Chapter 15: Urban Legends Are All Around You

Da-da-da—

Footsteps echoed from outside the restroom.

Baili Dao looked warily toward the door, quickly hiding the report card in his sleeve.

Fifty minutes had passed since the Widow was taken into the "Little Black Room" by Teacher Yao.

Another class had been completed.

The subject was high school mathematics, which left Baili Dao feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

His academic performance had always been mediocre since childhood; he was the kind of student in the middle of the pack—someone who could barely grasp the lessons but couldn't master them easily.

He had taken advantage of the ten-minute break to run out and scout the school environment.

Fortunately, the person entering the restroom was a familiar shorty—Tu Xingsun.

"I was dying of憋 (suppression)! Are those kids in class even students? They're nothing but tireless newborn beasts!" Tu Xingsun burst out cursing the moment he entered.

Baili Dao felt exactly the same way.

Even though he had only attended morning self-study and the first period, he could clearly sense the eerie atmosphere of this school.

When the bell rang for the end of class, no students cared; everyone continued to bury their heads in their work. During breaks, almost no one went to the restroom; if they truly couldn't hold it, they would run there and back, terrified of wasting a single second of study time. Aside from the occasional sound of students raising their hands to ask teachers questions, the entire school was uncomfortably silent. No one had time for play or frolicking.

There was no sign of youthful vitality, innocent romance, or blooming energy.

Every face was etched with tension and anxiety.

Dark circles appeared ring after ring; pens were swapped one after another as they ran out of ink; test papers were completed set after set in an endless cycle.

Oppression, competition, and desperation were the main themes of this school.

Everyone had only one thing to do.

And that was—study.

"No wonder it's called the 'School-Skipping Dragon.' If I had been in a place like this when I was a kid, I'd be running too—twice a day!" Baili Dao grumbled.

Just as he finished speaking, another person walked in.

A tall, burly figure nodded to them, then said in a muffled voice, "But right now, we don't even know where we could run to, let alone how to escape capture."

The newcomer was Shi Gandang.

At this, the eyes of all three men dimmed simultaneously.

No matter how much they felt for these students, it was useless; their mission dictated that their identities would not only fail to help but would actually require them to prevent students from escaping.

They were accomplices to this ghost school's system.

"I actually have some ideas regarding the escapees," Baili Dao said, holding up two fingers. "From the side quests, we can see that since there's some sort of shady secret between the principal and the class teachers, it's possible that a certain teacher is secretly assisting students in escaping. The ghost school wants us to help catch the traitor."

"The second point concerns the existence of the urban legends. I think the legend of the Art Building might be related to the escapes."

At this, he gave a bitter smile and explained, "Because under this oppressive academic atmosphere, there shouldn't be any reason for the Art Building to exist at all!"

Baili Dao's analysis was logical, and the other two did not refute him.

They weren't foolish enough to think that escaping meant simply climbing over a wall.

Leaving this ghost school would undoubtedly be fraught with difficulties!

However, Shi Gandang's next words left them stunned.

"Let's investigate the people first. The principal came to see my class teacher last period. I managed to eavesdrop on a bit of their conversation; the direction of the traitor should be correct."

"What! The principal came to your class!?"

Tu Xingsun was astonished.

He had assumed that a figure like the principal, who was suspected to be a dungeon boss, would be difficult to encounter, but he hadn't expected him to appear so early.

Shi Gandang nodded. "Their conversation revealed that since the establishment of Gaoshan High School, no student has ever successfully escaped. However, something happened recently that made the principal worry that a student might succeed. He even said, 'I only trust you and Teacher Yao from Class One.'"

This statement essentially confirmed Baili Dao's earlier deduction.

There was trouble within the ranks of the class teachers!

But he paused there.

After a moment of thought, he cautioned, "But it's best not to investigate the principal directly. He is very dangerous."

Shi Gandang did not explain why.

This involved his specific ability, which he could not directly reveal to the others.

One of his skills allowed him to see the level of malice in a target.

Behind the Class Seven teacher, there were about ten strands of black resentment swirling around, proving he had directly or indirectly caused the deaths of about ten students in his class.

The concentration of resentment was average.

He had seen guys of this level in other dungeons; they were troublesome, but manageable if one found a way.

When the principal walked in, Shi Gandang had also attempted to take a glance at him.

He wanted to make a psychological assessment of the dungeon boss.

However, the sight in his eyes was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

The entire sky suddenly turned pitch black and trembling. Only upon closer inspection could one realize it was a sky filled with vengeful spirits obscuring the sun. They were screaming heart-wrenchingly, as if they were about to crawl out of hell to vent their resentment and destroy everything.

It was impossible to count how many victims there were. Shi Gandang only knew that under such an apocalyptic and terrifying landscape, he didn't even have the desire to run.

Without a doubt, if the principal targeted them players, a total wipeout would happen in an instant.

But this made the scale of the players' mission very delicate.

To investigate the secrets of the teachers and the principal to find the traitor was clearly helping the school's system, yet they could not let the principal discover their actions.

Because the players were merely students.

No one was willing to let a group of self-righteous students master their secrets.

Shi Gandang suspected that if they were exposed, even if the principal didn't lash out on the spot, he would settle the score with them during the dungeon settlement.

In that case, the dungeon rewards would become a joke.

"Alright, then let's meet in the restroom every two breaks to exchange information. Class is about to start; let's head back," Baili Dao suggested.

After deciding on a meeting time, the three left the restroom side by side.

Unexpectedly, they ran into another acquaintance the moment they stepped out.

What a tragedy!

The other person was staggering along the corridor, leaning against the wall.

But her current state made the three men's eyelids twitch.

The mask that was originally on her face had disappeared, replaced by a gruesome wound tearing from the corner of her mouth to her ear, bleeding profusely; her trembling left hand had only three fingers left, and the cut was uneven, looking less like it was sliced by a sharp object and more like a bite mark left by some creature.

Most terrifying of all was her left eye.

The eye socket was empty!

She looked like someone who had just survived a brutal battle.

"Sister Qing! How are you!?" Shi Gandang rushed over anxiously to check on her.

At this moment, he couldn't care about the intimacy of their address or the fact that others might realize they had known each other for a long time.

The moment she saw the three of them, an expression of "thank goodness I made it in time" appeared on Qing He Yi Kan's face.

Forcing her weakened body, she spoke in broken fragments, "Shitou, you have to be careful of the students in the class... The legend of the Little Black Room is related to the students who jumped... They don't belong to either side..."

"The legend is right beside us!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qing He Yi Kan's body went limp, and she collapsed unconscious on the ground.

Shi Gandang hurriedly picked her up and rushed toward the infirmary.

Leaving Baili Dao and Tu Xingsun staring at each other on the spot.

After a moment of silence.

Tu Xingsun asked in confusion, "Based on what she said, the legend of the Little Black Room can happen in the classroom, not just inside the Little Black Room itself? By the way, is that newbie still in class? You should hurry back and warn him."

This sentence made Baili Dao's expression even more grim.

Not only because there happened to be a Li Yang in his class who had just jumped to his death and become a ghost.

But more importantly—

"The newbie is in the Little Black Room right now!"

Tu Xingsun's heart shuddered.

Only one thought flashed through his mind—we're screwed!

(End of Chapter)