Meanwhile, on the second floor, Shu Cat and Invincible Bro had just arrived at their classroom when a piercing scream echoed from downstairs.
The suddenness of the scream startled both of them, Shu Cat even leaping into the air in shock. "Holy shit! What the hell was that?!"
Neither Shu Cat nor Invincible Bro was easily scared by ghosts. They were the type to casually watch horror movies or play horror games late at night for fun, calmly snacking on chips while navigating virtual terror.
But even someone completely unafraid of ghosts could be startled by such a scream.
It was like watching a streamer play a horror game. You might not be scared yourself, but you could still jump when the streamer suddenly screamed.
The scream was so shrill and loud that neither of them could identify the voice. Given Peace Dove's outsider status, they figured it was most likely Soup Dumpling.
"What should we do?" Shu Cat asked. "Should we... should we go back and check it out?"
"No time. We need to focus on our own situation first." With a creak, Invincible Bro pushed open the classroom door. The layout was identical to Firefly's room: a classroom filled with anatomical models, two empty seats, and a pitch-black "teacher" standing at the front.
In a single glance, Invincible Bro registered all the monster's details:
Name: Shadow Monster
Type: Energy Creature
Status: Bound by the "Teacher's" rules
Ability: Its body, formed from shadows, possesses extreme physical resistance. It can withstand cutting, slashing, and piercing with minimal damage. However, it is intensely vulnerable to light and fire. The Shadow Monster can reshape its body into almost any form for attack, but its transformed size must remain between half and twice its original volume.
Undoubtedly, this monster was troublesome, especially in their current environment. Invincible Bro glanced at the classroom windows—pitch darkness obscured everything outside.
This was clearly the monster's domain. Even knowing its weakness, where could they find fire-based weapons in this place?
Invincible Bro immediately whispered, "Less talk, less trouble. Don't provoke this guy—he's strong."
Even the Dark Shadow Teacher couldn't help but urge them on, its mouth full of sharp teeth snapping open and shut. "Did you have to cut it so close? Get back to your seats now!"
Hearing this, Shu Cat and Invincible Bro headed toward the two empty desks. As they moved, the "gazes" of all the mannequins in the classroom followed them. Their bodies remained motionless, but their necks swiveled in unnervingly synchronized slow motion, creating a chilling spectacle.
Only after the two had settled into their seats did the mannequins simultaneously snap their heads back to their original positions, sitting rigidly upright and staring straight at the blackboard like model students eager to please their teacher.
Notably, while the other mannequins' desks and chairs were old and worn but relatively clean, Shu Cat and Invincible Bro's desks were covered in chaotic graffiti, with crude words like "trash," "pervert," and "deserve it" scrawled across the surfaces.
"What's this? Schoolyard bullying?" Invincible Bro raised an eyebrow. No sooner had he sat down than the school bell rang. Instantly, the Dark Shadow Teacher's mouth stretched into a wide, sinister grin.
The Dark Shadow Teacher turned around, its two pitch-black arms, resembling tattered rags, flailing across the blackboard for half a minute before spinning back. "Before we officially begin the lesson, let's test your preparation with this question..."
This was undoubtedly a killer move right from the start. How could anyone possibly decipher what the Dark Shadow had just scribbled on the board? A wrong answer would naturally be considered "inadequate preparation," warranting some form of punishment, as the Dark Shadow had implied.
However, just as its gaze swept over the nameplates on Invincible Bro and Shu Cat's chests, preparing to call on someone, Invincible Bro raised his right hand first.
"Uh..." The Dark Shadow Teacher paused, clearly taken aback by this unexpected move. Still, raising one's hand to answer a question was perfectly normal. "Alright, let's have... Ling Zhun, please."
"Five." Invincible Bro stood up and swiftly stated the answer to the question.
While others might have struggled to see what the teacher had written on the board, Invincible Bro had a clear view. It was simply a basic addition and subtraction problem within ten.
The Dark Shadow Teacher fell silent.
"And this question..."
"Seven!"
"This question... Student, please sit down!" The Dark Shadow hissed through clenched teeth. "The student next to him—yes, you, Qin... She!"
"Uh... three?" Shu Cat stammered as he stood up.
Needless to say, Shu Cat couldn't see the blackboard, but Invincible Bro was secretly signaling the answer to him with hand gestures.
The Dark Shadow had posed only the simplest addition and subtraction problems. Unless this was actually an elementary school with first and second graders, it was highly probable that the Dark Shadow Teacher's intelligence simply wasn't capable of devising anything more complex.
Clearly, you couldn't expect a shadow monster to conjure up a calculus problem, could you? In fact, the Dark Shadow probably didn't even understand what it was writing on the board. It likely just knew a fixed set of problems, which it mechanically "drew" out. Taking advantage of the students' inability to see the questions, it could then punish those who couldn't answer.
The fact that the Dark Shadow stopped after just three questions spoke volumes. Perhaps this monster's mind could only retain those three simple problems.
"Correct... Sit down!" The words seemed to be squeezed out of the Dark Shadow's mouth. Shu Cat scratched his head and let out a goofy chuckle. "Damn, the first time I get a question right in class, it has to be here of all places."
The lesson continued. Suddenly, heavy footsteps and the sound of something being dragged echoed from the corridor outside, growing louder as they approached, then fading into the distance, as if some creature were patrolling the area. And indeed, that's exactly what it was.
A giant nearly three meters tall lumbered through the corridor, forced to hunch over to fit. His upper body was completely bare, revealing the distinct ridges of his bulging muscles. He dragged a massive, serrated blade—at least two meters long and seemingly crafted from the bones of some unknown creature—as he slowly patrolled the hallway.
P.S.: The easiest way to clear this class is to cover the nameplate on your chest.