Jiang Xicheng's face was as dark as a stagnant pool. "Could it be that something happened at noon?"
In her heart, Nan Yue recalled the question Li Xue'er had asked that morning.
"If a person's neck is snapped, can they still live?"
She had a feeling that Li Xue'er hadn't asked that for no reason. The girl had likely seen something...
But she couldn't understand it.
Li Xue'er was probably the first one to discover Liu Kai's corpse, which was why she had approached Nan Yue with that remark.
It turned out that if a neck was broken, one truly couldn't survive.
By this time, Jiang Xicheng had already gone to call the others with Xu Yuan. Nan Yue knew that the three men had taken a shower that morning, so she asked Gu Xiang Kai, "Was there anything wrong with Liu Kai?"
Clearly, Gu Xiang Kai had also realized that Liu Kai might have triggered a rule during the morning.
He recounted the events in detail, not missing that strange sound he had heard.
Nan Yue gave a cold, mirthless smile. "Liu Kai probably died right then."
Gu Xiang Kai furrowed his brows. "But later..."
"Didn't you say that he didn't respond when you called him, and when you saw him, his head was tilted back?"
Gu Xiang Kai nodded. "Yes, he said he was rinsing his mouth with water..."
As he spoke, he realized that this didn't fit Liu Kai's character. Given how cowardly the man was, he would have wanted to rush out the moment he finished rinsing his body. Why would he leisurely rinse his mouth?
Recalling Liu Kai's appearance at the time, his head had been tilted so high it was well beyond the point of comfort.
"His neck was already broken then?"
"Yes."
Nan Yue felt that he must have triggered some rule and died instantly. The cause of death was a snapped neck, which matched the "crack" sound Gu Xiang Kai had heard.
"But... but he ate with us later... and... and even spoke."
Standing nearby, Zhao Zhenzhen's teeth chattered with fear. The thought that she had been mocking a walking corpse at noon made her feel faint.
"Is it a school ghost story..."
Nan Yue lowered her gaze. "It's just like slaughtering a chicken. Even after the neck is snapped, it can still flop around for a while."
No one spoke. Everyone felt that such a way of dying was incredibly malicious.
"Remember to ask Engineer Yang."
Nan Yue gave Gu Xiang Kai a quick instruction and went out. She wanted to find Li Xue'er and ask her some questions.
Li Xue'er was playing with dolls alone in the toy room. When she saw Nan Yue, she happily put down her doll and greeted her.
"Xue'er, Teacher wants to ask you, did you see Teacher Liu Kai this morning?"
Sure enough, Li Xue'er's expression filled with a trace of dread at the mention of it.
"Yes..."
"Tell Teacher what you saw."
"I... I saw that his neck was very long. It was twisted twice, and his head was hanging low against his chest..."
So Li Xue'er could see things that the others couldn't...
Nan Yue spoke gently, "Is that why you asked Teacher that question?"
Li Xue'er bit her lip. "Yes, because I felt... I felt that people shouldn't look like that."
"Teacher, is he dead?"
Nan Yue remained silent for a moment and didn't answer the question. She stroked Li Xue'er's head. "Don't be afraid. If you see anything strange in the future, just come and find Teacher."
Li Xue'er revealed a bright smile. "Okay."
"Teacher Nan, I like you very much. The previous teachers always left in all sorts of strange ways."
"I don't want Teacher Nan to become like that."
Nan Yue paused, her voice becoming even softer. "Why didn't you warn them?"
Hearing this, Li Xue'er's face showed some terror. She instinctively glanced toward the door and hesitated for a moment before whispering.
"Director Wu... doesn't like it when we talk too much to the teachers... she also doesn't like us getting too close to them."
As if to validate her words, Director Wu appeared outside the toy room.
"Teacher Nan."
Director Wu's voice was cold and hard. "Come out for a moment."
Nan Yue winked at Li Xue'er. The little girl watched her with concern as she turned to leave.
"Another new teacher has died."
Director Wu's voice was like a block of ice. "You, do not forget what I told you."
Director Wu walked a short distance, stopped, and turned to stare fixedly at Nan Yue.
Her eyes behind the lenses were eerily red.
"They are all demons."
Director Wu spoke each word deliberately.
Nan Yue watched her silently. After she finished, Nan Yue asked, "Why do you want the new teachers to have accidents?"
Director Wu's pupils contracted sharply, but Nan Yue didn't give her a chance to relax.
"Liu Kai didn't go to work this afternoon. How could Engineer Yang not have noticed? I suspect he found something long ago but didn't warn us."
"Why?"
Under Nan Yue's questioning, Director Wu's face became expressionless. She looked at Nan Yue coldly. "A teacher's job is to take care of the students and do their work well. You don't need to consider anything else."
Nan Yue narrowed her eyes. Since things had reached this point and Director Wu hadn't done anything to her, she decided to ask even more pointedly.
"Are you the person in charge?"
Director Wu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly broke into a bizarre smile.
Her mouth stretched wide, revealing bright red gums. Her eyes flashed with excitement—malice, exhilaration, schadenfreude... and a trace of imperceptible despair.
"Don't even think about finding the person in charge."
"And don't even think about leaving this school!"
When Nan Yue returned to the washroom area, Liu Kai's body had already been dealt with. Gu Xiang Kai said that Engineer Yang went out to buy supplies every day and would handle the corpses then.
Faced with everyone's questions, Engineer Yang, like Director Wu, didn't reveal anything.
Only when asked about Liu Kai's death did he also show that same terrifying smile.
"We won't get anything out of them. Moreover, I think they are actually human."
Smoking wasn't allowed in this mission, and since Gu Xiang Kai had to use his brain, he was feeling quite irritable.
"Um... I think I heard Liu Kai talking when I came out of the shower."
Gu Yun, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up tremulously. "I didn't pay much attention then... but thinking back, it was a bit strange."
Jiang Xicheng perked up slightly. "What did he say?"
Gu Yun stammered, "I didn't hear it very clearly... he seemed to be coaxing someone, saying things like 'don't cry anymore.'"
"Judging by his tone, it sounded like he was talking to a child."
Gu Yun's face was pale with fright. "When I went out, only Liu Kai was there. I didn't think much of it, assuming he was talking to himself."
"Could it be... he made a child cry and was coaxing them?"
After he finished, he saw several girls looking at him in horror, which made him feel a bit uneasy.
"What... what is it?"
The one who answered him was Chi He, who was shivering right alongside Zhao Zhenzhen.
His eyes were slightly red, making him look like a startled rabbit. However, because of his extraordinary looks, his cowardice didn't invite annoyance; instead, it made several of the ladies feel a bit of pity for him.
"But all thirty-two students were in class today."
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