The principal's face froze in shock, and for a moment, he could not speak.
That expression was proof enough.
Che Quan stopped wasting time on the useless man and turned to leave.
Afraid of being exposed, the principal instinctively got up and hurried around his desk to chase after him, only to be stopped by the fruit knife Che Quan hurled back without even turning his head.
Who knew how much force he had used-the blade plunged straight into the wooden floor less than a centimeter from the principal's toes and stayed there, motionless.
The sharp edge faced the principal directly.
Just a little closer.
And the tip would have gone straight into his foot.
The cowardly principal's back was drenched in cold sweat. As Che Quan slammed the office door behind him, his legs gave out, and he collapsed onto his expensive wooden floor.
When the midday break came,
Chen Yuxiang headed to the rooftop Ning Dantong had mentioned and happened to run into her on the stairs.
With no one else around, Ning Dantong approached Chen Yuxiang, and they went up to the rooftop together.
Che Quan was already sitting in an open spot on the rooftop, waiting.
He had arrived before either of them.
After leaving the principal's office, he had come straight here.
An empty, windswept place really was ideal for clearing his head.
By now, Che Quan had calmed down completely.
He had even worked out a few key points-
When he first discovered that Jiang Cong was working against him, using his position to demand that the principal go easy on those people, Che Quan had been convinced that Jiang Cong was obstructing his mission.
But then he suddenly remembered the "bet" Jiang Cong had proposed.
If Jiang Cong wanted to win and get a higher score in this so-called instance, he had to advance the mission, not obstruct it.
Jiang Cong did not seem like an idiot.
So perhaps Jiang Cong had done that for more than the simple pleasure of annoying him. It might also have been necessary to complete the mission of "fulfilling Qiao Qiao's wish for revenge and release."
Based on that, Che Quan reached a conclusion.
Of course, Qiao Qiao wanted more than to ruin Teacher Chang, Miao Rouning, and the others and have them expelled.
That would let them off far too easily.
But if those people had to remain at school for the revenge to happen... Qiao Qiao probably wanted them dead.
As Che Quan was thinking, Chen Yuxiang and Ning Dantong came into view.
Ning Dantong looked anxious. The moment she reached them, she told Che Quan everything. "Miao Rouning and the others got off without a scratch. Now they're furious and want revenge on you and Qiao Qiao."
Chen Yuxiang was startled. "Without a scratch? How is that possible? Didn't the principal say he would thoroughly investigate this?"
Ning Dantong shook her head. "I don't know what happened behind the scenes. All I know is that Miao Rouning came storming over and told me and Yuan Zhou to find people to gang up on... Che Quan. Then she wants to take some obscene photos of Qiao Qiao, print them out, and distribute them around the school to vent her anger."
Chen Yuxiang's eyes widened. "Has she lost her mind? That's sick."
Ning Dantong pressed her lips together and explained, "As far as everyone knows, I'm still Miao Rouning's best friend, so I should be the first to hear about any plans she makes. 'I' also have a bunch of fake friends in Class Three. They've been pestering me after every class to gossip about all their scheming. I haven't had a chance to come find you."
Chen Yuxiang felt even more unnerved. "Good thing I didn't go looking for you, then. That would definitely have made them suspicious."
Ning Dantong gave her a resigned look, agreeing.
Che Quan asked calmly, "When are they planning to do it?"
Ning Dantong thought for a moment. "Within the next couple of days, unless something changes."
Chen Yuxiang was speechless for a moment before suggesting, "Then could we turn the tables, record a video, and post it online to expose how vile they are?"
Ning Dantong shook her head again.
"I sneaked into the computer room and tried. The internet here doesn't connect to the outside world."
Che Quan looked unsurprised, as though that confirmed his suspicions.
"What does that mean?" Chen Yuxiang asked, bewildered.
Ning Dantong replied, "It means this instance only contains the school. There's no outside environment. So we can only get revenge for Qiao Qiao within the school. Getting outside help is impossible, understand?"
Chen Yuxiang only half understood.
She offered another suggestion. "Then why don't we beat them up instead? That would let us vent, right? Nice and direct, and we could save Qiao Qiao too."
Ning Dantong's eyebrow twitched. She was both amused and exasperated.
"They have a whole mob of twenty or thirty people. Our combat abilities haven't increased one bit just because we're in an instance. We have to outsmart them."
Chen Yuxiang nodded. "True, but I can't think of how. Tell a teacher? Teacher Chang would wholeheartedly support whatever Miao Rouning and the others do, and now the principal's hiding in his shell too... There aren't any teachers or administrators we can turn to."
Ning Dantong fell silent.
Che Quan suddenly asked in a mild voice, "Miao Rouning's dorm room isn't far from yours, is it?"
The two thought for a moment, then both nodded.
Che Quan continued, "Chang Jianfeng also lives in the teachers' dormitory on campus."
Ning Dantong replied, "Yes. 'I' often see Yuan Zhou bringing him things."
"Mm."
The two waited, until Che Quan said casually, "Physical attacks are too boring. Let's attack them psychologically."
Both of them responded, "Huh?"
Che Quan did not want to explain much-it was too much trouble. After a moment's thought, he kept it brief. "There was a girl named Ying Jiajia. Teacher Chang forced himself on her, and Miao Rouning and the others bullied her. She dropped out. Let's use her to scare them."
Chen Yuxiang asked in surprise, "Che Quan, you mean... pretend to be a ghost and scare them?"
Che Quan had not expected Chen Yuxiang to catch on so quickly this time. He glanced at her, a faint hint of approval in his eyes.
Chen Yuxiang chuckled happily.
Ning Dantong suddenly clapped her hands as she remembered something. "I just heard that name too. Miao Rouning said, 'Qiao Qiao is the next Ying Jiajia.' But we don't know what Ying Jiajia looks like..."
"That's easy. You're undercover now. Just ask them."
The two began trading ideas about how to pose as a ghost.
Che Quan closed his eyes to rest, as though none of it had anything to do with him.
Late that night,
A piercing scream suddenly rang out from Miao Rouning's dorm room.
The lights came on at once.
Miao Rouning was deathly pale as she stared at the great swathes of foul-smelling blood seeping through the boards of the upper bunk above her head. It all dripped onto her quilt and sheets, turning them into a sea of blood.
She could not help letting out another hysterical scream.
Word of the incident quickly spread throughout the school.
Everyone was woken that night and made to line up downstairs for harsh questioning by the dorm matron.
Even the principal hurried over to the girls' dormitory to ask what had happened.
But neither the boys' nor the girls' dormitory had surveillance cameras, so there was no way to find out who had frozen the blood into blocks and secretly placed them on Miao Rouning's upper bunk.
No one slept well that night.
Except Che Quan.
The incident left Miao Rouning badly frightened. And when she found Ying Jiajia's old student ID beneath her pillow, she nearly lost her mind.
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