March Into Hell

[Time until outbreak of the Secret Realm β1-2103257: 21 minutes, 7 seconds.]

Li Qingming finally made it to the restroom just in time, saving his endocrine system.

Returning to the hallway and hearing the violent typing from the counseling room, he relaxed and walked to the door of Class Four, senior year.

Even though it was still nap time, everyone in the class had already taken their seats, and the homeroom teacher Han Chun was speaking in front of the class, occasionally pointing to the school motto posted above the blackboard.

This homeroom teacher was a middle-aged man with sparse hair and glasses, wearing a faded brown jacket and baggy grey trousers, with nothing memorable about him except for a somewhat laughable name.

Li Qingming had never cared about his malice, unless he was actually planning to murder someone.

But now it seemed that these thoughts were nothing but stimulating fantasies.

Li Qingming knocked three times on the door dispassionately and entered the classroom without waiting for a response.

The class had grown accustomed to his presence, but still, many shrank a bit at his arrival, a conditioned reflex.

Han Chun bravely faced Li Qingming and asked, "Weren't you supposed to go for counseling?"

"It's over," Li Qingming said as he closed the door and walked nonchalantly towards the back of the room with his hands in his pockets, "completely healthy."

"That won't do! We need to talk this through this time," Han Chun stepped down from the platform immediately and followed, "I'll be straight with you, many parents have complaints about you, and we need an explanation for your mental state today!"

"I have a hospital certificate," Li Qingming replied as he reached his desk and pulled out a chair, tapping his black backpack, "I've given you the electronic version already."

"This time is different," Han Chun blocked his path with an outstretched hand, "This time we need an assessment from the perspective of the collective impact!"

"The psychological counselor is writing it," Li Qingming said.

After speaking, he politely pushed Han Chun's arm aside and took his seat with composure.

Then, he slowly put in his black earplugs and lay down on his black down pillow.

Next.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Soft snores began to sound.

He was asleep.

The entire classroom fell into silence.

Only Han Chun's breathing became gradually heavier.

Seeing him standing stiffly, unable to step down, the class president with the classic buzz cut, Zheng Ruixing, quickly stood up and said, "Teacher Han, I'll push him again in the afternoon, let's not delay the class meeting."

Han Chun gave Li Qingming a long stare, then swallowed hard, took off his glasses, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and turned back to the lectern.

The classmates looked at him, feeling sympathy but helpless.

It was infuriating that despite Li Qingming's numerous misdeeds, he had never openly broken any school rules or disciplines.

Of course, it was just that no evidence had been caught yet.

Not to mention school rules, most people believed Li Qingming had already violated the law, if not now then certainly in the future; he was a criminal mastermind in the making.

No, even a master of crime would at least pretend, acting harmless most of the time.

But Li Qingming disdained such pretense, he never hid his intentions, always straightforward, truly an outlaw!

On the contrary, Han Chun, who challenged Li Qingming's conduct and sought to eliminate the harm for the people, was full of flaws under the constraints of regulations.

Now, under the sympathetic gaze of his classmates, Han Chun walked back to the front of the lectern. He rubbed his face with his back turned, then put his glasses back on, forced a smile, and began to speak:

"Let's get to the main point, shall we? We shouldn't let this affect the class meeting.

"You may have heard, there have been frequent Secret Realm incidents in Xinhaishi recently. This month alone, there have been three small to medium-sized outbreaks. According to the Secret Realm Safety Bureau's notice, we need to strengthen our safety education.

"I don't want to use up after-school time, so we had to use the lunch break for the class meeting, and I hope everyone understands.

"So let's officially start the class meeting.

"According to the authorities' announcement, this wave of Secret Realm incidents is concentrated but weak in intensity and limited in range, so the probability of encountering one is not actually high. However, we still need to treat it seriously.

"As non-professionals, if we encounter a Secret Realm, we absolutely must follow the 'three no's and one wait' principle.

"Now, what are these 'three no's'? Let's say it together—"

Following Han Chun's raised hand, the class responded in scattered voices:

"Do not act rashly—do not panic—do not flee—"

Han Chun nodded in response:

"These rules may seem cliché, but we still need to go over them."

"The Secret Realm comes in many forms and each situation is different. Besides the unimaginable monsters, there are often baffling rules."

"So, encountering a Secret Realm is like being forcibly thrust into a game whose rules and objectives are unknown. Acting rashly is very dangerous."

"The correct approach is to observe and analyze as much as possible. If you can avoid acting, don't act. If you must act, make sure it's the most assured and likely action to keep you alive."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a pretentious male voice came from the rows of the classroom.

"Just listen to my command when the time comes," a boy with a middle-parted hairstyle and a face full of acne said, playing with his hair and smiling.

Laughter erupted in the classroom, and many people turned their gaze toward the short guy.

Han Chun also shook his finger and laughed, "What we should be afraid of is someone like Cai Zhixin, who thinks he's an expert just because he's read a few novels about Secret Realms, making rash decisions and leading everyone into a pit."

"Hahaha!"

In the midst of the boisterous laughter, others picked up the conversation.

"Teacher Han, you know your stuff. In the game of Secret Realm, he's the worst."

"Just dragged us down to Silver last night!"

"When the time comes, just do the opposite of whatever Cai flippin' does, and we'll be fine."

"Hmph," Cai Zhixin simply snorted with a laugh and shook his head as he stroked his hair. "Games are fixed programs. I'm the type who thrives in real combat. Only when I'm in a real Secret Realm can my full strength be unleashed."

Seeing his reaction, everyone inevitably laughed even harder.

Han Chun didn't want to dwell on the matter and raised his hand to continue:

"Jokes aside, just remember 'do not act rashly.'

"Now, the second 'don't' is not to panic.

"Generally speaking, the monsters, masters, or other oddities in the Secret Realm draw more energy from the fear of the people they encounter, becoming even more unpredictable. In extreme cases, the entire Secret Realm might mutate."

"And as humans, once we lose control of our emotions inside a Secret Realm, we're likely to become part of it, either as a monster, part of the environment, or something else."

"So, in the very unlikely, unlikely, unlikely event that we encounter a Secret Realm, it's crucial that everyone remains calm. Especially help those who are introverted and fearful, talk to them as much as possible, offer encouragement, just as our school motto says—"

Han Chun said this and turned to point above the blackboard.

"United in friendship, we overcome hardship together."

This time, no one picked up after him, and the room fell into an unusual silence.

Indeed, the inside of a Secret Realm is horrifying. Without professionals involved, even the weakest Secret Realm has less than a 2% survival rate for the average person.

But to most, encountering a Secret Realm is like an air disaster or an earthquake: terrifying, yet distant. If by poor luck it happens, there's nothing to do but leave it to fate.

However, a nondescript girl named Ji Xiaoxiang sitting in front of Li Qingming felt an inexplicable tremor.

This girl, who wore a crooked ponytail, had a petite figure yet always thought she was too fat, was now bowed, her face hidden behind her hair, clinging to her school PE pants, imagining terrifying scenarios:

'So, if we do encounter a Secret Realm, everyone will come to encourage me...

'Aaaaaah... all these people I recognize but aren't close with...

'When they come over to be friendly, if I just look down and don't talk, will they think I'm snubbing them...

'But frankly declining would seem to provoke their defiance and protective instinct...

'Maybe I should try to say something funny to make them like me, show that I'm not that bad...

'But they're just dealing with me as a task, so if I respond too enthusiastically, will I seem sick, like I really want to be their friend...

'Yet if I'm too cold, I'm afraid I'll be like the guy behind me, Dr. Hannibal, getting all the attention and gossip...

'Aaaaaah... please no Secret Realm outbreak...

'If it does happen, just take me away centered around me!'

In this unprecedented mental consumption, Ji Xiaoxiang's "Ranking of Most Horrifying Scenarios" underwent a shocking change.

The ranking of "encountering a Secret Realm" shot into the top ten and was still climbing...

It surpassed "meeting an acquaintance but not a close friend while waiting for the bus"...

It surpassed "encountering a pushy salesperson in a clothing store"...

And it finally stopped just below "getting a haircut."

After all, when you meet a classmate at a bus stop, you can pretend to have forgotten something and walk back to wait for the next bus.

When going to a clothing store, you can wait for someone else to go in and draw the salesperson away before swiftly completing your shopping.

But getting a haircut is different.

No matter when or where you get a haircut, the stylist will always insist on chit-chatting and recommending their membership card.

Ji Xiaoxiang might lack many things, but not hair salon membership cards, which she had in abundance.

Remembering the last time she paid by scanning a QR code for a card and the entire hair styling team saw her account balance was insufficient...

Clang, clang, clang!!

Ji Xiaoxiang now wanted to bash her head in.

Forget blind masseurs, what the world really needs are mute hairdressers!