Yu Deng still didn't realize that he and his two task targets had already forced the dormitory rules to add a new regulation overnight.
Wrapped in a small blanket, Yu Deng sat on a chair, watching the dormitory supervisor's large back slowly disappear from his view, finally snapping out of his dazed state from earlier.
So this is what the night-time dorm supervisor is like… If a student really broke the rules, would the supervisor take them away?
Hmm, he had heard some strange noises the first night he entered the instance; could it have been the dorm supervisor? But the supervisor's footsteps didn't seem to be that loud. Could there be something else…
Thinking of this, Yu Deng couldn't help but imagine some scary things, scaring himself and shrinking further into the blanket.
At this moment, the supervisor, who had left, turned back and moved toward their dormitory door again.
Her huge, bloated body blocked the entire door. Her skin had a faint gray-green hue, and her features appeared out of proportion due to the size of her body.
Yu Deng nervously looked up, unsure of the supervisor's intentions for returning.
Both Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin noticed the supervisor's return and subtly stepped to the side to shield Yu Deng.
However, the supervisor didn't attack them.
Although the supervisor was terrifying now, there seemed to be a hint of weary exhaustion in her eyes. She reluctantly warned again, "You guys better not make any more noise, or I'll treat it as a violation of the rules."
Yu Deng obediently nodded. "I understand, Auntie."
At the sound of Yu Deng's soft and obedient "Auntie," the supervisor's twisted, numb face seemed to soften a little.
She looked at the other two boys in the dorm, masking the brief flash of wariness in her eyes, sighed heavily, and tiredly went downstairs.
The door to their dormitory was closed again.
After the lights were turned off uniformly, no more lights would be turned on due to any unexpected circumstances in the dormitory building. They only had one small nightlight that Zhuang Lin had dug up, and it was very dim.
The wooden board of Yu Deng's bed had already shattered into several pieces, and the scraped wood chips had been cleaned into the trash can. The broken boards would have to wait until tomorrow for the janitor to collect.
The two culprits, who had been fighting in the dark earlier, still gave off a faintly gloomy aura. But now, facing Yu Deng, they no longer dared to fight for his attention. After tidying up the wreckage, they crouched in front of Yu Deng, feeling guilty.
Yu Deng shifted his attention from the scary supervisor to Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin.
He pursed his lips. "That... didn't you guys think the supervisor looked strange?"
Zhuang Lin nodded and shook his head ambiguously, replying, "Guihuai is just like this."
What does that mean? Is he saying that all the staff at Guihuai High School are like this, and everyone is used to it? But judging from Zhuang Lin and Lu Yan's reactions, it seems like they also think it's abnormal.
Yu Deng frowned, trying to figure out what Zhuang Lin meant. Could it be that other students accept this as normal, and only they are a bit special?
Yu Deng couldn't figure it out, so he replayed the incident in his mind, feeling confused. "So, why did my bed suddenly collapse? What did you guys do?"
After saying this, Yu Deng shook his head, realizing the most crucial question.
"No, why did you two climb onto my bed?"
Why did they climb into his bed in the middle of the night? Was his bed more comfortable?
Yu Deng was too slow to realize what climbing onto the bed meant and didn't connect their actions with the mosquitoes that had dared to bite him in the previous days.
Yu Deng yawned wearily, feeling a bit aggrieved. "I was sleeping fine. It's all your fault."
"Sorry. I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to come see you." Lu Yan lowered his head, sincerely reflecting on himself. "I assumed it would be fine. I didn't ask for your permission, and I overestimated the quality of the bed."
Zhuang Lin also began to reflect on himself: "It's my fault. I shouldn't have gone to your bed without greeting you."
"..." Lu Yan, unable to endure any longer, coldly reminded him, "Whether you greet me or not, you shouldn't have gone."
Before Yu Deng could respond to these two guys' apologies, he heard the system's electronic voice.
[Ding. Triggered Side Mission (4): Scold them, punish them, make them reflect, and revoke their rest privileges. ]
[ This is a common mission, and both Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin must complete the side mission. ]
For the first time, Yu Deng felt that the system's mission was considerate... these two naughty guys really needed some education!
He raised his chin at the two of them, looking both wronged and angry: "I don't care... anyway, you guys are too bad. You made me lose my bed in the middle of the night!"
—His bed had collapsed, and until it was repaired, it clearly couldn't be slept on.
Facing Yu Deng's accusation, both Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin lowered their heads even more.
Yu Deng snorted and mumbled as he counted on his fingers: "You guys can't come to my bed in the middle of the night to disturb me, you can't ruin my bed again, hmm, also, you can't kiss me or bite me these days... got it?"
The two being scolded lowered their heads obediently and nodded repeatedly.
After nodding, Lu Yan then asked seriously, "If I get your consent in advance, can I kiss or sleep with you? I will ask for permission first."
Eh?
Yu Deng's train of thought got derailed, and he didn't notice the slyness in the question. After thinking for a few seconds, he said, "If I agree, then I guess it's okay?"
System 01: [ ... ]
Zhuang Lin clenched his fists: "..." Damn.
After answering, Yu Deng returned to the main topic and continued to scold them fiercely: "But tonight, you must accept my punishment!"
Yu Deng thought about how to punish them according to the mission's requirements, then said.
"I'm going to punish you both by not letting you sleep tonight, and... and you need to write a self-reflection! One thousand words, and read it aloud to me after you're done!"
After hearing Yu Deng's words, Zhuang Lin readily agreed: "Okay, I won't sleep in bed tonight, I will reflect on myself." Then, he even barked twice at Yu Deng, "I will be very obedient, don't be angry."
Lu Yan, seeing Zhuang Lin happily acting like a dog without any burden, suddenly felt a tremendous competitive pressure.
After a brief pause, Lu Yan crouched and leaned against Yu Deng's knees. Though he didn't bark, he still looked like a well-behaved pet dog: "I will reflect seriously as well."
Yu Deng was somewhat satisfied with this. He looked at the two who really intended to reflect in silence for the night, feeling a little soft-hearted.
"Well... there's no need to stand all night in punishment. If you really can't hold it, you can sit on a chair."
Despite being disturbed from his sweet dreams and looking fierce while scolding them, he still couldn't help but soften his heart after the scolding.
Who wouldn't like such a precious one?
Anyway, both Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin were completely soft-hearted for Yu Deng, cooing at him.
At the moment, their dorm had a bed broken, and another one was vacant but covered in clutter. Lu Yan's bed had just been buried under a pile of things but didn't crack, so it had been cleaned up and was now ready.
Thus, Yu Deng could only sleep on Lu Yan's bed or Zhuang Lin's bed.
In the expectant gaze of the two troublemakers, Yu Deng chose to lie on Lu Yan's lower bunk, holding a pillow as he lay down.
Before going to sleep, Yu Deng glanced at the door. The dorm manager probably wouldn't come again... but speaking of which, he still didn't know what would happen if he left the dorm tonight.
"Baby, are you thinking of going out?" Zhuang Lin, very perceptive, asked.
Yu Deng nodded: "Hmm... I'm a bit curious."
Zhuang Lin hesitated for a few seconds: "Leaving the dorm at night can be troublesome. You might encounter some strange things, so it's better not to go out."
Yu Deng understood. After all the trouble, he had figured out where the dangers in the dorm building came from. He no longer lingered on it and closed his eyes to continue resting.
...
Yu Deng quickly fell back into a deep sleep. The two mission targets didn't dare to do anything else. They just stayed in the darkness, guarding the sleeping beautiful youth, staying up the whole night.
The slightly calmed obsessive emotions of the two men spread and grew again after the dorm became quiet. Not wanting to wake Yu Deng again, they could only endure it, repeatedly tracing Yu Deng's face with their eyes.
In the absurd and bizarre quagmire, only Yu Deng was the most special.
— He made them want to get close, want to possess.
But they didn't dare to make a move.
The next morning.
It was just dawn when the wake-up bell rang, but Yu Deng was so sleepy that he couldn't get up at all.
The other two, knowing they were in the wrong, and aware they had disturbed Yu Deng's peaceful sleep the previous night, diligently helped him get up.
Yu Deng was completely out of it. When he was carried downstairs, he almost fell back asleep.
However, this morning, there were unusually many students gathered downstairs in the dorm. They were all gathered near the security booth, watching something.
Yu Deng was a bit startled by the large crowd and barely woke up, asking drowsily, "What are they watching?"
Lu Yan, already suspecting something, pondered, "It might be related to us."
Yu Deng: "?"
Not far away, the crowd had noticed the three of them and, without exception, stepped back, giving them a clear path.
Yu Deng: "??"
He hesitated for a few seconds: "I want to go and have a look."
One minute later, Yu Deng was carried to the small pavilion. The dormitory supervisor, who had turned into a bloated mountain of flesh last night, had returned to her normal appearance. There were dark circles under her eyes from staying up late, and she was sighing as she explained the new rules to the inquiring students.
"Yes, it's a new rule. Why is there a new rule? Oh, because last night, two students crowded onto someone else's bed and broke it."
As she spoke, she saw Yu Deng and the others, and her mouth twitched involuntarily. She quickly looked away, pretending she hadn't seen them.
Yu Deng blinked innocently, finally noticing something different—there was an additional dormitory rule.
No leaving your bed... So, it was really related to the noise they had made last night.
It was... quite embarrassing.
Yu Deng, who had thin skin, felt a little shy and tugged at Lu Yan's sleeve, signaling him to hurry and leave.
The surrounding students were either openly or subtly watching them. With such juicy gossip, the students' mechanical expressions finally showed a shift in emotions.
"They say the campus belle can't even walk anymore..."
"The campus belle just arrived, but the other two have been number one for a long time."
However, halfway through their discussion, when they saw Yu Deng naturally directing the other two, their opinions changed, and their gazes towards him became wary.
Of course, Yu Deng couldn't hear the vague murmurs of the students, but he could observe their expressions.
The students looked at Zhuang Lin with fear, and similarly at Lu Yan, though they would glance at his worn-out school uniform a few more times, indicating that their respect wasn't entirely absolute.
These looks were too complex, and Yu Deng couldn't quite figure them out. But after going through two dungeons, he had gained a bit of experience.
He thought to himself and confirmed that his mission targets were likely important figures, like princes or something similar.
---
Yu Deng arrived at the teaching building.
On the way, he noticed that the behavior of the students seemed even more subtle, with a strange unease in the air.
For instance, some students had their eyes wide open, repetitively muttering the same words as they recited, while others openly ordered others around like servants. Some students would chat with their friends, but then suddenly stop mid-sentence with blank expressions.
These were details Yu Deng hadn't noticed before, or rather, they hadn't been as apparent until now. As he spent more time in the dungeon, these strange behaviors became more obvious, like a peaceful surface barely hiding something more sinister underneath.
Yu Deng felt like he was almost starting to understand the situation here. He shook his head and leaned on his desk, feeling drowsy.
"Lu Yan, I'm tired..." Yu Deng turned his head, burying his cheek in his arm, complaining to him.
"Then sleep for a while, I'll keep watch for you. I'll organize the class notes and give them to you."
Lu Yan knew that Yu Deng hadn't rested well last night, so he took the initiative to give him a break. Yu Deng relaxed and slept through two classes.
By the time the next two classes started, Yu Deng couldn't sleep anymore, as these were math tests.
"??" Yu Deng panicked, "The timetable says math class is in the afternoon?"
He wasn't ready yet!!
Mr. Wang, who had entered through the back door of the classroom, just happened to overhear his words and kindly replied, "Because the schedule was changed, Yu Deng, you're so excited, looks like you can't wait to prove yourself in the exam."
Yu Deng: "…" Whimper, that's not it.
The students in the classroom quickly sat down, waiting for the papers to be handed out. Mr. Wang stood at the podium, emphasizing:
"Integrity in the exam, no cheating. Anyone caught cheating will be dealt with according to the violation rules, given a demerit, and sent to the reflection room for self-reflection."
Yu Deng nervously glanced at his deskmate.
Lu Yan lowered his eyes, gently holding Yu Deng's hand and comforting him, "Don't be afraid."
"Okay…"
Yu Deng quickly received a brand-new exam paper. He wrote his name and began to stare blankly at the questions. When he absentmindedly looked up, he saw that the proctor, Mr. Wang, had changed.
Her neck seemed to stretch like elastic, extending long, while her body remained sitting at the podium. Her neck, however, was twisting around the classroom, carefully observing whether every student was seriously answering questions or cheating.
Yu Deng: "…!?"
What the heck, that's so scary! Don't these students think it's strange?!
As Mr. Wang's neck was about to stretch in front of him, Yu Deng, seeing his blank exam paper, hurriedly guessed on a few multiple-choice questions.
Mr. Wang's head paused by Yu Deng's desk for a moment, glanced at his paper, and a satisfied expression appeared on her face.
Huh? So, did he guess right?
Yu Deng let out a breath, straightened up, and continued working.
But he wasn't really a senior student, and after struggling with a few questions, he got stuck.
He didn't know how to do this question, or that one…
Yu Deng thought for too long, and a wave of dizziness started to hit him. He didn't notice that the exam paper had subtly changed.
Yu Deng lowered his head in confusion.
Huh, why did the formula he just wrote disappear? Wait, what was he supposed to write?
Yu Deng stared blankly at the answer sheet, which had turned blank. He could hear the ticking sound in his ears. It was the countdown for the end of the exam.
He grabbed his pen, trying to redo the problem, but the questions on the paper began to wriggle, swallowing his pen whole.
The black text on the white paper grew larger and larger, and complex numbers stood upright, enclosing him tightly, as if swallowing him. The ticking grew faster, as if it would stop at any second.
A sense of breakdown and despair, seemingly from nowhere, nearly drowned Yu Deng.
Yu Deng sniffed, tears uncontrollably falling.
No one had told him this would happen in the exam... this broken instance, so annoying. They know he's bad at exams, and yet they make him go through this kind of instance.
[Host, host!] The voice of System 01 echoed.
Yu Deng's eyelashes fluttered, as though he hadn't heard the system's voice.
[Baby, why are you suddenly so still? You dropped a little pearl.]
[Look closely, baby's gaze is unfocused, I suspect the baby has entered a special space.]
[Can I say it? My wife's expression looks so familiar, it's just like when I can't solve problems in an exam… Could it be that my wife got sucked into the exam paper?]
[Everyone, switch to baby's first-person view, it really got sucked in… Damn, why does this instance make such terrifying details? This academic failure is going to die of fear!]
"Deng Deng."
Surrounded by numbers, Yu Deng suddenly felt someone touch his forehead. The warm, dry touch pulled his attention back a little.
Yu Deng blinked slowly, his vision clearing. He saw that he was still sitting in the classroom, with the exam paper on the second page, and the answer sheet had some random scribbles.
Cold sweat formed on his forehead. Due to the intense emotional fluctuations, he felt dizzy, and his skin was tingling and itchy.
"Teacher, he's not feeling well. I'll take him to relax," Lu Yan raised his hand, signaling to Mr. Wang, who had her neck stretched around, and said, "I've finished my paper, can I submit it early?"
Mr. Wang stretched her neck and stared at the two of them for a few seconds, showing trust in the top student and the excellent transfer student. "Go ahead, if it's really bad, take him to the school nurse."
Lu Yan carried the dazed Yu Deng out of the classroom. The other students silently continued writing their exams without looking up.
They arrived at an empty classroom.
"Deng Deng." Lu Yan called out to Yu Deng. "Don't be scared. No matter what you saw, it's all fake."
Yu Deng struggled to come back to his senses, his pale face scrunched up, his eyelashes damp with tears.
"Why is this kind of exam… I don't want to take it, I don't even know how to do it." Little academic failure Yu Deng looked pitiful. "And I feel so bad right now… Hurry up and make me feel better."
Lu Yan, who had been treated as a tool, sighed, holding Yu Deng close. His cold voice carried a hint of helplessness. "Deng Deng said last night that I can't kiss you, so now I'm applying for permission. Do you think it will pass?"
Yu Deng, through his blurred tear-filled eyes, looked at him for a few seconds before reluctantly nodding.
"You're allowed to kiss me once, but it has to be gentle, like last time,"
Yu Deng felt terrible. He straddled Lu Yan's lap, pressing his hand on Lu Yan's shoulder. The top of his school uniform was slightly rolled up from the movement, revealing a slender, pale waist.
With a sobbing tone, he ordered, "Hurry up, I feel so bad."