Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

There were two men. One of them was tall, probably over 188 cm—unlike Qiao Ran, who had a slim waist, long legs, and an overall slender build. This man had a very athletic and well-proportioned physique, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Although he was only wearing the simplest casual clothes, they couldn't hide his graceful masculine curves.

The other one Song Yuan had seen before was the man next to Fu Zhengyang, whose face was as pale as if he had kidney deficiency, who was nearly two meters tall, and who had a giant white python coiled around his neck.

Hearing the noise, the two turned around—unlike players like "Puppeteer" and Fu Zhengyang who paid great attention to their appearance and always wore suits to show off in games, "Puppeteer" was dressed very simply. He wore a dark black Korean-style knit sweater underneath a denim jacket, white casual suit pants, and low-top white sneakers.

He looked more like a college student than a mature man. However, his face was so stunning that it elevated the style of the outfit by a whole new level.

The puppeteer seemed quite interested in their team, and even smiled at Song Yuan after noticing her looking at him—however, Song Yuan remained unmoved by the handsome man and was not touched by his friendliness.

[System prompt: In this school, players are bound by strict "student rules".]

Rule 1: The school will protect the personal safety of every student. Therefore, within the monitored area, students are prohibited from engaging in suicidal behavior, private fights, or disregarding school rules. If a student is injured or killed, the academic affairs office will expel the student; students who lose their student status will be automatically removed from the game.

Rule Two: Whether during surveillance or patrol, if a player is found to have violated the rules by a patrolling teacher, that teacher will deduct points from their account. Students who accumulate five points will be placed in confinement—so please be sure to protect your name and student ID!

Rule 3: The school will only provide water and food during fixed times. Once this time has passed, teachers will forcibly prohibit students from eating or washing themselves. Please strictly adhere to the schedule each day.

After the two sides faced each other, as if to remind them, the system immediately released three rules. At the same time, a white light flashed on the chests of the five people, and a rectangular, light blue student name tag appeared out of thin air.

After the rules were announced, the male director's exasperated voice immediately came through the overhead monitor:

"Which class are you five from?! It's not lunchtime yet, what are you doing gathered downstairs in the teaching building? Did you come to school to study or to be gluttons? Stand right there and don't move!"

Since he said so, the five unruly students were even less likely to stand still. The man next to the puppeteer, who was entwined with the giant white python, suddenly bent down and lay flat on the ground like a snake.

[Ding~ Player "Liu Gaosheng" has activated the talent "Giant Python Stealth," increasing agility to 100 times its original level. Ignoring the presence of bones, he can penetrate any opening and advance relentlessly!]

Then, just like a snake, the man slithered away at an incredible speed, using only his abdomen to propel himself away without any support from his hands or feet.

Song Yuan's expression was somewhat grave. She didn't know if this talent had a cooldown. If it could be used continuously without a cooldown, that would be terrible. It would become very difficult for them to outmaneuver this player when it came to food and bathing.

The "Puppeteer" seemed to have something to say to them. However, given the threat of being penalized, he simply smiled warmly at Song Yuan and Qiao Ran, who looked pale behind her, extended an index finger, tapped his chin, and mouthed, "See you next time." He paused, then added with a smile, "Darling~."

After saying that, he disappeared from the three of them, probably using some special tool.

Qiao Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief and straightened up from behind Song Yuan—because with his height, even standing behind Song Yuan, his head and chest were still exposed. Qiao Ran rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and neck, his face full of exasperation.

"Ugh... I can't take it anymore, my stomach feels a little upset. Let's hurry, the patrolling teacher is coming to deduct points from our score soon."

Song Yuan nodded, and led the two away from the surveillance cameras, running towards the cafeteria:

"Okay, let's go. But are you really that afraid of the puppeteer? You're scared like this just from one glance from him?"

An Xiaomei, whose spot had been taken by Qiao Ran, belatedly nodded in agreement:

"Huh? Now that you mention it, it makes sense. I wasn't scared this time."

This was all because the "puppet master's" appearance was so unexpected. He didn't have the imposing presence of the "man ranked number one on the player leaderboard" at all. Instead, the long, thin man next to him who kept snakes—Liu Gaosheng—looked at them with the viciousness of a cold-blooded animal, as if he might pounce and bite their necks at any moment.

Qiao Ran followed behind the two ladies, panting heavily, and explained with a mournful face:

"I... Ugh, was I afraid of him? I was disgusted by him. A former boss is scary enough, but this former boss wants to bleed you out, dismember you, preserve you in formaldehyde to make a specimen, and then display you in the office like a decoration... Ugh, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to throw up..."

Hearing this, An Xiaomei also began to feel sorry for him:

"Huh? Is it that scary? I don't think anyone said anything like that to me when I was recruited into the Midnight Guild... Are you alright?"

Qiao Ran waved his hand: "Handsome people attract trouble, handsome people attract trouble..."

Seeing his pale face and near-death appearance, Song Yuan feared he might die halfway down the road, so she slowed down and stopped in time.

"You're too weak to keep running. Find a breath, I'll help you."

Qiao Ran, leaning against the wall, was too exhausted to speak, and could only gesture "no problem" to her. An Xiaomei glanced at the time and said somewhat uneasily:

"It's lunchtime, the students should be leaving the classroom soon. But we left so early, we should be fine, right?"

As soon as An Xiaomei finished speaking, the pebbles on the ground began to bounce as if an earthquake had struck.

Song Yuan raised a hand to her forehead and looked into the distance—a dark mass of heads was rapidly approaching in this direction.

"...That's not necessarily true."

An Xiaomei: "Huh? What did you say... Ahhhhh—"

Song Yuan decisively put one arm around Qiao Ran and the other around An Xiaomei, carrying one on each side, and ran forward with all her might!

In the distance, a dark mass of students was rushing towards the cafeteria—but thinking about it, it makes sense. These students have been tempered by school rules and have lived in this school for who knows how long, so they are naturally much more familiar with the process of grabbing food than the players.

If they can't compete with these students, they might not be able to finish the "meal" part today!

The sight of thousands of horses galloping made the ground tremble. Song Yuan ran at the very front of the group of students. Because of the force of her running and jumping, the two people in front of her had the illusion that they were about to jump off a building. Countless times, they felt like they were about to be thrown off, but each time Song Yuan pulled them back.

Qiao Ran kept her eyes closed and held Song Yuan's shoulders without saying a word, while An Xiaomei cried her heart out.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh! Help! Help!! Ahhhhhh, please let me get down and run myself! If I fall, I'll definitely get trampled to death, waaaaaaahh ...

Having finally reached the cafeteria entrance, Song Yuan, only slightly out of breath after running this far, gently helped the two passengers down.

An Xiaomei, who had been wailing and screaming all the way, landed perfectly fine, only wiping away her tears and marveling at how she was still alive. Qiao Ran, on the other hand, was quiet and reserved, but as soon as she landed, she covered her mouth and stumbled towards a trash can, vomiting violently.

Song Yuan: "...Okay, are you feeling better now? Hurry up and get your food."