The So-Called "Dormitory"...

Just as Yin Kuang stood there blankly, watching the white wolf senior's swaying, massive backside gradually recede into the distance, he remained completely unaware that a pair of eyes were watching him—and the giant wolf moving further away—from not far behind him with a chilling gaze.

Behind a pair of glasses that shimmered with a deep, dark luster, a pair of eyes as black as the night blinked.

"Should I... take this opportunity to finish him off now?"

Wang Ning, hiding within a cluster of low, black shrubs, moved his lips gently. His voice was so faint that even he could barely hear it. "If what that guy Xiong Ba said is true—that in this university, dying once means real death—then I might as well wipe him out now... Although I don't really consider him a threat, he is still a potential source of instability. If you don't pull out the weeds by the roots, they will cause endless trouble. Should I do it or not?"

As he pondered, Wang Ning's hand slowly moved downward, pressing gently against his ankle. With a slight movement of his fingertips, a jet-black flash leaked out from between them.

Black Fang!

It was this very dagger that, with a single light swipe, had once slit Yin Kuang's throat.

However, before the pitch-black Black Fang could even be drawn a quarter of the way out, Wang Ning's entire body suddenly froze.

It was as if time had stopped in that very instant. Wang Ning remained in his crouched, one-knee-on-the-ground position, one hand supporting his weight, the other touching his right ankle, his waist bent and head tilted. He stayed completely motionless; anyone who didn't know better would have truly mistaken him for a statue.

It wasn't until a bead of sweat as large as a pea seeped from his forehead, slowly traced the corner of his brow, slid down his cheek, hung from his pointed chin, and finally dripped onto the hand he was using to support himself.

In the distance, the giant wolf senior suddenly blinked and shook its massive head. "Interesting. A fresh high school graduate actually managed to emit a trace of killing intent... Heh, I really don't know what kind of freaks the Headmaster recruited this year. Looks like there will be some fun to be had later. Heh heh, kid with 7 points of intelligence, this master has now repaid your favor..."

Muttering something indistinct, it finally disappeared around the corner of a distant building.

Gulp.

Only after the giant wolf withdrew its gaze did Wang Ning swallow with extreme difficulty. His body went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground, drenched in cold sweat as if he had just been fished out of water.

"That just now... what... what kind of look was that?!"

What kind of look?

Wang Ning couldn't describe it; he didn't even want to recall that feeling of... that feeling as if his soul were being ripped from his body! That's right, Wang Ning felt it—it was his own soul!

Just now, the moment that giant wolf looked at him, it felt as if a cold, giant hand had grabbed his crown and pulled upward with all its might. Then, Wang Ning lost control of his own body. He even felt his soul flying away, getting further and further from his physical form...

It wasn't just the torture of the soul, but the body as well.

The pain was like being flayed and deboned by thousands of tiny, sharp blades. Even Wang Ning, who had undergone rigorous endurance training, almost screamed out loud in that instant!

Lying paralyzed on the ground, Wang Ning swore that he absolutely, positively never wanted to face that kind of gaze again—never! He would rather end his own life with a blade than ever experience that inhuman torture again.

"Is... is this the strength of a senior? Just... just one look... a single look..."

Wang Ning bit his lower lip hard, not even noticing when it began to bleed. "Just wait... just wait. One day, I, Wang Ning—no, Ning Wang—I was able to break into the top three of the Assassin Alliance's 'Newbie Ranking' within just three years of debuting. I can make a name for myself as 'Ning Wang' here just the same! One day, I will surely trample all of you beneath my feet!"

Whether to resist the lingering fear in his heart, to declare his ambition, or to mark today's humiliation, Wang Ning fiercely drew Black Fang and slashed it hard across his own brow.

Hot blood immediately flowed down the bridge of his nose and into his eyes...

After the giant wolf senior disappeared, Yin Kuang stopped worrying about it.

He preferred to believe that this was just a random and coincidental encounter. Because, truly, he did not want to run into that giant wolf senior ever again!

To be honest, the feeling of being subservient was extremely unpleasant. Although the wolf hadn't explicitly demanded that Yin Kuang be respectful, the pressure released by its every gesture and movement had crashed against Yin Kuang like ocean waves, forcing him to keep his distance and lower his head.

"So this... is the strength of a senior!! Even in front of Xiong Ba, I only felt that he was very dangerous. But in front of him... although there was no sense of immediate danger, that indescribable fear and trembling... was even more terrifying than the threat of death..."

Thinking of this, Yin Kuang couldn't help but take a deep breath and shake his head violently. "Yin Kuang, just survive. As long as you survive... if you survive, one day, in this magical university, you will become as strong as he is! Next year... the next batch of freshmen will also respectfully call me 'Senior' just like I did today! Of course, more importantly... I have to go home!"

Perhaps by sheer coincidence, or perhaps by some arrangement of fate, two newly enrolled students, at the same moment and with the same target in mind, established their grand ambitions in their hearts and began their "struggle" in this "university"!

When Yin Kuang saw the so-called "Male Dormitory Building 33" and stood beneath it, his expression suddenly became quite strange.

He wasn't the only one with a strange expression; the other "freshmen" who arrived one after another and gradually gathered beneath "Male Dormitory Building 33" looked the same.

"What the hell! This is where I'm supposed to live? Are you kidding me? Is this meant for humans?"

"...Hey, don't look at me, I don't know either. I just followed the memory in my head."

"Damn it! Where's the teaching assistant? I'm going to find the teaching assistant and ask them what this means. Isn't this cursing us to die? Where on earth do living people stay in something like this..."

"Shh! Keep it down, do you have a death wish? Be careful or Senior The Count will suck you dry. See if you dare to be so reckless then."

"Uh, I... I was just saying, just saying... but, but this really isn't a place for people. Why don't you go try it?"

"..."

"..."

Gradually, the number of students gathering at "Male Dormitory Building 33" grew, and the scene became increasingly lively. All the topics revolved around the "magnificent"... "Male Dormitory Building 33"—well, actually, no matter how you looked at it, it was just a stack of giant coffins piled layer upon layer.

That's right, coffins!

It was a series of coffins stood upright, forming a bizarre structure about ten meters high and two or three meters wide—let's call it a structure for now.

Ten meters high, four stories in total. As for the width, it was two coffins stood upright back-to-back, making it about three meters wide. It was about ten meters long, with nine coffins lined up in a row. Beside each upright coffin was a knotted rope; it was obvious that if you wanted to get up, you had to climb the rope.

It was hard to imagine what kind of power had stacked so many coffins together so steadily. If not for the bizarre shape, it really would have been an apartment building.

It wasn't just "Building 33." Less than ten meters to the left and right, there were two more "coffin buildings," "Building 34" and "Building 32." Aside from the different numbers on the giant signs, they were identical, as if they had been copy-pasted.

On the lid of each coffin, there was a number; that was the coffin's serial number—or perhaps "room number" would be more appropriate.

This made the dissatisfaction and indignation of the crowd even more understandable; it was simply too hard to accept.

To ask a living person to lie in a coffin... even a slightly normal person could never accept this. Wasn't this just cursing them to die?

It was already bad enough to have ended up at this university for no apparent reason, and after surviving a heart-stopping "Entrance Exam," I had hoped to return to my dorm for a good rest. But seeing the so-called "dormitories" before me was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

Yin Kuang stood amidst the crowd, looking left and right, spotting Zeng Fei, Wei Ming, Li Shuangmu, and Wang Ning as they arrived one after another. Zeng Fei, Wei Ming, and Wang Ning all came over to greet him and ask about his situation.

Yin Kuang said, "You all see it too—these coffin lids are our future 'dormitories.' Heh, and they're single-occupancy, one for everyone." As he spoke, Yin Kuang asked Wang Ning, "Wang Ning, what number are you staying in?"

It seemed like a casual question, but in reality, Yin Kuang was secretly cursing Wang Ning, wishing he would hurry up and get into his "coffin."

Wang Ning was taken aback, failing to catch the ambiguity in Yin Kuang's words, and replied, "I'm number 44. Let me see, it's on the top floor, the fourth coff..." At this point, Wang Ning's expression shifted slightly, and he forced a laugh, saying, "44, that's really unlucky... What is the Headmaster thinking, making us live in a place like this!"

Yin Kuang shook his head and said, "I think perhaps the Headmaster wants to remind us at every moment that death is always by our side. If we don't work hard, I'm afraid we won't even have a coffin when we die."

Wei Ming suddenly interjected, "Enough! Don't say such unlucky things. I don't care if it's a coffin or not; I just want to get a good night's sleep. Sigh, but these upright coffins... do they expect me to sleep standing up!?"

With that, Wei Ming walked over to coffin "11" and pried it open.

It seemed number 11 was his.

"Huh? That's not right!"

After opening the coffin, Wei Ming let out a sudden cry of surprise, looked left and right, then stuck his head inside. He immediately shouted, "Hey, Wang Ning, come look at this! There's a trick to the inside of the coffin. It turns out there's a huge space in there. This is truly amazing."

At this moment, cries of surprise erupted from other areas as well. It turned out there were plenty of people who were either brave enough to experiment or simply reckless; those who tried opening their coffins were all letting out sounds of astonishment one after another.

"Wow! It's so big inside. And the Headmaster said we can change the scenery and size inside according to our own thoughts. I just tried it, and it actually turned into the appearance of a golden throne hall!"

"Over here too, it's such a beautiful, vast beach with an ocean view. Haha, is this where I'll be living from now on? This is so cool!"

"..."

"..."

There were many such exclamations, and they grew more frequent. Gradually, everyone began to climb into their own "coffins" and shut the lids with a "bang." Consequently, the noisy chatter slowly began to die down.

Having witnessed the wonders of Wei Ming's living quarters, Zeng Fei couldn't resist either. He offered a greeting and climbed into the number 13 "coffin" next to him—well, let's stop using that word and call them dormitories from now on.

Wang Ning chuckled and said, "Just as I thought. I should have known; how could the Headmaster make us live in actual coffins? Heh. Yin Kuang, what number are you?"

"Number 29. Second floor, ninth one. Yeah, over there."

"Sigh, I still have to climb four floors. Anyway, I can't wait to see what my... dormitory looks like." With that, Wang Ning grabbed a rope and climbed upward with ease.

"See you later, then."

After saying that, Yin Kuang walked to the last row and looked up to see "29." "Number 29, heh, what a coincidence. My birthday is actually February 29th. Let's hope this is my lucky number."

"Unfortunately, I was born on the 28th. So, I'll be living right next to you."

Li Shuangmu suddenly stood beside Yin Kuang, speaking with a half-smile.

Yin Kuang secretly glanced toward the direction of "44" and didn't see Wang Ning, so it seemed he had already gone inside. He reached out his hand and said, "Thanks, let's have a good cooperation."

"You're welcome. Though, the strength of that punch you threw earlier was quite something. I couldn't tell you had that much power."

"The strength of that kick of yours wasn't small either."

Li Shuangmu gave a faint smile and said, "A word of advice: until you are absolutely certain of victory, it is best not to provoke Wang Ning."

"I know. What about you? Don't you want to deal with him?"

"Me?" Li Shuangmu chuckled and said, "If he doesn't offend me, I won't offend him... Remember, you owe me a favor."

"Favors are the hardest things to repay."