Students are tinkering with instruments, even though the noisy interference continues unabated by their ears, and there is not a hint of impatience in their expressions. They persist in adjusting the suitable frequency.
In these few days, they have grown much from their previous restlessness, maintaining composure. Not to mention conducting experiments, where every small step must be careful; thus, they must possess more patience than anyone else, not daring to be careless.
Yin Minglu is also a member of the researchers; his five senses are relatively sensitive. When tuning the frequency, he adjusts it almost with decimal precision, fearing to miss the slightest bit of tiny information.
After repeated tuning, he finally receives a faint signal. The hearts of his classmates, suspended in suspense, are finally set free, and they excitedly congratulate each other.
Perhaps due to intense concentration, beads of sweat appear on the young man’s forehead. His face turns pale and then red, but he doesn’t notice. Some people around him have completely shifted their attention away from the signal receiver, staring only at his face, eyes fixed.
In any case, success! Yin Minglu, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders, released a sigh. Just as he exhaled, someone promptly handed him a piece of chocolate and a bottle of milk.
“Ah, thank you,” Yin Minglu said, expressing gratitude. After taking a few bites, he didn’t forget to address everyone, “Take down the paper maps. Let’s connect the navigation and compare the nearby terrain to figure out where we got lost.”
“Good! The signal is very weak now. Everyone, turn off your phones; don’t occupy our signal. Bear with it for now. All signals are reserved for the bus to navigate! We need to confirm our current geographical coordinates on Earth.”
This place is too eerie; the whole day is filled with fog. Distant and near views are indistinguishable, and if everyone didn’t gather for mutual comfort, several times they would have felt like they had completely disappeared from the Earth.
“Found it, we’re here.” After repeated comparisons between navigation and paper maps, the group finally confirmed their location through forests, rivers, and roads.
Yin Minglu’s hand grazed the map, outlining a route, “We follow this road, and we’ll come across a fork called Devil’s Corner. Then, we head left and drive for another dozen kilometers to reach the main road. Our gasoline should last until the main road.”
“Devil’s Corner, is that the fork frequently seen in movies and TV dramas?” A girl exclaimed, her face turning pale, seeming somewhat frightened. She said, “I heard that at that intersection, vehicles often get lost, have accidents, and can’t distinguish left from right.”
The others gestured with their left and right hands, puzzled, saying, “Isn’t it just a simple ‘left’ and ‘right’? Why would one be unable to tell, could it be a case of blurred vision?”
The girl continued, “I don’t know, but many urban legends mention Devil’s Corner, claiming that it’s shrouded in fog year-round with a high accident rate. Many drivers, unable to distinguish left from right in the fog, even experience hallucinations. Consequently, they involuntarily stop their cars, leading to severe chain-reaction accidents from behind.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that urban legend too. The driver who survived claimed to have seen a group of deer crossing the road in the fog. Out of kindness, he stopped to avoid hitting the deer, leading to an accident. However, surveillance footage showed the road was empty, with no signs of deer! The nearby woods also showed no traces of deer ever living there. It’s really mysterious!”
“Some also say they’ve seen an old lady blocking the road there, and she has no feet. In the dead of night, drivers get so scared, feeling a chill down their spine. They quickly hit the gas, grateful they didn’t open the car door; otherwise, they wouldn’t know if it was an old lady or a demon approaching.”
“So fascinating, like the little match girl in fairy tales who could see things in the flames. If we pass by there, will we also experience hallucinations?” The girl asked in a hushed voice, and the others scratched their heads, unable to provide an answer.
For this group of young kids, hearing such magical urban legends, rather than fear, their faces displayed more of an excited, eager-to-try expression.
However, Yin Minglu’s eyelids started twitching again; left eye twitching, and right eye following suit, indicating that something unpleasant might happen.
The chocolate in his mouth instantly lost its flavor. Yin Minglu furrowed his brows slightly, a sense of caution quietly rising in his heart.
The fifteen-day survival assessment is about to come to an end, and he doesn’t want any unpleasant conclusion at the last moment.
The engine noise of the bus starting is particularly conspicuous in the silent woods. If there are survivors in this forest and they are clever, upon hearing this sound, they would spontaneously head towards the road.
“Never thought we could really go back,” the three bound girls muttered, their expressions a mix of melancholy and sorrow. Tears rolled down their cheeks. They indeed gave up too early.
Perhaps thinking about leaving this once desolate forest, returning to the bustling city they longed for, and considering their parents and the blood on their hands, their tears surged uncontrollably, almost blurring their entire vision.
【Understanding their feelings, one wrong step after another, redemption becomes impossible, and the rest of their lives can only be spent repenting in prison.】
【Nostalgia can be daunting too; going back, they don’t know how to face their families and the friends and teachers from the past.】
Yin Minglu remained silent, simply handing over a tissue. After these days of being together, binding was now just a formality; those girls could still wipe away their tears on their own.
Taking the tissue, one girl choked up, looking at the still handsome youth through teary eyes. It felt like a thorn in her throat as she suddenly said to Yin Minglu, “We’re friends, right?”
Yin Minglu nodded.
The girl timidly said, “After I’m released, could you come pick me up?” Her small face still marked with tear streaks, fingers clutching a handkerchief, she looked anxious, seemingly afraid of the youth’s refusal.
So Yin Minglu nodded.
Seeing this, another girl quickly added, “Then you have to come pick me up too; we’re friends, after all!”
Yin Minglu agreed to pick up one person, so why not pick up three? However, strangely, even though he had agreed, the girls weren’t happy. Instead, their tears increased.
They cried so much, gasping for breath, making an unusual request to the young man: “Classmate Yin, promise us, don’t ever grow old. When you’re in your thirties, still be a handsome man, don’t turn into one of those greasy, pot-bellied middle-aged guys, or we’ll be disappointed.”
How could he control the matter of aging? Hearing this, Yin Minglu was quite embarrassed, only able to say, “I’ll do my best.”
【Truly, youth is as heart-wrenching as falling petals.】
【In reality, these three are still essentially smitten, just with a change in the target of their affections.】
【To the comment above, it’s not being smitten; it’s just that liking the wrong person can make you lose yourself, while liking someone excellent can help you become your true self. It’s all because we met too late.】
After comforting these three girls, Yin Minglu went upstairs to inform the other youth, who was also a murderer, letting him know that they were on their way back to the city.
Facing the impending fate, the handsome youth seemed surprisingly calm. He even said to Yin Minglu, “I’m a minor. My family will hire the best defense lawyer in the country for me. Roughly estimated, my sentence will be no more than five years.” If he performs well, he might even be able to get probation.
His mind worked quite efficiently, quickly calculating the situation.
Yin Minglu was speechless, feeling that this person didn’t seem genuinely repentant, especially when he quickly added, “I still want to see the adult film you showed me last time.”
Yin Minglu: “…Please don’t use misleading terms like that.”
He’s not some resource mogul.
Just as he was showing the youth a movie and preparing to leave, the handsome young man suddenly said, “Stockholm syndrome, although I don’t want to admit it, you did succeed.”
Yin Minglu was stunned.
Because Stockholm syndrome, in full, refers to Stockholm Syndrome, also known as hostage bonding, typically indicating a bond formed by the captive towards the captor, there is a psychological perspective that suggests, “People can be conditioned.”
“What does that have to do with anything? You mention Stockholm syndrome, but have I mistreated you?” Yin Minglu asked speechlessly. The youth coldly gestured to the ropes on his body, as if saying, “You’ve kept me here; isn’t that mistreatment?”
“It’s because you’re dangerous,” Yin Minglu almost lost his words. “You’re really overthinking it. I never had any intention of restraining you from the beginning.”
Regardless, he credited himself for any perceived favors, refusing to take blame for trendy psychiatric terms. He had no association with such fashionable mental health terminology.
“If you don’t behave, I won’t feed you lunch bread today,” he planned to find someone else.
Saying that, Yin Minglu left. He handed the bread to another male classmate, instructing him to go up and feed it. It was such a simple task, and the classmate readily agreed, patting his chest, assuring he would complete the mission.
As a result, the other student quickly surrendered, helplessly telling Yin Minglu, “Sorry, Classmate Yin, the student upstairs specifically requested you to feed him. He even said he would go on a hunger strike otherwise.”
Yin Minglu: “…”
The bus smoothly continued its journey, with Teacher Luo in the driver’s seat and Yin Minglu in the passenger seat—one driving, the other navigating. Along the way, they encountered a few students looking excited and trying to block the road.
Clearly, they heard the sound of the approaching vehicle and didn’t expect to see a bus. Overwhelmed with joy, they were in tattered school uniforms, some missing shoes, others appearing malnourished or with injuries. It was evident that they had experienced numerous hardships in recent days, evoking sympathy from the students on the bus.
Yin Minglu also had Teacher Luo stop the bus to allow these people on board. Before boarding, he went through the routine questions, “Have you killed anyone these days? If so, was it in self-defense or intentional?”
Under the watchful eyes, some tearfully admitted, while others vehemently denied.
For the former, Yin Minglu loosened their bonds a bit. For the latter, he judged whether they had fought bloodily in recent days based on their expressions, appearance, and attire. If he confirmed they were lying, he would directly bind them. Of course, there were those adept at concealing both lies and their appearance. When encountering such cases, Yin Minglu would ask more detailed questions.
“Food is limited. How did you survive? Did you steal food and water from others?”
“Oh, no stealing. You survived by eating forest fruits. What color are those fruits, and do they taste sour or sweet with a hint of acidity in your mouth?”
“Oh, so you’ve been living like that for over ten days. That’s really not easy.” The multitude of detailed questions made the respondents’ scalps tingle, afraid of saying something wrong.
After expressing his admiration, Yin Minglu would immediately say, “Now, repeat what you just said. How did you survive these days?”
Most of these improvised lies couldn’t withstand scrutiny, as they weren’t experiences the individuals had actually lived through. Many people, after trying to deceive, immediately forgot the details. So, when Yin Minglu asked, the fabrications quickly fell apart, forcing them to admit they had indeed killed someone.
As for whether the reasons for killing were forced or voluntary, it was beyond what Yin Minglu wanted to know. Upon realizing they were dangerous individuals, Yin Minglu confiscated their weapons and had his classmates bind them.
Among these individuals was Qin Kaili, previously a popular and highly regarded member of Class Four. Squatting on the road, hugging her knees, as she flagged down the bus, she had disheveled black hair, tears rolling down her beautiful face, radiating an innocent and pitiable look.
Her pure white school uniform was stained with dirt, but it didn’t diminish her charm; it only made her male peers subconsciously feel more compassionate toward her. They were not online users with a god-like view; they couldn’t see that the delicate and lovely girl before them had personally killed over ten classmates.
She finally boarded as she wished, but just as she got on, Yin Minglu bluntly asked, “Have you killed anyone?”
Never before had she been questioned so directly by a boy. She was momentarily speechless, unsure if Yin Minglu routinely asked such questions to ensure the safety of the entire bus. Before her, over a dozen people had been questioned in the same manner.
Thinking Yin Minglu might have discerned something, a sense of guilt crept in, causing a moment of confusion in her anxious heart.
But in the end, she steadied herself and replied in a gentle tone, “No, I haven’t killed anyone. But my close friend Xiao Shuang, she, she…” She struggled to portray herself as powerless, even fabricating a close friend. She wept profusely for the imaginary friend’s plight, attempting to shift the conversation and gain sympathy from the male passengers.
To her surprise, the young man in front of her remained unmoved, even opening a pair of curious eyes and asking, “Have you had plastic surgery?”
With these words, he abruptly halted her tearful performance, causing her trembling lips to fall silent.
Why did Yin Minglu ask this question? Because he found the girl named Qin Kaili in front of him very familiar. When he took Zhao Yazhi, the floating city spy, to the high-tech plastic surgery clinic, he browsed through the flower name list there and found that the girl in front of him almost occupied the popular category “Exquisite Features.”
Qin Kaili didn’t want to admit that she had plastic surgery, but the young man’s gaze was sharp, as if quite certain of this fact. She felt a bit embarrassed, but since she was in a difficult situation, she could only admit, “Classmate Yin, I had minor adjustments, but how does that have anything to do with whether I’ve killed anyone or not?”
In reality, it was not a minor adjustment; she had her entire face surgically altered. However, those classmates who knew about her plastic surgery and envied her for it had long met their demise under her indiscriminate scalpel. It served them right.
Yin Minglu said, “It may not matter. However, since you’ve had plastic surgery and made yourself so beautiful, there should be quite a few girls in the class who envy your looks. After the incident, how are your relationships with each other, and did anything happen between you? Where are these people now?”
Because he received the plot, Yin Minglu has a rough idea of what this girl has done. However, at the same time, he shouldn’t know these things in the eyes of others. So, he can only rely entirely on “guessing.”
With each question thrown out, the girl’s soft features gradually twisted, a hint of fierceness flashing in her eyes. However, in her words, there was a complete absence of acknowledgment. It was evident to everyone that, oh, this girl is not simple.
So, she was naturally bound by everyone. Given the level of danger she posed, she was welcomed into the second-floor VIP lounge.
Luo Yuan had become quite accustomed to Yin Minglu’s habit of picking up people along the way. With more people picked up, his heart had softened and become more compassionate. So, when he saw another student wearing a school uniform, head bowed, on the road, he subconsciously slowed down the car and even considered pressing the “door open” button.
Unexpectedly, just as the car door opened a crack, Yin Minglu suddenly tightly grabbed his arm, raising his voice, “Don’t stop! Keep going forward!”
This person cannot be picked up!
Luo Yuan: ???
T/N: 7
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![The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-11_143139.png "The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao")
