Nan Yue pondered for a moment. "I will call Engineer Yang out. You take the chance to go take a look."
Gu Yun refused without even thinking. "No way! If he finds out, I am finished!"
"You will not be able to help me then."
Nan Yue sighed softly. She knew Gu Yun's courage was not enough for such a task.
"I will go."
Gu Xiang Kai flexed his wrists. "I worked in the cafeteria before, so it will be easy to find an excuse."
Nan Yue thought for a while. Unless Engineer Yang was the person in charge and Gu Xiang Kai's excuse was logically flawed, there should not be any major issues.
Gu Xiang Kai's skills and reactions were indeed more trustworthy than Gu Yun's. Moreover, Gu Yun would also be in the kitchen during work hours, so Gu Xiang Kai would not be acting alone.
"Ten minutes."
Gu Xiang Kai nodded.
When Nan Yue called Engineer Yang out, the man, who was as thin as a bamboo pole, remained very silent. Nan Yue, despite her height, looked like a mere child in front of him.
Nan Yue had the feeling that he was not human, but rather some sort of arthropod insect.
"You were looking for me?"
Engineer Yang did not speak much, his voice as dry and raspy as an old machine.
"A child had diarrhea yesterday. I wanted to see if there was anything wrong with the cafeteria food."
Engineer Yang stared at her fixedly. Anyone would feel flustered being stared at by such an eerie NPC, but Nan Yue did not. She stared back lazily.
"I know you."
"The children like you very much."
Engineer Yang gave a strange smile, looking like someone who had never smiled before trying his best to mimic one.
"We will be colleagues for a long time."
Engineer Yang's words were somewhat incoherent, and Nan Yue was not quite sure what he meant.
Nan Yue pursed her lips. "So, about yesterday's food..."
"The food was fine."
Engineer Yang looked directly at Nan Yue, enunciating every word.
"Diarrhea is inevitable."
Nan Yue frowned. "As teachers, we should care about the children."
Engineer Yang's expression instantly became very strange, in a way that Nan Yue found difficult to describe.
It was like a mix of hatred, annoyance, fear, and excitement...
All sorts of emotions that should not coexist surfaced on Engineer Yang's face.
"They are demons."
"They all deserve to die."
Engineer Yang suddenly let out a raspy "Heh-heh" laugh. "One day, you will think so too."
Nan Yue had originally only wanted to stall for time, but her mind shifted, and she took a step forward.
"Do you not care about the children?"
"If something goes wrong with the food, is that not a dereliction of duty? Does Director Wu know?"
Engineer Yang's withered face twitched twice, as if something were about to burst through his skin.
"There is no problem."
Without moving his body, Engineer Yang tilted his neck. "It might be the weather."
Out of the corner of her eye, Nan Yue saw Gu Xiang Kai emerge from the kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back.
"Fine. As long as the food is fine, then it is good. I just wanted to be sure."
Engineer Yang stared at Nan Yue for a long time, let out an ambiguous laugh, and then left.
Gu Xiang Kai was in a hurry to go tidy the students' beds. He briefly told Nan Yue what he had found.
"A very tattered notebook. Not much in it. Engineer Yang does not seem very educated; the handwriting is crooked and messy."
"The notebook is full."
"But there is only one sentence."
"They deserve to die."
"They all deserve to die."
During dinner, the survivors gathered to try and solve the puzzle, but Zhao Zhenzhen just sat to one side, her eyes filled with a venomous gaze as she waited for Chi He.
Although everyone found their conflict a bit strange, Zhao Zhenzhen was so frantic now that no one cared anymore.
"It must be Engineer Yang. He hates those children so much, so he must be the one abusing them. Now he is just keeping them around to vent his emotions."
Xu Yuan had always thought Engineer Yang looked very strange and made him feel uncomfortable. What kind of good person would look like that?
"But I feel like his reaction does not seem like that of a person in charge who is manipulating everything."
Zhu Xi Ning toyed with her hair. "I always feel like his hatred is very powerless. Besides, he does not seem very smart. Could he really be in charge of the school?"
Gu Yun was also very irritable, unable to sit still. "Then it must be Director Wu. Let us just choose Director Wu and have her sign for us."
Jiang Xi Cheng glanced at him. Now that the mission had progressed to this point, he was too tired to bother leading these newcomers.
"Then you go."
Gu Yun choked, his tone becoming timid. "Are you all... not going?"
Jiang Xi Cheng's face was cold. "If you think it is Director Wu, why should someone else go?"
"Do you take everyone else for fools?"
Gu Yun lowered his head, his face flushing red. He was also furious, but he had not lost control to the extent Zhao Zhenzhen had.
He knew perfectly well that he still needed to rely on these high-level players; he could not let the relationship sour.
When Zhao Zhenzhen realized she had to conduct the Dormitory Inspection tonight, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.
"Why does it have to be me!"
Gu Yun, who had been timid all along, suddenly snapped. He pressed a dinner fork directly against Zhao Zhenzhen's throat.
"Stop talking. If you do not go, you will die right here."
Gu Yun and Zhao Zhenzhen had always been the weak but scheming types among the scavengers. No one expected that this conflict would force such a side out of Gu Yun.
If it had been before, Nan Yue would have intervened seeing someone treat a woman like that.
But after everything that had happened in this mission, Zhao Zhenzhen had offended everyone. Moreover, the Dormitory Inspection was their own business.
Zhao Zhenzhen looked around in terror for help, only to find everyone was very indifferent. Chi He, on the other hand, was smiling, but seeing his smile only made Zhao Zhenzhen shudder.
"I will go... I will go."
Xu Yuan completely ignored the despondent Zhao Zhenzhen. His face was grim, knowing full well that if they were caught during the Dormitory Inspection time, another death trap would appear.
He deeply regretted not doing the Dormitory Inspection earlier out of fear, dragging it out until now.
"By the way, the drawing!"
Zhao Zhenzhen turned to look at Bai La La, her face distorted. "I am asking you, what is today's drawing!"
She wanted to know who was drawn to die.
Zhao Zhenzhen had completely lost her sanity. She reached out to grab Bai La La, muttering, "You mute, you are useless. Just looking at you irritates me."
Bai La La remained indifferent to her verbal abuse and silently gave her a smile.
No matter how much Xu Yuan and Zhao Zhenzhen asked, Bai La La said nothing.
Gu Yun also became increasingly agitated. He seemed to want to do something, but he did not tell the others.
The scene was a chaotic mess. Zhu Xi Ning took the opportunity to whisper something to Nan Yue. After a moment's hesitation, Nan Yue signaled Gu Xiang Kai, and the three of them gathered to discuss something in low voices.
After finishing their washing, the dormitory gradually grew quiet. Zhao Zhenzhen had moved back into Nan Yue's dormitory and was frantically biting her hand.
Her hand was covered in blood, but she seemed unable to feel it.
As soon as Nan Yue stood up, Zhao Zhenzhen looked at her in panic. "Where are you going?"
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