(7/10)
Yuying University
Chapter 392: Hey, bro, can you play basketball?
After registering and receiving their freshman handbook, the first-year students finally stepped into the campus.
Under the pitch-black sky, a few old-fashioned streetlamps stood along the road, emitting a flickering dim light that illuminated the buildings not far away.
The university seemed to be very old. None of the buildings were tall, and they all looked gloomy and outdated, giving off an eerie feeling in the night.
Wen Jianyan lowered his head, inspecting the newly issued student ID and freshman handbook in his hand.
The student ID was quite simple.
The words [Yuying Comprehensive University] were printed at the top in large characters, but there was no photo.
Name: Wen Jianyan
Gender: Male
Major: ■■
Class: ■■
Student ID Number: ■■■■■■
Almost all the information was a blur—except for his name and gender, nothing else could be read clearly.
Wen Jianyan was used to it.
He put the ID back into his pocket and looked at the freshman handbook.
The booklet was thin and had a very worn-out feel. On the cover, two children were printed, smiling brightly at the camera. But due to the faded ink, their expressions looked rather creepy.
He flipped open the booklet.
The first page showed a campus map.
Clearly, despite being a “comprehensive” university, Yuying Comprehensive University wasn’t that big in terms of area.
To the north were the academic buildings and library; to the west, the dormitories and cafeteria; to the east, a sports field, beside which was a small artificial lake.
Overall, it looked rather simple and rudimentary.
He turned to the second page.
It was the table of contents.
Only three lines were listed: Living, Learning, and Extracurricular Activities.
At the bottom of the page, a line of small red text was printed:
[Yuying Comprehensive University – The place where your dreams take flight]
Below that, there was also a smiley face.
It felt ironically cheerful.
While Wen Jianyan was flipping through the booklet, a few of the others nearby began chatting.
“I saw other anchors have already gone inside the campus,” Wei Cheng said. “There probably aren’t any more traps left.”
After them, other registered anchors had also entered the campus one after another. Some, like them, paused at the entrance to assess the situation, while others had already moved deeper into the university grounds.
Su Cheng spoke up. “By the way…”
He pointed at the air and said, “This health bar and San bar—have any of you seen that before?”
He had, in previous instances, come across such mechanics—but only in special scenes triggered under certain conditions. They’d never appeared right at the beginning of a instance like this.
The others glanced at one another and shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t encountered it before.
“Some instance without a time mechanic are like that.”
Hugo, standing nearby, pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Wen Jianyan set down the handbook and looked over.
The others turned to face Hugo too.
Clearly, among the present anchors, Hugo had the most experience and had gone through the widest variety of instances.
“The red bar’s simple—it drops when you’re attacked. Once it hits zero, you die,” Hugo said. “But San value judgments are more complicated.”
Wei Cheng: “I remember—when sanity hits zero, the anchor becomes part of the instance?”
“Correct,” Hugo said. “But that’s not all.”
“As your San decreases, you’ll start experiencing hallucinations. You’ll also become more noticeable among crowds—a walking target for ghosts. If your San drops below a certain threshold, your health bar will become more fragile too. If attacked, you’ll take several times more damage than normal.”
Hugo exhaled a plume of smoke, speaking coolly.
“In most instances, the red and blue bars only appear in short scenes, so HP management is more important. But in an instance where these bars are visible from the very beginning, San is the key. It determines how long you’ll survive.”
“Is there any way to restore it?” Wen Jianyan asked, appearing thoughtful.
“There is,” Hugo glanced at him and replied. “It usually recovers over time. But in some instances, there are special ways to restore it—just harder to obtain.”
Knowing there was a way to recover both bars, everyone visibly relaxed.
“So, where do we go next?” Yun Bilan asked, crossing her arms.
“It’s our first day as freshmen,” Wei Cheng said. “I think we should check out the academic building. Maybe we’ll find some clues.”
“I say we go to the dorms,” Su Cheng countered. “Judging by the setup, we might be staying in this instance for a while. Best get familiar with our living quarters.”
Orange Candy didn’t immediately argue. Instead, she squinted and turned to Wen Jianyan:
“What do you think?”
Wen Jianyan blinked. “I vote for the dorms too.”
“Oh?”
Orange Candy tilted her head.
“It might be our first day at university, but the thing is—registration was at 9 PM,” Wen Jianyan said, shaking his phone. “And as far as I know, most universities have a curfew, right?”
What they’d experienced at the entrance had made him very alert to these implicit rules.
In most instances, a pitch-black sky had nothing to do with actual time. But in this instance, time clearly mattered.
“So, just to be safe, we should check out the dorms first.”
From past experience, if there was a curfew in this instance, returning to the dorm after curfew might come at a very high price.
“Bingo!!!” Orange Candy grinned and made a finger-gun gesture. “That’s what I was thinking too!”
She turned and skipped forward. “Let’s go check out our shiny new dorms!”
Yuying Comprehensive University’s campus wasn’t large. Following the simple map in the freshman booklet, they quickly found the dormitory area.
There were four dormitory buildings, each six stories high.
The dark gray buildings stood silently in the night. All the windows were pitch black—no sign of light anywhere.
On the mud wall nearby hung a crooked banner with bold, half-visible characters:
[Welcome ■■ Year Freshmen]
They approached one of the buildings.
Below it was a desk and chair. A female student sat there, looking like she was in charge.
The group stepped forward.
Wen Jianyan put on a habitual smile. “Hi, senior.”
“Here to check in?” The girl raised her head, glancing over them. “Show me your student ID.”
Someone reflexively reached into their pocket—only to have Hugo immediately press his hand down.
Hugo shot him a sideways glance.
“Senior,” Wen Jianyan stepped forward, still smiling, “do you mind telling me why you need our IDs?”
In the distant lamplight, the girl’s expression looked rather gloomy.
“For check-in, of course.”
“But didn’t we already check in at the entrance?” Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes and subtly glanced at the girl’s right hand. “Also… why aren’t you wearing a student council armband?”
The girl’s face remained expressionless—half of it hidden in the shadows, making her look almost frightening.
The person who had almost handed over their ID felt a chill and quickly withdrew his hand.
The lighting here was too dim. The only streetlamp was far off near the dorm entrance, so they couldn’t clearly see whether the girl was wearing an armband. Plus, after experiencing the official check-in at the entrance, seeing a similar setup here led them to lower their guard out of habit.
If it weren’t for Hugo and Wen Jianyan, he might’ve reflexively handed over the ID.
“Alright, let’s not waste time here—let’s go,” Orange Candy said lazily, unsurprised.
She turned and skipped off toward one of the dorm buildings.
“Sorry about that,” the guy muttered quietly, embarrassed. “Thanks for the help.”
Hugo didn’t respond.
But Wen Jianyan smiled at him kindly. “No problem. Just be more careful next time.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the guy nodded quickly.
Wen Jianyan gave him a sideways glance. “What’s your name?”
He hadn’t seen him during the Changsheng Building instance. Judging by his earlier behavior, this guy was probably newly added to the team and lacked experience.
“I’m Tian Ye,” the guy replied, scratching his head awkwardly.
Wen Jianyan nodded, indicating he’d remember it.
Though lacking experience, anyone chosen by Orange Candy to join this instance must possess a unique, irreplaceable skill—most likely some kind of innate talent.
“What would’ve happened if we gave our ID to that senior?” Tian Ye asked.
Wen Jianyan turned slightly to glance behind him.
In front of the blood-red banner, the girl still sat upright. Her body was shrouded in darkness, yet it felt as though she was still staring directly at them.
“I’m not sure. But probably nothing would’ve happened right away,” Wen Jianyan said after thinking.
After all, this was an A-level instance. Having just triggered a fatal trap, it was unlikely they’d face another identical one immediately.
Tian Ye hadn’t even exhaled in relief yet when Wen Jianyan continued:
“But it definitely wouldn’t have been anything good.”
By now, it was obvious that aside from the new freshmen, everyone else in this university—teachers or students—were all ghosts. Being recognized by one likely didn’t lead anywhere pleasant.
However, the appearance of this new “student” was also a signal…
There seemed to be factions among the students inside Yuying Comprehensive University—only the tip of the iceberg had shown itself so far.
Inside the building, a single dim light flickered. A middle-aged woman who looked like a dorm supervisor sat behind a desk.
As the group entered, she glanced at them sideways:
“Hey hey hey!”
“What are boys doing in the girls’ dorm?”
She pointed to the side. “Your rooms are over there!”
Everyone froze, exchanging glances.
Orange Candy shrugged. “Alright then.”
She looked at Wen Jianyan and the others. “Let’s split up. We’ll contact each other if anything happens.”
Orange Candy, Yun Bilan, and another long-haired woman stayed behind, while the male team members left the girls’ dorm and walked toward the direction the supervisor had indicated.
Wen Jianyan glanced around at the dorm layout.
It looked like the two buildings on the left were for male students, and the two on the right for females.
Not far behind them, a new anchor had appeared in front of the desk where that girl still sat.
Wen Jianyan sighed.
He withdrew his gaze and followed the others into the boys’ dormitory building.
The layout of this dorm wasn’t much different from the previous one—same dim lighting and a similarly cold-faced dorm supervisor auntie.
She shot them a sideways glance. “Registration?”
The group nodded.
“Admission letters,” the dorm supervisor tapped the table, flipping open a thick, dust-covered register.
One by one, they stepped forward and handed over their admission letters.
The auntie ticked them off one by one.
Then she reached into the drawer beside her, pulled out a large bunch of keys, and said, “Follow me.”
The dorm supervisor walked ahead, the group trailing behind her through the narrow hallway.
“Lights out is at eleven every night. Once you’re inside the dorm, you can’t leave again.” her steps were heavy, and each one seemed to make the stairs tremble slightly, “Otherwise, the student council will take names.”
Behind him, a few people exchanged looks.
As expected.
The curfew rule that Wen Jianyan had guessed earlier was real. Though it was only a little past nine now, once you entered another area and something dangerous happened, making it back before eleven would be extremely difficult.
“The bathrooms are at both ends of the hallway. If you want hot water, fetch it from the water room on the first floor. After lights out, don’t make noise and disturb others, or you’ll get complaints.”
On the second floor, the dorm supervisor stopped and pulled a key from her massive keyring, handing it to Hugo.
“You’re here.”
Everyone was taken aback.
Su Cheng frowned. “Wait, we registered together—aren’t we in the same room?”
“No.”
“Why?” Su Cheng pressed.
The dorm supervisor shot him another cold glance and resumed walking, clearly unwilling to explain.
On the third floor, she pulled off two more keys and handed them to Su Cheng, Tian Ye, and Wei Cheng. “You three are here.”
Su Cheng turned to glance at Wen Jianyan, seemingly hesitant.
Wen Jianyan shook his head, signaling not to worry.
Su Cheng sighed, took the key, and headed into the corridor on the third floor.
Soon, they reached the fourth floor.
Wen Jianyan looked up, eyes settling on the glaringly red “4F” painted on the wall. A sense of inevitability rose quietly in his heart…
“You’re here.” The dorm supervisor handed him a key.
“…”
Wen Jianyan silently accepted the key.
It was wrapped in tape, and on the tape were three crooked, blood-red numbers:
404.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[…]
[…]
[Not surprising.]
[Yeah, not surprising.]
The corner of Wen Jianyan’s mouth twitched, but he still took the key and politely thanked her, “Thank you, Auntie.”
With that, he turned and walked down the fourth-floor corridor.
Since they were the first batch of freshmen to arrive at the dormitory area, the building was practically empty. The dark hallway lit up with each step, the lonely echo of footsteps bouncing off the bare walls.
Before long, Wen Jianyan arrived at his destination.
It was a wooden door covered in scars and seemingly unable to shut fully. A rusted metal plate was nailed to it, with faded red paint faintly visible:
[404]
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and inserted the key into the lock, giving it a gentle twist.
With a creak, the door opened.
A moldy, dusty smell filled the air.
He groped for the switch on the wall, and with a click, the light came on.
It was the type of old dorm room seen in universities long past—one bare bulb dangling on a wire from the ceiling, casting a cold, pale glow.
There were four bunk beds arranged around the room, enough for eight people. In the center stood two wooden tables, both bare.
The paint on the walls was peeling, revealing old newspaper beneath.
Wen Jianyan hesitated for a moment before choosing a lower bunk toward the back.
Not too exposed, less likely to be targeted first. And it wasn’t a top bunk, which meant greater mobility.
He placed his suitcase on the floor and unzipped it.
Though he’d briefly opened it at the school gate earlier, things were so urgent at the time that he hadn’t had the chance to properly inspect its contents. Now he finally could.
The suitcase wasn’t large, and inside were only a few changes of clothes and daily necessities.
He casually picked one up and held it against himself.
Same size.
As if it had been prepared especially for him.
There were also a few thick textbooks that appeared to be from his major, but the covers were worn and faded—he couldn’t make out what they said.
He took one and opened it.
Every word was gibberish.
Wen Jianyan flipped rapidly through the book—every single page was the same.
Well then.
He sighed and tossed the book back into the suitcase.
Aside from that, there was nothing else worth noting.
Wen Jianyan sat down on the chair, staring into the open suitcase, deep in thought.
…Something felt like it was missing.
Just then, his phone buzzed twice in his pocket.
He pulled it out.
Apparently, Orange Candy had done something and managed to pull their whole team into a group chat titled “Don’t Mess With Me.”
“…”
Wen Jianyan paused for a moment.
Group admin Orange Candy sent a message: [Let’s leave it here for tonight. Get familiar with the environment. If anything happens, we’ll regroup tomorrow.]
That was Wen Jianyan’s plan too.
Though it wasn’t eleven yet, the dorm supervisor had clearly said no leaving once inside. Rather than break the rule now, it was better to split up and gather intel separately.
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
Wen Jianyan froze. He quickly typed a “1” in the group chat and pocketed his phone.
The door opened.
Two “freshmen” stood outside.
But unlike their supposed identity, their appearances were… rather mature.
One had a scruffy beard; the other had a full sleeve tattoo.
“Whoa, someone’s here already?” The bearded man’s eyes lit up at the sight of Wen Jianyan.
“Yep”, Wen Jianyan casually shut his suitcase. “Hello.”
He stood up, the corners of his lips curving into a soft, deceptively charming smile. He winked playfully and said:
“Looks like we’re classmates from today on.”
“Tut tut tut.”
The bearded guy looked him up and down, then turned to his tattooed buddy, “Now that’s what a real eighteen-year-old college freshman looks like!”
“Exactly! Not even a hint of weirdness!”
The tattooed guy nodded in admiration. “Bet he turns heads in the real world.”
He suddenly asked, “Hey bro, can you play basketball?”
“Yeah yeah, basketball!” The bearded one’s eyes lit up, miming a jump shot, “Super popular in college if you can play!”
Wen Jianyan: “…”
…You guys are focusing on the wrong thing, aren’t you?
Is wuzhu going to show up in a suit soon?