Kaleidoscope of Death

CHAPTER 50: THREE YEARS AGO

Ko Shinobu declined another conversation with them ever since their last; he sat in the classroom and refused to move no matter what. There was nothing the four of them could do; they could only come again tomorrow to avoid drawing attention from other NPCs. When that time came , they would seek out a chance to have a proper talk with him. After all, he seemed to be holding the most important clues.

"We'll end it here for today. Let's return to our rooms early and get some rest." Ruan Nanzhu confessed with a yawn, "I am also quite exhausted."

"Alright." Li Dongyuan had never objected to Ruan Nanzhu's suggestions since they entered the door world. Whatever Ruan Nanzhu said, he did without hesitation; in a sense, it was quite considerate and gentlemanly of him.

The four of them ate something simple before returning to the school building, but upon arriving at the entrance, they saw the female newcomer walking around in circles with a panic-stricken face.

"What happened?" Lin Qiushi asked her.

The woman stammered, her voice plagued by heavy concern, "That... I have a friend... who hasn't come back."

"Where were you both going?" inquired Ruan Nanzhu.

"The old school building," The woman said, "I went to the bathroom before coming back and saw that he was gone. I looked all over the entire building, butI still couldn't find him. I grew more afraid the longer I stayed, so I came back after that."

"He went missing in the old school building?" Li Dongyuan tilted his head and glanced out of the window at the darkening sky, "There is no use in being hasty. It's impossible to look for him now that it's after dark. I would suggest that you rest for the night; we will accompany you to take a look tomorrow."

Although the woman looked very afraid, she nodded her head. It seemed like she, too, wasn't keen on returning to the sinister-looking old school building at a time like this.

And so, the group of people returned to their own rooms to take a rest.

The more experience they gained from inside the door world, the more they understood what a disappearance indicated. When someone went missing in a world riddled with death traps, the chance for their survival was zero to none. From the looks of it, that woman's friend was most likely already a goner.

As they all lay in bed, they analysed the clues they'd obtained today.

Ruan Nanzhu then mentioned a vital clue, "Aren't they going to take their final examinations soon?"

Lin Qiushi replied, "That's right. Why?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "The current season is certainly not winter; the temperature is moderate, if not warm. That being said, they're not taking the semester final exams students usually take before their winter vacation."

Lin Qiushi suddenly understood what Ruan Nanzhu was suggesting, "Do you mean their college entrance examinations are soon?"

"Correct." Ruan Nanzhu stated, "I reckon this is a crucial moment in time. Once final exam season ends, he will no longer be a student of this school."

The cogs in Xia Rubei's mind clicked in that very moment. "So the final examination is actually the college entrance exam; doesn't this mean this is our deadline? What if...what if we still aren't able to find the key by then?"

Ruan Nanzhu smiled, "There are two possible outcomes to such a situation: The first is that time will flow backwards and we will experience these past few days all over again. The second is that these supernatural entities will unleash a massacre and leave behind only one fortunate soul. The door will then open on its own." —Either situation was terrible, regardless.