Zuo Lin'an, of course, knew what Xu Youyou was talking about.
He couldn't help but take a deep breath.
In truth, no one knew better than he did just how cruel, bloody, and painful his own method of execution was.
Even he felt a trace of fear just looking at that kind of death. If it were to happen to him...
The mere thought of it made his skin crawl.
However, he wouldn't give up because of that.
“My method takes a long time,” Zuo Lin'an said. “But that also means I'll have more time to fully merge with my specter body. Isn't that actually better?”
“On the other hand, your execution is way too fast. When it comes to the final step, you might run into trouble.”
“If possible, I think you should try to drag things out a bit next time.”
Xu Youyou found his reasoning sound and resolved to try what Zuo Lin'an suggested next time.
The two of them walked back toward the dorms, chatting along the way.
By now, the number of students in their class, including themselves, had dwindled to just twenty.
When Instructor An Wen first ordered them to execute a death row inmate, several students simply couldn't bring themselves to do it. They packed up and left that very day.
As for the other students who stayed, the most any of them had used so far, aside from Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou, was two coins.
The rest had only executed one person each.
People like Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou, who had executed at least ten, were complete anomalies.
The others usually looked at them with a hint of fear and a subtle sense of estrangement.
However, the two of them didn't care in the slightest about those looks.
Everyone who remained had already killed someone. The only difference was the body count, so why act all high and mighty?
Besides, neither of them had the time to waste on social politics.
Over the next few days, they constantly pestered An Wen for red coins, only stopping once they had completely drained his stash.
Their skills grew increasingly refined.
This afternoon, after classes ended, the two went to the prison cells to use up their very last coins. They had just returned to their dorm room to rest when a knock sounded at the door.
Zuo Lin'an opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see An Wen standing there.
He hadn't expected the instructor to visit them in person. Seeing his grim expression, Zuo Lin'an wondered if something had happened.
But soon, a realization struck him.
“Instructor, you're here to see us... Could it be...?”
An Wen nodded. “Yes, exactly what you're thinking.”
“You're now ready to submit your city entry applications. It just so happens that a plane is transporting prisoners into the city this afternoon, and you can tag along.”
“If you submit your applications now, you'll be able to enter the city by tonight.”
“The coins in my possession are completely gone anyway, so there's no point in you staying here any longer. The timing is perfect for you to enter the city now.”
“Are you... ready for this?”
Zuo Lin'an didn't hesitate for a second.
“Absolutely!”
An Wen said, “Follow me. I've prepared some gear for you to take inside, and we need to set up your fake criminal identities.”
The two followed An Wen to his office. The first thing they had to do was fill out a formal city entry application.
The application form was quite similar to the one they had seen back at school.
However, the weight of it was entirely different.
Once they finished filling them out, a spectral figure materialized beside An Wen, took the two documents, and vanished.
“Here, put on these two prison uniforms.”
“And here are the dossiers for your fake identities. Read them carefully. You'd better memorize the details, or at least the general outline.”
“If anyone in Sin Hunter City presses you for details about your past, stick to what's written here. Making things up on the fly will likely give you away.”
Zuo Lin'an took a closer look. The document had his own photo attached to it.
As for the other information:
【Name: Zhang Lin
Age: 19
ID Number: 22339
Crime: Collaborated with an accomplice to brutally poison and murder two roommates after their academic grades surpassed his own.
Family: ...】
Zuo Lin'an leaned over to glance at Xu Youyou's dossier.
【Name: Wang Kai
Age: 19
ID Number: 22340
Crime: Collaborated with an accomplice to brutally poison and murder two roommates after their academic grades surpassed his own.
Family: ...】
Their crimes were identical, and their ID numbers were consecutive.
This actually seemed quite well thought out.
“This is indeed very convenient,” Zuo Lin'an remarked.
“Of course it is,” An Wen replied. “I chose these specifically for you. These criminals and their records actually exist; we've simply swapped their identities with yours.”
As for the real Zhang Lin and Wang Kai?
They had undoubtedly already been used up as disposable assets.
An Wen sighed with a trace of emotion. “Over the last dozen or so days, aside from spending time with my daughter, almost all my free time outside of classes has been spent on you two.”
“I hope you won't disappoint me.”
Zuo Lin'an's expression turned solemn. “Don't worry, Instructor. We will give it everything we've got!”
An Wen nodded and pointed to the nearby table. “Put on those prison uniforms now. Zuo Lin'an, take that knife you've been using. Xu Youyou, you won't need to bring one.”
The two obediently changed into the prison uniforms.
Under An Wen's guidance, Zuo Lin'an concealed the knife within the lining of his prison uniform. Unless someone conducted a thorough body search, they would never suspect he was carrying a weapon.
Xu Youyou, meanwhile, was holding a map and studying it.
Zuo Lin'an leaned in to take a look.
He realized it was a map of Sin Hunter City, far more detailed than the one they had seen in class. Aside from marking populated areas and potential hiding spots, there were also several black dots scattered across it.
“Instructor, what do these black dots represent?”
“Those are caches where food and water have been hidden, prepared specifically for students entering the city,” An Wen explained.
“Didn't you say before that we should carry some food with us?” Zuo Lin'an asked.
“That was the original plan,” An Wen said, “but the rules were recently changed.”
“Among the students sent in previously, a portion of them were targeted right at the start because they exposed the fact that they had food on them. As a result, they were beaten to death by mobs.”
“But wouldn't these hiding spots risk being discovered by the criminals inside?” Zuo Lin'an pointed out.
“If they realize this food was left for the students, they might very well lie in wait to ambush and hunt down anyone entering the city!”
An Wen shook his head. “They won't. These spots aren't safe houses or anything; they're just simple hiding places containing small amounts of food and water.”
“As you know, Sin Hunter City has no running water or electricity, so many things are handmade. The food and water we've placed there are packaged exactly in the style of the city's inhabitants.”
“Even if someone has bad luck and a spot gets discovered, they'll just assume another criminal hid it there. They won't connect it to us.”
“However, the amount of food and water at each marked location is very limited, so you must use them wisely.”
Instructor An Wen rambled on, giving them numerous pieces of advice, which both of them listened to with humble attention.
After a long while, he finally stopped.
“Let's go. It's about time. I'll take you there myself.”
Xu Youyou quickly folded the map away and hurried to catch up with them.
Before long, a small sedan carrying the three of them drove out of the training base.
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat surprised. Weren't they supposed to go directly to Sin Hunter City from the training base?
“Where are we going?”
“You'll know when we get there,” An Wen replied.
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