MS Chapter 41

What could possibly happen? That would be absurd.

Perhaps in this class, nothing will happen for now, only temporarily adhering to the principle of ‘honesty.’

But anyone with a bit of sense knows that Ji Ye’s stance, while not immediately revealing good or evil, is undoubtedly that of an extremely paranoid ‘justice envoy’ based on the information disclosed so far.

The students at this school appear unruly and carefree, but from the recent questioning, it seems that the underlying filth and sins are far more than that.

Ji Ye believes these students are hopeless scum, and he brutally kills the negligent faculty members, using such cruel methods for his so-called ‘graduation remedial classes.’ It seems that the main purpose is not to reform anyone.

If he thought that the students here—at least some of them—had the potential for reform, he wouldn’t resort to such extreme measures.

Of course, aside from this psychological analysis, the true state of the entire space is also questionable.

Why does a teacher possess supernatural powers to set rules? Is it Ji Ye’s unique ability, or is there something fundamentally wrong with the entire space?

After all, it seems that all students, including the Players, cannot leave the school for now, which means there is no way to prove that this is the real world.

Perhaps the entire space is influenced by Ji Ye’s rhythm. The scene of a living person exploding in front of them, which could drive someone insane, passed in less than a minute, and the remaining NPCs began to awaken.

Hunched over in their seats, they sobbed quietly, not daring to make any louder noise.

Seeing the classroom discipline restored, Ji Ye smiled gently: “Look, in this class, lying has no meaning.”

“The only requirement from the teacher is honesty. No matter what your answer is, the teacher will not pursue the answer itself.”

“Unfortunately, as the first respondent, Student X is unwilling to even attempt to accept the rules. He didn’t even finish answering the teacher’s most basic demonstration question.”

“Alright, to avoid affecting the course progress, let’s have another student answer a question!” Ji Ye’s gentle smile inexplicably added a hint of malice: “I hope this student does not repeat the same mistake.”

As he spoke, his gaze roamed around the classroom. Not only the NPCs but many Players also inevitably tensed up when they met his gaze.

Lu Qingjia smirked, feeling somewhat amused.

In an instance with over twenty Players, the probability of belonging to the same faction is extremely low, and the experienced Players present are mostly well aware of this.

This instance is likely to be a grand Player brawl. Not to mention all, among the twenty or so Players, there are definitely a considerable number of Gold-digging players and Hunter Players mixed in.

Ji Ye’s questioning, along with the rule of not lying in this class, means that anyone who gets called out is essentially exposing their stance.

If they are Gold-digging players, they have countless misdeeds, and losing their disguise makes them easy targets for Hunter Players to earn points.

Even Hunter Players may not be safe; with the ruthless nature of Gold-digging players, once they identify an enemy, they will surely strike first.

Just as he was pondering, Ji Ye’s gaze finally landed on Lu Qingjia’s face—

“Student Lu Qingjia, please stand.”

Lu Qingjia: “…”

Ji Ye said: “Still the same question, what is the worst thing you have done so far?”

Lu Qingjia could feel many probing eyes on him, each with their own stance.

He listened to the question and thought for a moment: “I can’t remember anything too far back, but I’ve been a model student since I was little. Even if I’ve done something wrong, it shouldn’t be considered out of line.”

“Student Lu Qingjia, please answer the teacher’s question directly.” Ji Ye said with a smile.

“Don’t rush, teacher, I’m thinking.” Lu Qingjia also showed a sunny and harmless smile: “If we’re talking about the most memorable recent event, based on the consequences—”

“The worst thing would probably be before class, knowing that the escaping students not only couldn’t leave the school but were also likely to face tragic punishment, yet I coldly observed without stopping anyone from going down, just to confirm the outcome, right?”

Ji Ye’s smile deepened, looking at Lu Qingjia’s expression as if he were looking at the previous boy who exploded for lying.

Everyone’s hearts sank. No way? Less than half an hour into the session, and a Player is already out?

Ji Ye said: “It seems that even with such a profound warning, Student Lu Qingjia still does not understand the importance of following the rules.”

It’s over—everyone thought.

“Among the bad things Student Lu Qingjia has done, deceiving the elderly and their families, causing accidents and then smashing the other person’s head with a brick before kicking them onto the road, breaking into homes to rob, and even slitting the throat of an unsuspecting old lady, letting her die in agony—how can any of these not be worse than mere cold observation?”

As Ji Ye’s words fell, some Players around looked at Lu Qingjia with increasingly hostile eyes. Although they quickly concealed it, Lu Qingjia still felt it in that moment.

According to Ji Ye’s description, this was undoubtedly a Villainous Player, but there was no need to be on guard anymore, as the other party would soon explode into a mess.

However, after more than ten seconds, Lu Qingjia was still standing there just fine.

The expressions of the crowd began to change. Logically, what Ji Ye, this sinister NPC or big boss, said should not be false, yet he was indeed standing there unharmed.

Did he have some precious life-saving item, like a scarecrow, that helped him escape this calamity?

As the Players speculated, Lu Qingjia smiled and spoke to Ji Ye, whose expression had become strangely unresponsive: “What are you waiting for, teacher? Even if you wait until the end of this class, I won’t explode for lying.”

“Because I haven’t lied a single word.”

“How could this be—” Ji Ye’s expression wavered for the first time.

Then Lu Qingjia said: “How can those things be considered my fault?”

His expression was open and self-evident: “Clearly, it was others who acted first. I was merely forced to defend myself. Although my defensive measures were a bit aggressive, I thought a teacher like Ji, who could decisively make such tough decisions for the students’ future, would understand me well.”

“Truly disappointing.”

Ji Ye’s calm demeanor visibly darkened.

Meanwhile, the Players around looked at Lu Qingjia with varying expressions. Some thought his stance was relatively normal but that his methods were ruthless.

Others believed he was a perverse individual, completely devoid of any concept of the cruel things he had done, genuinely lacking any sense of guilt for how many people he had killed or the heinous acts he had committed—because what Ji Ye described could very well be scenes from an objective perspective.

Of course, this also led many Players to conclude that this so-called ‘honesty’ class was a subjective activity, where whether something counted as lying depended on the respondent’s own inner awareness.

While Ji Ye had already sentenced Lu Qingjia to death in his mind, Lu Qingjia firmly believed he had not lied, so the outcome leaned towards Lu Qingjia’s perception.

If that’s the case, then there is plenty of room for maneuvering. After all, while not everyone could be as perverse as Lu Qingjia, where their self-awareness was already flawed, the abilities and items they possessed could certainly allow for some cheating.

Ji Ye and Lu Qingjia locked eyes for a moment, then Ji Ye revealed a composed smile: “A brilliant answer.”

“Since Student Lu Qingjia has already grasped the essence of this class, the next demonstration is unnecessary.”

As he spoke, Ji Ye turned around and wrote a large character for ‘deceit’ on the blackboard, even drawing a circle around it with chalk.

“In this academic year, an incident occurred that resulted in two deaths and one person becoming homeless.”

“The character ‘deceit’ is a hint for this incident. The purpose of the next part of this class is for students to present the truth of this matter to the teacher through sincere and honest questioning and answering.”

Ji Yu brought up a lottery box from below the podium: “Inside are slips of paper with each student’s name. Each time a student is drawn, they must answer a question.”

“The questioner will be a student whose student number appears randomly on the screen.”

“I hope that by the end of the class, students can find the correct answer to present to the teacher.” Ji Yu said as he pretended to leave the classroom.

He reminded them one last time: “By the way, even if the teacher is not present, please try to maintain classroom discipline and do not enter or exit at will during class.”

“And if the final answer is incorrect, two students from this class will be randomly selected to lose their remedial class qualifications and will be unable to graduate.”

“What happens if we can’t graduate?” a Player asked.

Ji Yu grinned: “Those who cannot graduate naturally cannot leave the school.”

“Of course, if the answer is correct, the whole class will continue to the next topic, but the teacher will score based on the contribution to the correct answer, the key nature of the question, and the order in which students clarify the truth. The higher the score, the more beneficial it will be for future classes.”

After saying this, he disappeared from the classroom. Although Ji Ye had not shown any of his own power throughout, the atmosphere in the classroom noticeably relaxed after he left.

At this point, everyone finally had the mind to observe each other more closely.

To be honest, with so many Players present, aside from a few deeply hidden ones, many experienced Gold-digging players and Hunter Players could easily identify each other.

Just like seasoned detectives can spot criminals in a crowd, or thieves can sense undercover police by their scent.

These two opposing factions have been at odds for a long time, and a quick glance was enough for Lu Qingjia to see at least a dozen people exchanging looks filled with hostility and ill intent.

Of course, there were also those who focused their gaze on Lu Qingjia, weighing which faction he belonged to.

A bald Player tentatively said: “Bro, you’ve got guts, daring to confront what is likely a rule big boss NPC.”

Lu Qingjia smiled: “What do you mean by rule NPC? I just came from the beginner level, and I don’t understand much.”

The bald man exchanged glances with those around him, clearly not fully believing his words, as this person seemed far too at ease. This was not the demeanor of a Player who had just crossed a significant threshold.

Typically, when someone transitions from the beginner level to the Intermediate Level Game, they lose all advantages and become the new bottom tier of the Player community, naturally being cautious, observing more, speaking less. But the other party’s nonchalant demeanor showed no signs of inexperience.

As long as they weren’t from opposing factions, it was fine. Even ordinary neutral Players would prefer to have more friends than enemies in such a chaotic instance, so everyone was naturally cautious.

Besides, there was one person who particularly caught Lu Qingjia’s attention.

That was a boy sitting in the second-to-last row by the window, of course, his appearance had also been adjusted by the Game to look like a high school student.

The reason he stood out was not for anything else, but simply because he was exceptionally good-looking.

To be honest, Lu Qingjia himself could get by on looks, and very few people could impress him, even among the majority of celebrities known for their beauty.

But this boy before him was like a beautiful illusion in the morning light, appearing pure and gentle, with sunlight casting a golden hue on his hair, radiating light as if he were the angel described in stories with elaborate prose.

He sat in his seat, not participating in the discussions among the Players, looking rather detached, resting his chin on one hand, boredly gazing out the window, showing no awareness of being in an instance.

As if he noticed Lu Qingjia’s gaze, he looked over and smiled, instantly quieting the surrounding noise.

Lu Qingjia averted his gaze, unconsciously placing his thumb to his lips and biting his nails.

In a barely audible voice, he murmured: “No way?”

No one noticed Lu Qingjia’s reaction. After a brief uproar among the Players, they determined that neither side held an advantage at this moment, and thus shifted their hostility to the undercurrents below.

As the class time approached the halfway mark, a female Player stood up: “Everyone has their own agendas, which is normal, but before forming alliances and intimidating each other, shouldn’t we complete the classroom task first?”

“Otherwise, who can guarantee that they won’t become one of the two unfortunate souls who can never graduate?”

A burly young man, who seemed to follow a brute-force approach, stood up: “That’s simple. There are still several NPCs left in the classroom. They must know things we don’t, so we just need to ask them.”

Saying this, he called out to the screen displaying student numbers to stop, and the numbers froze on [18].

“Who is number eighteen? Come up and draw a slip. Hopefully, it’s an NPC.”

A boy sitting next to Lu Qingjia, who had previously pulled him back into the classroom, nudged Lu Qingjia: “Hey, Lu, what’s up with these people today? Why are they all talking so strangely? I can’t understand a word. And was what the teacher said true? Have you really killed people? So many have died, and you guys aren’t even surprised?”

Regarding the Game, keywords are usually blocked from NPCs, and since many Players don’t take a few high school students seriously, it indeed seems that NPCs could die at any moment. With so many Players present, there are certainly those who are carefree and don’t regard NPCs as anything significant, speaking without restraint.

Lu Qingjia patted the other person’s hand, showing a reassuring smile: “How could that be? If it were really as the teacher said, I would have exploded by now.”

“I just can’t stand his self-righteous demeanor as a judge. Besides, at a time like this, shouldn’t we be more united and find a way to figure things out instead of listening to Ji Ye’s provocations?”

“He’s just trying to undermine the relationships between students, making everyone suspicious of each other. Look, haven’t some fools already fallen for it?”

The other person glanced at the Player with the student number 18 who was walking onto the stage and nodded: “Bro, you’re the smartest among us. You’re the one I trust the most. Come up with a plan!”

Player number 18 was a female Player. She reached into the lottery box, and Lu Qingjia used his X-ray vision to see the various Players showcasing their abilities.

That female Player had clearly formed alliances with some people in such a short time. In this classroom, it was said that they were temporarily at a ceasefire to complete Ji Ye’s task.

But in reality, most people had yet to realize the key issue, still thinking that extracting the sequence of events from just a few NPCs wouldn’t take much effort.

Instead, they were all seizing this opportunity to plan something using the rules.

The female Player drew a slip, and Lu Qingjia watched as, without any external force, a certain piece of paper made its way to the female Player’s hand. When she drew it, the name on it had clearly changed.

At least three Players had simultaneously activated their abilities to guide the outcome.

The questioner drawn from the screen should be considered a rule type, which Players cannot control, so why not have the questioned person also drawn in the same way?

This class was practically encouraging Players to cheat.

The female Player unfolded the slip, and the name on it caused her smile to freeze for a moment before she quickly returned to normal.

She turned the content of the slip towards everyone: “Student XXX, you are the one answering this time.”

This was the name of an NPC student, who stood up nervously.

The female Player thought for a moment and asked: “What was the incident that Teacher Ji mentioned?”

The NPC student trembled and said: “I… I don’t know?”

The female Player frowned: “How could you not know? Such a significant incident, even if you don’t know the whole story, you should know at least a bit about it, right?”

The student was on the verge of tears: “I really don’t know! What does ‘deceit’ even mean? Is it bullying or deceiving? If it’s bullying, there are plenty of those. If it’s deceiving, who hasn’t lied?”

“Surely we can filter it out?” the female Player said. “Tell us about the most memorable events that have happened in the school over the past three years, especially this semester.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Ye’s voice echoed through the classroom speakers: “Each questioning opportunity can only ask one question. Since the other party has already answered and confirmed they did not lie, please proceed to the next round of drawing questions without pressuring your classmates.”

As expected, this was something many Players had yet to realize.

That is, if even the NPCs are clueless and don’t know what Ji Ye is specifically referring to, then finding out the truth of the incident is not an easy task, let alone confirming the incident itself.

With more than half the class time gone, there was actually no leeway for Players to engage in private scheming, yet the main task was surprisingly difficult.

Now even the slowest person had reacted. The next questioner’s student number appeared on the screen, and this time, regardless of stance, it pointed to the NPC’s slip.

Many Players in this instance had relevant abilities to manipulate the selection results.

In the end, the drawn slip was naturally another NPC. The questioning Player asked: “Since you enrolled, how many murders have occurred in the entire school?”

“Counting the ones that were suppressed, there have been a total of nine, nine incidents?”

This school seems to be hiding a lot; in a school with a total student population of just over a thousand, nine deaths in three years?

Gold-digging players were fine, but the expressions of ordinary Players and Hunter Players turned somewhat grim, and their gazes towards the NPC were filled with disgust.

Lu Qingjia silently observed the reactions of these Players. In fact, to get to the bottom of things, there was no need for such crude and overt rules.

A person’s stance, preferences, behavioral habits, moral inclinations, and real-life professional identity can all be reflected in the finer details.

Lu Qingjia dared to say that he was not the only Player here with mental-related abilities. The focus might differ, but there are definitely Players capable of suggesting that their own lies are the truth.

Moreover, the conflict between Gold-digging players and Hunter Players had not yet reached the point of complete hostility.

Using rules to confirm identities is actually not very meaningful; instead, it can be an opportunity to confirm the abilities or ultimate skills that opponents possess. If luck is on their side, they might gain something from it. Those Players who were thinking of taking the initiative likely thought the same.

However, at this moment, due to the sudden increase in the difficulty of the task, they had to temporarily set that aside.

After several rounds of drawing, it was still NPC students being selected. The Players gradually began to grasp a hint from the process of peeling back the layers.

“What were the nine incidents?”

“Just now, the girl who jumped off the building mentioned by Teacher Ji, and there was also one who committed suicide after being bullied due to poverty, and then there was a theft…”

The other party stumbled a bit, but at least they managed to mention all the incidents involving loss of life.

From there, they filtered out events with two or more deaths and continued to peel back the layers, but ultimately, they all ended up in dead ends.