From the very first moment she saw the diary, Guan Si had felt that Xiao Yu’s words were incongruous.
She had written:
[She wants to kill me, why?]
[I want to go out with Xiao Yan, there are still so many things we haven’t done.]
[I want to live, to live together with her.]
This already surpassed ordinary friendship, and what made Guan Si even more suspicious was that the states and emotional changes Xiao Yu displayed in her diary were varied and complex. If she couldn’t even remain calm in her diary, it was even less likely she would show no reaction at all in reality. Therefore, fear, terror, helpless cries for help, these most direct human responses when facing the unknown or the threat of death, could not be the conditions for opening the secret passage. Otherwise, the passage would have opened when Xiao Yu first arrived at the asylum, not waited until so much later.
So the most likely possibility was that what remained in the diary was the purest emotion of all.
What confirmed their relationship for Guan Si was Xiao Yu’s line:
[Xiao Yan and I aren’t sick, why are they doing this to us?]
What kind of situation could cause two girls with deep feelings for each other to both be deemed insane and sent to an asylum together?
Unless they fell in love in an era where homosexuality was not yet recognized, in an era where homosexuality was still treated as a mental illness.
This was a very bold, and very absurd, thought.
But it was precisely such an seemingly impossible idea that became the truth of this examination.
Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan were deemed deviants, deemed destroyers who defied the rules of the world, deemed madwomen too unacceptable to be tolerated.
Their sincere and moving feelings for each other, through the manipulation of others, became the reason for their demise.
[I’m not sick.]
[Xiao Yan and I aren’t sick.]
In her diary, Xiao Yu repeated this over and over. The sincere and selfless love she expressed in her moment of despair became the key to opening the secret passage, and won for herself and Xiao Yan one final glimmer of hope.
<What a crazy story, it feels weirdly wrapped up, fitting my stereotype of freshman exams.>
<By the way, wasn’t this exam supposed to have increased difficulty? So far it doesn’t feel much harder.>
<Just wait and see.>
The group followed the secret passage inward, walking until they reached the end, where a fork appeared one path leading toward the intensive care ward, the other toward the asylum’s exit.
[Congratulations to examinees Qi Dengzui, Guan Si, Pei Su, and He Zhu for unlocking the eligibility to answer the bonus question.]
[Bonus question: Examinees are to proceed to the intensive care ward, retrieve the records of the human experiments, and expose the asylum’s crimes to the public.]
However, their attention was not on this announcement, but on what lay ahead in the passage.
As far as the eye could see, a pile of skeletal remains lay in solitude, two sets intertwined, merged into one.
Guan Si’s heart ached, a sharp pain surging through him. Pei Su moved with lightning speed, catching his sliding body with one arm.
“Brother Qi.” Guan Si’s lips lost all color, and large gushes of blood erupted from his mouth.
Blood dripped down his hospital gown, drop by drop, like the ticking of a clock’s hands.
Guan Si’s gaze was unfocused, his expression helpless and full of pain, as he only repeated in a murmur, “Brother Qi, why can’t I hear your voice anymore.”
“Brother Qi, are you there.”
As if hearing Guan Si’s call, a faint “mm” seemed to echo from within his sea of consciousness and then fell silent forever.
But Guan Si, already on the verge of losing consciousness, seemed to have truly heard his response. His gaze gradually cleared, blood no longer poured from his mouth, and color slowly returned to his face.
…
Guan Si slowly stood up. Pei Su supported him and asked, “Can you still walk?”
“I should be able to hold out until the exam ends.” Guan Si’s voice was weak. “Let’s go check the exit first.”
The group arrived before the asylum’s exit. There was an iron-grated door with a padlock and no key, the lock already visibly rusted.
[Congratulations to examinees Qi Dengzui, Guan Si, Pei Su, and He Zhu for unlocking the eligibility to answer the final question.]
[Examinees are to proceed to the director’s office on the 3rd floor, locate the key clue, solve the final question, and escape the asylum.]
[Mandatory guide for new examinees: The key clue possesses a permanent “thought blockage” barrier. While solving the key clue, examinees must simultaneously deactivate the barrier. Please proceed to the intensive care ward to deactivate the barrier.]
[Friendly reminder: Solving the key clue and deactivating the barrier must be done simultaneously.]
Simultaneously, meaning it would be constrained by the number of people. Without special methods, two people would need to cooperate: one to go to the director’s office for the key, and the other to go to the intensive care ward to deactivate the barrier.
<Tsk, I knew it. And it’s not just those two places needing people, both the path to the director’s office and the path to the intensive care ward will have nurses guarding them. To get through, someone has to clear the way. If one path has no one clearing it, that person won’t make it out. This is the real reason this exam needs four people it locks down the headcount almost completely.>
The appearance of Guan Si meant that the arena had one fewer person capable of clearing the path, and inevitably, someone would not be able to leave.
<Newbie asking for answers, how did Captain Weixue manage to solo the Madhouse Exam without taking any damage? Based on the setup of this exam, not to mention needing four people, even if Captain Weixue was strong enough not to require someone to clear the path, at least two people would still be needed to handle the barrier and the keys.>
<No idea. Back then, the academy hadn’t yet created the spectator website, so no one knew how he got out. Anyway, his strength was genuinely monstrous.>
In the history of the Paranormal Academy, generation after generation of rising stars had fallen.
Twenty years ago was the most dazzling era, when a team named Weixue burst onto the scene.
NO.1, NO.3, and NO.4 all gathered in this team.
In the academy’s history, no team had ever cleared the final exam. Any team that participated in the final exam, no matter how strong, was buried in that exam known as the “Calamity Undead Sacrifice.”
But Weixue’s brilliance was simply too dazzling no team in the entire history of the academy had ever been stronger than Weixue.
So much so that even with one member short, they still became, without any doubt, the team most likely in academy history to break the rule of death and clear the final exam.
Year X1052.
The Weixue team welcomed their final candidate and was officially at full strength.
Year X1053.
All members of the Weixue team entered the “Calamity Undead Sacrifice” exam, which was also their final exam.
It was also in X1053.
The “Calamity Undead Sacrifice” exam venue was permanently closed.
None of the participants survived.
…
The Weixue team represented both legend and mystery.
Rumors said they had once glimpsed the secret to clearing the final exam and had left behind the method to crack it. Many later attempted to search for clues.
But back then, when Weixue entered the “Calamity Undead Sacrifice” exam, they had taken almost everything with them, and all of it was buried in that exam.
Thus, with the demise of the Weixue team, no one ever touched that mystery again.
And that glorious, radiant era came to an end with the deaths of all Weixue team members and the disappearance of NO.2.
Later, even their names gradually faded until they vanished completely.
Even the name “Weixue” had only survived for decades without disappearing because it was passed down again and again.
Guan Si said, “You go to the principal’s office. There’s a bag on the floor. Take Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan’s remains with you and leave together.”
“Are you insane?! We already don’t have much of a chance of winning, and carrying that will only make things more troublesome.” Pei Su grabbed his hand. “What’s more, in your current state, I’m afraid you’ll pass out again before you even reach the intensive care ward. Going to the intensive care ward alone is just walking to your death.”
“I have my ways.” Guan Si looked at the dried bloodstains on the ground and said calmly, “I won’t die in this exam, but you all might not be so lucky.”
His demeanor and movements actually bore some resemblance to Qi Dengzui.
Pei Su felt that Guan Si’s way of thinking was simply bizarre. “Do you know that He Zhu and I aren’t new examinees? We have professional skills and can protect ourselves in critical moments. What about you? Even Qi Dengzui couldn’t handle it alone. Have you coughed up so much blood that you’ve gone delirious and started talking nonsense?”
“Stop with the nonsense. Do you really think I’m just a useless waste who only coughs up blood?”
Guan Si was no longer as gentle and harmless as before. A cold, piercing chill radiated from him, and the air seemed to freeze together, forming an invisible barrier.
“Go,” Guan Si said. “Your formation and puppet threads won’t hold the head nurse for long. If we don’t leave now, we’ll all be buried here.”
“You,” Pei Su’s words caught in his throat abruptly. “How do you know He Zhu’s and my professions? Who are you?”
Guan Si didn’t answer him, only saying faintly, “Hurry and go.”
At this point, Pei Su knew he couldn’t persuade him. Even with countless questions in his mind, he could only leave them until after the exam ended. He glanced at Guan Si and said, “Take care of yourself. See you in the academy hall.”
Guan Si no longer responded. He turned and walked toward the intensive care ward.
His figure grew increasingly blurry until it merged with the darkness and vanished, as if he had never existed.
The secret passage connected to the ventilation shaft of the intensive care ward. Inside were several doctors in white coats, and the beds were completely empty.
Clearly, the new “prey” like Qi Dengzui hadn’t arrived at the intensive care ward yet, so the doctors had no subjects for their experiments.
Through the glass on the door of the intensive care ward, Guan Si saw that almost all the nurses were stationed outside the door. That meant that after dealing with the doctors inside the intensive care ward, he would still have to handle the nurses outside.
And the head nurse would return before long. With one misstep, Guan Si could easily be caught in a pincer attack and trapped here to die.
Guan Si opened the ventilation shaft and extended his right hand. In an instant, a white light radiated from his palm, and a skeletal white bone umbrella fell into his hand. Then, a sharp spike emerged from the top of the umbrella, transforming it into a weapon for attack.
The doctors in the intensive care unit heard the commotion and immediately went on high alert. They looked up toward the ventilation shaft, but before they could even see anyone, they were pierced through their bodies by Guan Si, who descended from above.
Blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth, his lips pale and trembling, and the hand gripping the umbrella shook uncontrollably with a slight tremor.
Yet his movements were composed, as if he had done this countless times before. The skull-and-bone white umbrella moved like a blade weeping blood, thrusting in and out of the doctors’ bodies.
On the livestream website, everyone was stunned. The barrage of comments reached its peak in that very moment.