Bang!
Teacher Liu kicked Duan Chen hard in the side, slamming him against the wall.
Leaving the two troublesome students behind, Teacher Liu pinned Duan Chen down and beat him fiercely.
Punch after punch, blood streamed down Duan Chen's forehead, staining his fists and clothes red.
The students watching held their breath, especially Mi Xue'er.
She shouted indignantly, "You're despicable! You cheated! You utterly vile scum!"
Teacher Liu went mad, laughing maniacally, "This is tactics, students! What teachers teach you is life itself, hahaha!"
Qin Ze couldn't stand it anymore. He gathered his courage, grabbed a chair, and smashed it at Teacher Liu.
With a clang, the chair shattered, but Teacher Liu remained unharmed.
Seeing this terrifying power, everyone's faces turned pale. Even Duan Chen had fallen; was there only a dead end ahead?
But Qin Ze's brave act momentarily distracted Teacher Liu. Duan Chen's eyes lit up, and he seized the moment to kick him away, escaping the disadvantage.
He stood up, panting heavily, and was about to counterattack when Teacher Liu charged into the students and grabbed a new human shield—Mi Xue'er.
The students scattered in surprise, yet dared not move too far, while the ghost-faced monster still eyed them menacingly.
"Mi Xue'er!" Qin Ze gasped.
Mi Xue'er struggled in pain, but Teacher Liu's immense strength held her hair, forcing her to stay still.
Duan Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, tidied his disheveled hair, and his sharp eyes showed deep disdain.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Don't you feel ashamed using a woman as a shield?"
Teacher Liu smirked sinisterly, "We only want the heart anyway. If you're not afraid to kill her, shoot."
"Shoot! Brother Duan Chen, take him down!" Mi Xue'er cried out in pain.
Teacher Liu was extremely displeased. He slapped Mi Xue'er across the face, instantly swelling her cheek. "Damn it, be quiet!"
Blood seeped from the corners of her mouth, and tears streamed down Mi Xue'er's face, but she gritted her teeth and refused to cry out.
Just then, Duan Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he shouted towards the end of the corridor, "Why are you only arriving now!"
Upon hearing this, the students thought reinforcements had arrived! They all looked hopefully towards the direction Duan Chen was gazing.
Teacher Liu instinctively turned his head. A cunning smile appeared on Duan Chen's face.
A circle of blue patterns flashed in his pupils. The future unfolded before his eyes. Duan Chen stomped his foot and charged forward, severing Teacher Liu's arm with a single strike and sending him flying several meters away.
Snap! The severed arm fell to the ground. Teacher Liu clutched the wound, his face contorted with rage.
Duan Chen caught Mi Xue'er steadily in his arms. The warmth from his strong embrace radiated through her. She wrapped her arms around Duan Chen's neck, her eyes sparkling.
A hero, so cool!
Only then did the students realize that no help had arrived; it was all a bluff by Duan Chen! A wave of thunderous applause erupted, and everyone cheered.
"So cool!"
"If I were a girl, I'd fall for you!"
Teacher Liu's glasses lay shattered on the ground. He got up and roared, "You despicable, filthy wretch!"
"Hehehe, it's all thanks to your excellent teaching, teacher." Duan Chen sent Mi Xue'er over to Wu Suowei and turned to flash a roguish grin at the enraged Teacher Liu.
"Pah! Then teacher will teach you a few more moves." Teacher Liu suddenly retreated a couple of steps, leaning against the wall.
Duan Chen stood ready, but to his surprise, Teacher Liu's body gradually melted into the wall!
He sneered, two insect-like antennae emerging from his head.
"The ghost-faced monster is enough to kill you all. I don't even need to lift a finger." Teacher Liu sneered, his once gentle face now grotesquely twisted and terrifying.
"Let's play a game—"
"Hand over the hearts of 15 among you, and I will unlock the airspace and let you out."
"Suffer, struggle, and in the endless abyss, embody the spirit of unity and friendship... I'd quite like to watch a few more dramatic performances."
Hearing this, Sun Xiaoxiao's face turned deathly pale, her expression grim.
"Every 10 minutes, I will come to collect a heart. Students, use your brilliant minds to think carefully—who goes first, who goes last, who dies, who lives."
"If I don't get a heart within the allotted time, the teacher will kill more... Hahahaha!"
Duan Chen's blade flashed in pursuit, but it swished and struck the wall.
As the blue arc of light vanished, Teacher Liu disappeared into the wall, leaving only his horrifying laughter echoing through the corridor.
"Damned bug." Duan Chen coldly sheathed his blade.
Mi Xue'er quickly ran to Duan Chen's side, asking with concern, "Brother Duan Chen, are you alright?"
"Heh, I won't die." Duan Chen smiled slightly, but his expression quickly turned somber. "That guy ran away, but if we can't break open the void domain soon, we'll die trapped inside sooner or later."
"How can that be?" a student dared to say. "It's safe in the classroom now. Those monsters haven't approached again. As long as we don't leave this area, we'll be fine. We absolutely shouldn't listen to his instigation to play any games!"
"Yes, yes! If we stick together and don't listen to him, no one will have to die." The students quickly chimed in, but their faces weren't good.
"You're too naive," Qin Ze suddenly said. "The stairs, the windows, the doors... all the paths to the outside are sealed. We're trapped in an alternate dimension. Even if we can ensure we're not attacked by the white monsters, if we don't play his game, what about water? Food?"
His words made the hope in the students' eyes dim again. Several students swallowed, their mouths already feeling dry and parched.
No one spoke.
Duan Chen, hearing what Qin Ze said, couldn't help but look at this young man a few more times.
"Could it be... could it be that to leave here, we really have to give the teacher 15 hearts?" a boy with thick glasses timidly asked.
"At a time like this, you still call that monster 'teacher'!" Mi Xue'er said through gritted teeth.
But the four-eyed boy's words had undoubtedly ignited the sparks of doubt among the students, and the atmosphere instantly became eerie.
Duan Chen looked at Wu Suowei. "How long can your safe zone last?"
"1,000 yuan per minute. The previous time was a gesture of goodwill. Starting the timer now."
"..."
Duan Chen's brow immediately furrowed. "Damn it, you're blackmailing us!"