Back in the office, the formidable Abbess had resumed her normal appearance and was working at her desk.
Jiang Lin surveyed the office before him.
It had four or five workstations, and his own seemed to have been sectioned off, feeling somewhat cramped.
To be honest, he still didn't know what identity this self-operating school had assigned him.
He flipped through the items on the desk; they were quite complete and looked the part.
The nearest stack of notebooks contained essays written by students from Class Three, Year Nine.
—Some were written as if squeezed from the back of their throats, while others were a sprawling thousand words.
Besides these, there was a black thermos, two fountain pens.
And a stack of… geography books and materials.
Upon opening the first page of a book, the character 'Jiang' was written on it.
Jiang Lin: "..."
So, he was a geography teacher.
...
"Cough, cough, cough... A geography teacher giving a lecture on essays, is that acceptable?"
"The Chinese teacher: ??? Heard someone is trying to steal my job?"
The viewers in the live stream couldn't help but twitch the corners of their mouths in sorrow.
Thinking about how everyone in the school was buried underground by the earthquake.
Their mood was quite heavy.
However, the streamer's calm demeanor and momentary daze indeed made them forget where they were.
But then again, as a ghost messenger, what hadn't the streamer seen?
The living and the dead were everywhere in the underworld.
It was just that they, as humans, also experienced birth, aging, sickness, death, natural disasters, and man-made calamities.
Even if they had seen or heard of it, they couldn't help but feel sad.
Because no one knew if that might be their own tomorrow.
"I finally understand why the streamer asked everyone to state their wishes in class."
"Speaking of which... when that formidable Abbess suddenly appeared, I almost didn't react."
"When she appeared, the sound of her high heels seemed to disappear. When she left, her high heels made a sound, but it was even more eerie."
"Is there a possibility... that the high heels actually have a sound switch?"
When the formidable Abbess first appeared on the live stream, the scene was quite eerie.
Later, combined with Xie Zhengyu's account, many viewers thought the formidable Abbess was a troublemaker, a mastermind.
But now it seemed...
They were all unfortunate victims of a natural disaster.
"As expected, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I fine myself a drink."
"Formidable Abbess (＞人＜；) I'm sorry!"
...
Time flowed differently within the school.
While the viewers were discussing, the first class of evening study had ended.
The Chinese teacher supervising evening study for Class Three, Year Nine was a young female teacher.
She wore a long white down jacket, had shoulder-length hair, wore light makeup, and was dressed very beautifully.
She returned to the office with her books and saw Jiang Lin as soon as she entered.
She couldn't help but smile and tease:
"Teacher Jiang, when I entered the classroom today, a student told me someone was trying to steal my job."
"Do you know what's going on?"
Jiang Lin looked up at the female teacher and casually replied:
"How could that be? I haven't heard anything about it."
Who else could be in this school?
"Hehehe, I just heard about it myself."
The Chinese teacher glanced at the stack of essay notebooks on Jiang Lin's desk and said with a smile:
"This isn't exactly a golden rice bowl, there's really nothing to snatch. I'd be happy if someone helped me teach. I'm too happy to complain."
After dealing with the Chinese teacher, Jiang Lin's gaze fell on the office doorway.
A familiar figure was sneakily peeking over.
In Jiang Lin's X-ray vision, all the teachers and students in the school were like thin black mist, in the initial stages of transforming into ghosts.
Only one person still had a breath of life within them.
But it was also about to be assimilated by this school.
At the office entrance—
Xie Zhengyu was peeking when he suddenly met the streamer's gaze.
After parting ways at the lotus pond, he had been restless since returning to the classroom.
He kept checking the time and looking at the classroom door.
He was afraid of missing the streamer's signal.
As soon as the bell rang, he ran out. Not seeing the streamer in the corridor, he came to the office.
He wanted to see if the streamer was still there and if the plan was still on.
This feeling was like finally waiting for the winter break after half a year.
His mind was filled with what he had to do after evening study, fearful and nervous.
He couldn't focus on anything else.
Seeing the streamer in the office nod slightly at him, Xie Zhengyu also nodded excitedly.
Then he quickly composed himself, looked around.
And then, as if he had completed a secret rendezvous, he mysteriously returned to the classroom.
Seeing Xie Zhengyu leave, Jiang Lin's eyes showed a thoughtful expression.
Xie Zhengyu was probably the only 'living person' in this school.
His body in the human world was likely in a deep coma.
To successfully return and wake up,
The most important thing was his own will to survive.
Moreover,
Based on the entire process Xie Zhengyu described, he seemed to have forgotten about the earthquake.
Did he forget after falling into a coma, or did he forget after being gradually assimilated by this school?
...
Time passed quickly.
Ten minutes before evening study ended, Jiang Lin arrived at the door of Class Three, Year Nine.
He knocked on the door.
Inside the classroom, students and teachers all looked over.
Xie Zhengyu couldn't hide his excitement and abruptly stood up.
Jiang Lin said to the teacher inside, "Excuse me, I need to talk to Xie Zhengyu about something."
Evening study classes were relatively relaxed, mostly self-study.
The teacher didn't ask much, nodded, and said to Xie Zhengyu:
"Don't wander around after school, go back to your dormitory early."
"Yes, teacher!"
Xie Zhengyu replied verbally, but he was already running towards the back door of the classroom.
The two walked out of the teaching building. The surroundings were quiet.
In the dark night, the trees on both sides cast flickering shadows, and the biting wind brushed against their cheeks.
Xie Zhengyu felt no fear, "Streamer, streamer, where are we going now?"
Jiang Lin: "To the school gate."
"I tried it before, the gatekeeper wouldn't let me leave."
Xie Zhengyu said anxiously, "Climbing over the wall is also not allowed. After running for a while, either someone catches up, or you inexplicably return to the school."
This place was like a circle.
Running out of the school, the final destination would be back to the school.
It was impossible.
"It will work."
Jiang Lin handed him something, "I got you a leave slip."
"...A, a leave slip?"
Xie Zhengyu looked at the ordinary slip in his hand, blinked, and was momentarily bewildered.
What the heck?
He looked at the streamer's serious expression.
He belatedly let out a "holy crap."
Could it be that the reason he couldn't get out before was because he didn't have a leave slip?!
No way...
It was normal to leave school with a leave slip.
But in such an abnormal cycle, using such a normal method to leave...
It made sense, yet it didn't quite make sense?
Most importantly, the streamer had no reason to lie to him.
As Xie Zhengyu stood there, bewildered and questioning life.
The two arrived at the school gate.
...