Chapter 18: Counting the goldfish

Hoang Tuan slowly retreated.

He stared at the ground in silence, without a hint of relaxation. Only when he reached the rooftop did he let out a breath and made sure that the "monkey" wouldn't jump out from there.

"Can demonic entities kill each other?"

Recalling the moment when the "monkey" was dragged down by the black arms, this thought emerged in Hoang Tuan's mind.

He immediately opened the contents of the novel and scrolled through from top to bottom.

The text informed him that the "monkey" wasn't killed but rather, due to violating the rules of the rooftop, it was in a state similar to being imprisoned. After a long time, it would emerge again.

"Hmm, the things that have died and become cursed objects are essentially immortal to a certain extent and cannot be killed..."

Hoang Tuan withdrew his personal board, took out the answer sheet and pen, chose option C among the choices for the first question, and squatted down.

Fortunately, he chose the correct method, and he wasn't pulled into the ground by something else. Otherwise, he could only rely on the number of words to help him escape.

After staying on the rooftop for a while, he turned back and descended to the lower floor.

To avoid as many rules as possible, Hoang Tuan proceeded cautiously step by step.

There were more "things" in this school than he had imagined.

Indeed, the number of people being drawn into this world had increased, and it wasn't a good sign...

On the lower floor of the teaching building.

The nineteen people who had separated from Hoang Tuan ran back to their starting point panting.

They had run out of the courtyard multiple times.

However, every time they ran from the courtyard to the playground, they unintentionally ended up back here.

"Are we trapped here forever?"

"No, it can't be! We must have done something wrong!"

"Sigh... sob..."

"Why cry? Can't you stop crying? Crying won't help in this situation!"

"Think about it, how can we escape from here?"

"..."

The state of everyone was slightly better than before because time had passed, and they were no longer as terrified as when they first arrived.

Though they still felt cautious and fearful, they were no longer at a loss for how to use their minds.

Earlier, while running, after realizing they couldn't escape, they started to think about the situation in the school.

And Tran Binh An was among the crowd, and at this moment, he truly seemed like a leader...

Perhaps it was because he had distributed the answer sheets earlier, and occasionally, people's eyes would look at him due to the psychological issue in an uncertain situation like this.

"If that weirdo is still here, he probably knows how to escape."

Tran Binh An, who knew nothing at all, couldn't help but think of Hoang Tuan, the one they had abandoned, the one who had come with a bloody axe and told them that this was a horrifying world.

"He might have been killed..."

Some people thought of the strange "monkey" that had chased after Hoang Tuan.

Under the pursuit of such a thing, how could anyone survive?

Nguyen Ha Trang stepped forward in front of everyone, holding up the answer sheet, and waved at everyone, "Do you guys think that we just need to complete the questions here to be able to leave?"

Everyone remained silent.

They looked down at their answer sheets, and this "abnormal" section seemed to be the last option they could choose.

"I don't know..."

"Let's give it a try?"

Some people in the group had the urge to try. They could only do this before running out of other options.

Besides, didn't the loudspeaker say earlier that they were students taking an exam?

Tran Binh An hesitated for a moment, then turned his head to look at the others, asking, "Do you guys remember the questions from the exam?"

"A little."

"Still remember."

"I was focused on that strange creature and completely forgot..."

Everyone responded.

Some didn't remember anything, some remembered a part, and some remembered everything.

Of course, as long as at least one person remembered it, they could tell others what the exam questions were.

"Are we currently in the courtyard pond, right?"

Someone asked uncertainly.

"Exactly."

Tran Binh An nodded.

He looked at the pool in front of them and remembered the second question in the exam.

In the pond behind the courtyard,

How many goldfish are there...

"Or should we count them?"

The pond wasn't far from where they were standing; a quick glance would reveal it.

After someone suggested it, the others agreed.

It was just counting goldfish, and no one thought there would be any problem. Quickly, a man stood up, telling everyone to wait here while he counted, and then he would let them know the answer.

After saying that,

The man started walking towards the pool.

In the rainy weather...

Everyone's clothes were soaked, and the man was no exception.

He was wearing clothes that clung tightly to his body and felt uncomfortable. Step by step, he approached the pool, ignoring the pouring rain.

Rainwater ran through his hair and dripped from his face to his shoes.

The man drew closer to the pool,

Seeing a school of goldfish swimming in the water...

"One, two, three, four... Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen." The man paused for a moment before counting and then turned to the others, saying that he had counted a total of nineteen.

"Nineteen? I don't remember that as an answer."

A girl in the crowd seemed puzzled. Her memory was quite good, and in the previous exam answers, the options were the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40 corresponding to each answer choice.

"Did you count it wrong? Count again."

The girl asked the man.

After hearing that, the man nodded. Because he also felt something strange while counting the goldfish just now.

He counted two more times.

But each time, it was still nineteen goldfish.

"What's happening?" The man felt puzzled, looking at the pool in front of him, as if he was staring at something.

Then, it seemed as if he had realized something, and after a moment, he opened his eyes wide in disbelief and took a step back.

However,

It was too late.

Just as he was about to step back, the pool suddenly rippled and surged.

Swirling...

Even on the ground!

The man couldn't stay steady for a moment and fell straight into the water.

In the astonished gazes of everyone, at that moment, the pool of water suddenly closed up, and along with the stones on the edge being pulled, the rim of the pool rolled up and closed directly, leaving behind only a pile of dirt and a genuine pool of water.

After sealing it up completely, the giant creature submerged into the depths.

The man disappeared.

He vanished into the mouth of the goldfish.

The pool they saw earlier was just a disguise of a large fish with its wide-open mouth matching the width of the pool.

The so-called nineteen goldfish were all living inside the mouth of a larger fish...

For the second question, choose option B.