Chapter 331: Volume 1, Chapter 331: Weird Manga (1)

Jiang Zhi: "???"

777 whispered: "This world is different from other worlds; it is a supernatural mystery manga world. Host, you need to find the villain yourself, and… sizzle… sizzle…"

777's voice disappeared, and no matter how she called out, there was no further response.

Jiang Zhi pushed her glasses, feeling somewhat helpless.

Fortunately, she was already accustomed to such unexpected situations, quickly calmed down, and carefully pondered the synopsis of the supernatural mystery manga "Weird Manga".

According to what the system said, she had entered the manga world named "Weird Manga", and everything that happened in this world unfolded according to the manga's plot.

The vehicle arrived at the terminal stop; as Jiang Zhi stepped off, a semi-transparent panel suddenly appeared before her eyes.

【Identity: Passerby】

【Trigger manga plot: On her way home from work, she encounters a dying, pitiful boy.】

After Jiang Zhi read those two lines, the transparent panel vanished.

It seemed as if everything just now had been her illusion.

She looked around, thinking: "As a passerby, can I still trigger the manga plot?"

Not far away, a huge manga‑style arrow appeared, frantically pointing in a direction.

A big question mark appeared above Jiang Zhi's head.

She didn't understand why such an unscientific scene would appear before her eyes.

In a manga world, can one just do as they please?

She held her breath, wary, and walked over to the mouth of an alley.

This place was remote and desolate; the alley had no lights, pitch black, gloomy, as if countless evil spirits lurked within.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhi turned around and prepared to run.

"Trick me into going to my death? Don't even think about it!"

But she hadn't taken two steps when her body felt nailed to the spot, unable to move.

Her vision filled with red, as if blood were pouring into her eye sockets, conveying a strong warning.

【The triggered plot must be completed, otherwise she will die on the spot!】

"Threaten me?" Jiang Zhi gritted her teeth and ultimately turned back to the alley's entrance.

"Forget it," she thought, "she can yield and be flexible."

Staring at the alley before her, which seemed as deep as an abyss, goosebumps rose on one arm; she shivered, rubbed her arms, and stepped forward with heavy steps.

When she reached beside a vague, murky black shadow, the transparent panel appeared again.

【Triggered choice: ① Carry the pitiful boy to the hospital. ② Kiss the boy on the lips. ③ Kiss the boy on the forehead.】

Jiang Zhi: "?"

She chose death.

【Mandatory question, time limit one minute, countdown starts: 60, 59…】

Jiang Zhi's tears streamed down her face.

"This is a horror manga, after all—who knows if the person collapsed here is a murderer or an evil spirit?"

She didn't want to stay here even a moment; she just wanted to go home.

The countdown slowly approached zero.

Jiang Zhi quickly chose option ①.

【Choice successful; the plot will immediately be enacted according to the choice.】

The alley was dimly lit; she couldn't make out the boy's appearance, only seeing his blurry silhouette.

Without time to think, she bent over, hoisted him onto her back, and ran outward.

"Never mind," she thought, "run first, talk later."

Having run out of the alley, she followed the navigation to a nearby hospital.

Though called a hospital, it was actually just a clinic.

As soon as she set the boy down, three or four doctors rushed over, lifted him onto a bed, and pushed him toward the emergency room.

They didn't say a word, simply ignoring her.

Jiang Zhi realized she was merely a passerby; in this manga, she didn't even deserve a name.

"Humble passerby·Jiang Zhi" walked out of the clinic, step by step heading home.

【Mission reward: identity upgrade.】

【Identity changed: Passerby-Teacher A】

As Jiang Zhi walked down the street, she stopped, glanced at her identity back and forth, and still had no name.

And what does "Teacher A" mean?

"Beep beep beep—!"

A sharp ringtone came from her pocket; she took out the old‑style phone, saw a string of numbers appear on the narrow screen, Jiang Zhi wanted to answer, and after fumbling for a while she finally managed to pick up.

The keys were old and unresponsive; she had to press several times before they worked.

"Teacher A, it's so late—why haven't you returned to the dorm yet? The school is about to lock its doors." The speaker's tone sounded familiar to her, if one ignored the way she was addressed.

"What kind of address is 'Teacher A'? Is her surname A, or is she called Teacher A??"

Jiang Zhi suppressed the urge to retort and replied, "I'll be there right away."

The other end quickly hung up.

Suddenly, a navigation map appeared before Jiang Zhi's eyes—a map to her school.

So human‑friendly.

She followed the navigation all the way to the gate of an old school.

The tall walls blocked her view; as she approached the narrow school gate passage, a face appeared in the guard booth, almost scaring her to death.

It was a face covered in burn scars, one eye blind and rolled white, the other eye devoid of warmth, staring fixedly at her, ferocious and terrifying.

"It's Teacher A, I thought it was some student who snuck out; it's so late, why did you only come back now?" His voice was hoarse, as if burned, sounding harsh to hear.

Jiang Zhi quickly calmed down and said, "I went out on an errand, sorry to trouble you this late."

The guard pulled at the corner of his mouth and smiled; his smile looked like a ghost's, making him even more frightening: "It's fine, it's fine, go in."

After saying goodbye to the guard, Jiang Zhi hurried away.

Following the navigation to the dormitory, this dormitory building looked like it had a long history; the walls were mottled, covered in spiderwebs, with cracks sprouting everywhere, spreading to the ceiling.

It seemed on the verge of collapse, as if a single earthquake could topple it.

The dormitory she stayed in housed sixteen teachers in total; the teacher who called her was the one sleeping in the bunk below hers, known as Teacher K.

The other teachers' names all began with letters, not worthy of being called proper names.

While she lay asleep on the upper bunk, Teacher K in the lower bunk was chatting with the other teachers.

"This new batch of students is the hardest to handle; they especially love to cause trouble, and I don't want to be in charge of them."

"I hope I'm not assigned to them tomorrow, otherwise I really won't be able to cope."

Their voices were low; the other teachers had gone to sleep, the lights in the room were off, outside it was pitch black, not a glimmer of light visible.

Jiang Zhi closed her eyes and fell asleep; this sleep was very comfortable.

She was awakened by Teacher K, who said they needed to attend the orientation ceremony.

After Jiang Zhi finished washing up, she followed them to the orientation ceremony.

Students stood in rows, thick as a crowd; the morning light was somewhat dim, and from afar it looked like evening.

She stood among the teachers, listening as the principal held up a loudspeaker and spoke there.

Finally he walked over and asked them, "Who among you volunteers to take charge of the new batch of students?"

Jiang Zhi learned from those teachers that the new batch of students was difficult to handle; thinking it better to do less than more, she lowered her head and pretended to be invisible.

Who would have expected a transparent panel to suddenly appear before her, giving rise to a bad premonition in her heart.

【Trigger comic plot: ① excitedly jump up and raise her hand to tell the principal she wants to take charge of the new batch; ② beat the principal up and scold him as a dead baldhead.】

Jiang Zhi's vision went black; she was almost about to bid farewell to this wonderful world.