In Virtual Reality - Ch 26

Updated: 41 minutes ago

[TN: Leava a like!]

The rubber curtain at the entrance of the cafeteria fell to the ground with a resounding thud, immediately grabbing the attention of the four individuals present. Peng Jia Long’s gaze flicked over, his expression momentarily changing, before he quickly regained his composure, though a cold glint still shone in his eyes.

A young woman dressed in casual attire, strode forward, her shoulder-length hair bouncing as she moved quickly towards Shen Jia and others. Her face was twisted with anger and disbelief as she approached the table.

“Shen Jia!” She slammed her hand down on the table, her voice filled with rage. “You stole something from our dormitory!”

Shen Jia was taken aback. “What? I did what?” He quickly tried to recall the events of the day, thinking to himself, “The girl from the female dormitory, Building 2, 503?”

Long Xiao Hui (龙晓慧) sneered, her arms crossed and head held high as she looked down at Shen Jia. “What? You dare deny it? My roommates saw you!”

“Come on, Sister Long, they didn’t do it on purpose…” A hand reached out from behind her, trying to pull on the collar of her coat.

Long Xiao Hui impatiently slapped Liu Xin’s (刘欣) hand away.

Ah Ma noticed with a keen eye that the young woman’s wrist now had a red mark.

“How dare you eat and then refuse to admit it? What sort of man are you?” Long Xiao Hui taunted, her voice laced with sarcasm. “How dare you steal food from the girls’ dormitory?”

Peng Jia Long could no longer stand by and watch as he abruptly rose to his feet. Although Shen Jia had advised him to return the food, the situation was pressing. Shen Jia was experiencing hypoglycemia. If he didn’t eat something to stabilize his blood sugar, he would likely faint.

Peng Jia Long was not willing to let Long Xiao Hui continue to insult Shen Jia. “You shut up—”

Shen Jia: “You shut up!” he roared, his anger directed not at the young woman, but at Peng Jia Long.

Peng Jia Long was momentarily taken aback, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to find the words to respond.

Shen Jia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he stood up and faced Long Xiao Hui. “I apologize, Long. I made a mistake. I will pay you back for the two pineapple buns.”

Long Xiao Hui shot a glance at Shen Jia and then at Peng Jia Lang, who was fuming behind him, and then sneered with a hint of sarcasm, “Well, well, so it’s a team effort after all?”

Ah Ma, who was seated on the sidelines, couldn’t help but furrow her brow in frustration. She was tempted to say something, but Qian Qin, sitting to her right, restrained her. Qian Qin merely shook her head.

Earlier, they had gone to 503 to ask for food, and from what they could see, if Long Xiao Hui’s claims were true and Shen Jia had not contradicted them, then it was indeed the two boys who were at fault.

After all, during a time of food shortage, every one of the remaining 37 people were tightening their belts and conserving food. Losing even a small amount of food could directly or indirectly lead to someone’s demise.

Although Long Xiao Hui’s behavior may have been impolite, there was a reason for her actions and even if she was irked, the two of them, as individuals who had gone to 503 to beg for food, were in no position to advise her to be more lenient.

Shen Jia’s expression remained stoic, even with a hint of calmness. He cast his gaze downward and whispered, “I apologize. However, we have received a lead regarding a potential food source. Please bear with us just a little longer…”

However, Long Xiao Hui was quick to interject, “You’re referring to those updates you posted in the group, correct?”

Earlier, during the midday respite, Shen Jia had meticulously gathered and shared information from the other party regarding the acquisition and usage of [Credit Hours], as well as several other insignificant details, with the rest of the group.

It was clear that Long Xiao Hui had also seen these updates.

She furrowed her brow, pausing for a moment before speaking. “Here’s the deal. I won’t ask for those two pineapple buns.” Long Xiao Hui sneered as she looked upon the situation with visible irritation. “If you can stoop to such low levels as theft, do you still have enough to spare for me?” She asked. “If you transfer 50 school hours to me, I’ll consider this matter settled.”

She had her sights set on taking the final exams, but the classes required for them posed too great a risk. Moreover, the major that Dark Virtue University had imposed on her was not of her choosing. She had no prior knowledge or understanding of advanced mathematics, and 50 credit hours would only cover one final exam.

However, there was no harm in having extra credit hours, as they could be utilized by hiring ghost students to take the exams on her behalf.

Peng Jia Long couldn’t control his outrage and pointed an accusing finger at Long Xiao Hui. “Who do you think you are?! To think you’d demand 50 hours for just two loaves of bread!” he exclaimed. Shen Jia, noticing his roommate’s increasing agitation, placed a calming hand on his arm, silencing him before he could continue his tirade.

“Not as noble as you two, sneaking into the girls’ dormitory to steal bread,” Long Xiao Hui shot back, unfazed.

“I can transfer the 50 credit hours to you, Long Xiao Hui,” Shen Jia said with a sigh, rubbing his forehead in frustration. “However, I need to check if I have enough credit hours on my student ID, and if I do, I’ll transfer them to you as soon as possible.”

“You’d better do it quickly,” Long Xiao Hui replied, her tone full of suspicion.

Shen Jia smiled bitterly at the situation. The deadlock was broken by the arrival of the canteen manager, who strode towards them with a plate of food in his massive hands.

Long Xiao Hui’s eyes widened in panic as she caught sight of the burly figure, and her body trembled unconsciously.

Peng Jia Long, observing her reaction, was inexplicably relieved and let out a snort of amusement.

Ah Ma looked at him speechlessly, as if to ask: ‘Have you forgotten the embarrassment you caused earlier?’

Shen Jia swiveled his head to gaze upon the canteen manager, who was presenting them with a plate of food that appeared surprisingly edable, no different from a normal university canteen. He couldn’t help but think of Senior Silent’s earlier statments.

The canteen manager placed the plate down, intrigued by the tension in the air. “What’s all this about then? Is there going to be a scuffle?” he queried, eager for a bit of excitement.

Shen Jia simply replied, “No, we were just seeking some information. Can you tell us how to check our school hours and transfer them, please?”

The canteen manager’s face fell upon realizing there wouldn’t be any action to observe. “Ah, you can simply go to the dining window kiosk to check your school hours, and if you need to transfer, just stack your student IDs together. The card on top represents the outgoing school, while the card at the bottom represents the incoming one. Simply write the amount you wish to transfer on the scratch pad on the card.”

As he took note of the blank expressions of several individuals, the canteen manager couldn’t help but become irked. “Bloody hell, you’re college students and you don’t even know how to use your student IDs,” he muttered, before turning on his heel and trudging back to the kitchen.

Shen Jia followed the instructions provided by the canteen manager and transferred 50 credit hours to Long Xiao Hui. Upon obtaining what she desired, the girl tucked away her student ID and prepared to depart.

Shen Jia asked politely, “Miss Long, would you like to stay and join us for a meal? While it’s convenient to have snacks on hand, they may not always suffice. Perhaps you could try the food from the canteen with us.”

“No thank you,” Long Xiao Hui replied curtly, casting a sidelong glance in the direction of the canteen manager, “We have evening studies later. I suggest you keep an eye on the time.” And with that, she hastened away.

Only after Long Xiao Hui had departed did Ah Ma speak up guiltily, “I apologize. I was the one who posted the news of our safe arrival at the canteen in the group chat while we were waiting for our food. I wasn’t aware of your argument and I…”

Shen Jia pondered for a moment, then smiled warmly, “It’s alright. Your message saved me from having to repeat the information to everyone. But I do wonder how many students will be brave enough to come to the canteen despite their fears?” he said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

It appeared that Shen Jia was not overly affected by the previous events. Peng Jia Long beside him, seemingly wanted to say something but — asuddenly, a female voice rang out, causing Qian Qin and Ah Ma to turn in surprise, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Liu Xin.” A small girl stepped out from behind them and approached the table, offering a somewhat apologetic smile to Shen Jia and his companions.

“I’m a resident of female dormitory 2, room 503, and I’m also Miss Long’s roommate.” she explained, her gaze settling on Shen Jia. And then, she suddenly bowed deeply towards him, “I’m sorry, Shen Jia classmate!”

Shen Jia, caught off guard, quickly rose from the bench, his hands instinctively reaching out to assist Liu Xin. But he hesitated, unsure of what to do next.

“Hold on! What’s going on here?” he asked, confused.

Liu Xin kept her head bowed, maintaining her apologetic stance, “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault!” she said.

She then recounted the whole story.

Earlier, when she returned to the dormitory, she had spotted the back of Peng Jia Lang hurrying away on the female dormitory side, which struck her as familiar. She thought it could have been someone from Shen Jia’s dormitory, given that he had suddenly appeared on the female dormitory side.

Later, when Long Xiao Hui came back and was taking inventory of the dormitory supplies, she noticed that two bags of pineapple packs were missing and questioned Liu Xin about them. The latter remembered seeing what looked like pineapple bags in the boy’s hand when he left and mentioned this to Long Xiao Hui.

Liu Xin, with a slight quiver in her voice, said, “But that’s just speculation on my part. I didn’t anticipate that Sister Long would go to the canteen looking for you guys. I tried to advise her, but I couldn’t stop her, so I had to follow her.”

Shen Jia was silent, considering that he and Peng Jia Long were similar in height and body type, and it was understandable that Liu Xin might have made a mistake.

Moreover, if she told Long Xiao Hui that Peng Jia Long was the one who had done it, there was no chance of a peaceful resolution, given their temperaments.

In this bizarre university, the remaining 37 survivors should support and care for each other, rather than harboring resentment and animosity.

Shen Jia spoke up, “No, this is all my fault. If I had taken the time to plan the food more carefully, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Peng Jia Long was taken aback by Shen Jia’s words, and he hung his head, contemplating his thoughts.

Shen Jia had already resolved to take the blame himself and did not want to give Peng Jia Long any room to speak.

Liu Xin stood before him, silently observing as the boy introspected.

Only after a long pause, did Liu Xin react with a wave of her hand in alarm, “Please don’t do that…! We are all classmates, after all,” she said, her lips tightening as she hesitated for a moment before finally making a decision, her teeth clenched. “Here’s what I propose, Shen. If you truly have run out of food, I can get you some more from the dormitory. Although our supplies are limited, there is still some left, and Sister Long and I don’t eat much…” Liu Xin smiled softly and whispered, “Please take care of yourselves and live.” Her eyes sparkled.

**

The camera shifts its focus to Silence, who has been escorted by Little Zhou, as they make their way to the headmaster’s office situated on the top floor of the laboratory building.

Although the journey was a bit lengthy, it was not as dull as the trip to the canteen.

Hoodie, on the other hand, was far from dull as they constantly bombarded Little Zhou with questions:

“Little Zhou, being the Vice President of the Student Council at such a young age, you must possess excellent business acumen, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Classmate Little Zhou, may I ask for your thoughts on Dark Virtue University? I’m conducting a random campus interview and I would love to include your story in our promotional video.”

“Little Zhou, have you had the opportunity to meet the president? Can you tell us what he looks like and if he exudes the radiance of success?”

“Little Zhou…”

“Little Zhou…”

Little Zhou remained silent, struggling to endure the relentless chatter of Hoodie. The student council vice president’s mind couldn’t help but emphatize with Ms Sophora.

Hoodie strolled down the path alongside Little Zhou, preoccupied with their phone and firing off random questions while fervently capturing photos of their surroundings, all while putting on a good show as a diligent campus ambassador.

Noticing Zhou’s silence, Hoodie suddenly had a thought and eagerly asked, “Little Zhou, your name is Zhou, so why did you refer to the student council officer simply as ‘officer’ during today’s radio broadcast critique?”

Hoodie flashed a knowing smile and said in a significant tone, “Could it be that Dark Virtue University is also involved in some form of identity discrimination?”

Little Zhou, who was half a step ahead, halted and turned back to address Hoodie in a hushed tone.

“Senior, is it possible that you are exhibiting bias? If you add ‘Little’, his name would become ‘Little Officer’?”

**

Xu Jin Yi was taking a moment to drink water and moisten her throat outside of the game when she heard Little Zhou’s words. Upon hearing this, she couldn’t help but spray water from her mouth and shake her hand vigorously, before finally hitting the pause button.

This was followed by a resounding and earth-shattering burst of laughter, like the honking of a majestic goose.

**

Inside the game, Hoodie appeared to be gasping for breath, and it took a while before they could respond, “So ah hahahaha.”

Little Zhou nodded and resumed their lead up the stairs.

The headmaster’s office was located on the sixth floor of the laboratory building, with the fourth and fifth floors serving as the library and the first, second, and third floors being used as laboratories.

Unfortunately, there was no elevator, only a staircase.

The two continued their ascent up the stairs.

However, after just a short period of silence, Hoodie could no longer resist and spoke once again, “Student Little Zhou–”

Little Zhou, on the brink of developing a stress disorder from all the repeated calls of “Little Zhou student,” quickly interrupted Hoodie’s line by speaking first, “Senior, the headmaster’s office is right here.”

The vermilion double doors of the office appeared before them, and Hoodie followed Little Zhou’s pointing finger to see a combination lock next to the door on the wall.

Little Zhou said, “I’m not sure if the headmaster is in his office at the moment, so why don’t you knock on the door first, Senior. It’s almost time for the evening study period, so I’ll be heading to the library to study.”

Hoodie smiled and waved at Little Zhou, “I’ll come play with you sometime, Little Zhou~”

Little Zhou, unenthusiastic about the prospect, responded with a monosyllabic, “……” before fleeing down the stairs as if running away from a pesky monster.

**

After Xu Jin Yi finished interacting with the NPC, she turned and made her way towards the vermilion office door.

Standing before it, she crossed her arms in a pensive manner before swiftly typing in “0619” without hesitation.

She thought to herself, ‘What’s the point of solving a convoluted puzzle and mysteries? Why not just speedrun the game?’

——— Translator’s Notes ———

Long Xiao Hui

龙晓慧: Lóng = dragon / CL: 條｜条 / imperial, Xiǎo = dawn / daybreak / to know / to let sb know / to make explicit, Huì = intelligent

Liu Xin

刘欣: Liú = (classical) a type of battle-ax / to kill / to slaughter, Xīn = happy… hihihihihihi Happy Slaughter…. hihihihihi….