That day, at 6:30 PM, just as many were leaving the cafeteria and heading toward classrooms or dorms, a sudden scream shattered the peace of the school.
Qingyi High School was constantly tense. After meals, many students rushed to study or wash up. The campus wasn’t silent, but there were no major disturbances either.
Then, a single piercing scream cut through the muffled atmosphere, setting off a chain reaction of screams across the campus.
Ning Su and his group immediately ran towards the sound. They found six shattered bodies lying in pools of blood and froze.
Even though the faces were covered in blood, they recognized them as players with amnesia. Among them were Yuan Weichen, the male player who had been marked in the dormitory, and Wei Jingshu, the female player who had been bullied in the Black Forest.
They had jumped from the school building.
"What... what happened to them?"
“Earlier today, Wei Jingshu acted strangely after going to the girls' restroom.”
"Why?"
"There were people talking about... that sort of thing in the restroom, and she just crouched there listening. When she came back, she kept her head down, hugging herself, ignoring everyone.”
“Look at Yuan Weichen—he has a lot of names carved onto his body. For the past couple of days, he’s been in a daze, feeling dizzy whenever he stood up.”
“After class, they started gathering together, sitting under that black tree. Some people joked they were having a 'fools' meeting,' but who would have known they would…”
Everyone started talking over each other, gradually piecing together the moments leading up to the jump.
The surrounding players watched silently, each visualizing the story that led them to jump.
During high school, people often spoke about the horrors of school bullying—a terrifying experience even for teenagers who had a basic understanding of the world.
But what about these players, who had lost all memories, their minds blank as infants?
They fumbled through this strange, unfamiliar world, already sensitive and fragile.
These bullied "children" instinctively gravitated towards one another, finding solace in each other’s company. But even together, they were ridiculed.
At some moment, perhaps a confused female player overheard something and lost the will to live. Or maybe a male player heard there was a way to escape this horrible world. When others went to eat, they climbed to the roof, turning their backs to the deep red sunset, holding hands as they left this place together.
“Damn it! With six spots opening up in the bottom 100, the assessment test the day after tomorrow just got even harder,” muttered one male player under his breath.
Immediately, someone pushed through the crowd and nearly knocked him over. “Yin Xingyu, are you even human?”
He angrily pointed at several bodies, looking at each of the players in turn. "Are you satisfied now? The people are dead—they don’t need your so-called ‘care’ anymore, and you don’t need them to keep a spot for you. Is that satisfying enough for you?"
Even so, his anger was not fully vented. His chest rose and fell with fury as he grabbed Yuan Weichen by the arm. "Look! Your name—how does it feel to see your name on a dead person?"
"Your names will follow him straight to hell!"
"Do you think he might treat his body like a death note and take revenge on each of you, one by one? I hope you all sleep well these next few nights!"
Several players looked away, their faces darkened.
Soon, school administrators and security guards arrived. Seeing that six students had died, their faces alternated between red with anger and white with shock.
The grade supervisor noticed the arm being pulled up by the player and saw the names written on it. Having taught for many years, he quickly deduced what had happened.
"Well, it seems you pushed your classmate to death!"
"Are you saying you don’t have enough exams to worry about? With the college entrance exam just around the corner, instead of preparing, you’re engaging in campus bullying!"
"Investigate! Conduct a thorough investigation! Every student involved will go to the Reflection Hall for some serious introspection!"
The players who had previously just looked uncomfortable now turned completely pale.
Other players sighed inwardly, unable to say they felt good about the situation.
Some of the players looked at the six who had died this way and felt a mixture of sorrow and anger.
Hearing the grade supervisor’s words did bring some sense of relief, but these were six players, each of whom might have been bullied at some point. If there were a full investigation, how many more would be sent to the Reflection Hall?
Between the two preliminary exams, over eighty players had already been sent to the Reflection Hall at least once, and this time, surely, many would go in for a second round.
And quite a few players had already experienced memory loss.
It had only been a little over half a month.
Only now did all the players fully realize that this was actually a collective survival instance.
The fewer players left unscathed, the harder it would be to clear the game.
The security guards herded them back to the classrooms for evening self-study.
Looking at those few players with pale faces, filled with regret and panic, Ji Zeming sighed. "I never thought, in this instance, that the players would bring so much trouble on themselves without the ghost master or NPCs having to lift a finger."
He looked again at the male player who had angrily accused those players, speaking on behalf of the dead. "His name is Lu Heming, right? He’s got a strong sense of justice."
Lu Yue, who had been silent and is probably the kindest player among them, finally spoke up: “Yuan Weichen and Lu Heming are in the same class. Coincidentally, they’re also in the same dorm, so they should have a decent relationship. The first time Yuan Weichen was forced down to have words carved onto him, it was on Lu Heming’s desk.”
When Lu Yue heard the noise, he went out to check. He saw Lu Heming quickly walk out of the dorm room, and when he looked over, he saw Yuan Weichen, held down on the desk, staring blankly in the direction of the door.
Lu Yue suspected that, after Yuan Weichen lost his memory, Lu Heming might have told him he would help him.
For a player who had just lost all memories, was completely unfamiliar with the world, and had a childlike sense of helplessness, anyone who was willing to help them at that time would mean a great deal—they’d be someone special.
It’s like a child regarding a parent who introduced them to the world; such a person could even seem like a savior casting light into their bleak world.
For such a person to abandon him and turn away when he was being bullied by a group of terrifying people…
Lu Yue could clearly see an indescribable sadness in those bewildered eyes.
He gripped Zhou Xiang's hand, who was smiling foolishly, and said, “Lu Heming is probably trying to fill the void left by his guilt and unease through this kind of behavior.”
Ji Zeming asked, “Lu Heming ran away right after the first carving? I saw Yuan Weichen following behind Lu Heming the day after the carving.”
Lu Yue replied, “Doesn’t that make it even sadder? After being treated like that, he still went looking for Lu Heming. It must have been after Lu Heming abandoned him time and time again that he finally turned to the other five amnesiac players and, in the end, jumped from the building.”
Ji Zeming opened his mouth as if to speak but then closed it uncomfortably.
This was just one case they knew of—what about the other five amnesiac people? How did they end up jumping from the building?
Once inside the academic building, they split up.
Ning Su and Ling Xiao turned right with Zhou Xiang, heading toward Class One.
Ning Su noticed the still somewhat silly smile on Zhou Xiang's face and couldn’t help but laugh. “Zhou Xiang, if you can hold out and leave this instance, it would really be a blessing in disguise for you.”
He then looked up and asked Ling Xiao, “Isn’t that right, Lord Flower God?”
Ling Xiao was momentarily stunned, tugged at the tie around his neck, and replied with a smile, “Yes, Zhou Xiang is the lucky amnesiac. I just wonder if I’d be as lucky if I lost my memory.”
Ning Su: “…”
Ning Su: “Don’t worry. Your only friend, Ning Changfeng, would certainly take good care of you.”
Because he’d still want you to protect his son in the future.
Ling Xiao: "…"
