Chapter 20: You seem quite happy? Let me cure that!

"...That is the situation."

It took Baili Dao and the others a fair amount of effort to confirm that Wu Wang was still alive, and only then did they sigh and share the events of the day to exchange information.

Naturally, Wu Wang had to reveal something as well. However, he did not explain how he had walked out of the "Dark Room," as that involved his [Immortality]. He simply claimed that Teacher Yao had merely brought him to the entrance of the Dark Room to scare him and hadn't actually thrown him inside.

The three of them believed this without question. After all, they could not imagine how a newcomer could have survived such a place.

"So, how exactly did you get that certificate?" Shi Gandang asked, his expression still unnatural.

Wu Wang replied with a smile: "Although I am a newcomer, isn't it considered very rude to pry into other people's skills?"

Skills!?

Baili Dao’s hand, poised to light a cigarette, suddenly trembled. Skills were not exactly rare; which Spiritual Disaster player didn't have eight or ten of them? The key was—he was only level one.

Aside from becoming an official beta tester, rewards from the newbie tutorial generally consisted of nothing more than consumable items, similar to the "Healthy-When-Sick Band-Aid" he had used himself. Wild players like Tu Xingsun and Shi Gandang might not know it, but players with skills at level one were extremely rare.

According to records he had seen in the Bureau of Strange Affairs archives, only five people were known to have achieved this: the Director of the Bureau, the Leader of the Disaster Cult, the President of the Tarot Society, and two freelance players who hadn't joined any organization—both of whom were renowned figures among Spiritual Disaster players. They were all individuals who had single-handedly fought their way through the entire newbie tutorial. Only with such an overwhelming style of completion would the system make an exception and grant a skill at level one.

If that was the case... was this kid in front of him the same?

"Everyone, stop asking. Personal information is indeed a very private matter. It was our lack of consideration just now; I apologize to you." Baili Dao blocked the other two curious souls. In truth, he was feeling quite excited himself. If he could recruit a newcomer like Wu Wang into the Bureau of Strange Affairs, the guy would definitely become a top-tier asset in the near future!

Thinking about bragging at the office that he had been the one to bring the guy into the fold... damn, just thinking about it was almost ecstatic; it would be the ultimate achievement.

As for previously thinking the guy had mental issues... that was fine. The Bureau had the best psychiatrists in the country; he was still salvageable.

"Besides, if you really wanted to gouge out an eyeball, you'd need to fix the eyelid in place, pry open the gap between the common tendinous ring and the orbital bone, insert three fingers between the eyelid and the eyeball, and grab the base of the six muscles holding the eye. Only then could you drag the eyeball out along with the optic nerve. It’s too much trouble," Wu Wang sighed.

"?"

*Not a chance, buddy!*

*What are you talking about!*

*Could you please not say such horrific things with a straight face? Do you actually know how to do that, for god's sake?*

"Let's get some sleep. The school doctor told me there are twenty minutes left before lights out. If we don't rest, it'll be considered a violation of school rules. Time is almost up."

Before anyone could comment on his previous words, Wu Wang rolled over to the top bunk and fell fast asleep. Hearing this, the three of them didn't dawdle. They returned to their own beds and lay down. Violating school rules was a very serious matter.

A moment later, a strange sound drifted from outside the dormitory. It was the clattering of iron chains being dragged across the tiled floor—a sound so piercing it was unsettling. An immensely large, dark shadow wandered the corridor. Every time it passed a dorm, it would stoop down to peek through the observation window on the door, carefully checking if the students were resting.

The three men, feigning sleep, broke into a cold sweat.

This thing’s oppressive presence was far stronger than the tentacle ghosts in the cafeteria!

"Hrrk! Snort—hrrk! Snort—"

An abrupt snoring sound came from the top bunk. The giant shadow outside the door paused for a moment before turning away to check the next dormitory.

"No way, man, how can you be so thick-skinned? Falling asleep in three seconds in this hellhole?" Tu Xingsun, looking as if he’d seen a ghost, cautiously stood up to check the top bunk.

Wu Wang’s lips were slightly parted, his breathing steady, and his muscles relaxed without a hint of vigilance. This kid was actually asleep!?

"Let's get some rest too. There are still four days left; we can't just not sleep, right?" Baili Dao suggested. In his view, Wu Wang must have realized this, which was why he could fall asleep so peacefully.

The three lay back down. Gradually, drowsiness washed over them.

But at this moment, Wu Wang on the top bunk slowly opened his eyes...

—

"Bzzzt! Beep-beep-beep! Ring-ring-ring!"

In the early morning, a cacophony of noises echoing throughout the campus woke everyone up. The alarm in this ghost school was as piercing as an air-raid siren; it was loud enough to wake the chickens in the neighboring village.

The three of them scrambled up, dazed. Baili Dao looked at the silent top bunk and reached out to wake the other, as being late would lead to being locked in the Dark Room.

But his hand met empty air. Wu Wang was gone!

"Didn't he get that certificate? He doesn't have to go to class, so he probably went out to look for clues, right?" Tu Xingsun said as if it were obvious. After yesterday's events, no one looked at him as a mere newcomer anymore.

"Fair point. Let's head out then. It's exam day today. If possible, try to do well," Baili Dao said, reminding the two behind him as he reached the door.

Unexpectedly, their expressions turned increasingly grim. One of them asked uncertainly, "Brother Baili, do you... really know how to do those problems?"

Baili Dao frowned. "It's alright. Though my academic performance isn't top-tier, for high school level knowledge, getting seventy or eighty out of a hundred shouldn't be a problem. What about you two?"

"I'm a vocational college graduate."

"I never went to school."

"?"

The two answers were more shocking than the last. There was even a damn survivor of nine-year compulsory education who had slipped through the cracks!

"You guys... sigh..."

"Forget it, let's just figure out a way to cheat." Baili Dao had no choice but to resort to such a desperate measure. A bad premonition rose in his heart. Would these two guys not end up dying at the hands of ghosts or urban legends, but fail because of an exam? That would be truly ironic.

—

On the sixth floor of the teaching building, inside the office.

Teacher Yao was grinning as he flipped through the white ring in his hand. This was a privilege granted to him by Principal Wang. With this item, he could move unimpeded anywhere in the school and enter other homeroom teachers' offices for investigation without needing consent. It was essentially a pass. It would make it easier for him to find the real culprit behind the "Dark Room" incident—even though he already knew who it was.

"Yo, old man, you seem pretty happy? Come on, let me 'treat' you."

A hateful voice rang out from behind him, and the smiling expression on Teacher Yao's face vanished instantly. That damn bastard student was here!

"Where's the official seal? I'll process the paperwork myself." Wu Wang didn't treat himself like an outsider at all, rummaging through the drawers on Teacher Yao's desk.

The veins on the teacher's forehead bulged. His fingers even involuntarily turned thin and sharp, nearly transforming into his ghost form.

"Give it here! I'll stamp it for you!"

Although he was surprised that this guy had actually managed to get a certificate exempting him from class, as long as the paperwork was in order, he wouldn't have to worry about being held accountable. Teacher Yao also handed over a "List of School Rules" from the drawer. This was what they had agreed upon yesterday.

Wu Wang tucked it into his pocket without even looking at it. Since he didn't have to attend class, he had plenty of time to study these bizarre "School Rules."

He had come here for another reason. He placed a note covered in writing in front of Teacher Yao, who was in the middle of stamping the paper. The words on the note made the ghost tremble all over—

"I know Principal Wang asked you to help investigate the Dark Room incident. We can cooperate."

"Pick the homeroom teacher you hate the most. I'll pretend I'm trying to skip class, and I'll frame that teacher by linking them to the Dark Room incident."

"That way, they become the traitor who opened the Dark Room to help students escape, and you become the hero who uncovered the truth. Principal Wang will think highly of you, and your status will naturally rise."

"Now, tell me the location of the Art Building."

After reading the note, Teacher Yao looked up abruptly, staring at Wu Wang with an incredulous expression, trying to detect any emotional fluctuation in his eyes.

However, all he saw was a calm, dead-fish gaze on that handsome face.

*Damn it!*

*Is this guy really a student?!*

His own mindset and every move seemed to be under this guy's control. Because this proposal... he was truly tempted.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Teacher Yao asked the same question he had asked yesterday.

Wu Wang silently picked up the note. He took out a lighter and burned the piece of paper filled with temptation into ashes, ensuring no evidence was left behind to cause trouble.

Then, he smiled and replied with words the other hadn't expected—words that coincidentally matched exactly what Teacher Yao had been thinking in the depths of his heart yesterday:

"To obtain special privileges within the rules, and to satisfy my own foolish curiosity."

"!?"

*He can read my mind!?*

At this moment, Wu Wang’s handsome and pleasing face became abnormally ferocious and terrifying in Teacher Yao's eyes, like a devil skilled at bewitching souls...