The two of them quickly walked to the academic building and found the office on the first floor.
Xu Youyou casually knocked on the door. “Instructor An?”
“Come in.”
He opened the door and walked in, with Zuo Lin'an following behind.
Zuo Lin'an scanned the room and saw two instructors in the office, a man and a woman. He didn't recognize the woman, who was likely in charge of another class. The man was, of course, An Wen.
The two of them only gave the female instructor a casual glance before retracting their gaze and walking over to An Wen's desk.
Xu Youyou couldn't wait and leaned in close to An Wen. “Instructor, can we students establish the same rules as other people?”
An Wen glanced at them, perhaps thinking of something.
“It's normal for you to think that way. Others have tried it in the past.”
Xu Youyou's eyes lit up, but An Wen quickly threw cold water on his excitement.
“But I must still advise you: the rule you establish should ideally complement your own personality and behavioral habits. Don't blindly crave power or convenience. What suits you best is what is best.”
He looked at Zuo Lin'an.
“I see you two have a good relationship. What kind of rule do you think suits him?”
Zuo Lin'an replied without a second thought.
“He's a chatterbox, so it's probably best if it's related to conversation. For example, the Death Rule about responding that you mentioned in class earlier.”
“I think that one is pretty good.”
Xu Youyou froze. “Huh? Really?”
Was he a chatterbox?
Did he really talk that much?
An Wen nodded. “Indeed, Student Xu Youyou is very energetic and quite talkative. The rule you just mentioned does suit him well.”
“And if he really decides on this rule, once Student Xu Youyou becomes a Human-Specter Symbiont, there will be a specific benefit for him.”
Xu Youyou blinked. “A benefit?”
An Wen explained, “If you can truly become a Human-Specter Symbiont, then once a dungeon opens, you can use your living body to disguise yourself as an NPC, or simply as a player.”
“While communicating with players, you can get a response from them almost one hundred percent of the time!”
“This way, they will inevitably trigger your rule. Furthermore, the advantage of this rule is that you hold the initiative.
“As long as you don't speak first, no matter how much others talk to you, it won't count as a response.”
“This will also bring many benefits to your journey in Sin Hunter City. At the very least, you won't be unable to confirm how many people have triggered your rule.”
“After all, missing even a single one means failure.”
Xu Youyou blinked. He suddenly felt like this wasn't a bad idea after all.
“So... do many people choose this rule?”
An Wen nodded. “Of course. Before you, more than thirty percent of the students in every class chose the Death Rule 'Those who respond shall die'!”
Xu Youyou was quite surprised. “Huh? Then isn't this rule incredibly common?”
An Wen chuckled.
“Do you think becoming a Human-Specter Symbiont is easy? While many students indeed choose this rule, the total number of those who have successfully done so since the founding of Sin Hunter City is fewer than ten!”
Xu Youyou immediately grew interested again. “Is that so? That's actually not bad...”
Then, he turned to look at Zuo Lin'an.
“Oh, right, Brother An, what about you? You said you had an idea earlier. Tell the instructor about it.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
However, he didn't state it directly. Instead, he asked a question first.
“Instructor, when Youyou and I enter Sin Hunter City, can we be placed together?”
If they could, his hunt would be much simpler and easier with Xu Youyou's help.
An Wen raised an eyebrow, glanced at them, and finally nodded.
“Of course you can.
“As long as you both agree, you can be placed together. This will also help increase your chances of success. However, no one can help you with the final step of the assimilation.”
“Of course, if any betrayal occurs later on, you'll just have to accept your bad luck.”
“After all, once you enter Sin Hunter City, you won't just be hunting criminals—you can also hunt fellow students.”
Zuo Lin'an stiffened.
The instructor's words implied that once they entered the city, even their fellow students could not be trusted.
Xu Youyou leaned in close to Zuo Lin'an, his eyes staring intently at him.
“I say, Brother An, you wouldn't...”
Zuo Lin'an patted his shoulder. “Don't worry, of course I trust you. We'll enter the city together.”
Only then did Xu Youyou smile.
A thousand words couldn't match the weight of "entering the city together."
Seeing them like this, An Wen knew they had a close relationship, so he didn't press further.
“Alright, you said you had an idea. Do you want me to give you some advice?”
Zuo Lin'an nodded slowly. “Yes, Instructor.”
“Earlier in class, you said we need to establish a Death Rule, have the criminals in Sin Hunter City trigger it, and then strictly follow our pre-planned execution method to kill them.”
“But I have a different idea. Is it possible to establish a Death Rule that allows me to kill without requiring anyone to trigger it?”
Upon hearing this, An Wen was slightly taken aback. He found it somewhat contradictory, but soon seemed to realize something, and his interest was piqued.
Even the female instructor sitting on the other side gave him a somewhat surprised glance.
An Wen pondered for a moment before speaking. “Your idea is very interesting. It's not that such rules don't exist, but they are indeed very rare. Why don't you tell me about it?”
Zuo Lin'an reached out, revealing the watch on his wrist, and then gently tapped the dial with his finger.
“For example, time.”
“Could I establish a Death Rule where, whenever the hour strikes, I can randomly select a target and kill them?”
“This way, there's no need for others to trigger my rule. As long as the condition is met, I can execute the Death Rule.”
Hearing this, An Wen frowned and fell silent for a long time.
A few minutes later, he gave his answer.
“Although it's a bit out of the ordinary, I can tell you clearly: yes, you can!”
Zuo Lin'an breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it was possible, that was enough.
Xu Youyou looked at Zuo Lin'an in surprise. “Huh? Only being able to kill on the hour? I wouldn't want that.”
Having received an affirmative answer, Zuo Lin'an ignored Xu Youyou.
“Instructor, we'll head out first then.”
An Wen waved his hand.
“Go on. Go back tonight and think carefully about your execution method. Tomorrow, a batch of death row inmates will be sent over, and each person will be assigned three.”
“These death row inmates are for you to test your execution methods on.”
Zuo Lin'an paused slightly, though his expression remained unchanged.
“Alright, Instructor.”
After the two left the office, a woman's voice drifted over from a chair on the other side of the room.
“My, that young man just now is pretty good. What a creative mind. Why didn't any student think of a Death Rule like that before?”
“There's absolutely no need for others to trigger the rule. Once the hour strikes, whoever he wants dead must die!”
“Even though there are some restrictions on time, it's incredibly convenient.”
An Wen took a deep breath. “It's more than that!”
“What do you mean?”
An Wen said, “Haven't you realized? Being able to kill at will without needing to trigger a Death Rule—what does that represent?”
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