chapter_157

Chapter 157: No Cilantro, After Midnight

"Meet here at half past twelve tonight."

"Also, when leaving the dormitory building at night, wear this school card on your chest. Remember this."

After receiving a reply, the Spade Supernatural Instructor handed over a new school card.

Then it turned and left. Its figure was very light, like a paper effigy moving without any footsteps.

Watching it disappear into the distance, Ji Yan looked at the school card in his hand. It had a black cover with a red-eyed Satan icon painted on it, which felt very unsettling.

Ji Yan put it away and turned to look at Liu Congming. "You wanted me to refuse just now?"

Liu Congming scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "Actually, there's another rather special rule in this instance."

"Special?"

"At night, except for the [Dormitory Building], all other map area rules in the Supernatural School instance change."

Seeing that Ji Yan still didn't understand, Liu Congming put it more simply: "In other words, the [Final Supernatural School] actually has two sets of instance rules!"

"One set is the daytime rules we see now, and the other is the nighttime rules."

"The nighttime rules are prepared for players who have entered the second stage of the plot, that is, the [Advanced Class]. To be honest, you're still in the [Ordinary Class], so rashly entering the map of the second stage plot carries too many unknown dangers..."

"But it doesn't matter what I say now; you've already agreed."

"Besides, judging by your expression, you probably won't listen anyway!"

Liu Congming shrugged.

Ji Yan didn't pay much attention to the dangers Liu Congming mentioned about the late night.

Liu Congming was the type to slack off and stay in the [Ordinary Class].

His goals were completely opposite to Ji Yan's.

Currently, there were two paths to advance to the [Advanced Class].

The first was to collect four playing cards.

The second was to reach 70% strategy progress with a [Supernatural Teacher], thereby triggering the [Final Exam].

Both paths were quite lengthy.

He agreed to the "Nighttime Tutoring" mainly because he wanted to gain more strategy progress from the Spade Supernatural Instructor...

Of course, human curiosity is endless.

The Supernatural School at night was filled with unknown dangers, but it also inexplicably attracted Ji Yan. Perhaps he could uncover some hidden operations in the darkness?

"Ding! Congratulations, player, on strategizing the [Spade Supernatural Instructor]. You have successfully obtained the special reward [Nighttime Tutoring Card]. You have gained a '3-hour' privilege time in the nighttime supernatural school."

(Important note! Because the instance rules change at midnight, please follow the 'Nighttime Tutoring' rules. Do not get involved in other nighttime activity rules to avoid unnecessary danger.)

The latter part of the prompt was straightforward:

It warned Ji Yan that if he was attending nighttime tutoring, he should stick to it and not be curious about anything else, nor interfere. Otherwise, even the tutoring privilege wouldn't protect him!

"I'm probably not the only one attending nighttime tutoring, right?"

Ji Yan closed the information panel and asked Liu Congming.

He suddenly realized that so far, he had only seen Liu Congming among the Spade faction players. He hadn't even seen a trace of the other Spade players.

"I remember that both [Spade 7] and [Spade 9] attend Nighttime Tutoring, but those guys are hard to deal with, even hostile."

"Even though we're all in the same faction, it's just the two of us who are ostracized!"

Liu Congming had no fondness for the other Spade players and no interactions with them either.

Ji Yan guessed the reason: "It's because of our playing cards, right?"

Liu Congming nodded. "I'm parasitic to the [Misfortune Supernatural Entity], covered in bad luck. The moment they get near me, they suffer. They see me like a plague."

"You're parasitic to the [Blood Gu Supernatural Entity], basically a walking 'Tang Monk.' All supernatural entities drool over you, wanting to take a bite. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they naturally push you away too."

With that, he patted Ji Yan on the shoulder and sighed, "So, we're like a pair of unlucky brothers."

"But I don't care—I actually wish for it."

"I'm like a shit-stained spear. Whoever dares to mess with me gets poked and disgusted!"

Liu Congming grinned, his mindset already unshakable.

"..."

Ji Yan was speechless, at a loss for words.

No wonder the Spade Supernatural Instructor had thrown the two of them into the same dorm.

In its eyes, [Spade 1] and [Spade 2] were both hopeless wastes, tossed into a corner to rot on their own.

Stepping out of the exam hall.

During the day, the Supernatural School still wore that sunny, spring-like, warm facade.

But behind that facade lurked a hidden, hair-raising terror.

Ji Yan knew that after midnight tonight, these warm, disguised curtains would be torn away, and he would see the true face of this instance...

There was nothing to explore in the daytime Supernatural School map.

In the blink of an eye, nightfall quietly descended.

"Great, another day survived!"

"At this rate, I might break the record for the longest survival in the [Ordinary Class] and trigger some Easter Egg reward?"

Liu Congming took a knife and carved a horizontal line on the wall.

Looking at the rows of "Zheng" characters, he felt an inexplicable sense of pride.

Thanks to his score of 91, his dinner tonight was indeed generous.

A steaming plate of Curry Chicken Rice!

Though it looked just like the street-side Indian specialty—a pile of shit-yellow that killed the appetite—it was still curry with chicken. For the Supernatural Game, this counted as a delicacy.

As for Ji Yan, who scored full marks, his dinner was a bowl of Beef Pulled Noodles loaded with meat.

Ji Yan glanced at it and said to Liu Congming, "Want to swap?"

"What, did they sprinkle scallions on it, or do you not eat beef?" Liu Congming eyed the noodles, which looked better than his own face, and asked cautiously first.

"I don't eat cilantro."

Ji Yan shook his head.

He couldn't stand the taste of cilantro and couldn't understand how anyone who liked it could have such a bizarre palate.

May this world be free of cilantro...

"Damn! Cilantro is a delicacy of the world, and you don't eat it? I wish the whole world was planted with cilantro!"

Liu Congming wiped the corner of his mouth and immediately swapped his plate over.

"..."

...

After dinner and washing up, the entire Dormitory Building began turning off the lights at ten o'clock.

"By the way, when can we deal with the [Misfortune Supernatural Entity] inside me?" Liu Congming, now lying down, was still fixated on this matter. After all, further strategizing with the Misfortune Supernatural Entity would greatly enhance his chances of survival in the Instance.

"Don't rush. Let's wait until after tonight's tutoring session to handle it," Ji Yan replied as he lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm just afraid you won't make it back tonight..." Liu Congming muttered under his breath. If Ji Yan failed to complete the task and logged off in this Instance, it would be a total loss. But as soon as he said it, he quickly spat twice, fearing his jinx of a mouth might come true.

"Then I hope you come back safe and sound, loaded with gains tonight."

"After midnight, I can't make a sound. When you open the door, make sure to close it properly, and don't call out to me for anything."

"There are too many Unclean Things late at night, and I don't want to get involved!" With that, Liu Congming pulled the covers over himself.

Ji Yan acknowledged with a grunt and then closed his eyes. He suddenly wondered if that slimy, unknown Supernatural Creature from last night would show up again.

With this doubt lingering, time ticked by second by second.

After who knows how long, a slight vibration on his wrist and a long, drawn-out bell toll echoed across the campus, as if coming from a great distance...

Ji Yan, with his sharp nerves, snapped his eyes open.

Midnight had arrived!