Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 42 Seventh Middle School Student Code of Conduct
After Li Hua left, Zhang Wei lost interest in playing games.

That night, it was supposed to be just an ordinary evening study session. The only unusual thing was that a classmate named Fang Jing went missing, and then his friend Yang Jian said that he had read a ghost story on a forum the night before.

But suddenly, first a man with a beer belly named Zhou Zheng came to tell them that ghosts exist in this world, and then, an old man in a black shirt with lividity appeared outside and knocked on the door...

Zhang Wei quickly took out his phone and made a call.

"Hey... Leg Bro!" Zhang Wei said urgently, "Something's happened! I thought No. 7 Middle School had been abandoned, but I didn't expect it to open as usual a month later! Although the knocking ghost was sealed in the golden box, the thing that Zhou Zheng released... that thing... is still in the school!"

……

Li Hua didn't tell Zhang Wei that... he came out today because it was back-to-school day and he was going to school later. He deliberately left two hours early so he could play games.

The school informed them that this was the last day to return to school before the start of the semester and that they would be informed of some important points for the new semester.

He originally wanted to tell Zhang Wei that the school's academic affairs office had sent a text message asking them to return to school today, but seeing Zhang Wei's exaggerated reaction, he didn't tell him.

"Ghosts knocking on the door? Senior Yang's ability to make up lies needs improvement." Li Hua didn't take Zhang Wei's words seriously at all and headed straight for the school.

About ten minutes later, Li Hua, carrying his schoolbag, walked into the gate of Dachang No. 7 Middle School.

The electronic screen on the right side of the school gate is displaying the message "Welcome back to school, soon-to-be senior high school students," reminding them that they are about to enter their final year of preparation for the college entrance examination.

As Li Hua entered the deserted school gate, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Could it be that I was influenced by what Senior Yang said?
The school motto on the wall directly opposite the school gate, "Respect teachers and abide by discipline, study diligently and innovate," has faded by half, but Li Hua remembers that the lettering was brand new before.

Before my eyes, the light gray teaching building is U-shaped and surrounds the playground. The walls are covered with dark green vines, casting dappled shadows in the midday sun.

Upon arriving at the playground, one is greeted by the scorching hot synthetic track. Next to the 800-meter circular track are the flagpole and platform where flag-raising ceremonies are usually held. To the left, under the basketball court's backboard, the ground is piled with fallen leaves, vividly recalling the scene of Li Hua playing basketball here with his classmates more than a month ago.

In the southeast corner of the playground, there is an old locust tree. To the right of the locust tree are the student dormitories and the school library, with a row of glass curtain walls reflecting the scorching sunlight.

As he moved toward the teaching building, he subconsciously looked toward the fifth floor.

In late June, Zhang Wei's senior class (7) experienced that evening self-study incident. It is said that the hallucinogenic drugs that the perpetrators put in the school spread throughout the school, so the school was closed for a long time. Even their senior year final exams were conducted online with cameras.

There were all sorts of conflicting opinions on the school forum, with some even saying that the perpetrator was some kind of terrorist and that government departments had been mobilized. As a result, the forum was ridiculed by hundreds of other users.

However, it is said that the surviving students of Class 7 of Senior Three also missed the college entrance examination.

As he entered the teaching building and returned to his former classroom, he immediately saw Mr. Chen, the school's academic affairs director.

He found a seat and sat down. His deskmate, Cheng Mi, leaned over and said, "Hey, Li Hua, I heard that almost all of our teachers will be replaced this time, regardless of whether they are arts or science teachers."

"Replacing all the teachers? That's an exaggeration!"

"But I heard that our new homeroom teacher is a stunning beauty, the kind who gets a 95 out of 100 in looks and figure!"

Then, the time came.

The academic affairs director cleared his throat on the podium and said, "Class monitor, come and distribute the things."

On the podium, there was a stack of papers.

"No way? We have to take an exam?" Li Hua immediately felt a headache coming on. "I haven't studied much at all. Maybe it would be better if it were a Chinese exam."

Cheng Mi said in a low voice, "Speaking of Chinese, the new homeroom teacher is the Chinese teacher this time."

The paper was quickly handed out. However, when Li Hua picked it up and looked at it…

"Um???"

It says:

"Student Code of Conduct of Dachang No. 7 Middle School (New Revised Edition)"
1. Students must arrive at school before 7:00 AM. Day students must leave school promptly at 16:30 PM, and may stay no later than 16:45 PM. Late arrivals and early departures are not permitted without special reasons, and any absences must be documented with a leave slip. Day students who must remain on campus after school due to special circumstances should gather at the school library (wearing their school badges) and wait for their parents to pick them up.

2. If the corridor lights in the teaching building suddenly flicker, immediately go to the nearest classroom and lock the door, and wait for the lights to return to a stable state.

3. If you find an unidentified transparent liquid seeping out of your workbook, draw a Δ symbol in the footer of the page with a pencil and hand it to the red storage box on the podium.

4. The toilets in the corridor between the 2nd and 3rd floors of the teaching building are permanently closed. No one is allowed to enter, regardless of the type of cry for help heard.

5. If you see a crawling baby under the flagpole next to the flag-raising platform, pretend you didn't see it and walk away in the opposite direction.

6. There will be no red flashlight under the old locust tree in the southeast corner of the playground. If you see a red flashlight under the locust tree, please do not touch it and move away quickly.

7. After students have gone to bed, the dormitory supervisor will only knock on the door once during nighttime room checks. If you hear more than one knock, immediately cover your head with the blanket and do not open the door until the sound stops.

8. If you find bluish-black handprints or grayish-white lividity on a classmate's skin, please report it to the Academic Affairs Office and avoid talking to them.

9. In the event of a power outage on campus, all personnel should immediately proceed to the playground for assembly. Ignore any extra responses heard during roll call. The use of mobile phones for lighting is strictly prohibited; the Academic Affairs Office will distribute green glow sticks.

10. The school song, "Radiance," will be played over the loudspeaker at the end of the last class each day. If the music played is not the school song, everyone must lie face down on their desks and close their eyes until the loudspeaker resumes normal broadcasting.

11. If you see a short figure behind you in the mirror that is clearly not a member of this school, slowly back away without turning around.

12. This school does not accept transfer students. If you see a student claiming to be a transfer student, please go to the school clinic immediately for an injection of a red medication.

After reading the 12 rules, Li Hua was completely stunned.

What's going on with these student rules?
It's not about appearance or not skipping class or fighting, but rather...

The academic affairs director said expressionlessly, "Has everyone read the contents of the student code of conduct carefully?"

"Teacher!" Li Hua immediately raised his hand, then stood up straight: "This is the student code of conduct? It looks more like..."

"Li Hua, are the rules of this student code of conduct really that difficult to follow?"

"No...this content is too..."

At this moment, students stood up one by one.

"Teacher, what's wrong? Someone is calling for help in the toilet."

"Also, who comes knocking on the dorm room door at night?"

"And what's the deal with this transfer student?"

As more and more people raised their questions, the entire classroom suddenly fell silent.

Everyone's expression froze completely, and their movements stopped.

Immediately afterwards, in front of the blackboard at the back of the classroom, some strange pixelated blocks, resembling the static on a television screen, inexplicably appeared, and then began to form five or six human-shaped outlines...

(End of this chapter)