(4/5)
Yuying University
Chapter 399: Please, have some shame.
“What’s wrong?” Orange Candy noticed his expression and tilted her head to ask.
Wen Jianyan paused, then took the pink water cup out of his backpack and placed it on the table.
“?!”
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and soon recognized the object in Wen Jianyan’s hand:
“Wait, isn’t that… the water cup from the movie?”
“Yeah.” Wen Jianyan nodded.
“How could it be here?” Tian Ye leaned forward in surprise, taking the cup in his hands to examine it carefully.
The metal water cup felt heavy and solid in his palm, not like an illusion at all. He even twisted the lid open and peeked inside:
It was completely empty.
Just like a normal water cup.
“So,” Orange Candy’s eyes fixed on Wen Jianyan, shining with excitement, “you can bring things out from the movie?”
Wen Jianyan said, “It seems that way.”
There were two possible reasons for this situation: either the item was special, or the person holding it was special.
Judging from the current situation, the latter seemed more likely.
“Oh—”
Orange Candy’s eyes brightened even more. She stared intently at Wen Jianyan, dragging out her voice.
“…”
Wen Jianyan sighed and said, “Next time, I’ll definitely help you get the diary out.”
“Yay!” Orange Candy immediately cheered with a big smile.
While they were chatting, time kept passing bit by bit.
Only three minutes remained before the compulsory class started, and footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Inside the classroom, the anchors who had been whispering just moments ago stopped talking, and silence fell instantly as everyone turned to look toward the door.
The footsteps grew closer, and soon a figure appeared at the entrance.
It was a man with flat features and a pale face.
In the deathly quiet classroom, he walked step by step onto the podium.
Wen Jianyan frowned and leaned back slightly.
The other anchors sitting farther back might not have felt it, but sitting in the front row, Wen Jianyan could clearly sense the strong cold aura radiating from the man’s body, along with a faintly sweet and rotten stench.
“Students, welcome to Yuying Comprehensive University. I am your professional course teacher, Teacher Zhao.”
He looked around the classroom with cloudy eyes and spoke slowly.
“Also, I am your counselor.”
Counselor?
Everyone was slightly surprised and exchanged glances.
Indeed, besides substitute teachers for each subject, the university would assign counselors to manage students. However, before this class, this position had no presence at all, so they all subconsciously ignored the counselor’s existence and never expected that their counselor and professional course teacher would be the same person…
At least, this was uncommon in real universities.
“If you encounter any problems in your study or life, you can contact me anytime.”
The counselor turned around and wrote a string of numbers on the blackboard.
“Page 18 of the freshman handbook has related information.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom was filled with the rustling of pages turning.
Soon, Wen Jianyan found page 18 of the freshman handbook.
[Each class will be assigned a fixed counselor who will become your best partner during university life.
If you find it difficult to integrate into university study or life, you can contact the counselor for help anytime.]
[How to seek help: call the counselor’s phone number]
It seemed that the string of numbers Teacher Zhao wrote on the blackboard was his contact info.
The anchors in the classroom understood the importance and quickly took note of it.
Wen Jianyan frowned.
He was neutral about this suddenly appearing “counselor” system, which seemed very friendly to the anchors.
After all, no one knew what this so-called “help” actually meant. Even if it was positive help, it might cost them an unpayable price.
The strong cold aura coming from the man made Wen Jianyan feel very uneasy.
“Ding-ling-ling!!!”
The sharp sound of the class bell echoed down the hallway.
Outside the classroom, the cold darkness began to spread.
“All right”, Teacher Zhao stepped forward and placed the thick book he was holding on the podium.
“Next, we will start the formal lesson.”
Since he was in the front row, Wen Jianyan took the chance to lean forward and glance at the side of the book’s cover.
Still black with illegible scrambled characters, no recognizable words.
At the same time, the bell outside gradually faded.
Suddenly, a strong chill rose from where his body touched the desk and chair, rapidly spreading like a wave throughout his entire body.
Not good!
Wen Jianyan was alarmed.
Then, a strange and familiar sensation attacked him.
Unlike the blackout he experienced earlier in the film appreciation elective, this feeling was more like what he felt in the dormitory the moment the lights went out.
As if confirming his suspicion, drowsiness surged uncontrollably.
His eyelids suddenly felt as heavy as if weighed down by a thousand pounds.
Thanks to his previous experience in the dorm, Wen Jianyan quickly opened his backpack, ready to activate an item—
【Item cannot be used】
What?
Cannot be used?
On the fading edge of his consciousness, Wen Jianyan was shocked.
In his blurred vision, he saw the pale-faced counselor standing at the podium, his smile twisted and strange from drowsiness, like a bloated corpse’s face—swollen and ugly—rapidly expanding like a whirlpool—
Then quickly swallowed by darkness.
Immediately after, his brain could no longer think.
“Ding-ling-ling———!!!”
The sharp sound of the class-ending bell rang out.
The bell seemed to pierce the boundless darkness, waking everyone from their deep sleep.
Some anchors still hadn’t fully recovered, still dazed and lying on their desks; others jumped up in shock from their seats, apparently preparing to face any possible threat.
But nothing happened.
On the podium, Teacher Zhao seemed completely unaware of the students’ reactions and continued slowly tidying the professional books.
“All right, students, that’s all for today’s class…”
Although everyone had fallen asleep during his lesson, Teacher Zhao appeared completely unbothered, his face relaxed with a smile, as if he were just an ordinary university teacher.
After packing up the books, he said:
“The next class is on Thursday, don’t forget.”
Having said that, Teacher Zhao hugged the books and turned to leave.
Inside the classroom, the anchors looked at each other in confusion.
They carefully checked themselves and found that nothing was missing—not a single part was damaged, not even a scratch.
Although they had slept through the entire class and learned nothing, the credits had still been added to their student cards without any deduction.
Only their SAN points had dropped a little.
“What just happened?”
“Don’t know…”
“Seems like nothing happened?”
“So this is the professional class?… Just like this?”
After the crisis in the elective class, they had prepared fully for the afternoon session, but all their caution and carefulness was like throwing a punch at cotton—nothing but a dark, deep sleep, without even a single dream.
Literally, nothing happened.
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[LOL, I just love seeing the anchors’ confused faces.]
[Who’d have thought the professional class is just… nothing!!]
[Hahaha, the anchors’ reactions are so funny.]
[Sigh, it’s my first time watching this Yuying Comprehensive University game, really disappointed. I thought there’d be some exciting scenes, but nothing happened at all.”
[Bro, just get used to it.]
[That’s why this instance is known as boring—the death rate is low, the death criteria are loose! Honestly, I don’t want the anchors to pass this instance; it’s just a waste of their time.]
“Didn’t expect it… this instance is pretty realistic.”
Tian Ye got up from the desk, rubbed his head dazedly, then gave a dry laugh and said:
“Anyway, when I was in college, some pretty useless classes were really just like this.”
Just killing time to get by.
Next to him, Su Cheng tapped his head and said grumpily:
“Stop laughing.”
He pointed ahead: “Didn’t you see our team leaders have already rushed out? Hurry up and catch up!”
After the bell rang, Wen Jianyan and Orange Candy were the quickest to react.
As soon as Teacher Zhao left, they rushed out of the classroom.
“Run,” Su Cheng vaulted over a desk and ran out too, “Don’t forget, club recruitment is about to end!”
Tian Ye hesitated, quickly got up, and stumbled after them.
Obviously, quite a few anchors, like them, were eager about the club recruitment downstairs.
They rushed out of the teaching building, racing against time to make it for the last half hour of club sign-ups.
Fifteen minutes before the club recruitment ended, the group arrived at the open space where banners had been hung and the “Club Recruitment” signs were displayed.
Not far off, many tables were already set up, with a few people gathered in front of each one.
Wen Jianyan was about to step forward when Wei Cheng suddenly grabbed his arm:
“Wait!”
He was startled, turning to see the serious expression on Wei Cheng’s face.
Wei Cheng’s talent was the ability to foresee imminent deadly threats.
Wen Jianyan’s heart sank, and he immediately stopped.
An anxious anchor passed by them and stepped into the club recruitment area, but the moment he stepped inside, his figure flickered like ripples and then vanished in front of everyone, leaving no trace.
Like a stone dropped into a pond, disappearing instantly.
Some noticed the anomaly and stopped in time, but others didn’t, walking in unaware—just like the first person.
No matter who entered the venue, they disappeared the next second without exception.
Now, even the dullest person realized something was seriously wrong.
They stood at the entrance of the teaching building, hesitating and uncertain as they scrutinized the lively club recruitment fair in the distance, yet no one dared to step forward.
“What’s going on?” Orange Candy frowned, glancing at Wei Cheng.
Wei Cheng’s expression was grave as he shook his head. “I don’t know, but…”
His instincts told him there was great danger ahead.
A sharp, needle-like chill pierced his mind. Although this was supposed to be a instance with a danger rating of A, in that moment, the sense of threat it gave off nearly rivaled an S-rank…!
Wei Cheng felt a creeping sense of dread.
“This is really strange.”
“So,” Wen Jianyan furrowed his brows slightly and slowly continued, “unless you entered the venue before the club recruitment started, you can’t join midway, right?”
Wei Cheng: “That’s probably the case.”
If someone tried to join midway, they would suffer the same fate as those who had just completely vanished before their eyes.
“Do you mean we have to choose between the professional courses and the clubs?” Orange Candy puffed her cheeks in displeasure. “What a mistake.”
Now it seemed the professional courses were low difficulty. Although they forcibly put the anchors into a sleeping state and reduced a small amount of SAN value, no real danger occurred during the class.
Therefore, it had the most course hours but awarded very few credits.
Obviously, it was a conservative and simple option made especially for those anchors who were not very skilled and were more afraid of danger.
Basically, it was handing out credits for free.
This was how a low-difficulty instance’s mechanism should work, but Orange Candy and Wen Jianyan had gone through copies with much higher difficulty levels, which in some ways had caused them to develop a kind of “instance persecution paranoia.” So they instinctively saw every option as a threat, missing the easier path.
At that moment, a “beep beep beep” sound came into their ears.
Two beeps.
One from Wen Jianyan, one from Orange Candy.
They exchanged glances, clearly startled but quickly reacting.
This meant the two people they had marked earlier were nearby!
Wen Jianyan scanned the venue in front of him and quickly spotted a figure. His eyes lit up as he said, “There!”
Orange Candy jumped anxiously:
“Where? Where?”
Wen Jianyan: “At a 45-degree angle.”
Orange Candy jumped even more urgently: “Ah? I can’t see!”
She was too short to see over the crowd.
“Ah, someone’s leaving,” Wen Jianyan said.
Orange Candy: “……………………”
She looked around grimly, then bit her lip hard and took a deep breath, as if making a life-or-death decision, and spat out each word between clenched teeth:
“Pick me up.”
Wen Jianyan: “Huh?”
“Don’t make me repeat it!” Orange Candy’s face was ashen, and she said fiercely.
“Oh.” Wen Jianyan suppressed a smile with self-control, nodded seriously, “Alright then.”
Next, under Orange Candy’s scowling face, Wen Jianyan easily lifted her up with one arm and pointed ahead:
“There, there they are.”
Orange Candy stiffened, standing straight as a board, looking quite displeased but still followed the direction Wen Jianyan indicated.
Sure enough, the “roommate” Orange Candy had marked earlier and the long-faced anchor Wen Jianyan marked were walking behind a familiar senior, moving step by step toward the distance.
At the far end in that direction stood a low gray building that looked very similar to the teaching building they had just come out of.
“What’s that place?” Orange Candy frowned tightly.
Compared to the “reckless” Wen Jianyan, the strange situation ahead obviously drew more of her attention.
Wen Jianyan shook his head solemnly and said firmly, “I don’t know.”
He had a good memory, rarely making mistakes remembering building locations or maps, so he was quite sure that before the club recruitment event started, there was no such building in that direction.
Clearly, the club recruitment event had already reached its final stage.
People dressed as students began packing up tables and chairs, moving them into that building. Within just a few minutes, the once bustling event site became completely deserted.
Wen Jianyan glanced down at the time.
At exactly 18:00 in the afternoon, everyone had left.
Whether “seniors” or first-year students who had participated in the club recruitment, all had disappeared without a trace.
Wei Cheng hesitated for a moment, then cautiously stepped forward.
This time, he was not swallowed up but stood steadily on the ground.
Wen Jianyan turned again toward the building — the gray teaching building that had just stood not far away was gone, leaving only a desolate empty lot.
A gritted-teeth voice came from beside him:
“…Put me down now.”
“Oh, right.” Wen Jianyan suddenly remembered and bent down to set Orange Candy back on the ground.
Orange Candy looked down at herself, her face stiff, but because too many places had been touched during being picked up, she seemed unsure where to start fixing herself.
She turned her head to glare at her teammate trying not to laugh, and threatening darkly:
“If anyone tells this, you’re dead.”
The teammates all looked serious and nodded.
After leaving the teaching building, the group wandered around the campus hoping to find more clues.
Unfortunately, the instance seemed very strict about certain rules. Whether it was the cafeteria, the library, or the sports field, without the specified time, nothing happened, and they couldn’t even enter.
“Hugo can’t be reached.” Orange Candy shrugged and put her phone back into her pocket.
The others weren’t surprised by this.
Someone like Hugo being contactable early in the instance would be strange.
Maybe because they were inside the instance, darkness had already come early, covering the campus in a heavy black veil.
A few lonely dim yellow street lamps flickered, sending chills down their spines.
“Let’s call it a day.” Orange Candy thought for a moment and said.
Though with their strength, they could forcefully break into a venue to investigate, the risk was too great; better to go with the flow for now.
Orange Candy was bold but not reckless.
Especially since it was still early in the instance.
Once they understood more rules, they could take further action.
Everyone nodded, agreed on a meeting time the next day, then parted ways and returned to their dorms.
Wen Jianyan pushed open the door and saw that Brother Hu and Brother Bao had already returned.
As soon as they saw him, they greeted warmly:
“Hey, bro, you’re back!”
Wen Jianyan smiled skillfully and nodded. “Yeah.”
He walked in and sat down at the long table, casually starting a conversation:
“How was it today? What happened?”
“Not bad,” Brother Hu sighed. “The difficulty of this instance isn’t too high; it feels pretty relaxed and free. Should be easy to clear.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Brother Bao nodded repeatedly.
Wen Jianyan asked, “Did you register for classes?”
“Did,” Brother Hu sighed again. “We followed the item’s guidance and signed up for the easiest literature course, but unfortunately, it overlaps with one of our required courses… Now we’re worried.”
Brother Bao looked at Wen Jianyan: “How about you? What did you sign up for?”
Wen Jianyan: “Film Appreciation.”
“Sss!” The two of them gasped sharply, exchanged glances, and showed expressions that were hard to describe.
Brother Hu quietly leaned in and whispered: “Bro, I’m not trying to scare you, but according to my gear, the film course seems to be the toughest one available in today’s elective sign-ups.”
“Ah?” Wen Jianyan immediately put on a shocked expression, “Is that so?”
In fact, he had already guessed most of this.
After all, they grabbed their electives only after registering for the major courses, so naturally the simpler and easier ones were already taken, leaving only the hardest ones.
“Ah, bro, your luck’s really bad.” Brother Hu patted his shoulder comfortingly, “But don’t worry, tomorrow you can sign up with us for another elective, and I’ll definitely get you an easier one.”
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[Hahaha, so naive! This guy can turn even the easiest into the hardest!]
[LOL, run!]
[Stay away from the jinx; it’s everyone’s responsibility.]
Wen Jianyan showed a grateful look: “Really? Thanks, bro.”
With his sweet words and obedient face, it didn’t take long for him to charm them into liking him deeply—feeling strong sympathy and affection for the poor guy who got bullied by his roommate on day one and accidentally picked the wrong course on day two. They patted their chests, promising to help him out if he had any trouble.
“By the way, what about that guy?”
Wen Jianyan glanced toward the lower bunk of his bed.
It was almost lights out, but oddly, although the others had returned, that lanky-faced guy was nowhere to be seen.
He squinted.
Because of the [Club Activity]?
“Man, after how he treated you yesterday, you’re still thinking about him today?” Brother Hu frowned. “You’re way too kind-hearted, that won’t do—you’re going to get into trouble.”
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[…Sorry, I can’t watch this anymore.]
[So naive, such naive people.]
[Wake up, all the bad things are caused by this ‘kind-hearted’ guy full of tricks!]
“Sigh, sorry.”
Wen Jianyan drooped his shoulders and sighed weakly, looking both wronged and pitiful: “I know it’s not right, but sometimes I just can’t help it…”
In the “Integrity First” live room chat:
[…]
[…]
[Please, have some shame.]
[Be a human being!!!!!!]
–
Twenty minutes before lights out.
Under Brother Hu and Brother Bao’s enthusiastic invitation, Wen Jianyan went with them to the washroom.
Like all ordinary university students, the anchors in this instance also gathered in the building’s only washroom before lights out.
Under the dim yellow light, the large washroom echoed with the sound of flowing water.
Wen Jianyan turned on the faucet in front of him.
“Gurgle—”
The faucet emitted the familiar hollow sound.
“…!”
Wen Jianyan’s heart skipped a beat.
He stared seriously at the faucet, memories of the day flashing through his mind.
He held his breath slightly, feeling his nerves tighten.
Could it be…
After a brief pause, clear water gushed out from the faucet, splashing loudly into the sink and sending up sprays.
Wen Jianyan frowned.
Was it an illusion?
Or was he just too paranoid?
He thought this as he stretched out his hand under the water.
The cold flow ran over his fingers, stimulating his nerve endings; his pale skin blushed faintly red.
Suddenly, Wen Jianyan’s eyes sharpened.
Wait, this sensation…
He quickly clenched one hand and with the other turned off the faucet.
The rushing water stopped.
He lowered his eyes and slowly opened his wet fingers.
The dim bulb above hissed faintly, illuminating everything in the washroom.
He inspected his hand carefully.
The pale palm had some redness, and on his slender knuckles were a few strands of black hair, still dripping water.
Very long.
Definitely not male.
“What’s wrong?” Brother Hu came over, towel in hand, wiping his face.
Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and smiled: “Nothing.”
He pulled the hair off his finger and slowly exhaled.
…Damn.
He knew this wasn’t over.
Soon after finishing washing up and returning to the dorm, his eyes fell on the lower bunk.
He paused slightly.
It seemed that during his absence, that lanky-faced guy had come back.
The mosquito net was down, blocking his view, but even so, he could still see the black shadow beneath the blanket.
Brother Hu and Brother Bao had obviously noticed too.
They exchanged looks, patted Wen Jianyan’s shoulder, signaling him not to be afraid, promising to back him up if needed.
Wen Jianyan shook his head: “It’s okay.”
He stepped forward.
The blanket rose and fell with breathing, showing the occupant was alive and well.
This exactly confirmed Wen Jianyan’s previous guess: the club activity was not a certain death trap, but simply another path they hadn’t chosen.
Wen Jianyan withdrew his gaze and climbed up the ladder next to the bed.
He lay down, the familiar chill slowly spreading.
He glanced at the bone bell hanging by his bed.
It hung quietly in the dark, motionless.
But once danger appeared, it would immediately warn him.
Wen Jianyan took out his phone, opened the group chat “Don’t Mess With Me,” and quickly typed out what he’d just witnessed in the washroom.
Orange Candy soon replied: [Nothing unusual here.]
Others also responded the same: [Me too.]
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Fine, just targeting me then.
Orange Candy quickly messaged again: [You’ve got an extra layer of judgment compared to us. Besides being able to bring things out of the movies, you also passively bring out the dangers. Tonight is probably critical.]
Su Cheng: [Need me?]
Wen Jianyan understood the implication.
He thought a moment and typed: [No need.]
Su Cheng’s talents would be wasted here; Wen Jianyan was still able to handle this kind of danger.
Yun Bilan: [Be careful.]
Wei Cheng: [Stay safe.]
Tian Ye: [Brother, you’ll be fine!]
“Ding——”
A familiar bell rang.
Heavy footsteps of the dorm supervisor came outside, followed by her loud, gruff voice: “Lights out! Lights out!!!”
With her words, all the lights went off.
Wen Jianyan took a deep breath and slipped his phone under the pillow.
From the dorm room to the corridor, everything plunged into dead darkness and silence.
