The Rules of St. Johnis Middle School

The rain poured down harder and harder, and by the time everyone had recovered, it was like water being poured from a basin, soaking their clothes completely.

The portly gentleman held a long black umbrella, so he wasn't wet at all. Facing the five "transfer students" who were soaked to the bone, he still smiled, but didn't seem to care about them at all.

"I'm the Dean of Students for the senior year. I've come to take you to register. You can call me Director Gene. After all the formalities are completed, you can go back to your dorms to unpack. Come with me!"

After saying that, the fat man turned around, and the black iron gate opened automatically without any wind, making a heavy, dull friction sound.

Yu Xing was soaked to the bone, his slightly long hair hanging down in clumps from the rain. The others weren't in much better shape. Zhao Yijiu was in a similar situation. Zhao Mou and Qu Xuanqing were in better condition; one had his hair combed back, and the other had his hair in a ponytail. Wen Qinghuai was wearing a hat, so his hair wasn't too badly damaged, but his rain-soaked shirt clung to his body, making the young man look even thinner.

He sized up Director Gene, who was walking ahead of him, and followed him through the gate into the school. The road was flat, with greenery on both sides. Tall trees with lush foliage trembled and rustled as they were hit by the rain.

To be fair, this director is the most normal human being he has ever seen since entering Dead Silent Island. But in terms of behavior, someone who holds an umbrella for a group of transfer students and walks in the rain without any rush or slowness is not exactly normal.

"..." Fortunately, everyone was an experienced person who had been through many harsh environments. They looked at each other and did not show any dissatisfaction. They quickened their pace to catch up with Director Gene.

The dungeon is about to begin, and they don't want to cause trouble at this time.

But clearly, for those who are good at deduction, even if they don't cause trouble, trouble will come knocking on their door.

As I walked along the main road, the cheerful school bell rang, instantly silencing the laughter and chatter that had been audible just moments before. The entire school seemed to transform from vibrant energy into utter silence in that instant.

Director Gene took the opportunity to tell them, "This is the first class of the morning. As transfer students, there are a few things you must understand and absolutely cannot violate, or you will be severely punished."

The five of them perked up. When the dungeon guide said this, it meant they were about to receive the first wave of information. This information was usually the most basic, consistent throughout, and absolutely could not be disobeyed.

"Our school starts its first class at eight o'clock in the morning, with four classes in the morning and four in the afternoon. The lunch break is two hours long, and there is evening self-study." Director Gene did not turn around, and his voice was not very clear in the heavy rain. You had to concentrate to hear it.

"For first and second-year high school students, attending evening self-study sessions is optional. However, for third-year students, it's mandatory. You are about to graduate and face exams, and all of us teachers hope you can achieve good results and have a bright future."

The conversation was still normal up to this point. Yu Xing reached out to shield his face from the rain that was constantly hitting him with the wind. But for this small gesture, Director Gene suddenly turned around, a cryptic look in his small eyes. "Now, the first rule: if your teacher is giving you instructions or guidance, you must answer 'Yes, teacher.' This is called respecting your teachers."

After he finished speaking, a smirk appeared on his lips, as if he was waiting for the dim-witted transfer students to be caught off guard so he could demonstrate the punishment. But no sooner had he spoken than all five of them answered in unison, "Yes, teacher!"

His tone was crisp and his voice was loud, with nothing to criticize, including the male student who seemed distracted by the rain just a second ago.

Director Gene: "..."

This was not quite what he had expected, but he didn't dwell on it too much. It was just a surprise inspection, and if no one tested positive, it wouldn't stop him from continuing to speak.

He turned back, leaving the transfer students behind, and continued leading the way, "During breaks, you are free to move around. Each floor has its own restroom. Remember, do not go into the opposite sex's restroom out of curiosity. This is a serious offense and will result in the most severe punishment."

"I heard you."

"What you do during breaks is entirely up to you. But as soon as the bell rings, you must quietly return to your classrooms and seats and wait for the teacher to start class. Don't whisper during class, and don't cheat on tests, especially... don't get caught by the teacher." His last sentence was quite meaningful. Yu Xing blinked; it seemed to be telling them that they could whisper and even cheat, as long as they didn't get caught by the teacher.

"Okay, teacher."

"You must eat lunch in the cafeteria. Eat what you get, no leftovers. Remember, St. Johnis Middle School is committed to cultivating well-rounded individuals, not just academically, but also in character." Director Gene suddenly chuckled sinisterly. "Your parents went to great lengths to get you into our senior year, so don't let them down... Students considered hopeless at other schools will definitely improve here."

"Yes, teacher." Yu Xing answered quickly this time, changing his sentence structure. He wanted to see which two words he could only use when communicating with his teacher, or if similar words would be acceptable. He then asked, "Teacher... I'm not feeling well, could I borrow your umbrella?"

As expected, Director Gene didn't pay attention to his five-word response. Instead, he turned to look at him. Although he still had that kind and friendly smile on his face, he was clearly much happier when he heard Yu Xing say that he was not feeling well.

As for asking for an umbrella, he demonstrated with his actions what it means to not even think about it, "I was just about to tell you all that it's best not to get sick at this school. If you get sick and it interferes with your studies, the teachers will be in a lot of trouble... I'm sure you transfer students in your senior year don't have time to get sick, right? The administration building is just ahead, let's hurry up."

After saying this, he quickened his pace and soon led the five people to a magnificent castle-like building. The building had four floors and was a little shorter than the teaching building directly opposite the gate. The top of the building was pointed, and a huge raven gazing at the sky was carved on the very top.

The moment they entered the administration building, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The heavy rain outside had put a lot of pressure on them, making it difficult to breathe, blurring their vision, and making them feel unsafe.

Looking out from the building now, all you can see is the curtain of rain accumulating at the edge of the building, like a waterfall, with a sound like firecrackers.

Wen Qinghuai touched the water stains on his neck and shivered.

Yu Xing glanced around the lobby of the administration building. The lobby was very spacious and decorated in a style reminiscent of medieval Europe. However, since this was a school, it was not luxurious, but rather exuded a sense of simplicity and elegance.

He was no stranger to this style of layout. When he was studying painting abroad during the Republic of China era, the school building there had been standing for nearly a century, and it was only slightly more modern than this middle school.

Director Gene closed the umbrella, placed it on the umbrella stand by the door, patted the wrinkles on his suit, making it clean and presentable, which contrasted with the disheveled transfer student's appearance with a beaming smile.

He looked at the well-behaved transfer students with pleasure. "It is a great honor for you to be able to study at St. Jonis's. This world has no need for useless trash, and St. Jonis's School happens to be best at saving useless people and transforming trash into elites."

Since this was neither an instruction nor a lecture, no one interrupted him this time, and everyone listened quietly to what he had to say.

The worldview that "not studying hard makes you a waste" is utterly outdated in school-themed horror scenarios. Even if they haven't experienced it themselves, they've already found many related videos to watch, so they're used to it and won't feel angry about it.

Since brains are all different, why get angry over prejudices against different species?

As for whether this viewpoint will affect their survival rate... well, then they should try their best to survive.

"Every year we admit some transfer students here. Not all students know how to be polite. Some of them didn't take what I said seriously at all, and others whispered when I turned around. Without exception, the moment they walked into this administration building, I turned them into cadavers. You probably haven't encountered cadavers like this before. These are cadavers that only undergraduate students have—they're used by medical students for dissection practice. I turned them into cadavers and sent them to St. Jonis's University."

As Director Gene spoke in a threatening tone, he discreetly observed the expressions on the faces of the five transfer students. He only saw fear on the face of the boy who looked somewhat sickly at the front, and he couldn't help but feel a little bored.

"I'm very pleased with your good behavior. I think you'll be even more eager to save yourselves and study hard than the students who came in previous years." Director Gene's words sounded somewhat malicious. He pointed to the office next to the hall, which was already closed. "The remaining rules, such as exams and specific grade requirements, will be told to you by your homeroom teacher. This is where you register. Come on, let's go in together."

"Okay, teacher."

The meticulous strategists still didn't give Director Gene any opportunity to punish them, even if it meant providing some details.

The rest of the process was ordinary. In the office sat a stern-faced middle-aged woman, slender and wearing a black long-sleeved dress. Her thick glasses could not hide the fierce and sinister look in her eyes. Even her tone was sinister as she took out five documents for the deducers to confirm.

These were the identities assigned to them in the game. Yu Xing glanced at his own; the name he used was a very casual alias, and he could only recognize himself from the photo attached to the file. But whether it was a coincidence or not, his name was "Roy"... which was the name of the detective identity he had randomly received in Angel's simulation.

He read through his resume; in this scenario, Roy was a stubborn school bully who harassed others at other schools and hit... hit his deskmate on the head?

Yu Xing's eye twitched; she sensed something was amiss.

However, the records clearly state that because he hit his deskmate on the head, he was considered to have violent tendencies and was a bad student. His deskmate's family complained to the school, and his parents were extremely disappointed in him. They spent money to send him to St. Jonis's University for rehabilitation, hoping he would turn his life around.

Yu Xing: "..."

He felt that either his former classmate came from a family with immense power, or that in this game's world, the gap between everyone was already so great that they were reproductively isolated.

While hitting him on the head might indeed have been wrong, labeling him as stubborn and incorrigible because of it is probably too distorted.

He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of pretext the bloodshed and various horrific events that were bound to occur in this instance would take, since everyone had to be united and friendly.

Is the reason given being a shortage of cadavers in the undergraduate program?

Yu Xing didn't show it on his face, but secretly chuckled to himself. He quickly scanned his own information, which was nothing more than a background character, mostly about his past achievements and nothing of real value.

Then they filled out new information cards and received their dormitory keys.

Throughout the entire process, the seemingly unapproachable middle-aged female teacher didn't make things difficult for them. She only said one thing when handing them the keys, "You're not allowed to go out after 11 PM. No one cares when you go to sleep; those who love learning will definitely study very late. But remember, absolutely do not go out. If the patrolling dormitory supervisors see you, they will punish the disobedient children."

As she spoke, her stiff face twitched, and she seemed to smile.

"Okay, teacher..."

She looks prettier when she doesn't smile.

After receiving the keys, Director Gene, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while, was about to take them to the dormitory. The dormitory building was behind the teaching building. It was still raining heavily outside, so Director Gene opened his umbrella again and happily led the five transfer students, who were soaked to the bone, on a walk in the rain.

The dormitory building was just ahead, visible even through layers of greenery; it was very beautiful. Director Gene seemed to suddenly remember something. "You've come at a good time. Just two years ago, most students lived in the old dormitory buildings, and the conditions there weren't as good as this one."

Zhao Mou asked, "Was it because there were too many students that a new dormitory building was built?"

"Of course not! St. Jonis's isn't a place where just anyone can come and go. We send out elites every year, only the elite!" Gene emphasized, then said mysteriously, "The old dormitory is no longer inhabited; it's a restricted area. You can't go there. If you're found not studying hard but secretly exploring the restricted area... our Principal will personally teach you to cherish every minute and second and study hard, and not think about anything else."

This was practically shouting in their ears: There's a secret in the old dormitory that you absolutely have to see!

They were taken to the new dormitory building and told to go up to their rooms according to the room numbers marked on their keys. Since all the students were in class at this time, the dormitory building was very quiet. Director Gene didn't plan to follow them any further and told them to go back to their rooms to pack their things and rest for a while. They would be attending classes with the other students in the afternoon.

The dormitory is a four-person room. Four boys can be assigned to one room, but Qu Xuanqing is in a bit of danger because he will have to live alone with three other girls who are definitely not human.