Yuying University
Chapter 409: PE Class
After all the names had been called, the few student council members with armbands returned to the front of the group.
“Roll call is complete.”
One of the student council members swept his gaze over all the anchors and slowly said, “Please continue to maintain a high attendance rate. Poor attendance might affect your final grades… and could even lead to failing your end-of-term exams.”
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but when he uttered the words “fail the exams,” a strange, chilling smile seemed to flash across his lips.
The sports field fell into dead silence, the air heavy with pressure.
The anchors were as quiet as cicadas in winter.
After saying these words, the student council members hugged their thick registers and turned to leave.
As they watched the figures gradually disappear into the distance, the crowd on the field finally let out a collective sigh of relief, slightly relaxing.
“Student council roll call?”
The group exchanged uneasy glances and whispered to each other. “What happens if you’re absent?”
“No idea…”
Although this instance had only just begun, some anchors had already discovered that the times of their elective courses overlapped with some compulsory ones. If they had still been clinging to the wishful thought that it would be fine to just attend one of the classes, after this roll call by the student council, they were all starting to get nervous.
Missing roll call would not only affect their final grades—it could also lead to even more serious consequences.
At once, all the anchors who had overlapping courses began to grow tense, worry showing more or less on everyone’s face.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Just then, a deliberately loud cough sounded from the front.
In an instant, all the anchors on the field fell silent, turning their heads toward the source of the cough.
Not far away stood a male teacher dressed in a tracksuit.
“……”
Everyone exchanged confused and uncertain glances.
No one had seen when this teacher had appeared.
“Hello, everyone. Welcome to the first physical education class of this semester,” said the PE teacher in the tracksuit. “To improve everyone’s fitness, ensure a fulfilling and healthy university life, and help you all graduate successfully and healthily, Yuying Comprehensive University has specially arranged PE classes. I’m your PE teacher, Mr. Shi.”
Compared to the teachers of other subjects, this Mr. Shi didn’t seem dangerous. He didn’t have that cold, creepy, bone-chilling aura. In fact, he even looked a little kind and approachable.
A gentle smile appeared on his face. “No need to be nervous, everyone. PE class means you’ll have plenty of free activity time. Besides, you’re all first-year students, right? There’s no pressure about graduation yet. Just treat this class as an opportunity to exercise a little outside your heavy academic schedule.”
But the anchors clearly weren’t ready to relax so easily.
They held their breath and quietly waited for what would come next.
“During PE class, you can choose different activities.”
Mr. Shi turned and walked to a nearby ball rack, casually picking up an old soccer ball, and said:
“Since the gymnasium is under repair, all indoor activities are unavailable. However, outdoor activities are free to choose—basketball, soccer, track and field, etc. As long as you exercise for at least twenty minutes, you’ll have free time for the rest of the period.”
Gymnasium repairs…
Wen Jianyan recalled what he had just experienced inside the gym, and his eyelid twitched slightly.
This counts as repairs, seriously?
“Alright,” Mr. Shi tossed the ball back onto the rack, “once you’ve decided what activity to do, come to me to sign up.”
With that, he smiled and stepped back, standing there patiently as if waiting for them to make their choices.
Just like that…?
The anchors glanced at one another, exchanging doubtful looks.
But soon someone reacted—stepping quickly forward to stand in front of the PE teacher. The others, though still suspicious, weren’t willing to fall behind and joined the line as well.
“No rush.”
Orange Candy spoke.
Their group queued somewhere in the middle-rear of the line.
On the desolate, grey sports field, the line slowly crept forward.
“By the way,” Orange Candy glanced at Wen Jianyan and asked, “how are your HP and SAN values looking now?”
Wen Jianyan tilted his head slightly, looking up:
“HP 77, SAN 43.”
After that trip to the gym, both values had dropped to some extent. However, all things considered, the gains outweighed the losses.
Orange Candy frowned slightly. “You’d better be careful from now on. When your SAN gets low, besides what Hugo mentioned about becoming more fragile and attracting monsters, your subconscious state will also be affected.”
Your vision, thinking, and perception could all be disturbed by unknown forces. Hallucinations, illusions, even falling into confusion or madness—these were all possible outcomes.
That was precisely why a drop in SAN value was so dangerous for anchors.
Wen Jianyan nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be careful.”
“Oh, right. I also got a hidden item back in the gym,” Wen Jianyan added.
Orange Candy blinked, perking up. “Oh?”
Wen Jianyan pulled the eyeball out of his pocket and handed it to Orange Candy. “Here.”
Orange Candy examined the eyeball closely and asked, “Want to activate it?”
Wen Jianyan: “Activate?”
“Ah, you don’t know?” Orange Candy tilted her head, looking surprised.
Wen Jianyan shook his head honestly. “No idea.”
Orange Candy gave him a thoughtful look. “Hmm… looks like you haven’t been there yet.”
Wen Jianyan: ?
There?
“Basically, except for some special items, most of the hidden objects you get in an instance can only be used or consumed once you bring them into the next instance,” Orange Candy said, tossing the eyeball up and catching it again. The image of her as a sweet, innocent child was in stark contrast to the gruesome, bloody eyeball in her hand.
“But if you meet certain conditions, you can get an activation slot. That way, even if you haven’t left this instance yet, you can still use it as an item.”
Wen Jianyan: “These certain conditions you mentioned… are they related to there?”
“Of course.”
Orange Candy grinned playfully and squeezed the eyeball like it was a rubber toy. “If you want, once we leave this instance, I don’t mind helping you get a ticket.”
“But it’s a little early to talk about that now,” she shrugged. “Anyway, that’s the deal.”
“If you want, I can help you activate this hidden item into a usable prop—but be warned, once it becomes a prop, it can be consumed. If you happen to need this specific item later in the instance to unlock part of the plot, you’ll have to give that up.”
Orange Candy looked at Wen Jianyan. “So? What’s your decision?”
Wen Jianyan thought for a moment. “Better not for now.”
He took the item back from her hand and said, “But if I do need it later, I’ll come find you.”
Beside them, Wei Cheng took out another bottle of water and began rinsing his mouth again.
“Speaking of which”, Wen Jianyan noticed this and suddenly thought of something, “what exactly happened in the gym earlier?”
At the mention of this, Wei Cheng’s face turned a little pale, as if recalling something unpleasant.
He took a deep breath and then described everything that had happened after he climbed the ladder in the gym, leaving nothing out.
As Wen Jianyan slowly moved forward with the line, he listened thoughtfully.
According to Wei Cheng’s account, the gym seemed to have used some method to blur and isolate their perceptions. Everything Wei Cheng said while up there had never reached Wen Jianyan’s ears. Meanwhile, Wen Jianyan, whose SAN value had dropped and whose spirit was on high alert, had all his attention drawn to the terrifying visions in front of him. Neither of them could share information, which had led to the dangerous situation. Fortunately, Wen Jianyan had sensed the hidden trap just before he was about to jump through the window, avoiding the worst outcome. Otherwise… the consequences could have been unimaginable.
However…
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking thoughtfully at Wei Cheng. “You said… hair and maggots?”
“…” Wei Cheng’s face turned ashen. It took him a long while to force out a strained “Yeah.”
In the movie Brave Richard, Richard ended up looking just like that.
Looks like he had guessed right.
Richard’s tragic ending was closely related to the pool in this gym.
As Wen Jianyan was deep in thought, their group finally reached the front of the line.
The smiling PE teacher stood ahead, holding a pen and paper, quietly waiting for them.
Wen Jianyan looked up.
“!!!”
In that instant, a chill so deep it seemed to seep into his bones surged toward him. His pupils shrank sharply, and he instinctively stepped back.
But as if completely unaware of Wen Jianyan’s reaction, the PE teacher’s expression didn’t change at all. In the same gentle and kind voice, he asked:
“Students, which activity would you like to do in PE class?”
Orange Candy glanced sideways at Wen Jianyan, a hint of concern in her eyes.
She lowered her voice. “What’s wrong?”
“……”
Wen Jianyan’s gaze remained fixed on the PE teacher.
Maybe it was his lowered SAN value playing tricks on him… but for just a moment there, he’d felt an overwhelming, terrifyingly cold presence—stronger than anything he’d sensed before—that sent a chill creeping up his spine.
He shook his head slightly, signaling that he was fine.
“Students, which activity would you like to do in PE class?”
Mr. Shi repeated in exactly the same tone as before, his smile unchanged. But beneath that seemingly normal expression, something strange and deeply unsettling seemed to lurk.
Orange Candy gave Wen Jianyan a long, searching look before turning to the PE teacher and answering:
“Track and field.”
This was the conclusion they’d all agreed on after discussion.
Of all the options, track and field required the least strict teamwork.
As long as the few veteran anchors stuck together, they’d be safe no matter what happened. But if the activity involved other anchors, things could easily spiral out of control.
“All of you?”
The PE teacher’s gaze slowly swept over the group. For some reason—or perhaps it was just their imagination—his eyes seemed to linger the longest on Wen Jianyan.
“Yes,” Orange Candy said.
“Alright.”
The PE teacher lowered his head and quickly jotted down something in his notebook.
As his gaze moved away, Wen Jianyan finally felt the warmth slowly returning to his body, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly.
After writing everything down, the P.E. teacher lifted his head again and pointed towards the faded red track nearby, saying:
“All right, you can go run now.”
Orange Candy confirmed:
“As long as we run for twenty minutes, we’ll be free to do whatever we want afterwards, right?”
Teacher Shi: “Of course.”
At that moment, Wen Jianyan, standing at the back of the group, spoke up: “Can we really do anything we want during the free activity period?”
The P.E. teacher turned his head, his gaze landing on Wen Jianyan.
In that instant, the same chilling, bone-deep cold swept over him again, as though every drop of blood in his body was freezing solid. Wen Jianyan resisted the strong urge to step back and escape, and asked:
“Can we also leave the field and return to the dormitory?”
In the “Integrity First” live room barrage:
[Holy sh*t.]
[This is like asking the teacher right to his face if you can skip class early!]
[LOL, I almost can’t bear to watch this anymore. Sigh.]
This time, the P.E. teacher’s gaze lingered on Wen Jianyan much longer than before.
After a long pause, he finally smiled gently and slowly said:
“Of course you can.”
“After all, you’re just freshmen.”
“Okay, thank you, teacher.” Su Cheng hurriedly chimed in, grabbing Wen Jianyan’s arm and dragging him away from the front of the group.
It was only after they’d walked some distance that Su Cheng finally let go.
He looked at Wen Jianyan, his expression filled with frustration: “Do you really have to offend every NPC you come across?”
“Cough.” Wen Jianyan coughed awkwardly, his gaze shifting away: “…It’s not that bad.”
Su Cheng: “…”
It really is. You totally do.
But, even so, he had to admit that every time Wen Jianyan asked a question, it hit the nail right on the head, always touching on the most critical points of the instance scenario.
And that’s exactly why he pissed off the NPCs so much.
“Sigh.” Su Cheng sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Next time you have a question like that, let one of us ask instead.”
Even if the result ended up the same…
At least they could take some of the heat off Wen Jianyan, so he wouldn’t become every NPC’s top target.
“All right, let’s get serious now.”
Under the P.E. teacher’s direction, the group made their way to the starting point of the track.
Before them, the track stretched out in a dull, faded red, leading off into the distance. The moment they stepped onto it, an inexplicable chill seeped through their bodies.
Tian Ye shifted uneasily, grinding his shoe into the red rubber particles below:
“So, we just have to run for twenty minutes, right?”
Su Cheng: “That’s what he said.”
But what hidden rules might apply during that time… well, that was another matter entirely.
“Don’t worry too much,” Wen Jianyan patted Tian Ye on the shoulder reassuringly. “Whatever the hidden rules are, since they gave us a set time, it means this is a survival game about endurance. As long as we’re prepared to drag it out, we’ll be fine no matter what danger comes our way.”
Tian Ye finally seemed to relax.
He nodded, gratefully glancing at Wen Jianyan. “Thanks, bro.”
Wen Jianyan smiled back and withdrew his hand.
Not far away, Wei Cheng was rinsing his mouth with a bottle of water for what felt like forever before finally looking a bit better.
He glanced toward the gym with a worried expression. “Speaking of which… why isn’t Hugo back yet? You think he ran into trouble? Should we—”
Orange Candy: “No need.”
She waved dismissively, as if used to this. “If he ran into something he can’t handle, the rest of us probably wouldn’t help much anyway.”
“Everyone, stick close together when we run,” Orange Candy said. “If you notice anything strange, let the others know immediately.”
Everyone: “Got it.”
Orange Candy took out a stopwatch, waited for the right moment, then pressed the button: “Start.”
At her word, everyone began jogging along the track.
The sound of footsteps filled the air.
For normal people, running non-stop for twenty minutes might be a challenge. But for these anchors, who had escaped death many times in various instances, physical stamina was the least of their worries. Jogging along a track was far better than being chased by some monster.
Still, out of caution, they kept a steady, moderate pace as they slowly moved forward along the track.
On the first lap, nothing unusual happened.
Wen Jianyan kept up easily, breathing smoothly, his steps light and effortless.
Soon, they came close to the basketball court on the right side of the field.
A few familiar figures appeared there, catching Wen Jianyan’s attention.
He recognized some familiar faces.
Brother Hu and A-Bao were standing on the court, holding a basketball and discussing something.
At the same time Wen Jianyan noticed them, Brother Hu spotted Wen Jianyan jogging toward them. His eyes lit up, and he excitedly waved at Wen Jianyan.
Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes and gave them a small smile.
Brother Hu pointed at the basketball in his hands and mimed a shot toward the hoop, then looked expectantly at Wen Jianyan.
Wen Jianyan: “…”
Seriously? You’re still hung up on this?!
His mouth twitched, but he raised a hand and waved them off, signaling no.
As the running distance shortened and his viewing angle shifted, Wen Jianyan’s gaze unintentionally landed on a corner of the basketball court before pulling away—then suddenly paused.
A pale, damp, narrow face.
Cold breath. Blank expression.
Huang Shulang.
He stood silently where he was, staring at Wen Jianyan.
In that instant, the face overlapped perfectly with the one Wen Jianyan had seen earlier in the black water. A chill shot up his spine.
Feigning calm, Wen Jianyan turned his gaze away, though inside he was in turmoil.
So… Huang Shulang also chose basketball…?
The thought flashed by in just a moment. After barely ten seconds, Wen Jianyan had already jogged past that curve with the group, heading down the straight track again, leaving the court and those on it far behind.
Lap two began.
Like the first lap, nothing unusual happened.
Then came lap three.
Wen Jianyan was still full of energy, light on his feet, moving with ease. With his youthful, fresh look, he blended perfectly into the scene.
Lap four began.
Less than ten minutes remained of their running time.
Maybe it was the monotony of the repeated movement, but Wen Jianyan began feeling foggy-headed. A strange, cold chill crept up from his feet, making him drowsy.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
Soon, they passed by the basketball court again.
Wen Jianyan casually glanced that way—
The court was empty.
“…!”
Realizing this, Wen Jianyan broke into a cold sweat, snapping fully awake.
Like waking from a dream, he finally noticed the true state of things.
At some point, the field had emptied completely. No one was left. The sky had turned an endless black, and only the bright red track remained beneath their feet, fresh as if it might start oozing blood at any moment.
Wen Jianyan suddenly realized something.
The distant track was empty. Even though they’d chosen track and field, none of the other anchors appeared during their entire run. Which meant…
“Hey, we’re already—”
As he spoke, Wen Jianyan turned to glance at his teammates beside him.
But the moment his gaze fell on them, every hair on his body stood on end. He nearly cried out in shock.
At some unknown point, every single one of them had turned their heads to stare directly at him.
Su Cheng, Yun Bilan, Orange Candy, Wei Cheng…
Their faces were unchanged, but in the pitch-black surroundings, these once-familiar faces looked unbearably strange.
Their skin was deathly pale, like bloodless corpses. Their lips curled unnaturally in eerie smiles, and the whites of their eyes were gone—only endless black pupils remained, staring at him unblinkingly as they kept running beside him, step by step.
“We’ve already what…?”
‘Su Cheng’ smiled as he ran closer, those disturbing eyes fixed on Wen Jianyan:
“Say something.”
GOD this is terrifying
dang he really needs to eat those noodles