There was dead silence in the classroom, only the sound of sobbing could be heard.
[F * ck, ahhhhhh, don't.]
[It really reminds me of the girl's class in the diary. It's also self-sacrificing …]
[Sob sob sob, I'm so sad. What happened to the promise that no one in Class 9 can be left out? What happened to the promise to survive this Instance Dungeon together?]
[F * ck, I always thought that even if there were to be changes, it would be the weaker ones. The dorm leader is ranked 15th in the class! In the entire grade, he's probably the only one who became a faceless trainee with this ranking. Sob sob sob.]
[Sigh, this means that he was willing to change, and not forced to become a faceless person by the environment or pressure. F * ck, it's this kind of voluntary sacrifice that makes people sad … To be honest, I never thought that there would be such a person in the Infinite Loop.]
After so many days, the Class B trainees in Class 9 were all familiar with each other. Regardless of whether there were any conflicts before, or what organization they came from, the environment of this Instance Dungeon allowed everyone to quickly form an extraordinary friendship. Moreover, it quickly warmed up in the Class 9 environment where they helped each other.
They worked hard together, and they studied together on weekdays. Everyone had a deep relationship with each other.
The dorm leader was Number 15 in the class. His grades were above average, and his personality was quiet and introverted.
Other than him, there were five other students in 407 who were at the bottom of the class, and four Class 9 students from second to tenth place. It was equivalent to a top student tutoring a poor student. However, because of Number 15's good personality, 407 collectively elected him as the dorm leader.
Usually, everyone's attention was focused on the few mischievous students in the class who could liven up the atmosphere. They rarely paid attention to the average students like the dorm leader.
However, this did not mean that everyone had no feelings for Number 15.
The Class 9 trainees' expressions were filled with sadness. Among them, Number 99 and 98 in the dorm were the most upset.
Although Number 15's personality was quiet, he was really good and gentle.
Usually, in the dorm, he was always the one who woke up the earliest. When he went to wash up, he would also help the other trainees in the dorm get hot water. After he was done washing up, he would come back to wake everyone up.
When they were doing homework at night, he would often go out to get water for the poor students as he was doing his homework. He would also cheer them on in a low voice, instantly making them feel refreshed.
Even if it was the day before the exam. The whole class was devastated because of the low average score. After returning to the dorm, although No. 99 and the other poor students did not say it out loud, they were indeed thinking of sacrificing themselves just as Zong Jiu had guessed.
However, in the middle of the night, dorm leader No. 15 sensed that something was wrong. He got out of bed and picked up a few of the weaker students to educate them.
"Fortunately, Ninth Brother instructed me to keep a close eye on you guys … What are you doing? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Why are you guys looking at me with such an expression?"
"In this dungeon, all of you are poor students. After this dungeon, all of you are B-level trainees. Think about all the terrifying dungeons you've experienced in the past. Do you think such a small test can knock you down? Pull yourself together! "
In the middle of the night, dormitory 407 hid from the lights of the dormitory auntie. Everyone stood in the middle of the dormitory in their underwear with their heads down, like students waiting for the teacher to criticize them.
The dorm leader sighed and went up to give each of them a big hug.
"Don't do anything stupid. Ninth Brother said that there will be a way. We will definitely be able to get out of this dungeon. Good luck!"
The ten people of dormitory 407 put their hands together and were about to shout, "One, two, three, good luck!" when the dormitory leader's footsteps suddenly sounded in the corridor.
Everyone looked at each other and ran faster than monkeys. They jumped onto their beds, lay down, and pulled up their blankets in one smooth motion. Only the metal bed swayed in the air.
When the dormitory leader's flashlight shone through the glass window at the door, they breathed a sigh of relief under their blankets and laughed in their beds.
"Liar, damn it, he's a liar. He comforted us and said that when we returned to the dormitory, we would all go to the bar on the top floor for a drink. What did he do in the end? "
Number 99 covered her eyes and sobbed uncontrollably as she recalled the scene from last night.
He wanted to punch the dorm leader, but Faceless just stood there in a daze. Faceless' flat face looked at him indifferently and did not answer.
After a long time, No. 99 finally put down his fist.
Zong Jiu frowned. "Wait, there seems to be something in his pocket."
Hearing his words, No. 99 quickly walked forward and fiercely reached into Faceless' pocket.
Faceless stood there like a puppet that had lost its soul. He did not react even when his pocket was taken in front of him.
No. 99 took out a piece of paper from Faceless' pocket.
It was a neatly folded piece of paper.
There was a delicate handwriting on the paper. The people of dormitory 407 knew at a glance that it was No. 15's handwriting.
[To everyone in Class 9:]
I really, really like being with everyone. Whether it was before or after entering the infinite loop, these were the happiest days of my life.
I didn't keep my promise this time because I really like Class 9 too much.
Just like the diary said, someone has to make a sacrifice. Why can't that person be me?
I'm leaving now. Don't worry about me. This is my own choice. No one forced me. If you really want to thank me, then live well.
[You must, you must live well, including my share.]
At the end, there was a big smiley face drawn on the white paper. The corners of his mouth curled up, just like No. 15's usual smile.
But they could no longer see No. 15's face. Never again.
####
Class 9 arrived at the field with a depressed atmosphere.
The other classes also noticed the different atmosphere and whispered to each other.
Among them, the class representative of Class 5 was the one who mocked them the most.
"Aha, didn't you say that no one in Class 9 can be missing? You don't even want to have a single Faceless? That's why some newbies are just hypocrites. In reality, they're just like my mom. "
Behind him was a large group of faceless men. They looked over in a dark mass, bringing with them a sense of terror.
The top students of Class 5 stood at the front, while the weaker students were isolated at the back. Being ostracized by all the trainees, they could not even see their heads.
The class representative of Class 5 did not bother to hide his voice. Soon, all the classes on the field looked over, their faces full of surprise.
Class 9's situation had been heard by the entire grade. Their bold declaration had also attracted a lot of attention. Magician, a rising B-grade, had also become the class representative, attracting a lot of attention. Some of the top students snorted, while some of the weaker students envied their harmonious atmosphere of collective improvement. But it had to be said that Class 9 was definitely a breath of fresh air in all the classes.
But now, a faceless man had appeared in the ninth class!
There were already many classes who looked at the Faceless people surrounded by Class 9 and whispered in private.
What did this mean? Were they also harmonious and friendly on the surface, but oppressing the weaker students in private?
When No. 99 heard the class representative's words, his eyes were red with anger. He clenched his fists and wanted to hit him.
Zong Jiu stopped him.
"Focus on the exam. There's no need to be angry with this kind of person."
The white-haired Magician's tone was calm. "No. 15 used his own life to give the class a precious opportunity. Do you want to ruin it with a fight?"
Sure enough, after hearing the name of the dorm leader, everyone calmed down.
That's right, the most important thing now was the exam. They should not be distracted by other things.
Class 9 did not react. Gradually, Class 5 felt that it was meaningless, and the voices gradually died down.
Soon, all the trainees took their seats on the field.
The teaching assistants walked over with the papers, and the dean announced the start of the exam.
[The exam is starting. I'm getting more nervous every time.]
[Class 9 has an additional Faceless person. This time we should be able to pass. Sigh.]
[I remember the last time Class 9 organized the exam, the average score was 20 points short … I don't know if a Faceless person can pass, but I hope so.]
[Definitely, praying pray.jpg]
The snow-white papers were handed out one by one. Black and white, it was as cold as the instance was gradually approaching winter.
When the trainees entered this instance, it was still autumn. Now it was winter, and it might snow in the next few days.
The cold wind was strong. They wore thin school uniforms, rubbed their frozen hands, and took the exam on the field.
Waiting for the dean to announce the start of the exam, Zong Jiu quietly stared at the name on his paper.
His lack of emotion allowed him to be calm in any situation. Sometimes, it was not accurate to describe him as indifferent, but cold.
Including just now.
The moment he saw the Faceless person, Zong Jiu's heart was not filled with shock or sadness like the other trainees. Instead, he quickly listed the benefits that the Faceless person could bring to Class 9.
What did Class 9 mean to him?
The white-haired youth stared at the slightly drooping tip of the pen in his hand.
If it were not for the fact that this instance was based on the average score of the class, Zong Jiu would not care about the life and death of others.
But this was a compulsory group mode. If he did not care about others, he would die.
But in fact, from the perspective of maximizing benefits, Class 5's approach was undoubtedly the best solution.
The purpose of the instance was cruel elimination. There was no fairness to speak of.
This instance seemed difficult, but in fact, it was a test of the trainees' psychological quality and the choice between good and evil in the face of despair. Just like the college entrance examination, in essence, the purpose of the college entrance examination was to divide the students into different groups. It tested the students' learning ability, self-planning ability, self-discipline ability, intelligence … etc. The content of the test was not important, only the results were important.
As long as one's psychological quality was good enough, like Tokumon, one would not become a Faceless person even if they stayed in this instance for 300 days. As for the choice between good and evil, it was even clearer. As long as the goal could be achieved, the process was obviously not important.
Class 5 was so extreme that they sacrificed others to achieve their goal. It was very likely that they could survive until the end.
Although this approach was selfish, in the eyes of the main system, it was a kind of personal strength.
Like the devil, who crushed the instance with absolute strength, the main system did not plan to eliminate him. Instead, it cooperated with him. This was enough to prove that the process was not important in front of the Higher Dimensional System. Only the results were important.
Zong Jiu could now calmly analyze the pros and cons and analyze the main system's meaning. But he would not do that, at least not now.
Because he promised to bring Class 9 back with him.
He responded to Class 9's expectations and promised everyone to be good, so he should keep his promise at all costs.
This was the magician's logic.
Whether it was right or wrong, it had nothing to do with morality. Just like the old nun once said —
Since his personality made him unable to distinguish between right and wrong or morality, then he would respond to the expectations of the majority.
"It's time to start the test —"
Zong Jiu stared at the name he had written, cut off his thoughts, and began to answer.
He silently made a decision in his heart.
####
The test went on nervously and anxiously.
800 points was really difficult for a trainee who had only studied for three months. After conversion, it was equivalent to getting a full score of 750 in the college entrance examination. At least 520 points, and that was for everyone. Not to mention, there were Olympiad questions that were beyond difficult.
For example, Class 1 and Class 3, which had fewer Faceless people, were very careful and answered the questions with extreme caution. Only Class 5, which had more Faceless people, seemed to be confident in winning. Class 5's monitor even crossed his legs and sat there casually answering the questions.
There was a small incident in the middle of the test.
A student from Class 2 cheated and was caught red-handed by the teaching assistant.
The follow-up was simple and crude, and as usual, bloody. The trainee was immediately stopped from taking the test. Not only were all the papers marked as zeros, but he was also brought to the front of the rostrum.
The teaching assistant stuffed a towel into his mouth and whipped him directly, breaking his kneecaps and turning them into a bloody mess. He forced him to kneel on the flag-raising platform in front of all the trainees. It was said that he had to kneel in this bruised and battered position for a full seven days before he could repay the sin of such immoral behavior.
Zong Jiu was especially careful in answering the questions this time.
The converted student, Class 15, was in the upper middle of Class 9. Even if he was converted into a Faceless trainee, the average score he could pull up was much lower than the average score of the other classes who were converted from Faceless students.
Even if he was the last in the class, it was almost impossible for him to pull up 20 points by himself.
The poor Class 9 students really couldn't learn, and the trainees in class didn't blame them.
To be honest, when the myths and legends created humans, the gods gave each person different talents. Some people were good at this, and some were good at that. Just like exams, of course, there were people who didn't add this talent point, just like how a tone-deaf singer could never find the tune. Moreover, they had already done their best. Even if the points they could raise were not much, no one would take it out on them.
Therefore, the burden that fell on the top students was heavier.
They had to get more points.
"Sha sha sha —"
Zong Jiu quickly ran through the math problems one by one. He checked it over and over again before moving to the next problem.
He hoped that he could get back the last few points for Class 9.
The bullet screen was also very tense.
[I pulled the paper closer to take a look. Damn, this school is inhumane. The paper this time is more difficult than the previous ones.]
[F * ck, really? If it's more difficult, then isn't it more difficult to get 800 points?]
[Of course it is … I'm speechless. Not only did it raise the points by so much, but it also raised the difficulty. I really hope that the master will destroy this dungeon.]
[I realized that this group dungeon is very inhumane. There's no reason at all. On the other hand, the Class A trainees' group dungeon is even more ridiculous. A group of people are sailing on a luxury cruise ship. Fresh water is a scarce resource. Now it's fast-forwarded to the point where they've split into seven camps. They're giving each other false information in order to achieve the goal of survival. The problem is that there are trainees who have been infected and turned into murlocs. I'm going to explode on the spot.]
[I also realized that the Class C trainees' Olympus dungeon is similar … This group dungeon feels like it was designed to expose human nature. Hahaha, but the most infuriating thing is that the ones who survive are the unscrupulous ones. It really gives me a heart attack.]
During the four-hour exam, the bullet screen in the livestream started to chat about all sorts of things.
[Seeing this, I'm really glad that I didn't sign up for this horror trainee competition. Although I might not pass the preliminary round, it's better to live a bad life than to die a good death. I probably won't even survive one round of the dungeon.]
[I'm still thinking, if there are only 100 survivors in the end, I wonder what the people who get the Universal Wishing Ticket will wish for.]
.....
As they chatted, time passed quickly.
When the invigilator blew the whistle to signal for them to stop answering, everyone stopped writing.
This time, the dean read out a new rule.
"Everyone, don't be too nervous. This year's batch of students is much smaller than previous years. It's also to promote healthy competition among the students. After a collective discussion among the teachers of the school, we've decided to relax some of the school rules.
"The revised school rules are as follows: For the classes that are eliminated in the second monthly exam, we've decided to relax the policy. The first five students of each class will be exempted from punishment."
Obviously, many teachers were not very satisfied with this new rule.
No.1 Middle School had always implemented a collective elimination system. Although it seemed that some students with good grades would be eliminated, such an atmosphere was extremely helpful in squeezing the remaining value out of the students.
They had used this method for many years, and the students who were eliminated in the end almost all became faceless under such a cruel environment.
However, there were too few students in this year's batch. If they continued with this method, it would be difficult to end up with a class full of faceless students. Therefore, the school decided to take a step back and save the top few students in each class to pull up the enrollment rate.
In contrast to the teachers, the trainees were in an uproar.
The top five students in each class showed relaxed expressions.
Not being burdened by the class became the basis for their unscrupulous behavior, but the competition also greatly increased.
However, competition was not the most important factor. In any case, they were able to open up a path out of a certain death situation, which increased their hopes greatly.
"Everyone, don't be too happy too early. This school rule will only take effect during the final exam. This exam will still follow the old school rules from before. "
Just as everyone was rejoicing, the faceless man poured a bucket of cold water on them.
"In order to make everyone more expectant, we have decided that this month's exam will not be announced according to the passing list, but directly according to the class, class by class."
Hearing this announcement, many of the poor students' palms began to ooze dense cold sweat.
No. 99 once again raised his hand to ask to go to the bathroom.
However, this time, the Zong Jiu did not give him a task, and he was so scared that he almost peed himself.
This kind of order meant that each class would welcome the announcement. The classes whose names were announced were nervous, and the classes whose names were not announced were even more nervous.
The faceless teachers, on the other hand, were all standing in front of the rostrum, observing their fearful expressions with interest.
The first to be announced was the results of Class 1.
It was unknown whether it was because of the increased difficulty of the exam or because Class 1 made a mistake, but they actually stepped on the line this time.
This result made Class 1 breathe a sigh of relief, but it also made the other classes even more worried.
Since the division of classes, Class 1's results had been in a state of being far ahead. Although the number of faceless students could not be compared to Class 5, it still faithfully represented the learning ability of the trainees in this instance.
If even Class 1 barely exceeded the cutoff line by ten points, then what about the other classes?
Everyone looked at each other, their hearts filled with worry.
Soon, the Dean of Teaching announced Class 2.
This time, Class 2 caught a cheating student and directly recorded a zero. Many people in their class not only stared fiercely at the cheating trainee who dragged the rest of the class down, but also felt a burst of sadness in their hearts.
To everyone's surprise, Class Two passed the test by only one point.
It should be known that Class 2, Class 9, and Class 6 were the classes that did not meet the standards in the third weekly exam. The pressure on these three classes could be imagined.
The class monitor of Class 2 sat in the same place and cast a grateful look at Class 5.
Previously, if he had not listened to the class monitor's advice and asked the trainees in the class to pressure the poor students and change a few faceless students, then after being dragged down by the cheating poor student, the whole class would have been finished here.
Next was Class 3.
Class 3 was The Dark Wizard's class. The Zong Jiu did not even need to look to know that since the devil had taken control of No. 8, this useful chess piece, it would not be so simple to let him die in the instance.
As expected, Class 3 passed, and their scores were even higher than Class 1 and Class 2.
"Whoosh —"
The results of three classes were announced in a row, and they all passed without any mishaps. The other trainees who did not make it to the class also began to have a slight hope from the bottom of their hearts.
What if?
Next was Class 5. After all, Class 4 had been completely wiped out during the midterm exam. Even the remains of the corpses were sent to the Corpse Pool to generate renewable energy for heating and hot water for the school.
The class monitor of Class 5 hummed a song proudly.
It was no exaggeration to say that their class was the most stable in the entire grade. Because there were too many faceless people in Class 5, the atmosphere in the class was cold and tense, and the transformation accelerated before the exam, so it was easy to pull their scores up. There was no need to be constantly worried about whether they would perform abnormally like the other classes.
Like their class monitor, the top students of Class 5 were not worried at all. There were even some who blatantly yawned.
"I'm so sleepy. When will it end? We want to go back to sleep."
"That's right. This group of trash in the class is dragging their scores, and they still have the nerve to make a fool of themselves here."
"If it weren't for us, how could these poor students survive? You can't tell when they're just trainees, but I didn't expect them to do badly on the exam. These bastards are really imbeciles. "
These people stretched and made sarcastic remarks, and their words were all intentionally or unintentionally directed at those who had not become faceless in Class 5.
Among those who were at the bottom, Liang Mingde and his friends were the most unpleasant to the eye.
The other nine people in Liang Mingde's dormitory had all become faceless, but he was the only one who did not change. Not only did he not change, but he also formed some kind of support for the poor students in the class, cheering each other on every day.
Several top students in Class 5 did not like him. Several times, they blocked him in the toilet with cold water, pressed his head into the cold water, and taught him a good lesson.
It was true that trainees were not allowed to kill each other, but as long as they did not die, the main system would not care. This kind of school bullying could not be stopped at all, and many of them were also one of the causes of becoming faceless.
In the end, they did not expect that this Liang Mingde was really a smelly stone in the latrine pit, forcibly carrying it on his shoulders.
They had all secretly planned that the cutoff score for the final exam would only be higher than before, and when the time came, they would definitely take down Liang Mingde.
What they did not expect was that in the next second, the smile of the class monitor of Class 5 froze on his face.
"Class 5, 795 points."