After the Little Crybaby Enters the Nightmare Cycle

Mosaic School (15)

The female teacher quickly led the group to the surveillance room and brought up the surveillance video for yesterday’s dance studio.

“Do you remember when it happened?” the female teacher asked the ‘victim’ Tang Yu.

Tang Yu was a bit confused because the clock in the studio went backwards and it couldn’t be estimated according to the normal flow of time. This was until Chi Nan whispered in her ear, “It is the time period around 3:30 to 3:40.”

He remembered that it was 3:50 before the third round of the game started. The game lasted almost 10 minutes and it was 3:30 after getting the clue. This range shouldn’t be wrong.

Tang Yu nodded. “I think…it was around 3:30 to 3:40. I was too scared… I can’t say for sure the precise time.”

The female teacher nodded at her in a pitying manner. “Yes, we will soon find the truth. Don’t worry.”

Soon, the surveillance video of this time period was played silently in front of everyone.

They all instinctively observed Guo Xian’s expression when watching the video.

At this moment, he couldn’t hide his nervousness. The blood drained from his face and his eyes looking at the surveillance video replay were a bit scattered due to panic.

The moment the surveillance video played what happened at 3:37, the angle just happened to be aimed at Guo Xian who had opened the clue box. Therefore, 11 pairs of eyes, including Guo Xian’s, clearly saw the action of him opening the box and finding two clue notes. He didn’t hesitate to hide one of them in the sleeve of his shirt that he put behind his back. There was a bit of struggle and guilt that flashed in his eyes, but this feeling of repentance soon disappeared without a trace. He calmly told everyone that there was only one clue in the box.

By the time the surveillance video ended, the group fell into a tense and anxious silence. Gazes of condemnation, shock, and fear were focused on Guo Xian layer by layer. He didn’t dare to raise his eyes to respond to the group.

“This student, it seems we haven’t found any male student that harassed you. Do you still need me to adjust the time of the video back?” the female teacher patiently asked Tang Yu.

It was only then that Tang Yu’s mind returned. She shook her head while making an ashamed expression. “No need… Thank you, Teacher. This thing probably… I probably thought too much.”

The female teacher gave her a deep look and nodded. “This teacher understands. If you encounter this type of thing again, please be sure to tell this teacher. I will protect any girls.”

“Thank you, Teacher, I will,” Tang Yu answered.

The female teacher turned off the surveillance video and smiled slightly at the group. “I hope that your time isn’t delayed because of this morning episode. There are still 10 minutes left until the start of the morning class. Please seize the time to eat breakfast.”

The female teacher disappeared from everyone’s view, but no one had the heart to go to breakfast at this time.

“Guo Xian, give us an explanation.” Tong Yu stopped in front of Guo Xian, who was preparing to escape, and bit at the lollipop in her mouth.

Guo Xian’s face was as white as paper. His tight lips moved for a while before he snorted coldly. “If I hadn’t hidden the clue, the person who died last night might’ve been one of us.”

Everyone was confused, but Chi Nan wondered, “This is related to the truth of Ni Rong’s cause of death, right?”

Guo Xian looked at him. “Yes, in this unfortunate school, a student must die every day. On Christmas Eve, when no one violates the school rules, the school will randomly select a student to be sacrificed.”

His expression became cold and twisted as he continued, “Have you forgotten that after Ni Rong’s death, the attitude of the female teacher was very different from her attitude toward the other sleepwalkers who died? She described Ni Rong’s death as decent and calm. She also gave a prayer. This indicates that Ni Rong was a sacrifice for the school.”

“The female teacher also stressed that we shouldn’t be limited by our inherent thinking. Breaking our inherent thinking means that Ni Rong didn’t die because she violated a school rule. The teacher also mentioned that the rule existed from the beginning. It is just that we had people who violated the school rules every night before this, so the hidden death rule wasn’t discovered.”

Guo Xian had already raised his eyes and looked mockingly at the others, who had complicated expressions on their faces. “If I hadn’t hidden the clue yesterday, it would probably be you or myself who died. Of course, it might also be one of those in Room 208.”

An eerie silence spread among the sleepwalkers.

“You already guessed this rule yesterday, right?” Chi Nan asked.

Guo Xian smiled helplessly. “Yes, this situation had been encountered in my previous instances. No matter whether we committed a foul or not, a living person must be sacrificed every night. Therefore, I guessed it when the teacher prayed.”

Tong Yu couldn’t bear to look at his expression any longer. She grabbed his collar with gritted teeth. “So you would rather hide key information and let your companions die from violating the school rules than tell us the truth?”

Guo Xian was dragged by her and didn’t resist. He even shrugged helplessly. “Otherwise? The more people that know about this, the harder it is to make a decision. Therefore, I just made my own decision. If I had told you at the beginning or given you the clue about Room 208, it would’ve invisibly increased the power of the known. Last night would’ve been filled with fear and suspicion for each of us.”

Indeed, it seemed ‘wiser’ to push a companion to a known state of death than to fall collectively into the fear of random death.

In this way, they could be sure that they were absolutely safe.

There was a sound as Tong Yu’s fist accurately hit Guo Xian’s right cheek. He took two steps back under the impact of this fist and hit the glass of the window in the corridor.

“You made your own decision? Do you think of yourself as a god? Can you decide the life or death of the two boys in Room 208?” Tong Yu rushed up and punched him again. “In addition, 208 has two lives. If it was random…”

Guo Xian couldn’t beat this girl with explosive strength and spat out blood onto the carpet of the corridor. “A random death will only kill one person, right? Hah, it is ridiculous. Wake up. This is the Nightmare World. There is no difference between one life or two lives. The only life worth caring about is your own. You should learn to protect and cherish it.”

His words were ugly and annoying, but it was a human’s instinct for survival. The group’s anger suddenly went out.

Guo Xian looked at Chi Nan again. “You are really lucky. If I had hidden the paper for 210 yesterday, you would’ve been the one who died.”

Chi Nan wanted to say something, but the preparatory bell for class rang. Everyone had to go to 103 for morning class in this strange atmosphere.

“Students, I have to tell you unfortunate news. Last night, two students were punished for violating the school rules. They are Jiang Boming and Song Ye from Room 208. I am very sorry about this, and I hope that the students will pay attention to follow the school rules and take this as a warning for their future campus lives.”

It was once again the familiar but creepy rhetoric.

The female teacher wanted to hand out the test papers as usual when Chi Nan raised his hand. “Can I apply for a make-up test for the question I didn’t answer correctly yesterday?”

“Of course.” The female teacher raised an eyebrow and looked approving. “Please wait a moment. I will revise the content of the test paper.”

“Teacher, I also want to make up the test!”

“Me too!”

The rest of the sleepwalkers learned from Chi Nan and asked for the make-up test.

“It can still be like this. I didn’t expect it…”

“Yes, Chi Nan is smart to ask for the make-up test. First, we can confirm if Guo Xian’s speculation is correct. Second, it allows us to earn the points that we didn’t get yesterday. It is killing two birds with one stone.”

Around 20 minutes later, the female teacher took the newly printed test papers and distributed them. “The students have asked for a make-up test, so the content of today’s test will be different from before. Please understand and answer the questions according to your own judgment.”

The revised paper had two questions.

[Which school rule did Jiang Boming and Song Ye break that caused them to be punished with death?]

[Re-examination content: What was the cause of Ni Rong’s death?]

Chi Nan quickly wrote the key information of ‘staying in the room where the curse of death was placed’ and ‘randomly select a sacrifice because no one violated the school rules that night’ in the answer areas.

This time, the remaining 11 sleepwalkers answered the questions quickly. 15 minutes later, everyone had already answered by the time the female teacher collected the test papers.

In the process of grading the test papers, the classroom was different from usual. There was a needle-like silence.

If the answer was correct as Guo Xian speculated, then tonight would definitely be the biggest test of human nature and survival instinct for them.

Soon, the female teacher raised her head and looked at them with an unprecedented happy smile on her face. “Congratulations to all the students. Under your keen and meticulous observation, the truth has surfaced. Today, all students can get credits for the test and the make-up test.”

The female teacher finished speaking and the classroom was suffocatingly quiet.

“Starting from last night, the school will draw the dormitories that ‘you aren’t allowed to stay in overnight.’ Yesterday you played the Statues game very well, so the dormitory number will be directly told to you from now on. Just as you experienced last night, the students who stay in the selected dormitory will be punished accordingly.”

“I would like to remind you again that students aren’t allowed to change dormitories without authorization. As for how to circumvent the school rules, some students have already given you a good example last night. You can learn from them.”

The implication was that it might not be possible to change the dormitory without authorization, but it was within the allowable range to change the room number like Chi Nan.

“In addition, there is a rule that has accompanied the students since February 22nd. It is that on a Christmas Eve where no one breaks the rules, the school will select one student to perform the death sacrifice.”

The female teacher’s eyes swept over the group and the pleasure and piety in her eyes made everyone feel terrified. “Don’t worry too much. The students who are selected for the death sacrifice will die very peacefully, just like Ni Rong. I will pray for them every day.”

Everyone: “……”

“Next, please enjoy the death video of the students who violated the school rules last night.”

The video footage on the projection wall gradually became clear. Everyone turned their heads to see how their companions in Room 208 changed from flesh and blood to wooden people.

On the screen, Jiang Boming turned over and over as if he couldn’t sleep. He had just picked up the phone placed on the pillow and pressed the password to unlock it when his expression stiffened.

Blood-red liquid mixed with a sticky mucus dripped onto the phone screen that was emitting a cold light.

Where did it drip from? Jiang Boming raised his head. There was nothing on the ceiling that was illuminated by the light outside the window.

The liquid kept dripping onto the phone screen, the pillow cover, and Jiang Boming’s hand… He instinctively wiped at the blood stains on the screen with his hands, but the more he wiped, the redder it became. Jiang Boming finally realized that it was his own fingers and the skin of his body that was dissolving and melting. It dripped onto the sheets, and the red traces spread all the way to the white carpet.

“Ahhhh—!”

The flesh and blood dissolved and the white bones were revealed. Then his bones quickly turned into a wooden material under exposure to the air. The two skeletons on the bed gradually turned into wooden people.

The previous blood stains were also sucked back by the wood. Room 208 returned to its clean and tidy appearance. There were only two wooden people lying quietly on the beds, as if a child had placed wooden figures from the crop fields into this room to play a prank.

The sleepwalkers in the classroom sighed. Chi Nan was the only one who didn’t make a sound. He repeatedly recalled the scene of Jiang Boming unlocking the phone with the password just now.

If he saw it correctly, he remembered that the phone password pressed by Jiang Boming was 0229.

TL: Christmas Eve= a term used to describe a night where no one died. From the Werewolf game.

Proofreader: Kat