zhihan raised a finger to his lips. "Shh."
There was movement outside the narrow window in the classroom door. Everyone immediately fell silent.
Even the trembling woman crawled toward the wall, covering her mouth with both hands. Hao Qing slowly crouched beside the desks. No one dared breathe too loudly. No one dared move.
The Teacher had returned. Her neck stretched unnaturally down the hallway. Her head was caved in from He Zhihan’s attack, black blood dripping from the cracked skull. She looked even more horrifying.
Her voice emerged in broken, distorted bursts.
"CHILDREN..."
"WHERE..."
"ARE..."
"YOU?"
"COME OUT."
"COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE."
The only sound was everyone’s restrained breathing.
The Teacher slowly passed the classroom. Her footsteps faded into the distance.
No one moved. Not for another full minute. Finally, the woman exhaled shakily and pushed herself to her feet. "...I’m sorry." She hugged herself tightly. "I almost got you all killed."
Tears welled in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "No. Panic won’t help. I have to calm down. I have to think. Breathe... breathe..." She repeated the word to herself several times until her breathing steadied.
Only then did she look at everyone. "My name is Dali. I’m an experienced player." She bowed slightly. "...Thank you for saving my life."
"I’m Hao Qing." The doctor smiled politely and pointed toward the tattooed man wandering back toward the children’s drawings. "He’s a newbie."
"I’m... also a newbie." Jun raised his hand timidly.
Dali’s eyes suddenly widened. "...Is that a child?" She stared at the unconscious little girl.
Hao Qing immediately waved both hands. "She’s human. I checked. I promise."
He Zhihan let out a quiet snort without even turning around. "...I promise you. She’s not."
"I’m a doctor," Hao Qing began. "And I’ve been in the Endgame longer than you...."
Boom!
The classroom door exploded inward.
The tables barricading it were hurled aside as the Teacher stepped through the shattered entrance. "There you are."
Her distorted screech echoed through the classroom.
Dali screamed.
The Teacher’s elongated arm shot forward, wrapping around Hao Qing’s waist before violently yanking him toward her gaping mouth.
"Doctor!" Jun cried.
He Zhihan moved. In a single burst of speed, he slipped beneath the Teacher’s whipping arms and drove his fingers straight into her eyes.
The Teacher shrieked. Her grip on Hao Qing loosened just enough for the doctor to tumble free.
He Zhihan didn’t stop. He forced the monster backward, slamming it onto the classroom floor. Instantly, one of its grotesquely long arms coiled around his body like a serpent, tightening until the air was forced from his lungs.
Yet He Zhihan only shoved his fingers deeper into its eye sockets. The monster’s rancid breath washed over his face as its enormous jaws opened wide enough to swallow his head.
His nose wrinkled in disgust. "...Your breath is fucking awful."
"We have to go!" Dali shouted and sprinted out of the classroom without looking back.
Jun hesitated only a second before scooping up the unconscious little girl and chasing after her.
Hao Qing struggled to his feet. He looked toward the door, then back at He Zhihan.
The Teacher screeched, and He Zhihan answered with loud, unhinged laughter. For a split second, Hao Qing genuinely couldn’t tell which one was the monster.
The Teacher suddenly roared and hurled He Zhihan across the room. He crashed into the wall of children’s drawings. The colorful paintings fluttered to the floor as he hit the ground hard.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His black hair hung messily over his eyes, streaked with black blood from the monster. He spat to the side and pushed himself onto one knee.
"Go, Doctor!"
Hao Qing clenched his fists, then he turned and ran.
A second later, He Zhihan was right behind him. The two of them sprinted down the hallway as thunderous footsteps gave chase.
The Teacher’s voice twisted into an inhuman shriek behind them. "DO NOT RUN, CHILDREN! COME BACK! RIGHT NOW!"
"Where are we going to hide?" Genuine panic crept into Hao Qing’s voice. After surviving so many Scenarios... was this really where he was going to die?
He Zhihan didn’t answer. He was too busy running. His back throbbed from being thrown into the wall, every breath sending a dull ache through his torso, but the adrenaline flooding his veins drowned out the pain.
They rounded another corner and were met with corpses. Half-eaten corpses littered the hallway, their blood pooling across the floor in dark mixtures of black and crimson.
"Don’t step in the blood," He Zhihan said immediately.
Hao Qing looked down. The floor was covered in bare footprints and shoe prints, stretching off in every direction.
"If we leave footprints, we leave a trail," He Zhihan added.
Hao Qing immediately adjusted his footing.
"How much time is left?" He Zhihan muttered.
[Time Remaining: 5 Hours 19 Minutes.]
The corner of his eye twitched. "...You’ve got to be kidding me." He looked up at the ceiling. "It hasn’t even been an hour?!"
The voice ignored him.
"RUNNING ISN’T PART OF THE GAME, CHILDREN!" The Teacher’s distorted voice rang through the corridor, far closer than before.
He Zhihan frowned. "Whoever designed this game is a cheating bastard."
As they rounded another corner, an office came into view. Without hesitation, He Zhihan shoved the door open. "Inside."
The two of them slipped in, and the door clicked shut. He Zhihan locked it instantly before pulling the blinds over the windows.
Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke.
Outside... Tap. Tap. Tap.
The Teacher’s footsteps slowed directly outside the office. Then her voice drifted through the door. "...Are we having fun, children?"
Neither of them answered.
The footsteps lingered for several agonizing seconds before they slowly faded away.
Only after the sound disappeared completely did Hao Qing dare breathe. He slid down into the corner of the office, pressing the back of his head against the wall, his hands trembling. They were doomed.
Across the room, He Zhihan remained standing against the wall. His eyes swept across every shelf, every desk, every cabinet, looking for something heavy enough to kill the Teacher with.