The cicadas of summer buzzed incessantly, as if performing a grand symphony, while a gentle breeze occasionally swept by, bringing a touch of coolness.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, scattering across the ground to form patches of mottled light and shadow, resembling a beautiful painting.
Lin Chubai’s eyes trembled slightly, his thick and slender eyelashes fluttering like willow branches swayed by a breeze.
After a moment, he finally opened his eyes slowly, though his vision was blurred.
His head felt as though it had been heavily struck by a hammer, extremely groggy, and the whole world was spinning.
He quickly closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to steady himself. After several seconds, the dizzying sensation slowly subsided.
Just as he regained a bit of sobriety, a crisp notification sound suddenly rang in his ear.
Dingdong! Congratulations to the player for leaving the novice village. The upcoming games will be even more fun and exciting!
Countdown: 30 days
Stage One: Disciples’ Guild
Please get ready, players!
A wave of speechlessness surged in Lin Chubai’s heart: What the hell does “please get ready” mean!
Finding himself lying in bed tucked under a quilt, with even his wounds carefully bandaged, and seeing Song Siyun miserably slumped over the desk with a question mark on his face, he was bewildered.
Hearing the long, steady breathing disappear, Ye Zhou shifted slightly: “Awake?”
The boy no longer wore the robe from the game; a loose school uniform hung over his slender waist as he sat upright at the desk, giving off an impression of strict family discipline and fine breeding.
Turning around, he perfectly revealed his jawline, with his slightly long hair covering his brows and eyes, making his expression difficult to read.
“Mhm.” Lin Chubai slowly sat up and rubbed his aching temples. “When did you wake up?”
“Half an hour ago.” Hearing Ye Zhou’s reply, Lin Chubai continued, “Did you carry me to the bed?”
Ye Zhou did not answer, merely gazing at him quietly as if his eyes held emotions difficult to decipher.
The two stared at each other for a long time without a word, until Lin Chubai finally felt a bit awkward, turned his face away toward the window, and muttered: “Thank you.”
Suddenly, an advertisement that usually only appeared on sketchy websites popped into Lin Chubai’s mind.
Take a gamble, and a bicycle turns into a motorcycle! No need for 2999, no need for 1999, just 999! For only 999, you can enter the Dream Casino: Amusement Park! Getting rich overnight is no longer a dream! Click the lower-left corner to learn game details and register!
PS: Includes a million-point prize pool, S-grade props, and S-grade skills!
What do you think this is, selling cold medicine?
Ignoring the cliché advertisement, he pulled himself together and spent 500 points to draw a skill card.
With no combat skills, he refused to encounter things like the village chief and the crows again, left entirely powerless and forced to scurry around frantically like a rat.
Through a flashy, cheap-looking five-cent special effect, the skill card Mutual Understanding was freshly minted.
C-Grade Mutual Understanding (Level 1): Mind-reading skill. When in contact with players or NPCs, it can read character skills and information.
Restriction: Usable once per day, resetting daily at midnight.
Level 2 Effect: Triggers the mind-reading skill within a 30-centimeter radius (limited to one person).
Well, though, it was not completely useless. Ha, haha.
He no longer pinned his hopes on that bandit-like gacha system; after all, vines could also strangle people, right? Time to upgrade!
Watching Lin Chubai’s speechlessness instantly transform into a trace of suppressed shock within the blink of an eye, Ye Zhou asked: “What is wrong?”
“Nothing,” Lin Chubai replied through clenched teeth.
What a brain-dead game! Upgrading to Level 2 cost 300 points, and Level 3 cost 400 points. It was as greedy as a school tuck shop. Why not just rob someone!
He spent another 300 points to upgrade Mutual Understanding, bought out the rest of the novice pack, and exited the game panel. If he stayed in any longer, he would probably die of anger.
In the end, he kept 1,800 points for daily meals and emergencies.
Boom! Rumble! The sound of breaking walls suddenly erupted outside, shocking Song Siyun out of his dreamland and making the other two spring to their feet.
A commotion broke out outside the door with shouts and arguments, accompanied by the occasional sound of people using skills.
Before anyone could recover, a violent explosion downstairs shook the entire dormitory building. The noise outside instantly ceased, and the air returned to silence. Gradually, they felt the space they occupied begin to tilt.
The building was collapsing!
Without a second thought, Ye Zhou grabbed Lin Chubai and flew outward. Even a sleep-dazed Song Siyun knew to hug a VIP gold-plated thigh, launching himself forward to cling to Ye Zhou’s leg.
The collapsing dormitory building toppled like dominoes, flattening the neighboring teaching building and comprehensive building one after another. Even if it temporarily paused, new dominoes would begin to fall.
“Please take me to West Road Elementary School. Thank you.” Remembering something, Lin Chubai leaned close to Ye Zhou’s ear, speaking in an unquestionable tone.
Before long, an increasing number of people with flight abilities hovered in the air. Some had bat wings, some had pig ears, and some even propelled themselves upward by releasing gas from behind.
Truly, the world is full of wonders.
Watching the buildings representing human civilization collapse into ruins one by one beneath them, they could not help feeling a sense of sorrow.
Fortunately, the elementary school area was relatively safe for the time being. The surrounding houses had their doors and windows tightly shut, and all kinds of people scurried about in hiding on the streets. Some were in groups, some alone. Even if they accidentally crossed paths with others, they would dart away abruptly like frightened birds.
The three wandered around the small garden in the center of the elementary school teaching building, waiting for the person they hoped to see to appear in their field of vision.
After circling at least three times, the person they wanted to find still failed to appear, and Song Siyun could not help growing a bit anxious: “Did you see them?”
With a somewhat gloomy expression, Lin Chubai’s usual gentle and cultured mask vanished. He slowly shook his head, pointed toward a classroom on the fourth floor, and said to Ye Zhou: “Go over there.”
Ye Zhou looked in the direction he pointed, where four striking characters pasted on the classroom door, Class 1, Grade 6, came into view.
The campus, which should have been filled with laughter and chatter, was as dead as a grave at that moment. The three figures standing at the classroom door peered inside.
Over half of the students in the class were slumped over their desks like a normal lunch break. The only difference was that each of them had a black triangle mark on their temples.
As for the remaining students who were not slumped over, they all stared blankly at the podium with reddened eyes. Upon closer inspection, their arms bore more or less fine knife cuts.
Looking toward the podium, a young teacher could vaguely be seen lying on the floor covered in knife wounds, dead with eyes wide open.
Only one little girl appeared out of place. She had neither knife wounds nor tears, and her expression was calm as she picked at her fingernails.
“Nanzhi.”
Hearing a familiar voice call her name, the little girl was slightly surprised. The moment she turned her head and saw Lin Chubai, she looked as though she had just awakened from a dream, her eye sockets turning slightly red as she took on a childlike appearance once more.
Yet she did not immediately run toward Lin Chubai. Instead, she turned and patted her deskmate, who was still sobbing behind covered hands, whispering softly: “Ruan Ling, it is over.”
“How could they do this? How?” Ruan Ling remained lost in the game just concluded, unable to extricate herself.
The three of them stepped inside. Lin Chubai, standing at the front, spoke up: “No. 6 Middle School is already in chaos. Let us leave first.”
Before he could finish his sentence, as if to confirm his guess, a disgusting tentacle burst through the window, tightly wrapping around a little boy sitting by the window in a daze and dragging him outward.
More tentacles pierced into different classrooms, dragging children down without exception, while crazed laughter echoed from time to time: “Die! They are all mine! Mine!”