Deep in the Living

Chapter 594 Morning Run
Whirlpool Town, Fourth Center, Playground Area.

Eight students arrived on time, and Mr. Question Mark had been waiting there for a long time.

His attire was somewhat different today. Although he was still wearing a burlap hood, he had replaced his usual suit with a two-tone tracksuit and running shoes, making him look like a teacher.

Unlike the aloofness and formality of real death games,
Mr. Question Mark adopted a very humble attitude today, communicating with the students in a very ordinary manner:
"I remember when I was a student, the school would always organize morning runs."

My health isn't very good, and I often fall behind. To keep up with the class, I sometimes run until I'm exhausted and need to go to the infirmary.

But after several attempts and perseverance, my frail body was actually able to keep up with the class, and my health gradually improved in the process.

So when Teacher Guo invited me to join, I resolutely declined the teaching position and instead took on the role of Dean of Students, which included being responsible for your recess activities, including this important morning run.

Mr. Question Mark started pacing around, as if he was warming up and wanted to join in.

"In addition to improving your physical fitness, morning runs can also boost your mental state for the day."

Considering that you will be competing against the new students in two days, and considering that many of you have become too reliant on the system after arriving in the corner and have forgotten your most primal physical nature.

I will try my best to help you rediscover the "vulnerability" of humanity through morning runs.

Therefore, I will establish a special rule that you must also meet this requirement during your morning run.

Today is my first morning run, so I'll keep my expectations simple.

You will need to run a fixed number of laps within a fixed half hour. Because each person's physical condition is different, the required number of laps will also vary.

Mr. Question Mark snapped his fingers, and a green number appeared above everyone's head.

Roddy's own score was [317]. After a quick calculation, he realized that he would need to run about ten and a half laps per minute to meet this requirement.

Most people scored between 200 and 400, with Li Beite and Wu Wen scoring the highest at 400.

However, one student was different.

The number on the hilltop is in single digits [9].

Even so, Katayama still looked very uncomfortable; it seemed that running was the thing he feared most in his life.

Roddy looked at the numbers above everyone's heads and gave his guess:

"Everyone's lap count can be accurate to the single digit, so Mr. Question Mark should be able to see our limits in some way."

Fortunately, last night's sleep helped me recover most of the time, and I can feel the rhythm between my tongue and my body. I'll try it later.

Mr. Question Mark raised his hands, signaling everyone to come to the track and take their positions:

"Please note! You may only use your physical strength while running, and you may not use any form of external force. You must also use normal running posture and must not interfere with others."

Of course, if you feel that your skills are discreet enough and will not be discovered, you can try using them; that would also be considered a skill of yours.

Those who ultimately fail to reach the required number of laps will continue the same night run.

Nothing much to say! Morning run, let's begin!

Whoosh!
Wu Wen and Li Beite sprinted off with almost identical exaggerated movements. They had the highest lap count requirement and were also engaging in a kind of "competition".

but,

Wu Wen seized the opportunity and released a rotating force under her feet. Whoosh! Even the ground was left with strange marks as she stepped on it. Her speed increased dramatically, and she surged to the top spot.

Li Beite remained calm, slowly closing his eyes and maintaining his running rhythm to ensure perfect running form without wasting any energy.

The others also ran at speeds far exceeding human limits, but Katayama was struggling to run, with each step causing an increase in bodily fluid secretion.

Mucus carrying pathogens fell uncontrollably onto the runway.

Other students who are focused on running need to be slightly distracted to avoid it, as getting infected would be very troublesome and would cause problems for the entire running group.

Katayama could only keep apologizing, and he felt increasingly guilty, especially when Roddy was being thwarted.

The rapidly rising guilt made him try to control the liquid on his body, and he came up with a solution. This was something he would never have done before, because it was too troublesome.

Katayama stopped and walked to the edge of the runway.

Perhaps because of his collaboration with Roddy, he learned how to release the water in his body, even without the help of the hellish heat.

He tried to apply the force of the vortex to his whole body like wringing out a towel, and the water was quickly squeezed out of the field, even though he was in great pain during the process.

When completely wrung out, Katayama returned to his thin state, his black hair reaching past his ears, making him look rather delicate.

Although running is still difficult, at least it won't bother others.

[Top floor of the teaching building]

Teacher Guo, Gustav, and Maximus are all here.

As the person in charge of the organization, Teacher Guo needs to see how effective Mr. Question Mark's activities are and whether they are helpful to the school's development.

The other two had their own motives.

As the morning run progressed into its later stages, even these elite students began to experience exhaustion. Whenever one of them tried to activate their pituitary gland, Mr. Question Mark's sack head would appear behind them, staring at them with a large question mark.

Upon seeing this, Teacher Guo couldn't help but clap his hands:
"Mr. Question Mark lives up to his name; he can determine a student's 'limits' at a glance and set simple yet perfect rules."

This kind of morning run is very meaningful; it allows them to rediscover the most basic things and re-understand the fundamental nature of their physical bodies at this stage.

Gustav, however, looked disdainful, his attention focused more on Roddy.

When they saw the frequency of the other person's mouth movements matching that of running, their expression turned to happiness.

Morning run is over.

Domo, Yuze, Huayuan, and Katayama failed to meet the requirements, and the competition will continue tonight. However, Mr. Question Mark could tell at a glance that one of them had deliberately failed to meet the standard.

Everyone collapsed on the lawn, panting heavily, seemingly more exhausted than after a major battle.

Mr. Question Mark knew very well that he had achieved his goal this morning run, and he also knew that someone was watching him.

He turned to the rooftop and winked at the teachers there, indicating that the students were all very good.

However, Gustav took the opportunity to give him a strange look and do something bizarre: he put his finger on the surface of his tongue and slid it up and down.

Mr. Question Mark was clearly disgusted; the question mark on the bag's head changed color slightly.

Considering that other teachers were also present, he did not take the initiative to cause trouble, but could only turn his head away and try to erase the disgusting memory from his mind.

It was during this time that the two were interacting remotely,

Maximus's voice came from under his scarf, "How are the new students coming the day after tomorrow? How were they selected?"

Teacher Guo responded: "Because I am not restricted by my original organization's identity, many monsters have visited me. And I have compiled their personal information."

I've been working overtime these past few days screening data.

The selected students are either exceptional, exceptionally talented, well-suited to be here, or have some special significance.

In short, there are several very capable individuals among this group, making it a truly exciting selection process for new students.

"Well, hard work."

……

Sunday

Today, which should be a day of rest for students, is instead the day for the most important new student recruitment.

The selected new students arrived at the edge of Whirlpool Town yesterday and are temporarily staying in the surrounding area, while some are sleeping directly on the main road.

The carnivorous family also traveled a long way to get here and gained permission to be reborn by touching the ashes.

He lives in an abandoned village five kilometers away from Whirlpool Town, and is having a bowl of freshly cooked vegetarian porridge with his family.

During his meal, he seemed to smell something and quickly got up to look out the window.

A faint mist seemed to drift through the depths of the forest, and just as he was about to try to sense it more closely, footsteps sounded outside the door.

The other party did not knock on the door, but climbed in through the broken window.

The little boy, who was drinking porridge, saw the newcomer and excitedly shouted, "It's Sister Mia!"

With an axe slung over her shoulder and her face stained with blood, Mia stood inside the house, a bright white smile on her face, watching the family with a beaming smile.

"Boss Hunter, it really is you! I thought you wouldn't deign to come to a place like this. I've already taken care of some competitors. Want some meat? I've collected quite a bit."

"No."

"Huh! That's strange, you're actually drinking porridge! Is something wrong?"

Hunter didn't respond, but instead looked back at the woods where the fog had dissipated. "When you came over, did you smell anything else strange?"

"Strange smell? No, there are some decent guys among the people who came this time, but they're still far inferior to you, boss."

"is it?"

"Boss, can I come with you?"

"random."

"Yay! Finally, I have a companion. I wonder how Roddy is doing now, and whether he'll come here too?"

When Hunter heard the name Roddy, a glint flashed in his eyes. He remembered clearly that when he ambushed Roddy, there was a swirling pattern on the palm of Roddy's right hand.

"He might already be inside."

"Really? That's great! Boss, your relationship with Roddy shouldn't be too bad, right? He's actually a pretty good guy... and like me, he's a Black Gate serial killer. Maybe he'll even have a chance to become one of the Eight Evils."

"good."

(End of this chapter)