50: The hater is actually myself.

Monday morning, grade 11, class 3 at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was shrouded in a lower pressure than usual.

Partly because of the upcoming monthly exam, but more so due to a collective lethargy stemming from sleep deprivation and psychological trauma.

Wu Di's face was deathly pale, his whole body looking as if his bones had been sucked out. He slumped limply over his desk, weakly poking Lin Que, who was sleeping soundly beside him.

"Brother Que... touch me, is this leg of mine still the original one?"

Lin Que was pinched awake and slapped his paw away, annoyed.

"What? Did you get an amputation in your dream?"

"It was much worse than an amputation!"

Wu Di's entire face scrunched up like a bitter melon.

"After I finished reading the update last night, every time I closed my eyes, I saw an operating table."

He shivered subconsciously as he said this, his eyes scanning the classroom in terror, paying special attention to classmates who walked in wearing masks.

As if afraid that one of them would suddenly take off their mask to reveal a face stitched with threads.

"That Ghost Doctor... gave me nightmares all night long! I dreamed that our head teacher was chasing me with a bone saw, smiling and asking: 'Student Wu Di, I see your brain isn't working very well, how about I swap it for one that loves to study?'"

"No, is this Dream Weaver Great Master a pervert or what! The day before yesterday, he said he was a doctor. This is no doctor! That's a coroner! The kind that performs autopsies and disembowels ghosts!"

Listening to his seatmate's vivid accusations, and hearing him curse himself to his face, Lin Que's sleepiness vanished instantly.

He yawned and lazily commented, "Maybe... he switched professions from being a surgeon."

"Sw-switched professions?" Wu Di was on the verge of tears.

"He jumped straight from a tertiary hospital to a mass grave! The internet is blowing up right now, look!"

He shoved his phone in front of Lin Que.

The comment section for "the human world is like a prison" on Hongguo Novel Website was no longer a simple reader discussion area; it had turned into a massive horror-themed party and a support group meeting for the mentally ill.

【Scared to death. At first, I thought I read the wrong book, but it was just introducing the Ghost Doctor from another perspective! But Great Master, what happened to Yang Jian? It's been hours, even a donkey on a production team wouldn't rest like this! Update quickly, update quickly!】

【Holy crap, god-tier narrative trickery! I thought it was some unlucky guy named Wang Qiang who encountered a new ghost, but it turned out he was the ghost himself! Dream Weaver, I kneel to you, please be a human!】

Of course, there were plenty of readers who knew about yesterday's events.

【I announce the official dissolution of the doctor-nurse ship! It's a doctor-patient relationship now! I'm the patient who got their kidney removed!】

【Me yesterday: Doctor and nurse, love-hate relationship is so good! Me today: Doctor and patient, life-or-death, run away!】

【I can no longer look our hospital's chief surgeon in the eye. He wore gold-rimmed glasses today and asked me where I felt uncomfortable; I almost performed a sliding kneel to beg for mercy right then and there.】

【Dream Weaver: I heard you think I'm gentle? (Pulls out bone saw.jpg)】

【The wildest part is, I was too scared to sleep after reading "Ghost Doctor," so I went to listen to the audiobook of "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store." As a result, when I heard Grandpa Namiya gently say, 'Your map is still a blank sheet of paper,' my brain automatically added, 'Just in time for me to perform surgery on you'... I'm ruined, completely ruined.】

【Brother above, you are not alone! I suspect Dream Weaver and Jian Shen are two patients from the same mental hospital; one is responsible for driving people crazy, the other is responsible for pretending to cure you, and then they split the medical fees!】

Lin Que looked at these comments and almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

The thought processes of these readers always managed to hit his funny bone precisely.

This was the effect he wanted—a wicked kind of joy.

The morning reading bell rang at an inappropriate time, interrupting this "support group meeting."

"Click, click, click..."

A rush of high-heeled footsteps came from the classroom entrance.

The sound was crisp, carrying a suppressed anger.

The classroom, which had been whispering, instantly went quiet, and everyone quickly sat up straight.

Shen Qingqiu stood at the door, her Chinese textbook rolled into a cylinder.

She didn't shout "Class begins" as usual but walked straight to the podium, scanning the class with a heavy gaze.

Finally, without any suspense, it settled on Lin Que.

The gaze was complex—scrutinizing, confused, and even containing a hint of suppressed anger.

"Thwack!"

Shen Qingqiu slammed the book heavily onto the podium, kicking up a puff of chalk dust.

"It seems everyone had a very fulfilling weekend."

The whole class was silent.

"Before class, I have two things to say."

Shen Qingqiu's voice was cold.

"Literary works should bring people reflection and strength, not pure sensory stimulation and malice."

She didn't name names, but all the students who had read "the human world is like a prison" subconsciously sat up straight.

"The day before yesterday, our student representative spoke eloquently at the book signing."

"Something about tearing open wounds to stitch them, something about the complementarity of doctors and nurses..."

"I almost believed it!"

She paused, her tone shifting.

"But what about the result? Some works, under the banner of reality, are actually just peddling gore and despair."

"Even worse, it uses a condescending attitude that toys with readers to construct an infinitely looping horror world."

"This is not avant-garde; this is a trampling of reader trust and a morbid display of skill!"

The whole class was silent.

Everyone could tell that Teacher Shen was publicly criticizing "Hell Dream Weaver."

Zhang Ya sat in the front row, listening to Teacher Shen's denunciation, her back straight and the corners of her mouth curling up wildly.

She hated nothing more than those people fawning over these lowbrow novels every day; of course, the main reason was Lin Que.

Now that he was being criticized publicly by the teacher, she felt extremely satisfied.

She secretly turned back to glance at Lin Que.

She gave a faint snort before turning back.

Shen Qingqiu's gaze also fell on Lin Que.

She wanted to see what the reaction of that boy from the day before yesterday would be after hearing her criticism of "Hell Dream Weaver."

Lin Que raised his head at the right moment and lazily raised his hand.

"Teacher."

"Speak."

"I think you are right."

Lin Que looked sincere.

"I also think this Hell Dream Weaver is too much; he has simply betrayed the trust of us readers. This kind of author deserves to be criticized!"

As Lin Que's voice trailed off, rustling sounds arose all around.

Shen Qingqiu looked at Lin Que's well-behaved appearance, as if he were not the same person who had debated against the crowd the day before yesterday.

This kid, he admits his mistakes faster than anyone.

But did he really think so?

"Good, since you also think he should be criticized."

Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath, pulled a red-headed document from her lesson plan, and gently patted it on the podium.

"In order to correct this unhealthy trend of taking pride in the bizarre, and to respond to the spirit conveyed by Jian Shen's 'The Miracles of the Namiya General Store,' the Provincial Department of Education, in conjunction with the Provincial Writers Association, has decided to hold the first 'Jieyou Cup' Provincial Middle School Student On-site Composition Competition."