Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

The knife tip pierced the female NPC's heart with pinpoint accuracy. She looked down in disbelief as the black, viscous liquid instantly soaked through the front of her school uniform.

"How dare you..."

She only managed to utter a few words before her pupils began to dilate, her eyes a mixture of resentment, horror, and a hint of bewilderment. Her body rapidly disintegrated, her skin cracking.

She seemed to want to say something, but only let out a short, breathy sound. Then her entire body deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon, turning into a pile of foul-smelling black ash, with only her school uniform lying limply on top of it.

Almost simultaneously, Zhang Zhuyu fell heavily to the ground, her consciousness beginning to blur and dissipate. She could clearly feel that her life was rapidly slipping away, like sand in an hourglass.

A chill spread from my limbs and bones.

Is this... the only way...?

Zhang Zhuyu, with a strength she didn't know she possessed, slammed hard into the table leg supporting the statue and the wooden table!

"Snap!"

The old solid wood table leg snapped in two!

The wooden table instantly lost its balance and tilted sharply to one side!

Zhang Zhuyu also fell heavily to the ground.

Just before her vision completely sank into darkness, she saw the dark blue statue roll off the tilted wooden table and crash onto the concrete floor!

"Snap—"

That was the sound of the statue shattering.

The office fell silent again.

Player Zhang Zhuyu is dead! China Points -1

China Rules and Strange Tales Countermeasures Center.

The control room was deathly silent.

In the vast space of over 300 square meters, only the faint hum of the operating instruments and the suppressed breathing of the operators in front of the screen could be heard.

Among the matrix of screens covering the wall, the live stream camera representing Zhang Zhuyu flickered for a few seconds before going out.

Immediately afterwards, the number representing China's total points silently jumped from the original faint 10 to 9.

The number was a glaring red, like blood seeping from a wound.

All the members of the countermeasures team who witnessed Zhang Zhuyu's live stream, even after seeing countless sacrifices, big and small, in the game, still felt like something was stuck in their throats when they saw this scene.

"Snapped!"

A slight, crisp sound.

Yan Xiangming, the team leader standing at the forefront, suddenly snapped the metal-cased tactical pen in his hand, splashing a few drops of ink onto the back of his cold hand, like a few drops of congealed black blood.

His face remained expressionless, but his jawline was taut like a knife's edge. A few seconds later, he slowly raised his hand and gently placed the broken pen on the control panel, his movements steady without the slightest tremor.

"Record."

His voice, though not loud, clearly reached everyone's ears: "Player Zhang Zhuyu, ID QTGZ-02, confirmed dead. Location of death: Teacher's Office. Killed one hostile unit within the instance, destroyed the Evil God Statue. Key intelligence is as follows—"

He paused slightly, then repeated the words carefully, making sure that every word was accurately captured by the recording system:

"1. The vitality of the teaching profession is being continuously drained by an unknown evil god statue, and this behavior may be directly related to the high college entrance examination pass rate of 'Green Vine Miracle'."

"2. According to the NPC's behavior, the students in the examination room were aware of the existence of the evil god statue, and there would be severe punishment for failing the exam."

"3. Intelligence assessment level: A. Immediately synchronize with all analysis teams, highlighting key information. Be ready to deliver crucial information to existing players in the instance at any time."

"Yes!" The recorder behind him typed on the keyboard at top speed, entering the information and highlighting it simultaneously.

Yan Xiangming turned around, his gaze sweeping over the faces in the control room, some filled with grief, some with anger, and some with confusion.

"Does sadness help?" he asked, his voice cold and hard.

No one answered.

Is anger useful?

Still silent.

"Remember her." Yan Xiangming's gaze fell on the black screen showing Zhang Zhuyu's last moments. "Remember how she died, remember the information she risked her life to bring back. Every analysis, every deduction, every hint we give carries the weight of their lives."

He pointed to the wall covered with screens, where countless lit images represented Chinese players still struggling in the dungeon.

"Our job is to minimize such sacrifices and maximize the information they gain at the cost of their lives. In three minutes, I need a model of the statue's energy flow, compared and matched against every known mythological evil god!"

His orders were issued clearly and precisely, like the gears of a precision machine restarting.

The atmosphere in the control room suddenly changed. The sounds of keyboard typing, hushed discussions, and instrument prompts returned, even more frequently than before.

Yan Xiangming walked back to his seat, his gaze returning to the large screen, focusing on Lu Changsheng's image.

"Lu Changsheng..." Yan Xiangming murmured the name, "Zhang Zhuyu risked her life for the intelligence. Now, it's up to you."

Having found no other useful information on the second floor, Lu Changsheng and his companion went directly to the third floor.

As soon as they reached the third-floor stairwell, the two of them were taken aback.

On the third-floor stairwell, the floor was covered with crumpled pieces of waste paper. Lu Changsheng picked up a crumpled piece of paper with his fingertips and unfolded it.

There was a document printed on an A4 sheet of paper, but someone had drawn a big cross on it with a red pen.

Printed in larger font at the top of the paper:

[Student Rules for the Fourth Teaching Building]

To all students of Class 3D:

To improve teaching efficiency and implement individualized instruction, the school has decided to provide intensive training for Class D of Grade 12 this semester. For ease of management, all students will be moving into the fourth teaching building. Please strictly abide by the rules of the fourth teaching building:

[1. The fourth teaching building will be completely closed this semester. No one may leave without permission.]

[2. Inside the fourth teaching building, the fourth floor is student dormitory, the third floor is teaching floor, the second floor is faculty and staff dormitory, and the first floor is a lobby.]

3. Students are only allowed to stay on the third floor and above; they are not permitted to go down to other floors.

4. If you experience difficulty breathing or dizziness, this is normal and indicates that your brain is actively absorbing knowledge. Please continue your studies.

[5. By signing this code of conduct, you agree to participate in this special training and promise to abide by all rules. You will be solely responsible for any problems or consequences that arise during the training.]

6. You may hear strange noises during the training. This is normal noise from the old pipes in the building. Please do not panic and focus on your studies.

7. After hearing the bell, you must return to your seat in the classroom and continue studying until the bell rings again before leaving.

8. Please always remember: everything the school does is for the sake of college entrance rates and for the future.