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

"How are we students supposed to get out through the main gate?"

"Let's talk about this when we get back."

A bright beam of light shone from the distant campus path. Qiao Ran and An Xiaomei quickly turned into the nearest green belt. Only after the patrolling teacher had passed did Qiao Ran dust herself off and stand up.

"It's almost dawn. We don't have Song Yuan's superhuman physical abilities, so we need to rest a bit tonight."

An Xiaomei nodded, and the two of them retraced their steps back to the girls' dormitory. Their luck score of 88 points lived up to expectations; they didn't encounter the puppeteer or Liu Gaosheng along the way.

Rooftop.

The two looked at each other in silence. After a moment, the girl rummaged through her system inventory and handed Song Yuan an item—a pair of off-white, earphone-like devices. She kept one for herself, wearing it on her left ear, and gave the other to Song Yuan.

Song Yuan immediately understood and put it on:

[Ding~ Player Xu Tai'an has used the god-tier item [Silent One's Communicator]. This item can read the player's thoughts without emitting sound, translate them into language, and convey them to teammates on the other side of the communicator~]

"I'm sorry, but for some reason I'm unable to communicate normally with people."

My name is Xu Tai'an. "Tai" from Mount Tai, and "An" from peace and tranquility.

The small device in my ear made a sound; it was a mechanical female voice.

Song Yuan understood—she might not be able to speak normally due to congenital or acquired reasons; but her hearing should be fine.

This item, like the "Oathbearer's Warning Sign" given by the Puppeteer, is a rare, god-tier item. It allows for unimpeded communication with teammates even in environments requiring silence, perfectly compensating for her weakness.

Song Yuan looked at her and asked the same question again: "Did you fire the shot in the music room?"

Xu Tai'an nodded, and the mechanical female voice said, "Yes, it's me."

Song Yuan continued, "So, what exactly did you come to see me about? Also, do you have any grudge against the puppeteer?"

Unless there's some deep-seated grudge, no one would intentionally provoke a formidable figure like the top-ranked player on the leaderboard.

As expected, Xu Tai'an remained silent for a moment before giving an affirmative answer:

"I do have some personal grudges with him. I'm asking you to get your team to do me a favor. If you're willing to help me, I'll give you a corresponding reward afterward."

Although we are strangers, I hope you believe me, I had no intention of plotting against you. I fired that shot because he was about to hurt you.

Song Yuan tilted her head and thought about it carefully. The way the puppeteer reached out his hand into her eyes and looked at her with infatuation did seem like a sign that a pervert was about to make a move on his prey.

However, Song Yuan didn't sense any killing intent at the time, so the puppeteer probably didn't mean it. Xu Tai'an fired the gun out of good intentions, which suggests he's a somewhat naive, warm-hearted, and pure-hearted person.

Song Yuan crossed her arms and leaned against the railing, lost in thought. She didn't actually believe in the idea that "appearance reflects the heart," because she believed the soul and body needed to be separate, and an angelic face could also harbor a venomous heart.

However, although the girl in front of her was overly reserved, Song Yuan's first impression of her in just a few minutes was that she meant no harm.

Song Yuan planned to hear her conditions first:

"What do you want us to help you with? Tell us first."

Xu Tai'an sighed softly in relief, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said in a mechanical female voice:

"Okay, I wanted you to come with me..."

Before she could finish speaking, Song Yuan suddenly heard a rustling sound. She quickly raised her hand to interrupt her:

"Wait a minute, my teammates are back. Let's talk all together when they come up."

Upon hearing that a stranger was coming, Xu Tai'an's expression instantly froze, and his round almond-shaped eyes widened in panic. Not knowing what to do with his hands and feet, he deftly flipped over the railing in the next second, preparing to jump onto the air conditioner unit downstairs and hide.

With lightning speed, Song Yuan grabbed her by the back of the neck, suspending her in mid-air, and asked her with a look of utter disbelief:

"Hey, what are you doing!"

The mechanical female voice was cold and calm, completely contradicting Xu Tai'an's appearance of clutching his head and desperately wanting to jump off the building.

"Sorry, you have two teammates. I haven't had a proper conversation with players in a long time!"

Song Yuan put her on the ground, utterly baffled by her thought process:

"If you're nervous, there's no need to hide. Besides, am I not a normal player?"

Xu Tai'an: "You're a normal player, but playing alone is different from playing with three people!"

Song Yuan: "..." That makes sense.

"Feed Song Yuan~ We're back."

Qiao Ran and An Xiaomei quickly arrived at the rooftop. Trusting Song Yuan, the two companions gave no warning whatsoever when they saw the young girl next to her.

An Xiaomei shyly waved a hand at Xu Tai'an, and Qiao Ran even greeted her familiarly.

"Hey~ nice outfit, friend, you have a great sense of style!"

Xu Tai'an: "Um... thank you."

She said it in her heart.

She hadn't spoken to someone like Qiao Ran, a social elite, in a long time.

Qiao Ran was a little confused as she didn't receive a response.

"Huh? Why isn't she saying anything? Did I offend her?"

Xu Tai'an quickly waved his hand, took two more [Silent Ones' Communicators] from his backpack, and handed them to Qiao Ran and An Xiaomei. Song Yuan raised her hand and tapped her right ear, indicating to them:

"Put this on; it's a system item. She can't communicate normally with players for some reason, so she needs to use this item to talk to you."

As fellow sufferers of social anxiety, An Xiaomei's gaze towards Xu Tai'an immediately held a newfound empathy and mutual understanding between fellow patients:

"Oh? Is that so? Communicating with people is indeed quite difficult. Among those six players, is the one whose ID I can't see you?"

Xu Tai'an nodded: "Yes, it's me."

Song Yuan summarized their conversation to Qiao Ran and An Xiaomei. Qiao Ran happily clasped her hands together:

"Oh~ So that's a new friend? You can hide your ID number, so your player level should be S by now, right? It's great that you're not from the Puppeteer's side."

Upon hearing the words "puppet master," Xu Tai'an's previously composed expression momentarily dimmed. Aside from Song Yuan, whose perception was exceptionally sharp, the other two didn't notice. However, she quickly regained her composure and continued:

"Yes. I came to find you because I want you to accompany me to the administration building, because I'm sure there are clues to getting through there."

My skills and talents aren't suited for melee combat, but two of you have skills that complement mine. I hope you can help me. As for reward, I can offer you assistance or intelligence.

Qiao Ran looked surprised after hearing this: "Really? What a coincidence! I was just about to mention going to the administration building."

Song Yuan looked up at him: "What do you mean by that? Is it a clue you found during your border exploration?"

Qiao Ran shook her head and explained, "No, this result is my deduction."

As we explored the school's perimeter, we discovered the entire campus was surrounded by an electric fence, making flying and crawling impossible. Later, something Xiaomei said changed my perspective: I realized the right way to escape this school wasn't for players to try and climb over walls. That process was too monotonous and far too easy.

If we want to leave through the main gate, we need to find a way to gain control of the guardhouse. Alternatively, we could find the power distribution room and completely cut off the power to the entire school.

The plan to ambush the guardhouse is not advisable. Even setting aside the possibility of success on the first try, there's the risk of triggering new monsters. Even if it doesn't, a large-scale attack on the NPCs inside will definitely cause our aggro level to exceed four digits in a short period. Currently, the student NPCs in the school are relatively friendly to us, so maintaining a low aggro level is more important.

Therefore, I prefer the second option: find the power distribution room and cut off the power. I've memorized the school map, but I haven't found the power distribution room. However, such a crucial location should be in the most important place on campus—the administration building.