C62 — Seeing Isn’t Believing

At 1:20, the bell rang again, waking everyone from their nap. Students, in groups of twos and threes, rubbed their eyes and sluggishly made their way into the school.

Kou Dong, blending in with the crowd, was the first to see Xiao Ying and her boyfriend. Both of them didn’t look too good, their expressions tired and weary.

From a distance, they pushed through the crowd and stood in front of them. Xiao Kai looked at them, hesitated for a moment, then finally asked, “How did you sleep?”

Song Hong replied, “Pretty well.”

He glanced at Xiao Kai, furrowed his brow, and asked, “Did you sleep poorly?”

“It’s not that we slept poorly,” the boy stammered, “It’s just… I think I had some strange dreams…”

He sighed and shook his head, clearly not wanting to go further, “It’s nothing serious.”

Xiao Ying was standing next to him, looking somewhat agitated. Kou Dong noticed the red bloodshot veins in her eyes and realized she hadn’t slept well.

But with only an hour’s nap, even if they didn’t sleep well, they shouldn’t look like this.

Kou Dong narrowed his eyes.

Since they were clearly hiding something, Kou Dong didn’t press further. Although it was obvious it wasn’t anything good, this young couple wasn’t willing to talk about it, so Kou Dong didn’t want to make things awkward.

After they entered the classroom, Ah Xue whispered, “She screamed.”

Kou Dong was taken aback. “What?”

The girl said, “I heard her scream.”

Xiao Ying’s room was right next to Ah Xue’s, and the dormitory’s soundproofing wasn’t great, so any noise could be heard clearly. Ah Xue, being naturally cautious and a light sleeper, would wake up at the slightest sound.

Especially a sudden, sharp scream.

Song Hong asked, “Did she have a nightmare?”

Ah Xue nodded.

She turned her head. The classroom was full of students chatting and reading, with little heads huddled together in groups. The sound of pages flipping, people talking… all mixed together, like a normal, peaceful place.

No one was paying attention to her. Ah Xue turned her face away and quietly whispered the rest of what she knew, “—She also said, ‘Get out.'”

Kou Dong’s heart suddenly chilled.

The girl didn’t describe how hysterical the voice sounded, how shrill and hoarse, almost as if it wasn’t human.

But those three words already sparked unsettling thoughts.

Song Hong’s expression also grew serious. After a long pause, he said, “I’ve heard that in a separate space, other things can only enter with the owner’s permission.”

But from the sound of Xiao Ying’s scream, it seemed more like something was already standing in her room.

These were things Ye Yanzhi was good at explaining, and Kou Dong instinctively turned his head to ask the little creature on his shoulder. But when he reached for it, he remembered that his little creature was still sleeping in his luggage.

The three of them exchanged looks, silent for a moment. Then, the girl calmly spoke, “Supernatural?”

Song Hong thought for a while, then shook his head. “Not necessarily. — We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

He touched his eyes, his palm brushing his curved eyelashes as he murmured, “Seeing isn’t always believing…”

What exactly wasn’t real about what they saw?

In the afternoon, something happened in the classroom—nothing big, but still noteworthy.

A student had lost some money.

It wasn’t a large sum, only a few hundred at most, but for high school students with no income, it was essentially a week’s worth of pocket money. The student who lost the money looked devastated, their head hanging low, with no energy or spirit.

A few students in the class were helping him search for the money, scouring the nearby ground but they found nothing. They gathered together and quietly muttered, wondering if someone had taken it.

They speculated that it might be a student whose family was in need of money and looked towards a boy.

The boy was small; his skin was dark and he didn’t talk much. He would sit quietly at his desk, silently working on problems all day long. It was said that he had come from a rural county, and while he was an excellent student, his appearance and attire were quite different from the other students in the class. When the class helped get water, it was common for the water cups of everyone around him to be taken, but his cup would still be left where it was. Even if it was completely empty, no one would remember to refill it for him.

He didn’t usually go to the cafeteria for meals. Instead, he brought food from home, and a bag of steamed buns would last him several days.

But that day, something new appeared on his desk.

—A big bag of snacks. It was packed in a plastic bag from the school’s convenience store, filled with several bags of chocolate-filled snacks, vegetable rolls, finger snacks, and other assorted items, all packed in tightly.

The students’ speculation seemed more and more reasonable. Normally, how could he afford such good food?

Although no one asked directly, the occasional glances they threw his way made the situation clear. The student who had lost the money put on a long face and raised his voice, saying, “It’s fine. My family isn’t poor, I don’t care about that little bit of money. Just consider it donated to the disaster area.”

Someone else commented, “If you donate to the disaster area, at least you might get a thank you. If a thief took it, what will you get?”

The student who had lost the money snorted, turned away, and raised his voice to ask the boy from the poor family.

“Well?” he said. “How does the stuff you bought with the stolen money taste?”

The meaning behind his words was already very clear, almost directly accusing him of being a thief. The boy who was being accused had a grim expression, almost as if his face could drip water, but he only raised his head to glance at them before hurriedly lowering it again to focus on his test paper.

The student who had lost the money took a few steps forward and directly moved in front of him.

“It’s stuff bought with stolen money, your mouth will rot,” the boy said. “You’d better watch out—”

Before he could finish, the boy in front suddenly lifted his head. The speaker was caught off guard and was so startled that he almost lost his balance and stumbled. “What… what are you doing?”

The accused boy stared at him, and his voice, for some reason, sounded odd.

“Weren’t you the one who said it was me who took it?”

The boy who had been speaking was stunned by his intense gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed. He angrily retorted, “I didn’t say it was definitely you, I was just saying it. You’re the one who had to take it personally—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the accused boy suddenly stood up, bent down, and, amid the surprised gazes of the classmates in the classroom, grabbed his chair. He raised the chair high, swung it in a full circle, and brought the heavy wooden chair down with a loud swoosh.

It landed squarely and accurately on the boy’s head.

Everyone heard a loud “crack.”

The heavy thud was so startling that a few of the players were left in a daze—it sounded almost like a ripe watermelon bursting open. They exchanged looks with each other, shocked: over such a small thing, he actually went straight to hitting someone?

The teacher, Mr. Mo, who had a receding hairline, was the first to step forward, hesitating. “Kids…”

His tone was too familiar, just like a worried head teacher. With just this one sentence, Kou Dong understood that he was probably a real teacher in real life.

It was a pity that this wasn’t a high school student in reality. In the copy world, no one listened to his nagging and education. The little boy’s eyes were red, and he was obviously very angry. He wasn’t satisfied once, so he raised the stool and wanted to hit it again.

“Why does he say that to me!” He hissed, his cheeks flushed, “Why does he–”

No one stopped him, and Teacher Mo was shocked and desperately grabbed his waist and dragged him back. But the boy’s strength was extraordinary, and he, an adult, couldn’t hold him, and was dragged forward a few steps by the other party.

Then, the boy used the sharp edge of the bench to hit the temple of the person lying on the ground again.

This sound was extremely stimulating. The blood spread, splashing on the faces and bodies of several people, and it took a long time before someone started screaming.

A student hurried out to call for help. Xiao Ying walked a few steps towards them. Because she had witnessed the bloodbath, her face turned pale.

“What happened?” She hissed, “So sudden…”

Her boyfriend Xiao Kai also frowned, looking very disapproving.

“There is no evidence, how can you say that someone stole something? He’s young, it’s normal to have a big temper. If he’s wrongly accused, won’t he be in trouble?”

Xiao Ying: “Yes, I would be angry too. Although I am poor, I also have dignity!”

The two of them sang the same tune, obviously thinking that the angry student had a reason to vent his anger. Although the action was indeed a bit brutal, there was nothing wrong with the starting point.

He didn’t look like a thief. This must be a mistake.

When they said this, Ah Xue never responded. Kou Dong raised his eyes and found that the little girl had walked to the table of the boy who was said to be wronged and put her hand into his big schoolbag.

Xiao Ying was surprised and asked, “What are you doing?”

The little girl said calmly, “Looking for something.”

She took out a few thin banknotes from the side pocket of her schoolbag. There was only one hundred-yuan note, and the rest were just ten and twenty yuan, scattered here and there.

This scene was actually a bit saddening to watch. Ah Xue’s face didn’t show any extra expression. She just glanced at the hundred-yuan note again, and then she held the banknote in her palm.

“Do you think he was wronged?”

At noon, she didn’t agree to share a dormitory with her, so Xiao Ying felt that this girl was a bit unkind and couldn’t even help with a little favor, so naturally she couldn’t be relied on. Although she didn’t have any idea of getting close, she had a grudge against the other. When she heard Ah Xue speak, she couldn’t help but retort: “What other evidence is there?”

She curled her lips and snorted, “Could it be that he really took it?”

Ah Xue: “He has money in his pocket.”

“So what if he has money?” Xiao Ying said, “No one else’s name is written on the money! Maybe it was given by his parents?”

Before she finished speaking, the little girl unfolded the only hundred-yuan bill and showed everyone the words written on it.

The moment they saw it, everyone froze slightly.

-Written on it was the name of the person who lost the money.

Xiao Ying’s expression was startled, and she was obviously shocked by this unexpected fact. She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, and lowered her head for a while, and didn’t say anything else. Teacher Mo touched his head and sighed, “No wonder seeing is not believing… It seems that what we see with our eyes is not necessarily true.”

He smiled and added, “I guess we can’t jump to conclusions just yet.”

Having lived a little longer, he appeared more composed compared to the younger couple nearby.

Song Hong nodded and said, “Since this is about survival, things are obviously not that simple. We all need to stay alert, avoid leaving any evidence, and try not to trigger specific conditions.”

After all, no one knew which condition could be fatal.

The boyfriend of the couple looked a bit nervous and suddenly asked, “Do you think something will happen since our names were written on the blackboard yesterday?”

He had already asked this question once yesterday. But after witnessing the bloody incident today, he became even more uneasy, realizing this wasn’t just a game that could be easily passed through. There was no guarantee that he could test his luck on the edge of danger.

His mood clearly wasn’t as good as in the morning. After the shock, he felt drained and was on edge.

“What if something happens tonight…?” he said.

Song Hong couldn’t offer much comfort, so he just advised, “Get some rest early, maybe we can avoid it.”

Beyond that, he had no other words to offer.

The life of a senior high school student preparing for college entrance exams was even busier than Kuo Dong remembered. Not only were the afternoons packed with classes, but there were also three evening self-study sessions that went on until 10:30 PM. The classroom was quiet, with only the sound of pens scratching across paper. The players didn’t have homework to do and didn’t dare leave the classroom, so they could only quietly observe their classmates.

After the incident, the injured student and the one responsible were taken away by the teacher. The remaining students sat at their desks, discussing the matter for a while before quickly putting it behind them.

Song Hong thought that this reaction was clearly abnormal.

Even if it wasn’t a serious incident like a murder, even a small injury like a scraped knee that caused a bit of blood would usually be discussed for at least half an hour in a calm and uneventful school life.

Why was it that here, the discussion ended within minutes?

Was it that gossip didn’t sound pleasant or that drama wasn’t interesting to watch? Even if they were scared, they should at least show some signs of being frightened…

After an evening self-study session, the three of them were still in the dark about the main plot of the copy. Despite their careful observation, they hadn’t gathered any useful clues. However, they did manage to identify several potential one-sided, two-sided, or even three-sided relationships in the class.

Young people, after all, had many stories.

Kuo Dong ripped off a piece of homework paper and started writing on it.

The other two looked confused. “What are you doing?”

Kuo Dong didn’t look up, casually replying, “Reporting to the homeroom teacher.”

His friends: “…?”

“How can senior students break the rules and have relationships?” Kuo Dong folded the paper, stuffed it into his pocket, and said in a righteous tone, “If they’re in a relationship, how can they concentrate on studying?”

His friends: “…”

 

Song Hong couldn’t help but defend the students, “It’s not like it’s worth reporting to the teacher. We’ve all been through this before.”

Honestly, who didn’t have a crush at that age? When one was sixteen or seventeen years old, the heart was full of feelings.

He couldn’t believe it. With Kuo Dong’s good looks, his outstanding charisma, and that lemon-sour expression on his face…

That expression???

Song Hong was stunned and blurted out, “You’ve never been through this?”

How could that be possible? Which young girl didn’t have a crush?

Although Kuo Dong wasn’t a girl, there should still be some girls madly in love with him…

Even the little girl turned her head and stared at Kou Dong, her eyes full of surprise.

Kou Dong looked up and searched through his few remaining memories carefully. He didn’t find any boy or girl with hidden feelings. Instead, he only remembered a peeping Tom who was always following him but he never saw him. It seemed that this kind of pure love story on campus had nothing to do with it.

…Alas.

Why was it pure love for others, but a group of per-verts for him?

Kou Dong was almost possessed by a lemon, and said sadly: “They are all greedy for my body.”

From the stalker in the real world to the NPCs in the game, it was the same.

Why, was it because his body looked particularly sweet?

The two who heard this sentence clearly: “…”

It was the first time they heard someone say this about themselves.

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