CH 14

Chapter 14: Four Seasons Protection Guide

In fact, before the first test, Tang Xinjue decided to tell the story. However, there was no respite in the test, and only now she could come out and talk.

Now was the time.

"Actually, I once dreamed of the scene in the game, a week ago.

"No, to be more precise, three years ago."

"???!!!"

Hearing Tang Xinjue's slow statement, everyone kept their eyes open.

For the first time, they knew that Tang Xinjue had a car accident three years ago.

It was this car accident that made her look thin and frail now. No matter how she supplemented her nutrition and exercised her body, even if she had practiced skills far beyond her peers, her appearance would always stay in this malnourished state.

From then on, Tang Xinjue began to be haunted by nightmares and hallucinations, and her academic life was affected. She had to change her major and spend her time and energy on maintaining her mental health.

And in her haunting nightmare, the lingering darkness, all kinds of monsters, forcing her to run away in danger of her life.

"...One of the most important escape scenes is the dormitory." Talking about this, Tang Xinjue was cautious: "The monster who knocked on the door on the first day appeared exactly the same in my dream."

Touch to attack, then tear it apart to be able to escape. This was also the unspoken rule in the dream, and it also took effect in this game.

The three roommates were speechless for a long time. They never thought that behind Tang Xinjue's powerful strength, there was such a hidden secret.

"Then what else did you dream about?" Zhang You thought for a while and asked, "If this is some kind of prophetic dream, then the dream may contain a lot of game content."

A few people concentrated on her, but Tang Xinjue shook her head: "Most memories of dreams are repetitive and vague. I can only recall the specific content of dreams when I come into contact with them in reality.

"But I guess, maybe it's because of these dreams, which made me more sensitive to ghosts and dangerous auras. So sometimes I can ignore the rules and use ghosts' items directly."

Guo Guo followed up and added: "And san points! No wonder your san points are like iron. You're still standing still when mine is all gone."

It turned out that it wasn't because she was too timid, but because of the damage comparison - her teammate was too strong!

"Thank you for being willing to tell us these things." After the simple discussion was fruitless, Zhang You sighed, "Although I always thought you had a secret, I didn't expect you to endure so much alone... If you can understand the relationship between your dreams and the game, that would be good."

A few days of nightmares can make ordinary people mentally exhausted. Tang Xinjue has endured for so long, but her mental patience has become stronger and stronger, which was both shocking and admirable.

"Since it exists, it won't exist in vain." Tang Xinjue smiled, "We will understand it one day."

After explaining the dream and supernatural powers, Tang Xinjue took out the phone again. The roommates, who were still in shock state, started to recall reality. "But the most important thing now is to confirm the next step."

There was a new prompt on the [Exam/Competition] interface:

[The test of the day has been completed, you are currently resting. Tomorrow morning at 8, click to refresh the exam information]

"The time is now 8 o'clock in the evening. The dormitory safety guide says that from now to 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, it is in our absolute safe time, and you can rest as much as you like."

Tang Xinjue's voice fell, and a long voice sounded in the dormitory. With a sigh, several people fell softly as if their bones were taken out, and the nerves that had been tense until now finally got a real relaxation.

At least they could get a good night's sleep tonight.

Nine o'clock at night.

Tang Xinjue finished washing up and confirmed that there was no injury other than muscle soreness, so she began to check her abilities.

Although she was reluctant to accept it... but the ability of toilet plunger was currently the best card in her hand. The damage may not be high, but it was powerfully humiliating (for ghosts).

Now that it had been upgraded to level 2, the introduction showed that there were new functions. Tang Xinjue tried to sense it and found that there were two more buttons on the top of the handle.

Was this the new feature?

Pressing the first button, the rubber head of the toilet plunger moved twice, and a stream of water "popped" and splashed on the ground.

[Automatic flushing function: No need to manually pour water before dredging, just press the button to make your toilet free of obstructions!]

Tang Xinjue: "..."

This thing was actually upgrading and evolving according to the function of the toilet plunger?

What she needed was an ability, a weapon! What was the use of evolving a toilet plunger for her?

Facing the female ghost, Tang Xinjue was in a calm mood, but in the face of her own supernatural powers, a mouthful of old blood sunk in her chest*, and her complex mood was indescribable. After a two-second delay, she pressed the second button.

*You know, like how people in martial arts novels and movies always vomit up blood when they're mentally hit.

In the next instant, the toilet turned into a white light that sank into her palm. At the same time, a cartoon version of the toilet plunger appeared in her mind, showing its attributes:

[Level 2 Object Ability; Proficiency: 72/100, Attack Power: to be developed, Defense Power: to be developed]

[Primary Auxiliary (Developed): Take this ability back to the sea of ​​​​consciousness, and restore 1 health point per hour]

(Development source: Holder's strong recovery feature)

Finally, seeing the useful ability, Tang Xinjue pondered. If the development of object-type abilities came from the characteristics of the ability-holders themselves, what was the method for judging them?

Suddenly there was a commotion in her ear, and it was Guo Guo's shout: "My random reward has been exchanged for 2 Student Points!"

Zhang You and Zheng Wanqing also exchanged points. Although the number was not large, it was a "giant amount of money” for the moment. The three were quite satisfied. Tang Xinjue was the only one who successfully exchanged the buff.

"The Light of the Right Path? What kind of buff is this?" Her roommates came over to look at it, but found that there was no explanation on the buff. It hung there very plainly, which was confusing.

"There is a kind of buff in which explanation will only appear when the buff is triggered."

Since she couldn't find it, Tang Xinjue wasn't going to waste time guessing. She returned to her seat and concentrated on studying the current information.

Her roommates were also busy, and everyone cherished this time off. Guo Guo dug out a lot of supernatural books, vowing to study the yin and yang eyes, so as not to scare herself to death next time she encountered a ghost.

Zheng Wanqing was practicing taekwondo. She was hanging on the bed with the upside down golden hook* position. She tilted her head and said to her roommates, "I feel like my stamina and joint toughness have improved."

*倒挂金钩=Upside down golden hook, or in English is bicycle kick or overhead kick, a soccer term. In this case, she literally just hang upside down.

Guo Guo: "Go away!! You're going to scare me to death!!"

Zhang You spent two hours sorting out the list of all the food and supplies in the dormitory, filled ten sheets of scratch paper, and used her printer to make a copy for everyone, asking everyone to recite it before going to bed.

Everyone: "..."

7:55 in the morning.

Tang Xinjue woke up on time with clear eyes.

This was the first time in three years that she slept until dawn without having any dreams. When she woke up, she no longer had a headache and exhaustion. Instead, her ears and eyes were clear, and her body was filled with a light power.

If she had to describe this feeling, it would only be... like a new born.

The room was very quiet, and her roommates hadn't woken up yet. Tang Xinjue pressed down her tumultuous mood and opened the curtain of the bed, then her eyes were stunned—it was dawn.

The light was not all from the lights in the bedroom, but from outside.

When she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, she saw that the airless darkness outside the balcony had dissipated, replaced by a vast white fog, covering everything in the field of vision, and nothing in the fog could be seen.

Tang Xinjue subconsciously put her hand on the glass window, and the moment her palms fit together, the white mist outside the window suddenly surged as if alive, and bit down on her palms!

Because it was across the barrier of the balcony window, she was not seriously hurt. There was only a cold touch penetrated into the palm of her hand, attached to her bones, as if countless voices were whispering in her ears at the same time.

Greed, coveting, malice, contempt...

After about four or five seconds, the voice realized it could not penetrate her consciousness, then disappeared unwillingly.

Tang Xinjue was as unmovable as a bell*, and looked out the window coldly. It seems that whether it was darkness or white fog, the essence was the same, and there was an unspeakable danger.

*From "unmovable like a mountain, like a bell" meaning that nothing could bother them, as majestic as a mountain, as strong as a bell.

She withdrew her hand expressionlessly. With a flash of white light in her hand, she was holding the toilet plunger, and the rubber head spit out a stream of water against the white fog outside the window.

"I'm sorry, you only deserve to eat this."

White fog: "..."

The white fog returned to stillness, as if it had never flowed. The other roommates also woke up one after another, and when they saw this scene, their mouths were wide open, and they all came to the window to watch. Only after being reminded by Tang Xinjue not to touch the window, did they recover.

"Ding dong dong, dong dong ding--"

A strange and unpleasant music came in from the white fog:

"Happy Monday, it's class time, the exam papers have been distributed, everyone is ready~"

"Dear students, did you study hard for today?"

Her roommates covered their ears: "This is the worst wake-up bell I've ever heard in my life, and it doesn't sound better than nails scratching the blackboard."

"It's eight o'clock." Tang Xinjue turned on the phone and reminded the three: "This is the time to refresh the exam."

After hurriedly eating a few biscuits for breakfast, several people checked the exam information.

The APP interface had been updated, and the exam rules were listed at the top:

[Monday to Friday are study time, weekends are off days]

[If there is less than one passing course within a week, everyone in the dormitory is considered to be eliminated]

[If there are three or more passing courses within a week, you can sign up for extracurricular competitions on weekends]

[Diligence makes people progress, laziness makes people regress]

Below the rules, three options were concise and eye-catching:

[Please choose one from the following test content, countdown: 15 minutes]

Volume A: "Marine Civilization" A Brief History

Volume B: "Four Seasons Protection Guide"

Volume C: "The Dormitory Survival Test in Rising Dead"

...First of all, Volume C is definitely the first to rule out.

After confirming with their eyes, none of the four wanted to experience a zombie siege. They were just four defenseless college students who didn't even have a kitchen knife. How could they fight zombies?

As for A and B...

"A brief history of marine civilization, won't you let us fight sea monsters?" Guo Guo asked.

Tang Xinjue tapped on a point above, and a brief introduction appears on the options:

[The best way to learn history is to witness it with your own eyes, and the ocean also thinks so.]

[Note: This volume belongs to the course "Ocean and Human Life", and the corresponding course certificate can be obtained according to the test scores (except for the failing subjects)]

... Witness it with your own eyes? What kind of witnessing?

Tang Xinjue frowned: "At least we know that this dungeon requires a certain understanding of marine life and the ability to swim."

The four of them have Zheng Wanqing and Guo Guo, two landlubbers. Zhang You and her were also average in water, so they were not suitable for underwater combat.

"Then we can only choose Volume B?"

Everyone stared at the last option.

[As we all know, there are four seasons in the world, and they all have their own abominations. How to survive in the four seasons with the help of the dormitory is a problem that every student needs to face, and it is also the subject of this exam. ]

[Note: This volume belongs to the course "Summary of Student Survival", and the corresponding course certificate can be obtained according to the test results (except for failing subjects)]

"What the hell is this - what school needs students to learn how to survive?" Guo Guo collapsed and covered her head. "I don't need to struggle to survive for four seasons!"

"Obviously, in the school of Dormitory Survival Game, students need to."

Tang Xinjue had a general understanding in her heart, and looked up at her roommates, "In this dungeon, there is a high probability that extreme environments will occur."

Zhang You agreed, "And it may take a long time, after all, it is [Four Seasons], so food is also a problem."

But at least, they had a basic understanding of what might happen in each season. If it was hot summer, the dorm had a fan and water, and if it was severe winter, the dorm had a down jacket and a quilt.

Compared to the other two options, this one made them feel more secure.

There was no suspense, the B option was chosen with the highest vote. Before the selection time was over, Tang Xinjue opened the mall and glanced at the items that could be used for the exam.

Two minutes later, she exited the mall with a stack of blue talisman paper in her hand.

"Frozen three-foot symbol, you can specify that the temperature of one square meter area so it drops by 50 to 70 degrees, 10 points for 10 cards."

If it was in a hot and extreme environment, it might have miraculous effects.

The others also quickly bought them, and the countdown came to an end in the blink of an eye.

[Ding, the registration is successful, the test is loading...]

[The Four Seasons Protection Guide Test has begun, the test paper has been opened, please work hard to answer the questions!]

......

It was an ordinary morning, and even the sun was covered with a layer of fog due to the cold.    Winter is always unpredictable, but when it comes to buying breakfast, the temperature outside has dropped by more than 30 degrees. You need to quickly cross this corridor and return to the dormitory.

Tang Xinjue stood at the entrance of the stairs corridor, holding a cup of soy milk and a bag of buns in her hands, but she could not feel any temperature. She turned to look down the corridor.

- Can you get back to the dorm successfully?

"If there is no second-person game narration, my success rate should increase a lot," Tang Xinjue said lightly.

Emotional narration of the game: "..." The strange voice-over disappeared. She then felt loose and regained her freedom of movement.

It seemed that this dungeon started with a checkpoint system. Tang Xinjue looked at the dark corridor in front of her. This time, as soon as she opened her eyes, she stood at the entrance of the corridor, with only a layer of shirt and denim jacket on her body. The low temperature in the cold winter caused a layer of swelling on her skin instantly, and she was physically shaking.

Spring, summer, autumn and winter, she didn't expect the dungeon to start directly in winter, and she neglected to prepare.

Without hesitation, she hurried toward the dorm. 606 was in the middle of the corridor. It only took about 10 seconds to walk quickly... But within two seconds, Tang Xinjue was forced to stop.

A hand reached out from the 602 room's doorway and grabbed her ankle.

"Save me, Tang, Tang Xinjue..." The girl that grabbed her raised her head. It was Zhou Xiao, who had a good relationship with their dormitory. She used to go to Dormitory 606 to share snacks.

At this moment, Zhou Xiao could already be described as withered. Her body seemed to have been shrunk into a circle, her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips were full of dry dead skin: "I haven't eaten for five days, I'm really dying... Help me..." The girl's gaze fell directly on the soy milk and steamed buns in Tang Xinjue's hands, and tears rolled down from the corners of her dry eyes.