94: Next

"Harm those around you, the person you trust the most."

This line of black-red text, like the most vicious curse, plunged the previously united team into instant silence.

The girls looked at each other in terror, instinctively stepping back to create distance. Each of them saw the same fear and suspicion in the others' eyes.

Trust was the only bond that kept them together, allowing them to resist this crazy world while Fang Che was away. And now, the rules were forcing them to sever it with their own hands.

"W-what should we do?" a girl asked, her voice trembling uncontrollably with a sob. "I... I can't bring myself to do it..."

"Yeah... how are we supposed to do this..."

Panic spread like a plague.

"Shut up, all of you!"

A sharp shout interrupted everyone's panic—it was Teacher Qin Bing. Her expression was just as grim, but her eyes still maintained a trace of composure.

She stared fixedly at the line of text on the ground, her brain working at high speed.

"Harm"... the definition of this word was too broad.

Stabbing someone to death was harm, a slap was harm, and even a vicious curse could, to some extent, be considered mental harm.

Since the rules gave such a vague instruction, there must be room for interpretation!

"Qingxue!" Teacher Qin Bing suddenly looked at Su Qingxue. Their eyes met, and they instantly understood each other's thoughts.

"Everyone, pair up and stand opposite each other." Su Qingxue's cold, clear voice rang out again, carrying an unquestionable sense of authority.

Although the girls were confused, they instinctively followed her instructions, and soon everyone was standing in pairs.

Su Qingxue and Teacher Qin Bing naturally formed a pair.

Su Qingxue looked at Teacher Qin Bing before her, and Teacher Qin Bing looked back at her. Of everyone present, they were undoubtedly the partners who trusted each other the most.

Su Qingxue took a deep breath, then, to the astonishment of everyone, she reached out her finger and gave Teacher Qin Bing's forehead a light flick.

A "pop" sound, so faint it was almost negligible.

Teacher Qin Bing was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening. She reached out and gave Su Qingxue's smooth forehead a similar, gentle flick.

After finishing this action, the two looked at each other and saw a trace of relief in each other's eyes.

After they completed this act of "mutual harm," the black-red command on the ground flickered violently, seemingly extremely dissatisfied with this "perfunctory" behavior. However, in the end, it could not determine it to be a violation. Because by definition, this was indeed an act of "harm," however negligible.

A few seconds later, the text reluctantly faded away.

"I get it!" Gu Nanzhi from Mu Waner's team suddenly realized. "We just need to complete the literal 'harm'! Quick, everyone do the same!"

The girls followed suit, flicking each other's foreheads, pinching cheeks, or patting each other's arms with moderate force. These actions, which would normally seem almost flirtatious, had now become the only way to crack the vicious rule.

When the last pair of girls completed this comical "ritual," the heavy mahogany door leading to the Principals Office let out a dull creak and automatically swung inward.

Behind the door was a huge and luxurious office.

There was a dark red, expensive carpet, a priceless mahogany desk, and a huge floor-to-ceiling window occupying an entire wall. But outside the window, there was no campus scenery; instead, it was a chaotic, churning mist of blood-red fog that made one's blood run cold.

In the very center of the office, behind that huge desk, a figure sat upright.

It was a man in a crisp suit, but his face was completely blank, lacking any features, like a mannequin in a store. This must be the principal of this school, or rather, a projection of its rules.

Seeing everyone enter, the faceless principal's projection elegantly raised its head. Although it had no mouth, a magnetic yet emotionless voice echoed throughout the office.

"Welcome, students, to my office."

It began its game.

[Kneel.]

A line of dark red text appeared in the air.

With the previous experience, the girls dismissed it with disdain, all standing straight and looking at it coldly.

The faceless principal did not seem surprised; it changed to a different command.

[Hand over your talents.]

It was still dark red—an unauthorized, invalid command.

Some of the girls even let out a scoff.

The faceless principal's body leaned forward slightly, seeming a bit impatient, and the oppressive feeling in the air suddenly intensified.

[Attack each other until only one remains.]

A vicious command, still dark red and completely ineffective.

The successive failed attempts seemed to have finally exhausted the principal's patience. It slowly stood up from its chair, and the temperature in the entire office seemed to drop by several degrees. On its blank face, it felt as if there were a pair of invisible eyes scrutinizing everyone.

This time, it did not use text; instead, it spoke directly, its voice carrying an unquestionable power of the rules.

"Answer my question."

A line of dazzling, bright red text coalesced in front of it.

"Where is Fang Che now?"

As soon as this question was asked, Su Qingxue's heart sank.

As expected! After going in such a big circle, all the rules of this school ultimately pointed to Fang Che! He was the core of all the anomalies, and the target these ghosts wanted most to obtain or destroy.

This question had to be answered because it was a valid, bright red command.

But answering meant it might expose Fang Che's location, bringing him huge trouble.

What to do?

Su Qingxue's brain worked at high speed.

Lying was absolutely out of the question; the rules would immediately judge it as a violation.

But telling the truth...

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her.

She raised her head, looked directly at the faceless principal's projection, and spoke clearly in the same cold, emotionless tone:

"He is on the Fourth Floor."

This statement was the absolute truth. The purpose of their trip was to go to the Fourth Floor.

Yet, this statement was also a perfectly useless one. The Fourth Floor was so large; where exactly was he? What was he doing? She hadn't said anything. In information theory, this was a typical piece of "correct but useless" information.

Upon hearing this answer, the faceless principal's projection fell into a three-second silence.

The entire space seemed to freeze.

Three seconds later, a violent rage erupted from it! The entire office shook violently, and the documents on the desk were blown into the air by an invisible wave of energy.

It was clearly enraged by Su Qingxue exploiting a loophole in the rules!

"Very well..."

The faceless principal let out a cold laugh that seemed to be squeezed out from between its teeth.

"Leave my room!"

It was another bright red command, carrying an irresistible sense of expulsion, which descended upon everyone's hearts.

The command sounded like a gift, but Su Qingxue instantly understood its sinister intention—it was forcing them to leave immediately so they wouldn't have a chance to destroy the nameplate that served as the source of the rules!

Sure enough, the moment the command was issued, Su Qingxue's Heart of Frost keenly sensed a strong fluctuation of rule energy emanating from a drawer at the very bottom of that huge mahogany desk!

The nameplate was right there!

However, they had been ordered to "leave," and any act of attacking or destroying items in the room could be judged as defiance of the "leave" command.

Damn it! They were just one step away!

Su Qingxue was anxious inside, but her face remained calm as she led the girls to turn around and walk toward the door, pretending to be obedient.

Just as she was passing by the desk, feeling incredibly unwilling, Teacher Qin Bing, who was walking in front of her, suddenly "stumbled."

"Oh!"

Teacher Qin Bing let out a cry of surprise, her body "accidentally" bumping into that huge mahogany desk.

"Clang—"

The heavy desk was jolted by the impact, and the bottom drawer popped open directly due to the violent vibration!

A brass-colored nameplate rolled out of the drawer and clattered onto the carpet.

Now is the time!

The tacit understanding between Su Qingxue and Teacher Qin Bing was pushed to the limit at this moment!

Just as the nameplate rolled onto the floor, Su Qingxue didn't even turn her head back, as if she had just casually raised her hand.

"Swish!"

A tiny, cold-glinting ice spike flew silently from her fingertips and, at an extremely tricky angle, accurately hit the brass nameplate on the carpet!

"Crack!"

A layer of frost instantly covered the nameplate, and immediately after, with a crisp shattering sound, it was frozen into a pile of cold powder.

"No—!!!"

The faceless principal's projection let out a shriek so shrill it didn't sound human. Its body twisted and flickered violently, and finally, with a roar of reluctance, it burst into a sky full of light spots.

The oppressive feeling in the entire Principals Office vanished completely.

Teacher Qin Bing steadied herself, glanced at the powder on the ground, gave a thumbs-up to Su Qingxue behind her, and then quickly opened the team channel:

"Reporting to Fang Che, Principals Office, done."