Chapter 8, Don't think about it! (6).

Jia Qing hurriedly asked, "How do you say, have you found anything?" Several people gathered around and looked at the page Liu Yi had opened. The school rules were listed one by one, and at first glance there didn't seem to be any key points. Hesitantly, Liu Yi pointed to the forty-eighth rule on appearance and said, "I always feel... This rule seems familiar." This rule obviously regulated the length of boys' hair in the school to not exceed one centimeter, and girls' hair to not exceed their shoulders. This was a very strict regulation but obviously not the first time they had seen it. Jia Qing furrowed his brow and said, "It seems like there are schools in reality with similar rules, right?".

"Indeed," Liu Yi hesitated before closing the rule book and looking at the cover. It was obvious that the entire book had been printed by the school itself; its design was really simple, with just a piece of beige cardboard printed with 'Smiling City First Affiliated Middle School Rules'. Xia Jing pointed out Liu Yi's doubt: "Have you ever heard about similar rules from Huang Mo?" After thinking for a moment, Liu Yi did not deny Xia Jing's statement but pursed his lips and said, "I met him in primary school; we haven't been in the same school since junior high. Huang Mo only occasionally talked to me about things at school; moreover, that was many years ago so I can't be sure... it's also possible that I remembered it wrong as Jia Qing said - there are schools like this in reality too - maybe I saw this news online." Song Yang reassured calmly: "You can think about any doubts quietly without rushing to deny yourself," he continued," try recalling if there is any connection between Huang Mo and 'don't think about it'." Surrounded by three people, Liu Yi frowned slightly. But even as lunchtime approached, he still hadn't figured anything out feeling somewhat frustrated.

Song Yang calmly comforted him: "It's okay, don't rush; we still have too few clues online now – let's leave here first." By now Jin Nan had already recovered.

Translation:

After seeing what she discovered, Jia Qing hurriedly asked again. A few people crowded around to look at what Liu Yi had opened up. The list of regulations seemed unremarkable upon initial inspection. Liu Yi hesitated before pointing out Rule 48 on appearance, saying she felt something familiar about it. This particular regulation clearly stipulated that male students' hair should not exceed one centimeter while female students' hair should not go beyond their shoulders – an extremely stringent requirement but certainly nothing new. Furrowing his brows, Jia Qing remarked, "There are schools like this in real life too."

"Indeed," replied Liu Yi after some hesitation, before closing her copy of the regulations for a quick glance at its cover. Clearly self-printed by their own institution using plain beige cardstock bearing 'Rules of Smiling City First Affiliated Middle School', its design appeared quite basic. Xia Jing then brought up her suspicion regarding whether or not Huang Mo might have mentioned such regulations previously. After pondering for a moment without denying Xia Jing's claim entirely, she pursed her lips and said, "We knew each other back when we were both attending primary school together; however, we went our separate ways once junior high began…Huang Mo would only occasionally talk about things happening within our respective schools…and besides all those events took place many years ago so my memory isn't exactly reliable…I could've easily misremembered everything just as Jia Qing suggested…after all these kinds of institutions exist outside fiction too…it's possible I came across such news online."

Song Yang offered calm reassurance, stating, "Feel free to mull over your suspicions quietly instead of hastily dismissing them. Try to recollect if there exists any link between Huang Mo himself and those four words 'Don't Think About It.'" Surrounded by three individuals, Liu Yi frowned slightly. Despite having spent approximately half an hour ruminating over everything, she remained empty-handed and felt rather disheartened. In response, Song Yang calmly consoled her by saying, "Not to worry – there's no need to rush things as we're still short on clues online. Let's depart from here first." By this point, Jin Nan had already recovered from the incident at hand.

Players' medical supplies in their space bags are all bought from the official supermarket and have very good healing effects. As long as a person is still breathing, they can be saved; not to mention that Jin Nan's arm is just disabled. At this moment, his broken arm bone has already reconnected and the flesh is slowly growing back while itching and hurting.Jin Nan's face was pale as paper when he saw Xia Jing; no longer showing the contempt from before but only hatred and fear.However, neither Xia Jing nor the other three paid any attention to him because he was the one who planned to ambush his companions first.They had done everything they could for him.

When leaving the administrative building, Jia Qing was still pondering: "Brother Yang, does a dungeon specifically construct a world based on someone's past experiences?"

Song Yang stepped down the steps and shook his head: "In theory, it's impossible for this kind of situation to occur."

"All dungeons are pre-constructed; covers and themes will be presented to players in the login room before entering a dungeon. It's not possible for a world to be constructed based on one player after entering a dungeon."

"If dungeons really worked that way, then maybe the theme might barely fit but definitely not with completely different covers. And now it's obvious that this situation doesn't entirely borrow from Huang Mo's past."

"Yes, indeed it's completely different; there are just some details that make me feel familiar," Liu Yi sighed. "It may also just be coincidental since right now these are all our speculations without substantial evidence proving that this dungeon really has something to do with Huang Mo." After meeting up with Wang Yueran in class, the group exchanged information. The two girls and the old lady searched through the entire school but couldn't find any clues. After hearing about what happened at the campus radio station, they looked at Xia Jing in shock as if seeing him again for the first time and became more wary of Jin Nan.

Song Yang took out contact books between home and school so that everyone could copy down their "parents' contact information. During the afternoon break, each of them tried contacting their parents separately. Fortunately, they didn't have evening self-study sessions in this dungeon; otherwise, Jia Qing would have been the first to vomit blood. After dinner at the cafeteria, they went straight back to the dormitory to confirm that Huang Mo's phone had indeed been confiscated. Then they gathered together in 414 dormitory, closed the door, and discussed. Eight people contacted sixteen parents by phone. Song Yang's speculation was correct.

　　In this case, Wang Yueran's "mother" turned out to be a member of the school's administrative staff in the office, who had access to internal information. However, Wang Yueran's expression was strange when it came to Huang Mo's death. "'My mom' said that he did indeed die in the middle of the night, around midnight, but it was sudden death," she said. The others were stunned. Sudden death? Only Song Yang and Xia Jing were not too surprised. They had observed Huang Mo's state of death with Liu Yi in the morning. The body did not show rigor mortis or livor mortis at that time, and there were no signs of injury on Huang Mo's body either; his physical condition even seemed as if he were still alive. It is most likely that the situation wanted to convey a message that Huang Mo died from non-external forces. The cause of death was ultimately determined as "sudden death," which didn't seem so surprising after all..

However, as Huang Mo's brother, Liu Yi was very agitated: "How could someone killed by a monster possibly have died suddenly?"

"I remember we discussed this morning; it is also possible that he wasn't directly killed by a monster but triggered a mechanism related to monsters leading to his death," Xu Jin weakly suggested.

Liu Yi remembered this and clenched his fists. But what would this so-called mechanism for causing deaths be? The current clues are really too few. The sky gradually darkened.

Wang Yueran anxiously spoke first: "...Since Huang Mo died last night at midnight, it means that yesterday at midnight the instance had already started and he indeed encountered something... Could we also encounter danger tonight?"

Jia Qing swallowed nervously and said, "Didn't they say his phone rang twice last night? What if the monster crawled out from his phone at midnight?" Upon hearing this, everyone was almost scared enough to throw their phones away. Song Yang said, "Although I think it is unlikely, this problem can easily be solved by turning off our phones before going to bed and placing them in a place far away from us." By doing so, even if a monster does appear from their phones during sleep time, they won't catch us off guard.

　　This is the reason. However, even after hearing this solution, everyone still couldn't relax. Unlike the one-star instance where monsters are visible and most players are killed in combat with them, now they don't even know where the monsters are or how they kill people. For those who have experienced two or three-star instances like Song Yang, it may not be strange to find more clues among more sacrifices. But for Wang Yueran, Xu Jin and even a beginner like Grandma, waiting for unknown dangers to approach is enough to make people tremble with fear. Xu Jin couldn't help but sob, and Grandma hugged her tenderly to comfort her. Seeing the whole dormitory fall into silence, Song Yang still played a leading role and said,"Let's rearrange the dorm tonight." Everyone looked up. Jia Qing rallied himself and looked around at the eight people,"Yes, we need to rearrange the dorm." There were now eight of them filling two dormitories perfectly; putting three women in one room of four was obviously inappropriate.. Xu Jin's emotions were a bit out of control as she turned aside and wiped away tears. Wang Yueran looked at her, then at Grandma, feeling somewhat helpless. Grandma patted Xu Jin's shoulder and said, "Can I make a suggestion?" Grandma rarely spoke up, so all the children nodded eagerly except for Jin Nan, who sat in a corner watching coldly. With a hoarse voice, Grandma continued, "The two girls should not be separated; being together will provide some sense of security. But as for me...you don't need to spend too much effort worrying about me. Amongst these boys, pick the two strongest ones to go protect Xiao Ran and Xiao Jin." This arrangement is actually reasonable. Not because elderly really do not need concern but in the situation of three males & one female or two males & two females it makes sense that relatively stronger individuals should be allocated into the latter's room. However, the term "strongest" is somewhat delicate. In terms of physique it's obvious that amongst their group Jin Nan is indeed strongest yet this guy has already been listed on their group's "blacklist", he simply cannot be counted as combat power even selling him would be considered generous..

This principle also applies here. However, even after hearing this solution, everyone couldn't completely relax. Unlike one-star instances where monsters are visible and most players are killed by fighting against them, now they don't even know where the monsters are or how they kill people. For those who have experienced two or three-star instances like Song Yang, it may not be strange to find more clues among more sacrifices. But for Wang Yueran, Xu Jin, and even someone new like Grandma, waiting for unknown dangers to approach is enough to make people tremble with fear.

Xu Jin couldn't help but cry, and Grandma hugged her tenderly for comfort. Seeing the entire dormitory fall silent, Song Yang still played a leading role, saying, "Let's rearrange our rooms tonight." Everyone looked up. Jia Qing rallied himself and surveyed 8 persons saying, "Yes, the rooms must be rearranged." There were now 8 persons filling 2 rooms perfectly. Putting 3 women in one room of four was clearly inappropriate. Xu Jin's emotions were slightly uncontrollable as she turned aside, wiping away tears.Wang Yueran glanced at her, then back at grandma, feeling somewhat helpless. Grandma patted Xu Jin on the shoulder and said, "May I suggest something?" Grandma rarely spoke, so all the kids nodded eagerly except Jin Nan, who was sitting cold-eyed in the corner. Grandma had a hoarse voice and said, "Two girls shouldn't separate; being together provides some sense of security. But as for myself... you don't need to expend too much effort worrying about me. Among these boys, pick two of the strongest ones to go protect Xiao Ran and Xiao Jin." This allocation is actually reasonable. Not because the elderly truly doesn't require concern but rather in case involving three males and one female or two males and two females it makes sense that relatively stronger individuals should be allocated into the latter's room. However, the term "strongest" is quite delicate. In terms of physique it seems clear amongst their group that Jin Nan indeed appears to be the strongest yet this guy has already been listed on their group's "blacklist"; he simply can't count as combat power. Even selling him would be considered generous."

　　The boys looked at each other, and in the end, several of them fixed their gaze on Xia Jing and Song Yang. Xia Jing paused slightly when he heard Song Yang ask, "What do you say?" He looked at him and said with a light smile, "I have no opinion." However, it seemed like this was the first time he had been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting others. After the dormitories were assigned, everyone chatted for a while to relieve their nervousness. In each dormitory, there was a clock hanging high on the wall between the entrance and the main room. The hour hand slowly approached half past nine. And by ten o'clock, lights out would be enforced in the dormitory.Grandma Nai Nai, Jia Qing,Liu Yi,and Jin Nan stayed in 414;Song Yang,Xia Jing,Xu Jin,and Wang Yueran moved to 417.Before leaving,Song Yang whispered to Jia Qing,"Tonight you take care of space bags and sleep next to Jin Nan.Pay attention not only to any possible anomalies but also keep an eye on him.His ability should only work on people who are close to him.".

Most superpowers are actually very weak. If Jin Nan's ability were powerful enough to move things far away from him, I'm afraid he wouldn't need to be so cautious. He would have already followed behind me long ago. Jia Qing nodded heavily and said hoarsely, "I understand, you can rest assured. Brother Yang, take care tonight too!" Song Yang nodded and rubbed his head. Upon reaching 417, the two clean girls had no mood for bathing. The four people simply washed up early and went to bed. Not sleeping is not realistic. After a highly tense day passed, it's probably impossible for our bodies to hold up if we don't get some rest tomorrow. They originally wanted to move their bedding downstairs, and everyone could just squeeze together on the floor tonight.

Original text: But they had already tried in room 414, and the bedding and pillows seemed to stick to the bed board, making it impossible to move.This was obviously a deliberate restriction set by the copy..

In the end, everyone decided to go back to sleep in their beds. It wasn't necessarily comfortable sleeping on the floor, and if nothing happened at night, it would be a waste. But if something did happen... In room 417, Xia Jing and Song Yang each took one side of the room, which theoretically should be enough. So Xujin slept on the same side as Xia Jing, with Xia Jing sleeping on the bed near the door and Xujin near the balcony. On the other side, Wang Yueran slept near the door while Song Yang was near the balcony. This way, if a monster broke in from either door or balcony, at least Xia Jing or Song Yang would be there. Of course there were many possible scenarios that could happen; however precautions were limited for what they could do..

The four of them showed each other their weapons - mostly knives, machetes, and axes - but there was no point in exchanging them. In previous copies, Song Yang had used up all his monster-fighting tools; it was just bad luck but there was nothing he could do about it.

"We'll all sleep head-to-head so that we can easily help each other out if anything happens. I'll take the first watch with Xia Jing," instructed Song Yang.

Wang Yueran and Xujin nodded quickly while Xia Jing had no objections.

As the lights went out soon after this conversation ended, Xujin lay down first facing towards where Xiajing lay; she could hear him softly sobbing. When Xiajing pulled back his blanket before lying down himself, he heard her whisper "I'm really scared."

Xiajing paused for a moment then asked gently "What are you afraid of?"

It was an obvious question...

Nothing made players feel more fearful than death itself. But letting it out might at least relieve some of their anxiety.

 However, they had already tried in room 414 when the bedding and pillows seemed stuck to the bed boards, making movement impossible – clearly a deliberate restriction set by The Copy. Ultimately, everyone decided that going back to sleep on beds is better than risking not resting well on the floor and losing out if nothing happens tonight...but also preparing for any situation that may arise. In Room 417, Summer Scene and Sung Young guarded opposite sides which should suffice theoretically. Thus Xu Jin slept alongside Summer Scene who occupied the bed nearest the door whereas Xu Jin stayed close to the balcony. On the opposite side, Wang Yue Ran rested closest to the door whilst Sung Young remained next to the balcony. This arrangement ensured presence of either Summer Scene or Sung Young should any monsters invade through doors or balconies. Naturally numerous anticipated situations existed yet measures taken were ultimately limited. Each person displayed their respective weapons mainly consisting of knives, machetes & axes without purposeful exchange. Sung Young exhausted his monster fighting tools during last copy very unfortunate but unavoidable.

"We'll all sleep head-to-head so we can easily assist one another. If necessary, I'll take the first half-night watch with Summer Scene," advised Sung Young. Wang Yue Ran & Xu Jin promptly agreed, while Summer Scene voiced no objection. As the lights dimmed shortly thereafter, Xu Jin laid down initially facing towards where Summer Scene lay and heard him softly sobbing. Upon pulling back the covers before laying down himself, Summer Scene heard her murmur, "I'm really scared." Summer Scene hesitated momentarily and then gently queried, "What are you afraid of?" It's an obvious question. Nothing makes players feel fearful except death itself. However, expressing fears might alleviate some anxiety."

　　Xu Jin spoke with a bit of a nasal tone and intermittently said, "I'm so afraid of dying. I'm only twenty-four years old, why... just a month ago, Ranran and I were strolling in the zoo and inexplicably got sucked into the Smiling Face City... Why us? Why us?" No one could give her an answer to this question. Xu Jin cried again for a while, hoarsely saying, "I can't even tell my parents... In the real world, no one can mention the existence of Smiling Face City. Anything spoken or written about it will be erased. If a player dies in the instance dungeon, when they exit the dungeon, everyone has to face death again in reality as if to make our deaths in the real world seem more rational..."What will my parents do? They only have me as their child. If I die, then they..." Xia Jing did not speak.When he woke up in this world, the safe house was there and he was inside it.He didn't know whether he should consider himself human or monster..

Based on his self-analysis, it's most likely that he is neither human nor monster. He was "born" without being anything at all; when he was "born," there was nothing at all, not to mention parents. The golden retriever dog in the safe house along with goldfishes and plants were created by him using his limited power after quickly realizing that there's limited power within him. Xia Jing slowly lay down on the bed with his head resting on a not-so-soft pillow... It sounds like god-like power. But in fact, divine power doesn't exist. Power will run out. After running out, you need to find ways to get more external power. Monster bodies are great feedstock. However, even after expanding channels for obtaining power, the shackles binding Xia Jing's hands and feet still existed..

Xu Jin spoke with a slight nasal tone as she intermittently said, "I am so scared of dying. I am only twenty-four years old; why... Just a month ago Ranran and I were simply walking around at the zoo when we inexplicably got sucked into Smiling Face City... Why us? Why us?" No one could provide her with an answer to this question. Xu Jin cried again for some time before hoarsely saying, "I cannot even tell my parents... In reality nobody can disclose about Smiling Face City's existence; anything spoken or written about it gets erased. If players die inside instances dungeons then upon exiting them everyone must face death once again in reality as if making our deaths appear more rational..." "What will my parents do? They only have me as their child; if I die then they..." Xia Jing remained silent. Upon waking up within this world, the safe house stood right there, and he found himself inside it. He wasn't sure whether he should consider himself human or monster. Based on his self-analysis, it is most likely that—he is neither human nor monster. He "was born" without being anything at all; when "he was born," there wasn't anything at all. Not mentioning having any parentage.The golden retriever dog, goldfishes, and plants within the safe house were created by him using his limited powers after quickly realizing that there's limited strength within him.Xia Jing slowly laid down onto bed,his head resting onto an not-so-soft pillow....

It sounds like god-like powers, but in fact divine powers don't exist. Powers would deplete, and once depleted, you'd need a means of acquiring additional external strengths. Monster bodies are excellent sources of foodstuff; however, even after broadening channels for obtaining strengths, the shackles binding Xia Jing's hands and feet still persisted.

　　His world is just a small safe house, and the rules in the safe house only apply to the safe house itself. He can only draw strength by bringing monster bodies into the safe house. The things he creates in the safe house cannot be brought into the instance. This is why he has to log into instances from the game lobby like other players - only through this way can he earn points, exchange items in the official supermarket, and act more freely in instances. For Xia Jing, games are for playing. But he also needs to gain strength in instances and find out about himself and the truth about this world. However, it's strange that when Xu Jin mentioned "parents," Xia Jing's heart was not completely unaffected, although it was a very subtle and vague feeling. His heartbeat just quickened for a moment. But this could also be considered as a reward for exploring instances, right? Xia Jing closed his eyes and searched for words used by humans to comfort each other in memory, saying with what sounded like a gentle tone: "Everyone will be fine; don't be afraid." Xu Jin fell silent for a moment before whispering: "If monsters come after me, if you can ensure your own safety... please help me, okay? I don't want to die." "I will," Xia Jing assured gently.The monster itself is his target..

　　Xu Jin seemed to have calmed down a bit. Before turning off the light, she murmured, "At lunch today, Jinnan mentioned that Huang Mo sat up and stared at his roommate in the middle of the night yesterday." "It's quite strange. It reminded me of the summer vacation when I was in third grade. I don't know if it was a dream or if I really saw a ghost..." "...I just remember waking up one night and seeing a figure with green eyes standing by my bed staring at me." Xia Jing opened his eyes. When Xu Jin got to this point, it seemed like she didn't want to continue speaking, perhaps because she felt more scared as she spoke. Xia Jing gently reminded her, "Don't think about it. Just sleep peacefully." Xu Jin softly responded with an "okay" and turned over..

The dormitory lights suddenly went out. If observed from outside, every building in the dormitory area should have been plunged into darkness at that moment. Only the long corridor still maintained its dim white light. After a few seconds of silence, Song Yang's cold voice echoed in the dorm room: "Close your eyes and go to sleep. Don't think too much." However, under such tense emotions, entering into sleep smoothly was clearly impossible. Xia Jing himself did not need sleep at all. He lay on his side and noticed that the clock hanging high on the wall was luminous even without any light. Even though there was no brightness around him, he could still see the faint green glow on the clock face as its second hand ticked away slowly but steadily.

If observed from outside, every building in the dormitory area would have been plunged into darkness at that moment due to sudden outage of lights in the dormitory. Despite Song Yang's cold command to close their eyes and go to sleep without thinking too much, it was clearly impossible for them to enter into sleep smoothly under such tense emotions.Xia Jing himself did not need sleep at all; he lay on his side and noticed that even without any light, he could still see a faint green glow on the clock face as its second hand ticked away slowly but steadily while hanging high on the wall.

As time passed by, minute by minute, in complete silence within their dorm room without anything happening, under heightened senses of hearing, four sets of breathing intersected each other within their dorm room sounding steady yet peaceful. Perhaps someone had already fallen asleep. Perhaps someone was pretending to be calm. In this quietness, the ticking sound of the second hand moving became distinctly audible. Xia Jing calmly watched the luminous clock....

Xu Jin seemed to have finally calmed down a bit before turning off her lamp. She murmured, "At lunch today, Jinnan mentioned that Huang Mo sat up and stared at his roommate last night." "It's quite strange. I remembered my third-grade summer vacation. I don't know if it was dreaming or seeing ghosts..." "...I just remember waking up one night and seeing a figure with green eyes standing by my bed staring at me." Xiajing opened his eyes. When Xu Jin got here, it seems like she doesn't want to continue speaking, maybe because talking makes herself more afraid. Xiajing gently reminded her, "Don't think about it. Just sleep peacefully."

Xu Jin softly responded with an "ok" and turned over. The lights in the bedroom suddenly went out. If observed from outside, every building should have been plunged into darkness at that moment. Only the long corridor still maintained its dim white light. After a few seconds of silence, Song Yang's cold voice echoed in the dorm room: "Close your eyes and sleep. Don't think too much." However, in such tense emotions, it is clearly impossible to smoothly enter into sleep. Xia Jing himself does not need sleep at home. He lay on his side and noticed that the clock hanging high on the wall was luminous even without any light. Even though there was no brightness around him, he could still see the faint green glow on the clock face as the second hand ticked away slowly but steadily. As time passed by minute by minute in complete silence within their bedroom without anything happening, under heightened senses of hearing, four sets of breathing intersected each other within the dorm room sounding steady yet peaceful.Perhaps someone had already fallen asleep.Perhaps someone was pretending to be calm in this quietness.The ticking sound of the second hand moving became distinctly audible.Xia Jing calmly watched the luminous clock...

　After a long time, turning round and round, the second hand, minute hand, and hour hand on the clock all converged—pointing straight at the number 12. Suddenly, a dizzy spell hit him and the whole world seemed to blur. Xia Jing instinctively closed his eyes and then realized that he couldn't move. Apart from breathing, he couldn't make another movement or even open his eyes. He could only quietly listen to the sounds in the dormitory. Inhale. Exhale. Four breaths intersected calmly just like before, peaceful and beautiful. He didn't know if anyone else was still awake or if everyone except for Xia Jing had already fallen asleep..

Amidst the silence, a fifth breath suddenly appeared in the dormitory, right above Xia Jing's head as she inhaled and exhaled.