Vol. 1 Chapter 18 – Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus. (18)

Chi Xi had left Yin Liuming waiting in the third senior year, Class 3, then ran off on his own.

Yin Liuming pulled up a chair and settled on the podium.

A few minutes later, the bell rang, and the students filed in through the door.

As soon as class time began, whether the students were in a zombie state or back to life, they would quietly sit at their desks, ignoring anyone who spoke to them, as if they had all switched into standby mode.

Then, the loudspeaker at the classroom door crackled twice, but instead of the mechanical system voice, Chi Xi’s familiar voice came through.

“Third senior year, Class 3; third senior year, Class 3; all students stand up now.”

Yin Liuming froze for a moment.

Almost in unison, the students before him rose to their feet with a swish.

The loudspeaker continued, “All students in Class 3 of the third senior year, step outside and pick a pot of ivy from the corridor to bring back and place next to your desk. Be sure to pick only one pot—no fighting, no making trouble!”

Chi Xi’s voice over the speaker had a peculiar tone, somewhere between an official, serious manner and a deliberately exaggerated playfulness, which almost made Yin Liuming laugh.

As Chi Xi finished speaking, the students in the classroom actually left the room and began selecting flowerpots in the corridor.

Not long after, they each returned, cradling a pot of ivy.

Yin Liuming raised an eyebrow slightly: It actually worked?

Yin Liuming stepped outside the classroom door and glanced along the corridor.

—Sure enough, there were only six pots left.

Immediately, he furrowed his brow.

—So there really were just six pots left?

Shen Lou floated out from the illustration book again and commented, “That kid isn’t a complete fool after all.”

Yin Liuming glanced at him. “Chi Xi’s very useful.”

Shen Lou narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you saying I’m useless?”

Yin Liuming smiled. “That’s not what I meant.”

Shen Lou let out a light ‘heh’ and was about to mock Yin Liuming when he noticed his frown, which puzzled him. “What’s still bothering you?”

“I find it strange… Why are there only six pots of ivy left here?”

“What’s strange about that? Weren’t there only six people who bullied Qi Xiaobei?

“That’s true—the question is, where’s Qi Xiaobei’s flowerpot?” Yin Liuming squatted down and gently tapped the edge of the flowerpot with two fingers. “Everyone in this school has a flower representing them. What about Qi Xiaobei?”

The flower rules in the school were obvious.

Ivy represented the students.

The nine types of flowers in the garden symbolized the teachers of the nine subjects, and if they wanted to complete the makeup lesson mission, they had to find their corresponding flowers.

The hibiscus flowers blocking the zombie students stood for the security guards or gatekeepers. When they entered the dream, several tall hibiscus pots were placed in the school’s security office.

The white lilies in the infirmary probably represented the school nurse, and so on.

The dreamer was likely following this rule as well.

Yin Liuming had initially thought that the ivy representing Qi Xiaobei was mixed among the students’ flowerpots, but now that the others had taken theirs, Qi Xiaobei’s pot was missing.

Although he had no concrete evidence, Yin Liuming instinctively felt that Qi Xiaobei’s ivy was the key to this dream.

Shen Lou spoke leisurely, “If you think about it that way, there’s still one person’s representative flower you haven’t found.”

Yin Liuming raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about Chu Dong?”

Shen Lou looked at him, a bit surprised.

“I observed her a few times when I passed near Chu Dong,” Yin Liuming said. “She was pruning the flowers that had grown too vigorously in one part of the garden—the problem is, she only pruned that one section and never went to any other.”

“So?”

“The flowers representing most people in the school never stray far from where they’re usually active. So I suspect Chu Dong’s flower must be somewhere inside the garden she tends.”

However, the gardens in this school were planted densely, and ivy wasn’t a tall plant; thus, even after passing by and observing several times, Yin Liuming hadn’t found it.

“Chu Dong’s flower is important, but as long as we know roughly where it is—”

Yin Liuming’s words broke off abruptly.

He slowly turned his head, staring at Shen Lou floating above him. “What are you doing?”

Shen Lou lightly fiddled with the pom-pom dangling from Yin Liuming’s sleeping cap using his translucent fingers, and he said easily, “My hands are itchy.”

Yin Liuming took a deep breath, a smile spreading across his face. “Since you’re so free, Mr. Shen, why don’t you go find where Qi Xiaobei’s ivy is?”

Shen Lou’s lips curved slightly. “I can’t stray too far from the illustration book.”

As he spoke, he fiddled with the pom-pom again.

Ever since he first saw Yin Liuming in pajamas, he had wanted to do this. Regrettably, Yin Liuming in pajamas typically displayed an irritable demeanor, ready to fight at the smallest provocation. While it was amusing to watch him get angry, teasing the current version of Yin Liuming was much more satisfying.

Yin Liuming’s smile softened even more. “Great.”

——Tonight, I’ll clear this dream!

……

Chi Xi returned to the door of third senior year, Class 3, and before even reaching the doorway, he eagerly asked, “How is it, Brother Yin? is it working?”

Yin Liuming was crouching next to a pot of ivy, gently tapping the flowerpot, and upon hearing this, he looked up and smiled, “It’s very useful, thank you.”

Chi Xi showed a hint of embarrassment and let out a relieved breath.

“How did you come up with this idea?”

“Our high school principal used to like doing it this way—whether for sports meets, textbook distribution, or exercises,” Chi Xi scratched his head. “I noticed this dream’s high school looked similar to ours, so I checked the broadcasting room, and sure enough, I found the broadcast switch.”

He puffed out his chest proudly. “I specifically selected only Class 3 of the third senior year to make sure no one else would hear it.”

Yin Liuming praised him with a smile. “Good job.”

Chi Xi chuckled for a while, then looked down at the ivy. “So, do we pull these out now and give them to Chu Dong?”

Yin Liuming shook his head. “The mission requires helping Chu Dong make a return gift, so it probably needs to be completed first.”

What was it that Chu Dong said at the time?

——“The cut flowers don’t go to waste either. After processing and drying, they can be made into beautiful specimens or decorations.”

“Processing and drying…” Yin Liuming pondered for a moment, then stood up with a sigh. “Looks like we’ll have to wait until tonight.”

To dry, there needed to be fire, and speaking of fire… wasn’t that just the office building on fire at night?

……

That night, Yin Liuming, Ning Yuanyuan, and Yang Jiao stood on the third floor of the office building.

This time, it was at Yin Liuming’s request.

When he asked Chi Xi to inform Ning Yuanyuan and Yang Jiao, he had specifically mentioned that tonight they would complete the main mission.

So Ning Yuanyuan and Yang Jiao came without any hesitation.

Ning Yuanyuan glanced around. “Where’s Chi Xi?”

Yin Liuming leaned an arm against the windowsill, his expression somewhat unpleasant, though his tone was fine. “I gave him something to do.”

Ning Yuanyuan frowned. “If he’s not here when the level is cleared, it might be judged as a mission failure.”

“There’s still time.”

Ning Yuanyuan studied Yin Liuming’s face, a bit uncertain. “Is there still a problem with the main mission that hasn’t been solved?”

Judging by Yin Liuming’s expression, it could freeze someone to death.

Yin Liuming turned his head, letting Ning Yuanyuan see his eyes clearly. “No, I just want to sleep.”

Ning Yuanyuan: “……”

Oh, she had forgotten—this guy always changed his face at night.

Yang Jiao had assumed that even if Yin Liuming didn’t deliberately target him, he wouldn’t bother looking after him, especially since he had been following Ding Pei’an before. Unexpectedly, Yin Liuming had set aside past grievances and still informed him to come and prepare for the dream’s judgment. He was moved to tears and said, “Thank you, Brother Yin, thank you so much.”

Ning Yuanyuan still found it a bit hard to believe. “So we’re really about to clear the level?”

She glanced around and quickly guessed. “Are we supposed to wait here for the fire to happen or stop it?”

Yin Liuming answered simply, “Wait.”

Just then, cautious footsteps echoed from downstairs.

Yin Liuming and Ning Yuanyuan exchanged a glance, then both hid in the restroom, peering outside through the crack in the door. Yang Jiao also hurriedly found a place to hide.

Tap, tap.

The footsteps drew nearer. Through the door crack, they saw a figure slowly ascending the stairs. At the landing corner, a young face emerged—stiff yet tinged with arrogance.

Yin Liuming narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was Yan Hang.

Yan Hang climbed to the third floor, glanced around and saw no one, and then sneered back at the person behind him. “Told you nothing would happen.”

A figure slowly followed behind him, head lowered in restraint, thin shoulders hunched, with bandages wrapped around his hands, already slightly soiled.

Even though his face wasn’t visible, Yin Liuming instantly recognized that it was Qi Xiaobei.

Yang Jiao’s eyes widened, and he whispered with a trembling voice, “Wasn’t there only one set of footsteps just now?”

Ning Yuanyuan quickly covered his mouth, warning him to stay silent.

Fortunately, the people outside hadn’t noticed.

Yan Hang chuckled as he made his way to the archive room, with Qi Xiaobei, who walked in complete silence, trailing behind him.

As they got closer to the archive room, something even stranger unfolded.

White smoke inexplicably rose from the floor, and clumps of charred ash gradually expanded to form humanoid shapes, as though they were coming to life. They silently mimicked cautious yet thuggish movements, shadowing Yan Hang and Qi Xiaobei.

They were the five students who had been consumed by the necromantic fire the previous night.

“Here, this is the archive room.” Yan Hang stopped at the doorway, lifting his chin, a look of contempt and malice flashing across his face. “You got the key, right?”

Qi Xiaobei nodded silently.

“I didn’t expect it; you’re so stupid yet you tricked Jiang Chengtuo.” Yan Hang chuckled with a sneer, patting Qi Xiaobei’s face with disdain. “Then my people and I will wait outside for you.”

Qi Xiaobei’s body trembled even more, and he stammered timidly, “I, I…”

“What, having second thoughts?” Yan Hang rummaged through his pocket and pulled out something wrapped in a plastic bag. “Don’t you want the thing Chu Dong gave you?”

“I…”

“Or do you want your dumb mother’s stall overturned again?” Yan Hang’s tone turned abruptly menacing. “Qi Xiaobei, are you messing with me?”

Qi Xiaobei’s trembling body suddenly stilled.

After a moment, he spoke softly, “I’ll do it.”

His voice carried a depth of numbness and indifference.

“That’s more like it.”

Yan Hang waved his hand, and a charred corpse diligently handed him a cigarette and lit it.

Yan Hang leisurely blew out a smoke ring, casually waved his hand at Qi Xiaobei, then turned and walked toward the staircase on the opposite side.

Qi Xiaobei stood at the archive room doorway like a frozen statue.

A moment later, he took out a key and unlocked the door.

……

Ning Yuanyuan glanced at Yin Liuming, her eyes questioning him.

Yin Liuming shook his head.

A few seconds later, footsteps echoed again from the stairs.

Looking through the crack of the door, Ding Pei’an agilely tiptoed up the stairs. His gaze landed on the already opened archive room door, and a smug grin spread across his face as he lifted his foot to step inside.