Six People

The room was pure white and about fifty square meters. A white table, a white chair, and a white bed—that was all the furniture in the single-person dormitory. It was simple, but practical.

"Notice: Freshman Yin Kuang, you may change the furnishings in your dormitory as you wish. The maximum volume cannot exceed 10,000 cubic meters. Daily necessities and facilities consume no Study Points. Nonessential items require a certain number of Study Points to exchange for."

"Notice: Dormitory No. 29 is Yin Kuang's absolutely private space. No one else may enter without his permission."

Yin Kuang paused, then asked, "Would I have to spend Study Points for a Siemens zero-degree vacuum-preservation refrigerator?"

He'd only said it offhandedly. Who could have guessed that the next moment, a sleek refrigerator would appear out of thin air in front of him, bearing the Siemens logo.

"It really... works."

Yin Kuang scratched his head. "So... what should I change it into? Should I make it look like Liulong Village..."

The instant the thought came to him, Yin Kuang couldn't help imagining the sight of Liulong Village. But the eager, excited anticipation on his face suddenly froze...

He slumped to the floor, looking as dejected as a drunk. "With parents, relatives, and friends, there are always thoughts and worries... Even if I recreated Liulong Village, so what? It would only make me sadder. Without my parents and family, where could I call home..."

Thinking this, Yin Kuang lay on his back with his arms and legs spread wide, staring blankly at the pure white ceiling. In the small room, there was no sound but his breathing.

The deep loneliness, the longing, the heartache—even in this private space of his own, Yin Kuang could hardly feel safe.

Beyond that "coffin lid" lay the gloomy, blood-red campus of Horror High School, its incomprehensible ordeals, enemies he'd inexplicably made, a dark road leading who knew where, a life that could be snuffed out at any moment, and the despair of never seeing his family again... It all crashed against his heart like a relentless tide. No matter what, Yin Kuang was still just a young man who'd only recently left high school and emerged from the mountains.

At that moment, Yin Kuang suddenly felt so fragile, so weak!

He clutched the talisman against his chest, pressed close to his skin. "This is my place... I can cry here... Nobody will laugh at me... right?"

Dormitory No. 44.

There was a table, a chair, and a bed here, too.

Wang Ning hadn't changed anything about the room's interior. Or rather, he had no time to think about something so utterly unimportant.

The only thing he'd changed was the room's dominant color. The original bright white had become black. Perhaps because the walls were so unusual, they glowed no matter what color they were. Even the black gave off a faint, dark radiance, making the room seem filled with black mist.

The only things of a different color were the three items on the table.

One radiated the characteristic eerie blue light of the T-Virus. The other two gave off the faint, dark-red glow of Mary's Heart Blood.

Wang Ning sat at the table, elbows resting on it, fingers interlaced beneath his chin. His black lenses reflected the faint blue and red lights.

"A 45% chance of success with the perfect T-Virus, and Guide Dog Blood that boosts the odds by 30%. That's a 75% chance of success... Sigh, there's still a 25% chance of failure..."

"Sigh, I've never done anything without being sure of success, but now I have no choice but to gamble. I have two vials of blood, anyway. Even if I fail, I'll just have to accept my bad luck. I wanted to save them for later, but... it looks like I have no choice but to take the gamble now. Hmph! No matter where I am, I, Ning Wang, will always be the best!" Stroking the black bandage on his forehead and feeling the lingering pain, Wang Ning murmured to himself.

That look in Yin Kuang's eyes had dealt him far too great a blow. It had forced him, someone who never relied on luck, to take a chance!

If he lost, he'd spit in disgust and accept his bad luck. He wouldn't have suffered any real loss, anyway!

But if he won...

Wang Ning gripped the T-Virus container and stared at its eerie blue glow. Then he plunged it fiercely into his arm!

"Hiss—"

"Year, month, and day unknown. Location unknown. Weather unknown. Approximately 12:30 p.m."

"A very... very strange experience. I can't describe it in words. I was supposed to report to Shuimu University, but the instant I stepped through the university gates, I seemed to trip... Then, when I woke up, I was here. This strange place calls itself 'Horror High School'... Is it even a university?"

"According to the Teaching Assistants who call themselves upperclassmen, this university doesn't teach English or Chinese... It doesn't teach anything we studied at school before. Here, what you have to learn is how to survive in different scenario worlds. You have to learn to hide yourself. You have to learn to be cold and ruthless. You have to learn to kill without blinking... No matter how I look at it, this isn't a university at all. It's a 'Hunter school.' No, it's even more brutal, darker, and more terrifying than the Hunter school I used to attend!"

"But this place is incredible, too! You can exchange Study Points for all kinds of abilities. It's... it's unbelievable. What have I seen? Incredible bloodline enhancements, werewolf bloodlines, vampire bloodlines... Superman bloodlines, Super Saiyan bloodlines... and all kinds of Chinese cultivation techniques, divine weapons, sorcery, and poison arts... Everything that existed only in myths and legends before is real here! This is just... insane!!"

"Here, the art of survival might be displayed in all its glory!"

"It's just like Wang trying to kill Yin for the T-Virus from Resident Evil. But Yin seems to have outsmarted him and turned the tables, scheming against Wang instead."

"So what about me? What should I do to stay alive?"

"That's the question."

"But keep it up, Li Shuangmu! You're the young master of the Li Clan, the family heir your elders have spent twenty years grooming. They've poured countless hours and endless effort into you. On your shoulders rests the hope of restoring a once-great family that's slowly fallen into decline..."

"You have to pull yourself together."

"Whatever happens, survive! If you stay alive, you can keep getting stronger, stronger and stronger. I can hardly even imagine..."

"Believe that when you receive your Graduation Certificate and stand before your elders, the Li Clan will regain its former glory because of your return, perhaps even..."

"Li Shuangmu—written on my first day at 'university.'"

"Bang!!"

A bullet shot out.

"Gah!"

A bird plummeted from the sky.

"Haha! That's the ninth one. Ten shots, ten hits!"

This was the space Zeng Fei had created. It had mountains, water, grass, trees, and a hundred ordinary birds and beasts he'd exchanged for fifty Study Points.

The qualities of a Qualified Soldier were on full display in him!

At that moment, he seemed to have fully adjusted to his situation—or at least he looked that way. He was even practicing his marksmanship.

"Dad, just watch. I'll beat you at twelve shots out of ten. Here, all I have to do is exchange for those miraculous eyes, and it'll be easy..."

"You idiot!! Let's see if you ever try to play hero without the skills again! Sigh, am I going to be the first one to get killed and sent back? I've only got ninety-five years left... Ahhh, this is driving me crazy! Just thinking about it pisses me off. Who does that damn Tang Zhaotian think he is, just because he exchanged for Spider-Man's bloodline? Hmph!... Sigh, but I really am jealous. I must've been out of my mind back then. Why did I have to go around being a good guy? Grandpa, it's not that I don't want to follow your example and help people. It's just that... trying to play hero here is practically suicide! Grandpa, forgive me. You don't want your grandson joining you so soon, either, right? Once I turn into Spider-Man or the Hulk or something, I'll help people then, okay? Grandpa, Grandpa, please watch over your grandson from heaven."

Wei Ming, a large, burly man, lay sprawled across the table, muttering nonstop. One moment he was tugging at his hair, the next he was slapping the table, then bumping his forehead against it. After that, he pressed his palms together and bowed first one way, then another.

Building No. 11, women's dormitory, Room 24.

"Ah—what are you thinking? What are you thinking? Why is he all I can think about?!"

In the pink room, Qian Qianqian suddenly shot upright from under the covers. Her once-smooth hair was now a complete mess. "But... but... Oh, should I tell him...? What if he doesn't like girls who make the first move...? What are you even thinking? This is Horror High School..."

"Ah!!"

She flopped back down and pulled the covers over herself.

But from beneath the quilt embroidered with Ali Riding a Bicycle, she still occasionally let out frantic, flustered sounds, voicing the shy troubles of a girl in love.

Even at this "university," would the omnipotent Headmaster be forced to wave the white flag in the face of a girl in love?