Teacher Gao was clearly thinking of her friend who had died a tragic death, and her voice carried a hint of a sob.
"But... if we warn them..."
Director Wu stopped her movements and looked up at Teacher Gao with an expression that could only be described as hideous.
"Do you want to die in their place?"
Teacher Gao fell silent. The room became quiet, and Bai La La sat on the bed idly picking at her hands, completely unaware of what was happening behind her.
"Do not say such things again... do not let... others hear you."
Director Wu spoke the word "others" very softly, but Teacher Gao heard it. Her face twisted violently, yet she said nothing more, only nodding before returning to the inner room.
"Found it."
Director Wu took a pack of lozenges out of the medicine box. "Your throat hurts, doesn't it?"
Bai La La kept her head down, playing with her hands, and only looked up when Director Wu walked over to her.
"Take these. Your throat will feel better after eating them."
Director Wu had a cold face, but she spoke slowly to make it easier for Bai La La to read her lips.
Bai La La understood. She gave a smile and a nod before leaving.
Back in the room, Nan Yue and the others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw her return safely.
Meanwhile, Xie Qi Qi was in the classroom teaching a math class.
Because of the wide age range, the content of the math class was not difficult. As Xie Qi Qi was copying formulas onto the blackboard, a soft, childish voice suddenly rang out.
"Teacher, I want to use the washroom."
Xie Qi Qi saw it was a little girl. Her face was flushed, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Can you hold it for a bit? Class is almost over."
The child was too small, and Xie Qi Qi was not comfortable letting her go to the washroom alone.
The girl’s voice was very small as she lowered her head and said, "My stomach is a bit upset. I went during the Chinese class too... I cannot hold it."
Hearing this, Xie Qi Qi realized the child might have diarrhea. She hesitated for a moment before putting down her chalk.
"The teacher will accompany her to the washroom. The rest of you, work on this problem on the board first."
Xie Qi Qi held the little girl's hand as they walked toward the washroom. "Did you eat something cold?"
The girl did not know, but her steps were somewhat hurried.
"Teacher, wait for me at the door."
After helping the little girl with her pants and seeing her embarrassed look, Xie Qi Qi smiled. "Alright, take your time. I will be at the door. Call me if you need anything."
Ten minutes passed, and the girl still had not finished. Xie Qi Qi felt something was wrong.
"Are you finished yet?"
No one answered from inside the washroom. Xie Qi Qi's heart tightened. She wondered if the child had fallen into the toilet.
She rushed into the washroom and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the top of a black head visible over the last stall.
"Why didn't you say anything? I was worried about you."
"Are you feeling very unwell? Do you want to go to the infirmary?"
Xie Qi Qi took two steps toward the stall but suddenly froze.
Her intuition told her something was wrong, and by the time she realized what it was, her heart went cold.
That girl was so small. How could her head be visible over the wall of the stall while she was squatting?
Moreover, the little girl had not gone into the last stall.
What... exactly was that thing?
Xie Qi Qi swallowed hard and began to back away slowly, but the thing noticed her.
She watched as the half-exposed head slowly rose, revealing a pale face with an exaggerated, eerie smile.
Xie Qi Qi's pupils shrunk. That face... that face belonged to the little girl!
But even if the girl stood on her tiptoes, she could never be that tall.
Xie Qi Qi felt as if she were pinned to the spot, her body paralyzed by overwhelming fear.
She saw the head move slowly. Its movements were bizarre and sluggish as it slid along the edge of the stall wall.
Xie Qi Qi suddenly thought it looked like a human-headed balloon; otherwise, it could not have such strange and ghostly movements.
It was not until the head had moved close to the ground that Xie Qi Qi saw the thing's body.
It was just as she had suspected. The thing's neck was thin and long, its body crouched on the floor, crawling on all fours, while its head remained upright in the air, eyes wide and mouth stretched into a grotesque grin.
It... slowly crawled toward Xie Qi Qi.
"Ah!!!"
Xie Qi Qi's scream echoed through the washroom.
The bell for the end of class rang at the same time, drowning out her scream. By the time the bell faded, everything had returned to silence.
During dinner, Nan Yue mentioned that if the children needed to use the washroom, they could ask the life teachers for help.
Although Zhao Zhenzhen was reluctant, Jiang Xi Cheng stated that this was part of a life teacher's job. With two of them, it would be less likely for accidents to happen.
Chi He let out a "wow," looking impressed.
"So that's an option. I didn't even think of that."
Zhu Xi Ning asked curiously, "Did you also run into a child who needed to use the washroom?"
Chi He poked at the food in his bowl. "Yeah. Maybe the kid had some diarrhea."
"What did you do?"
Chi He put on a piteous expression. "I am a male teacher. Was I supposed to accompany a little girl to the washroom? But I told her that even if she messed her pants, I would help her wash them."
Zhao Zhenzhen glanced at Chi He, thinking to herself that this guy was even more of a coward than she was.
"Anyway, everyone should be careful."
Nan Yue looked at Xie Qi Qi. She had eaten very little, barely touching her food.
"Are you not going to eat?"
Xie Qi Qi shook her head and spoke slowly. "No... I do not feel very well. I will head back first."
As the mission progressed, it tested the scavengers' mental stability more and more. Xie Qi Qi's state was not surprising.
With people coming and going right now, there was no need to worry about her being alone and suffering from a backlash of the rules.
"We need to decide who will handle the Dormitory Inspection tonight."
Jiang Xi Cheng looked at the others discreetly. Everyone pursed their lips.
"Then... I will go."
Zhou Zhou hesitated for a moment before raising her hand, and Guan Qing agreed to go as well.
The remaining people were either deathly afraid or mentally unstable. It was better to do it themselves than to rely on them for the Dormitory Inspection.
For some reason, Nan Yue felt a profound sense of unease. She felt as if she had overlooked something, but she could not put her finger on it.
That night, Guan Qing and Zhou Zhou kept an eye on the time and left the room fifteen minutes before the deadline, just like before.
Nan Yue's sense of unease grew stronger in the room. Just then, Bai La La sat down next to her, looking at her with concern.
"I feel like something is wrong... The mission difficulty might be about to escalate. We must leave as soon as possible."
Neither the clues nor the process of death in this mission had been clearly presented to everyone.
Most of the time, the scavengers did not know what rule the deceased had violated; they could only infer through commonalities.
As a result, while there was fear, it was not deep. Similarly, they had unknowingly stayed in the mission for a long time—long enough to feel they could take their time searching for clues.
"How likely do you think it is that Director Wu has two personalities?"
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