Girls' Dormitory Escape - Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Dormitory Friendship League

    She had long speculated about the yellow eyeball, but it was at that moment her logic connected. It occurred to her, the bold idea of actively submerging one's consciousness and activating the ghost markings within the sea of consciousness.

    Such a risk was unbearable for a normal person, but equally, it was impossible for a normal person to be planted with so many ghost markings. Tang Xinjue raised a finger with a hint of self-mockery, and strands of mental power re-formed, suppressing several restless objects in the air.

    It was a coincidence that she happened to be a psychic.

    Placing something in her mental realm and paying a little rent wasn't too much, was it?

    Judging by the "rent" result, the red and yellow eyeballs were not only connected, but likely had a strict hierarchical relationship.

    This was puzzling. Many ghosts had sought her life, but in those countless nightmares, she didn't recall encountering any such monsters.

    Or had she overlooked some important clues from the past?

    Recalling the game notification in her memory fragment, Tang Xinjue calmed down and didn't rush out, quietly waiting for her mental strength to recover.

    The more her mental strength recovered, the quieter the ghost markers became. Only when they were completely inactive could she flip the switch given by her counselor and seal them away completely.

    Time flowed silently within her sea of consciousness. The other three markers quieted down, with only the yellow eyeball, having just "seen the light of day," still agitated.

    Tang Xinjue observed that it lacked a full consciousness, merely a ball of energy being injected. Therefore, even though it had temporarily "replaced" her main consciousness, as long as it didn't summon the main body, it wouldn't pose any real threat.

    Furthermore, they still had the trump card of the resurrection card. 

    As she pondered this, a series of subtle sounds suddenly reached her ears. When they pieced together into a complete sentence, it was the game's mechanical notification:

    [The match is about to end. All game props will be collected by the organizers... Your single-use prop resurrection card is about to expire. Do you want to exchange it for other privileges?]

    Tang Xinjue pondered, "What privileges can I redeem?"

    [Choose to melt a resurrection card to increase the resurrection chance of all deceased candidates by 30%. If you don't redeem it, there will be no effect.] 

    Without hesitation, Tang Xinjue said, "Exchange."

    [Command received, redemption initiated... Redemption successful. The current resurrection chance of deceased candidates is 80%. Final evaluation in progress... Evaluation complete, competition entrance closed.]

    [Ding ding ding, dong dong dong, the joyous Dormitory Friendship League has concluded! Friendship first, competition second. Organizer Mr. Bu has lit a grand lucky fireworks display, wishing everyone academic success and continued success in University Town!]

    As pleasant celebratory music began, a refreshing coolness washed over her mind, instantly relieving much of the pain in her body. As if she had downed a large, refreshing drink, Tang Xinjue felt a faint revival in her body.

    Undoubtedly, this beneficial energy for the candidates came from the "competition organizers."

    So... Mr. Bu?

    This new identity made her think: Judging by the game prompts, the opponent wasn't a malevolent ghost like the one in [Elf House], but more like a neutral NPC like the counselor.

    Especially the name "Lucky Fireworks Banquet," which seemed to subtly echo the "Unlucky Fireworks" she had set off in the previous match.

    Tang Xinjue smiled slightly, but unfortunately, she couldn't awaken from her sea of consciousness right now and witness the fireworks display. She would have to wait until she woke up to ask her roommates about the situation.

    Of course, she first had to endure Zhang You's wrath—for making such a risky decision without authorization, and for causing them to worry about her coma. She was bound to face one or more of her roommates, ready to fight.

    Touching her chilled neck, Tang Xinjue smiled helplessly and sat down before the floating ghost symbol. The nectar-like energy sent her consciousness into a deeper state of consciousness.

    ...

    Ghosts, fangs, pursuit, escape.

    The girls' dormitory was teeming with danger, the corridor stretched endlessly, the darkness without a ray of light.

    Wherever the black fog spread, there must be cold and dangerous monsters hiding. She could only keep dodging and running. Only by leaving these monsters and the darkness far behind could she survive.

    "Don't run... You can't escape..."

    "Look ahead, where is the end? Even if you wake up, won't you still be back here after closing your eyes?"

    "Look at you, ordinary, weak. What's the point of being human? Why not fall here and become like us? No longer bound by all the rules, only strength, power, freedom..."

    "Come down, come down, stop!"

    Tang Xinjue stopped abruptly, and amidst the giggles, he stabbed the dagger backwards, swiftly and accurately severing the monster's tongue.

    The laughter around him died, and angry screams broke out one after another. Tang Xinjue didn't even look at it, stuffed the tongue in his pocket, and turned around and ran.

    The monster, looking for its tongue all over the ground: "..."

    In the boundless darkness, screams were mixed with rustling conversations: "How did she find the weapon again? Didn't you hide it well?"

    "I hid it very well. She found it by cutting open my stomach, and also took away the needle I used to sew my stomach."

    "How did she steal it?"

    "She's getting faster and faster. Look at her speed. Even the black fog can't catch up with her. I'm so hungry. I don't want to come here again next time. I'm getting farther and farther away from the ground. I can't go back to the University Town. It's all your fault, it's all your fault!"

    "It's all your fault! You useless thing! It's all your fault. I'm tearing your intestines apart. Ouch, don't grab my throat, ugh ugh ugh!"

    "Shh, complete their requirements and we can go back. Don't forget... Look, there are new people coming."

    Tang Xinjue's running speed slowed down slightly. She didn't look back, but she tightened her grip on the weapon.

    In previous nightmares, she hadn't understood the ghostly conversations, but this time, only this time, she somehow understood.

    But the information she gleaned from their words was too unfamiliar to her—what was the University Town? Whose request was she fulfilling? Who was the new person?

    A taut string plucked in her mind, yet Tang Xinjue couldn't recall anything further, her brow furrowing ever deeper.

    A strong premonition told her she needed to look back, back into the darkness, to find everything she needed to know.

    But her instinctive memory struggled, forcing her to absolutely not turn back. The darkness must not be touched, for to do so would draw her in, a danger she couldn't yet resist.

    ...No, now, perhaps she could.

    A thought suddenly surfaced, and she remembered.

    Because within the darkness that had swallowed everything, there were important people, and herself as well.

    She no longer had to flee endlessly. There was no light in the darkness, but she had the power to dispel it and ignite it.

    Lowering her head, the dagger in her hand had transformed into a straight toilet plunger. Tang Xinjue weighed it and turned away.

    A blinding white light swept across her field of vision like a comet crashing to the ground, drowning her.

    "Little girl, little girl? What are you daydreaming about?"

    Tang Xinjue opened her eyes and subconsciously pressed her dull, aching temple. Her scattered memories gradually returned, and the surrounding scene came into view.

    She was slightly stunned by the scene before her.

    If she remembered correctly, she seemed to have just returned from a nightmare cycle in her mind. She thought she would return to the dormitory first, but then a flash of white light appeared... Where was this?

    Before her was a crowded place. Directly in front of her was a heavily guarded iron gate. Many middle-aged men and women gathered outside the gate, while boys and girls around eighteen or nineteen years old hurried inside.

    A middle-aged woman had awakened Tang Xinjue, her expression concerned. "I see you're holding your admission ticket. Are you a candidate? The exam's coming up soon, why don't you get in?"

    Admission ticket, exam.

    These two keywords entered her mind, instantly triggering a series of memories as Tang Xinjue realized where she was.

    This was at the entrance of a school exam room!

    As for what exam it was...

    She lowered her head and opened the admission ticket in her hand.

    [2017 National College Entrance Examination]

    ...? ? ?

    Had she slept right back into the Gaokao?*

* I'm sure many know, but Gaokao is the National College Entrance Exam in China, the most important culmination in a Chinese student's career. It was so culturally and academically significant that it put a lot of pressure on high school students to do competitively well in their gaokao. (CMIIW)

The author has something to say: -------

    Tang Xinjue: Is this reasonable?

    Monster looking for tongue on the ground: Is this reasonable?

    Roommates: Is this reasonable?

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(T/N) Happy Halloween everyone!

As we're on the end of an arc, let me take this chance to say: thank you for reading along with me here and thanks for all your patience in waiting for the updates :)

We're going onto a new arc next!