A Web of Suspicion

"Goodness, the storm didn't kill me, but I almost died because of singing!"

After the flag-raising ceremony, Feng Xue walked back with her class, a hint of lingering fear on her face. After all, she had only realized what had happened during the flag-raising ceremony.

He doesn't know how to sing the world's national anthem.

Well, although things were a bit absurd, the good thing is that these are high school students, and it's not a singing competition. It's normal for them to sing a couple of beats slower or faster. Feng Xue managed to finish the song by relying on her Circle Realm and body control.

Although the rhythm was fragmented, at least it wasn't singled out for criticism.

"This place is full of traps... Oh, no, this is a trap specifically for me, since the players in this world should still be able to sing the national anthem."

Feng Xue muttered to himself, but he had already entered the Teaching Building. Before going up the stairs, he glanced at the senior classrooms. The rather outrageous banners were still hanging there, and the [Element] on them were still clearly visible.

"It seems that it doesn't only turn into Phantom Object at night, but why do seniors have them and juniors don't? Is it because they don't have to prepare for exams?" Back in Class 3, Feng Xue glanced at the banner hanging at the back of the classroom, which was just an ordinary "Study hard and make progress every day," and a bag of salt involuntarily jumped out of her hand.

"What are you doing with that bag of salt?" Just then, a voice suddenly asked from beside her. Feng Xue's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the salt in her hand.

However, he managed to suppress this dangerous thought through sheer willpower. After all, littering was not allowed in the classroom, and there couldn't be any trash in the trash cans.

Her mind raced, and Feng Xue turned to look at her deskmate, a helpless expression on her face.

"I meant to get a piece of bread, but I grabbed the wrong one."

"The weight difference is too big, isn't it?" her deskmate complained with a smile, but Feng Xue was somewhat surprised.

"Why that expression? Even I joke around!" Seeing Feng Xue's expression, her deskmate's face hardened. Feng Xue immediately shook her head and said:

"No, no, I'm just having a bit of a headache thinking about having to eat at the cafeteria for lunch today."

"That's definitely a headache." Feng Xue's deskmate nodded immediately at her words, but the conversation ended there, because the bell for the first class rang at that moment.

The class was uneventful. It was unclear whether all the players had died or the players who had survived to this day had adapted to the game's rhythm. In any case, for Feng Xue, the environment was actually quite good.

"If only I had these powers back when I was in school." Leaning back in her chair listlessly, Feng Xue glanced out the window at the students having a physical education class. Judging by their age, they were probably in their first year of high school. After all, their physical education teacher hadn't even had a chance to get to know the students in yesterday's class before he got sick.

"Feng Xue! Come up and solve this problem!"

Suddenly, the teacher called out Feng Xue's name loudly. Looking at the question on the blackboard, Feng Xue's face darkened slightly, but she still quickly walked up to the blackboard.

As a master, being observant and attentive to all needs is a basic skill. After quickly solving the problem on the blackboard, the teacher frowned and said:

"I'll let it slide this time, but just pay attention in class!"

Listening to this earnest and earnest speech, which sounded like a real lesson, Feng Xue couldn't help but feel a little strange, because neither the teachers nor the students seemed to know that they were ghosts?

"That's not right. Putting everything else aside, those oddballs who were brought to the surface by the science exam yesterday don't seem to fit the bill at all..."

At this point, Feng Xue suddenly paused, because he finally realized the awkwardness of the situation—

Whether they were flattened into a pile, dissolved, or scattered everywhere, all the students are back to normal today.

Except for one person.

"Lin Shu isn't here. It seems that cheating on the exam really got him wiped out. But the other strange species have all recovered. Does that mean the Phantom Object has lost its power?"

Thinking of those Exam Paper, Feng Xue felt a sense of foreboding, and this premonition became a reality when the fourth period ended.

The homeroom teacher strode into the classroom with an imposing presence, carrying a large stack of Exam Paper. His face was grave, his eyes sharp. After scanning the room and silencing the noise from the students who were leaving at lunchtime, he finally spoke:

"Class, to be honest, you all didn't do very well on this test. Even though it was all easy material, the average score was barely passing. However, I want to commend Liu Yuqian and Feng Xue; their scores significantly raised our class average. Alright, those whose names are called, come up and collect your Exam Paper. First up is last place—Qin Jian! You're really consistent!"

As the class monitor sarcastically called out the names of the underachieving students, Feng Xue's expression changed rapidly, because in his eyes, there was absolutely no trace of [Element] on these Exam Paper.

"They're all True Thing? How could that be?"

"Feng Xue!"

Hearing the teacher call her name, Feng Xue immediately suppressed her complicated thoughts, walked to the podium, and received the five Exam Paper with both hands. At the same time, the homeroom teacher finally smiled and said:

"You did well on this exam, except you lost some points on the combined science paper. Several teachers reviewed it and said your process was correct, but you forgot to calculate the constant. Hmm, maybe your previous school was different from ours. Here, the constant also needs to be calculated. Hmm, try harder next time..."

After thanking her somewhat regretful homeroom teacher, Feng Xue returned to her desk with the Exam Paper in her hands, flipping through Exam Paper one by one, her expression relaxing.

What he feared most was that these Exam Paper had been "Phantomatization," because they completely covered areas where he was unfamiliar with the subject matter. But now it seemed that they were just copies of the papers.

"But is it necessary to make a copy?"

Looking at the exam paper in his hand, Feng Xue pondered its meaning. Every word on the paper was exactly the same as his handwriting. If it weren't for the fact that the expensive fountain pen had acquired certain special characteristics after the pen spirit advanced to the Beneficial Calculation Star Lord, he might not have been able to tell that this was not the exam paper he had originally answered.

"This level of disguise is clearly not a simple procedure; it probably involves some kind of necessity."

Feng Xue took out the science exam paper and confirmed that it was indeed a copy of the paper she had modified, which made her even more curious.

Why go through the trouble of replacing the Phantom Object with replicas when a school can print Phantom Object Exam Paper any means necessary?

He could only think of two possibilities—

First, the generation of Exam Paper follows a certain cyclical pattern, rather than being infinite. Used Exam Paper need to be collected before new Exam Paper can be printed.

Second, the Exam Paper that have already been answered are what this Ghost School truly needs.

"If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's the latter..."

Feng Xue's gaze swept over the classmates, and recalling her earlier speculation, a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Got your tail!"

I overdid it with adjusting my sleep schedule; I'm sleepy by 10 PM now, it's unbelievable...