The classroom was dead silent, before sobs began to rise.
[Holy shit, noooo OAQ]
[This really reminds me of the girl in the diary’s class. They also sacrificed themselves like this…]
[Ahhhhh, my heart. What happened to Class 9 having not one less? What happened to their pact to make it through together?]
AD
[Fuck me, I always assumed even if someone changed, they’d be an underachiever, but this hostel room rep is the fifteenth in the class! In the entire year, I think he’s the only one from that grade band who became a faceless trainee /cries]
[Sigh, this just means it has to be willing on the part of the victim, not forced by environmental or stress factors. Damnit, it’s self-sacrifice like this that really breaks the heart… To tell the truth, I never expected there’d be someone like this in the infinite loop.]
After so long, the B-ranks in Class 9 all became close friends. It didn’t matter if they were at odds before this or what organisation they were from. In the environment of this instance, everyone formed revolutionary friendships at record speed, heightened by the positive atmosphere of helping one another.
Striving as one, studying as one; everyone had deep bonds with each other.
This room representative was index 15 in the class. His scores were above average, and his personality was quiet and introverted.
Apart from him, room 407 also had the bottom five in the class and four students from the top ten in the class. This configuration was equivalent to a top flyer tutoring an underachiever each. However, index 15 had a good character, and thus room 407 unanimously elected him to be their representative.
People generally focused more attention on the weaker students in class, who tended to be more mischievous and outgoing. Few paid attention to middling students like the room representative.
This however didn’t mean nobody cared about index 15.
The expressions of Class 9’s trainees were brimming with melancholy, especially index 98 and 99 from the same room as him.
AD
Although index 15 was taciturn by nature, he was very nice and gentle.
He was always the one who rose the earliest. While going to freshen up, he’d also fetch warm water for the other trainees in his room, and he’d return to the room after he was done to call everyone awake.
When studying at night, he was also the one who’d frequently take a short break to head out and fetch water for the underachievers, at the same time whispering encouragement to them, instantly reinvigorating their spirits.
Even the day before the exams. The whole class was dejected due to their substandard class average; after returning to the hostel room, though the underachievers didn’t breathe a word of it, as Zong Jiu guessed, they were all harbouring thoughts of sacrificing themselves.
In the middle of the night, the room representative ended up perceiving something amiss and bolted up from his bed, taking the underachievers aside to chide them.
“Good thing Jiu-ge instructed me to watch these few of you closer… What are you guys doing; it’s so late in the night and you’re still not awake, lying with your eyes wide open and with this expression.
“You’re struggling in this instance, but out of it, everyone is a B-rank trainee. Think about all the horror instances you’ve been through. Are you really going to let this tiny little exam get you down? Pull yourselves together!”
It was deep in the night. Room 407 shied from the hostel caretaker’s light. Each one of them stood in their trousers in the middle of the room, their heads hung low, like students awaiting a teacher’s reprimand.
The room representative heaved a sigh, and went up to each one of them, enveloping them in bear hugs.
“Don’t do anything stupid. Jiu-ge has already said he has a way. We must get out of this instance. Jiayou!”
The ten people in room 407 stacked their hands together. Right as they were about to do a ‘1, 2, 3, jiayou’ cheer, the caretaker’s footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor.
Their eyes met, and they ran even faster than monkeys, vaulting into beds and pulling up their blankets in one fluid motion. Only the vibrating of the iron beds was left in their wake.
It was only after the caretaker’s torch flashed past the glass window on the door did they then sigh in relief from under their blankies, stifling their laughter.
“Liar, damn it, he’s just a liar. He consoled us and even said to look forward to having drinks as a class at the rooftop bar after we return to the trainee dormitories, but what about himself?”
At the thought of what happened last night, index 99 covered his eyes, crying soundlessly.
He wanted to punch his room representative, but the faceless person stood blankly on the spot, the smooth expanse of skin and flesh watching him, never offering a response.
After a long time, index 99 dropped his fist, despondent.
Zong Jiu frowned. “Wait, there seems to be something in his pocket.”
At his words, index 99 strode forward, fiercely sticking his hand into the faceless person’s pocket.
The latter stood still. It was like he was a puppet without a soul, and he didn’t even react when someone fished through his pockets right in front of him.
Index 99 pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.
It was a neatly folded piece of paper.
On it, the handwriting was small and flowy. Those from room 407 could tell at a glance it was index 15’s handwriting.
[To everyone in Class 9:]
I really, really like being with everyone. Whether before or after I entered the infinite loop, this is the happiest I’ve ever been.
I’m the one who didn’t keep my promise this time, because I love Class 9 too much.
It’s as the diary said. Someone has to be sacrificed, so why can’t it be me?
I’ll be off first. Don’t worry about me; I chose this for myself, and no one forced me. If you truly want to thank me, then live on. Live well.
[You must, absolutely must live on and live well, for my sake.]
There was even a large smiley face drawn at the very end. The corners of its lips rose, just like the way it did whenever index 15 smiled.
Yet they could never, ever see index 15’s face again.
Class 9 arrived at the quadrangle in a subdued mood.
Noticing the discrepancy from their previous atmosphere, the other classes erupted into whispers.
Yo atfw, Jijrr 5’r wbclabg kjr atf wbra wbmxlcu.
“Ct-tj? Qfgfc’a atfs ublcu bc jybea, ktja kjr la, “Jijrr 9 klii ifjnf cb bcf yftlcv jcv cba tjnf j rlcuif ojmfifrr qfgrbc?” Ktja’r kts j mfgajlc cfkylf lr pera yflcu tsqbmglalmji. Pc gfjilas, atfs’gf ralii ilxf atf gfra bo er.”
Lf kjr ifjvlcu j tbgvf bo ojmfifrr qfbqif yftlcv tlw. Ktf vfcrf wjrr ibbxfv bnfg, jcv atf afggloslcu rluta rfca rtlnfgr vbkc atf rqlcf.
Class 5’s top students stood in front, and the weak students were isolated behind, crowded out by the entire class so badly that it was impossible to even glimpse their heads.
Class 5’s monitor didn’t keep his voice down at all. Swiftly after, every class on the quadrangle snapped their gazes over in astonishment.
The whole year heard about Class 9. Their bold declaration attracted a lot of attention, especially in view that their monitor was an up-and-coming B-rank. While there were top students who turned their noses up, there were also underachievers who envied their camaraderie and harmony. It had to be said that Class 9 was a breath of fresh air among all the classes.
Now however, a faceless person actually appeared in Class 9 as well!
There were already many classes staring at the faceless person that Class 9 surrounded, whispering between themselves.
What did this mean? Could it be they were only harmonious on the surface, but like everyone else, ostracised weak students in private?
Index 99’s eyes turned red with anger when he heard Class 5’s monitor, and his hands clenched into fists, wanting to knock him down a peg.
Zong Jiu stopped him.
“Take your exams properly. There’s no need to take it up with people like that.”
The white-haired Magician’s voice was calm. “Or do you really want to ruin the opportunity index 15 traded his life for in a brawl?”
As expected, upon hearing the room representative’s name, everyone recovered their composure.
That’s right. The priority now should be the exam, they shouldn’t let their attention be diverted by other matters.
Class 5 gradually lost interest in Class 9’s lack of reaction, and their voices faded away.
Soon, all trainees took their seats on the quadrangle.
Teaching assistants walked over with the papers, and distributed them at the teaching director’s command.
[The exams are starting; I get even more nervous each time.]
[Class 9 should be able to pass this time with the addition of a faceless person, right?]
[I remember Class 9’s last mock exam was twenty marks short… I don’t know if just one faceless trainee will be enough, but I do hope it is.]
[I’m sure they’ll make it. /prayer hands.jpg]
Snow-white exam booklets were passed out one by one, black words on white paper, as cold as the weather in this instance as it passed into winter.
It was autumn when the trainees entered this instance, and now it was winter, with possible snow in the coming days.
The wind was glacial and fierce. They were dressed in their thin uniforms, and they rubbed warmth into their frozen fingers, taking their exams on the quadrangle.
While waiting for the teaching director to announce the start, Zong Jiu kept quiet, staring at his name on the paper.
His lack of emotion allowed him to be calm in every situation, and at times, it wouldn’t even be accurate to call it indifference. It was borderline callousness.
Just now as well.
In the split second he saw the faceless person, what welled up in Zong Jiu’s heart was neither the same surprise or sorrow as the other trainees. Rather, he swiftly listed out the benefits this one faceless person could bring to Class 9.
What did Class 9 really mean to him?
The white-haired young man stared at the lowered tip of his pen.
If it weren’t for the fact that this instance ranked them by class average, Zong Jiu probably wouldn’t even care about the deaths of others.
However, this was a compulsory group model. Not caring about others was a one-way road to doom.
Although from a perspective of maximising benefits, it was undoubtedly the most optimal solution.
The purpose of a collective instance was brutal elimination. There was no fairness to be found.
While this instance might seem difficult, in actuality, it was ultimately a test of a trainee’s mental strength and their choice between good and evil in the face of desperate circumstances. Just like university entrance exams, which were essentially designed to stratify students. It was a test of a student’s study skills, ability to plan on their own, self-discipline, intelligence… etc. The tested content didn’t matter; what mattered were the results.
As long as one had sufficient mental fortitude, such as Tsuchimikado, he wouldn’t turn into a faceless person even if there were three hundred days in this instance. As for the choice between good and evil, it was even clearer that as long as they passed the bar, the process was unimportant.
Those on the other end of the extreme like Class 5, who stepped over others for their interests, would very likely survive till the end.
Such an approach was selfish, but in the eyes of the system, it was a type of personal strength.
It was similar to the way the Devil crushed instances with absolute strength. The fact that the system had no intention to get rid of him and even cooperated instead was enough to prove the process didn’t matter in front of that higher-dimensional system. What mattered was the result.
Even at this time, Zong Jiu was able to calmly weigh the pros and cons and analyse the intentions of the system. Yet he wouldn’t do that. Not now, at least.
Because he promised to take Class 9 back with him.
He had to respond to the expectations of Class 9. Since he promised everyone to get through it together, then he must fulfil the vow, no matter the cost.
This was a magician’s logic.
Right or wrong, moral or immoral; all that was irrelevant. It was simply as the old nun once said—
Since his personality prevents him from distinguishing right from wrong, morality from immorality, then he can respond to the expectations of others.
“You may begin.”
Zong Jiu stared at the name he wrote and halted his train of thought, beginning to answer the questions.
He had silently come to a decision.
—
It was an anxiety-wrecking and grueling exam.
Objectively speaking, 800 marks were extremely difficult for trainees who only studied for three months. It was equivalent to getting 520 out of 750 in the gaokao—and that was the standard set for everyone to meet, let alone the fact it contained formidable Olympiad questions as well.
Classes 1 and 3, with fewer faceless people, were more careful when attempting the paper. Only Class 5, which had many faceless people, looked to have the win in the bag. Class 5’s monitor was even sitting with his legs crossed and one foot poised in the air as he answered.
A small interlude happened in the middle of the examination.
A student from Class 2 was caught cheating by a teaching assistant.
The consequence was simple, and as usual, bloody and brutal. The student was directly suspended from the exam. Not only was he awarded a zero, but he was also taken in front of the flag-raising platform.
Teaching assistants stuffed a cloth into his mouth and whipped him, shattering his kneecaps and leaving them in a bloodied mess. Then, they forced him to kneel on the flag-raising platform before the whole school. Purportedly, he had to kneel in this wretched state for seven full days before he could be pardoned for his wrongdoing and immoral conduct.
Zong Jiu answered the questions in this exam with utmost attention and care.
Index 15, who had been transformed, was above average in the class. Even if he became a faceless trainee, he wouldn’t be able to pull up the class average as much as faceless trainees transformed from underachievers in other classes.
Even if Zong Jiu was first in class, it was near impossible to rake up twenty marks by his sole efforts.
The weak students in Class 9 truly didn’t have the aptitude for studying; no one in class faulted them for it.
In myths, at the creation of mankind, God bestowed each person with a different strength. Some people were skilled in certain aspects, while others were skilled elsewhere. Just like exams, there always existed those who lacked this god-gifted strength; just like when singing, a tone-deaf person could never find the right key. Moreover, they had already given their all. While the improvement wasn’t great, no one would take offence at that.
Therefore, the burden bore down heavily on the top students.
They must grab more marks.
Pen scraping against the paper, Zong Jiu swiftly worked out a maths question, checking over and over again before moving on to the next one.
He hoped he could bag the last few missing marks for Class 9.
The bullet chat was also jittery.
[I zoomed into the paper for a look. Goddamnit, this bastard school is inhumane. The difficulty level of this exam is much higher than the previous few.]
[Crap, are you for real? If the difficulty is higher, wouldn’t 800 be even harder to meet?]
[That’s for sure… I’m honestly speechless. Not only is the bar raised so high, but they’d even raised the difficulty. Now I really hope that bigshot will wreck this instance. Puke.]
[I’ve noticed all the collective instances this time are ruthless and completely unreasonable. It’s even more absurd over at the A-rank trainees’ instance. The group of them are sailing on a luxury cruise where freshwater has become a scarce resource. Now they’re about to split into seven factions, feeding each other misinformation to ensure survival. The problem is that many trainees have been infected and turned into mermen. I had a meltdown on the spot.]
[I’ve noticed too. C-rank trainees are doing pretty much the same at Mount Olympus… What really annoys me is the ones who survive will probably be the ones who pull all stops to get their way. Watching it has given me a heart attack.]
The bullet chat in the live broadcast started to digress during this four-hour-long exam.
[Watching up to this point, I’m super glad I haven’t registered for the Thriller Trainee competition. It’s possible I wouldn’t even be able to make it past the preliminary round, but it’s still better to live a crappy life than to die a heroic death. If I got in, I’d probably not even last a single round.]
[I’m still thinking, if only a hundred survive to the end, what will the person who wins the universal wish ticket wish for?]
The conversation went on, and soon, the time was up.
An invigilator blew a whistle, signalling the end of the exam, and everyone stopped their pens.
This time, the teaching director announced a new rule.
“There’s no need to be too nervous. Since the student cohort this year is much smaller than previous years, and also for the purpose of promoting healthy competition amongst students, the teachers have held a meeting and decided to relax certain rules in our school policy.”
“The revised school rule is as follows. We have decided to relax the policy for classes eliminated in the final exams; the top five students in those classes will be exempted from execution.”
It was apparent this new rule didn’t sit well with many teachers.
First High School always implemented a system of collective elimination. While it might seem to nip off some promising students, such an atmosphere was excellent in squeezing every last drop of value out of the students.
This was a many-year tried-and-tested method; most students would end up becoming faceless under such cruel circumstances.
However, this year’s cohort was so small it would be difficult to get a class full of students by this method. Thus, they settled for the next best thing, which was to preserve the top of every class to boost their university acceptance rate.
In contrast to the silence of the teachers was the commotion from the students.
The top five of each class looked relaxed.
Not having to be implicated by their class would lay the foundations for them to act without scruples, but the competition also became much fiercer.
This however wasn’t the most important factor. Being able to get a free pass out of certain death gave everyone hope.
“Don’t rejoice too soon. This school rule won’t come to effect until the finals. This exam will still follow the previous school rules.”
Just as everyone was filled with elation, the faceless person tossed another bucket of cold water over them.
“To heighten the anticipation, we’ve decided not to announce the class by ranking this time, but sequentially by the class number, until every class has been read.”
Many underachievers got sweaty palms when they heard this.
Once again, index 99 raised his hand to request to use the toilet.
Only Zong Jiu hadn’t arranged anything for him to do this time; he was so just frightened he was truly about to wet himself.
Going in this sequence meant each class had a set time when their verdict would be pronounced. The class being announced would be nervous, and the classes that hadn’t been announced yet would be even more nervous.
In the meanwhile, all faceless teachers stood before the flag-raising platform, observing their horrified expressions with revelry.
The first to be announced was Class 1’s results.
It wasn’t clear if it was due to the increased difficulty or a slip-up in performance, but they’d only cut it by a narrow shave this time.
This result allowed Class 1 to sigh in relief, but also caused other classes to become even warier.
Ever since the placement exams, Class 1’s results had been way ahead of the pack. Though they later were unable to match up to Class 5 due to the fewer number of faceless people, it was still a faithful representation of their trainees’ academic strength in this instance.
If even Class 1 only had ten marks above the bar, then what of the other classes?
Everyone exchanged worried looks.
Soon after, the teaching director announced Class 2’s results.
There was a student caught cheating amidst Class 2’s ranks this time, directly receiving a zero. Many people in their class glared viciously at the trainee who cheated and dragged everyone down with him, grief shooting through their hearts.
To the surprise of all, Class 2 actually made it, and it was by a single mark.
It was important to note that previously, Class 2, Class 6, and Class 9 were the ones unable to cross the bar in the third weekly quiz. The pressure on the three classes was unimaginable.
Class 2’s monitor shot an excited look at Class 5.
If he hadn’t listened to Class 5’s monitor’s exhortations and let the trainees put pressure on underachievers to transform a few into faceless people, the whole class would likely have breathed their last after being dragged down by a cheater.
Class 3 came immediately after.
Class 3 was Black Shaman’s class. Zong Jiu didn’t even have to look to know after all the effort the Devil went to obtain the useful chess piece that was No. 8, he most certainly wouldn’t let him kick the bucket just like that.
Sure enough, Class 3 passed, even by a much higher margin than Class 1 and Class 2.
Roar—
With three classes in a row all making it safely, those trainees from other classes whose scores had yet to be announced blossomed hope from the bottom of their hearts.
A simple, ‘What if?’
Next was Class 5. After all, Class 4 was wiped out during the midterms, with even the remains of their corpses sent to the Corpse Pit, generating renewable energy to supply the school with warm water.
Class 5’s monitor was proudly humming a song.
It wasn’t a stretch to call their class the most stable in the year. This was because they had too many faceless people. The atmosphere in class was morose and tense, causing the speed of conversion to accelerate as exams approached, easily pulling the class average up. They didn’t have to be constantly on their toes like the other classes, wondering if they’d fail.
Like their class monitor, some top students in Class 5 weren’t worried in the slightest, with even some who were openly yawning.
“I’m so sleepy. When will this end, I want to go back to sleep.”
“That’s right. How dare those rubbish score-dragging dregs in class make a fool of themselves with their miserable results.”
“If it weren’t for us, how could these poor students have a chance to live? It doesn’t show normally, but who would’ve thought they’d be so useless at doing exams? Just a bunch of retards who weren’t taught well by their parents.”
These people stretched languidly from side to side while deriding others, every word targeting the bottom of the class who had not yet become faceless.
Among them, they disliked Liang Mingde the most.
All the other nine in his hostel room turned into faceless people; he was the only one who hadn’t. He’d even organised some sort of underachiever support alliance in class, where they encouraged each other every day.
Some of the top students in Class 5 were so upset that they trapped him in the toilet and dunked his head in cold water several times, teaching him a lesson.
It was true that trainees were not allowed to kill each other, but as long as the other didn’t die, the system wouldn’t put a stop to it. There was no way to prevent this type of campus violence, and many incidents became triggers that sped up the transformation into faceless people.
Yet they didn’t expect this Liang Mingde to be a disgusting rock in the latrine, actually withstanding the brunt of their pressure.
They had already secretly made plans. The bar for the final exam could only be higher than before, and when the time came they must take Liang Mingde down.
No one would ever expect that in the next second, the smile on Class 5’s monitor’s face would congeal on his face.
“Class 5: 795 marks.”
The classroom was dead silent, before sobs began to rise.
[Holy shit, noooo OAQ]
[This really reminds me of the girl in the diary’s class. They also sacrificed themselves like this…]
[Ahhhhh, my heart. What happened to Class 9 having not one less? What happened to their pact to make it through together?]
AD
[Fuck me, I always assumed even if someone changed, they’d be an underachiever, but this hostel room rep is the fifteenth in the class! In the entire year, I think he’s the only one from that grade band who became a faceless trainee /cries]
[Sigh, this just means it has to be willing on the part of the victim, not forced by environmental or stress factors. Damnit, it’s self-sacrifice like this that really breaks the heart… To tell the truth, I never expected there’d be someone like this in the infinite loop.]
After so long, the B-ranks in Class 9 all became close friends. It didn’t matter if they were at odds before this or what organisation they were from. In the environment of this instance, everyone formed revolutionary friendships at record speed, heightened by the positive atmosphere of helping one another.
Striving as one, studying as one; everyone had deep bonds with each other.
This room representative was index 15 in the class. His scores were above average, and his personality was quiet and introverted.
Apart from him, room 407 also had the bottom five in the class and four students from the top ten in the class. This configuration was equivalent to a top flyer tutoring an underachiever each. However, index 15 had a good character, and thus room 407 unanimously elected him to be their representative.
People generally focused more attention on the weaker students in class, who tended to be more mischievous and outgoing. Few paid attention to middling students like the room representative.
This however didn’t mean nobody cared about index 15.
The expressions of Class 9’s trainees were brimming with melancholy, especially index 98 and 99 from the same room as him.
AD
Although index 15 was taciturn by nature, he was very nice and gentle.
He was always the one who rose the earliest. While going to freshen up, he’d also fetch warm water for the other trainees in his room, and he’d return to the room after he was done to call everyone awake.
When studying at night, he was also the one who’d frequently take a short break to head out and fetch water for the underachievers, at the same time whispering encouragement to them, instantly reinvigorating their spirits.
Even the day before the exams. The whole class was dejected due to their substandard class average; after returning to the hostel room, though the underachievers didn’t breathe a word of it, as Zong Jiu guessed, they were all harbouring thoughts of sacrificing themselves.
In the middle of the night, the room representative ended up perceiving something amiss and bolted up from his bed, taking the underachievers aside to chide them.
“Good thing Jiu-ge instructed me to watch these few of you closer… What are you guys doing; it’s so late in the night and you’re still not awake, lying with your eyes wide open and with this expression.
“You’re struggling in this instance, but out of it, everyone is a B-rank trainee. Think about all the horror instances you’ve been through. Are you really going to let this tiny little exam get you down? Pull yourselves together!”
It was deep in the night. Room 407 shied from the hostel caretaker’s light. Each one of them stood in their trousers in the middle of the room, their heads hung low, like students awaiting a teacher’s reprimand.
The room representative heaved a sigh, and went up to each one of them, enveloping them in bear hugs.
“Don’t do anything stupid. Jiu-ge has already said he has a way. We must get out of this instance. Jiayou!”
The ten people in room 407 stacked their hands together. Right as they were about to do a ‘1, 2, 3, jiayou’ cheer, the caretaker’s footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor.
Their eyes met, and they ran even faster than monkeys, vaulting into beds and pulling up their blankets in one fluid motion. Only the vibrating of the iron beds was left in their wake.
It was only after the caretaker’s torch flashed past the glass window on the door did they then sigh in relief from under their blankies, stifling their laughter.
“Liar, damn it, he’s just a liar. He consoled us and even said to look forward to having drinks as a class at the rooftop bar after we return to the trainee dormitories, but what about himself?”
At the thought of what happened last night, index 99 covered his eyes, crying soundlessly.
He wanted to punch his room representative, but the faceless person stood blankly on the spot, the smooth expanse of skin and flesh watching him, never offering a response.
After a long time, index 99 dropped his fist, despondent.
Zong Jiu frowned. “Wait, there seems to be something in his pocket.”
At his words, index 99 strode forward, fiercely sticking his hand into the faceless person’s pocket.
The latter stood still. It was like he was a puppet without a soul, and he didn’t even react when someone fished through his pockets right in front of him.
Index 99 pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.
It was a neatly folded piece of paper.
On it, the handwriting was small and flowy. Those from room 407 could tell at a glance it was index 15’s handwriting.
[To everyone in Class 9:]
I really, really like being with everyone. Whether before or after I entered the infinite loop, this is the happiest I’ve ever been.
I’m the one who didn’t keep my promise this time, because I love Class 9 too much.
It’s as the diary said. Someone has to be sacrificed, so why can’t it be me?
I’ll be off first. Don’t worry about me; I chose this for myself, and no one forced me. If you truly want to thank me, then live on. Live well.
[You must, absolutely must live on and live well, for my sake.]
There was even a large smiley face drawn at the very end. The corners of its lips rose, just like the way it did whenever index 15 smiled.
Yet they could never, ever see index 15’s face again.
Class 9 arrived at the quadrangle in a subdued mood.
Noticing the discrepancy from their previous atmosphere, the other classes erupted into whispers.
Yo atfw, Jijrr 5’r wbclabg kjr atf wbra wbmxlcu.
“Ct-tj? Qfgfc’a atfs ublcu bc jybea, ktja kjr la, “Jijrr 9 klii ifjnf cb bcf yftlcv jcv cba tjnf j rlcuif ojmfifrr qfgrbc?” Ktja’r kts j mfgajlc cfkylf lr pera yflcu tsqbmglalmji. Pc gfjilas, atfs’gf ralii ilxf atf gfra bo er.”
Lf kjr ifjvlcu j tbgvf bo ojmfifrr qfbqif yftlcv tlw. Ktf vfcrf wjrr ibbxfv bnfg, jcv atf afggloslcu rluta rfca rtlnfgr vbkc atf rqlcf.
Class 5’s top students stood in front, and the weak students were isolated behind, crowded out by the entire class so badly that it was impossible to even glimpse their heads.
Class 5’s monitor didn’t keep his voice down at all. Swiftly after, every class on the quadrangle snapped their gazes over in astonishment.
The whole year heard about Class 9. Their bold declaration attracted a lot of attention, especially in view that their monitor was an up-and-coming B-rank. While there were top students who turned their noses up, there were also underachievers who envied their camaraderie and harmony. It had to be said that Class 9 was a breath of fresh air among all the classes.
Now however, a faceless person actually appeared in Class 9 as well!
There were already many classes staring at the faceless person that Class 9 surrounded, whispering between themselves.
What did this mean? Could it be they were only harmonious on the surface, but like everyone else, ostracised weak students in private?
Index 99’s eyes turned red with anger when he heard Class 5’s monitor, and his hands clenched into fists, wanting to knock him down a peg.
Zong Jiu stopped him.
“Take your exams properly. There’s no need to take it up with people like that.”
The white-haired Magician’s voice was calm. “Or do you really want to ruin the opportunity index 15 traded his life for in a brawl?”
As expected, upon hearing the room representative’s name, everyone recovered their composure.
That’s right. The priority now should be the exam, they shouldn’t let their attention be diverted by other matters.
Class 5 gradually lost interest in Class 9’s lack of reaction, and their voices faded away.
Soon, all trainees took their seats on the quadrangle.
Teaching assistants walked over with the papers, and distributed them at the teaching director’s command.
[The exams are starting; I get even more nervous each time.]
[Class 9 should be able to pass this time with the addition of a faceless person, right?]
[I remember Class 9’s last mock exam was twenty marks short… I don’t know if just one faceless trainee will be enough, but I do hope it is.]
[I’m sure they’ll make it. /prayer hands.jpg]
Snow-white exam booklets were passed out one by one, black words on white paper, as cold as the weather in this instance as it passed into winter.
It was autumn when the trainees entered this instance, and now it was winter, with possible snow in the coming days.
The wind was glacial and fierce. They were dressed in their thin uniforms, and they rubbed warmth into their frozen fingers, taking their exams on the quadrangle.
While waiting for the teaching director to announce the start, Zong Jiu kept quiet, staring at his name on the paper.
His lack of emotion allowed him to be calm in every situation, and at times, it wouldn’t even be accurate to call it indifference. It was borderline callousness.
Just now as well.
In the split second he saw the faceless person, what welled up in Zong Jiu’s heart was neither the same surprise or sorrow as the other trainees. Rather, he swiftly listed out the benefits this one faceless person could bring to Class 9.
What did Class 9 really mean to him?
The white-haired young man stared at the lowered tip of his pen.
If it weren’t for the fact that this instance ranked them by class average, Zong Jiu probably wouldn’t even care about the deaths of others.
However, this was a compulsory group model. Not caring about others was a one-way road to doom.
Although from a perspective of maximising benefits, it was undoubtedly the most optimal solution.
The purpose of a collective instance was brutal elimination. There was no fairness to be found.
While this instance might seem difficult, in actuality, it was ultimately a test of a trainee’s mental strength and their choice between good and evil in the face of desperate circumstances. Just like university entrance exams, which were essentially designed to stratify students. It was a test of a student’s study skills, ability to plan on their own, self-discipline, intelligence… etc. The tested content didn’t matter; what mattered were the results.
As long as one had sufficient mental fortitude, such as Tsuchimikado, he wouldn’t turn into a faceless person even if there were three hundred days in this instance. As for the choice between good and evil, it was even clearer that as long as they passed the bar, the process was unimportant.
Those on the other end of the extreme like Class 5, who stepped over others for their interests, would very likely survive till the end.
Such an approach was selfish, but in the eyes of the system, it was a type of personal strength.
It was similar to the way the Devil crushed instances with absolute strength. The fact that the system had no intention to get rid of him and even cooperated instead was enough to prove the process didn’t matter in front of that higher-dimensional system. What mattered was the result.
Even at this time, Zong Jiu was able to calmly weigh the pros and cons and analyse the intentions of the system. Yet he wouldn’t do that. Not now, at least.
Because he promised to take Class 9 back with him.
He had to respond to the expectations of Class 9. Since he promised everyone to get through it together, then he must fulfil the vow, no matter the cost.
This was a magician’s logic.
Right or wrong, moral or immoral; all that was irrelevant. It was simply as the old nun once said—
Since his personality prevents him from distinguishing right from wrong, morality from immorality, then he can respond to the expectations of others.
“You may begin.”
Zong Jiu stared at the name he wrote and halted his train of thought, beginning to answer the questions.
He had silently come to a decision.
—
It was an anxiety-wrecking and grueling exam.
Objectively speaking, 800 marks were extremely difficult for trainees who only studied for three months. It was equivalent to getting 520 out of 750 in the gaokao—and that was the standard set for everyone to meet, let alone the fact it contained formidable Olympiad questions as well.
Classes 1 and 3, with fewer faceless people, were more careful when attempting the paper. Only Class 5, which had many faceless people, looked to have the win in the bag. Class 5’s monitor was even sitting with his legs crossed and one foot poised in the air as he answered.
A small interlude happened in the middle of the examination.
A student from Class 2 was caught cheating by a teaching assistant.
The consequence was simple, and as usual, bloody and brutal. The student was directly suspended from the exam. Not only was he awarded a zero, but he was also taken in front of the flag-raising platform.
Teaching assistants stuffed a cloth into his mouth and whipped him, shattering his kneecaps and leaving them in a bloodied mess. Then, they forced him to kneel on the flag-raising platform before the whole school. Purportedly, he had to kneel in this wretched state for seven full days before he could be pardoned for his wrongdoing and immoral conduct.
Zong Jiu answered the questions in this exam with utmost attention and care.
Index 15, who had been transformed, was above average in the class. Even if he became a faceless trainee, he wouldn’t be able to pull up the class average as much as faceless trainees transformed from underachievers in other classes.
Even if Zong Jiu was first in class, it was near impossible to rake up twenty marks by his sole efforts.
The weak students in Class 9 truly didn’t have the aptitude for studying; no one in class faulted them for it.
In myths, at the creation of mankind, God bestowed each person with a different strength. Some people were skilled in certain aspects, while others were skilled elsewhere. Just like exams, there always existed those who lacked this god-gifted strength; just like when singing, a tone-deaf person could never find the right key. Moreover, they had already given their all. While the improvement wasn’t great, no one would take offence at that.
Therefore, the burden bore down heavily on the top students.
They must grab more marks.
Pen scraping against the paper, Zong Jiu swiftly worked out a maths question, checking over and over again before moving on to the next one.
He hoped he could bag the last few missing marks for Class 9.
The bullet chat was also jittery.
[I zoomed into the paper for a look. Goddamnit, this bastard school is inhumane. The difficulty level of this exam is much higher than the previous few.]
[Crap, are you for real? If the difficulty is higher, wouldn’t 800 be even harder to meet?]
[That’s for sure… I’m honestly speechless. Not only is the bar raised so high, but they’d even raised the difficulty. Now I really hope that bigshot will wreck this instance. Puke.]
[I’ve noticed all the collective instances this time are ruthless and completely unreasonable. It’s even more absurd over at the A-rank trainees’ instance. The group of them are sailing on a luxury cruise where freshwater has become a scarce resource. Now they’re about to split into seven factions, feeding each other misinformation to ensure survival. The problem is that many trainees have been infected and turned into mermen. I had a meltdown on the spot.]
[I’ve noticed too. C-rank trainees are doing pretty much the same at Mount Olympus… What really annoys me is the ones who survive will probably be the ones who pull all stops to get their way. Watching it has given me a heart attack.]
The bullet chat in the live broadcast started to digress during this four-hour-long exam.
[Watching up to this point, I’m super glad I haven’t registered for the Thriller Trainee competition. It’s possible I wouldn’t even be able to make it past the preliminary round, but it’s still better to live a crappy life than to die a heroic death. If I got in, I’d probably not even last a single round.]
[I’m still thinking, if only a hundred survive to the end, what will the person who wins the universal wish ticket wish for?]
The conversation went on, and soon, the time was up.
An invigilator blew a whistle, signalling the end of the exam, and everyone stopped their pens.
This time, the teaching director announced a new rule.
“There’s no need to be too nervous. Since the student cohort this year is much smaller than previous years, and also for the purpose of promoting healthy competition amongst students, the teachers have held a meeting and decided to relax certain rules in our school policy.”
“The revised school rule is as follows. We have decided to relax the policy for classes eliminated in the final exams; the top five students in those classes will be exempted from execution.”
It was apparent this new rule didn’t sit well with many teachers.
First High School always implemented a system of collective elimination. While it might seem to nip off some promising students, such an atmosphere was excellent in squeezing every last drop of value out of the students.
This was a many-year tried-and-tested method; most students would end up becoming faceless under such cruel circumstances.
However, this year’s cohort was so small it would be difficult to get a class full of students by this method. Thus, they settled for the next best thing, which was to preserve the top of every class to boost their university acceptance rate.
In contrast to the silence of the teachers was the commotion from the students.
The top five of each class looked relaxed.
Not having to be implicated by their class would lay the foundations for them to act without scruples, but the competition also became much fiercer.
This however wasn’t the most important factor. Being able to get a free pass out of certain death gave everyone hope.
“Don’t rejoice too soon. This school rule won’t come to effect until the finals. This exam will still follow the previous school rules.”
Just as everyone was filled with elation, the faceless person tossed another bucket of cold water over them.
“To heighten the anticipation, we’ve decided not to announce the class by ranking this time, but sequentially by the class number, until every class has been read.”
Many underachievers got sweaty palms when they heard this.
Once again, index 99 raised his hand to request to use the toilet.
Only Zong Jiu hadn’t arranged anything for him to do this time; he was so just frightened he was truly about to wet himself.
Going in this sequence meant each class had a set time when their verdict would be pronounced. The class being announced would be nervous, and the classes that hadn’t been announced yet would be even more nervous.
In the meanwhile, all faceless teachers stood before the flag-raising platform, observing their horrified expressions with revelry.
The first to be announced was Class 1’s results.
It wasn’t clear if it was due to the increased difficulty or a slip-up in performance, but they’d only cut it by a narrow shave this time.
This result allowed Class 1 to sigh in relief, but also caused other classes to become even warier.
Ever since the placement exams, Class 1’s results had been way ahead of the pack. Though they later were unable to match up to Class 5 due to the fewer number of faceless people, it was still a faithful representation of their trainees’ academic strength in this instance.
If even Class 1 only had ten marks above the bar, then what of the other classes?
Everyone exchanged worried looks.
Soon after, the teaching director announced Class 2’s results.
There was a student caught cheating amidst Class 2’s ranks this time, directly receiving a zero. Many people in their class glared viciously at the trainee who cheated and dragged everyone down with him, grief shooting through their hearts.
To the surprise of all, Class 2 actually made it, and it was by a single mark.
It was important to note that previously, Class 2, Class 6, and Class 9 were the ones unable to cross the bar in the third weekly quiz. The pressure on the three classes was unimaginable.
Class 2’s monitor shot an excited look at Class 5.
If he hadn’t listened to Class 5’s monitor’s exhortations and let the trainees put pressure on underachievers to transform a few into faceless people, the whole class would likely have breathed their last after being dragged down by a cheater.
Class 3 came immediately after.
Class 3 was Black Shaman’s class. Zong Jiu didn’t even have to look to know after all the effort the Devil went to obtain the useful chess piece that was No. 8, he most certainly wouldn’t let him kick the bucket just like that.
Sure enough, Class 3 passed, even by a much higher margin than Class 1 and Class 2.
Roar—
With three classes in a row all making it safely, those trainees from other classes whose scores had yet to be announced blossomed hope from the bottom of their hearts.
A simple, ‘What if?’
Next was Class 5. After all, Class 4 was wiped out during the midterms, with even the remains of their corpses sent to the Corpse Pit, generating renewable energy to supply the school with warm water.
Class 5’s monitor was proudly humming a song.
It wasn’t a stretch to call their class the most stable in the year. This was because they had too many faceless people. The atmosphere in class was morose and tense, causing the speed of conversion to accelerate as exams approached, easily pulling the class average up. They didn’t have to be constantly on their toes like the other classes, wondering if they’d fail.
Like their class monitor, some top students in Class 5 weren’t worried in the slightest, with even some who were openly yawning.
“I’m so sleepy. When will this end, I want to go back to sleep.”
“That’s right. How dare those rubbish score-dragging dregs in class make a fool of themselves with their miserable results.”
“If it weren’t for us, how could these poor students have a chance to live? It doesn’t show normally, but who would’ve thought they’d be so useless at doing exams? Just a bunch of retards who weren’t taught well by their parents.”
These people stretched languidly from side to side while deriding others, every word targeting the bottom of the class who had not yet become faceless.
Among them, they disliked Liang Mingde the most.
All the other nine in his hostel room turned into faceless people; he was the only one who hadn’t. He’d even organised some sort of underachiever support alliance in class, where they encouraged each other every day.
Some of the top students in Class 5 were so upset that they trapped him in the toilet and dunked his head in cold water several times, teaching him a lesson.
It was true that trainees were not allowed to kill each other, but as long as the other didn’t die, the system wouldn’t put a stop to it. There was no way to prevent this type of campus violence, and many incidents became triggers that sped up the transformation into faceless people.
Yet they didn’t expect this Liang Mingde to be a disgusting rock in the latrine, actually withstanding the brunt of their pressure.
They had already secretly made plans. The bar for the final exam could only be higher than before, and when the time came they must take Liang Mingde down.
No one would ever expect that in the next second, the smile on Class 5’s monitor’s face would congeal on his face.
“Class 5: 795 marks.”
