This rebellion ended with the deaths of five players and the amnesia of nine others, but it wasn’t over.
The school leaders rushed over, angrily pointing at the players and scolding them, "The five students who died will not be ranked in the exam! The rankings for this mock exam will be recalculated!"
Ning Su immediately heard a curse coming from the window of the next class.
These players had acted on their own, without consulting or informing the others.
In this infinite game, players were responsible for their own lives and deaths, so the rest of the players were merely spectators. However, unexpectedly, two players were dragged into this mess.
Among the last-ranked students, from 101st to 105th place, two of them were players.
It was simply an undeserved disaster.
They had worked hard to barely rank above the bottom 100, but before they could even celebrate for long, they were already being dragged into the Reflection Hall.
This rebellion crushed any thoughts of resistance in all the players and drove a wedge into the small sense of unity they had started to form.
The instructors, following the rankings, came to take away five more students.
This time, no one resisted. There wasn’t even a single curse.
The terrifying black tree whips couldn’t easily kill players, but they could instantly erase their memories.
The players had figured this out. There was no longer any will to resist.
The rebellion had been to avoid the Reflection Hall. They didn’t want to enter it because it might cause amnesia. But now, if they didn’t enter the room, they would immediately lose their memories anyway.
Five players obediently followed the teachers to the Reflection Hall, joining the pitiful, despairing players who had already been taken there.
Zhong Huiling took a long time to come back to her senses: "Why did they resist so fiercely?"
Tang Yichen replied, "It’s understandable. They didn’t want to enter the Reflection Hall."
Ning Su immediately turned his head to look at him, "Desk-mate, what exactly is the Reflection Hall? Since when has Qingyi High School had a Reflection Hall?"
Tang Yichen sat back down in his seat.
After the others were taken to the Reflection Hall, the classmates in the class gradually returned to their seats.
The teachers were busy dealing with things outside, but the class was still noisy.
After a while, Tang Yichen stared at his practice book and finally spoke, "The Reflection Hall was originally built as a place for poorly performing students to reflect."
Ning Su and Ling Xiao, knowing he was about to explain the Reflection Hall, sat down properly and looked at him.
"Qingyi High School not only focuses on top students but also does not give up on those ranked lower. The undergraduate admission rate has consistently been close to 100%."
This was generally hard to achieve unless it was a school that only admitted students based on grades, selecting only those with outstanding scores in the high school entrance exam.
Qingyi High School, however, was not such a school.
It admitted students with excellent grades and offered generous scholarships, like Xia Mengyu.
It also admitted students from prominent families. For this type of student, both their family background and academic performance were carefully evaluated.
These students were often born into a life of guaranteed wealth and security, and many of them were lazy and not diligent in their studies.
Tang Yichen said, "This Reflection Hall is a secret, heavily-funded project by the school. It has high-tech equipment that can erase parts of a student's memory in a limited area, intended to push them to study harder."
Ning Su was taken aback. He had already noticed that the level of technology in this world was higher than in their real world, but he didn’t expect such advanced technology to existed.
Tang Yichen had put it tactfully, but it was obvious—this wasn’t just about motivation.
Losing memory could make people panic.
Those students frantically answered questions during exams because they feared suddenly losing their memories, and they wanted to quickly write down everything they remembered.
Similarly, when they realized they might experience memory loss, it made them understand the importance of retaining knowledge in their minds. This fear motivated them to study hard, transforming their previously lazy attitudes.
Tang Yichen added, "Later, the functions of the Reflection Hall expanded. It wasn’t just used for weaker students to reflect."
Top students would also go there to receive rewards.
"The Reflection Hall has gotten a bit out of control," Tang Yichen said, looking out the window. "This school is also spiraling out of control."
After evening self-study, a few players went to check the grade board and discussed what Tang Yichen had said.
Ji Zeming commented, "Is this really high-tech? But since we’ve been in this school since the start of the mission, we don’t know what the outside world is like. Maybe such magical high-tech does exist."
Ning Changfeng shook his head. "It may have started with high-tech, but it’s definitely not that anymore. Think about the black whip in the instructor's hand that could burrow into the human body—this must be some kind of eerie, supernatural creature."
Ning Su nodded, "Qingyi High School secretly built the Reflection Hall, and the secrecy itself is suspicious. The Reflection Hall doesn’t give off a high-tech vibe."
As they talked, they arrived at the grade board.
That afternoon, the homeroom teacher had announced the class’s scores, and by the time of evening self-study, the grades for the entire year had been posted on the board.
Ning Changfeng stood in front of the board for a minute, then smiled, "Just as expected."
Only Ning Su, Ling Xiao, and Ning Changfeng seemed to understand, while the other players were completely confused.
Ji Zeming asked, "What do you mean 'as expected'? Do you guys know something?"
It was just after evening self-study, and many students were walking from their classrooms to their dormitories.
Ning Su looked at a boy walking down the steps from outside the main entrance of the teaching building. The others followed his gaze and saw the boy they had previously spotted in the exam hall corridor, wearing a school uniform and a luxury watch.
Ning Changfeng looked at him thoughtfully, starting to understand why Ning Su had been looking at this boy earlier.
The other players were even more bewildered. They had no idea who this person was and saw nothing unusual—just another rich student, not uncommon in this school.
That was until Ning Su spoke.
The boy had already walked down the steps and turned towards the dormitory.
Ning Su watched his back and called out, "Wang Zhiqiu."
In the late-night noise after evening study, the boy still heard him. Just as people could always pick out their own name in a noisy environment, he immediately turned to look.
Ning Su had already turned his head towards the bulletin board, and the other players were pulled along, facing the board as well.
They didn't see the boy's face, but a chill ran through them nonetheless.
Of course, they knew Wang Zhiqiu—hadn't Wang Zhiqiu died? No, he had lost his memory in the exam hall and was dragged away, wasn't he?
Why did the boy respond when Ning Su called him Wang Zhiqiu?
Ji Zeming shivered. "What... what's going on?"
He wasn't exactly slow-witted, and as soon as he asked, a terrifying idea popped into his head: "Wang Zhiqiu... is his memory inside that boy's brain?!"
In Wang Zhiqiu's memory, his name was a central part, and even if his memory had been transferred to someone else's brain, it would still react the same way.
Hearing his name would make him instinctively look over.
Lu Yue's eyes widened suddenly, unclear whether from surprise or delight.
Once the boy furrowed his brows in confusion and continued walking, the group finally relaxed, discreetly watching his retreating back as he grew more distant.
When the boy was far enough away that he couldn't hear them, Ning Su finally answered Ji Zeming, "Yes, Wang Zhiqiu's memory is in his body."
