In Virtual Reality - Ch 22
Updated: 46 minutes ago
As soon as Pink Hoodie posed their question, the Student Council representative was momentarily taken aback before erupting in anger: “Who are you? How dare you speak to us in such a manner?”
Shen Jia quickly held back Xu Qin, who was so frightened that he nearly stumbled to the ground.
Despite this, Silence still wore a faint smile, but their deep, dark eyes narrowed slightly as they asked in a challenging tone: “What’s you’re barking at?”
Student Council: ???
“I have it all recorded,” Silence spoke deliberately, brandishing their phone at the Student Council. The dim light from the phone screen was enough for them to see the protagonist on the phone screen—they had captured the threats the Student Council had just made towards the freshmen! “Isn’t the Student Council supposed to serve ‘the general public’? Yet, with you guys, it seems to be ‘the general public at your beck and call’? Hoodie’s mouth curved into a smirk, but their eyes were ice cold. “And, not even bothering to offer a polite greeting to seniors when you see them?” Hoodie waved their student ID in front of the lead monster, causing its already pale face to turn as white as a sheet.
A senior!
Why had a junior suddenly appeared on the side of the freshmen?
As students of Dark Virtue University, they had an innate fear of seniors. However, the fact that they were in the freshman dormitory during the Student Council’s hygiene inspection made the lead ghost feel a sense of defiance.
“Even though you’re a senior, you’re violating school rules by not staying in your dorm during the Student Council’s hygiene inspection!”
Hoodie grudgingly nodded in agreement, “That’s correct.”
The leader ghost’s stagnant eyes widened in newfound courage to confront Hoodie. It spoke somewhat haughtily, “So, even though you’re a senior, I still have to fulfill my duties as a member of the Student Council—” But its gaze flickered to the “physical evidence” in Hoodie’s hand, and it abruptly stopped speaking. “However, as long as the seniors delete the video, we can pretend this never happened.”
Hoodie: “How can we do that? Isn’t that breaking the school’s rules?”
Leader Ghost: “……”
The leader ghost was taken aback by Hoodie’s lack of common sense to read between the lines.
However, as the senior held the evidence of their threats towards the freshmen, the leader had to suppress their anger and speak kindly, “We’re just trying to help each other out. If you delete the video, we won’t report your name and there won’t be any criticism.”
It was a calculated move. After all, at Dark Virtue University, there wasn’t a single student who wasn’t afraid of receiving notifications of criticism!
Shen Jia’s heart raced as he watched the exchange between Hoodie and the leader of the ghost. Would the Hoodie agree? A criticism… a criticism was more like a Death Notice that had taken down many students!
“So you can be dismissed from the student council if you recieva a crititizm, huh?” Hoodie responded, surprising everyone, “Isn’t that just the thing? First threatening the freshmen and then blackmailing them,” Hoodie pointed out. “Disrespecting seniors and trying to threaten. The evidence is clear, yet you remain unrepentant.”
Hoodie’s words were met with stunned silence from the student council and even Shen Jia and Xu Qin.
Then, with a shrug, Hoodie declared, “Wow, according to school rules you can all die in place now eh!”
Realizing that Hoodie wouldn’t be cowed, the lead monster gave in. His already greenish-grey cheeks turned even fiercer, “Aren’t you breaking school rules too? Don’t think I don’t know that juniors nearing graduation take their records very seriously — if you dare betray us, you won’t graduate either!!!”
Graduation… Does it mean that graduating from this university would allow one to return to the real world?!
Shen Jia couldn’t help but clench their hand.
Meanwhile, Hoodie merely shrugged and said, “I’m so scared, oh.”
**
The trio of student council dorm inspectors were fuming with anger when they left. After Shen Jia closed the dormitory door behind him, he glanced at Hoodie, who stood there idly as usual and sighed.
“Senior…”
Shen Jia was filled with questions but didn’t know where to start. Why did Hoodie help the freshmen? Why did they confront the student council with such determination? What were school hours on their cards? And what was this so-called “graduation”?
Most importantly, would Hoodie’s falling out with the student council truly not affect their own “school records”?
**
Xu Jin Yi, who had finished checking the video and recording on her phone, noticed the complicated expression on Shen Jia’s face. There was no way to describe it; it was even more complicated than Zhen Guanxi’s expression.
Despite his perplexity, Shen Jia struggled to articulate his thoughts, repeatedly opening and closing his mouth without speaking.
Xu Jin Yi: “……”
She chose to take the initiative to open a conversation.
“What’s wrong?” After fiddling with her phone, Xu Jin Yi casually said, “Don’t worry, those guys can’t deduct your points.”
With that, she pulled a wooden chair and sat on it instead.
**
Only then did Shen Jia have a moment to closely examine the mysterious “Hoodie.” Despite each feature appearing ordinary, when taken as a whole, there was a subtle handsomeness to be found. Silence seemed to have a permanent smile on their face, which only added to the enigma. When they first met, Shen Jia was struck by Hoodie’s ability to easily handle a difficult situation, smiling even as the student council expressed their anger.
Despite the seemingly genuine smile, Shen Jia couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something artificial about it, like a mask hiding the true emotions behind it. However, the silence that surrounded Hoodie only seemed to amplify this sense of confusion, making it difficult to determine the true nature of their ‘kindness’. In the end, Shen Jia decided to let go of these thoughts and attribute them to the stress of recent events.
Combined with the message posted by Shen Jia in the group earlier that day, Xu Qin was able to quickly identify Hoodie as the third-year senior of Dark Virtue University – Silence. This realization sparked a new question: why would they have come here? Was it possible that they had come specifically to offer their assistance?
The dorm room fell into a momentary silence as everyone considered possibilities.
Xu Jin Yi: “…”
‘Why aren’t you two talking? Are you NPCs or am I the NPC?’ she thought, her eyes piercing as she fixed her gaze on Shen Jia. The subject of her scrutiny seemed to stiffen under her gaze as if he was considering his next move.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, “…A.”
“Knock, knock, knock!” A small, sharp knock echoed through the room, causing Shen Jia to swallow his unspoken words again. With a look of alarm, he made a shushing gesture and slowly approached the door.
Xu Jin Yi raised an eyebrow, calmly observing the cutscene as she remained seated in her chair.
The half-transparent cat’s eye on the dormitory door offered only a limited view. Still, Shen Jia cautiously peered through it, trying to determine who was on the other side. “It’s Peng Jia Long,” he announced before turning the lock and opening the door.
Xu Qin, who had been holding his breath in anticipation, let out a sigh of relief as their last housemate, Peng Jia Long, appeared at the door. The silhouette of the young man, clutching two small pineapple buns, was barely visible through the grey cat’s eye. As soon as he entered the room, he quickly handed over the bread to Shen Jia and closed the door just as stealthily as Xu Qin had earlier, letting out a deep sigh of relief.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Jia asked, holding the pineapple buns, “Why are you sneaking around like a thief?” Peng Jia Long, unable to contain his anxiety, glared at Shen Jia. “Do you expect me to be all smiles?” he retorted before urgently gesturing for Shen Jia to eat the bread.
Looking at the pineapple buns in his hand and then at Peng Jia Long, Shen Jia asked with a sincere expression, “Tell me what’s going on; otherwise, I won’t be able to eat this bread.” Xu Qin furrowed his brow, “He’s afraid you’ll poison it,” he explained. Peng Jia Long was so frustrated that he rolled his eyes. Still, he could not argue with Shen Jia and eventually whispered, “I went to 503 to get it.”
503?
Shen Jia was taken aback. Xu Qin’s expression instantly darkened. “You went to the female dorm to get food?”
The female dormitory, Building 2, Room 503, used to share resources with the other students at the start of the school year, but that changed after a tragedy occurred. Food resources had likely dwindled as well.
Shen Jia rubbed his slightly queasy stomach, staying quiet for a while. “Give the bread back,” he finally said.
Peng Jia Long received the two pineapple buns once more, looking stunned and confused. “Why?”
Xu Qin was equally puzzled. “I was about to ask you that. Why are you still taking food from the girls?”
“They gave it to me,” Peng Jia Long mumbled.
“But 503 stopped sharing food. How could they have given it to you?” Shen Jia asked, resigned to the fact that Peng Jia Long must have taken the buns. “Life is tough on the girls’ side too. Just return the food.”
Peng Jia Long remained silent, then met Shen Jia’s gaze. “I won’t give it back,” he stated firmly. “Xu Qin told me you went to the canteen for lunch and didn’t eat anything. You should eat these buns.”
“Peng Jia Long…”
“What!?” The boy yelled, cutting him off. His eyes were starting to water. “I just want you to survive. Is that wrong?! I saw that 503 had plenty of food left when I went there. Why wouldn’t they share it? Do they want to see us all die of starvation?” The 5’8″ boy whispered, his eyes bloodshot. “Shen Jia… you’re the smartest one among us. If you die, can we really make it out alive? I don’t want to die.”
Shen Jia was aware that Peng Jia Long was in a fragile state after losing three roommates in 412. Unlike Xu Qin, who was tougher, Peng Jia Long was more sensitive, and the sight of empty beds made him more anxious about his fate.
He never expected that the other side would hold him in such high esteem that they would go to 503 to steal food on his behalf.
And what was more surprising was that 503 had extra food supplies.
But it was understandable that the girls’ dorm wouldn’t want to share, given the recent tragedy and their fear.
But this also meant that the other side was aware of the possibility of a food shortage in the future.
Shen Jia’s thoughts were in a whirlwind, and he barely noticed as Peng Jia Long tore open a loaf of bread and stuffed it into Shen Jia’s mouth.
Shen Jia:?
“It’s already open, just eat it!” Peng Jia Long urged.
Forced to eat, Shen Jia reluctantly complied and took a bite. As he ate, he stepped aside, revealing a figure hidden from view for most of the conversation.
Xu Jin Yi was smiling, looking friendly and approachable. But to her surprise, the NPC named [Peng Jia Lang] suddenly gave a “poof”‘ to his knees upon seeing her.
Xu Jin Yi:?
Xu Qin:?
Shen Jia:?
Shen Jia was eating a mouthful of bread, so Xu Qin was one to ask, “What’s going on, old Peng?”
Peng Jia Long froze, pulling up a half-crying, half-smiling expression, and stammered out a few words.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was a student council member in the room?”
Xu Jin Yi, who had just been promoted to the student council, was taken aback. “Hmm?”
Xu Qin was equally confused, “Huh?”
Before Shen Jia could empty his mouth to explain, Hoodie interjected with a smirk, speaking in a serious tone, “Yes, student! How can you enter the girls’ dormitory and steal something? Such behaviour is against school rules, isn’t it?”
The student council monster sat idly in a chair, propping their chin up and looking down at Peng Jia Long with their dark, bottomless eyes narrowed slightly and their lips curving into a wider and wider smile.
Although the sun was shining outside the window, Peng Jia Long, kneeling on the ground, was petrified by the scene before him and felt like he was falling into darkness.
