Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

Principal Zhang's wide-open mouth suddenly froze: "The fourth teaching building... that's our school's old campus, now abandoned. Is Teacher Li still there? He's getting old, but he never wants to retire."

As he spoke, several tentacles suddenly shot out from behind Zhang Mingyuan, reaching directly to the coffee table and deftly pouring two cups of tea with them:

"Come on, sit down and let's talk. Which class are you in?"

The sound came from its split mouth, creating a nauseating contrast with its horrific appearance.

"Senior Year A Class"

Cheng Caijun answered, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Class A—"

The sticky, blue tentacles curled up two teacups and held them out in front of Lu Changsheng and his companion. The gaping maw seemed to widen even further. "Good, good. Class A is the pride of our school. You will surely achieve even greater glory in this year's college entrance examination."

Lu Changsheng naturally took the teacup, but did not drink it; he simply held it in his hand and said, "Principal, we found dozens of corpses in the fourth teaching building."

"bump--"

Just as Cheng Caijun was about to take the teacup, it suddenly shattered, splashing scalding tea everywhere. Lu Changsheng reacted quickly and pushed Cheng Caijun onto the sofa.

Zhang Mingyuan: "You saw things you shouldn't have seen."

Lu Changsheng stared directly at the monster before him, and instead of answering, asked, "Is this true?"

silence.

The sunlight outside the window seemed to have dimmed a bit. The clock on the wall ticked rhythmically, each tick striking my heart.

"Hehe—"

The blue monster made a gurgling sound from its throat, and then spoke in human language:

"It's true."

His frankness surprised even Lu Changsheng.

"You are still young and don't understand. What is education? It is selection, it is streaming, it is making the excellent even more excellent, and it is making the unsuitable contribute to the collective."

"Have you ever thought about this? Tsinghua and Peking University only admit a few hundred people each year. Why should they choose you? Based on hard work? There are plenty of hard-working people. Based on talent? Talent also needs a platform."

To Lu Changsheng's astonishment, he saw a hint of almost fanatical piety in that terrifying face:

"But I've found a way. I can guarantee that every graduating class of A will go to the best universities and have the brightest future. The only price is some people who had no hope to begin with. And they haven't completely disappeared; they 'live' in you, and that's their greatest value."

"Nonsense!" Cheng Caijun stood up from the sofa, trembling with anger.

The blue monster ignored him and became more and more agitated, its dark blue tentacles flailing wildly around the room.

"Children, you don't understand, and I don't blame you this time. But you must know that sometimes, sacrifice is necessary for the greater good."

"So, what are you prepared to sacrifice to gain protection? All the teachers? All the students? And yourself?"

The temperature in the room plummeted.

Lu Changsheng looked at the inhuman-looking monster in front of him and suddenly let out a soft laugh.

Such people claim that everything they do is for the students in Class A and for the school's college entrance rate. But when it comes to a life-or-death situation, they treat everyone in the school as disposable pawns.

"A pathetic creature, devoured by something it summoned itself..." Lu Changsheng paused, seemingly considering his words, "...a pitiful wretch?"

Principal Zhang—or rather, that worm-like creature that barely maintained its human form—suddenly stiffened all its tentacles, and its black, vortex-like eyes contracted violently, staring intently at Lu Changsheng.

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees again, and the vein-like structures on the wall began to throb wildly, making a muffled "thump, thump" sound, similar to a heartbeat.

"What...did you say?" Its voice remained gentle, but beneath that gentleness, something cold was cracking.

The jade pendant in Lu Changsheng's arms became scalding hot, but instead of retreating, he stepped forward.

"I said, you failed."

Lu Changsheng said clearly:

"Besides, in order to maintain the barrier, you turned yourself into this grotesque state, and even your original power of rules is dissipating."

He pointed to the dimly lit rules board on the wall: "Look at those rules, the ink is almost gone. Your 'command authority' is being weakened, and your control over your 'kingdom' is crumbling."

Principal Zhang remained silent. The translucent organs on its body began to writhe more rapidly, and some viscous, dark yellow liquid seeped out from the gaps in its skin.

"You're very smart, Lu." Its voice finally shed its feigned gentleness, becoming hoarse and sticky, like a wet rag dragging across the floor. "But smart people... often don't live long."

"You're not still hoping for protection, are you?"

Lu Changsheng sneered, his gaze sharp as a knife. "You're right, smart people often don't live long. But those fools who don't even realize they've become 'discarded pawns' don't live long either."

Principal Zhang's "face" was violently contorted, his mouth stretched to an unbelievable arc, emitting a strange "hoarse" sound, like a leaky bellows.

"You think you've summoned 'thugs' or 'bodyguards'? No, you've summoned a 'gluttonous beast'."

"What it wants is every living person in this school," Lu Changsheng paused, his gaze sweeping over the pulsating veins on the wall, "whether it's me, you, or even all the students in Class A, they are all its nourishment."

Principal Zhang's tentacles began to twitch wildly, pounding against the ground and walls with muffled "slap slap" sounds. The translucent organs writhed even faster, gushing out more dark yellow liquid, filling the air with a foul stench.

"impossible!"

He roared, his voice finally betraying barely concealed panic, "The summoning was perfect! I paid the price! He promised me..."

"You don't really think that just because Li Xingguo signed a lifetime employment agreement, you can control him, do you?"

Lu Changsheng scoffed, "Principal Zhang, after all these years of teaching, haven't you ever taught your students—'How can you expect to profit from something as simple as trying to get something from a tiger?'"

Cheng Caijun was dumbfounded. Wait, what's going on?

Who? Li Xingguo?