In the meantime, Hao Qing and Dali crept through the dim corridors, guided only by the intermittent flicker of overhead lights.
They passed another hallway reeking of iron and decay. Half-eaten bodies lay scattered meters apart, each pooling in dark, drying blood. Crimson streaks painted the walls, silent evidence of desperate struggles that had ended in brutal failure.
Hao Qing forced himself to keep walking. He was a doctor. Death was familiar to him.
But this wasn’t medicine.... This was slaughter.
"Doctor." A tap on his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts.
Dali looked at him, her tone even. "Are you listening?"
Hao Qing blinked, rubbing his temples. "...Sorry. No."
She didn’t seem annoyed. If anything, she looked unnervingly calm given the gore around them.
"I said we’re close," she said, pointing farther down the corridor. "There aren’t any bodies past this point. Just..." She bent down, picking up a canvas shoe.
Hao Qing noticed another pair lying a few steps away.
Dali tossed the shoe aside. "Don’t you think it’s strange?" she asked quietly. "We haven’t run into the Teacher."
Hao Qing glanced around the empty hallway, the shadows stretching far too long. "...I was thinking the same thing."
They continued forward, Dali leading with silent steps.
"That psycho was right," she muttered. "This Scenario is more than just hide-and-seek." She let out a short, humorless laugh. "A murderer like him... he belongs in a place like this."
Hao Qing remained silent for a long moment, watching the bloodied floor. "...I thought so too," he admitted quietly. "But... he shoved his fingers into that thing’s eyes to save me."
Dali stopped walking and turned to look at him as if he’d said something utterly absurd.
"You’re surprisingly naive for a doctor," she said flatly. "In the Endgame, people like you die first."
Hao Qing frowned, but he didn’t argue.
The first classroom finally came into view ahead, its door hanging off one hinge. Inside, overturned desks and chairs littered the floor. The bodies of the initial victims remained exactly where they’d fallen when the scenario began.
Oddly, the blackboard at the front of the room was completely blank.
The rules written in chalk at the start... had been erased.
Cold sweat trickled down Hao Qing’s temple.
Then his eyes landed near the back wall. A worn stuffed bear lay beside a pool of blood, one of its ears soaked dark crimson. He hurried over, kneeling to scoop it up, and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"I found it."
"Good." Dali straightened from where she’d been examining one of the corpses. "Let’s..."
Click.
Every light in the classroom went out, plunging them into darkness.
Bang!
The classroom door slammed shut.
Hao Qing instinctively tightened his grip on the stuffed bear when a freezing, rancid breath washed over the back of his neck.
Every muscle in his body locked.
The stench of rotting flesh flooded his lungs, making his stomach turn as every hair on his body stood on end. The Teacher was standing directly behind him. Cold sweat poured down his spine, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird while panic devoured every coherent thought.
"Doctor." Dali’s whispered voice cut through the darkness. "Get down."
"W-What?" The word barely scraped past his throat.
A deafening screech exploded right behind his ear, vibrating straight into his bones.
"You’re useless." Dali muttered, raw annoyance lacing her tone.
The classroom lights blazed back to life.
Hao Qing’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. The Teacher loomed directly over him, her jaw unhinged into a grotesque maw, rows of jagged teeth hovering inches from his skull.
Across the room, Dali stood with one arm thrust forward, a pale glow swirling around her hand. Wisps of blinding energy twisted into a tight, dense sphere before erupting.
Boom!
"Down!" She barked.
Hao Qing slammed onto the floor. The beam tore over his head, heating the air so intensely it singed the fine hairs on his skin.
The Teacher shrieked, springing backward with unnatural agility. The blast swept past her, slamming into a row of overturned desks, vaporizing wood and metal instantly before carving a smoking crater into the concrete floor.
Dust billowed into the air as the Teacher let out another enraged screech. Yet, ignoring Dali completely, the monster lunged straight for Hao Qing.
"Move!" Dali yelled.
Hao Qing scrambled to his feet and bolted. He threw his full weight into a kick against the entrance, shattering the already-broken hinges and sending the door flying into the corridor.
He burst into the hallway, feet flying over the blood-slicked tile. Behind him, the Teacher gave chase without a second of hesitation, her elongated limbs tearing through the air.
In the classroom, Dali paused for a single breath, the radiant aura on her palm fading back into skin.
"...It’s not after him." She recalled the worn, blood-soaked bear clutched tightly against Hao Qing’s chest. "It’s after the toy."
Without another word, she sprinted into the corridor after them.
★^★
"Gum?" He Zhihan held out the crumpled pack toward Jun.
Jun, who had been pacing the classroom and muttering under his breath the entire time, froze. "...Huh?"
He Zhihan stared back at him as if he were the strange one. Casually, he blew a pale pink bubble that expanded until it popped loudly, drawing it back between his teeth with a soft click of his tongue.
"...Sure." Jun walked over, his steps hesitant.
He Zhihan tossed him the entire pack.
Jun pulled out two pieces and began chewing awkwardly, watching as He Zhihan turned back to the floor. The children’s drawings were spread out around him like evidence across a crime scene table.
"...Do you think they’re dead?" Jun asked quietly.
Without looking up, He Zhihan lifted another drawing of the teacher and the little green dress girl far from a family of four. "If they aren’t back within ten minutes," he said flatly, "I’ll assume they’re dead." He set the paper aside. "Then I’ll go retrieve the bear myself."
Jun stared at him, his knuckles white. "...How are you so calm?"
He Zhihan’s fingers drifted over a crude drawing of a bright yellow sun. "I’m not calm." His tone was unnervingly matter-of-fact. "Everything about this place is fucking terrifying." He glanced up, his dark eyes locking onto Jun. "So why would I be calm?"
Jun hesitated, lowering his gaze. "...You’re wearing a prison uniform."
"You said... you’re a murderer."
"I like being transparent." The answer was offered so casually it sounded polite.
Jun swallowed hard, his throat dry. "...Were you serving a life..."
Before he could finish, He Zhihan slowly turned his head.
Every trace of warmth vanished from his expression. What remained was a bottomless darkness devoid of emotion.
"Kid." His voice dropped to a low whisper. "Don’t ask questions whose answers you aren’t prepared to hear."
Jun’s face drained of color. "...Sorry."
He Zhihan simply turned back to the drawings when a distant screech tore through the corridor followed by running footsteps.
Jun stiffened, his head snapping toward the hallway. "...They’re coming."
Another screech exploded through the air, vibrating the dust off the ceiling tiles. Closer.
Jun’s breathing turned ragged. "Are... are they bringing the monster here?"
He Zhihan stood up. Without a word, he crossed the room, picked up Hao Qing’s white coat, and draped it completely over the unconscious little girl, shielding her from sight.
The frantic footfalls grew louder. Thundering down the hall.
Closer.
Closer....
Bang!
The classroom door slammed open, splintering against the frame.
"I-I found it!" Hao Qing stumbled inside. Without slowing down, he hurled the stuffed bear across the room.
He Zhihan caught it cleanly, the worn fabric cold in his palm.
For a single heartbeat... the universe suspended itself in total silence
Then, Rip!
An unnaturally long, grey arm burst straight through the center of Hao Qing’s chest.
Jun let out a high-pitched scream.
Hao Qing’s entire body jerked. His eyes widened, pupils straining as they slowly shifted toward He Zhihan. His lips trembled, working against the crimson spilling over his teeth, desperate to push out one final breath.
"Don’t... let her..."
The light in his eyes flickered, dimmed, and went out.
His head sagged forward.
With a wet, sickening tear, the Teacher’s arm ripped backward out of his sternum. Hao Qing’s body crumpled to the floor, collapsing into a lifeless heap.
Dead.
He Zhihan didn’t flinch.
One hand remained clamped around the bloody stuffed bear. His dark, unblinking eyes stayed locked onto the doctor’s corpse.
And directly behind it... The Teacher smiled.