Too Miserable, Not a Single Person

The next day, 5 AM.

Zzzzzip—

A sharp, ear-splitting burst of static electricity, as if it could tear eardrums, shattered the deathly silence of the campus without warning.

Immediately after, a cold, mechanical notification voice echoed through every corner of the campus, carrying an undeniable tone of command.

"All survivors, attention. Within ten minutes, bring your anomalous roommates to the sports field for assembly."

"Repeat, within ten minutes, bring your anomalous roommates to the sports field for assembly."

"Latecomers will bear the consequences themselves."

In the bedroom of the Principal's Office, Chu He's eyes snapped open the very instant the voice sounded.

His gaze was sharp as a blade, devoid of any grogginess from just waking up, like a lurking leopard instantly startled awake.

He instinctively glanced to his side.

Xia Yao was still fast asleep.

Last night's five-hour [REDACTED] had clearly consumed a tremendous amount of her mental and physical energy. Her peaceful sleeping face now carried a hint of lazy contentment and a blush, her long eyelashes covering her eyes like butterfly wings, casting small, delicate shadows beneath them.

A wave of tenderness and helplessness washed over Chu He.

"Yao Yao, wake up, it's time to get up," he said, reaching out and gently nudging her smooth, fair shoulder.

"Mmm..." Xia Yao mumbled in dissatisfaction, letting out cute little noises from her nose. Not only did she show no signs of waking, but she burrowed deeper into his embrace like a kitten seeking warmth. She rubbed her warm little face against his chest, as if searching for a more comfortable sleeping position.

"My dear lady, if you don't wake up soon, we'll both 'bear the consequences'!" Chu He said, a mix of amusement and exasperation in his voice.

He glanced at the antique grandfather clock on the wall, its hands ticking away the seconds mercilessly. He dared not delay any further.

In this anomalous world, the phrase "bear the consequences themselves" often implied an outcome far more terrifying than death. He had no desire to experience it firsthand.

He took a deep breath and his movements became incredibly gentle. He carefully helped Xia Yao put on her neat and familiar school uniform.

His fingers fumbled slightly as he buttoned her shirt, his fingertips occasionally brushing against her warm, smooth skin, as fine as the finest silk. Once done, he bent down, one arm sliding under her knees, the other steadying her neck, executing a perfectly standard and practiced princess carry.

Xia Yao in his arms seemed to sense the change in position, subconsciously adjusting her head. She rested comfortably in his arm, a sweet, sleepy murmur escaping her lips as her smile widened slightly, and she slept even more soundly.

Chu He held her, feeling her surprisingly light weight, and strode out of the Principal's Office, walking quickly towards the sports field.

The dawn was breaking, the sky just beginning to lighten.

The eerie dark red morning light couldn't penetrate the thick fog blanketing the campus, only casting a cold, blood-like hue over the silent buildings. On the campus paths, figures could already be seen hurrying along, their faces etched with fear and numbness.

And the "roommates" standing beside them were even more bizarre, opening Chu He's eyes.

A gaunt white young man, thin as a rail, was using all his strength to drag his "roommate"—an anomalous toad the size of a small elephant. The toad's body oozed purple pus, emitting a nauseating stench that assaulted the nose from afar. With every hop the toad made, the ground trembled, and the young man's face grew paler, his eyes filled with despair.

Chu He silently scoffed, "Good heavens, did he abduct the ancestor of some swamp? Living with that thing every day and not being choked to death is already a sign of extraordinary talent."

He glanced down at Xia Yao in his arms. She exuded a faint, sweet scent like strawberries, a stark contrast to the stench emanating from the toad, like heaven and hell.

Not far away, a blonde girl clutched a chain thicker than her arm. The other end was attached to a monster over three meters tall. It had a rotten goat's head, black liquid dripping from its eyes, and eight slimy octopus tentacles below. It let out an unintelligible guttural sound, and its dark green saliva dripped onto the ground, sizzling and creating small pits of black smoke. The girl's gaze flickered venomously towards Chu He and Xia Yao in his arms, her eyes seeming to say, "Why him!"

He even saw a black man whose female roommate was a floating mass of writhing flesh, covered in countless eyes, each one spinning wildly, making his scalp tingle.

Of course, there were also those who looked human.

The female roommate of the Cherry Blossom Country contestant was humanoid, with a delicate face and exquisite makeup. However, her eyes were disproportionately large, and her mouth stretched from ear to ear. Currently, she was leaning intimately into the Cherry Blossom Country contestant's ear, whispering something with that horrifying mouth, scaring the contestant so much that his face turned green and his body stiffened like stone.

This was clearly a large-scale pairing event between humans and beasts! The visual impact was so strong it would cause nightmares after just one glance.

There was a rule in the anomalous world: the more human-like they looked, the more powerful they generally were, with the weakest being S-Class! Those that looked like a mess were usually very weak, rarely above S-Class!

Almost all the survivors' gazes froze the moment they saw Chu He and Xia Yao in his arms. Their eyes were filled with undisguised envy, jealousy, and finally, all of it transformed into a bone-deep hatred.

"Why! Why is his anomalous roommate so normal, and so damn beautiful!"

"Damn it, comparing people makes you so angry! I live in fear every day, and he's out for a stroll with a beauty!"

Chu He clearly heard these suppressed discussions. Far from feeling uncomfortable, he lowered his head to look at Xia Yao's peaceful sleeping face in his arms, a strange sense of pride and control welling up within him.

Yeah, why? Because I'm handsome, brave, and dare to kiss! Do you guys have what it takes?

He ignored the gazes that seemed to pierce him and even deliberately slowed his pace, gently tucking a strand of hair that the morning breeze had blown astray behind Xia Yao's ear.

This scene made countless survivors' eyes burn with fury and their chests feel choked with frustration.

Arriving at the sports field, everyone stared at each other! The air in the entire field was filled with a suffocating oppression and a mixed stench.

Chu He's gaze unwavering, he walked with Xia Yao to a relatively open spot before gently putting her down. She leaned against him, still sound asleep.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, speculating on what would happen next.

The air in the center of the sports field began to distort without warning.

That space churned and spun violently, as if twisted into a knot by an invisible giant hand, eventually forming a bottomless, pitch-black vortex. There was no light within the vortex, only pure, all-consuming darkness.

A heart-stopping, soul-freezing pressure emanated wildly from within, sweeping across the entire field like a tsunami!

"Croak..."

"Hiss..."

Many low-level anomalies present let out uneasy screeches under this pressure, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, instinctively trying to retreat, but pinned in place by an invisible force.

Some survivors' legs went weak, and they collapsed directly onto the ground, their faces ashen, a foul odor emanating from their crotches.

Even Chu He felt a chill that penetrated to the bone.