Chapter 9: The Death Hide-and-Seek Assignment

“Hey, Keita, what did Teacher Takeda’s chest feel like?”

A group of classmates approached Keita, their faces twisted into lewd grins as they posed the question.

“Uh… ah…”

Keita was initially flustered by the sudden inquiry. After a few more exchanges, however, he sheepishly began to answer.

“I didn’t really get a chance to feel it properly, but…” He swallowed hard, a visible gulp. “It was definitely big… and very soft…”

“Do you want to touch it again?”

“Uh… yeah!”

“Oh, wow~ That’s incredibly enviable!”

“Well, well, well. I thought her boyfriend would beat the crap out of you after you touched her, but nothing happened at all!”

“He even got paid after touching her! That’s so enviable. Why wasn’t I the one who got that task?!”

The individuals speaking were some of the wealthy second-generation students in the class. While not as rich as the Qichuan family, their fortunes were more than enough to allow them to act arrogantly in their daily lives.

Their leader was Ogiwara Tai, a notorious bully. He was rumored to have once broken a passerby’s nose, convinced the person was secretly filming him, without a word of warning.

Though he was initially slated for seven days of detention, he not only leveraged his family’s connections to delay the punishment but even threw two million yen in the victim’s face, demanding a settlement.

“Tsk…” Nishionji Mitsuki spoke with profound disgust. “These guys are truly sickening…”

“Indeed,” Bai Yuliang agreed. “But there’s nothing we can do. They’re rich.”

“Hmph, what’s so great about being rich?!”

Her voice, a little too loud, was unfortunately overheard by them. They approached with disdainful expressions, surrounding Nishionji Mitsuki, the class representative, their faces etched with indifference.

Ogiwara Tai, at the forefront, even spread his hands, sneering mockingly. “Class Rep, you don’t have money, so you can’t understand this kind of pleasure. I truly empathize with Keita-kun’s feelings, because I’ve had similar experiences myself.

“That feeling of not being subject to legal punishment is truly exhilarating, it’s like being on top of the world, you know?!”

“So, I apologize, but having money means you can do whatever you want!”

“Hahahaha!”

[Received a new message from Class 3-D.]

A sudden message interrupted everyone’s thoughts, prompting them to pull out their phones and check.

Teacher Matsui: [Students, I suddenly remembered that tomorrow is Saturday. While we don’t have classes on the weekend, to ensure you don’t slack off, I’ve decided to assign a slightly more difficult weekend assignment. I hope you’re mentally prepared! (Serious)]

“No, Teacher! (Scared 😰)”

“Teacher! Please let us rest on the weekend! (Scared 😱)”

“Teacher, we don’t want red envelopes anymore! (Crying)”

Despite knowing such pleas were futile, everyone desperately sent messages begging for mercy.

Teacher Matsui: [Although you all say no, your bodies are very honest. Even though I’m not in the classroom, I know everything that happens there clearly!]

[Especially Ogiwara-kun, he seems very enthusiastic! (Happy 😊)]

“Damn it!” Ogiwara Tai’s face turned green upon seeing the message.

Ogiwara Tai: [Teacher, I just want simple homework! (Crying)]

Teacher Matsui: [No, no, Ogiwara-kun, your academic performance isn’t usually good, so you must complete this assignment thoroughly!]

[This assignment is very special. Although it’s a bit difficult, the rewards are absolutely generous!]

[This assignment requires five people. I’ll give everyone one minute, so I hope you all enthusiastically sign up!]

Upon seeing this message, the classroom fell into a deathly silence. Enthusiastically sign up? Sign up to die?

Bai Yuliang shook his head helplessly, a wave of concern washing over him. He hadn’t expected there would be homework on the weekend. He had hoped to escape this time, but it seemed Teacher Matsui had no intention of letting them off the hook.

Based on previous tasks, the difficulty hadn’t seemed too high. However, Teacher Matsui was now saying he would issue a slightly challenging assignment.

This was absolutely not good news! Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, the fact that this assignment required five participants clearly indicated that the difficulty would be anything but low!

Throughout the classroom, many students began to huddle together, closing their eyes and praying that Teacher Matsui wouldn’t choose them.

“Yuliang-kun…” Nishionji Mitsuki, her face pale once more, looked at him. “Could you… tell my fortune?”

“Alright.” Bai Yuliang theatrically closed his eyes, then opened them a few seconds later. “Don’t worry, you’re not on the list this time either.”

“That’s wonderful…”

Just as Nishionji Mitsuki uttered these words, the assignment was simultaneously posted in the class group chat.

Teacher Matsui: [Randomly selecting five individuals to participate in a Death Hide-and-Seek game. Successful reward: Assignment Transfer Qualification *1. Failure penalty: Head explodes, resulting in death. Duration: 48 hours.]

[The following five individuals must enter the abandoned dormitory building on campus before 12 AM tonight. Failure to enter on time will result in the immediate failure penalty!]

[Participant List: Ogiwara Tai, Koda Hikari, Iwata Noriko, Qichuan Feng, Bai Yuliang!]

“Ah!”

As soon as this assignment was announced, everyone gasped in shock. The abandoned dormitory building on campus was a former girls’ dorm, rumored to be haunted, having frightened several students to death, ultimately forcing the school to abandon it.

Now, Teacher Matsui was actually demanding students go there at night, to play some kind of Death Hide-and-Seek. Clearly, he had ill intentions!

“Damn it!” Ogiwara Tai slammed his phone onto the floor. “Why did it have to be me?!”

Teacher Matsui: [Because Ogiwara-kun is very enthusiastic, I gave him special consideration. I hope Ogiwara-kun can learn from Keita-kun and complete his assignment diligently. (Smiling 🙂)]

“You motherf—!” Ogiwara Tai roared, furious, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

“He deserves it!” Nishionji Mitsuki said, gloating, but then remembered Bai Yuliang was also on the list, and her expression turned to worry. “Yuliang-kun, you…”

“Yes, I’m on the list too.”

Bai Yuliang said nothing more, silently returning his phone to his pocket. Sigh… He knew it would be his turn sooner or later, but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

It seemed the homeroom teacher didn’t actually care about repeating participants for assignments but rather chose people based on his own preferences. Furthermore, being proactive in class might even increase the likelihood of being selected.

Regardless, there was no escaping this time. However, the deadline for entry was before 12 AM tonight. Before then, he could still go home and retrieve his life-saving items.

Right, that little girl was also on the list, he recalled. Bai Yuliang looked towards Qichuan Feng’s seat at the front of the classroom.

At this moment, one of her best friends was hugging her tightly, tears streaming down the former’s face as she whimpered pitifully. “Wuwuwu… Feng-chan! I’ve been chosen! Wuwuwu…”

“M-mm, I… I’ve been chosen too…”

Qichuan Feng tried her best to maintain a brave face, forcing a strained smile onto her lips. “But it’s okay, Noriko. I’m here. I’ll definitely protect you.”

“Yes! We must… we must help each other when the time comes! Neither of us can abandon the other!” Iwata Noriko said very seriously. “I will absolutely, absolutely never abandon Feng-chan!

“Because… we’re best friends!”