Chapter 107.2 Merfolk Shore
The night passed uneventfully.
At seven in the morning, Ji Yuanzhi’s alarm rang.
People in the dormitory woke up one after another. In reality, Wen Shi was the earliest riser. After getting ready, he sat on a stool, eating a cake. Xiao Li was surprised when he saw that he was still alive.
“You…” His voice, rough like a broken gong, startled Xiao Li himself. He looked at his teammate nearby and croaked, “A’Zhuang, my voice.”
A’Zhuang frowned, about to speak, but his voice was equally hoarse. His eyes widened, “Xiao Li, what’s wrong with my voice?”
Both of them held their throats, surprised as they exchanged glances.
Wen Shi glanced at Jian Qingrong and calmly said, “Perhaps you caught a cold. You should go to the school clinic.”
Xiao Li suspected that Wen Shi might know about the whistleblowing incident and took revenge privately. However, he was sure that no one followed them when they went downstairs yesterday. Besides, poisoning was against the game rules. With a head full of doubt, he could only head to the school clinic.
After the two left, Wen Shi chuckled. “What are you up to?”
Knowing Jian Qingrong’s style, their voices would either be hoarse to the point of being mute or chillingly venomous, capable of inducing morning shivers.
“Testing the waters. Through them, we can find out if singing off-key might lead to trouble.”
Big Eye followed Wen Shi through two instances. Jian Qingrong knew that violating certain rules would result in accidental death.
Different dimensional spaces have different “laws.” What he needed to do was make sure Wen Shi avoided them.
Wen Shi fell silent, pondering. Was this implying that he was tone-deaf?
The suspicion made scientific sense.
With the example of the Wandering Corpse as a cautionary tale, he felt that he had been somewhat influenced.
Across from him, Ji Yuanzhi tossed a bag of cake to Jian Qingrong and another to Song Yan. Suddenly, a broadcast echoed through the corridor: “All new students, please gather at the underground sports field by eight-thirty.”
The announcement repeated three times, resonating through the hallway.
After finishing the last bite of cake and wiping off the cream from the corner of his mouth, Wen Shi realized that the cafeteria hadn’t opened yet. They would probably have to wait another hour or two before news of the crime was reported.
Before discarding the packaging, he stared at the name “Edge of the Abyss Processing Factory” for an extra couple of seconds.
Could eating this cake help cover up the medical examination results? Did it indirectly indicate that the factory was assisting the merfolk in concealing their identities?
“Edge…”
Looking at the fish with envy by the edge of the abyss. The name of that factory was quite intriguing.
The packaging went into the trash bin. Wen Shi lowered his gaze in thought. It seemed that the infiltration of merfolk’s influence was deeper than he had imagined.
Oh, they probably had a lot of money too.
After breakfast, Wen Shi changed into his school uniform. With his golden physique and proportions, he looked good in anything. He appeared quite youthful overall.
Without student numbers or class assignments, whoever arrived first could get their medical examination done earlier. Since he had nothing else to do, Wen Shi planned to queue up in advance.
Jian Qingrong walked downstairs with him, and Song Yan hurriedly caught up. Only Ji Yuanzhi calmly made his bed and walked out at a leisurely pace.
The dormitory now had an extra small blackboard with a criticism notice on it:
Dormitory 306: Pang Chu, Pan Houhe, Shi Nuo. These individuals sneaked out of the dormitory building to the fountain at midnight, disguising themselves as merfolk and causing panic. They have been expelled.
Wen Shi shifted his gaze away, thinking about the fatal silver thread from last night. He murmured quietly, “They deserved it.”
The gymnasium was built next to the basketball court. Its size could rival an underground parking lot in a mall. Limited light filtered in, making it necessary to keep the lights on even during the day.
Under the old fluorescent tubes, four tables were set up with medical personnel ready, along with the tools needed for drawing blood.
Wen Shi looked around and didn’t even see the scale for measuring height and weight. It seemed that the medical examination only included blood collection.
Last night, when he was stealing cakes, he didn’t get one for the Wandering Corpse. The latter was impersonating a student. He didn’t need to be bothered with any of the quests the players had.
As long as Wen Shi didn’t die, he could summon the Wandering Corpse back anytime if he encountered danger. In summary, the Wandering Corpse was the most relaxed and purest student among them.
The broadcast notice said eight-thirty, but medical staff began drawing blood ten minutes earlier. Wen Shi stood in the first row, at the very front. A long line formed behind him.
The medical personnel drawing blood had a sickly pale complexion. Her voice was sharp. “Our hospital has the most advanced equipment. No matter what hidden issues your bodies might have, they can be detected in time. Of course…” Her gray eyes shifted. “The equipment can also detect other things in your blood. Once discovered…”
She didn’t continue, ending with a cold snort as a warning.
Following the medical personnel’s instructions, Wen Shi rolled up his sleeve after registering. He watched as the needle pierced his vein, his warm and red blood flowing just like any regular human.
Three tubes of blood were drawn from him in total. “Next,” the medical personnel called coldly.
Wen Shi sat there, applying localized pressure and waiting for Jian Qingrong.
The medical personnel glanced at Jian Qingrong’s name and immediately waved her hand, “You don’t need to do this.”
Sponsors had privileges.
Wen Shi felt that this was the game’s protective mechanism for instances. Once the examiner detected that Jian Qingrong’s blood was unusual, it might be the start of a bio-crisis in this world.
Classes at Mingzhu Academy started later, at ten in the morning. The cafeteria didn’t open until nine.
Around that time, Wen Shi wandered around the vicinity. The cafeteria aunt responsible for opening the doors remained surprisingly calm upon seeing the bloody and horrifying scene inside.
She looked around and saw people on the roadside. In a stern voice, she instructed them to step aside, explaining that the cafeteria had been broken into and robbed, and they needed to report it to the police.
Wen Shi’s gaze tightened. This level of proficiency indicated that the academy had definitely experienced such incidents before.
In less than an hour, all the medical examinations were completed.
Students started going to class one after another, bringing a short-lived buzz to the campus. Some players attempted to strike up conversations with the regular students, only to be met with disdainful looks.
Mingzhu Academy valued quality over quantity when admitting students. It was extremely difficult for locals to get in, much like the college entrance exam. Special admissions students were not well received.
Without a campus card, they couldn’t access the cafeteria. Most people relied on a single morning cake to get by. During the lunch break, the broadcast sounded again, informing all new students to gather in the auditorium for the opening ceremony at 3 PM.
At exactly three o’clock, the spacious auditorium hosted only a sparse crowd of around a hundred people.
Last night, about twenty players died. Those who came out of the train station, wearing hats or sunglasses to hide their painful expressions, were mostly fortunate. Jian Qingrong passed by a newbie who seemed uneasy, and exhanged a few words.
Wearing a mask of insincerity, he exuded an added sense of deception. As he sat back down, he said, “He doesn’t understand anything, thought sunscreen had some unique purpose, and always carried it around.”
Wen Shi had a sudden idea and planned to go back and check the manufacturer of the sunscreen.
When he opened his backpack yesterday, there seemed to be a fragrance that was more pronounced than the typical scent of cosmetics.
Ji Yuanzhi: “There are two forces competing in the shadows. The merfolk seem to have a slight upper hand.”
Wen Shi nodded.
The opening ceremony was presided over by the headmistress. Her hair was neatly coiled on top of her head, and not a single strand of hair could be seen on her smooth forehead. The headmistress turned the welcome event into a criticism assembly.
She singled out a few players, “Who allowed you to dye your hair now? And why aren’t you wearing the school uniform?”
Jian Qingrong wasn’t wearing the uniform either, but sponsor privilege came into play, so he escaped the scolding.
Among the players, there was a tough-looking man with tattoos on his face. The headmistress’s voice grew stern. “You, drop out!”
The man’s expression changed. “I can remove them…”
There were items in the in-game store that could temporarily conceal tattoos, but they came at a high cost.
However, the headmistress didn’t listen to his explanation. She was determined to make an example and ordered the security guards to remove the man who was still protesting.
She stood back on the stage and her somber gaze swept over each player in the audience. “Remember this, smoking, dating, dyeing hair, getting tattoos during your school years—all of these could become scandals after you debut! Our motto is…”
“Become the most dazzling versatile entertainers!”
Below the stage, the Wandering Corpse’s eyes gleamed, and his delivery of the line became smoother as he said it more.
The headmistress’s drooping eyelids tightened, exuding a strong sense of pressure. “Good to know,” her thin lips moved again as she reiterated, “Don’t let the school be ashamed by any scandal.”
•
School clinic.
The morning’s medical examination reports were already out, and a school nurse was busy organizing them.
Someone entered the room. All the educational staff at Mingzhu Academy wore the same uniform. The young nurse’s cheeks reddened slightly when she saw the person.
“The headmistress asked me to collect the test results.”
“Sure, please wait a moment.” The nurse picked out twenty suspicious reports from the stack.
The newcomer frowned. “So many new students have issues?”
Recalling something, the nurse broke into a cold sweat. She pulled out another report separately. “Those are just doubts, but there’s one new student who’s really unusual.”
The extracted report was the Wandering Corpse’s medical examination results. When the newcomer took it, they asked, “What’s wrong?”
The nurse took a deep breath, “He’s pregnant.”
“……”
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