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Because of pregnancy, the class teacher Ms. Wang, was regretfully disqualified from leading the team, upon seeing the news report and learning that over fifty students from her class had gone missing, immediately fainted from shock.

Yin Baiquan also never expected that his son would be involved in this assessment, with no signs whatsoever. Just that morning, they had a cheerful “argument” over whether to have bread with milk or soy milk with fried dough sticks. Knowing his son was going on a trip, he even drove to a nearby supermarket and bought a bunch of snacks and fruits that his son liked, only hoping that he would have a pleasant time these few days.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, his son was plunged into danger. At the time, he was still at work in the company. Upon hearing the news, his mind went blank for several seconds. Then, in a daze, he drove home and watched TV. His hands, trembling throughout the entire drive, he didn’t even know how he made it back home.

The reactions of Yin Baiquan and Teacher Wang were mirrored in many families of the students involved.

“Why choose the younger generation? They are still the flowers of our country, living in a greenhouse and ivory tower, sheltered from the storms. Their hands are so tender, how could they possibly wield knives against their peers and teachers?”

“Yes! The assessment has descended upon this group of vulnerable children, utterly meaningless!” Many people were protesting, but in response, the virtual image not only displayed the list of photos that could fade at any moment but also revealed a lot of privacy.

—”Ah, ah, ah, I don’t like studying, I hate physical education the most. Why do my parents force me? They say it’s for myself, but is it really for me? It’s just for them to show off at the dinner table, hypocritical adults.”

—”When my mom was having surgery, I wanted to remove her oxygen mask… that way, this old lady could shut up and stop nagging every day.”

— “That slut Luo Min, flirting with other men, even hooking up with a senior, claiming she’s still a virgin. How can there be such shameless women? I’ve seen her get into the car of a fat man every Sunday, I wish I could kill her.”

— “The class beauty Xiao Mei must have had her nose done, and the corners of her eyes too. She often goes to the city’s high-tech plastic surgery center. Her beautiful appearance is fake. What’s laughable is that those men can’t see through it, praising her as naturally beautiful. Ha, if given the chance, I really want to scar her face.”

— “So what if I had cosmetic surgery while underage and got breast augmentation? With advanced technology nowadays, a bunch of idiots who are too scared to get plastic surgery only know how to backstab me. In reality, they’re just jealous.”

— “Wang Wang cheats in every exam, haha, always the first, the first from cheating. The school awarding scholarships to such a person is like having poop in their eyes.”

— “I failed my math exam. No matter how I pleaded, the teacher wouldn’t give me one extra point to pass. Doesn’t he know that if I go back like this, my dad will beat me with a belt? Such a cold-hearted teacher, just go to hell! … After school, I took a knife, slashed his abdomen once, and ran away. Heard the teacher didn’t make it, serves him right. I’m not a murderer, I just did what needed to be done. People like him don’t deserve to be educators.”

— “I casually mentioned a few things. I told her that my family owns a company, and I have shares in it. She ended up in bed with me. Haha, such a foolish and easily fooled girl.”

— “Teacher Li is very close to the female class president of Class Six. I see them together every time. No wonder her grades are so good. So, that’s the reason… haha. We just questioned her a few times. Since she didn’t admit it, we let it go. She transferred to another school. Seems like a guilty conscience makes a thief.”

— “Heard that Liu Yang’s dad is a rapist. Everyone stay away from him; criminal genes can be inherited.” “How did he commit suicide?” “Tsk, not interesting. If only he had said it directly. We wouldn’t have believed it. He specifically chose to jump from the rooftop on the sixth floor. Doesn’t he know we enjoy smoking there? Even in death, he has to dirty that place. So unlucky!”

— “I heard the assessment is coming. Quite exciting, huh? I’ll bring a few knives. When chaos ensues, I’ll kill some people. No one will investigate afterward.”

These statements are filled with various conflicts between students, students and teachers, and students and parents. Initially bewildered, people later widened their eyes, realizing that these private remarks came from the personal accounts of those students on the list. Many parents even discovered insulting comments about themselves on their children’s alternate accounts.

No one expected that behind the youthful and exuberant faces were some anonymous, irritable venting, and defamatory remarks on social media, including explicit language. Many of these individuals turned out to be potential criminals.

They believed these innocent and romantic children had set privacy settings in their social circles, such as visibility for six months, three days a month, or even blocking specific groups. Parents and teachers were among those blocked. Many had blocked their close friends and then insulted them, blocked teachers and parents, and then insulted them. Some of their social media accounts even contained revealing selfies that were never displayed in front of parents, showing scenes from nightclubs, riding motorcycles, and even photos of them consuming certain prohibited substances.

Parents were left in shock.

After the initial shock, netizens outside of the parents also left comments on the internet: “Oh, the country’s flowers? Criminal flowers, perhaps? I never thought these seemingly bright children were so rotten to the core. Nowadays, ruthlessness and maliciousness really can’t be judged by age. Who would have thought that there are quite a few minors with the idea of killing teachers at such a young age, some even contemplating patricide and matricide. It’s truly chilling.”

“Those parents claimed their children were inherently kind, but little did they know that their kids were posting pictures of cruelty to cats online and cursing their own parents for meddling. It’s hilarious.”

“The school shouldn’t be a breeding ground for criminals and wolves in sheep’s clothing. These people on the list are not worth mourning.”

“Death is not a pity 1.”

“Since these students are not worthy of sympathy, let’s just enjoy the show. Who do you think is the most promising?”

In addition to the photos, due to the students’ various social privacy being exposed by the virtual images, which can be considered a public execution, netizens ranked these students based on their popularity. The boy who casually mentioned killing people during the assessment, thanks to his revealed pictures, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a somewhat handsome appearance, immediately took the top spot. Countless netizens expressed their interest in him, with a playful and carefree attitude, completely enjoying the spectacle without considering the seriousness of the matter.

The city’s underground casino operators also emerged, initiating rounds of money bets. A group of seemingly cultured adults, dressed in suits and leather shoes, could freely watch the live broadcast on their screens at home, offering commentary and making bets on their favored participants with just a phone call.

Despite the tight control exercised by the capital’s elite over various regions, unfavorable remarks began to circulate, especially as the virtual images started broadcasting the various selection processes.

The audience coldly observed, envisioning how the script would unfold for them: in the thick fog, except for one bus, the other four buses encountered incidents. The students gradually realized they were trapped in the city’s foggy triangle zone. Their phones had no signal, the compass malfunctioned, navigation went awry, and they didn’t even have a map to find their way out of the forest.

This group of seemingly hypocritical and docile students first felt bewildered, followed by arguments, factional divisions, and escalating class conflicts. As water and food gradually depleted, especially with no food in the forest, they began to face adversity. The darker side of human nature gradually surfaced, and class conflicts worsened, leading to constant overt and covert struggles.

Ultimately, it evolved into a scenario of murder and cannibalism…

When one person met an untimely death, mass slaughter quickly ensued, much like it did twenty-five years ago when pregnant women and children could wield knives and engage in brutal and bloody competitions for the sake of viewership. What they wanted to witness were the ugly aspects of human nature and scenes of death captured by the cameras.

Looking at the tearful and desperate faces of those students, on the surface, they would appear sympathetic and sorrowful. However, in reality, their hearts were as cold and unyielding as steel, shouting internally, “You can continue killing each other! The one who emerges from this bloodbath is the strongest!”

Even if someone stands out in the assessment, becoming the strongest and earning a place as a guest in the floating city, they would still be a recognized murderer, bearing an undeniable mark of guilt.

After the parents of the students fainted, they still couldn’t accept the reality. The government faced numerous parents who came to seek answers, their expressions filled with agitation as they held up signs, urging the government to step in and quickly rescue their children.

The government representatives evaded the questions from the parents, and some even expressed disappointment in the young hero known as N, repeatedly asking, “Why didn’t Young Hero N step forward to stop this assessment?” They treated N as an all-powerful deity.

Once their divine figure failed to meet their expectations or didn’t intervene promptly, they would be utterly disappointed and might even withdraw their support.

Little did they know that the “deity” they anticipated had also been caught up in this assessment. Moreover, the government representatives who claimed to know the evolved being N were entirely unaware that Young Hero N was right under their noses, shining brightly in the virtual broadcast.

Meanwhile, Yin Baiquan was scrolling through the virtual images, exploring the exposed privacy of his son on social media. As netizens had commented, his son appeared to be a dull and uninteresting person.

Every photo followed the rule of thirds, and there were no retouching or filtering in his selfies. Additionally, there were posts filled with sentimental self-reflection. Whether his grades were poor or excellent, or if he lost money, it all found its way into his updates.

To put it positively, one could say this person had a conscientious attitude towards life. On the flip side, some might argue that he shared even the most trivial matters on his social circle.

Unremarkable.

Among the hundreds of students, he neither complained about his parents, teachers, nor classmates. He harbored no malicious thoughts, refrained from cosmetic surgery or frequenting bars, avoided promiscuous relationships, didn’t idolize foreign cultures, and abstained from fighting. His mind was solely occupied by academic pursuits, devoid of any personal flair—clearly someone destined to be cannon fodder.

Boring to death, not worth paying attention to. Such a person surely won’t survive.

Yin Baiquan breathed a sigh of relief, tears welled up in his eyes, thinking that his son was just as he had imagined—innocent and straightforward, genuine inside and out. He had no pretense, no two-faced demeanor, and no collapse of his persona.

However, while sorting through that information, he strangely discovered some personal messages visible only to himself.

“Farewell Letter 1: Saved a busload of people, saw the smile of a child, touched his hands, and I smiled too.”

“Farewell Letter 2: Went into the sea today, the seawater compressing my heart and abdomen. Under the sea lies the remains of humanity. I want to do my best, but I don’t want to return with regrets, hence leaving this note.”

“Farewell Letter 2¹: Bullets grazed my cheek, and I smelled the scent of gunpowder. This is the closest I’ve been to death. The scars on my face are not my medals; they only remind me that one day, I might die in obscurity for this city. Before dying, I shouldn’t keep secrets from my father and teacher.”

…

.…..

“Farewell Letter N: It’s said that the assessment is coming, and before setting off, my eyelids were twitching with an ominous feeling. Unfortunately, being insignificant, I couldn’t halt the proceedings. If I happen to meet an untimely end, I still hope that my father, one day, when going through my belongings, will come across my message.”

“I didn’t mean to deceive but rather, like guarding a precious treasure, keeping a secret. When I first used this ability and casually prevented a massive rock from falling, saving the lives of hundreds of panicked people trying to evade it, I understood how fragile life is.”

“I don’t aim to be a savior; I just believe: the greater one’s ability, the greater the responsibility. As an evolutionist, one should embrace the world, show compassion, and contribute to society. I’m not seeking gratitude; I only hope to do everything in my power to protect this city.”

“Until death brings my end.”

“I might die amid ruins, perhaps without a complete body, and maybe without a tombstone. But in my heart, eternal greenery will thrive, and the beautiful flowers will never wither.”

Leafing through the pages, time had already passed half an hour, and the sun was slowly tilting. It was then that Yin Baiquan realized his face was already streaming with tears.

Unlike what he had envisioned, his son did indeed have a second side, and even harbored his own little secrets. To protect this secret, he was willing to endure everyone’s misunderstanding, letting people think he was rebellious and beyond redemption. Yet, his son remained a good person.

That little child from years ago, so delicate that he would cry and shed tears with a fall, had unexpectedly grown up with such a gentle and brave heart. In those black eyes, he gazed at the entire world, unafraid even of death.

As a father, even if his heart ached and his liver and guts were torn apart, how could he bear to stop him? If it weren’t for this unexpected assessment that exposed all the students’ privacy, he might never have found out in his entire life.

He wanted to thank this sudden assessment, yet at the thought of his son being in mortal danger, his heart was in turmoil.

T/N: since it’s the season of giving I’m giving u guys extra chapters also because I owe u extra chapters coz I wasn’t able to upload last monday hehe. I’m dying it’s already 2 am and I’m running out of brain juice so this’ll be my last upload for tonight(?). The rest of the chapters will be uploaded later today, I won’t forget it this time. Anyway thanks for reading my translations and Merry Christmas again~

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