Arc 2: Internet Addiction Treatment Center
Chapter 23: Method
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
[Note: The news has been modified here and not based on the real Professor Yang.]
Wei Zi, who was still standing on the ground just now and angrily telling them about the teachers' crimes at this internet addiction treatment center, suddenly disappeared without a trace.
The bloody water slowly spread up and pushed them hard, forcing them to move closer little by little.
The water kept rising. The four of them were now standing back to back, leaving no space in between.
"I saw a news story before. That place also had electric shock treatment and all kinds of dirty stuff. Any students who tried to expose what the teachers at the treatment center did... none of them made it out alive. They were all silenced in different ways..."
Looking at the bloody water rising a bit slower than before, Qin Dongwan started talking faster. "But that treatment center was exposed in the end, because they couldn’t shut every mouth, and they couldn’t kill every student. And most important is, those who tried to report them all acted alone!"
The strange thing is, almost none of the student NPCs who gave them information had a good ending. The dungeon was doing everything it could to stop them from learning the truth.
But paper can’t wrap fire. The more they try to block the truth, the angrier the students get. Even a small spark can start a wildfire. A black treatment center, no matter how dark, can’t block out the sky with one hand.
"When Wei Zi was talking just now, I saw he wasn’t hurt, but the bloody water around him rose really high. It didn’t rise the same on our side. If you trust me, let’s count three-two-one and go down together."
The bloody water was already about to reach them. If they just stood here doing nothing, they’d definitely die.
After remembering that news story, Qin Dongwan clenched her teeth and decided to take a gamble. She didn’t know if this would work, but when she heard a faint sound coming from nearby, she made up her mind.
Tok, tok, tok.
It sounded like high heels, calmly and steadily walking toward this old classroom.
Suddenly, the bloody water rolled up a wave. In the sticky swirl, pale skin showed for a moment. The heavy body of the half-floating, half-sinking boy was partly exposed before their eyes.
Wei Zi was clearly dead. He was knocked down again by the wave of blood and disappeared without a trace.
Everyone’s palms were covered in cold sweat. They all suddenly thought of what happened at the dorm entrance.
That time, the girl was speaking out about the teachers' crimes when a male teacher suddenly showed up and “caught her and brought her back.” In the end, both of them died together.
If Qin Dongwan’s guess was right, then when someone tries to report them, a teacher would come to catch them. If that happened while they were stuck here in the blood, none of the four of them could escape!
After thinking for a second, Hua Qingjiu was the first to grab Tang Zihang’s hand.
Standing next to Tang Zihang was Luo Shu. Just when he bit his lip and was about to reach out to the small girl, Luo Shu gave a light snort, turned to the side, and silently grabbed Qin Dongwan’s hand instead.
Her hand felt a little cold, like smooth jade, and it magically calmed the heat and panic in Qin Dongwan’s heart.
Qin Dongwan never wanted to be the leader of a team. She didn’t like making important decisions and having everything depend on her, then carrying all that heavy pressure.
But right now, there was no other way.
"Three, two, one!"
Even though they softly counted the numbers, it didn’t mean they all went down at the exact same second.
But once everyone entered the water, the burning pain disappeared in an instant.
The sticky blood vanished like an illusion, leaving only Wei Zi’s corpse as proof that it had all been real.
The boy lying on the ground was thin and weak.
He was still in the prime of his youth, with all his hopes not yet started, and just like that, his young life ended quietly without a sound.
The sound of high heels getting closer didn’t give them any time to feel sad.
This classroom was on the first floor, and the other side was a grassy field.
The four of them quickly climbed out one after another, then held their breath and hid right under the window, not moving at all.
A moment later, the sound of the high heels was already very close, just a few steps away.
Whoever it was seemed to have stopped there, not moving much, like they were looking around for someone.
Every second felt crushed and stretched out, like fire cooking oil, making everyone’s heart burn with anxiety.
Qin Dongwan stared upward and didn’t dare make a sound, scared that the next second, a female teacher would stick her head out the window and catch them all.
The last incident with Teacher Zhu in the treatment room wasn’t even solved yet.
If they were caught again, they probably wouldn’t be as lucky this time.
Her fingernails lightly dug into her palm. The small pain kept her alert at all times.
No one knew how long it had been, but a dragging noise started coming from inside the classroom.
The high heel footsteps slowly faded into the distance.
Click.
The weak flickering light inside finally went out.
The last bit of light in the treatment center was swallowed up completely.
Qin Dongwan’s legs were already sore and numb from squatting.
As she was rubbing her ankle, Luo Shu reached out and pressed down on her head, then slowly used her for support to stand up.
She carefully peeked inside.
“Get up.”
She always spoke in short, clean sentences.
Now that the person inside had left, she simply climbed back in.
After all, the mission required them to stay here the whole night.
The treatment room earlier had caught fire, which was why they had to leave—
breaking the rules again and again like that would be asking for death, only a fool would do it.
****
Neither the blood nor the teacher came back.
After taking turns keeping watch, everything went smoothly.
The next morning, when Qin Dongwan woke up, she found that the last one who was supposed to stand guard—Luo Shu—had actually fallen asleep leaning on her.
The girl's dark purple curls made her fair cheeks look like jade.
Her small head tilted slightly, resting on Qin Dongwan’s not-so-broad shoulder, sleeping sweetly.
The always cold-faced villainess Luo Shu only looked cute and fitting to her appearance at moments like this.
Her soft breathing brushed against Qin Dongwan’s neck, causing a light tickle.
She could not help but shift a little, and the girl leaning on her immediately woke up.
Only when she saw that it was Qin Dongwan beside her did she lower her guard a little.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
“Get up, get up! Morning run time! Stop dragging your feet!
After the run, breakfast at the cafeteria! After breakfast, clean up the south side!”
Qin Dongwan had not noticed her surroundings, so the sudden voice of the Dorm Teacher gave her a scare.
Seeing that the others looked calm, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Hua Qingjiu and Tang Zihang had woken up early and were already standing by the door waiting for orders.
Qin Dongwan rubbed her sore shoulder, then followed the group to finish the morning run and went to eat breakfast as told.
The cafeteria’s decor was average, and the food was just as mediocre.
When students came in, they would always shut the glass door behind them, to stop that nauseating stench from outside from creeping in and ruining their appetite.
Today’s breakfast was one bun and one bowl of porridge per person.
For those with big appetites, it was far from enough.
Complaints broke out at once.
“What is it? Did your parents send you here to enjoy life or to cure your internet addiction?
If you knew it would be like this, why did you mess around in the first place?
Was eating at home better or here better?
Hurry up and eat! When I come back to check, there had better not be any food waste.
After that, head to the field for a meeting!”
“Another fucking meeting?”
Once the female teacher left the cafeteria, the place that had been dead silent instantly turned noisy.
The students’ curses and the players’ discussions mixed together into a mess.
Tang Zihang stood there holding his bowl like a signpost, and soon enough, someone came over to him.
“Let’s get to know each other. Qi Sheng.”
The boy was tall and thin, had pierced ears, and looked slick and sly.
He was Tang Zihang’s temporary roommate, and he was the one who gave them the earlier clue:
“There’s a broadcast room next to the music room.”
That clue itself was not really useful—anyone paying a bit of attention could spot that, but it was the sentence Qi Sheng said after that which caught their interest.
"I know where the key is—it's in the music room.
That place? They call it a music room, but really, it's for playing brainwashing stuff."
Qi Sheng looked annoyed.
"Want to work together? I can sneak in with Tang Zihang.
You two girls stay outside and keep watch.
If anything happens, let us know right away.
If we mess up the broadcast room, it'll probably pull some attention.
We can send fake messages, then use the chance to escape."
Everyone knew about the electric fence around the treatment center.
You could see it just by standing near it.
Qi Sheng clearly wasn't planning to shut it down— he wanted to make noise to draw the guards away, then run for it.
The rules just said to escape the treatment center and you'd pass.
By the time someone figured out who broke the broadcast room, they will be already be gone.
"I think it can wor—"
"Wait."
Qin Dongwan had been eating while talking to save time, but as soon as something sounded wrong, she swallowed her food and cut off Tang Zihang mid-sentence.
Her pretty eyes narrowed a bit, and she gave a small smile:
"You only told us the first half of the plan.
But who's supposed to wreck the broadcast room in the end?
Isn't that a problem?"
Qi Sheng froze.
Honestly, the reason he came to ask Tang Zihang’s team for help was because there were two girls— they might go soft, and Tang Zihang looked kind of dumb and easy to fool.
If they got out, great.
If not, the one who broke the broadcast system would be the one in trouble.
"We can draw lots. Sounds fair?"
It was impossible to send Tang Zihang directly, so Qi Sheng twisted the idea a bit, saying they'd decide with a one-in-four chance.
But with odds like that, three out of four chances were on someone from their side.
Even if the final draw landed on him, he could always back out at the last minute and say he did not dare.
He was still a beginner after all.
The flicker of hesitation and hidden delight in his eyes was caught right away.
Luo Shu, who had been eating quietly while listening, suddenly set down her bowl and chopsticks.
Her gaze toward him was full of disgust.
"A deal with no sincerity? Forget it. We are not interested. I’m done eating. You all hurry up."
Not knowing what was going on,
Tang Zihang saw that both Qin Dongwan and Luo Shu had no interest in teaming up anymore, so he only shrugged at Qi Sheng, then went back to sipping his plain porridge.
Seeing Luo Shu’s expression, as if something had pricked him,
Qi Sheng’s face turned cold.
He suddenly lunged forward and reached out to grab her neck.
"So what—you all want to take my information and give me nothing in return?"
Author's Note:
Completed story: “Rescuing the Abused Heroine in Shura Field" [Quick Transmigration] —
If you like sweet story, feel free to check out my profile!
Chosen by the "Heroine Rescue System," Qiao Li must create true happy endings for tragic, dog-blood heroines from old-school novels.
But after failing her beginner mission, she's thrown straight into the heart of these tragedies as a supporting character.
In a xianxia world, the heroine is betrayed by her beloved master. As the supporting role meant to pair her with the second male lead, Qiao Li is suddenly pulled into the heroine’s arms:
“There’s no future with them. But with you, there is.”
In the apocalypse, the heroine awakens her powers and returns for revenge after being bullied by a tyrant. Qiao Li had once been one of his accomplices. After wiping out her enemies, the heroine pins Qiao Li against the wall, her elegant features now laced with dangerous allure:
“You hurt me. So use yourself to make up for it.”
In the CEO world, the heroine is a stand-in for the domineering CEO’s White Moonlight. Qiao Li is that White Moonlight, spoiled and arrogant.
One day, the stand-in rises, kicks the CEO aside, and takes Qiao Li’s hand:
“He’s nothing. The only one in my heart is you.”
….
The tragic heroines were supposed to be weak, helpless, and always crying.
Qiao Li had thought she was dealing with fragile little white rabbits—
Until three worlds later, she stopped trusting them completely.
The heroine bursts into tears as soon as she sees Qiao Li.
Qiao Li: “Cut the act. I know you’re just a wolf in a rabbit’s clothing!”
The heroine wipes her tears, flips the script, and pins Qiao Li against the wall:
“If that’s the case… then I shall gladly obey?”
#After dumping the scumbag, I ended up flirting with the tragic heroine#
#White-lotus-on-the-outside, black-bellied-on-the-inside heroines are just too tempting#
