Zhuang Lin's voice was low, blending with the night, carrying a hint of tender coaxing.
Yu Deng struggled to turn his mind.
A kiss can increase yang energy, driving away the ghosts and monsters outside...?
That seems somewhat plausible... It's always said that ghost-repelling rituals and exorcisms are done when the yang energy is strong, and those sect disciples are also people full of yang energy.
"I see..." Yu Deng nodded half-closed eyes after some thought. "Alright, hurry up and kiss me, so the things outside will leave. I want to go back to sleep."
System 01: [.]Sigh, the stupid host believes it again.
Lu Yan held Yu Deng, originally wanting to expose Zhuang Lin's nonsense, but seeing that Yu Deng had already naively accepted it, he changed his mind.
"Deng Deng, I just didn't take physical education, but my physical condition is fine, my last physical exam report was perfectly healthy, I can also increase yang energy." Lu Yan cleared that up, then meaningfully added, "And Deng Deng, you've recognized my kissing skills, haven't you? You praised me the last few times we kissed."
A few times? A few times?? And you even praised me??!
Zhuang Lin, who hadn't even had a proper kiss yet: "..." His fists immediately clenched.
The two competing for affection were like fierce wild beasts lurking in the dark, doing everything they could to woo, while relentlessly attacking their rival.
Zhuang Lin gritted his teeth: "Baby, I'll kiss you better than him!"
Yu Deng was even more dizzy from these two, and for a moment, didn't know who to choose. But he was so tired that he just closed his eyes and said, "You both can... Don't fight anymore, I'm really tired."
His voice was soft and light, just like a poor little kitten that had been woken up and wanted to go back to sleep.
The two rivals for affection froze. The obsessive love, inexplicable and deep, was hidden in their dark eyes, their emotions almost suffocating them.
But seeing Yu Deng's sleepy, dazed expression, they both restrained their feelings.
"...Sleep then."
Zhuang Lin quickly leaned in, taking the initiative to kiss the corner of Yu Deng's mouth.
This action was akin to dancing on Lu Yan's last nerve.
Lu Yan's breath deepened. He quickly swung a punch, exchanging a few moves with that annoying sports guy in a matter of seconds. Their fists collided, the bone-crushing sound of a crack echoing, before quickly stopping as soon as Yu Deng realized what was happening.
Yu Deng sluggishly glanced at the two of them, then perked up his ears to listen to the movement outside. He realized it had indeed stopped. Struggling to hold his head up, he analyzed for a few seconds, then couldn't hold on any longer, collapsing with a thud onto Lu Yan's chest, falling back to sleep.
Zhuang Lin finally released his grip on Yu Deng's hand, giving Lu Yan a mocking smile before turning over and returning to the top bunk.
In the darkness, Lu Yan pulled out a wet wipe, carefully cleaning Yu Deng's mouth. Once he confirmed there was no lingering trace of the sports guy's scent, he gently kissed Yu Deng, tenderly grinding his lips against his.
It was like a dog marking its territory, redoing its mark.
...
Yu Deng had no idea how many tricks his two mission targets were playing, nor did he know that after he fell asleep, they had secretly competed a few more rounds.
At 4:30 AM, while Yu Deng was sleeping soundly, he suddenly heard the wake-up bell broadcast.
He was completely confused, struggling to lift his head and look outside the balcony, only to find that the sky was still dark.
"Is the broadcast broken...?"
"No," Lu Yan interrupted Yu Deng's wishful thinking, "The broadcast just announced that from today, we have to wake up at 4:30 AM for morning runs and morning reading."
Yu Deng: "???"
Waaah, I really love waking up at 4:30 AM to read books. This almost soul-splitting feeling is just so fascinating.
Yu Deng really wanted to skip the morning reading, but since the dungeon had just entered its second stage, he wasn't sure what would happen if he skipped it. He could only get up according to the rules for now.
Of course, getting up was impossible on his own—Yu Deng felt so tired that his soul hadn't even returned yet, and he was being assisted by Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin to wash up.
During the washing process, their gazes never left Yu Deng for a second. If he had opened his eyes, he would have noticed that their auras were even more obvious than last night.
Indifferent, sharp, but still unable to hide their obsession.
Unfortunately, Yu Deng was so sleepy that he was about to fall asleep right there and didn't notice a thing.
After finishing washing up, Lu Yan, taking advantage of being in the same class as Yu Deng, seized the opportunity to carry him to class.
The quiet, reserved boy successfully occupied Yu Deng's attention, quickly leaving behind the annoying sports guy and heading outside.
As they passed the dorm door, Yu Deng sniffed the air, and last night's doubts resurfaced in his mind.
So strange, there was still a slightly sweet and sour smell, but there were no traces on the floor or under the door.
Click. The sound of a door closing came from the next dormitory, and the student who had knocked on his door last night walked out.
His severed head was back in place, sitting properly on his neck. However, his eyes were dark, looking like he hadn't slept all night.
Yu Deng shuddered and cautiously looked at him with his round, clear eyes.
The student awkwardly greeted him: "...Good morning."
Seeing that the student had no intentions of attacking, Yu Deng quietly returned the greeting. He recalled what Lu Yan had said—that the student's actions at night were due to his obsession… So, did he spend the entire night walking around with his head in his hands, asking questions?
Yu Deng felt both horrified and a bit respectful. He glanced at the student again before being carried downstairs by Lu Yan.
As for the decapitated student, he watched them leave with a long sigh, revealing a garbage bag behind him. Inside, it was filled with expired ketchup packets and cleaning cloths.
...
Yu Deng was already carried downstairs to the dormitory.
It was only then that he belatedly realized something: "Lu Yan, has every other student become like him...?"
If not, then what were the others like?
"No, students like him are rare. They are trapped in their most obsessive memories. As for the others..." Lu Yan paused for a few seconds, "Everyone might be afraid of them, but they don't find it too strange."
"Is that so..." Yu Deng murmured, "But they're already like that."
Their heads had fallen off. Wouldn't it be horrifying to meet them again the next day? And the terrifying appearance of the teachers—everyone just seems unfazed by it...
Lu Yan only shook his head.
At Guihuai High School, nothing would be surprising. Even the most horrifying beings are just part of the campus, as if the campus was always supposed to be like that. Maybe some people occasionally realize that it's not normal, but they don't break the silence, nor do they resist. They just continue living in a numb state.
Lu Yan softly said, "They are different from you, Deng Deng."
Yu Deng turned his head and looked at Lu Yan's profile. "What about you guys?"
"We are also different from you, Deng Deng."
Yu Deng was somewhat confused. On the way to the classroom, Yu Deng saw several students reciting aloud, speaking very quickly, repeating it over and over. When passing a quieter corner, he even saw a few students cornering someone and slapping them, with books scattered all over the ground.
Seeing this scene, Yu Deng's sleepiness faded a little, and he didn't want to watch anymore.
"Lu Yan." He tugged at Lu Yan's sleeve, asking him to put him down, then picked up a stone from the flowerbed in the green area and forcefully threw it near the feet of those students.
Their cursing had already started, but when they saw who it was, they quickly ran off, leaving the student they had hit behind. The student silently glanced at them, picked up the books, and walked away slowly.
[Ugh, this dungeon is really suffocating, and it's two completely different types of suffocation.]
[I understand. It's clearly a key high school, but this kind of bullying situation feels so normal. It's like a rotten school, yet it places such an obsession on discipline and grades to the point of deformity. If I stayed here for a while, I'd probably get depressed.]
[And it's so tiring. Which good school makes students wake up at 4:30 AM!]
[Baby's heart is so soft... worried that he'll be bullied for his kindness. But thinking carefully, his kindness still has principles.]
[Seeing my wife just makes my heart melt.]
Lu Yan lowered his eyes and looked at Yu Deng, gently ruffling his hair, and continued carrying him to the teaching building. They arrived at the teaching building quickly, and the huge honor roll was very noticeable.
Speaking of which, evaluating students' overall qualities is actually more reasonable than just focusing on scores. But here, everything has turned into another kind of distorted form. The clearly ranked food chain—doesn't that reflect discrimination?
Yu Deng stared at the honor roll for a few seconds, his gaze landing on the very top. "Lu Yan... Since that's the case, does everyone know how the ranking works?"
"Everyone knows," Lu Yan replied.
Yu Deng pressed his lips together. "No, but then, you... your ranking is first, and Zhuang Lin..."
Since it's a comprehensive evaluation, their position in the second tier of the food chain must be quite high... Oh, maybe his is pretty high too?
Lu Yan could guess what Yu Deng was thinking. He didn't say it outright but only reminded him, "Deng Deng, it's not only when you're oppressing others that your status rises. If you can prevent those who provoke you from achieving their goals, that too is a reflection of status."
Yu Deng translated the meaning of Lu Yan's words. He meant... that if someone tries to bully you but fails, that could also be seen as being at the top of the food chain? Probably. Maybe Lu Yan, due to his poor family background, had also been bullied before.
Thinking about this, Yu Deng felt that his side mission of bullying Lu Yan wasn't entirely right...
Yu Deng remained silent for a while, and Lu Yan, being exceptionally smart, quickly understood what Yu Deng was thinking. He lowered his voice and coaxed, "Deng Deng, you're really cute and really good."
Yu Deng made a small sound of acknowledgment and stopped dwelling on it. He began thinking about how to break the deadlock.
In terms of grades, he definitely wouldn't make it into the top three. As for the second tier of the food chain... he didn't want to become that kind of person.
That kind of bullying was different from his side mission. Yes, Yu Deng's side mission was almost finished, and only now did he slowly realize that the tasks in the mission—enslaving, degrading, forcing...—from a certain point of view, all counted as bullying.
But he never had that intention. The methods he thought of were always rather mild, resulting in strange effects.
The tasks in the side mission were already the limit of what he could do. So how was he supposed to break the deadlock?
Yu Deng furrowed his little face, feeling a weariness from overthinking.
He carried this question through a morning of strange and bizarre lessons, watching several subject teachers transform into terrifying figures. Finally, he made it to the lunch break, quickly took a bottle of healing potion, and planned to head to the cafeteria to fill his stomach.
Probably because it had been nearly a week, the limitations of the NPCs' general perception of him had disappeared. With the help of the healing potion, his sprained ankle had completely healed.
As soon as the bell rang, Lu Yan was called away by Teacher Wang, and Zhuang Lin was busy with training. Yu Deng slowly made his way to the cafeteria alone.
He once again saw the cafeteria dining guidelines on the poster.
It seemed the cafeteria had also changed along with the abnormalities in the school. After all, reducing waste was a normal thing, but being so strict that wasting food meant cutting off a piece of flesh was terrifying.
This was the first time Yu Deng came to the food counter, and he glanced into the glass window.
Various red and green foods were mixed in large containers, and the aunties and uncles serving food were wielding large spoons, scooping out food from inside.
Yu Deng: "..."
What should he do? It didn't seem like he was particularly hungry anymore...
But in the two seconds he got lost in thought, the aunt in front of him had already taken a tray and quickly filled it with food.
Yu Deng stood holding the tray, feeling conflicted, and finally sat down.
There were staff members patrolling the cafeteria, checking students for food-wasting behavior, and no takeaway was allowed anymore. With the instance entering its second phase, every area was becoming more dangerous. The distorted and perverse rules were becoming more obvious, and the cafeteria was no exception.
Just as Yu Deng shifted his gaze from the patrolling staff, he looked down at his tray and noticed something strange about the food!
The greasy chicken pieces on top slid off, revealing something resembling black charcoal beneath—something unidentifiable. The vegetables were so soft they were almost mush, and at the edge of the plate, there was a limb of some small animal. The entire dish, covered in seasoning, emitted a strange smell.
Yu Deng: "??"
He quickly took a step back, wanting to dump the food.
"Yu student." Someone called to Yu Deng from the side. "Are you going to throw it away? That's not allowed."
Yu Deng turned around. He couldn't remember this student's name but recalled she was the one who had called him to the homeroom teacher's office on the first day.
"But... this is food I can't eat." Yu Deng couldn't believe it. "This can't be wasted?"
She shook her head. "Sometimes food might be a little strange or not as tasty, but everyone eats it like this. You can't waste it." She added, "Enduring hardship and being hardworking is a virtue."
Yu Deng still couldn't accept it. Was "enduring hardship" really the right phrase here? He doubted this was just an excuse for the cafeteria to serve bad food, and besides, this wasn't about enduring hardship—this was food that couldn't be eaten!
The cafeteria rules said the food was safe... was it really safe?
Perhaps their conversation triggered a keyword, as a staff member patrolling nearby quickly walked over. It was the same staff member who had come to handle food-wasting incidents before and escorted students away.
The staff member stared at Yu Deng. "Student, are you wasting food?"
Yu Deng felt this wasn't wasting food at all. "This isn't edible."
Yu Deng was a little aggrieved. "Before, when I had Lu Yan and Zhuang Lin get me food, at least it was something I could eat..."
How come in the second phase, even the food wasn't good?
Upon hearing those two names, the staff member paused for a moment before emphasizing, "It's edible. The cafeteria rule number one is that the food is safe to eat."
Yu Deng didn't believe it and didn't want to touch the food.
Perhaps because Yu Deng was the campus flower and an excellent student, or because the staff member had heard those two names, his attitude towards Yu Deng remained relatively patient. "Although the appearance is not very good, this food is indeed safe. According to the kitchen records, there have been no cases of students dying after eating it."
Yu Deng was confused: "…?" Huh?
This description was strange...
He silently stared at the plate for a few seconds, then mustered the courage to ask, "When you say it's safe to eat, you don't mean... it just won't kill me, right?"
The staff member nodded: "Yes."
Yu Deng: "?!"
Sometimes, progressing through the instance really felt hopeless. Could he not report this to the health bureau?
"System, system..." Yu Deng, in a panic, didn't know what to do. He called out to his system in his mind, "What should I do, it seems like they're forcing me to eat it, or else it'll be considered wasting food."
The system 01 gently reminded: [Since you have obtained this food but haven't eaten it, its universal effect is not just limited to you eating it.]
Yu Deng pondered for a moment, following the system's train of thought. He suddenly understood and said to the staff member, "Then, can I give this food to you? That's allowed, right?"
The staff member: "?"
The staff member seemed to have never encountered this situation before and got stuck. His eyes moved a few times, and he mechanically repeated, "Wasting is not allowed... double punishment for those who waste... transferring doesn't constitute wasting behavior, staff cannot eat student meals..."
These rules conflicted, causing the staff member to look very conflicted. He muttered to himself a few times before finally concluding, "I can't accept it, so you have to eat it. Otherwise, you'll be punished and sent to the self-reflection room."
As he said this, the staff member's eyes almost bulged out, and his muscular body twitched, glaring at Yu Deng in a terrifying manner.
Nearby students were all watching, and several students also had these strange foods on their plates but continued eating without changing expression, a result of long-time discipline. A few athletes seemed to have spotted an opportunity to gain favor and were secretly texting Zhuang Lin.
Yu Deng looked at the plate again and then at the staff member, feeling aggrieved and unwilling.
What kind of cafeteria was this?! They made the food inedible, yet still punished students.
"I... I actually have a question I've been wanting to ask you for a long time. Before punishing me, you need to answer me."
Yu Deng tried to hold back the trembling and the urge to cry, took a deep breath, and nervously worded his question for a few seconds, then raised his voice to ask, "You made the food so disgusting, and even ruined it—doesn't that count as wasting food too?!"