An infinite journey starting from paradise

Zhuizi's voice sounded beside Lin Shangren.

"Ah, Teacher Zhuizi, are you here to ask for candy?" Lin Shangren joked.

Tsuiko said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Tsk, you're so petty. So, what are you staring at President Orihime for?"

"I just thought it was novel to see students gathering together like this. Is Tsukishima-san popular?"

Tsuiko said, "Of course. Not only her junior schoolmates, but also many of her classmates and senior schoolmates admire her."

There was something subtle about Tsuiko's tone, which caught Lin Shangren's attention. He asked, "That's strange... From your behavior this morning, it seemed like you admired her too. But, that doesn't seem to be the case."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm leaving, you petty-minded Teacher Lin."

With a slightly unnatural smile, Tsutsuko walked towards Tsukishima Orihime and disappeared into the crowd surrounding Orihime.

"The little thoughts of an adolescent girl?"

Lin Shangren shook his head and walked towards the men's restroom for faculty and staff.

……

At noon, during the lunch break, Hayashi Naoto called the principal, Saeki Kaori, and the dean of studies, Saeki Tokio, together. He wanted to get some information about Koizumi Hotaru and other missing students.

Yes, the other missing students.

While investigating information about Hotaru Koizumi in the morning, Naoto Hayashi learned from Tokio Saeki that several students at Sakuraha Girls' Academy had not been to school for a long time.

"This kind of thing is quite normal. Parents can't afford the tuition fees and have other plans... This is the attitude of those self-righteous Chinese people towards their daughters' education. Even if something happens, they won't inform the school," explained Tokio Saeki.

Saeki Tokisei was actually very curious. He was curious about why the new teacher Hayashi Naoto would be interested in the missing students. He was even more curious about why Saeki Kaori, a strong woman, would listen to Hayashi Naoto so much and even agree to his request to revise the school rules.

He strongly disagreed with the revision of the school rules. After all, the current school rules protected the students very well and prevented them from being harmed by the outside world.

"So what about Hotaru Koizumi?" Lin Shangren demanded. "Yesterday, the police found her body in Tama Cemetery."

Saeki Tokio defended himself, "That...that's because she didn't follow the school rules."

"No, she behaved like this precisely because she had been too obedient to school rules before," said Lin Shangren.

A girl from a wealthy family suddenly began selling her body, not for money, but simply for the thrill of pursuing and committing adultery. If she wasn't a natural pervert, then something must have driven her into this perversion.

In Lin Shangren's view, that "something" is the overly strict school rules of Yingyu Girls' College and the high-pressure environment it creates.

"A bunch of nonsense."

Tokisuke Saeki really wanted to throw these four words in Hayashi Naoto's face, but after seeing Kaori Saeki's angry expression, he chose to remain silent.

After all, Kaori Saeki is the principal.

"Let's get down to business," Lin Shangren continued. "Have you prepared the information on the missing students? It would be best if you could provide photos and their usual interpersonal relationships."

……

Two hours later.

"The West Garden is only a few blocks away, and the city is far away..."

In the faculty office, Lin Shangren was looking through the missing girls' files, comparing their photos with the two mutilated heads. It was confirmed that the missing girls had nothing to do with the Inokashira Park dismemberment case.

"Am I being overly suspicious... Anyway, let's first investigate Hotaru Koizumi's relationships. The information shows she's a member of the Kendo Club, so let's go during the club's activities after 4 PM to find out more."

After making up his mind, Lin Shangren walked out of the faculty office. When he reached the first floor, he found that the seal on the door of the health room had been torn off.

"It's fast enough. Has everything inside been renovated?"

Lin Shangren pushed open the door of the health room out of curiosity. Various new furniture and equipment had been installed inside, and it looked as clean as new.

"teacher LIN?"

A clear and pleasant voice came from a corner of the health room. A thin girl with long black hair was lying on a bed, looking at Lin Shangren curiously.

"Your name is... Kuchiki Fuyuko, right? Are you feeling unwell?"

As he spoke, Lin Shangren looked at her character panel.

[Name: Fuyuko Kuchiki]

[Race: Human female]

[Identity: Student of Yingyu Girls' College]

[Condition: anemia, hypoglycemia, weakness]

[Note: This beautiful, frail girl seems to be hiding some secret.]

Dongzi replied, "I just feel a little unwell today. But what are you doing here, teacher?"

"I just came to take a look. I'm not yet fully familiar with the school environment." Lin Shangren smiled, "Then I won't disturb your rest. Goodbye."

"Is the teacher busy?" Dongzi asked.

"There's nothing urgent to do right now."

"Then...Teacher, could you sit with me for a while and talk to me? I actually have some very important questions I want to ask you."

"Ok."

Lin Shangren thought about it and finally agreed to Dongzi's request. He moved a chair and sat next to Dongzi's bed, just facing her.

Dongzi opened her red lips and said, "Teacher's class is very interesting. It's much more interesting than those rote learning methods. But... even more interesting is what the teacher said before the class officially started."

But, teacher, don't you think what you did was a bit cruel? For those devout Christians, you refuted their worldview and spiritual support with just a few words.

Lin Shangren replied, "It's okay. In my opinion, devout believers can hardly be called 'healthy' people.

Rather than trusting God, people should actually trust themselves, trusting "people." The achievements of humanity as a group and the happiness of individuals are all created by humans themselves. These shouldn't be attributed to gods or gods.

If a doctor cures you, you should thank the doctor, not God. If you study hard and get good grades, you should thank your own efforts, not God’s gift.

Giving thanks to God is like giving away the merits that originally belonged to man to a non-existent God. This is a betrayal of man himself.

So, in my opinion, those who blindly believe in external things are pitiful fellows who have betrayed themselves or have not yet found themselves. They..."

"Hello, who are you?"

A mature female voice interrupted Lin Shangren. He turned around and found that the person coming was a short-haired woman wearing glasses.

Lin Shangren remembered her name, Zhu Qi Ningning, Kitami Reika's former personal physician. She had been suspended for some reason. Apparently, she had been "rehired."

Chapter 75: Rumors of the Black Egg

"Father Lin Shangren, the world history teacher," Lin Shangren responded. "I just started working there recently. You should be the new health teacher, right?"

"I'm not a new employee, I was just rehired. My name is Zhu Qiningning, please give me your guidance."

Zhu Qiningning extended his right hand to Lin Shangren.

"Please give me more advice."

Lin Shangren noticed that Zhu Qiningning had unusually short nails on her middle and ring fingers on her right hand, and the same was true on her left hand. It was obvious that she used these two fingers frequently.

"Short hair, glasses, a neck ring, and an androgynous outfit... plus she was suspended for some reason. Could this girl be a lesbian?"

Thinking about it, Lin Shangren gently held Zhu Qiningning's hand.

Kuchiki Fuyuko suddenly said, "Teacher Zhu Qi, I'm fine now. I'll be leaving now."

"Is everything alright?" Lin Shangren asked. He could see that the "weak" and "low blood sugar" signs in Dongzi's status bar hadn't disappeared yet.

"Well, it's okay, Teacher Lin. I'm leaving first."

Dongzi sat up, straightened the wrinkles on her school uniform, and walked past Lin Shangren.

"The child often comes here to rest." Zhu Qiningning said.

"Kuchiki-san?"

"Yeah." Zhu Qiningning nodded. "Maybe she's born weak. She often faints or falls due to low blood sugar, and then has to be helped to me."

Zhu Qi looked at Lin Shangren and asked, "By the way...Teacher Lin, what are you doing in the health room? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I just came to take a look," Lin Shangren replied. "I don't have classes this afternoon, so I wanted to walk around the school and get familiar with the environment. If Teacher Zhu Qi is busy, I'll take my leave."

"Teacher Lin, are you leaving? I'd like to invite you for a cup of tea. After all, it's quite boring for me to stay here alone."

As she spoke, Zhu Qiningning walked towards the table nearby. Looking at the empty table, she sighed:

"Sigh... Ugh. Look at my brain, the tea set and everything are gone. That Kitami-sensei must have thrown them away."

Zhu Qiningning smiled awkwardly: "It seems that I can only invite you for tea next time, Teacher Lin."

"It's okay. I'll come and bother you next time. Goodbye, Teacher Zhu Qi."

……

After walking out of the health room, Lin Shangren saw several students gathered together in the corridor again. They seemed to be some of the fans of Tsukishima Orihime that he saw in the morning.

Lin Shangren also saw Forty-Miya Tsuzouko among them. She was listening intently to the speech of the person in the middle.

Originally, Lin Shangren didn't pay much attention to them. However, as he walked past them, he heard the sound of "The two of them are so beautiful".

"But you must protect the Black Egg well." The short-haired girl in the middle said, "If you accidentally break it, the whole world will be in vain."

Lin Shangren took a few steps closer and was about to ask what they were talking about.

However, after seeing Lin Shangren, those female students immediately ran away, and only Zhuizi, with her back to Lin Shangren, remained there.

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys...? Could it be..."

Just as Zhuizi was about to slip away, Lin Shangren put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Isn't this Teacher Zhuizi? What were you talking about just now?"

"Huh...it's you." Tsuiko breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought it was another teacher."

Lin Shangren said with a smile: "Why, you are afraid of other teachers but not me? Is it because I am more approachable?"

Zhuizi turned around, shook off Lin Shangren's hand on her shoulder, and said, "No, it's just because you, a ridiculous priest who preaches God's hypocrisy, won't punish us for violating school rules."

"Oh? It seems that what you just talked about was not something serious."

"No, we were just chatting about some campus legends," said Zhuizi. "We're not allowed to read extracurricular books in school, so we can only rely on telling each other stories to relieve boredom."

"School legend?"

Tsuiko scratched her messy short hair and said, "Well... rather than a campus legend, it's more like a rumor with no beginning or end: 'Carry the black egg with you, and as long as the egg doesn't break, your wish will come true. If it breaks, you will be possessed by the descending demon!'"

"Black Egg?"

Lin Shangren remembered the black eggshell in Guquanying's belly.

He quickly asked, "What is that black egg? Is it the evil god worshipped by the Holy Mother Church?"

"Huh? You're not the one who's going to kill me. I'm not going to kill you! I'm not going to kill you!"

"Really?"

"Do I need to lie? By the way, why are you interested in this kind of thing?" Zhuizi asked curiously.

"If you find that students may be discussing dangerous topics, it is a teacher's duty to understand the situation in time." Lin Shangren said perfunctorily.

"Really?"

"Believe it or not." Lin Shangren shrugged. "Let's go. Class is about to start. You should hurry back to the classroom."

"Hey, have you forgotten something?" Zhuizi called out to Lin Shangren.

"What?" Lin Shangren stopped.

Zhuizi asked, "Shouldn't you ask me the names of those people and then go find them to ask about the rumor?"

"Imari Kurumi, Amezuki Jun, Ito Mika, and Ono Shinobu, right?"

"Huh...? How do you know? You were like this in the morning class, you could call out the students' names directly. Could it be that you have memorized the names of all the teachers and students in the school?" Tsuiko asked in surprise.

"Guess what. Okay, let's go back. Class is about to start."

After saying that, Lin Shangren turned and left, leaving Zhuizi standing there, staring at Lin Shangren's back in a trance.

"Who is he, anyway? He was able to convince the principal to change the school rules. He claims to be a priest, yet he preaches that God is hypocritical. His knowledge is incredibly profound. And...what is his relationship with Zi Zi? When I asked Zi Zi where she'd been these past few days, she remained silent..."

Zhuizi, full of doubts, made a decision. She wanted to investigate this weird guy Lin Shangren.

……

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the bell rang, and the students left the classroom and went to the activity rooms of their respective clubs.

Lin Shangren arrived at the door of the Art Department at this time.

Based on the names of the female students he saw with his innocent eyes, he checked their student files to confirm their respective classes and clubs. Coincidentally, they were all members of the art club.