It was an ordeal.
Not to mention, the weather today was unusually good, with blue skies and white clouds.
At seven o 'clock in the morning, the rising red sun gradually parted the clouds from the east, spreading golden sunlight across the land.
This could be said to be the best weather in the past month. In the past, when autumn intersected with winter, the sky was always dark or unchanging, lead-gray. While it made people feel gloomy, it also gave off an extremely ominous atmosphere.
But today, the sun really killed people's hearts.
It was already tiring to stand in military posture, and now they had to stand in military posture under the scorching sun. They could only curse.
An hour of standing in military posture didn't sound like a long time, but standing up was like standing on a flat board. Every minute and second seemed to freeze.
In the first hour, when the teaching assistant shouted, "Time's up," everyone stood in place and stretched their sore joints.
Physical punishment was very advantageous for trainees who had strengthened their physical strength. After standing in military posture for an hour, their expressions didn't change, and their hearts didn't beat faster. They even had the mood to stretch on the spot. Night people, especially half-vampires, were the typical type of people who had strengthened their bodies. They wouldn't have any problems standing for an entire day.
But the time that followed became more and more unbearable.
While standing in military posture, the teaching director was still trying to erase their fighting spirit on the flag-raising platform.
"The school knows about your secret plans. If anyone dares to hand in a blank paper during the exam tomorrow, no matter how many there are, they will be dealt with according to school rules. Don't take any chances."
"If there are too many people, we will consider asking your parents to take you back directly. You don't study hard and only know how to have crooked thoughts. Why don't you just stop studying?"
At the same time, the main system sent a warm notification.
[If you achieve the "taken back by your parents" ending, you will be directly erased.]
The others: "…"
Sure enough.
The S-class and many B-class who knew what was going on sighed.
Collective resistance wasn't rare in group dungeons. Since the main system had created this "Frightening Trainees Competition" and the group dungeon process, it must have anticipated the future development.
Even if the NPCs didn't make a move, this ending wouldn't be considered a surprise. At least for the S-level trainees like Fan Zhuo, they had already prepared for these NPCs to make things difficult for them in the middle of the exam. Today was just a test.
They sighed, and the others were silent as well. Among them, they were referring to the last in each shift.
Collective resistance was not going to work. No one could think of a better idea in such a short time. Tomorrow's exam would most likely go on as usual. A whole class of trainees was destined to die here, on the gray concrete floor they were standing on.
This was only the first monthly exam.
By the time this group dungeon was over, it was hard to say if even half of them would be able to survive.
Very quickly, in this anxious and unbearable atmosphere, the morning quietly passed.
Up until now, the trainees had only stood for half a day. There was still half a day left.
The sun in the sky was getting higher and higher, and the temperature was also getting hotter and hotter.
It was clearly the winter sun, but under the way they stood, it was so hot that sweat dripped down from their heads.
Even trainees would be in trouble if they stood there for an entire morning.
Many trainees with poor physical fitness had already begun to feel dizzy. There were even a few anemic students who fainted on the ground without saying a word. They were dragged to the side by the teaching assistants like dead dogs and were directly splashed with a bucket of cold water to wake them up. When they woke up, they had to go back to their stations.
Those who could not stand, those who could not help but move, or those who reached out to scratch an itch, were all whipped.
These whips were very powerful. They specifically targeted the fleshy areas. Although there was no blood, it was really painful. They would need to rest for a few days to recover.
At noon, the dean touched the microphone again and continued to threaten and tempt.
"If you are willing to give up the mastermind and identify who came up with this collective resistance plan, you won't have to suffer like this. You can even go back and rest for a day."
Who came up with it?
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Everyone knew in their hearts that this idea had been thought of by the class monitors together. However, the two class monitors were not only Grade-S, but they were also the immediate superiors of many of them. No one dared to offend them.
Originally, places outside the classroom were not allowed to livestream, but because this was a school-wide activity, the main system temporarily opened a general livestream room for the infinite loop and the other survivors who could not join the horror trainee program.
When the dean said this, the bullet screen was filled with curses.
[Ugh, this move is really disgusting. What a vicious villain.]
[If you don't give up the mastermind, you'll all be punished together. This is killing without spilling blood. I hate this kind of method the most.]
[It's really vicious. There's nothing to wish for. I just wish this school will go bankrupt soon.]
[Sigh, since they're so good at psychological tactics, there are more than a thousand people on the field now. If even one of them drops the ball … Didn't they say that when they spread the news? I don't think it's good because it's really hard for a person's heart to stand up to the test.]
Seeing that they were silent, the teaching staff did not intend to ask immediately.
These people knew that students would only listen obediently when they could no longer hold it in and were on the verge of collapse.
Torture was like that. Using a person's psychological weakness to break down their psychological defenses, they would confess everything.
They had only stood for half a day. There was still half a day left.
It might not be difficult to stand in a military posture, but to stand still for a day was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Trainees were also humans. Those who had not strengthened their bodies were not much stronger than ordinary people.
Many of them had a few more red marks on their arms. They believed that if they continued to stand like this, it would not be difficult to see blood.
Time ticked by.
When they finally made it to the afternoon, the teaching director announced that tomorrow's exam would be postponed.
As long as they did not reveal the mastermind today, they would have to stand until midnight. Not just today, but tomorrow, and later … until they revealed the mastermind.
As soon as these words were said, some trainees showed signs of dissatisfaction.
"What the hell … It's not like we came up with this rotten idea. Why should we be punished?"
"That's right. If we knew this would be the result, who would have agreed?"
"We didn't do anything wrong. It's all because of that dormitory that everyone was implicated."
When people encountered an unexpected disaster like being punished together, the first thing they would think of was always themselves.
However, because the core leadership circle was full of big shots that were not to be trifled with, everyone chose to bear with it when there was no one to stand out. The B-level trainees had persevered for so long because they had scruples in their hearts. If it had been a newcomer, they would probably have confessed everything when the teaching director asked.
However, in just ten minutes, this precarious situation was completely broken.
When it was close to four in the afternoon, the teaching director suddenly announced a piece of news.
"The top three of each class, step out and rest. You don't have to stand anymore. The rest of you, continue. "
After staying in this high school for almost a month, everyone had figured out its nature.
The teaching staff would blatantly favor students with good grades. Sometimes, they would even instruct the teaching assistant to cancel the punishment.
So far, the entire Dormitory 101 had not been punished once. Even when they turned on the lights to study in the middle of the night, the dormitory auntie turned a blind eye and pretended not to see.
Compared to the other trainees with poor grades, they could only study in their beds with flashlights at night. If they were caught, they would be punished to stand outside in their underwear for a night. They would be so cold that their teeth would chatter.
However, this time, the teaching director's announcement could be said to have aroused the crowd's anger.
The people standing on the field lost control. "Why? It was clearly the class monitor who came up with this trashy idea, and now we have to bear with it."
With one person, there would naturally be others. A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples.
"That's right. We're all trainees. No one is more noble than the other. There are so many loopholes in the plan, but they still have to implement it. Now all the students are being punished."
"They're human. Aren't we, the normal trainees, human?"
The trainees who shouted the loudest were all free people without any organization. They were also the variables that Fan Zhuo and The Dark Wizard had mentioned.
Originally, these people could have been controlled. Unfortunately, after an entire day of corporal punishment and unfair treatment, what little rationality they had left had been destroyed in an instant.
[As expected, I knew that the human heart would not be able to withstand the test.]
[This is an unsurprising result. It's been used on groups time and time again.]
[Every time something like this happens, it's the best time to shift the blame. The class monitor's starting point is for everyone's good. After this, I'm afraid that his heart has turned cold.]
[Isn't this the result that the school wants? As long as they can break the alliance between the trainees and make them hostile, then it's a victory.]
The white-haired youth stood motionless in the same spot.
He was very quiet. He did not speak, nor did he look surprised.
After the trainees on the field revealed the names of the class monitors, the atmosphere on the field became treacherous and uncertain.
The teaching director called out for all the class monitors to step out and stand below the flag-raising platform.
Zong Jiu was the same as the first place students of the other classes. He silently stepped out of the ranks and stood over there.
Fan Zhuo happened to be standing next to him.
Zong Jiu had just stood there when he heard the leader of the Night people say in a low voice, "If there are any variables later, just give me away. There's no need to worry."
The white-haired youth looked up in surprise.
The gray-haired man's side profile was cold and hard as he stared straight ahead.
He was not only talking to Zong Jiu, but also to all the other class monitors.
"Since I was the one who proposed this decision, I will bear the responsibility. There's no need to feel guilty."
The Dark Wizard frowned in disapproval. "Since the entire dormitory voted for it, then why don't we all admit to it? It's better to share it with ten people than one."
"It doesn't matter."
Fan Zhuo's tone was strict. "Anyone who wants to get away with it can choose to give me up. I won't pursue the matter."
The teaching director was still rambling on. "I don't believe that so many good students would choose this path of no return. I'll give you one more chance. Give up one of the masterminds, and the others will be spared from punishment."
That being said, none of the ten class monitors on the flag-raising platform betrayed them.
To be able to stay in the same dormitory and interact with these S-class bigwigs was already unimaginable. Of course, they would not offend them if they could. Getting familiar with them would be of great help in the future. No one would take things too hard at a time like this.
"I didn't expect that after all the hard work the school put in to nurture you, you would do something so disappointing."
After waiting for a while, the teaching director shook his head. "If that's the case, then all of you will be given demerits and interrogated separately."
"Let me see … Let's start with the Class 9 class monitors."
Many of the trainees began to tremble.
Being given a demerit was already like being locked up in a dark room and fed to pigs for seven days. No one dared to imagine how terrifying it would be to be given a demerit.
Just the two words "torture" were enough to scare people.
Zong Jiu's eyes darkened, and he began to think of a countermeasure.
He had already decided that if there was no other way, he would make a trip to the punishment instance dungeon. Today, the blood of an NPC would be spilled.
Just as the teaching assistants stepped forward and were about to take the white-haired youth away, a lazy voice suddenly rang out.
"Hold on."
Everyone turned around and saw No. 1 slowly walking down the stairs.
It was that lord!
Many of the trainees on the field had excited expressions.
Although No. 1 was usually neither good nor evil, now that they were in a group instance dungeon, everyone subconsciously classified him as a role-playing NPC into the trainees' camp.
The devil leisurely pulled up his gloves and brushed past Zong Jiu. He lowered his voice.
"Remember, you owe me one."