Chapter 344: Volume 1, Chapter 344: Ghoulish Comic (14)

What happened afterward was what Jiang Zhi saw in the top-floor hallway.

Those teachers, while the students were in class, poured gasoline onto the walkways and walls, locked the fence iron doors, let the fire spread, and when the police came, they made up a story they had prepared beforehand.

This school projected a positive image outward, but inside it was already rotten to the core.

The Comic System wanted her to give the students of this school a perfect ending—what kind of ending could reach that level of perfection?

Jiang Zhi wanted to put herself in the place of those students locked before the fence iron door.

Parents, using the excuse of wanting them to improve, abandoned them at the school.

After the fire broke out, the news made no mention of the students at all, instead exaggerating how the teachers wanted to rush into the blaze, suffering various injuries, even lying in the hospital accepting interviews, movingly recounting how they had taught the students.

Those students had no hope; awaiting them was only endless despair.

The more Jiang Zhi thought about it, the more her heart ached.

As soon as she stepped onto the top floor, she could feel a strong sense of sorrow.

A perfect ending would be to end this school's endless cycle of repetition, to report the true situation inside the school so that everyone knows that those few teachers standing before the camera, posing as role models, are essentially beasts in human skin.

Wen Chijin, standing behind her, seemed to see through her thoughts, leaning in close to her ear, his voice gentle like a clear, pure spring.

"It's too late."

Jiang Zhi suddenly thought of something, turned her head to look at him, and her lips unintentionally brushed his pale cheek.

Wen Chijin's gentle facade fell away, leaving only malice seeping from his bones; he lightly pinched her jaw, the corner of his mouth curving deeply: "From the moment I lured the security guard here, the outcome of this game was already decided."

The students who had originally been confined to the campus, now free of restraint, all poured out of the school gate; filled only with hatred, the only thing they wanted to do was take revenge.

Jiang Zhi stared for a long time, and when he leaned in to kiss her, she turned her head aside to avoid it.

"You, why are you doing this?"

Wen Chijin seemed to think of something amusing, burst into laughter, laughing so hard he stepped back a few steps, his shoulders trembling continuously, his pure black short hair swaying with his movements, darkness filling his surroundings, making him look more like a demon than a demon.

"This… this world." His voice filled with laughter, he said haltingly: "It should have long since become…"

"Hell." His handsome face lifted slightly, he lightly licked the corner of his mouth, as if immersed in the perfect world he had woven, excitement unbound.

Jiang Zhi: ……

She rose from the chair, without hesitation, and strode out of the projection room.

【You can't escape.】

Even if Jiang Zhi couldn't escape, she didn't want to stay and face the deranged Wen Chijin.

She had been careless; if she had thought of this consequence back then, she wouldn't have lured the security guard to the top floor.

But all those suppositions are idle talk; she simply made a mistake, so she accepts any punishment.

"My mission has no hope, right?"

【Yes.】

The Comic System couldn't spoil it for her; when Wen Chijin proposed this deal, it already knew the mission would fail.

Mainly, the mission was too difficult; she wanted to know what happened at this school, so she had to go to the top floor, but as a teacher, once she arrived there, she would be killed by the students who had been burned to death.

If she made a deal with Wen Chijin, the mission would be declared a failure.

【There is still one chance.】

Jiang Zhi ran for a long time, but she kept going in circles; as the system said, she simply couldn't get out.

Panting, she stopped, placed her hands on her knees, bent her back, and stood in place to catch her breath.

"What chance?"

【I will send you into Wen Chijin's dream; you need to change him!】

Jiang Zhi lifted her gaze; in the not-so-distant distance appeared a beam of flashlight light, and from the darkness a figure emerged faintly.

The black-haired boy smiled and said: "Teacher, do you still remember our first meeting? In an alley near the school, you carried me to the hospital. Those eyes of yours shouldn't belong to this world; let me dig them out, okay?"

Jiang Zhi: ……So at the start, the first person she encountered was Wen Chijin??

【No time to say more; get ready!】

Jiang Zhi's vision went black; a strong sense of weightlessness overwhelmed her, followed closely by the agony of near death.

…

(Dream One)

Thick snow blanketed the entire ground, streetlights flickered, biting late winds blew in gusts, and the night was as dark and dense as ink.

Before her lay a side street; Jiang Zhi, wearing rubber shoes, stepped on the creaking deep snow, leaving a series of deep pits.

There was not a single person on the road; only she was there, and Jiang Zhi called out to the system several times in her heart, but no one answered.

If 777 disappeared, that would be fine, but for the Comic System to disappear as well is absurd.

She had no information at all; she wore a high school cotton uniform, with a pink down jacket over it, a light-colored scarf wrapped around her neck, and she still felt cold.

The nighttime temperature was too low, and it was the depths of winter—who could endure this?

She sneezed, hugged her body, and trudged forward with heavy steps.

She had no destination, just walking on by herself.

As she passed a side path, a figure stumbled toward her, crying and throwing herself into her arms, voice trembling from fear: "Sister, sister, I can't find my mom; can you help me find her?"

Jiang Zhi couldn't see the child clearly in her arms, but from the clothing she guessed it was a girl; her chest eased a little, and she asked: "Where do you live?"

The little girl cried so hard she could barely catch her breath, her body shaking violently, as if she might faint from crying, yet she struggled to tell her: "I know a little…… but my brother abandoned me, didn't want me anymore; sister, take me home… I want my mom."

Jiang Zhi thought that since she couldn't see anyone nearby, maybe following her would lead her to Wen Chijin.

She took the little girl's hand and said: "All right, you lead the way."

The little girl had long, dark hair, wore very thin clothing, her clothes were old and ill-fitting, likely picked up here and there by her parents; she shivered, her hands turning purple from the cold.

Jiang Zhi took off her own down jacket, crouched in front of her, placed the jacket over her shoulders, and said: "Put this on and you won't be cold."

The little girl carefully lifted her eyes, her body felt much warmer, and she raised a tentative smile.

「Thank you, older sister. 」

Jiang Zhi stood up; the cold wind blew, her body trembled uncontrollably, but she still took off her scarf and gave it to the little girl.

The little girl looked very shy, she didn't dare to meet her gaze; she only stole glances when she couldn't be seen.

After walking along the small path for half an hour, she came out of the lane and saw a two-story house built near the old school area.