[The night ti had passed, and now it was six o’clock in the morning.]
[Students, please leave your rooms and gather on the third floor.]
...
After sending Mo Yan back to his room, Su Ming’an rested for over three hours.
When the clock on the wall pointed to six, he heard a broadcast prompt accompanied by a "crackle" sound, like a voice inside a loudspeaker.
...Third floor.
Based on his exploration at night, he was on the second floor, and there was a staircase going down.
He had not seen any staircase going up.
He pushed open the door and indeed saw doors along the corridor flung open, with players in blue and white hospital gowns erging from both sides.
At this ti, the corridor wasn’t as eerie as during the night; light from an unknown source made it bright inside, with fluff-like things twirling around like fireflies in the light.
The grey-white walls, wooden pale yellow floors, the corridor looked unusually narrow, as if all the space for living had been squeezed out. Every inch of light was desperately growing in every direction.
Light fell on people, and every fold of their clothes shimred softly.
Su Ming’an took the opportunity to glance at the interiors of other players’ rooms which, like his, showed no difference, indicating that everyone’s initial condition was probably the sa.
...Wait.
He suddenly rembered the "The surgery was very successful" he had heard before he opened his eyes at the start of the ga.
During his interaction with Mo Yan, Mo Yan seed not to have ntioned this detail at all. If that "The surgery was very successful" was ant only for him...
As he was pondering, he saw the third door from the left open.
A young player with a chest puffed out and an "all of you are re ants to " deanor walked out, and at the sa ti, Su Ming’an also heard other people whispering.
"...that’s the Number One Player."
"Yes, I heard noises in the corridor last night. That’s Su Ming’an for sure, it seems Lin Jiang is in this instance too."
"...That’s pretty lucky, if you can get through with them."
"——Big brother, big brother!"
With a "bang", Mo Yan, holding a sword, popped out from the side, "Brother woke up? Did you sleep well?"
"Your Number One is over there." Su Ming’an pointed at the center of everyone’s attention.
Right after the "Number One Player" took the lead, other players more or less followed him, as if naturally falling in line.
A line of followers trailed behind the leader, their long shadows stretching out.
"Sigh, I’d be satisfied with an autograph." Mo Yan glanced in that direction and whispered, "Big brother, don’t provoke him, if you get too close and get ’snapped’, it would be all over..."
Su Ming’an didn’t realize when he had beco so terrifying.
Just then, a very soft "click" sound ca from the side.
A door that had remained closed was gently pushed open, the person doing so extrely carefully, as if afraid to disturb sothing.
A girl with black hair slowly pushed the door open; her eyes mostly hidden behind thick bangs, the visible part of her gaze was evasive, and she looked like a rabbit erging from its burrow.
"——Lin Jiang, good morning!"
Mo Yan was thrilled like at a fan eting.
"...ah."
But Lin Jiang seed to be startled back, her black hair flicking as she quickly withdrew, leaving only a clean hand holding the door fra.
She seed very scared.
...Like at the start in the Fourth World, when Su Ming’an saw her, head down, her whole body trembling. Like a girl with autism, too scared to speak, paralyzed by social anxiety.
She lacked the aggressively threatening deanor from the night before.
"Lin Jiang, what’s wrong with you..."
"Don’t co any closer!"
As Mo Yan approached, Lin Jiang burst out like a scared rabbit, the creaking sound of the floor montarily drowning out Mo Yan’s voice.
Mo Yan, with an outstretched hand, watched as Lin Jiang quickly ran far away, stunned.
"...when did I beco so terrifying?" Mo Yan was shocked, "Could it be that I unknowingly awakened so kind of powerful aura, causing Lin Jiang to start fearing ..."
Su Ming’an watched as the slender figure quickly moved away, and he began to form a theory.
Lin Jiang might also be suffering from a ntal illness.
In the beginning of the Fourth World, that timid and fearful expression was flawless — perhaps because it wasn’t an act at all.
Just then, the sound of a loudspeaker sounded again.
Its voice echoed in the desolate corridor, the players on either side had already left.
[It is now six fifteen in the morning.]
[Please, students, quickly gather on the third floor. Latecors will be punished according to the rules.]
Following the instructions, Su Ming’an walked forward until he saw a staircase leading upwards.
Halo light circled on the amber handrails, and from upstairs ca the creaking noise of people moving.
Dust floated in the air, also carrying a distinct sll of disinfectant, Su Ming’an coughed a few tis, sweeping the cluster-like dust around him.
This place resembled an old wooden building on the verge of demolition.
He rembered that during the nightti, there was no staircase here.
The third floor, which appeared out of nowhere, seed to be specially prepared for the dayti segnt.
Walking up the staircase, Su Ming’an saw a large hall.
To call it a hall was not quite accurate, it was more like a big classroom; at the front there was a large podium and a blackboard shrouded in darkness, while the desks and chairs below were in disarray, the aisles very spacious, with gaps wide enough for several people to walk side by side.
In the large classroom, there were thirty chairs and desks.
...Thirty.
The number was wrong.
Su Ming’an rembered that the number of players in the sa instance, was precisely twenty.
The extra ten people were...
He looked over.
The chairs were not the hard wooden type used by students, but soft armchairs with backrests and even cushions, which looked quite comfortable.
But upon first glance, Su Ming’an saw the iron rings on the armrests of the soft chairs.
They seed to be for shackling hands.
...Sothing wasn’t right.
The numbers were off, and the view was unsettling.
It was like a part of the color saturation had been withdrawn from the field of vision, the overall brightness seed dimr, and stepping into the classroom from the brightly lit corridor, Su Ming’an distinctly felt the room suddenly drop a shade darker.
It was as if a blood-red filter had been placed over it.
At this point, the other players were already in place, standing chaotically in the large classroom, rows of blue and white hospital uniforms fluttering in the view, mingling with the crimson, making him feel a bit dizzy.
Su Ming’an and Mo Yan walked in without attracting much attention.
All eyes were on a player who sat leisurely in a soft chair to one side.
"Number One Player..."
"That’s Su Ming’an..."
"Yes, I heard it in the room, Lin Jiang from the top of the leaderboard also acknowledged his identity..."
The player known as "Number One Player", sat with his eyes closed, leaning against the backrest, arms crossed, his expression extrely calm, as if oblivious to worldly matters, unconcerned about those admiring or skeptical gazes.
A faint light fell on his hospital uniform, draping it with a veil of pale gold.
He sat there with his eyes closed, not speaking, exuding confidence as if he could maintain his composure in this chaotic and dangerous environnt.
His deanor was quite imposing.
The other players, when looking over there, all seed a bit hesitant to look directly, only pretending to glance casually.
Su Ming’an: "..."
"The great one is really extraordinary," Mo Yan added sarcastically.
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