The classroom was filled with students. Although the teacher hadn’t arrived yet, everyone was already quietly reading or doing exercises, creating the atmosphere typical of an advanced class.
Li Zhi’s deskmate happened to be Tan Manyu. The two of them took this opportunity to pretend they had just met, introducing themselves in front of the audience.
Tan Manyu’s voice carried a hint of excitement, like someone meeting their idol: “I’m a singing streamer on Douya. This is my first time participating in an instance. I really enjoy watching your streams.”
Li Zhi glanced at her and thought her acting was surprisingly good.
The classroom was very quiet, even the students in the back row weren’t talking. Li Zhi observed the other students and noticed that their expressions were calm. They weren’t studying out of fear. Even when the players whispered among themselves or glanced around, the students weren’t disturbed. No one looked up; everyone was focused on their books, studying intently.
Tan Manyu whispered, “This is too weird.”
Li Zhi nodded in agreement.
Indeed, for players who had experienced school life, none of this seemed normal.
Even in an advanced class, students wouldn’t be so uniformly diligent. Besides, they were only in the second year of high school, not yet in the intense third-year sprint to the college entrance exams. The bell for evening self-study had just rung, and with no teacher present, it was unusual for all the students—even those in the back row—to be so focused on their studies, completely oblivious to the outside world. It went against the typical high school experience.
Of course, maybe this was just the world of academic overachievers—an entire class of top students.
While the players continued to exchange whispers, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from the hallway outside. The distinct clack of low-heeled shoes on the floor was particularly clear in the quiet environment, starting from the far end of the corridor and stopping at the classroom door.
A middle-aged female teacher wearing glasses walked in. She didn’t appear as strict as expected; her demeanor was relatively gentle. However, as soon as she entered, Li Zhi noticed that the students, who had already been studying diligently, lowered their heads even further.
No matter how many years had passed since graduation, there was an instinctive sense of respect and awe when seeing a teacher—especially now, inside a school instance, sitting in a second-year high school classroom. Even the players, who were already part of society, couldn’t help but be reminded of their school days and fell silent like quails.
The female teacher stood at the podium, slowly scanning the students below. Her gaze eventually landed on the players behind her glasses. She spoke, “Are you the transfer students assigned to my class?”
Zhou Jianzhang, who had taken on the role of team leader, stood up and responded, “Yes, teacher.”
The teacher’s voice carried a tone of warning and reminder. “I am your homeroom teacher, Ms. Liu. Now that you’ve transferred to our school, you must follow the rules of Yucai High School: respect your teachers, be strict with yourselves, be polite and eager to learn. Here, your attitude toward learning is more important than your academic performance.”
The players all nodded in unison.
The homeroom teacher looked satisfied. “Alright, begin your evening self-study. Study on your own, and no talking. If you fall behind, feel free to ask your teachers after class. Our class progresses quickly because you transferred here for our high pass rate.”
After saying this, she left. The sound of her footsteps echoed once again in the fluorescent-lit hallway. The student with Pink Hair sitting in front of Li Zhi finally relaxed his tense back and turned around to quietly complain to Li Zhi, “I almost suffocated! This horrible high school memory!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the footsteps, which had already faded, suddenly reappeared at the classroom door. Before Li Zhi could signal him, the homeroom teacher’s cold voice rang out, “No talking during self-study. What are you doing?”
Li Zhi felt like Pink Hair’s hair stood on end.
His face turned pale as he slowly turned back to see the homeroom teacher staring at him. “Stand in the hallway until the self-study session is over.”
Pink Hair sat rigidly in his seat, seemingly too scared to move.
Li Zhi nudged him slightly, whispering under her breath, “Go.”
Pink Hair stiffly stood up and shuffled towards the classroom door, step by step. As he neared the homeroom teacher, her gaze fell on his hair, and she frowned. Feeling the weight of her stern stare, Pink Hair was on the verge of tears.
Luckily, she didn’t mention his hair but instead said, “This is the first lesson I’m giving you at Yucai High School. Stand straight!”
Pink Hair immediately straightened up like a soldier.
The homeroom teacher lingered at the door for a while longer. Though she didn’t say anything, the intensity of her gaze behind the glasses was impossible to ignore. The players all hunched over, not daring to raise their heads. After what felt like forever, that oppressive gaze finally disappeared.
In the dim hallway, the old fluorescent light flickered twice.
Despite the brightly lit school building, there wasn’t a single sound. Every classroom was full of students, yet as Pink Hair stood there, it felt eerily silent—more unsettling than being in the middle of nowhere.
Suddenly, the system’s voice startled him:
——You have encountered a key NPC, triggering this phase of the storyline: You are transfer students placed in Class 2-1 at Yucai High School. You must complete the upcoming study tasks here, and please abide by the school rules, maintain a proper learning attitude.
——This mission: Pass the test to clear the level.
Both the players and the audience in front of the screen heard the system’s announcement of the mission, and everyone’s expressions immediately became rather colorful.
Pass the test to clear the level.
What test? There are countless tests in high school—pop quizzes, weekly exams, monthly exams, midterms, finals. Which test were they supposed to pass? And more importantly, what would be on it? The mandatory high school subjects like Chinese, Math, and English?
If that’s the case, none of them would be able to clear the level! Except for Lian Qinglin, Pink Hair, and White Hair, all the other players had graduated more than five years ago. Who could still remember high school knowledge?
The player sitting next to Lian Qinglin, Sun Siyuan, glanced at him pleadingly.
Lian Qinglin: “…”
Bro, have you all forgotten how you used to mock us idols for having low academic qualifications? He might only be nineteen, but he spent most of the past few years as a trainee!
The players were starting to feel a bit anxious, but with Pink Hair’s example fresh in their minds, none of them dared to speak. They had no choice but to force themselves to continue reading the books on their desks, hoping to recall their long-lost knowledge.
Li Zhi flipped through the contents of her desk and found the usual high school textbooks. A Chinese textbook from the first semester of sophomore year lay on her desk. The texts she had once memorized resurfaced in her mind. She could probably memorize them again in a short time, but she was certain the test wouldn’t be that simple. She wasn’t confident that she could recall all her high school knowledge.
In the corner of her eye, the word “Score” on the nameplate seemed to quietly watch her.
After an excruciating forty-five minutes, the bell finally rang. The silent classroom stirred slightly as some students stood up to use the restroom, others went to fetch water, and a few whispered among themselves.
Seeing this, the players quickly gathered to discuss.
“What are we going to do? This task is an exam, and I was a terrible student when I was in school!”
“There’s no way it’s as simple as a test on Chinese, Math, and English. Doesn’t the system know we’re all adults? Throwing us in here to do this task clearly doesn’t fit its usual logic.”
“Aren’t there physical fitness tests in high school, too?”
After this question, everyone turned to Zhou Jianzhang. He chuckled, “If it’s really a fitness test, that would be easy.”
Of course, for him, a gym teacher, physical tests would be the simplest thing.
After a while of discussing, the group didn’t come up with any solid ideas. The bell rang again soon after. Li Zhi calculated that the break time seemed to be only five minutes. The students quickly returned to their seats, and the classroom once again fell into complete silence.
There were three periods of evening self-study in total. By the time the dismissal bell rang, it was completely dark outside.
Through the classroom window, the faintly flickering streetlights on the field could be seen. As everyone packed their bags, chatting and laughing, the classroom finally started to feel a bit more like a normal high school. A male student in a blue and white school uniform, sitting across the aisle, even greeted Li Zhi, “Where did you transfer from?”
Li Zhi gave the name of her previous high school. The male student nodded seriously, as if he had heard of it before. Then, suddenly lowering his voice with a hint of excitement in his eyes, he asked mysteriously, “We’re going to the field to play a game in a bit, do you want to join?”