Chapter 66: The Dream Comes True, One Thousand Students, One Thousand Grand Scenes

Old people tend to easily lose themselves, especially when reminiscing about the past.

By the time he snapped back to reality, a hand with distinct knuckles had extended right before his eyes, “clicked” down on the control key, and then withdrawn.

The old man looked up. Qin Jiu smiled at him.

“You may continue; we’ll make ourselves comfortable.”

With that, he strode briskly over to the floor-to-ceiling window, where another candidate who had violated the rules was waiting for him.

Whoosh—

The window glass instantly vanished, and the icy wind of a winter’s deep night rushed in.

The candidate stood right on the edge of the platform, gazing down at the brilliant lights spread out beneath the high-rise. From the side, his thin eyelids were slightly lowered, his expression cool and composed.

For a moment, the old man inexplicably had a feeling—

If that invigilator, whose features had long since faded from memory, were to remove his sunglasses, these exact eyes and brows would fit perfectly.

……

You Huo glanced at it for a while, then turned his head and asked, “From here?”

The old man thought to himself, even the tone of voice was similar.

Just like that invigilator, it was always a tone that wasn’t too warm.

Considering he was new here, the old man comforted, “Yes, just get off from there. Look down to the right, there should be a long ladder. You can go down by stepping on that.”

You Huo glanced at his feet.

Reinforcements were nailed to the wall, one piece after another, extending from top to bottom, with no end in sight.

If it were someone with a fear of heights, just one glance would make their heart race wildly.

Because there was a somewhat familiar air about him, the old man couldn’t help but say a few more words: “It looks pretty scary this way, doesn’t it? Actually, overcoming it psychologically can happen quite quickly.”

Qin Jiu had long since forgotten about the past 12 punishments.

As if it were his first time here, he curiously looked out, then with a half-smile, he said to You Huo, “Do you need to overcome it? I don’t mind waiting for you a moment; this steel ladder isn’t too long.”

You Huo glanced at him and stepped off without hesitation.

Qin Jiu stood there for a moment before suddenly laughing and following him down.

“……”

One jump per second.

The comforting words the old man was about to say were swallowed back down, leaving him thinking to himself, “Good grief, this is unbelievable.”

After not seeing each other for so many years, these two oddballs actually ended up together.

But he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

Even though Qin Jiu’s appearance hadn’t changed, he was still quite different from how he used to be.

Like a long knife encased in a sheath, only in certain inadvertent moments would it let a glimpse of its sharp edge shine through.

As one who had experienced such changes himself, they were no stranger to the old man—they were all too common in life.

For instance, when someone loses something and cannot find it for a long time, their words and actions might seem absent-minded. To others, they appear indifferent or detached, and only in occasional moments of clarity do they reveal a spark of their usual vitality.

That state of mind was exactly the same as Qin Jiu’s now.

But Qin Jiu was perfectly intact in both body and limb, neither injured nor disabled.

The old man pondered left and right, but couldn’t figure out what he had lost.

He hung his head and began to drift off to sleep again.

In that half-asleep, half-awake moment, the old man suddenly remembered…

Oh dear, another examinee didn’t register!

* * *

Not registering was something You Huo did on purpose.

That palm-scanning device has an excellent memory, complete with past records. Looking at Qin Jiu’s display, examinee and examiner periods are mutually linked.

If he pressed his hand on it, there was a chance it might bring up a string of Examiner A’s records.

Let’s hold off on that for now.

The descent lasted far longer than expected.

An icy wind rose from below like ten thousand arrows shot at once, stinging the skin with its force.

After what felt like an eternity, his speed suddenly dropped. He slammed into a soft cushion, cushioning the impact with agile reflexes the moment he landed.

He straightened up and took a closer look, realizing he was standing next to a stack of sponge pads covered in dark green cloth covers—it was these things that had just cushioned his fall.

Not far away was a sandpit, and further beyond were plastic tracks and lush grassy fields.

This was an athletic field.

The setting sun sank, and students gathered in small groups, laughter spreading everywhere.

Everywhere was occupied with people, except for where You Huo stood.

A soft rustling sound, followed by another shift from the cushion beside him.

You Huo turned his head to see Qin Jiu, in one swift motion, push himself up and jump down from the cushion.

“What place is this?”

Qin Jiu’s dark eyes swept the surroundings.

“A middle school?”

“Yeah,” You Huo said.

“Are you sure there’s no mistake?”

This place is spotless everywhere, and You Huo honestly couldn’t see where it was necessary to clean.

Surely they wouldn’t need a broom, right?

“When punishing people, the system never knocks on the wrong door.”

Qin Jiu circled around the waist-high soft padding and said, “Let me search around…”

“What are you looking for?”

“There’s usually a cleanup checklist that tells the person being punished which conditions need to be met before the cleanup is considered finished—Ah, found it.”

There was a sticky note at Qin Jiu’s feet, tucked into the edge of the soft sand pit.

The paper was ginger-colored and easily overlooked.

Printed on the sticky note were a few lines of text:

Subject of this exam: Politics

Exam points covered: Philosophy (Materialism vs. Idealism)

Frequent overreactions among examinees in this examination hall have led to the originally confined effects expanding unduly to all individuals within the hall (including examinees and role-related characters), causing frequent loss of control in the exam hall.

According to relevant regulations, a consecutive loss of control exceeding 5 times in the same examination hall necessitates maintenance and cleanup.

The clean-up tasks are now issued as follows:

【Penalized examinees are to appropriately clean up all subjectively fabricated entities, restoring examination hall order to a manageable scope.】

Politics?

Philosophy?

Materialism or Idealism?

You Huo’s gaze once again shifted toward the sports ground.

“Where did these subjective constructs come from?”

Qin Jiu said, “Hard to say. Maybe these people are them.”

You Huo remained silent.

The entire teaching area rang with the bell signaling the end of class, and several physical education teachers blew their whistles from different spots on the sports field.

Girls chatted and laughed in small groups as they gathered in various places, while the boys on the basketball court, still eager to play, made one final shot before dribbling off the court.

“A little green, seems like you’re not too fond of that kind of scenario,” Qin Jiu remarked abruptly.

You Huo: “?”

Coming back to his senses, he saw Qin Jiu with both hands in his pockets, looking utterly bored, slightly bent over as he examined his face with a studious gaze.

You Huo: “…”

“What are you doing?”

Qin Jiu: “Just narrating the changes in your complexion.”

“—Briefly turned pale just now, now looking a bit wooden.”

You Huo: “…”

Qin Jiu’s gaze dropped a bit, watching his lips press into a thin line.

You Huo endured for a moment, then couldn’t hold back: “Did you eat something rotten before you came here?”

“No,” Qin Jiu straightened up, “just jumped off a building, feeling pretty good.”

If the old doorkeeper had heard that, he would have probably clutched his chest in shock again.

But the rapid descent did indeed bring him a long-lost sense of excitement.

It wasn’t the act itself that was thrilling, but the place itself.

He thought, the 12 punishments he had forgotten must not have been unbearable, or perhaps… something had happened during those times that brought him joy.

So much so that even just a hint of a familiar feeling made him feel genuinely happy.

* * *

“You’re here!” a voice called out from a distance.

You Huo followed the sound and looked over.

A middle-aged woman in a brown suit skirt waved at them and quickly walked over.

“You must be here to help, right?” the woman said,

“I am the head of the political and educational affairs office here, my surname is Xiao. These are a few of our outstanding young teachers.”

“……”

This idiotic system is really too much.

Promised a clean-up, but still has to put on a full show.

“What’s the difference between this and taking another exam?” You Huo sneered.

Qin Jiu said, “There is—it means you won’t be last again.”

The emphasis isn’t on the teacher. After a brief introduction, Director Xiao asked the two, “You must be aware of the specific situation, right?”

“No, tell us about it,” Qin Jiu said.

“No? Then what are you doing here?” a young man muttered impatiently.

He had two dark circles under his eyes, making it look like they were about to slip down to the corners of his mouth.

Not just him, but everyone present was the same.

Standing together, the visual effect was quite intense.

Director Xiao adjusted his glasses, casting a reproachful look at him and scolding, “Xiao Zheng!”

The young man reluctantly shut his mouth.

Director Xiao nodded politely to Qin Jiu again.

“I’m sorry, they’ve been under a lot of stress recently, haven’t slept much, and are physically and mentally exhausted. It’s inevitable that their words might sound a bit impatient.”

“What kind of trouble?” Qin Jiu asked.

You Huo took the note from his hand, flipping it over to look at both sides.

Director Xiao said, “It’s like this, lately the school… hasn’t been very clean.”

Qin Jiu: “……”

He was truly fed up with this bit-by-bit explanation style, yet he still managed to ask patiently, “What do you mean by ‘not quite clean’?”

That short-tempered Teacher Zheng couldn’t stand it any longer, taking over the conversation: “A while back, a certain game became popular among the students. You probably know about it. Maybe it’s because of the pressure from studying, but a lot of kids like to play that kind of thing… you know, like making wishes or summoning ghosts. They do it for the thrill, out of pure curiosity, or to see who’s braver.”

“Oh, I’ve heard a little about that,” Qin Jiu said.

“So what did they recruit?”

Teacher Zheng was on the verge of a breakdown.

“I have no idea what that thing is. According to the students, it’s something that creates dreams? Or captures dreams? Anyway, it has to do with dreams. But that’s not the point—the real issue is its function.”

“Yes, and the most troublesome part is exactly that function,”

Director Xiao chimed in, finally able to vent.

“It’s said to make dreams come true.”

“And they’re allowed to recruit something like that?”

Qin Jiu raised an eyebrow.

Director Xiao: “I didn’t believe it before, but now, it really seems true.”

“How do we recruit them?” Qin Jiu asked again.

Director Xiao: “…”

Are you here to solve a problem or to cause one?

Director Xiao felt that this gentleman looked even more eager to give it a try than the students.

She quickly waved her hands and said, “No, no, no, the method isn’t the issue. The problem is that so many students made reckless wishes, and now the whole school has been dragged into it. Everyone’s dreams are coming true.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Qin Jiu joked,

“A 100% college admission rate.”

Teacher Zheng couldn’t hold back, “Good my foot. At first, it seemed fine for a couple of days—fewer students playing around, fewer believers, and they were dreaming pleasant dreams. Test scores genuinely improved. But how could everyone have pleasant dreams? There were always a few who slept poorly and had nightmares, and that was absolutely hellish.”

“I was on night duty that day, staying in the dormitory area…”

Teacher Zheng rubbed his face with both hands, almost deforming it: “My god, you have no idea how I made it through that night. There was a shadow of someone hanging outside the window, the blanket I slept in was covered in blood halfway through, and there was some thing outside the door scratching at it.”

The stuff from the students’ nightmares also came to life, roaming the streets and alleys of the dormitory area.

Who knows how many homes were visited that night.

The next day during class, half the students had dark circles under their eyes, looking more like ghosts than actual ghosts.

“That day, the school’s psychological counseling office was almost overwhelmed.”

A short-haired female teacher said: “In all my years of working, these past few days have been so busy I’m starting to question my entire existence.”

Principal Xiao said, “Not just in Teacher Chen’s counseling room—the infirmary and the teachers’ office are full of students too. Our school is a boarding school, a full-time boarding school. The students only go home once a month, so we’re practically their parents. If the kids are terrified, of course they’re going to come to us.”

That day, a large group of students were frightened.

During the day, they were comforted, and everyone seemed fine as they chatted and laughed together.

But at night, their true feelings surfaced.

“Not to mention the students, even me!” Teacher Zheng said,

“That night I had nightmares one after another, and all the horror movies I’ve seen since childhood came back to mind.”

The psychology teacher pointed to her own eyes and said, “I couldn’t sleep at all that night, and my eye sockets became sunken.”

Because that night, the number of people having nightmares increased severalfold, and the things lurking around the school naturally multiplied by the same amount.

As a result, a vicious cycle began.

Every night grows more terrifying.

“Have you taken the sleeping pills?” Qin Jiu asked.

“Yes,” Director Xiao replied.

“Not only did I take them myself, but I also gave some to the students. We tried every possible way.”

“Recently, the roads outside have been blocked, so the school cannot give a break either,” she continued.

“Besides, no one knows if this situation would continue if they were sent home. What if it ended up spreading chaos to the students’ families, then multiplying tenfold from one to another? That would be truly terrifying.”

Not far away, students were being led by their various physical education teachers toward the academic area. Their expressions were somewhat uneasy, but overall, they still radiated youthful energy.

Director Xiao said, “Kids can be a bit thoughtless, you know. During the day, if you distract them, they’ll eat and run around as usual. Those things don’t come out in the daylight either, so at first glance, everything seems quite peaceful. Just wait until tonight and you’ll see…”

Teacher Zheng said, “We’ve had a few groups of transfer students before. Most of them…”

Director Xiao shook his head and said, “If things continue like this, our school won’t be able to operate anymore. Besides, even if we could keep going, it wouldn’t be fair to the students who have been involved in incidents. Since the principal invited the two of you, he must have his reasons. You’ll definitely help, won’t you?”

When you’re already being punished, can you really say it’s wrong?

So, this is a ghost story.

The so-called transfer students are batches of examinees. Originally, this “dream come true” effect only existed among the examinees, but a bug occurred, spreading it to all the NPCs in this exam hall—

Thus, a spectacle of demons and ghosts roaming the night unfolded.

You Huo held the sticky note between his fingers, his voice cool and detached as he said, “Politics, philosophy.”

Materialism, idealism, subjective fabrication?

What the hell kind of nonsense is this?

He then asked Director Xiao: “How many people are there in the school?”

“Right now… it’s winter break make-up classes, so there aren’t too many people,” Director Xiao said.

“The first-year students aren’t here, only the second and third years—just over a thousand.”

You Huo: “…”

A thousand students, a thousand ghosts.

Director Xiao said, “The principal asked us to fully cooperate with you. Let’s arrange your accommodations first.”

She beckoned a student over: “Zhang Ming, come here.”

It was a chubby little fellow with a particularly cheerful round face.

The school urgently needed this kind of talent right now to help alleviate the fear.

Zhang Ming jogged over and asked, “Teacher, what’s wrong?”

“These two are guests invited by the principal. They’ll be staying in the dormitory for the night, in the vacant room on the sixth floor.”

Zhang Ming said, “Oh, the one next to our dorm?”

“Right.”

Director Xiao pointed at You Huo and said, “This is Teacher Jia.”

You Huo: “…”

The first few called Jia were all dead. Killed by him.

He pointed at Qin Jiu and said, “This is Teacher Yi.”

Qin Jiu: “…Fine, that’s better than bing.”

Zhang Ming laughed until his eyes disappeared into slits.

Director Xiao took some people to fetch daily necessities for them, while the little fatty led them towards the dormitory.

They never expected that they, two grown men, would one day move back into student dormitories.

Zhang Ming had a lively personality; perhaps he was genuinely carefree, thinking that encountering ghosts was quite a remarkable event.

Qin Jiu asked him: “Do you have nightmares?”

“I sure do!”

Out of research interest, Qin Jiu said: “Oh? What kind of nightmares?”

The little chubby kid waved a hand and said: “Big productions!”

Qin Jiu: “…”

One thousand students. With that many, a grand spectacle would be quite the laugh.