Chapter Twenty-Two: Exams Are Simply Impossible

"The first day, a girl died. Her brain was dug out—perhaps she failed math.
The second day, a girl died. Her legs were cut off—perhaps she failed running.
The third day, a girl died. Her ears were sliced—perhaps she failed listening.
The fourth day, a girl died. Her eyes were gouged—perhaps she failed art.
The fifth day, a girl died. Her tongue was cut out—perhaps she failed singing.
The sixth day, a girl died. Her hands were chopped off—perhaps she failed piano.
The seventh day, those dead girls, perhaps..."

...

This eerie and sorrowful song played over the campus broadcast.
The sky was gray, the light dim, shrouding the entire school in gloom.
Xiaofang, dark circles under her eyes and a heavy backpack on her shoulders, walked along the campus path.
She lifted her head and listened, tilting her ear. "Why is the school playing such a mournful song today?"
Shaking her head, she shifted the weight of her bulky bag and continued toward the teaching building.

Class 3-1—her class,
and one of the top classes in the grade.
Never-ending assignments,
endless problems to solve,
a life of repetition...

Even the colors of the school seemed to have faded to gray.
So tired, she just wanted to rest.
But endless exams pursued her like whips, driving her relentlessly to study.

Stepping into her classroom,
Xiaofang set down her bag and looked around with a sense of unease.
She noticed today that all her classmates seemed odd; everyone had their heads buried in their desks, working through problems feverishly.

The sorrowful music drifted from the speaker above the blackboard, mingling with the relentless scratching of pens on paper, sending chills up Xiaofang’s spine.

Instinctively, she pulled out paper and pen from her bag, searching for a geometry problem to solve, hoping to calm herself.

As she worked through the problem, her terror faded somewhat.
Blending into her classmates brought inexplicable comfort.
She even felt numb, an urge to keep solving problems forever.

If only she could spend her whole life solving problems, how wonderful that would be.

"How could I have such a horrifying thought?"
Xiaofang was frightened.
"I haven’t even had breakfast yet—a bun, a cup of instant soybean milk..."
"I don’t want to do problems anymore, I’m hungry..."
"Stop, stop writing! I don’t want to do homework!"

Xiaofang’s fear mounted as she realized she couldn’t lift her head; only paper and questions remained in her field of vision.
Her hand, as if beyond her control, kept writing furiously...

Scratch, scratch, scratch...

Stop,
please stop!

Xiaofang was on the verge of tears.
But even her expression seemed no longer her own.
The eerie, mournful song that had played for so long abruptly cut off.

Her writing hand also stopped suddenly.

The entire classroom fell into a startling silence—all pens halted at once!

Utter stillness.

"Hello? Hello..."
From the speaker came a raspy voice interlaced with static, as if someone was adjusting it.

"The exam begins now."

After the adjustment, the final announcement sounded from the speaker.

Xiaofang couldn’t move; her head was fixed to the desk.

All the books on her desk had been cleared away—she could only stare at the surface.

Suddenly.

A test paper fluttered down onto Xiaofang’s desk, blocking her view.

"An exam?"

Xiaofang exhaled—this was familiar territory, the cycle she’d known all her life.

Yet, before she finished her breath—

Smack!

A bloodstained hand slammed down onto the pale test paper.

Blood splattered, spraying Xiaofang’s terrified face.

"The exam begins."

...

...

Du Fang held onto Luoluo’s hand, frowning as he watched Zhang Changlin and the others standing at the school gate, already entering the dream-plague state.

He knew the captain and the others had entered the dream-plague.

Zhang Changlin had told Du Fang not to enter this dream-plague—for his own good.

But...

Du Fang had his own reasons for going in.

Gazing at Jiangling No. 1 Girls’ High School...

A rare blush crept across Du Fang’s handsome face.

"The mother of my child is here..."

Luoluo’s mother, as described by the "Happy Family" system panel,

Wasn’t she the wife he’d lost contact with?

A wife assigned to him...

Officially recognized!

The very thought made his heart race.

"How should I act?"

Du Fang licked his lips nervously.

Then, unable to wait, he led Luoluo by the hand toward the gates of Jiangling No. 1 Girls’ High School.

"Luoluo, help Daddy find Mommy," Du Fang said.

"Okay!" Luoluo nodded obediently.

The assistant watched Du Fang’s actions, momentarily stunned.

"Brother Du, you..."

Hadn’t Captain Zhang warned Du Fang not to enter this dream-plague?

She opened her mouth to remind him.

But then the sunlight dimmed abruptly, and the world seemed to shift in an instant.

Where Du Fang had been holding empty air, he was suddenly holding the hand of a little girl in a pleated skirt.

The little girl twisted her head a hundred and eighty degrees to grin at her.

Through her parting lips and teeth, words emerged.

A familiar scene,

A familiar nightmare.

"Hee-hee..."

"Auntie, Luoluo has wanted to stab you for a long time."

"Are you trying to stop our family from reuniting?!"

Su Xiaoyu went weak all over, collapsing to the ground.

"Sorry to bother you."

...

...

At the gates of No. 1 Girls’ High School,

The police tape had vanished, and the noisy crowd was gone too, replaced by five figures.

Zhang Changlin held a cigarette between his lips, the hem of his black trench coat fluttering.

Beside him, Chen Xi, Zhao Lu, Su Jiuming, and Si Nan followed closely.

"First day, a girl died..."

They listened to the mournful, terrifying song drifting from the campus, their faces a mix of grimness and confusion.

Zhang Changlin craned his neck, peering into the school. "Dreamwave fluctuations aren’t strong… this should only be a Grade II Eerie Dream-plague."

"But that makes it all the more suspicious."

"Zhao He’s combat strength wasn’t weak—and he had a forbidden artifact. If it was truly just a Grade II Eerie Dream-plague, he could have taken it down alone. But he died, and so did his whole squad."

"For a Bronze Squad to be wiped out with no chance of escape, the dream-plague must be at least Grade VI or higher."

"Stay alert, everyone."

"This dream-plague is codenamed ‘Bloodstained Examination Room.’ The Eerie Entity is likely connected to exams."

"Pay attention to the way the Eerie Entity kills. If anything feels wrong, force a disengagement immediately!"

Zhang Changlin began to lay out the assault plan.

The others all agreed.

Their spirit forms stepped into No. 1 Girls’ High, entering the heart of the dream-plague.

Buzz...

The moment he crossed the threshold,

Zhang Changlin’s vision blurred.

He found himself seated in a classroom, a desk before him.

His head felt weighed down, as if something heavy pressed him forward.

He could only stare at the desk, searching for a way to break the predicament.

But the desktop was bare, except for a few scratches left by bored students,

And even a lovesick confession carved by some infatuated girl: "So-and-so likes so-and-so."

"Heh, bookworms—full of pretentiousness."

Zhang Changlin chuckled.

"You’re late, but the exam continues... Only thirty minutes remain..."

"When time is up... answering will stop..."

Suddenly, the smile vanished from Zhang Changlin’s face as a raspy voice sounded by his ear.

A test paper slammed onto the desk,

A hand, drenched in fresh blood, pressed down upon it.

The Eerie Entity had arrived!

Zhang Changlin narrowed his eyes.

"An exam? What a joke!"

Dreamwaves surged from Zhang Changlin’s body.

With his strength, a mere Grade II Eerie Entity dared show off before him?

He could crush a Grade II Eerie Entity into any shape he liked with his bare hands!

So, he would never take this exam...

Not in this life!

He never wanted to see the word "fail" ever again!

As a Dreamwalker skilled in both physical and psychic arts, Zhang Changlin was not to be underestimated.

Boom!

Dreamwaves flowed through Zhang Changlin’s body, inflating his black trench coat with muscle.

His psychic force roared,

The forbidden artifact at his waist vibrated, yearning to awaken!

Bang!

Zhang Changlin slammed both hands on the desk, ready to straighten up and raise his head.

"Not taking the exam?"

The raspy voice whispered in his ear, chilling and insistent.

Zhang Changlin couldn’t be bothered to reply—he’d break out with force, assault this so-called Grade II Eerie Dream-plague, and seek the deeper, hidden plague beneath it!

But in the next instant, the blood-soaked hand pressing on the exam paper suddenly turned a deep, translucent red, as if carved from blood-jade.

The blood-jade hand seized Zhang Changlin’s head.

Bang!

His skull was slammed hard onto the desk.

His mighty body,

His surging dreamwaves,

All evaporated like illusions.

With one terrifying blow, everything was utterly suppressed!

???

Who the hell said this was Grade II?

Zhang Changlin’s head was pinned to the desk.

He spat out the cigarette, now stained with blood from his gums, and said coolly, "Educators should use words, not violence. It’s unscholarly."

"I’ll ask once more..."

"Will you take the exam?"

The raspy voice whispered, relentless.

Zhang Changlin: "Heh."

"I’ll take it."