Chapter 44: Welcome to the Thriller World (13)

At that moment, Xiao Ruirui let out a shriek. The insect pupae that Liu Jun had knocked onto the plate in front of her all came back to life. Then, more and more, and still more, began to crawl toward Liu Jun, climbing from his feet all over his body.

Terrified out of his wits by the sight, Liu Jun jumped up and down in a breakdown, trying to shake the bugs off and stamp them to death. Yet the ground beneath his feet seemed to turn into a quagmire, sucking him in entirely and quickly dragging him downward.

"Liu Jun! Liu Jun..."

With eyes full of horror, Xiao Ruirui watched helplessly as Liu Jun sank into the floor. A dense swarm of insects then swarmed over him, wrapping around his entire body until he vanished completely underground, after which the bugs poured like a stream back into the earth and disappeared without a trace.

In just a brief moment, a living, breathing person had vanished right before their eyes...

The dining hall plunged into dead silence.

Having witnessed this bone-chilling scene, everyone began to eat in absolute silence, no one complaining about the rotten vegetables anymore.

Between eating rotting food and losing one's life, even a fool knew how to choose.

Fan Sijin and Bai Li were given normal meals, though they were ice-cold.

She kept her head down, eating without a word, while Bai Li reached out, picked up a disposable cup from the side, and poured her a cup of warm water, looking thoroughly attentive and well-behaved.

Fan Sijin raised her eyes to see the young man looking at her with a hint of shyness, cutting straight to the chase with a direct plea: "I... I just want to ask you, Sister, to help me whenever it is within your power."

Fan Sijin raised an eyebrow. "Well, you certainly are candid."

The youth pressed his lips together. "The only thing I have to offer is my sincerity. I just hope Sister won't look down on me and will be willing to lend a hand."

Fan Sijin let out a light click of her tongue, neither agreeing nor refusing, and went back to eating with her head lowered.

Giving a helping hand when it was within her power was fine, but making a formal promise to someone was highly irrational.

After all, this bizarre instance was merely the tip of the iceberg in this world, and there was no telling what lay ahead.

A promise could easily become a burden.

She might have a soft spot for a pretty puppy-dog face, but that didn't mean she would let a chance acquaintance become a burden to her.

Fan Sijin remained silent, and Bai Li sensed her meaning. The light in his lovely eyes dimmed, but a moment later, he smiled again.

"Don't worry, Sister. No matter what, you helped me before, and I will remember it. If there is a chance, I will do my best to repay you."

Fan Sijin's impression of this sweet-looking youth improved once more.

Knowing how to show gratitude and not sliding into resentment after receiving a little favor... truly living up to being her absolute favorite type.

After all, she quite enjoyed helping others; if she could lend a hand conveniently, she wouldn't mind helping him out.

The fifteen-minute dining window was actually very tight, but fortunately, everyone managed to finish the food on their plates. The headmaster, wearing that eerie smile, urged them back to their posts.

Yet just as they stepped out of the dining hall, they saw a long line of students, each with their hands on the shoulders of the one in front, walking with expressionless faces and lowered heads. They marched numbly down the staircase of the hallway until they stepped straight into a black void.

The headmaster grinned with a grotesque smile. "These are the students who failed to pay their tuition. A civilized campus does not tolerate failure to pay tuition; they must pay the price they are due."

Beneath the stairs lay the black void, and all the students walked into it numbly, like marionettes on strings. Yet no one wanted to find out what kind of price that black void represented.

With that, the headmaster looked at Fan Sijin and smiled sinisterly. "Your sales quota this time is twelve copies."

The others looked at Fan Sijin with a mix of sympathy and relief.

The first time could be chalked up to bad luck, but this was the second time; she was clearly being targeted...

Nobody knew what kind of luck she had relied on to sell those six copies in the morning, but she hadn't expected the quota to double in the afternoon... twelve whole copies!

Moreover, money was clearly very important to the monsters in this school; who would ever spend it on newspapers?

She was truly doomed this time!

Yet Fan Sijin appeared completely unfazed. Clutching the unsold English practice papers from the morning, she headed straight for Class 1, Grade 1.

She walked all the way alongside Bai Li. Ahead of them were Gao Yi and Lu Ke. Lu Ke looked terrified and kept trembling, while Gao Yi murmured low words of comfort.

"If we get a chance, we'll look for the keys, but don't be scared. If we can't find them, those veteran players certainly will. Just protect yourself."

With a face as pale as paper, Lu Ke bit her lip and nodded.

Upon reaching the entrance of Class 10, Bai Li had to continue onward to Class 11, and the two of them parted ways there.

Fan Sijin pushed open the door to the Class 10 classroom, stepped inside, and began peddling the English practice newspapers: "Get your papers here~ Get your papers here~ English practice papers, whoever uses them knows, the results are simply fantastic..."

Gao Yi looked at her with an extremely complex expression.

He felt that Fan Sijin was clearly targeting Class 10, or rather, targeting him.

After a moment, seeing that Fan Sijin hadn't sold a single copy yet still hadn't left, Gao Yi hesitated for a moment before pressing his lips together and speaking up. "Sijin... we've already broken up."

He paused, then continued, "You were the one who suggested the breakup, and I respected your wishes. I know you must be terrified right now, but in this horror world, everyone is struggling to save themselves... I—I really can't look after you anymore."

Fan Sijin's attention hadn't been on him at all to begin with. Hearing him ramble on at length, she frowned and turned back. "Is there something wrong with your brain?"

Gao Yi choked on his words. Just then, a student sitting in the middle of the classroom suddenly stood up and screamed, "Oh no! Water, water!"

Fan Sijin snapped her gaze toward them. With a loud "boom," that student spontaneously burst into flames. Its body expanded larger and larger amidst the blazing fire, followed immediately by a sharp "bang."

The burning student exploded directly into fragments that scattered in all directions, and wherever the fragments landed, fires ignited instantly.

The entire classroom turned into a sea of fire in the blink of an eye.

Gao Yi hadn't expected this turn of events either, and he instinctively searched around for a fire extinguisher.

How could there possibly be a fire extinguisher inside a classroom? Amidst this tense moment, the school bell rang: "Ding-dong, ding-dong..."

You must close your eyes when the bell rings...

Remembering the rule, Gao Yi felt despair creeping over him. The classroom was a blazing inferno now, and the flames were about to reach his spot. If he closed his eyes, his only remaining fate would be to burn to death!

It was a difficult choice, but Gao Yi ultimately chose to keep his eyes open.

Few people could manage to keep their eyes closed while letting flames consume them.

Yet to his horror, the moment the bell rang, the previously crimson flames turned an eerie shade of blue. The instant he chose to keep his eyes open, pair after pair of gloomy, terrifying eyes in the classroom locked straight onto him, and then they lunged at him in a frenzy.