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"Thud, thud, thud, thud..........."
Slow and heavy footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
Those footsteps easily trampled over the mixture of cinnabar, black dog's blood, boy’s urine, and glutinous rice scattered on the corridor floor.
Countless talismans were blown away by the wind, fluttering and rustling in the corridor.
.....................
In the darkness, Zhang Yang's slightly choked voice came through: "I'm sorry... everyone..."
In response, four voices said in unison: "It's not your fault."
Su Yuan leaned against the headboard, fiddling repeatedly with the black MP3 in his hand.
Inside, only the "rustling" sound of static remained...
His face was expressionless, but occasionally a strange red light flickered in his eyes.
His younger sister sat quietly beside him, watching him.
The night passed in silence.
.........
.........
By morning, the rain that had lasted all day and night finally stopped.
The people in the dorm silently got up to wash, and no one spoke.
Gao Wenyi's eyes were red and swollen, as if he had cried all night.
Su Yuan's expression was calm, as if nothing had happened.
He silently put the MP3, which had played all night and was long out of battery, into his pocket and quickly pushed open the dormitory door to leave.
But as he passed through the corridor, Su Yuan kept his head down and walked briskly...
The campus was shrouded in thick fog, and the air was filled with the scent of morning dew.
As he exited the dormitory building, Su Yuan suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back.
He turned to look...
The long-haired young man he had seen yesterday was sitting in the dorm supervisor's office, crossing his legs and watching him.
Seeing Su Yuan turn around, the long-haired young man gave a playful smile and waved at him.
Su Yuan stood still, quietly watching him.
Suddenly, he too smiled and waved back at the long-haired young man.
The long-haired young man was taken aback, his smile slowly fading...
At that moment, Old Donkey came out with a thermos, nudging the long-haired young man's shoulder: "Come on, let's go have breakfast."
Seeing no reaction from the long-haired young man, Old Donkey followed his gaze outside, where there was no one in sight.
"What happened?" Old Donkey asked in confusion.
"Nothing." The long-haired young man shook his head, a hint of malice in his eyes: "I just find the students in this class quite interesting..."
Hearing this, Old Donkey's expression turned serious: "Don't interact with them now, it's too early to get involved!"
.........
Entering the classroom, a few girls were already sitting scattered around.
Su Yuan was the first boy to arrive in the classroom.
Seeing him, Song Xiaoxia's bestie, Yang Ruo, immediately came over and grabbed his sleeve.
"Su Yuan, are you guys okay from last night?" Yang Ruo hesitated, unsure how to start: "I mean, nothing happened, right... Zhang Yang's stuff worked well, didn't it? You didn't let Xiaoxia go out, did you?... Is she behind you? Why didn't she come with you..."
Yang Ruo's voice grew softer, her hands trembling more and more.
Su Yuan silently looked at her, not speaking.
From his expression, Yang Ruo already had her answer. Her face turned pale, and she took a few steps back before crouching in the corner, sobbing uncontrollably.
A few female classmates went over to comfort her, but as they spoke, they too began to sob quietly.
More classmates gradually filled the room, but it wasn't noisy.
No one spoke again, only the occasional sound of sobbing echoed in the classroom.
Everyone hoped the past two days were just a nightmare, but the seven empty seats in the classroom constantly reminded them of the reality.
In two nights, seven people had died!
Now there were less than 50 people left in the class; how much longer could they hold on?
They had already exhausted all the means available to ordinary people.
Despair, fear, and sadness enveloped everyone.
The class bell rang, and Zhang Xiaoping walked into the classroom with a textbook under his arm and a water cup in his hand.
As soon as he stepped onto the podium, he saw Yang Ruo crying with her head down on the desk, her shoulders shaking.
Zhang Xiaoping frowned, walked over to Yang Ruo, gently patted her shoulder, and asked softly: "Yang Ruo, is something wrong?"
Yang Ruo lifted her head, tears streaming down: "Teacher Zhang, Xiaoxia is dead!"
Everyone stared at Zhang Xiaoping, and unsurprisingly, a puzzled expression appeared on his face: "Who is Xiaoxia?"
"Teacher Zhang!" Wang Hao sneered, "There are seven empty desks in the class today, were they always empty? Are the books inside just spares?"
Zhang Xiaoping was stunned, and after a long pause, he slowly nodded: "Yes, didn't I tell you yesterday?"
Wang Hao didn't argue, just turned his head and said coldly: "I want to see how you'll explain when there's only one person left in this class..."
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Zhang Xiaoping was confused: "What do you mean, only one person left?"
"Teacher." Zhou Yulong interrupted him: "Wang Hao is joking, let's start the class."
Zhang Xiaoping looked at him, then at Yang Ruo sobbing on the desk, and finally said nothing, returning to the podium to start the lesson.
Just like yesterday, Zhang Xiaoping's teaching was absent-minded.
Every time his gaze swept over those empty seats, he would pause slightly, sometimes even forgetting what he was supposed to say.
But... no one was really listening anyway.
After the first class, Su Yuan walked over to Qi Yinhong's desk and nudged him with his leg: "Let's go, smoke break in the bathroom."
Qi Yinhong looked up at him, then nodded listlessly: "Alright, let's go."
The two walked to the bathroom together, and Su Yuan pulled Qi Yinhong into the same stall.
"Do me a favor, help me get something." Su Yuan lit a cigarette, his expression calm.
Qi Yinhong wasn't surprised, nodding: "Sure, what do you need?"
"A bugging device." Su Yuan exhaled smoke slowly.
Qi Yinhong was a true second-generation wealthy kid at school, his father Qi Jinhong was a renowned real estate tycoon in Jiangyan City. Su Yuan believed he could easily get something like that, which was out of reach for ordinary people.
"A bugging device?" Qi Yinhong looked surprised: "I thought you'd ask for knives or axes or something, what do you need that for?"
Su Yuan didn't answer, instead he asked back: "What would I need knives or axes for?"
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