Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Elsa looked at Zhou Bai curiously. She asked, “What’s wrong, Zhou Bai? You don’t look so good.”
“No…nothing.” Once again, he suppressed the suspicions in his mind. Zhou Bai said to Elsa, “What did you just say? We have to go to class?”
“Right, right!” Elsa jumped up, yelling, “Go eat breakfast! After you eat, we’re going to class! If we’re late, we won’t be allowed to eat lunch!”
Elsa dragged Zhou Bai all the way to the cafeteria. He thought, Class…speaking of, the kids here seem to have to attend class with Professor Zhuang every day. I wonder what they learn in class?
Because Zhou Bai had just arrived at the base, Professor Zhuang had let him rest for a few days and get used to life here. He didn’t make Zhou Bai come to class. But yesterday, he came to remind him to get ready for class today.
After eating the sticky and unsavory breakfast, Zhou Bai followed Elsa into a large room and found the other children had already sat in rows in the classroom. Elsa brought Zhou Bai to an empty seat.
A black-haired girl sitting on the side looked at Zhou Bai with interest. She waved her little hand and said, “Hello, I’m Alice. Are you the newcomer, Zhou Bai?”
Zhou Bai nodded. Although he’d spoken with some people over the past few days, he still didn’t recognize everyone in the base.
Alice asked with anticipation, “What’s it like outside? Is there a blue sky? Is there an ocean?”
Zhou Bai went blank for a second and asked, “You’ve never gone outside?”
Alice nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been in this base ever since birth. I’ve never seen the outside world.”
“Me neither.”
“Nor I.”
Little heads poked over one after another, looking at Zhou Bai with intrigue and anticipation.
“Zhou Bai, have you always lived outside?”
“Have you ever owned a dog?”
“Have you seen mountains?”
“Is it really uninhabitable outside?”
“So hungry…Zhou Bai, aren’t you hungry?”
The students threw questions at Zhou Bai one after another. He was stupefied. After a moment, he said with a smile, “I’ve lost my memory. I don’t remember what it’s like outside now. But I remember the blue sky, white clouds, oceans, and mountains.”
Zhou Bai told everyone about the Earth in his memory. His words made Elsa, Alice, and the rest’s eyes beam with yearning expressions.
In the ensuing conversation, Zhou Bai found out that these children had all lived on the base for as long as they could remember. This strange situation made Zhou Bai even more suspicious of the base.
That meant that the oldest child had been here for more than 10 years, and the teacher had continued to bring children in.
As Zhou Bai was chatting with Alice and the rest, the door to the classroom opened. Professor Zhuang walked in with an icy expression.
“We’re starting class now…” Professor Zhuang said coldly. “We will learn language arts and math this morning. First graders listen to the lecture first, second graders do the homework on page nine of the workbook, third graders get ready for the quiz…Students in other grades self-study…Right, Zhou Bai, you listen along first, then I’ll assign your grade according to your level.”
Zhou Bai suppressed the countless questions in his head and obediently listened to what Professor Zhuang taught. The language arts Professor Zhuang taught were just ordinary grammar and vocabulary, as well as reading comprehension.
But the content was in the language that Zhou Bai somehow had learned. And in the process of teaching, there were no references to history at all.
The math was nearly identical to what Zhou Bai had learned before, just divided into different grades.
While he listened to the lecture, Zhou Bai thought about his plans, No matter what, this base had too many questionable aspects. He had to find a way to go outside. Was it really Doomsday?
If it was really Doomsday…then how were his mom and dad? Was this still his world?’
Zhou Bai thought about how he had studied hard in school and always competed to be the first in his class. He vigorously applied to college, worked hard, and finally could rest peacefully at home and play games, watch anime, read novels…
But now he was in this place. Thinking of the games he had just bought this month, the updated anime and novels, and the endless good food…Zhou Bai couldn’t help being irritated. In this moment, he missed the blissful life of modern society.
The morning class passed quickly. After having they all had lunch together, Zhou Bai followed Elsa and the rest to another big room to proceed with the afternoon courses.
The moment Zhou Bai entered the room, he saw giant statues on either side of the room. They were strange-looking humanoid statues that gave off a chilling aura.
Zhou Bai looked at one of the statues. It was a glaring man who held a spear in his hands. He was covered in armor, and his mouth was open as if roaring in rage. There was an eyeball on his stuck-out tongue, and a canine head grew on his left shoulder, giving off a distorted impression.
The remaining statues were also like that, all deformed and strange. They didn’t look like ordinary humans at all. Zhou Bai had been frowning since the moment he entered the room. The atmosphere here made him uncomfortable.
The others seemed to be used to it. They each found seats and sat down, waiting for Professor Zhuang to arrive.
By now, Professor Zhuang had changed into a long, loose robe. He walked into the room with a solemn expression and said to everyone, “Doomsday has come, and demons have overtaken the outside world. You must master the power to yield to the demons. In our demon class today, we’ll continue talking about the Three-Eyed Demon Wolf General…”
“Demon class?” Zhou Bai listened to Professor Zhuang’s lecture in shock. He didn’t expect the class would be on demons.
On the other side, Professor Zhuang walked to the statue Zhou Bai saw before, pointing at its features. “An eyeball on its tongue, a wolf head on its shoulder—these are the characteristics of the Three-Eyed Demon Wolf General that we talked about in the last class.
“This demon loves to fight, slaughter, and can be death-proof and ever-changing…
“The key to yielding to this demon is to have a firm heart and not be corroded by bloodlust. Do not fear death, nor slaughter…”
Listening to Professor Zhuang’s narration, Zhou Bai saw Elsa, Alice, and the rest listen closely, even taking notes. A sense of absurdity rose in Zhou Bai’s heart.
What are they doing? he thought. Zhou Bai recalled again the strange white furry face he saw last night and the auxiliary system on his body and couldn’t help thinking: Could there really be demons in this world?
No, I must go and see the outside world, and see what’s really going on, he determined.
This moment, Zhou Bai desperately wanted to go out and see what the Earth had become. Was it really Doomsday? Were there really so-called demons? If so, what happened to his parents and family? Or did he travel to another world?