After Director Wu left, the atmosphere eased significantly, and the scavengers split into small groups of twos and threes to discuss in low voices.
Seeing Bai La La holding her notebook and standing alone, Nan Yue waved for her to come over.
Bai La La flashed a smile, her two braided pigtails bouncing as she ran over.
"Little Sister Nan Nan."
Nan Yue's face twitched. Although she was indeed the youngest among them, Bai La La looked so cute that it made people feel she was very young.
Being called 'little sister' gave Nan Yue a sense of embarrassment.
Unlike when they were outside the mission, Bai La La was now wearing a pair of glasses, her round eyes making her look even more adorable.
"Yue Yue, we really are fated to meet again."
Upon hearing this voice, both Nan Yue and Gu Xiang Kai's bodies involuntarily tensed up.
Zhu Xi Ning had heard Nan Yue mention Chi He's name before, so she naturally didn't treat him like a harmless boy.
Chi He seemed completely oblivious to the stiff atmosphere in the team as he squeezed his way over and familiarly patted Bai La La's head.
"Teamwork, I love it the most. Add me in too~"
Nan Yue looked at him. "No."
Chi He blinked, looking somewhat aggrieved. "Why? You're even taking in this guy who's all brawn and no brains."
"Hey!"
Nan Yue pressed down on Gu Xiang Kai's clenched fist. "You don't actually want to join."
Chi He looked at Nan Yue with a smile. "I'm indeed not interested in boring things like cooperation, but for Yue Yue's sake, it's not out of the question..."
"No need. You can go now."
Chi He shrugged. "Fine. You can call me if anything happens. I love... watching the excitement the most."
As Chi He spoke the last part, his expression flickered with a moment of distorted excitement, which Nan Yue caught.
He sighed, withdrew from Nan Yue's team, and began wandering around.
"The mission objective this time is very clear. Finding the person in charge is the key. Perhaps the work style they approve of is different from what we think."
Nan Yue's thinking was very clear as she pointed out the key issue in one sentence.
"Those children..."
Zhu Xi Ning hesitated. Director Wu's final words were so strange that they couldn't help but overthink them.
"Not just the children, the entire school is strange too."
Where Nan Yue and the others were standing was essentially the main hall. Both sides were work display areas. The corridor on the left led to the kitchen and dining room, the right was the study area, and directly ahead was the dormitory.
It was currently lunch break, and the school was very quiet.
"First of all, the students are too well-behaved."
A child's nature is to be lively. Even during lunch break, it was impossible for the school to be this quiet.
"Either there's something wrong with the children, or... there's something wrong with the teachers."
Nan Yue was still a bit concerned about those iron bars and the strange drawings.
Drawings usually reflect a person's psychological state, which is why many psychologists use them to understand a patient's inner world.
If viewed from this perspective, the mental health of the children in this school was not very good.
Gu Xiang Kai stood with his hands in his pockets. "There's one more thing."
"This school has no outdoor space."
"You know how active teenage boys are. Without a place to run wild outdoors, they'll go crazy if they stay indoors all day."
"Moreover, a school like this, which is like an orphanage, would usually be more willing to spend money on outdoor facilities."
Gu Xiang Kai's thoughts coincided with Nan Yue's. Especially when combined with those prison-like iron bars on the windows, it felt as if the school wanted to prevent the children from escaping.
In this place, was it that the children's words couldn't be trusted, the teachers' words couldn't be trusted, or was the entire school problematic?
Fortunately, problems had appeared right at the start of this mission, unlike the previous one where there was nowhere to begin.
The group didn't linger and followed the signs to find their dormitory.
Although the school lacked outdoor space, the interior was quite large. The dormitory area alone had dozens of rooms.
The teachers' dorms were three people per room, but the students' were two people per room.
When Director Wu left, she told them to assign the dorms themselves without any other requirements, except that only people of the same gender could share a room.
Zhu Xi Ning had already stuck close to Nan Yue's side. Many people wanted to team up with Nan Yue, but they saw her decisively bring that mute girl over.
A few girls were somewhat unwilling, but they didn't dare speak up to her face and hastily assigned their own dorms.
Nan Yue knew many people were hoping she would carry them, but she didn't have that kind of ability. She couldn't save everyone.
She had at least met Bai La La once before, and since entering the mission, Bai La La had never shown any intention of wanting Nan Yue to take care of her.
She liked girls like this.
Furthermore, Bai La La was disabled after all. Even if she had to take care of someone, Nan Yue would prioritize her.
Bai La La pursed her lips and smiled, quickly writing "Thank you" to give to Nan Yue.
Jiang Xi Cheng naturally wanted to stay with Gu Xiang Kai, but a thin and small girl named Zhao Zhenzhen, who hadn't spoken much, suddenly spoke up.
"Although I know everyone is a scavenger and no one is obligated to take care of others, if you could lead us, our survival rate would be higher."
Zhao Zhenzhen was one of the girls still wearing a student uniform. Seeing everyone look over, her face flushed red, but she persisted without backing down.
Jiang Xi Cheng hesitated for a moment, not wanting to sour the relationship right from the start.
"Fine... does anyone have any objections?"
Nan Yue glanced at Zhu Xi Ning. She was confident in her companion's abilities.
"None."
Despite saying that, Bai La La still stood by her side. Nan Yue's meaning was clear.
"Then can I be in a group with you?"
Seeing this, Zhao Zhenzhen immediately trotted up. Nan Yue was also surrounded by several other girls.
"Three people to a room. Figure it out yourselves."
After saying that, Nan Yue led Bai La La into the room first. The teachers' rooms were at the very end of the corridor, with six rooms in total. Aside from the five rooms prepared for them, the original teachers lived in the same room.
Director Wu's room was at the end of the corridor. Nan Yue chose a room in the middle. Inside were three simple single beds, a large wardrobe, and two tables pushed together.
The door was pushed open. Nan Yue tilted her head. The last person to enter was indeed Zhao Zhenzhen. It was unclear how she had convinced the others.
As soon as Bai La La entered the room, she began looking for clues on her own. This was another reason why Nan Yue collaborated with her.
Everyone else thought Bai La La was a burden who had only survived until now through luck.
But Nan Yue knew better than those still in the lower city states that very few people who reached the letter cities were burdens.
If Bai La La's awakened ability wasn't luck, then her ability must be very strong.
Compared to the proactive Bai La La, Zhao Zhenzhen was a bit constrained, following Nan Yue almost step for step.
"Sister Nan, you're not angry about my suggestion just now, are you? This is only my third mission, and I really don't have much experience... You can give me any orders during the mission. I'm very obedient!"
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