CH 120

In the slight confusion of the classroom, Xiao Lan pretends to be watching the action, but in fact she takes the opportunity to observe the students in the room.

The headmaster, Mrs Weld, had previously said that Corrieff College was set up for special children, but apart from a few students who appeared to be physically or mentally handicapped, most of the students in this classroom looked normal.

Even so far, they have the liveliness and enthusiasm of teenagers, and they get along naturally with their classmates, which doesn't match Xiao Lan's original suspicion that they might have psychological problems.

It is not clear what is so special about these students.

With the sound of glasses being spilled and all sorts of chaos going on, Luo moves quickly between the students' seats on long legs, like a busy lifeguard.

With a smile still on his face, he swiftly and decently dealt with the situation the students had created, but in his mind he had a new awareness of the confusing behaviour of humans -

Humans, indeed, are very difficult creatures to understand.

The students' enthusiasm for getting into trouble grew so great that Mrs Weld had to announce that too many mistakes in class would result in marks being deducted before several students were stopped from trying to study the explosion in the beaker.

At the end of class, Xiao Lan follows the students as they clear their desks and leave.

Luo, on the other hand, followed the headmaster.

It looks like the two won't have the chance to work together for a while, but it's good to look for clues from two angles this way - after all, student status has quite a few obstacles on campus.

--

Back in the dormitory.

The dormitories at Corrieff College are all single rooms, so there are no problems with students disturbing each other at night and the rooms are very quiet, so it looks like you can get a good night's sleep.

After washing up, Xiao Lan lies in bed and suddenly feels the silence in the room is a little too much.

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When he was in the game, he always moved with Luo, even when he slept, they were mostly together. In reality or in the player's quarters, the two were just a wall away from each other.

To be completely separate like this seems like a rare experience.

Xiao Lan surprisingly feels a little out of his element.

Habit, it really couldn't be a more terrible thing.

Lying on the bed, Xiao Lan took out the envelope from the storage space where she had first met Luo. The envelope was the same as it had been then, European in shape, on unpretentious paper, with the familiar handwriting "Luo".

Only the prop description changed from "This is Zhang Dong's approval of you because you're poorer than he is, but this envelope looks like a random supermarket stall" to "You'll always have me with you until the end of time" after their first playthrough. to the end of everything".

Xiao Lan's fingertips rubbed the surface of the envelope, recalling the time when they had just met, when he was just a dumbfounded newcomer and Luo was just a dark shadow.

It seems like a long time ago when you think about it, but in reality it's only been a few months.

Xiao Lan was staring at the envelope when the handwriting on the envelope suddenly changed.

[Is something wrong, sir?

Xiao Lan was stunned, not expecting to be confronted with this question out of the blue, and there was a slight, unexplained feeling of weakness in his heart, as if he had been caught doing something bad, but he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling.

When Xiao Lan did not respond, the handwriting changed again.

[The envelope contains a part of my essence, if you have something to do, you can write on the envelope to communicate with me, I can feel it all]

[However, the voice cannot be conveyed].

The envelope contained part of Luo's original body, which Luo had told him about before, without Xiao Lan thinking about it at the time.

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Now that he was reminded that the envelope was part of Luo's body, had he not just been touching ......

Not only that, but Xiao Lan had written on the envelope before, and bringing Luo's face and body into the picture was a little too exciting.

Quickly stop ...... can't think about it ......

Xiao Lan slapped his face to stop his mind racing in a strange direction.

He hurriedly found a corner on the envelope and wrote.

[Nothing, I just took out the envelope by accident]

[Goodnight]

Luo didn't need to sleep, he had never had a good night in his life, and if he had, Luo would have been in trouble.

A few moments later, Luo's handwriting appeared unhurriedly, unconcerned by the question of good night:

[Good night, sir, and good dreams]

"Phew ......" Xiao Lan breathed a sigh of relief.

He took the envelope back into his storage space and settled back into bed and closed his eyes, "Better to sleep honestly."

Xiao Lan is always a good sleeper, and even with an extra interlude before bed, he drifts off to sleep quickly.

--

Xiao Lan rarely dreams, but this time it was an exception.

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In the darkness, his vision cleared and he was greeted by the familiar corridors of gothic architecture.

Why is this copy in all the dreams? Xiao Lan is a bit puzzled.

Xiao Lan surveyed himself and found that he was still wearing his Corrieff College uniform; he couldn't see his face for the moment, but judging by his hands, he still looked fifteen years old.

The only difference is that at the moment he has a cut of cloth wrapped around his wrist, poorly wrapped, messy and impermeable, likely to cause the wound to fester, the work of a non-professional at first glance.

That's ......

Xiao Lan recalls how he had to try his hand at cooking when he was fifteen because his father's disappearance and his mother's sudden illness had left his life in disarray.

However, he may not have been born with a talent for lighting up culinary-related tasks and got himself bruised the first time he cooked, the burns on his wrists being particularly bad and leaving deep scars that remain to this day after the injury healed.

Why did he dream that he was fifteen years old?

Is it a day dream?

Before he could think clearly, the dreaming Xiao Lan was already walking around and, looking around, he should be planning to go in the direction of his dormitory.

But, just as he was advancing, several teenagers, also wearing school uniforms, appeared a short distance away.

They looked at Xiao Lan with a mixture of mockery and teasing, as if they were watching a good show.

"Look, you guys, an unlucky newcomer."

"This kid is really underage, isn't he, to get into a playground of this difficulty, haha."

"Sympathise with him? How about you go and give him a lecture on the rules?"

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"I'm not, the newcomer will die sooner or later anyway."

"Want to take a guess how he'll die?"

"I guess any random death trap and he'll be dead."

"I think he'll die at the hands of an NPC."

"Might as well die at the hands of those lunatics. ......"

"Tsk, in the hands of those lunatics, it's better to kill yourself."

The men did not lower their voices when discussing him, and the malice and full concern in their tones were unmistakably revealed.

Xiao Lan could feel the doubts and fears of her dream self.

He didn't seem to understand why he was here, and why he had been placed in this strange school, and what the hell were the men who had just spoken talking about?

What a newcomer, what a playground, what rules ......

And what exactly do they mean by crazy?

Xiao Lan walked towards the men who had spoken and tried to get an answer from them. But they all scattered, and the speed of the men was so incredible that he could not even catch up with them, who usually ran first in sports, and was left standing alone.

"How did they ...... run so fast?" Xiao Lan in her dream voiced her doubts.

However no one came out to explain his confusion and he had to go to his dormitory to rest first, as the headmaster had said earlier.

Xiao Lan is in a strange state at the moment, as he can both use his own perspective in the dream and feel his inner activities, but is completely unable to manipulate his actions.

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It was as if he was both an insider and an outsider.

Observing and thinking but not being able to participate in it.

The situation he encountered in his dream reminded him of what Cheng Wenyi had mentioned earlier, the former Advent world.

According to Cheng Wenyi, in those days, there was no level distinction between players and copies, no newbie scene, and it was even common for players to kill each other.

Very similar to the situation at hand.

In the dream, the teenage Xiao Lan continues to move forward.

Suddenly, the sound of a fast run came from behind him.

The teenager subconsciously looked back.

But suddenly he felt his neck being strangled by cold, hard, rusty-smelling chains. The force of the stranglehold was so strong that he instantly felt the threat of death.

"

"Why don't I send you on your way!"

The man's raspy voice rang out in the back of Xiao Lan's head, the madness and coldness in his tone sending a chill down the spine.

The chains around her neck were tightening, the choking sensation made Xiao Lan's face turn red, her brain felt like it was about to explode, every beat of her blood felt like a loud bang.

The teenager tries to struggle.

He is very good at sports and is considered a decent fighter for his age. But how can an ordinary person who is underage be a match for a player who has been enhanced by the game.

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Even if he is only facing a poor man with no hope of passing and driven mad by the pressure of death.

"Struggle! Go on! More! Again! Hahahahahaha, I love watching you little worms struggle!"

Seemingly amused by the boy's struggle, the chains around his neck relaxed a little, only to tighten again after he had taken a slight breath.

"Ugh-" the teenager let out a muffled grunt of pain as he felt his neck was on the verge of being strangled.

He understood that the madman those people had spoken of earlier was probably referring to the guy who was now strangling him.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha ......" The assailant grew more and more delighted in the face of the teenager's pain.

It seems that only the dying struggle of his prey can make him feel strong and overcome the fear of death in his heart.

The teenager who lived and died also found this out.

In the throes of suffocation, he pretended he was dying, trying to cheat a moment of respite.

Sure enough, seeing that his prey was about to die, the man who hadn't had enough relaxed the chains in his hands once more.

Seizing the opportunity, the teenager threw a hard head butt at his opponent's chin.

The impact was so violent that the attacker's head was briefly dizzy and the movement of his hands could not help but relax again.

The teenager seized the opportunity to escape directly from under his opponent's chains.

He didn't have time to check his injuries, but just glanced back hastily, remembering his opponent's tall, lanky form, before using all his strength to flee in a random direction.

By the time the attacker had recovered from his dizziness, his prey had fled out of his sight.

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"Bah-" the tall assailant spat out a mouthful of bloodied saliva, a result of the impact he had just knocked into his mouth, and he looked around grimly, "You won't get away with this, little brat. "

--

The teenager fled in a panic.

On his way he saw again one of the few people who had been pointing at him earlier, and he reached out towards the other man, trying to ask for help -

Instead, they met a pair of eyes full of mockery.

The teenager's movements stalled, and with a look like that, it was clear that this man wasn't going to help him.

The man really didn't mean to help either, he leaned against the wall with his hands copied and his tone was teasing, "Good luck, Xiao family guy, I wonder if I'll have that kind of luck later, those lunatics don't give up that easily."

The teenager looked back at the empty path from which he had come, unease and fear screaming in his mind.

He gritted his teeth, the escape he had just made had exhausted his body, but he dared not stop. The teenager gave the indifferent passer-by a look and changed to a path that the other man could not see and continued running.

--

I don't know how long I had been running, but it was already dark.

Instead, the teenager was surprised to find himself completely unable to leave the college.

Whether it was over the wall or over the gate, it was as if there was some invisible barrier that kept him dead inside this college.

Exhausted, the teenager found a vacant room and temporarily hid in it.

"Cough ......" He covered his neck and couldn't help but cough. His entire neck was now on fire and the feeling of nearly being strangled was not a good one at all.

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Feeling cold and hungry now, the teenager who had finally gotten his breath back searched the room, trying to find something to eat or keep him warm.

However, the room had also been empty for who knows how long, with nothing but dust and clutter.

With some frustration, the teenager opened the last cupboard, only to be rewarded with dust puffing down from the door.

"Ahem ......" The dust-choked teenager tried to close the cabinet, but noticed an unstained card in the corner, an unstained object that looked somewhat conspicuous in this environment.

He reached out and picked up the card, and as he touched it the words surfaced on it.

[Name: Poverty Can't Limit My Imagination (Bound)]

[Ability: 1. Imagine an ability and give it to yourself within five minutes, the poorer you are the more powerful the ability becomes (not activated, activation requires 20 million poverty value) 2. Enhance the player's physical qualities according to the level of poverty (passive, not activated)]

[Cooling time: 24h].

[Description: I may be poor, but I can dream! This is the last stubbornness of the poor]

The moment he had only just looked at the card, it disappeared.

At the same time he felt an additional skill in his head, the ancient and strange thing he had just seen.

"Skill ...... is this a game?" The teenager's brow furrowed slightly, still half-aware of his current situation, "It still needs to be activated, and what's a poverty value?"

He tried to imagine an ability as the skill said, but unfortunately there was no response at all.

"It looks like it has to be activated before it can be used." The grey-headed teenager sighed and sat down somewhat dejectedly.

Xiao Lan, a bystander, was surprised - his skills! Why is it here!

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Although there is nothing wrong with saying that one's dreams will fill in things that are familiar to one, this one was so coherent that it was almost as if it had actually happened.

He began to wonder if it was really just a dream.

The dream time continues.

The moon has come out, but it is half hidden by thick clouds and only a little pale light comes through.

Cold and hungry, the teenager looked out of the window.

It couldn't go on like this, he needed to find a bit of food to do so.

He was already in the adolescent stage where he was prone to hunger and was hungry without a meal.

Now that he was being chased and running all the way, his strength was long overdrawn and his whole stomach was empty, with loud belly rumbles from time to time.

The teenager even suspected that at this rate, the sound from his stomach alone would be enough to draw in the guy who had attacked him.

The teenager cautiously poked his head out and, after taking a closer look around, headed in the direction of the restaurant the headmaster had mentioned earlier.

He struggled to hide his tracks and walked forward with the shelter of the building.

At last, the restaurant was close at hand, and a gleam of hope appeared in the teenager's eyes -

"Got - you - got - you - "

Around the corner ahead, the tall figure that the teenager had only seen once appeared. He seemed to have been waiting for a long time, holding a thick chain in his hand, and was giving the teenager a grim smile.

The teenager drew a backward breath.

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He didn't even bother with the other side, he just turned around and ran.

"This time, you won't be able to escape." A frantic voice tinged with killing intent came from behind him, accompanied by the sound of footsteps running at breakneck speed.

The teenager did not dare to turn back, but just ran as hard as he could.

He knew very well that if he had been a little slower, he would not have had a second chance to escape.

The two chased up again in the moonlight. The campus was so quiet late at night that not even a single person could be seen.

But the teenager was simply too tired and his remaining strength did not last long before he could clearly feel his body becoming heavy.

The attacker behind him, however, had been resting for a long time and had even eaten leisurely, with plenty of stamina, plus he was already physically strong and had no trouble at all chasing a teenager who was already almost exhausted.

Rather than a chase, he was simply experiencing the pleasure of his prey desperately trying to escape.

Finally, in a corridor, the pursuing attacker swung his chains and took down the teenager who was running ahead of him in one fell swoop.

"Well..." the teenager fell heavily to the ground with a thud that sounded painful.

"Hey, hey, that's about enough fun, so just be a good boy and go to hell." The attacker slowly moved closer to the teenager.

The teenager prostrated himself on the ground but still tried to brace his body away from him.

"Blame it on the Advent World if you want -" the attacker swung his chains at the teen once more.

The teenager who had been smacked once knew exactly how much it hurt and he rolled to the side with all his might, barely avoiding the blow.

A succession of attacks lunged towards him, which the teenager barely managed to dodge.

Unfortunately, the corridor was limited in scope and the teenager had been forced to the end of it, with no other way back but a closed wooden door behind him.

"Hahahaha-" the attacker laughed and swung the chain with his greatest strength.

"Boom-" heavy chains shattered the wooden door.

The teenager shrank at the last moment and huddled in the corner of the door to avoid the blow, however, as the door was shattered, the teenager's body fell in the direction of the door.

The light in the room shone on the teenager and on the death crisis behind him.

The cold chains strangled his neck once more and the pain of suffocation struck again.

In a trance, the teenager felt as if he could smell black tea.

"You're disturbing me." A low, magnetic male voice said in a tone so elegant that it was as if he was having an afternoon tea party, without skipping a beat.

"Get out! Don't give me any more trouble!" The assailant shouted roughly at the other man, "Little white boy, I'll kill you with me later."

"Oh, looks like I'll have to defend myself." The elegant male voice spoke.

"Bah! I'm warning you-"

In the next instant, the teenager felt the force on his neck, which had almost made him unable to resist, disappear.

The teenager looked down, only to see the hands holding the chains next to his own disappearing with a speed visible to the naked eye.

He turned back to find the guy who had been chasing him, just disappearing as quickly as if by magic before his eyes.

The teenager who had come back from the dead gasped sharply for breath, gulping in long-awaited air as he barely propped himself up on the ground, feeling as though he had barely any strength left.

The sound of footsteps on the ground from leather shoes sounded as one step approached towards the teenager.

It finally stopped not far from him.

"What an unfortunate child, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"

The teenager looked up at the sound of the voice and saw dark, shiny leather shoes, straight, slender legs, a teacher's uniform that resembled a dress -

Then there was a handsome looking face with light gold eyes, an elegant smile on his lips, a straight nose and a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles with chains on them.

The man was holding out his hand to him.

Xiao Lan, who was watching the dream from the sidelines, felt his mind rumble with a face that he knew all too well.

The man is - Luo.