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Ch85 - You Owe Me One
It was torture.
This was the case even without mentioning the fact that the weather was unusually good today, with clear blue skies and white clouds.
By seven in the morning, the red sun gradually broke past the clouds and mist rose slowly from the east, scattering golden daylight across the land.
It was the best weather this month. In the past, the sky at the junction of autumn and winter would have been perpetually stuck on leaden grey, stirring melancholy yet also brimming with foreboding.
Today however, the sun was out to kill them.
It was tiring enough to maintain military posture, but to top it off, it was under the scorching sun—it would seriously be the death of them.
While an hour of standing at attention didn’t sound long, when it came down to it, it felt like doing planks, every minute and every second congealing.
During the first hour, when the teaching assistant shouted “time’s up”, everyone immediately rolled their aching joints.
Considering the trainees’ physical fitness, corporeal punishment was a breeze for them. They could stand at attention for an hour without batting an eyelid, and were even in the mood to stretch during the break. This was especially true of the half-vampires of the Night Clan, who were the classic physically-enhanced type, and wouldn’t have an issue standing for a full day.
The remaining time, however, became increasingly agonising.
Because as they were standing at attention, the teaching director was still trying to break their morale.
“The school knows all about your secret plans. If anyone dares to submit a blank  paper tomorrow, no matter how many, we’ll deal with it according to the school rules, so don’t take any chances.”
“If there are too many of you, we’ll consider getting your parents to bring you back. Since you don’t want to study hard and are even harbouring wicked ideas, you might as well not study.”
Simultaneously, the system warmly reminded:
[If you reach the ‘Pick Up By Parents’ ending, you will be directly obliterated.]
Everyone, “…”
Sure enough.
S-ranks and B-ranks alike sighed, knowing their place.
Mass rebellion like this wasn’t uncommon in collective instances. Since the system had come up with the Thriller Trainee competition and set up collective instances, then they must have anticipated its subsequent development.
Even if no NPCs took action, reaching this ending wouldn’t come as a surprise. At least, to S-ranks like Van Zhuo, they’d even been prepared to face the NPCs head-on during the exam, and this was no more than additional verification.
They sighed, while others were similarly silent, especially those at the tail-end of each class.
Since the mass rebellion was no longer an option, it would be some time before anyone could come up with a better solution. As such, tomorrow’s exam would probably proceed as per normal. One of the classes was doomed to die here, on the grey concrete that they now stood on.
This was only the first monthly exam.
Perhaps by the end of this collective instance, not even half would survive.
Soon, in this trying atmosphere, the morning quietly crept by.
By this time, trainees had only stood for half the day, with half a day to go still.
The sun rose higher and higher in the sky, and the heat got more and more intense.
It was clearly a winter sun, yet with them standing like this, it was so hot that drops of sweat were flowing down from their foreheads.
Even a trainee could run into trouble after a harsh morning of standing.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Those who weren’t as physically fit were starting to get dizzy. There were even a few anaemic ones who had fainted on the spot and were dragged to the side like dead dogs by teaching assistants, directly getting startled awake by a bucket of icy water, and once they did they’d have to go back and continue standing.
Vbwf mbeivc’a rajs bc atflg offa, ktfgfjr rbwf mbeivc’a gfrlra atf afwqajalbc ab rmgjamt jc lamt—jii bo atfw gfmflnfv ijrtfr.
Ktfrf ijrtfr mjwf vbkc ofgbmlberis jcv vfilyfgjafis bc qijmfr klat wbgf oifrt. Ciatbeut atfs kbeivc’a yiffv, atf qjlc kjr ecyfjgjyif, jcv kbeiv ajxf rfnfgji vjsr bo gfra ab jyjaf.
At noon, the teaching director took the microphone again, continuing to intimidate them.
“If you’re willing to give up the mastermind, identify who came up with this plan to rebel en masse, then you don’t have to suffer so much and can go back to rest for the day.”
Who came up with this?
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Everyone was well aware that the class monitors had come up with this plan together. The issue was that two of the class monitors were not only S-ranks but also the higher-ups of many of them. No one dared to offend them.
Originally, areas where the teachers weren’t present wouldn’t be shown on live broadcast. But because this was a school-wide action, the system added a temporary general-view live broadcast room for other contenders in the infinite loop, who were unable to make the cut for the Thriller Trainee competition, to watch the happenings.
The teaching director’s words ignited the bullet chat to curse him to high heavens.
[Puke. This move disgusts me. Vicious villain.]
[If they don’t hand over the mastermind, everyone will be deemed guilty by association—truly what it means to kill without spilling blood. I detest moves like this the most; nothing can beat it.]
[True evil. I’ve nothing to say but that I hope this school closes down soon.]
[Geez, they’re actually pretty slick with psychological warfare. There are over a thousand people on the quadrangle now. As long as one person gives up the gig… I already had a bad feeling when they were passing the news, because the human heart is truly unable to endure trial.]
Seeing that their mouths remained shut, the teaching faculty didn’t immediately leap out to question them.
These people had a wealth of knowledge of how a student would become obedient only when they were on the verge of collapse, unable to endure it anymore.
Wasn’t this how torture worked? Exploiting people’s psychological weaknesses and breaking down their defences so that they would confess everything.
It had only been half a day. There was still half more to go.
It might not be a challenge to stand at attention, but having to do so whilst staying motionless for an entire day caused the difficulty level to skyrocket.
Trainees were human, too. Those who hadn’t physically enhanced their bodies weren’t much better than ordinary people.
Many of them had numerous red welts on their arms. As this continued, it wouldn’t be surprising to see blood.
Time passed, second by second.
After arduously enduring until afternoon came, the teaching director announced that the exam scheduled for tomorrow would be postponed.
As long as they didn’t give up the mastermind today, they’d have to stand until midnight. Not just today, but tomorrow as well, and the day after… until the mastermind was given up.
At this, several trainees began to express their dissatisfaction.
“What the hell… this lousy idea wasn’t ours to begin with, why must we be punished together.”
“Yeah, right. Who’d agree if we knew it’ll turn out like this.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong. It’s that room that implicated everyone.”
When being implicated indiscriminately for no good reason, people would always put themselves first.
Only that the leadership circle contained powerful figures that they didn’t want to mess with. Without someone stepping up first, everyone still chose to endure. These B-rank trainees had only endured the punishment for so long because of their misgivings; if it were a bunch of newcomers, it was likely that everything would be spilled the moment the teaching director started asking questions.
However, just ten minutes later, this precarious stalemate was thoroughly broken.
At four in the afternoon, the teaching director suddenly made a new announcement.
“The top three from every class can step out to rest for the day. Everyone else is to remain standing.”
Having studied here for almost a month, everyone had figured out the B.S. mechanism of this high school.
The teaching faculty showed blatant favouritism towards students with good grades, to the extent that they sometimes got teaching assistants to cancel any minor infractions marked against them.
So far, none of those in room 101 had faced disciplinary action. Even when they openly turn on the lights in the middle of the night to study, the hostel caretaker would close one eye to it, pretending not to see it.
In comparison, other trainees who didn’t score well could only use torchlights to study under their blankets, and if caught, they’d have to put on their pants and go outside, punished to stand for the night, teeth clattering in the cold.
But this time, the teaching director’s announcement sparked ‘the indignation of the masses’.
Someone standing at the quadrangle lost it. “Why? It’s so obvious that this trashy idea was come up by these class monitors. And now you’re even getting us to suffer alone.”
Like a ripple effect, once there was one, others would naturally emerge.
“Exactly. Everyone is a trainee; we’re all in the same boat. There are so many holes in this idea yet you still insist on implementing it, and now the whole student body is dragged down with you.”
“They’re humans; are we ordinary trainees not human?”
The loudest voices are trainees without guilds, which were the variables that Van Zhuo and Black Shaman had talked about.
Originally, these people could have been controlled, but regrettably the daylong punishment and unfair treatment shattered what little was left of their sanity.
[I knew it. Human hearts cannot stand up to trial.]
[An utterly unsurprising result, tried and tested on many before.]
[Every time it comes down to this, people just love to seize the opportunity to toss the blame. The class monitors clearly did this in the best interests of all. After this they’d probably harden their hearts.]
[Wasn’t this what the school was going for? As long as it can break the alliance between the students and turn them into enemies, it is a win for them.]
The white-haired young man stood still on the spot.
He was very quiet. He didn’t say anything nor did he look surprised.
The atmosphere in the quadrangle had become treacherous ever since those trainees sold out their class monitors.
The teaching director named all of the class monitors and called them to stand under the flag-raising platform.
Zong Jiu and the first-placings in other classes similarly broke formation in silence, walking over there.
Van Zhuo happened to be standing next to him.
Right as Zong Jiu took his place, he heard the Night Clan’s sovereign say in a low voice, “If there are any variables later, just pin it on me. Don’t hesitate.”
The white-haired young man looked up at him in considerable surprise.
The contours of the grey-haired man’s side profile was cold and harsh, his gaze fixed ahead.
He wasn’t only speaking to Zong Jiu. Rather, he was speaking to all of the class monitors.
“Since I’m the one who proposed it, I’ll take responsibility for it. It is only natural. There’s no need for guilt.”
Black Shaman’s brows furrowed disapprovingly. “Since it was voted for by the whole room, we should admit to it together. Spreading the punishment across ten people is better than heaping it on one.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Van Zhuo’s tone was austere. “Anyone who wishes to escape punishment can choose to pin it on me. I won’t pursue it.”
The teaching director was still nattering on. “I can’t believe such outstanding students would choose this path of no return. I’m giving you one more chance to give up the mastermind, and everyone else will be exempt from punishment.”
Despite that, none of the ten class monitors in front of the flag-raising platform turned coat.
It was an unimaginable privilege to share a hostel room with these few S-ranks and be in close proximity with them. It was only natural to avoid causing offence if possible. Getting familiar with them would be a great help to them in the future; no one would be incapable of grasping this logic at this time.
“I never expected you to disappoint us after all the hard work the school has put in to nurture you.”
After pausing for a while but still unable to get any results, the teaching director shook his head. “Since this is so, then everyone will be marked down as having committed a major violation and interrogated by torture separately.”
“Let me see… we’ll start from Class 9’s class monitor.”
Many trainees started to tremble in their hearts.
A demerit was being shut in a confined dark room and fed like a pig for seven days. It was unthinkable how much more terrifying a major violation ought to be.
Just the words ‘interrogation by torture’ was sufficient to scare many.
Zong Jiu’s gaze darkened. He began to think of countermeasures in his mind.
He’d already decided that, if worse came to worst, he’d go through the punishment instance. There would definitely be NPC blood spilled on the scene today.
When teaching assistants stepped forward, about to take the white-haired young man from where he stood, a languid drawl suddenly rang out.
“Wait.”
Everyone whipped their heads over to see No. 1 walking unhurriedly down the stairs.
The one and only!
Excitement leaked into the faces of many trainees at the quadrangle.
Although No. 1 normally toed the line of morality, now that he was in the collective instance, everyone subconsciously classified this man roleplaying as an NPC as part of the trainee camp.
The Devil slowly and deliberately pulled up his gloves, and when he brushed shoulders with Zong Jiu, uttered in a low voice—
“Remember. You owe me one.”