Xu Youyou glanced at the time.
“We can't go right now. Look at the time—it's only a little past six. There are still plenty of players wandering around out there. Let's wait until they've all headed to their classrooms before we go find the principal.”
Zuo Lin'an said, “Alright, let's pack up first. Once everyone is gone, we'll head straight to the administrative building.”
Xu Youyou slowly changed his clothes. “Sounds like a plan.”
Having made their decision, the two of them dragged their feet.
They washed up, made their beds, and even went out to buy some snacks. Only when the clock struck seven and classes officially began over at the academic building did they finally slip out of the dormitory.
As they walked, they remained highly vigilant, extending their perception to check if any players were tailing them. Fortunately, they didn't sense any living auras nearby.
To prevent the players sitting in the classrooms from spotting them, they took a detour, wrapping around the sports field and the gymnasium to reach the administrative building.
However, upon arriving at the administrative building, they realized there were actually several living auras around. They weren't inside the building, but rather lurking outside.
A few living auras were hiding in secluded spots.
For instance, behind the bushes, up in the trees, and tucked away in various corners.
Neither of them let their eyes wander. Acting as though they hadn't noticed a thing, they maintained neutral expressions as they walked into the administrative building, heading straight to the second floor to find the principal's office.
Zuo Lin'an knocked gently on the door.
At that moment, the living auras that had been hiding outside began to gather outside the office window, likely planning to eavesdrop.
“Come in.”
The familiar voice called out.
The two pushed the door open and stepped inside.
“Principal.”
The principal looked up at them. “Ah, it's you two. Do you need something?”
Zuo Lin'an scanned the room and noticed the curtains were drawn. He then placed his specter item, the gold hairpin, along with the seventeen cards onto the desk.
“Principal, we came to ask for a leave of absence.”
He spoke those words aloud, but his physical gestures told a different story.
The principal watched as Zuo Lin'an pointed to the items on the desk, and then pointed toward the school gates.
“You want to ask for leave?”
“It's only the second day of school. Unless it's something urgent, it's best not to take leave.”
The principal pointed at the gold hairpin and nodded, then pointed at the cards and shook his head.
Zuo Lin'an thought for a moment. “It's nothing urgent. I just feel a bit under the weather and want to go home to rest.”
As he spoke, he slipped out his phone and typed a message.
[I'll leave the gold hairpin in your care, Principal. I'll come back to retrieve it this evening. As for the cards, can I leave them here with you?]
The principal nodded first, then shook his head.
Xu Youyou chimed in at this moment to back him up.
“Principal, me too, me too! I'm not feeling well either and want to go home to rest.”
Zuo Lin'an continued typing.
[So the cards can't be left here?]
The principal said, “No making up excuses to skip class, you two! Go back to your classroom immediately!”
As he spoke, he pocketed the gold hairpin and slid the cards back toward Zuo Lin'an.
The meaning was crystal clear.
Although Zuo Lin'an was slightly disappointed, he realized it made sense upon further thought.
With so many players lurking outside the administrative building, leaving the cards here probably wasn't safe anyway. Since they couldn't be taken out of the school either, he would have to find another way.
“Alright, Principal...”
Zuo Lin'an slipped the cards back into a hidden compartment of his backpack.
The two of them slowly left the administrative building. The principal walked out with them, though he headed toward the school gates instead.
Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou stopped halfway, turning to watch his departing figure.
Only when they confirmed he had passed through the school gates and completely vanished from sight did they breathe a sigh of relief.
Xu Youyou sighed. “The principal didn't let us take leave. What do we do now?”
Zuo Lin'an replied, “Forget it. Let's head to the cafeteria for breakfast first, then go to class. We're already late anyway.”
Xu Youyou nodded repeatedly. “Sounds good, let's go.”
The two of them strolled over to the cafeteria. By now, the cafeteria aunties had already begun clearing the tables and preparing the ingredients for lunch.
Only the breakfast window closest to the entrance remained open.
“What do you two want to eat?”
Zuo Lin'an walked up to the window. “What do you have left, Auntie?”
“Just some steamed buns, mantou, eggs, soy milk, and deep-fried dough sticks. There's definitely no noodles or porridge left.”
Zuo Lin'an said, “Just give us a few mantou and eggs, then.”
Having the same thing as yesterday morning is fine.
Xu Youyou leaned in. “Wait a second!”
He stopped Zuo Lin'an and turned to the cafeteria auntie.
“Auntie, what filling is in the steamed buns?”
“They're fresh pork buns. How about it? They're still hot.”
Xu Youyou asked, “Let's get the pork buns, yeah?”
He really didn't want to chew on plain mantou, even if they were inside a dungeon.
Zuo Lin'an thought for a moment. “Let's take a look first.”
Xu Youyou bought one, split it open to check, and saw that it was indeed normal pork filling. He promptly bought nine more.
The two of them took the buns, sat down a short distance away, and began eating slowly.
Xu Youyou sensed the living auras in the vicinity. Aside from the aunties and chefs busy in the kitchen, there were four or five scattered living auras outside.
It seemed that after their trip to the administrative building, the two of them had been targeted as well.
This meant that from now on, they had to be extremely careful when speaking, ensuring they didn't voice any secrets that only NPCs like them should know.
After finishing their meal, they leisurely made their way back to the academic building.
By the time they reached the sixth floor, the bell for the end of class rang. The first period was already over, but this timing allowed them to slip into the classroom right during the break.
Returning to his seat, Zuo Lin'an casually stuffed his bulging backpack into his desk.
The cards from earlier were still inside.
However, he had packed his bag full of snacks and drinks. He wanted to give all the players the illusion that his backpack held nothing but food.
Doing so would ensure the safety of the cards to some extent.
Only then did Zuo Lin'an notice that the person sitting in front of him had changed.
Right, Xuan Yi is dead.
But...
The person in front turned around to look at him.
He was handsome with long, flowing hair, wearing a gentle, gentlemanly smile on his face.
“Hello, Student Zuo.”
Zuo Lin'an blinked.
“And you are?”
This was none other than Ming Ruofeng, the player Zuo Lin'an had killed in the Scarlet Dream last night.
“I'm Ming Ruofeng. We just met yesterday. Did you forget me so quickly?”
Zuo Lin'an raised an eyebrow.
“Ah, I remember now. You're the one who interrupted my meal.”
He couldn't mention that they had met in the Scarlet Dream.
Besides, Ming Ruofeng really had approached Zuo Lin'an for a chat while he was eating yesterday.
Zuo Lin'an recalled that Ming Ruofeng's talent was 【Demon-Slaying Sword】. This meant his survival was indeed due to a specter item.
He was quite lucky.
Ming Ruofeng offered a helpless smile.
“Sigh... I just wanted to chat about a few minor things. Please don't misunderstand me, Student Zuo. I had no intention of being a nuisance.”
Zuo Lin'an waved his hand dismissively.
“It's fine. But I didn't expect you to be reassigned to the seat right in front of me.”
Ming Ruofeng looked relaxed, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he had been killed once in the Scarlet Dream last night.
However, there seemed to be a subtle, underlying meaning in his tone.
“Since we're sitting so close now, I hope we can get much closer in the future, Student Zuo.”
Rate on N.U.
