At the school gate, the plane-tree leaves rustled in the afternoon breeze.
Su Wanqing's face was still somewhat pale. Her fingers clutched Lin Mo's sleeve tightly, the knuckles faintly white.
The scene of the bloody massacre at the intersection kept flashing through her mind.
"Dean Chen was looking for you... What was it about?" Her voice trembled slightly as she tried to shift her attention. "Why would he suddenly ask for you?"
Lin Mo put an arm around her shoulders and led her onto the campus. His tone was calm. "He's an Internal Test Player too."
"What?!" Su Wanqing suddenly looked up, her eyes wide. "Dean Chen? He got pulled into the game too?"
"Yeah." Lin Mo nodded. "And he's had terrible luck. He died in the wilderness on the first day, then got captured by the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold after reviving. They broke his legs and locked him in prison."
Su Wanqing drew in a sharp breath. "Then he's..."
"At my place," Lin Mo said. "Black Wind Stronghold is my territory now. I rescued him, and he's recuperating."
Su Wanqing stared blankly at Lin Mo, unable to say anything for a moment.
That Dean Chen who was always stern and old-fashioned at faculty meetings, lecturing students until he sprayed spit everywhere—the college leader whom the students privately called "Chen Yanwang"...
He was actually in such a miserable state in the game?
"So he was looking for you..." Su Wanqing came back to herself. "He wants you to keep protecting him?"
"Probably." Lin Mo said:
"His legs are broken. There's no way he can complete his class advancement on his own within the remaining twenty-seven days.
"His only way out is to cling tightly to me."
Su Wanqing bit her lip, her expression complicated. "Then you... will you