novelraw Chapter 129: Strange
Chapter 129: Strange
Xiao Gui'an watched for quite a while, trying to get the Proxy System to capture this scene before him, but the Proxy System sternly refused.
Alright then—
His attention began to drift to the other orphans.
Children growing up in the orphanage always became independent earlier than their peers and mastered more skills.
Compared to many children who never lifted a finger, they were clearly already very skilled at threading needles, each quietly lowering their heads with almost no communication, focusing only on the work in their hands.
For some reason, Xiao Gui'an's gaze kept involuntarily drifting toward Xiao Le and that small group of children.
This four-person little group—Xiao Gui'an belatedly realized why it felt vaguely familiar.
Wasn't this combination exactly like the painting he saw in the long corridor outside the director's office?
If someone called it a coincidence, Xiao Gui'an probably wouldn't believe it.
Actually, from his half-day observation, small groups of three boys and one girl weren't uncommon, yet he felt particularly drawn to those children.He couldn't quite explain why. Was it because the girl Xiao Le had looked at him first in the cafeteria?
Or because the limping boy Xiao Yong was the first orphan he had close contact with?
Regardless, he had the most interaction with these children.
Among the rule requirements, would the once most well-behaved child be among them?
[Please find the orphanage's former most well-behaved child and lead it through the gates of this prison city]
Xiao Gui'an had already glimpsed the potential darkness lurking behind this orphanage.
He just found it somewhat absurd.
The rules had long clearly stated this was a prison city that confined everything.
Humans are born free, masters of their own fate.
If they wanted to leave this damned place, why not take all the children with them?
Even if everything was just a twisted, desperate resentment, mere illusory shadows, since they appeared before his eyes, he shouldn't leave anyone behind.
Such thoughts flashed through Xiao Gui'an's mind, seemingly leaving no trace.
He thought again about the hints given by the ghost NPCs—perhaps he should find time to share this information with Xu Zisheng.
The other's mind was considerably better than his, and having stayed in the orphanage two days longer, he could probably analyze more information.
Unless necessary, Xiao Gui'an mostly preferred not to think too hard—going with the flow was his life motto.
After all, excessive brain use could lead to blood deficiency, and if not alleviated long-term, worsening symptoms could trigger hair loss.
But since Xiao Gui'an died, the amount of thinking he did daily had multiplied several times over.
The only benefit was that without physical limitations, he no longer needed to worry about hair loss or similar issues.
Although the boys were all considerably taller than the girl Xiao Le, when she made moves, they all obediently followed, seemingly taking her as their leader.
During the scarf knitting process, Xiao Gui'an watched the girl with beautiful eyes skillfully handling yarn, even occasionally finding time to guide the other boys who seemed somewhat clumsy.
Xiao Gui'an watched quietly, feeling an inexplicable sense of incongruity.
He remembered the records showing Xiao Le's handicraft grades were consistently poor, yet what he witnessed now was completely the opposite.
Recalling that the files indicated Xiao Le left the orphanage in her seventh year, and comparing today's orphans who had grown slightly older than yesterday, a conjecture emerged in Xiao Gui'an's mind.
For these ghost orphans, could one day here equal one year?
If true, Xu Zisheng, who reviewed the documents with him yesterday, should have guessed this too.
But even so, Xiao Le's handicraft skills only improved in the final two or three years according to records.
Given Xiao Le's current age, she shouldn't be this proficient yet.
Xiao Gui'an continued pondering—in the final year recorded in the files, the seventh day, which would be the last year, all orphans would grow into their final recorded forms.
And when that time came, what would happen?
Unknown—
He didn't want to wait until the final day either.
Speaking of which, he still hadn't seen the Big Red Flower mentioned in the rules.
As a new teacher who forcibly entered this instance without any reporting, being excluded was probably quite normal.
However, good workplace relationships must be earned through effort.
Compared to the other ugly, terrifying ghosts he'd encountered recently, he felt Teacher Xu was much better.
Although Teacher Xu looked stern-faced and harsh, very difficult to approach—not much different from his high school's stone-faced discipline director—
At least she hadn't revealed her mutated ghost form in front of him, and hadn't refused his request to observe.
Since he entered the orphanage, she had consistently served a guiding role.
Although she was a teacher, and similarly an oppressor in this instance, there should be some differences.
Among the final photos hanging on the wall, only she stood alone in the back row.
Although still stern-faced, it was enough to show her attitude differed from the others.
[Writer] stepped forward after circling around from outside to the front of the Handicraft Room.
On the platform, the pale, thin-faced woman's gaze swept across the orphans in the room like radar, sharp and icy without a trace of warmth.
The dark-haired young man didn't beat around the bush, getting straight to the point.
"Teacher Xu—" [Writer] smiled gently, speaking calmly as if making ordinary conversation, "This morning during my class, I heard the children discussing rewards and such."
"Is the 'Big Red Flower' something like stickers? I came in haste and didn't prepare these, so I can't meet the children's expectations."
In just these two sentences, the Writer didn't directly state his purpose, but his words clearly revealed his desire to see it, or rather, as a teacher ghost NPC, he also wanted the prop.