Liu Kai, waiting outside, was not as tense as the others. Warm mist drifted out from the shower room, and as he stood by the door with no one else around, his tightened nerves began to relax a little.
Just as he was letting his guard down, he suddenly felt as if someone was watching him. He instinctively turned his head and found a small boy standing behind him.
Liu Kai was startled and took a few steps back. He was just about to shout when he saw the little boy looking up at him expectantly.
"Teacher, what happened to the teacher from this morning?"
It seemed... he was human?
Liu Kai calmed down, inwardly cursing himself for being afraid of a child.
"Why aren't you in class?" Liu Kai asked curiously. "Shouldn't you be in a lesson right now?"
The boy’s face was somewhat pale, his expression dazed. "Is the teacher from this morning dead?"
Liu Kai understood. The child had likely been frightened by the sight of Jiang Mu's death.
It was no wonder. The oldest children here were only fifteen or sixteen. Forget them; even Liu Kai himself had been so terrified by the sight of Jiang Mu's corpse that he had nearly wet his pants.
Seeing such a small child so frightened that he was skipping class, Liu Kai felt a surge of pity.
"How about I take you back to class? You'll be much safer with your classmates."
But the boy didn't seem to hear him at all, only asking repeatedly, "Is he dead? Why do people die at school? Are we going to die too?"
Liu Kai hadn't spent much time comforting children, but he had heard the high-level players analyze the potential abuse these children might be suffering.
He sighed. "The teacher had an accident. Don't be afraid, the school is very safe."
Though it felt hypocritical to say, Liu Kai couldn't exactly talk to a child about ghosts and monsters.
Furthermore, even though he was a newcomer, he knew that many NPCs in mission worlds were unaware of the existence of ghosts. These supernatural events were usually targeted only at scavengers.
To his surprise, the little boy suddenly burst into loud wails upon hearing those words. "He's really, really dead? Teacher Gao said he was just sick."
Liu Kai hadn't expected the child to start crying so suddenly. Moreover, Director Wu had previously instructed them not to let the children know about the death. He had only spoken freely because he thought the boy had already seen it.
He hadn't realized the boy was just tricking him and hadn't actually known for sure.
Liu Kai was immediately thrown into a panic. "Don't cry... hey, don't cry! It was just an accident, an accident!"
Such a small child couldn't distinguish what an accident was; he only knew someone had died. He sobbed until he was out of breath. His already pale face turned a grayish-white from the crying, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Liu Kai desperately wanted to reach out and cover the boy's mouth. If this drew Director Wu and the others here...
"Stop crying, my little ancestor! I'll take you back to class, okay? It’s my big mouth's fault!"
After a bit of coaxing, the boy finally stopped crying. He didn't want Liu Kai to escort him, either; he simply wiped his tears and ran off on his own.
Liu Kai breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "What rotten luck."
"What are you talking about?"
The voice suddenly appearing behind him gave him a fright. When he turned around, he saw that Gu Yun and Gu Xiang Kai had finished their shower.
"Oh... oh, nothing. You guys done?"
Liu Kai didn't dare mention that he had accidentally let the secret slip and made a child cry. Children at this age weren't very good at keeping secrets; the whole class might know in a moment.
If that happened, he would certainly be in trouble.
"Brother Gu, could you..."
There was a hint of entreaty in Liu Kai's voice. Gu Xiang Kai nodded. "Go ahead, I'll go in and stay with you."
Liu Kai was overjoyed. He rushed inside and ducked into the nearest compartment.
Gu Xiang Kai, meanwhile, stayed shirtless and casually washed his T-shirt. In this weather, it would probably dry quickly after being hung up for a bit.
Liu Kai tended to talk more when he was nervous, occasionally engaging in forced conversation with Gu Xiang Kai, who didn't seem to mind.
While scrubbing his clothes, Gu Xiang Kai suddenly heard a sharp snap. The sound wasn't particularly prominent amidst the noise of the running water, and had he not been on high alert, he might have missed it.
"Liu Kai?"
Gu Xiang Kai turned off the faucet and turned toward the compartment where the water was still running.
"Liu Kai?"
Gu Xiang Kai called out twice, but Liu Kai didn't answer. Sensing something was wrong, he took two quick steps toward the compartment.
He saw Liu Kai standing with his back turned. The curtain covered the middle of his body, and he seemed to be standing there with his head tilted back, completely motionless.
Gu Xiang Kai's earring flashed. He clenched his fist, took two deep breaths, and reached out to pull the curtain.
"Liu Kai..."
Just as Gu Xiang Kai was about to pull the curtain open, Liu Kai suddenly turned his head. "Brother Gu?"
Gu Xiang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, nearly cursing aloud.
He furrowed his brows. "Why didn't you say anything when I called you?"
Liu Kai's face didn't look very good through the mist. He took a moment to react. "Oh... oh, I had water in my mouth just now, I couldn't speak."
Gu Xiang Kai nearly rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and get out when you're done."
"Okay."
A moment later, Liu Kai came out after getting dressed. Gu Xiang Kai had already put on a spare set of clothes. He glanced at him. "Let's go back."
The kitchen staff had to start preparing lunch at 11:00 AM after their break.
Nan Yue's class was the last period of the morning. Today, she didn't really want to continue teaching the children from the textbook.
Director Wu had only said to work diligently, but she hadn't required them to follow the provided lesson plans strictly.
Nan Yue was currently unsure if the things they encountered had prophetic functions, but Gu Xiang Kai's theory about the drawings being omens of death held some weight and had to be guarded against.
"Today, let's review everyone's homework."
Nan Yue returned the diaries to the children. Then, she picked out a few meaningful entries to critique and invited everyone to share their thoughts.
Half the class ended in what could be called a harmonious atmosphere.
"For the rest of the time, please write a short essay titled 'My Happiest Day'."
Nan Yue's topic was unlikely to produce anything negative or eerie, so it should be relatively safe.
Everyone wrote quietly until Li Xue'er suddenly raised her hand.
Nan Yue walked over to her. The young girl had a look of innocent curiosity on her face.
"Teacher, I... I have a question I want to ask you."
Nan Yue nodded, and then heard Li Xue'er ask, "If a neck is broken, can you still live?"
A chill rose in Nan Yue's heart, but she didn't let it show on her face. "Why do you ask?"
Li Xue'er tilted her head. "I saw Engineer Yang killing a chicken. He twisted the chicken's neck, but the chicken seemed to fly for a bit."
Nan Yue breathed a sigh of relief. She was familiar with this phenomenon; it was common in rural areas where a chicken's body would still struggle after its head was cut off because it hadn't realized it was dead yet.
"That's not being alive. It's just a physical reaction. In reality, the moment its neck was broken, the chicken was already dead."
The little girl pursed her lips, her expression not very pleasant.
It made sense. A six-year-old seeing such a scene would naturally be frightened.
Nan Yue comforted her with a few words, and Li Xue'er's mood brightened again.
"Thank you, Teacher."
"I really like Teacher Nan."
Nan Yue smiled, and Li Xue'er lowered her head to continue her assignment diligently.
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