The pain within the heart lowered. The souls beside the graves saw a way home. No. 4 stopped struggling. Starlight filtered through the fog, and it felt so familiar. He remembered that whenever he searched for death, someone would stubbornly come to save him. The person repeated this so many times that No. 4 would think about him whenever he wanted to die. He relaxed. No. 4 opened his palm and looked at the starlight.
The healing was never forceful. It was a permanent star, gentle and silent. Han Fei received the system notification that the process was over. The treatment was successful. The healing persona became stronger, and Han Fei gained resistance against death. As for the condition of the patient, the system didn’t say.
“Do you feel better?” Han Fei pulled back his hands. The death in No. 4’s eyes calmed down.
No. 4 didn’t nod or shake his head. His gaze softened, but he still said, “There are many who have the healing persona. You are clearly not the one I want to see.”
“If you can’t suppress death anymore, you can come to find me. Not only you…” Han Fei turned to his other students. “If any of you have a problem with your persona, you can come to me. After all, I’m your teacher.” Han Fei wanted to say more, but footsteps came from the corridor.
“Teacher Gao, come for a moment.” Crow stood outside and waved at Han Fei. He didn’t look too good.
“Is there any problem?” Han Fei held the edge of the table and tried his best to stand up. Anyone could see that his condition had worsened. “Yesterday night, Teacher Ma left the school and hasn’t been seen since. I heard from the students that he had a private talk with you yesterday. Do you know where he went?” Crow looked at Han Fei. His eyes slowly became abnormal, like he was using some power on Han Fei.
“He was afraid of the exam, so he wanted to trade his black stick for my white one. Of course, I didn’t agree. If I enter the black building in my current condition, I’ll die.” Han Fei had masterful acting.
Crow suspected Han Fei, but he knew that Han Fei didn’t have the ability to kill Ma Jing. Crow stood outside Class Seven. He didn’t notice that the students and teacher of Class Seven were all acting. In just two days, the students and teacher dealt with a teacher each.
“Follow me to the office. The other teachers are all there. We’re going to discuss the exam happening tonight.” There were less than 24 hours to the exam, and two teachers had been killed. Han Fei entered the conference room. The other teachers were already there. The headmaster sat at the head, and he was surrounded by a presence of tragedy.
“Headmaster, everyone is here.” Crow signaled for Han Fei to sit. Then, the door of the room closed on its own. The thick curtains were pulled off, and the room temperature dipped.
“I’m often not at school, so many might have forgotten why I am the headmaster.” The chilly voice echoed in everyone’s eyes. The headmaster’s voice was like poison. “Some of you have private dealing with the black merchant, and some keep a store of illegal items, some sacrificed half their memory to the false good, some communicated with the survivors of the other bases to destroy my school.” The headmaster raised his head, and no one dared to meet his eyes. “Human nature is selfish. It’s normal for you to make those decisions, but you cannot cross the line.” The headmaster took out a black box from under the table. He pushed it to Zhang Menglan, the teacher of Class Eight. “open it.”
Zhang Menglan was confused. When she looked into the box, her face paled. There was a human head inside the box. The man was young and handsome. His eyes were wide open, filled with anger.
“I know your boyfriend of 11 years hadn’t died. I know you two survived the tragedy together. I admire your loyalty, but that doesn’t mean you can cooperate with outsiders to overthrow the school.” The headmaster already came to the conclusion.
“I did no such thing!” After the stun, Zhang Menglan was consumed by pain. If Yan Lan didn’t hold her, she would have fallen.
“Perhaps you didn’t mean that, but he certainly did.” Crow placed the bloody documents on the table. “Your boyfriend was the Messenger of Zone C’s biggest base. The recent chaos has to do with him.”
“Impossible! He was just a normal person who didn’t even have a persona!”
“You love him and trust him, but he was using your relationship. For him, the lives of the survivors are much more important than your love.” Crow was slowly destroying Zhang Menglan. Han Fei picked up the documents. Before the tragedy, Xin Lu had more than 20000000 people, but currently, there was fewer than 1000000 people. They were mainly gathered on three bases. They were Zone C’s Tragedy Investigation Center, Zone D’s Freedom Port, and Hope City, built at the edge of the city. Hope City had the highest population. The people there had found ways to survive after the tragedy. Freedom Port connected all the bases and the main communication channel. Citizens with persona defended the people.
The tragedy investigation center was the least populated. It had less than 50000 people, but it was the only base deep inside the city. It was also the only base where conflict with ghosts was frequent. However, the thing that captured Han Fei’s attention the most was the picture of the female center leader. Han Fei couldn’t believe his eyes. The woman was Li Xue!
“If everything progresses down this path, then everything I experience here might happen in real life.”
Li Xue’s former teacher and seniors all died in the tragedy. They tried their best to buy time for the survivors, but they failed to stop the tragedy.
“Gao Xing had created the worst future here. To ensure this future, he will not kill Li Xue in real life.” The info broadened Han Fei’s scope. The three bases had around 700000 people. The rest was spread around the city. Some of them were kept as food at places like school. Ghosts needed negative emotions so they wouldn’t kill all the humans. They would make humans live in despair.
Only Han Fei had the mood to read through the documents. The rest was so nervous. Every one of them had done something bad. The headmaster didn’t mind in the past, but now he did.
“A teacher was killed, and another is missing. Are they related to your boyfriend?” The headmaster looked at Zhang Menglan. “Close the eyes of the sheep so they can’t tell how beautiful outside is. Furthermore, what if the so-called Hope City is just another school?”
Zhang Menglan’s boyfriend spread the news about the other bases around the school, and this touched the headmaster’s bottom line. “Currently, we lack manpower, so I won’t make you take responsibility but don’t do this again.” That was what he said, but how could he be so kind?
“I have no interest in what any of you have done. However, if you fail at the things I give you, then the box will be carrying your heads next.” The headmaster closed the box and took out eight lists. “Write down all the names of the students participating in the exam. There can’t be any accident tonight.”
The list was like a death list. Some teachers started writing immediately. Others couldn’t write anything.
“Ma Jing is missing, so I’ll handle Class Three.” The headmaster picked up the black box and looked down on everyone. “One last warning. You only have one path, and that is complete the assignment given to you.” The room was silent. They only dared to breathe after the headmaster left.
Zhang Menglan woke up. Her nails dug into her skin, and blood oozed out, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“The outsiders might not be good people. The headmaster only wants the best for the people around the school. I don’t ask you to understand him, but don’t do anything stupid again.” Crow sighed. “Death is a release. Stop struggling.”
The teachers left unless Zhang Menglan, Yan Lan, and Han Fei were the ones left. Yan Lan didn’t know how to comfort Zhang Menglan. She could only be there for her. Han Fei used this time to memorize all the info in the documents. The Tragedy Investigation Center had been contacting the schools deep inside the city. The members who dared to walk through the city were called messengers.
“They haven’t even awakened their persona, but they dare to wade through the city to transmit messages. Perhaps they are the real people with the fearless persona.” Han Fei respected people like these. No matter how bad the situation was, they would come forth to protect humanity.
“What are you hinting at?” Yan Lan didn’t like to hear this.
“I just feel that it’s a shame. You have the power to crush ghosts, but you use your power to send sacrifices to ghosts. However, the normal people who are powerless are doing the correct thing…” Han Fei felt the threat coming at him. Yan Lan cracked her knuckles noisily.
“Do you want to kill me? Do you dare?” Han Fei stood up and walked to Zhang Menglan. He ignored Yan Lan. “I don’t know how to comfort people, but I want to tell you. Tonight is a chance.” He leaned close and whispered to her. “A chance to kill the headmaster.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Yan Lan pushed Han Fei away. “He’s too dangerous.”
“Doing the right thing is always dangerous.” Han Fei held the table. “If you have kids, do you wish for them to be chosen like animals at a pet store?” Han Fei put down the bloody documents and left.
Han Fei returned to Class Seven. He took his chair and sat beside No. 2. “Ma Jing has been killed. The headmaster will now lead Class Three. Do you have any plan?” Han Fei used Soul-depth Touch to prove himself to No. 2. But when he entered No. 2’s mind, he saw nothing.
“My way of thinking is different, so you can’t see anything.” No. 2 drew something in his notebook.
“Sir, you don’t need to interfere in our business.” No. 5 walked over. “You only need to lead us out of school tonight and then look after the kids who are numbered near the back.”
“Are you sure?”
“Your power is healing, so of course, you’re support. Who would send the healer into battle?” No. 4 sneered. At least he talked to Han Fei now.
“Is there a possibility that I can be powerful too?” Han Fei felt that his class didn’t understand him.
“It’s not an issue of strength.” No. 2 finished his drawing. It was two blooming flowers. “Other than No. 1, no one is doing anything tonight.”
“Are you going to let him deal with the headmaster alone?” Han Fei was shocked. He turned to No. 1, and No. 1 smiled at him. “I’m everyone’s big brother, so of course, I need to protect everyone.”
“Sir, don’t worry. No. 2 has calculated every kind of possibility. Even if we fail, we have many retreat plans.” The monitor winked. “The messenger won’t die for no reason.” The bell rang.
The argument outside the school continued until late afternoon. The night was for the ghosts. Crowds would attract the ghosts.
“It’s time to go.” Strange music came from the speakers, and the bell rang thrice. All the students were prepared. When the last light disappeared, the children exited the class. The headmaster checked the lists personally. After ensuring everyone was there, he opened the backdoor, which had been locked. The rust fell, and the door sounded loud in the dark. The chill surged into the school. Looking at the unknown darkness, the students were nervous. Their young faces were fearful. The clock on the education block ticked. The night thickened. After the buildings were swallowed by darkness, the headmaster opened a glass vial, and an injured Lingering Spirit was released. Before every student, the headmaster killed the spirit and smeared the spirit’s presence on every student.
“To defeat the ghosts, you have to be scarier than them. This is not something the school can teach you. You need to train it in battle!
“People with weak persona will turn into ghosts. We do not need unique personas but strong determination to kill the ghosts!
“Everyone, be ready! The test starts now!” The young faces were drawn with steeliness. Their eyes shone. Due to their naivete, they still had hope.
Seeing the bright eyes disappearing into the dark, Han Fei closed his fists. He lowered the rim of his hat and waved behind him. “Class Seven, come on!”
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