CH 5

Chapter 5: Dormitory Civilization Code

At this moment, Tang Xinjue finally understood why when she smashed the monster, it would be sucked and she was unable to break free.

——Because she smashed it with the toilet plunger! A plunger was pressed to suck the air, and the rubber mouth naturally sucked the opponent firmly. If she had used it on a toilet at that time, the monster would have almost been flushed directly.

Moreover, where did the toilet plunger come from?

Searching her memory, Tang Xinjue finally remembered that this was from a supermarket event, where they bought laundry detergent as got this thing as a gift.

Then it was taken out of the shopping bag by Tang Xinjue as a tool by chance, and by the way, turned over a monster, and now it has become her innate ability.

"..." After being speechless for a while, Tang Xinjue cheered up and checked the introduction of the ability.

[Object-type ability: Toilet Plunger Soldier]

[You have a handy toilet plunger, and it is also very satisfied with its owner. Using it, your action efficiency will be greatly improved.]

...What kind of strange ability is this?

Tang Xinjue was still a little unable to accept the reality, and the impact of being tied to the toilet plunger even went beyond accepting the game itself.

At this time, the other three roommates had also finished checking the content on their mobile phones, and looked up with different expressions.

"Anyway," Guo Guo said dryly, "Fortunately, the four of us successfully entered the game alive. Is it safe for now?"

Is it safe? No one can be sure. Although the lights in the dorm room had been restored, it was still dark outside the balcony, the door couldn't be opened, and the mobile phone still had no signal... No, now they didn't even have a mobile phone in the true sense. Now this could only be regarded as a special game machine that was bound to [Dormitory Survival Game].

"By the way, have you seen this?" Guo Guo turned on the screen and pointed to the personal information above: "The name of the dormitory is correct, but why does it show that the school is third-rate (san ben)* university? Isn't our A university in the first-rate? Also the bottom one, what do they mean by credits?"

*=this took me a while and a few forums to understand. In China, there are categories in universities. Yi ben, er ben, san ben referred to three batches of undergraduate admission after the college entrance examination. The score requirement for the first is higher than second, and the second higher than the third. Yi ben, the first batch of admission, is basically to the key universities. Er ben, the second batch, is admission to ordinary undergraduate universities, mainly public ones. San ben, the third batch, is admission to basically private college and universities.

"The above information probably has nothing to do with our actual situation." Tang Xinjue speculated: "It should show our identity and attributes in the game."

The other three immediately understood. Guo Guo slapped her thigh: "That is to say, we are now players in the game? No wonder I see some other abilities below... Hey, what is this?"

Guo Guo stared at the message box that popped up, and read it word by word: "The good students are waiting in the dormitory when the game arrives, so the educators sent you a random gift package in order to express their appreciation... I have drawn a novice shield!"

Tang Xinjue saw the display on her screen. Introduction: [The novice shield, passively appears, can resist a ghost attack. When it makes a crisp sound of glass breaking, it is recommended that you run away quickly.]

This was a very practical buff, especially for the timid Guo Guo - it is definitely a life-saving medicine.

When the power went out at 8 o'clock, Zhang You hadn't came back. Zheng Wanqing happened to be out to take a bath. There were only Tang Xinjue and Guo Guo in the bedroom, so only the two of them got this gift package.

At the same time, Tang Xinjue opened her own message reminder, and a prompt box popped up:

[Congratulations, you have obtained a random food package. ]

The sound of the plastic bag falling sounded, and a bottle of water and two bags of bread appeared out of thin air on the table in front of her.

Guo Guo was greatly disappointed: "Why don't they give a skill, what's the use of food?"

Tang Xinjue was stunned for a moment, then realized something, and her expression became solemn. She turned her head and saw that Zhang You also had the same thoughtful expression. The two exchanged their gazes. Tang Xinjue took a deep breath: "No... it might be useful."

"Think about it, if we can't leave the dormitory, how can we have three meals to eat every day?"

Zheng Wanqing and Guo Guo faced this question, their faces were as dull as being struck by lightning, and after being silent for a few seconds, they came to a painful answer: "Then we may... will starve to death in the dormitory."

None of them had the habit of hoarding food, and even though they had just finished shopping, the combined snacks and water would not last a few days.

Tang Xinjue's temples twitched even more: "I should have realized this when I saw the bathroom." It was impossible for the game to give them warmth for no reason. If the students are restricted in this one space, at least the ecological cycle must be solved. To solve this problem, the sudden addition of the bathroom was a clear sign.

The four of them suddenly pondered with fear. Guo Guo was paralyzed on the table with despair written on her face: "If I don't want to be killed by ghosts or starved to death, is there any way I can live to the end?"

Zhang You: "Then we must analyze first. The purpose of this game..."

Guo Guo: "It wants me to die!"

Zhang You: "..."

"Zhang You is right." Tang Xinjue took advantage of this time to quickly browse the phone and extracted a few key information. Her eyebrows stretched slightly: "For a game, it includes the player's upgrade system and reward mechanism, which means that it is not designed to kill them, but to let us clear the level."

She considered for a moment, and continued: "If I'm not mistaken, [credits] are crucial numbers, maybe equivalent to our clearance certificate, and [schools] represent our current game level, like bronze, silver, gold, etc."

In fact, at the official "start" of the game, the few words chanted by the child's voice are probably hints to the rules of the game. It's just that they couldn't fully analyze it yet and needed a little verification.

Zheng Wanqing was stunned for a moment, "In this case, what level are we at now?"

Tang Xinjue thought about the words 'third-rate university': "Bronze for beginners?"

"After all, there are two more levels on top of the third category. Even first-rate university will be divided into double first-class, 211, 985*..."

*=this is in the synopsis. 211 and 985 are government university projects - overall, it means the top universities in China.

"..."

Seeing her roommates' expression of doubting life, Tang Xinjue smiled, "Of course, this is only a preliminary guess, the game should not be so perverted."

"Then," she clicked on the [Dorm Status] under her personal information, "This should be equivalent to our task bar, can you see it?"

They saw a sentence lined up on the phone screen:

[Dormitory Civilization Code] : 1. Unity and friendship; 2. Mutual help]

Tang Xinjue's finger lightly tapped on the "Code", and a strange female voice appeared out of thin air: "Are you going to conduct a Civilization Code test?"

Hearing the voice that suddenly appeared, Guo Guo was so frightened that she almost fell over, covering her head for a while. Fortunately, she wasn't sloppy when she was looking after her phone just now, otherwise she might not know how she died.

Tang Xinjue said softly: "Can I know the information about the test?"

After a second, the female voice actually replied: "Civilization Code test rules: There is no time limit for this test, and after passing the test, you will become an official student and be qualified for the exam. There will also be more dormitory-related functions."

"What if you fail?"

The female voice just mechanically repeated what she just said, without revealing any more information.

Tang Xinjue put down her phone and looked at her roommates: "This is the task bar."

"Civilization Code test..." Zheng Wanqing said to herself: "How to test? Do you use pen and paper? Is there a question bank?"

Guo Guo couldn't say enough: "Did you study too much that you became stupid? Don't think with your heels, you know it's not as simple as it literally is!" She turned to ask Tang Xinjue: "God Jue, can we not do this task?"

Tang Xinjue answered succinctly: "Yes, we can wait in the dormitory without doing anything. As long as there is no accident, we should not die within a few days."

It's just... how about a few days later? Everyone was silent.

Guo Guo weighed her snack reserves and gave up with her face covered: "I won't choose, I'll leave it to you. I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

At least she still has a shield. Zheng Wanqing and Zhang You were in the worst situation, their hands are empty. But perhaps because Tang Xinjue was there, after listening to the analysis, she was less afraid.

Zhang You said cautiously: "I think that even if we can hide for a while, we can't hide for the rest of our lives. Evasion will only consume everyone's energy and make us very passive."

Zheng Wanqing also agreed: "I still have three papers, one for a report and one for the competition. I'd rather go to fight ghost fish until the net break*."

*鱼死网破=Literally: “the fish are dead, the fishnet is broken”. Wiktionary said it means to fight till both you and your foe perish. In this case, Zheng Wanqing added 'ghost' to the sentence.

With a consensus, Tang Xinjue nodded: "That's the decision. Do we need to rest for a night before starting the test tomorrow?"

Guo Guo cried and said: "I don't know, But I can't sleep tonight anyway." As soon as she closed her eyes now, there was either a knock on the door or the yellow eyeballs that covered the balcony window before, and she felt a little safe only by being close to her roommate.

"Or... just start?" Zhang You tentatively asked Tang Xinjue, "The voice just now said that only by passing the test can we become official students, which means that we are not yet official students. Will this affect some permissions for us, such as not being able to activate all functions?"

Seeing Tang Xinjue nodding, Zheng Wanqing clapped her hands heavily: "Then what are you waiting for? Stretching head will get slashed and shrinking head will also get slashed*, let's just rush!"

*伸头一刀，缩头也是一刀=when you encounter something, you will do it and the result will be the same if you don't do it, so it's better to fight.

Everyone turned to look at Zheng Wanqing, only to realize that at some point, she had found the broom and mop in the dormitory, and her tall body stood in the middle, like a murderous Men Shen*: "Come on!"

*门神=Men shen or threshold guardians are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones (Wikipedia).

Guo Guo: "Eldest Miss, image! You have won A University's school flower title for three consecutive years!"

The school flower sneered: "I'm going to die, why would I still care about image? I'm ashamed when I think about it. As the oldest one, not only did I not take good care of you, but I let the youngest Xinjue take the risk. It's too much. I will not abandon responsibility anymore, this kind of thing will never happen again, let's go!"

"..."

Guo Guo ignored her sick roommate, pulled out all the utility knife, nail clipper, hair dryer, plus snacks, and divided them into four parts. She stuffed the other three's arms madly: "Wuwuwu we became roommates is all fate, we don't know how long we can live, everyone protect yourselves..."

Tang Xinjue watched them with tears and laughter, which was also a way to vent emotion. In the face of such huge changes and shocks, not breaking down was already considered having a strong heart.

Zhang You sighed. From the moment she heard the child's voice to the time she rushed back to the dormitory, she was tired and hungry, but she had no appetite or sleepiness at all. More importantly, if you don't work hard now, when you wake up tomorrow morning, maybe no one but Tang Xinjue will have the courage.

Everyone calmed their emotions in their own way. After a while, when Zheng Wanqing and Guo Guo calmed down and Zhang You regained some strength, Tang Xinjue pressed the phone screen and tapped on the display.

"Actually, there are two other things I think I should talk about. First, I got an ability." She considered her words for a few seconds, "A... a special ability."

Roommate: "!!!"

Guo Guo opened her mouth wide : "Shit, you didn't say it earlier! What is it—"

Her mouth was suddenly covered, Tang Xinjue pressed her index finger to her mouth, and turned her head solemnly to the door: "Shh."

There was a voice outside the door !

The next second, everyone heard the sound clearly. It was as if something was dragging a heavy object, rubbing the ground in the corridor.

Are people walking? This possibility was quickly ruled out. Because that voice sounded extremely heavy. When they walked out of their dormitory, they seemed to scrape the dormitory door inadvertently, and the harsh sizzle made their hair stand on end.

The four of them did not dare to move at all, and after a long time, the sound finally disappeared. Tang Xinjue touched her forehead and found that a layer of cold sweat had unknowingly seeped on it.

This came from a sense of danger. Although she hadn't met, she was already sure that the "thing" walking outside this time was much more terrifying than the monster knocking on the door before the game started.

The game was urging progress, or it was a warning - staying in the bedroom was not completely safe.

"Get ready, we'll enter the test right away." Her voice sank.

To enter the test, four people needed to click and confirm on the mobile phone at the same time. After clicking, the nervous roommates observed the surroundings for the first time, and did not find any changes.

The silent waiting was a bit difficult, and Guo Guo suddenly remembered the topic that had not been finished: "By the way, Xinjue, you haven't said it yet, what is your ability?"

Tang Xinjue was about to speak when a mechanical female voice suddenly sounded into their ears.

[The dormitory civilization test begins, and it is detected that the number of people in the dormitory is complete, and an additional 10 basic points are obtained... The test paper has been spread, please keep in mind the Civilization Code, and work hard to pass the exam!]

...

...

In the darkness, Tang Xinjue slowly opened her eyes.

Her brain was a little dizzy, as if she was awakened by something in her sleep. She glanced vaguely, the quilt was well covered, and the surroundings were quiet, so she planned to turn over and continue to sleep.

Suddenly, she frowned and noticed a sound beside the bed.

It was the sound of footsteps, as if someone was pacing by the head of her bed. A dark shadow could be faintly seen from the corner of her eye, and the hair occasionally rubbed against the top of the bed net, making a rustling sound.

Was her roommate still awake? Tang Xinjue wanted to turn her head to ask, but suddenly realized something and stopped.

——Her bed was placed above the desk, at a distance of more than 1.5 meters from the ground. How tall was the person beside the bed that their head can reach the top of her bed net?

In an instant, Tang Xinjue was extremely awake.

The memory returned to the cage, the dormitory survival game, the boundless darkness, the monster knocking on the door... The memory stopped at the moment the test starts, and when she woke up, she was now here.

Lying on the bed, her sleepiness was swept away.

There were only two possibilities now, either everything was a dream and she could continue to sleep, or she was in the middle of the test and must be careful.

Tang Xinjue chose the latter without hesitation. She slowed her breathing, squinted her eyes as if she fell asleep, observing the movements of the figures beside the bed.

After about ten seconds, the "person" by the bed stopped moving, and a hoarse girl's voice sounded from the top of the bed: "Xinjue, are you awake? Can you do me a favor?"

The voice was unfamiliar and did not belong to any of the roommates. Tang Xinjue pretended to be asleep and didn't answer.

The girl asked several times, was silent for a long time, giggled oddly, and walked away along the bed. Hearing the voice, she seemed to walk to the right.

Tang Xinjue judged the bed. She was on the bed number four by the door, and the bed number one was on the right. The bed number one belonged to Guo Guo.

The footsteps stopped again. Tang Xinjue couldn't hear what the girl said, but a few seconds later, she heard the sound of glass breaking.

Guo Guo's protective shield was broken!