Many players had realized the severity of the situation.
Assuming that ten players suffer from amnesia the first time they enter the Reflection Hall, the number of players experiencing amnesia the second time would surely be higher.
And before the college entrance exam, there were still eight practice exams.
One by one, the players wore serious expressions, especially those in the bottom 100.
“So, we must study as if our lives depend on it and aim to get out of the bottom 100 as soon as possible.”
“Then what are we still doing here?”
“President Shi, did you call us here just to scare us?”
Shi Tianzhu replied, “I called everyone here to ask the players who haven’t experienced amnesia to help cover for those of us who have, as well as those who might suffer amnesia in the future. We need to make sure the school’s teachers don’t find out and drag us away.”
The players showing signs of amnesia were stunned, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.
It’s only when you truly realize you’re losing your memory that you understand how terrifying it was, especially in this instance. Here, amnesia was equivalent to death.
With every bit of memory consumed, it felt like a huge portion of life was rapidly slipping away.
This fear was even greater than the continuous loss of blood from the body.
They all saw or heard vivid accounts from other players of the four players being dragged away after being beaten.
That was their ultimate declaration of death, at the very least a declaration of the end of their humanity.
How could they not be afraid?
But what could they do?
Other players were racing against time, desperately studying, while they could only become stupid and die as they gradually lost their memories as humans.
“Why should we!” someone immediately stood up and opposed. “We can barely take care of ourselves, and you expect us to help those who are already destined to die due to amnesia?”
“To put it bluntly, once you start showing signs of amnesia, there’s no way you’ll score 600 points anymore; you’re destined to die. So, don’t get in the way, just go quietly to your deaths and don’t disturb our studies!”
“If we get distracted and can’t score 600 points, we’ll die too! Are you going to drag us down with you just because you’re dying?”
Shi He stood up and said, “Amnesia causes the loss of knowledge and skill-related memories, right? President Shi, you’re really ridiculous. You’re someone who might not even remember that one plus one equals two, yet you still want to command us like before? Do you think…”
“Smack!”
Before Shi He could finish his sentence, a box of milk flew swiftly and heavily, hitting him square in the face.
It came so fast that no one could see where it came from.
The heavy object hit his face, causing the box to burst open, and milk splashed all over his face, dripping from his hair and face onto his shirt and black school pants.
Recently, the much-admired Shi He had never been in such a sorry state.
With his face covered in dripping milk, he angrily snarled, “Who did this?”
No one answered him.
The previously angry and passionate voices of opposition fell silent for a moment.
Taking advantage of the quiet, Shi Tianzhu spoke unhurriedly, “You cover for us while we go and take the exams each week, occupying a spot in the bottom 100 of the grade.”
“As long as there is one more amnesiac player in the bottom 100, there will be one less intact player sent to the small dark room.”
The players, who had been loudly quarreling just moments ago, were all stunned.
Out of 100 players, 78 were outside the bottom 100 of the grade. Aside from Shi He, Ning Su, Ning Changfeng, and Gu Witch, whose rankings were quite high, most of the remaining players were on the edge of the bottom 100.
This was normal; after struggling in numerous infinite horror worlds for who knew how long, with players of all age groups, how could they possibly compete in a senior year exam against students who had been focused on studying and diligently preparing at Qingyi for nearly three years?
They were all in danger, teetering on the edge of being sent to the Reflection Hall.
Therefore, having even one amnesiac player firmly occupying a spot in the bottom 100 would push another player away from the edge of the small dark room.
The self-study room fell into a dead, silent stillness.
In this silence, many players recalled how they had just been shouting for the amnesiac players to die.
It was only now that they realized how terrifying their malice had been to players who were already in a state of panic and loneliness due to their amnesia.
The ugliness and selfishness of human nature had been displayed vividly in their voices and expressions.
A few players showing signs of amnesia, or those already in a state of amnesia, sat quietly in the corners with their heads lowered.
Ning Su looked at Zhou Xiang, who had been keeping his head down the whole time.
At lunchtime, Zhou Xiang had urged Lu Yue to study hard, because Lu Yue was only 6 points away from being in the bottom 100, which was very dangerous.
By the lakeside, he had told him it would be better to die.
But he kept murmuring to himself that he absolutely could not die. No matter what happened, he had to hold on.
At that time, he realized that by holding on and going to the exam, he could at least push Lu Yue forward by one position.
It had been about 20 hours since he had likely begun to lose his memory around midnight.
Zhou Xiang was still sitting there, holding a meeting with the players.
His hands rested on his legs, and he kept his head down.
Ning Su glanced at Lu Yue again.
Lu Yue wasn’t sitting next to Zhou Xiang; he was two desks away, seated at the back near the wall.
The fluorescent light in the study room cast a pale glow on his face. A tear hung on his thin chin, and as Ning Su looked over, it quietly dropped into the collar of his white shirt with the motion of his bowed head.
Shi Tianzhu spoke, “I want to say something to those who are currently losing their memory, as well as to those who may lose it in the future.”
“When we lose our memory, our brains will eventually become as blank as a newborn baby’s. But we must not, like babies, make no effort and let other players take care of us.”
“No matter what method you use, you must hold on, take the exams, and firmly secure your place in the bottom 100, pushing the other players forward by one rank. This was our value as those who had lost their memory, and it was also our means of self-rescue.”
“Engrave this point into your soul.”
“Never give up, never stop living. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope. There’s a chance to leave this instance and become whole again.”
A hand grasped the corner of a nearby desk.
Following that hand, Ning Su saw Ning Changfeng’s deeply reflective eyes, and then followed his gaze to Shi Tianzhu.
Her cold eyes showed no trace of confusion, and even the harsh white light couldn’t diminish the stubbornness and resilience within them.
Perhaps this was what it meant to be a mother; even in the midst of memory loss, she could still give him a sense of security.
At that moment, Ning Su was not afraid at all.
A player who had lost his memory wiped away a tear in the study room and stood up, saying, “Yes! As long as there is even a sliver of hope, we must hold on!”
“What’s there to fear about losing memory? I once lost my heart in an instance, and didn’t I still live just fine?”
“Right, I’d faced all sorts of terrifying worlds. How could I be stopped by this school?”
“Even if we lost our memory, we were still people with intact limbs!”
“As long as you all covered for me and made sure I didn’t get dragged away by a teacher, I would secure a spot in the bottom 100 for you!”
Shi Tianzhu looked at all the players in the study room. “The system says that learning is important, and the system hints that memory is important. But this instance was definitely not a test of our exam-taking skills. We had to work hard to study, but we should not treat studying as everything.”
She said in a low voice, “At least for now, we have to work together.”
