The water on the floor was clear.
Yang Lin glanced inside and saw that the bathroom faucet was wide open, water gushing out.
It had already overflowed the sink and was running onto the floor.
But there was nothing else in the room; it was very clean.
By “clean,” He mean there were no monsters or side quests lurking about.
Yang Lin walked in and turned off the faucet, asking, “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Gu Zhan replied, lowering his gaze with a slightly indifferent expression.
He must have been trapped in a side space just now, with monsters appearing to stop him from taking the exam. Gu Zhan had tried various methods to break free, but to no avail. As he watched the creature that looked just like him gradually crawl out of the water, he felt a surge of anger.
Was it really that enjoyable to use someone else’s face?
He tried to leave the bathroom, but the doors and windows were sealed shut.
He had no choice but to use the walls to first hide in the internal space of his star chart watch while searching for some tools to pry open the lock—previously, to help Sun Jingqiu with her farming, he had sent over quite a few items.
To his surprise, Sun Jingqiu had actually given him an axe.
It looked familiar; the director had once dragged this axe while chasing him, breaking down the door to his room.
Gu Zhan took out the axe.
Unexpectedly, the axe was quite useful; the moment it split through the door crack, the faces on the water’s surface disappeared.
Even so, he wasn’t too happy and, acting on his whims, directly smashed the door panel.
He didn’t expect to startle the people outside.
Gu Zhan didn’t feel like explaining; he simply replied, “I was trapped. Has the exam started?”
Only then did everyone react, quickly saying, “Not yet! Hurry, it’s not too late to go now!”
They rushed toward the examination hall and finally made it back to their seats just before the exam bell rang.
The exam proceeded smoothly, but after it ended, the teacher came into the classroom and announced something.
“Who damaged the bathroom door? There’s water all over the floor?”
This was Gu Zhan's doing, but the others showed no intention of admitting it.
The school probably hadn’t installed any surveillance, so no one confessed. After the teacher asked around, the matter ended without resolution.
Later, when they went back to check the bathroom door, they found it had already been repaired.
That was pretty quick.
The afternoon exam also went smoothly, with no unexpected issues.
The elementary school exams had only a few subjects, and they finished in one day.
After everything wrapped up, they gathered together, and Yang Lin confidently declared, “This time, we’re definitely in the clear!”
Yu Yezhou was looking around anxiously, seemingly searching for something.
Noticing his restless demeanor, Gu Zhan asked, “What are you looking at?”
“I…” Yu Yezhou hesitated, then shook his head after a moment. “We haven’t finished the exams yet; we can’t let our guard down.”
What he said seemed to resonate with everyone.
Gu Zhan also paid special attention to this point.
The exams were over, but the results wouldn’t be released for a few days.
Perhaps because the scores hadn’t come out yet, their parents didn’t dwell on the earlier incident, and everything seemed to settle down.
Everyone resumed their school routine.
However, compared to before, the parents were stricter in their supervision.
They were prohibited from going out and had to start their homework immediately after school. Gu Zhan’s “dad” no longer accidentally left his phone on the sofa; he returned to his room promptly at nine o’clock every night and got up at six the next morning.
The others lamented how this situation made their lives more orderly, with regular sleep and waking times.
Before they knew it, Friday arrived, and the teacher announced that the exam results would be released next Monday.
Before school ended, everyone felt quite anxious.
“If we don’t do well, we could be eliminated. There’s no way to communicate in this scenario… How about this: let’s agree that no matter what happens, if there’s any change, we’ll find a way to call each other.”
Before they parted ways, Yu Yezhou urged everyone.
They all had phones at home, which they had used before.
But those phones belonged to their parents, and kids probably weren’t allowed to use them.
Still, in a crisis, they might have to resort to some tricks.
After saying this, everyone went home.
Gu Zhan had a rather boring weekend; just like before, his parents weren’t working and stayed at home watching him.
The day passed quickly, and night soon arrived.
At the dinner table, the female puppet person seemed very nervous. She stared intently at Gu Zhan while eating.
Gu Zhan found it impossible to eat under her gaze, so he put down his chopsticks early.
As soon as he moved, the female puppet person nervously exclaimed, “Baby, why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m full,” Gu Zhan replied.
“But you’ve barely eaten half of what you usually do. Baby, the results are coming out the day after tomorrow; you need to eat more.”
Gu Zhan really couldn’t see the connection between the results and eating more. He figured if he stopped eating, the female puppet person would probably say a lot of unnecessary things.
So he picked up his chopsticks again.
Just then, the phone in the living room suddenly rang.
Gu Zhan jumped up. “I’ll go answer it!”
He got up before his parents and answered the call.
On the other end, Yang Lin’s voice came through, “Don’t be curious… Run fast… Don’t… ask…”
Her voice was intermittent, surrounded by a deafening noise, as if she were in a very chaotic environment… and a fierce wind was blowing, tearing her words apart.
Gu Zhan’s puppet parents were nearby, so he couldn’t say anything too obvious. He could only frantically tell her, “I can’t hear you; speak slower.”
“I… save… don’t ask… puppet… is…” The fierce wind accompanied Yang Lin’s increasingly fragmented voice.
Gu Zhan keenly caught the word “puppet.”
At that moment, his puppet parents had already come over to him.
Without hesitation, Gu Zhan hung up the phone. Turning around, he saw his mother’s eerie smile.
Her voice had changed, now filled with a smile yet strangely flat. Those carved wooden eyes were fixed on Gu Zhan, and her face was getting closer…
“Baby, whose call was that?”
Gu Zhan’s expression remained calm. “I don’t know; I didn’t hear clearly.”
“I think I heard her mention something…” The puppet mother continued to lean in.
Gu Zhan maintained his composure. “It was too windy; it must have been a telemarketer.”
“…”
The puppet wouldn’t give up, scrutinizing his eyes as if trying to find a flaw. However, Gu Zhan’s expression was so calm that there was no hint of anything amiss.
【Good heavens, what psychological resilience!】
【Act! Keep acting! Whether we can have this fortune depends on today’s gamble!】
【If I hadn’t heard it myself, I’d believe you!】
Time passed minute by minute, and Gu Zhan’s expression remained increasingly calm, more and more relaxed…
Even the heartbeat that had slightly fluctuated earlier normalized.
The puppet: “…”
She finally straightened up and said, “So it was a telemarketer.”
Between the words, there’s a sense of regret.
“Since that’s the case, why don’t you read for a while longer?” The female puppet left, looking lost and forlorn.
Gu Zhan was left standing alone in the living room, and his mood didn’t improve.
Yang Lin must have encountered some trouble.
By evening, he received calls from Yu Yezhou and Xu Yu. They had also received a call from Yang Lin, and like him, they couldn’t clearly understand what she was saying.
“She’s definitely in trouble,” Yu Yezhou, who was closer to Yang Lin, said with more concern for her situation. “We need to find a way to get to her.”
Gu Zhan replied, “But they’re already very wary of us.”
If they told the puppet couple that they were going out, they would surely be refused.
Yu Yezhou understood that this was a problem.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly said to Gu Zhan, “I’ll be honest with you. My ability… I can see certain possible futures. When I first met you, I thought you could become one of our teammates.”
“Listen, this time is different. If we don’t go find her, we might never have the chance to see her again.”
Yu Yezhou continued, “Xu Yu and I will definitely go find her. You… we’re not forcing you, but when you were trapped in the bathroom, Yang Lin didn’t intend to give up on you… Of course, the situations are different. Back then…”
Yu Yezhou rambled on, but Gu Zhan interrupted him: “Let’s go together.”
Yu Yezhou: “…”
He didn’t expect Gu Zhan to be so decisive.
Gu Zhan said, “It’s not a big deal; no need for so much explanation.”
“But…” Yu Yezhou hesitated instead, “There might be dangers.”
Gu Zhan casually replied, “Where in the dungeon isn’t dangerous? If it weren’t dangerous, why would I come here?”
“You…” Yu Yezhou was momentarily at a loss for words. After a moment, he helplessly laughed. “What you’re saying makes it sound like you came to the dungeon because it was dangerous.”
Gu Zhan didn’t explain, but it was true. Ordinary life was too calm for him; only the dungeon could stir his emotions.
He was quite infatuated with this feeling.
“Since that’s settled, let’s agree that no matter what it takes, we’ll meet at the school gate tomorrow afternoon to look for Yang Lin.”
After they made their plan, Gu Zhan hung up the phone.
As he turned around, he saw the female puppet standing quietly nearby, watching him.
She smiled and her crudely drawn lips seemed to be even redder.
Although Yu Yezhou had scheduled to go out tomorrow, Gu Zhan knew that he would probably have to leave tonight.
And it definitely wouldn’t be peaceful.
Something was bound to happen… Both he and the puppet were very aware of this. Yet neither party had broken through this facade, still pretending to be calm.
“Mom, I’m going back to my room to study.”
Gu Zhan resorted to his usual excuse.
But this time, the puppet said, “You’ve worked hard these past few days, Baby. Why don’t you set your studies aside for now? Tonight, your favorite animated series is on. How about watching it with Dad and Mom in the living room?”
She gently wrapped her hands around herself, mimicking the action of holding a child, and smiled as she said, “Mom hasn’t slept with you for a long time. How about resting in the same room with Mom tonight?”
Gu Zhan: “…”
[Mommy’s good baby! Come sleep with Mommy!]
[Has he already been discovered? What should he do?]
[Following his usual habit… go hard?]
[What are you all talking about? This dungeon’s NPCs aren’t like those in other dungeons; their combat strength is very high. There’s almost no chance of winning by confronting them directly.]
[He’s been playing along with the NPC; he definitely knows. Otherwise how could he be so cooperative?]
[What to do! If it were me, I’d be doomed. How exactly is he going to solve this?]
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