Qinghe Yikan suddenly pointed at him.

“Speaking of which, where’s your school uniform? You can’t lose the key to the Instance. It’s your proof of identity. Wear it, and you’re a student of Gao Shan High School. Take it off, and you’re an intruder.”

How was this guy still wearing a Military Combat Suit in the middle of class?

Wait a minute…

Could this be the reason he was being sent to the Little Black Room?

“Oh, I’m wearing it as underwear. Want a look?”

As he spoke, Wu Wang made a move to unzip his pants.

A startled Qinghe Yikan shook her head repeatedly.

“That’s quite unnecessary! I have to go, I only asked for ten minutes to visit the infirmary.”

She sighed helplessly.

“This damned school even sets a time limit for seeing a doctor! Unless the school doctor issues a certificate proving you’re unfit for class, any excuse is considered a violation of school rules.”

“Hmm?”

Wu Wang couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

He suddenly thought of a way to get the school doctor to write him a certificate. Of course, he could only put that plan into action after his trip to the Little Black Room.

Time was running out.

Although Teacher Yao had said he just needed to be back before class ended, his current role was that of a student. He couldn’t just brazenly waltz back in the moment the bell rang.

But most importantly…

Wu Wang felt completely on edge.

Ever since he had met the gaze of Lord Cthulhu below and a red eye had grown on his wrist, his five senses had become exceptionally sharp.

This was especially true for the sense of being watched. Even if someone were secretly staring at him on the street, he would immediately feel the discomfort.

From the moment he left the classroom, a strange sense of being watched had clung to him. Something was constantly spying on him!

And the longer it went on, the more obvious the feeling became. He suspected that if he stayed away from the classroom for too long, something terrible would happen.

“I’m heading back, then. See you at mealtime.”

After bidding farewell to Qinghe Yikan, Wu Wang returned to the classroom at top speed.

Teacher Yao was still on the podium, coldly watching everyone during their self-study. He didn’t say anything when Wu Wang returned, merely tilting his head in a gesture for him to sit down.

Wu Wang went back to his seat.

Baili Dao quietly shuffled over.

He didn’t particularly want to get involved with this psychotic newbie, but some things were just too strange to ignore.

“Hey, where on earth did this report card come from? Do you know your score from the last test?” Baili Dao’s tone grew more serious.

He had taken Teacher Yao’s threat to heart. While Wu Wang was out, he had found his own grade on the report card.

【Chen Baili: 90 points】【Rank: 5】

This was the name of his identity in the Instance. Based on Teacher Yao’s earlier threat, a drop in grades would likely lead to some kind of punishment. There was a test tomorrow, and Baili Dao felt a little unsure. After all, who knew what this bizarre school would test them on?

“First, I stole it from the teacher’s desk. Second, my name’s not ‘Hey,’ it’s Chu Yuxun.”

Wu Wang said with a straight face.

Baili Dao’s face darkened. Why was this guy still acting crazy at a time like this?

But in the next second, he saw Wu Wang point a finger at the very top of the report card. Baili Dao’s pupils contracted violently.

【Chu Yuxun: 100 points】【Rank: 1】

Fuck! His name really was Chu Yuxun!

Immediately, Baili Dao’s expression turned worried, and his gaze toward Wu Wang filled with compassion.

First in the class!

If he wasn’t number one after tomorrow’s test, Teacher Yao would almost certainly use it as an excuse to make trouble for him.

It looked like they were about to lose a companion.

Oh, wait. He had to survive the Little Black Room first before they could even worry about tomorrow’s test.

Ring-ring-ring~ Ring-ring~

The bell for the end of morning self-study rang.

Teacher Yao shot up as if he had been holding back for a long time. He grinned, revealing slightly yellow-stained teeth, and sinisterly called out his name.

“Chu Yuxun, come with me. Your teacher looks forward to seeing you study obediently and become a pillar of society.”

With that, he turned and left the room.

He wasn’t worried that Wu Wang wouldn’t follow. Defying the teacher meant facing consequences even more dire than entering the Little Black Room.

Before long, the two arrived at the so-called Little Black Room.

Standing at the entrance, Teacher Yao pulled a key card from his jacket pocket. He swiped it beside the door and effortlessly pulled the heavy metal slab open.

Inside was as black as ink, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Before Wu Wang could enter, Teacher Yao craned his neck and shouted into the room.

“Student Chu Yuxun! Due to unconventional attire not conforming to the student code of conduct, Class Teacher Yao Qing recommends assisted correction!”

The Little Black Room seemed very spacious. The sound of his raspy, grating voice echoed several times.

About five seconds later, a rustling of footsteps came from inside. The sound was dense and frequent, unsettlingly like many people shuffling their feet across the floor. Shua shua shua.

A moment later, three figures appeared at the entrance.

Their positioning was subtle. In the sliver of light from the doorway, Wu Wang could only make out three pairs of tattered canvas shoes and blurry, red-stained school pants. Their upper bodies were completely lost in the shadows.

Seeing them appear, Teacher Yao’s tone became slightly tense. He offered a placating smile.

“Sorry to trouble you. I’ll leave this one to you. I’ll come back in an hour to pick him up… if he can still come out.”

The figures opposite him didn’t reply.

Teacher Yao turned his head to look at Wu Wang, his tone suddenly growing cold.

“Go on in. Just do whatever the people inside tell you to do.”

With that, he turned and left.

Wu Wang shrugged and strode inside.

Come what may, he would face it.

BOOM!

The moment he stepped into the Little Black Room, the heavy door slammed shut behind him. Judging by the sound and the door’s apparent thickness, breaking it open with brute force was likely impossible.

The temperature inside was very low, and the air was filled with a nauseating, rotten stench. In the pitch-black darkness, his own breathing and heartbeat were crystal clear.

Dead silence. Darkness. The unknown.

A sense of unease stirred deep within him. An ordinary person would have already started trembling.

Suddenly, a pair of bone-chillingly cold hands rested on Wu Wang’s shoulders. A mouth, exhaling frigid air as it spoke, drew close to his left ear.

A voice, as hoarse as if a steel bar were stuck in its throat, spoke intermittently.

“You… must play… a game with us.”

A second, equally hoarse voice sounded from his right.

“I represent your interest in clothing… He represents your parents…”

A third voice echoed from directly in front of him.

“And I… am your friend…”

The voice continued.

“The three of us will hide in the corners of the room. You come and find us.”

“Whoever you catch… will disappear…”

“You must catch one of us within an hour! Otherwise, everything we represent will vanish!”

With that, the three voices faded away. The icy feeling on his shoulders also disappeared without a trace, as if nothing had happened.

Hearing this, Wu Wang understood. This Little Black Room was a place for disposing of “garbage,” of everything unrelated to studying.

He now understood why the other students were so terrified of this place. The disappearance of certain things was a fate more terrifying than death.

Compared to losing an interest in clothing, being forced to choose between “parents” and “friends” was something a normal person would find unbearable.

Wu Wang didn’t doubt for a second that the ghosts in here could affect people in the outside world. Based on Qinghe Yikan’s description, the chosen “things” were most likely being erased by Fierce Ghosts.

And there were probably more than just these three things. A person could care about far too much. For now, only two options a normal person would care about had appeared, along with one option designated by Teacher Yao.

If someone entered a few more times, the options would probably become more and more customized, specifically targeting that person. No wonder those who entered repeatedly became like learning machines. Everything they cared about had vanished, leaving only the goal of studying deeply ingrained in their minds.

Shing!

He bent down and pulled a dagger from the inside of his military boot, twirling it with a casual flourish in the darkness.

“Catch you? No, no, no. Whoever I catch is getting cut into fragments~”

Wu Wang wanted to see if the ghosts in the Little Black Room were related to the bodies that had been thrown inside.

As for the consequences…

“Parents? Sorry, my folks died five years ago. I’m an orphan now.”

“Friends? Sorry about that, too. I can’t make any friends at the moment. Though, I do have quite a few people who want to kill me.”

“Do you understand what absolute defense is?”