"Whatever you say, have you discovered anything?" Jia Qing asked hurriedly.
Several people came over and looked at the page Liu Yi had opened.
The school rules are so numerous that when you read them line by line, you may not find any key points at first glance.
Liu Yi hesitantly pointed to Article 48, Appearance, and said, "I feel like... this one looks a little familiar."
The school rule on appearance clearly stipulates that boys' hair length cannot exceed one centimeter, and girls' hair length cannot exceed shoulders. This is certainly a very strict rule, but it is definitely not the first time I have seen it.
Jia Qing frowned and said, "It seems like there are schools like this in real life, right?"
"Indeed." Liu Yi said hesitantly, closed the school rules booklet again, and looked at the cover.
The entire booklet was obviously printed by the school itself. The cover design was very simple, with the words "School Rules of the First Affiliated Middle School of Smiley City" printed in large letters on a beige card.
Xia Jing noticed Liu Yi's suspicion and asked, "Have you ever heard of similar school rules from Huang Mo?"
Liu Yi thought about it, but didn't deny Xia Jing's statement. He pursed his lips and said, "He and I knew each other in elementary school, but we haven't been in the same school since junior high. Huang Mo only occasionally talked to me about school, and that was many years ago, so I'm not sure about many things... Or maybe I remembered it wrongly. Like Jia Qing said, there are such schools in reality. I may have seen such news online."
"If you have any doubts, you can think about them in your heart. Don't rush to deny yourself," Song Yang said. "You can try to recall what kind of connection there is between Huang Mo and the four words 'don't think about it'."
Surrounded by three people, Liu Yi frowned slightly.
But until the lunch break was almost over, he still hadn't figured out anything and felt a little disappointed.
Song Yang calmly comforted her: "It's okay, there's no rush. We still have too few clues. Let's leave here first."
Jin Nan has recovered by now.
The medical supplies in the players' space bags were all purchased from official supermarkets. They were very effective and could be saved as long as the patient was still alive. What's more, Jin Nan only had a broken arm.
At this moment, the broken bones of his arm have been reconnected, and the skin and flesh are still growing slowly and secretly, causing both itchiness and pain.
Jin Nan's face turned pale. When he saw Xia Jing, he no longer had the contempt he had before, only hatred and fear.
However, neither Xia Jing nor the other three paid any attention to him.
After all, it was he who first planned to assassinate his companions.
They had already done their best by not abandoning him.
As they walked out of the administration building, Jia Qing was still asking anxiously, "Brother Yang, will the copy specifically construct a world based on a person's past experiences?"
Song Yang stepped down the stairs and shook his head: "Theoretically, this situation is impossible."
"All dungeons are pre-constructed. The cover and theme are all displayed to the players in the login room. It's impossible to wait until the players enter the dungeon and then temporarily construct a world based on one of them."
"If the copy really did this, the theme might still be barely consistent, but the cover would definitely be completely different. And the current situation is obviously not that the copy completely borrowed from Huang Mo's past."
"Yes, in fact, it's completely different. There are just a few details that make me feel familiar," Liu Yi sighed. "It's also possible that this is all coincidence. After all, this is all just our speculation. There is no substantial evidence to prove that this copy is really related to Huang Mo."
After meeting up with Wang Yueran and others in the classroom, they exchanged information.
The two girls and the old lady walked around the entire school but failed to find any clues. After hearing what happened in the campus radio room, they looked at Xia Jing in shock, as if they had gotten to know him all over again, and they became more wary of Jin Nan.
Song Yang took out the home-school contact book and asked everyone to copy down their "parents'" contact information and try to contact them during the afternoon break.
Fortunately, they don't have to study in the evening in this copy, otherwise Jia Qing would be the first to spit out blood.
After finishing their dinner in the cafeteria, they went straight back to the dormitory. After confirming that Huang Mo's cell phone had indeed been taken away from Dormitory 411, they gathered in Dormitory 414 and closed the door to discuss the matter.
Eight people, sixteen parents, all have been contacted by phone.
Song Yang's speculation was correct.
Wang Yueran's "mother" in this copy is actually an office administrator of the school, who can get inside information.
However, Wang Yueran had a strange expression on his face regarding Huang Mo's death.
"'My mom' said that he did die in the middle of the night, around midnight, but it was a sudden death."
Several people were stunned.
sudden death?
Only Song Yang and Xia Jing were not too surprised.
In the morning, the two of them and Liu Yi observed Huang Mo's condition when he died.
The copy did not show rigor mortis or corpse spots on the dead, and there was no scar on Huang Mo's body. His physical condition was even as if he was still alive. The most likely possibility was that the copy wanted to convey the message that Huang Mo's death was not caused by external forces.
It doesn't seem surprising that the cause of death was finally determined to be "sudden death".
However, as Huang Mo's brother, Liu Yi was very emotional: "How could being killed by a monster be considered a sudden death?"
"I remember we discussed this this morning. It's possible that he wasn't killed directly by the monster, but rather triggered a monster-related death mechanism." Xu Jin said weakly.
Liu Yi clenched his fists when he thought of this.
But what is the so-called death mechanism?
There are really too few clues at the moment.
The sky gradually darkened.
Wang Yueran was the first to speak anxiously, "... Since Huang Mo died last night, that means the dungeon had already started last night. He must have encountered something... Could we be in danger tonight as well?"
Jia Qing swallowed and said nervously, "Didn't they say his phone rang twice in the middle of the night? Could it be that the monster came out of the phone in the middle of the night?"
When these words were spoken, several people were so scared that they almost dropped their phones.
Song Yang: "Although I think it's unlikely, this problem is easy to solve. Just turn off your cell phones before going to bed and put them away somewhere far away from us."
This way, even if the monster really appears from the phone, it won't catch them off guard.
That's the truth.
But even after hearing this solution, no one could breathe a sigh of relief.
Different from a one-star copy.
In a one-star dungeon, the monsters are obvious, and most players are killed because they fail to fight against the monsters.
But now, they don't even know where the monster is or how it kills people.
This may not be a strange thing for people like Song Yang who have gone through many two-star and three-star copies. They may even have become accustomed to finding more clues through more sacrifices.
But for Wang Yueran and Xu Jin, two players who were entering a two-star dungeon for the first time, and even for a novice like the old lady, waiting for unknown danger to approach was something terrifying enough to make them tremble all over.
Xu Jin couldn't help sobbing, and the old lady hugged her in her arms to comfort her.
Seeing the entire dormitory fall into silence, Song Yang still played the role of the backbone. He said, "Let's reallocate the dormitories tonight."
Everyone looked up.
Jia Qing perked up, looked around at the eight people, and said, "Yes, the dormitories still need to be reallocated."
There are eight of them now, just enough to fill two dormitories.
If four people share a room, it is obviously inappropriate to put three women in one dormitory.
Xu Jin's emotions were a little out of control. She turned sideways and wiped her tears.
Wang Yueran looked at her, then at the old lady, feeling a little at a loss.
The old lady patted Xu Jin's shoulder and said, "Can I offer some advice?"
The old lady rarely spoke, and the children all nodded quickly. Only Jin Nan leaned in the corner, watching coldly.
The old lady's voice was vicissitudes of life: "Two girls, don't separate. Good friends will feel more secure together. But as for me...you don't have to spend too much energy worrying about me. Among the boys, choose the two strongest ones to go and protect Xiao Ran and Xiao Jin."
This distribution is actually reasonable.
It's not because the elderly really don't have to worry about it, but when there are three men and one woman, or two men and two women, the relatively capable people have to be assigned to the latter dormitory.
But the so-called "strongest" is a bit subtle.
In terms of physique, Jin Nan is obviously the strongest among the eight of them, but this guy has apparently been registered in the "dishonesty list" of their group of eight. He cannot be considered a combat force at all, and it would be a good thing if they are not sold out.
The boys looked at each other, and finally, several of them fixed their eyes on Xia Jing and Song Yang.
Xia Jing paused slightly and heard Song Yang ask, "What did you say?"
Xia Jing looked at him and chuckled, "No objection."
However, this seemed to be the first time he was given the responsibility to protect others.
*
After the dormitories were assigned, everyone chatted for a while, mainly to relieve the tension.
In every dormitory, there is a clock hanging high on the wall separating the entrance and the main room.
The clock slowly moved towards half past nine.
At ten o'clock, the lights in the dormitory will be turned off.
The old lady, Jia Qing, Liu Yi, and Jin Nan stayed in 414, while Song Yang, Xia Jing, Xu Jin, and Wang Yueran moved to 417.
Before leaving, Song Yang whispered to Jia Qing, "Take good care of the space bag tonight and sleep next to Jin Nan. In addition to paying attention to any abnormalities that may arise, also keep an eye on him. However, his ability should only work on those who are right next to him."
The abilities of most people with special abilities are actually very weak.
If Jin Nan's ability was so strong that he could move things far away, he probably wouldn't have to be so cautious and would have followed Song Yang to pick off heads long ago.
Jia Qing nodded heavily and said in a hoarse voice, "I know what's going on, don't worry. Brother Yang, you should be careful tonight too!"
Song Yang nodded and rubbed his head.
When they arrived at 417, the two clean-loving girls were no longer in the mood to take a shower. The four of them simply washed up and went to bed early.
It is not realistic not to sleep. After a highly tense day, if I don't get enough rest at night, my body may not be able to hold on until tomorrow.
They had thought they could move the bedding downstairs so that everyone could sleep crowded together on the floor tonight.
But they had tried it in dormitory 414, and the bedding and pillows seemed to be stuck to the bed board and could not be moved at all. This was obviously a limitation deliberately set by the copy.
In the end, everyone decided to go back to bed. They wouldn't necessarily get a good rest on the floor. If nothing happened at night, it would be a waste of time. But if something did happen—
In dormitory 417, Xia Jing and Song Yang each guard one side, which is theoretically enough.
So, Xu Jin and Xia Jing slept on the same side, Xia Jing slept on the bed near the door, and Xu Jin slept on the bed near the balcony.
On the other side, Wang Yueran slept on the bed near the door, and Song Yang slept on the balcony.
In this way, if a monster breaks in through the door or balcony, at least Xia Jing or Song Yang will be there to take charge.
Of course, there are many other anticipated situations, but the precautions we can take are ultimately limited.
The four people showed off the props in their hands respectively, which were basically daggers, machetes, axes and so on. There was no meaning in exchanging them.
Song Yang had used up all the monster items in the previous copy, which was very unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"The four of us will sleep head to head, so that we can help each other if anything happens. Xia Jing and I will take turns to keep watch, and I will watch the first half of the night." Song Yang instructed.
Wang Yueran and Xu Jin nodded quickly, and Xia Jing had no objection.
Seeing that the lights were about to be turned off, Xu Jin was the first to lie down on his side.
She slept facing Xia Jing, and Xia Jing could hear her still sobbing softly.
When Xia Jing pulled back the quilt and lay down, he heard the girl whisper, "I'm so scared."
Xia Jing paused.
Then he gently asked, "What are you afraid of?"
This is nonsense.
What scares players is nothing more than death.
However, expressing it can at least ease the panic in my heart.
Xu Jin spoke with a nasal tone, and she said intermittently: "I'm so scared of death. I'm only 24 years old. Why on earth... A month ago, Ranran and I were just visiting the zoo, and inexplicably we were sucked into Smiley City... Why us? Why us?"
No one could give her the answer to this question.
Xu Jin cried for a while longer, then said in a hoarse voice, "I can't even tell Mom and Dad... In the real world, no one can tell anyone about the existence of Smiley City. Everything spoken, written, or posted will be erased. If a player dies in the dungeon, they'll have to die again in real life after exiting. It seems, it seems, this is all done to make our deaths in the real world seem more legitimate..."
"What will happen to my parents? I'm their only child. If I die, they'll..."
Xia Jing didn't say anything.
When he woke up in this world, the safe house was there, and he was in the safe house.
He didn't know whether he was a human or a monster.
Of course, based on his self-analysis, the most likely possibility is that he is neither human nor a monster.
He was born to be nothing and had nothing.
Don't talk about parents.
The golden retriever, goldfish, flowers, furniture... in the safe house were all created with his strength after he quickly realized the limited power within his body.
Xia Jing slowly lay down on the bed, resting his head on the not-so-soft pillow.
...This sounds like a god-like power.
But the truth is, divine power does not exist.
The power will be exhausted.
After it is exhausted, you need to find a way to obtain more external power.
Monster chunks make excellent fodder.
However, after expanding the channels for obtaining power, the shackles that bound Xia Jing's hands and feet still existed.
His world is just a small safe house, and the rules in the safe house only apply to the safe house itself.
He can only extract the power by bringing the monster's body into the safe house.
He couldn't bring anything he created in the safe house into the dungeon.
This is why he must log into the dungeon from the game lobby like other players - only in this way can he earn points, redeem items in the official supermarket, and move more freely in the dungeon.
For Xia Jing, games are meant to be played.
But he also needs to gain strength in the copy, and needs to find the truth about himself and the world in the copy.
But the magical thing is that when Xia Jing heard Xu Jin mention "parents", his heart was not completely touched.
Although it was just a very subtle, very vague feeling.
My heart beat faster for just a moment.
But this can be considered as the reward for exploring the copy.
Xia Jing closed his eyes, searching his memory for the words humans used to comfort each other, and said in a gentle voice, "Everyone will be fine. Don't be afraid."
Xu Jin was silent for a moment, then whispered, "If a monster comes after me, and you can guarantee your own safety... please, help me, okay? I don't want to die."
"I will." Xia Jing assured gently.
The monster itself is his target.
Xu Jin seemed to have finally calmed down a bit. Before turning off the lights, she murmured, "Didn't Jin Nan mention in the cafeteria at noon today that Huang Mo sat up and stared at his roommate in the middle of the night last night?"
"It's quite strange. It reminds me of the summer vacation when I was in third grade. I don't know if I was dreaming or if I really saw a ghost..."
"...I just remember waking up in the middle of the night one day and seeing a green-eyed figure standing by my bed, staring at me."
Xia Jing opened his eyes.
Having said this, Xu Jin seemed to have no intention of continuing. Perhaps he felt that the more he spoke, the more scared he would become.
Xia Jing slowly reminded him, "Don't think about it, just sleep peacefully."
Xu Jin responded with a low "hmm" and turned over.
The dormitory lights suddenly went out.
If you observe from the outside, you should be able to see that every building and every dormitory in the dormitory area are plunged into darkness in an instant.
Only the long corridor was still lit with a pale light.
After a few seconds of silence, Song Yang's cold voice rang out in the dormitory: "Close your eyes and go to sleep. Don't think too much."
However, it is obviously impossible to fall asleep smoothly when you are nervous.
Xia Jing himself doesn't need sleep.
He leaned sideways, his eyes turning in the darkness, and noticed that the clock hanging high on the wall was luminous.
Even without light, he could still see the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand moving slowly on the bright green clock face.
Time passed minute by minute, the dormitory was silent and nothing happened.
With his keen hearing, he could hear four interlaced breaths in the dormitory, sounding steady and peaceful.
Maybe someone has fallen asleep.
Maybe someone is pretending to be calm.
In the silence, the "click" and "click" sounds of the second hand seemed to become clearly audible.
Xia Jing looked at the luminous clock calmly.
…
After a long, long time, the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand on the clock face turned around and around, all gathered together -
They all pointed to the number 12.
Suddenly, a feeling of dizziness came over me, and the whole world seemed to be double.
Xia Jing closed his eyes instinctively, and then realized that he could not move.
Apart from breathing, he couldn't make any other movements, not even opening his eyes.
He could only listen quietly to the noises in the dormitory.
suck.
call.
The four breathing sounds intertwined smoothly, just like before, peaceful and beautiful.
I don't know if anyone is still awake.
Or maybe everyone except Xia Jing has fallen into a deep sleep.
suck.
call.
In silence.
The fifth breath suddenly appeared in the dormitory.
Appeared above Xia Jing's head.