Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Xuan Jingyuan's eyes.
“I will return to the classroom shortly.”
Gu Hedao nodded slowly. Moving with an ethereal, fleeting swiftness, he quickly caught up to Zuo Lin'an, who had already walked quite a distance away.
“Classmate Zuo.”
Zuo Lin'an looked back but didn't stop walking.
“Oh, it's you. Why did you follow me?”
Honestly, after witnessing what had just happened, he thought these players would avoid getting too close to NPCs.
Gu Hedao explained, “Classmate Xu's situation was also caused by my friend. It wasn't convenient for him to come over, lest he drag you two into another attack, so only I came.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded. “I see.”
“But speaking of which, that Classmate Xuan doesn't seem to have very good relationships. To think his own classmates would attack him.”
Gu Hedao nodded slowly but didn't respond. He didn't seem particularly keen on discussing the matter.
“By the way, where is the infirmary?”
Zuo Lin'an pointed toward the gymnasium ahead. “Over there.”
Xu Youyou suddenly spoke up, “This is the first time I've ever experienced something like this. It feels so bizarre.”
Zuo Lin'an raised an eyebrow.
Hadn't this guy already experienced this once back in Sin Hunter City? His head had been twisted off by his own specter body. How could this be his first time?
But despite his thoughts, he didn't say it out loud.
Upon arriving at the infirmary, Zuo Lin'an searched around, but it was empty.
“Youyou, there's no one here. Let me sew it on for you.”
Having placed Xu Youyou's body on a chair, Zuo Lin'an handed the head back to Xu Youyou, letting him hold it himself.
“Do you even know how to sew?”
Zuo Lin'an had already found a needle and thread for suturing in a drawer.
“Why wouldn't I?”
“Did you forget that when your school uniform tore before, I was the one who sewed it back up?”
He was referring to their freshman year when Xu Youyou's uniform got caught on a tree branch and tore. He had been the one to stitch it back together. Granted, the stitches were crooked and not very pretty.
But it didn't need to look good, did it?
Seeing him approach with the needle and thread, Xu Youyou hastily lifted his head. “Hey! Wait!”
Zuo Lin'an asked, “What's wrong?”
Xu Youyou said, “Don't sew it yet. Let me try doing it myself first.”
Zuo Lin'an hadn't actually intended to sew it on. His previous actions were merely a show for Gu Hedao's benefit.
In reality, Xu Youyou only needed to place his head back on, and it would reattach on its own. It was just that he couldn't switch to his specter body state right now, so complete healing would take some time.
If he could switch states, it would only take a second or two.
Gu Hedao watched as Xu Youyou struggled to align his head. He compared and adjusted for a long while but couldn't seem to get the angle right. In the end, Zuo Lin'an took the head and placed it squarely back onto his neck.
At least it wasn't crooked.
Xu Youyou reached up with both hands to feel his head. Once he was sure it was secure, he covered his neck with his hands, holding it for about ten seconds before letting go.
At this point, only a distinct bloody line remained around his neck.
However, Xu Youyou was already able to slowly turn his head. He still had to be careful, though; if his movements were too sudden, his head might still fall off.
Zuo Lin'an leaned in to inspect it closely. “It really does seem fine now.”
Xu Youyou stood up, carefully supporting his head with his hands. “I still need to wait a bit. I can't do any strenuous activity for now.”
Zuo Lin'an suggested, “Should we go back to the dorm to change clothes first?”
Looking at his blood-soaked appearance, Xu Youyou didn't refuse.
The three of them walked back to the dormitory. Xu Youyou changed his clothes, and Zuo Lin'an did the same. After all, he had been handling Xu Youyou for a while and had gotten a lot of blood on himself.
On the way to the classroom, Gu Hedao followed behind them in silence.
Even though he knew this was a supernatural dungeon world, he couldn't help but feel shocked.
After experiencing everything that had just transpired, he realized the entire school was off. The natives here weren't real natives, but rather... puppets of this dungeon!
Of course, this was merely Gu Hedao's own speculation.
He had been through quite a few dungeons before and had encountered two different types of dungeon natives.
One type was normal living humans.
Whether they were ignorant of the truth, aware of it, helping specters fight against players, or assisting players in clearing the dungeon, they all belonged to this category.
These natives had one thing in common: they could truly be killed. Furthermore, if killed by players, they could return as unsolvable specters to seek revenge.
But there was another category: puppet natives completely controlled by the dungeon!
These natives appeared no different from real people, but they couldn't be killed. Of course, that was all there was to them; unlike specters, they didn't possess any special rules.
Gu Hedao sensed the specter fused within himself.
After collecting two permanent specter items, he had carefully chosen this particular specter to suppress inside his body.
It had three rules.
Because it had died in a duel, all three rules required someone to target or even attack him to be triggered. Thus, they were useless for gathering information or providing utility.
However, he had now firmly concluded that the two native students before him possessed no true self-awareness. They were merely puppets manipulated by the dungeon!
Therefore, no further verification was needed.
“Sigh...”
He seemed a bit disappointed.
Previously, he had thought they were just two decent-tempered, albeit slightly mischievous and lively teenagers.
But he hadn't expected...
“Forget it, clearing the dungeon is what matters most.”
Zuo Lin'an brought Xu Youyou to the classroom. By now, the bloody line on his neck had faded significantly. It would probably heal completely in another ten minutes or so.
“How are you feeling?”
Xu Youyou shook his head. “I'm fine now.”
Zuo Lin'an reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a bunch of delicious snacks from his backpack, and placed them on Xu Youyou's desk.
“Eat some good food to cheer yourself up.”
Although Xu Youyou didn't show it, Zuo Lin'an could tell he was in a terrible mood.
Upon seeing the snacks, Xu Youyou's mood indeed improved considerably.
“But I'm still really angry. If I ever get the chance, I'll definitely teach them a lesson!”
Zuo Lin'an didn't reply, but he knew Xu Youyou wasn't just talking about the player who had accidentally sliced off his head and was currently beaten half to death.
He also meant the player who had knocked him flying, Xuan Yi, Xuan Er, Xuan Jingyuan, and even Gu Hedao.
Xu Youyou stared at Zuo Lin'an, hinting at him with his eyes.
Left with no choice under his gaze, Zuo Lin'an got up and walked over to the teacher's podium to look at the seating chart.
He returned shortly after.
Xu Youyou hastily asked, “Well?”
Zuo Lin'an replied, “Lu Cheng and Zhang Shenli.”
Lu Cheng was the one who had sent Xu Youyou flying and sliced off his head, while the dark-skinned youth was Zhang Shenli, who had been reassigned from another class today.
Honestly, even Zuo Lin'an hadn't expected that the player who caused Xu Youyou to suffer such a loss was actually General Zhang Shenli, who had a bounty on him on the forum.
Just then, the other players sitting around them couldn't help but steal glances at them.
However, none of their expressions wavered.
Xu Youyou knew that even if he transformed into a specter, he wouldn't be a match for these players. But he wasn't alone!
“Brother An, look how miserable I am. Don't you have anything to say or do?”
“Didn't I already give you delicious food?”
“Just that?”
Understanding his meaning, Zuo Lin'an flashed an OK hand sign. “No problem. I'll get revenge for you!”
Rate on N.U.
