Chapter 34: The Death Notebook

On the night Teacher Mori and the old security guard died, Bai Yuliang’s heart felt incredibly heavy.

He had believed himself close to discovering a way to escape the death assignments, yet in the end, he had fallen just short.

“If I find the mastermind behind this and kill them, surely this death assignment will finally end?”

He mused, acknowledging that murder was a crime in this world. However, if he failed to eliminate that individual, he might very well perish himself.

Taking action to stop an unlawful act of aggression, even if it causes harm to the aggressor, constitutes legitimate self-defense!

But… could he truly do it?

Standing by his bedroom window, he gazed at the moon, lost in thought for a long while.

Ever since arriving in this world, his memories of his past life had grown hazy. He hadn’t even used the Taoist techniques that had once been his livelihood in a long time.

During the ‘Death Hide-and-Seek’ assignment, it took him considerable effort and time to finally recall how to use his Taoist arts, nearly failing to save the young girl Qichuan Feng.

Now, he faced a monster capable of effortlessly controlling ghosts and committing murders in broad daylight.

“Ghosts appearing in daylight? What profound cultivation must that require,” he thought, feeling immense pressure. “Even in the Central Plains, the ghosts capable of manifesting in daylight are few and far between, usually ancient specters brimming with deep resentment. The mastermind can calmly control ghosts of such caliber; how terrifyingly powerful must they be themselves?”

The final stage of the death assignment indeed granted the right to challenge the mastermind, but could he truly defeat them?

Bai Yuliang himself harbored no confidence in that, yet one thing he was absolutely certain of.

His gaze fell to the table, where dozens of freshly prepared Taoist talismans lay neatly stacked, resembling a vast arsenal of ammunition awaiting its release.

“We Taoist priests are born as the bane of ghosts.”

****

After Teacher Mori and the old security guard died, all memory of them was erased the following day. Neither Bai Yuliang nor his classmates remembered their existence.

Looking out into the corridor at the other classes, students laughed and chatted, a sight that stirred immense envy in the eyes of the students in Class 3-D.

“Don’t look. It’s no use anyway.”

“Yeah, the most important thing for us right now is to stick together.”

“Exactly. Unity is strength.”

Several close friends encouraged one another.

The moment the class bell rang, everyone pulled out their phones, anticipating today’s assignment.

Teacher Matsui: “Today, I must commend you all, students. You actually managed to uncover information that you shouldn’t have known until much later.”

“Enough with the chatter! Just give us today’s assignment already!”

One student, seemingly pushed to their breaking point by the oppressive atmosphere, blurted this out in the group chat.

Teacher Matsui: “Don’t be so impatient. You all seem a little down today, so I’ll bring someone in to cheer you up.”

[Teacher Mori has joined the group chat]

Teacher Mori: “Everyone, I’ve joined your class too. Are you happy?”

Everyone thought, ‘Happy my ass!’ One ghost teacher was terrifying enough; why bring in another? Did they truly intend for them all to die?

Teacher Matsui: “Today’s assignment will be announced by Teacher Mori. Make sure to listen carefully to Teacher Mori, or I will kill you.”

Everyone simmered with silent fury, daring not to speak.

Teacher Mori: “Thank you for your consideration, Teacher Matsui. Although he was once my junior, in this class, Teacher Matsui remains in charge. Well, I won’t waste any more time. I see you all seem quite sad about my death yesterday, so today I’ll issue an assignment to make everyone happy.”

Happy?

No one could fathom what Teacher Mori was planning.

Teacher Mori: “Now, announcing the assignment: [Death Notebook].”

Assignment Requirements: Locate the owner of the Death Notebook.

Assignment Description:

(1) Out of the 34 students in the class, I will select one to be the owner of the Death Notebook. The owner must kill one person every three hours, or they will be eliminated!

(2) Each student has one chance to expose someone. You may accuse any student of being the Death Notebook owner, but a failed accusation will result in your elimination.

(3) The mission duration is 24 hours. If the Death Notebook owner is not exposed by the end of this time, the owner wins. Otherwise, the remaining students win.

Assignment Rewards and Punishments:

(1) If the Death Notebook owner wins, everyone else will be eliminated, and the owner will be freed from the death assignment forever!

(2) If someone makes a correct accusation, the Death Notebook owner will be eliminated, and the successful accuser will receive a [Life-Buying Underworld Coin]!

[Life-Buying Underworld Coin]: A bronze artifact from the Underworld, seemingly possessing a special allure for ghosts.

[Death Notebook]: A notebook from the Underworld. Writing someone’s name and visualizing their appearance in your mind allows you to easily kill them. You can also specify the method of death.

Upon reading the assignment’s description, the class erupted into chaos. Many students cried out, their faces pale, “This is today’s assignment? How is this supposed to make us happy!?”

Teacher Mori: “Be happy to hell, haha! How creative is this assignment? It even gives you a chance to end the death assignments directly, doesn’t it?”

Teacher Matsui: “Teacher Mori is indeed creative. My utmost respect. Well, no more idle chatter. I hope you all study hard and live each day to the fullest.”

With these words, both teachers’ avatars simultaneously turned gray, indicating they had gone offline.

Panic intensified among the students.

Even the usually quiet students began to speak up, “Who is the owner of the Death Notebook? Step forward now!”

The entire class descended into disarray, each person’s gaze sweeping over the others, eyes filled with intense vigilance.

Especially the few students who had been encouraging each other earlier, they scattered as if electrocuted.

This single assignment had completely shattered their hard-won unity.

So-called camaraderie and solidarity were utterly fragile in the face of death’s terror!

Witnessing this scene, Bai Yuliang’s already heavy heart grew even more complex.

Evidently, the class would find it difficult to unite again. Or rather, unity was merely a joke in the eyes of the mastermind.

No matter how sincere the vows, how strong the bonds, the mastermind needed only a simple task to easily tear them apart.

The one who controlled the death assignments, in the simplest way possible, demonstrated their supreme arrogance to these ant-like students.

Bai Yuliang knew deep down that this assignment was the most dangerous one yet.

The owner of the Death Notebook, unless they were someone like Maruta Tsuchiya, would never give up the chance to escape the death assignment’s shackles.

However, Maruta Tsuchiya was dead. There would be no more naive fools like him in the class.

What could be done?

The assignment gave the Death Notebook owner an overwhelming advantage. As long as they hid well and utilized this ‘bug-like’ item effectively, the others would find it impossible to uncover them.

This was practically a death trap!

Just as Bai Yuliang was racking his brains for a countermeasure, a voice suddenly rang out.

“I accuse Amao Yuki! He must be the owner of the Death Notebook!”