Chapter 246 - 11: We Became Better, We Also Became Worse

On this day, the five experimental classes were bustling like never before.

These students hadn’t played many games. Their biggest pastime was usually bullying players with their Deceitful Objects; beyond that, there was no other entertainment.

But now, Duan Fei had brought a brilliant gacha mechanic to this place. The students in the experimental classes were exposed to this cutting-edge game system, and their minds were instantly captivated, turning them into puppets of the draw.

Handing out new test papers to the students, Duan Fei announced to everyone, "Today, I’m giving you all a chance for a supplementary test. The top three scorers will earn a chance to draw a card. Of course, if you discover someone cheating, you can report it to me anonymously. If it’s verified, you’ll get an extra chance to draw. Now, begin."

Using cheating reports to turn students into his informants could also generate additional anxiety—it was a way to kill two birds with one stone.

When the day’s exam concluded and the new top three were chosen, the little academic prodigy, Chang Hao, once again took first place, making the others itch with envy.

The ones who won prizes immediately ran to the cafeteria, returning shortly after with Jinghong’s snacks.

Seeing that they had actually managed to redeem snacks, the other students grew even more envious.

While some were happy, others were worried—and Jinghong was one of the worried ones.

She had swiped all these snacks from previous dungeons.

For these snacks, she had even spent Abyss Coins to expand her backpack so it could hold more miscellaneous items, but she never expected them to end up being contributed here.

Staring at Duan Fei, Jinghong said through gritted teeth, "Duan Someone, you’d better remember this. My favorability toward you has dropped by one."

"On the contrary, my favorability toward you has increased by three points."

"...Fine, mine has increased by three points too."

Watching the easily placated Jinghong, Duan Fei felt that his childhood friend was becoming easier and easier to handle.

The day’s improvements quickly showed results. In his office, the dean of instruction rubbed his hands together excitedly as he watched the soaring anxiety Energy, but he quickly grew nervous and asked, "The children won’t get into trouble from being too anxious, will they?"

"Theoretically, no," Lin Daiyu said calmly. "After all, what we went through as children was far crueler than this."

"That’s good." The dean of instruction sighed in relief.

"Of course, it’s also quite normal for tens of thousands to jump each year."

"Stop, let’s stop this! This method won’t work!"

"Relax. Our anxiety came from our parents, but their parents aren’t here. Wait, did I just make a Hell joke? Does anyone have an electronic wooden fish so I can tap it a bit and earn some merit?"

The dean of instruction looked hesitantly at Lin Daiyu, not knowing what to say.

Although he was the dean of instruction, principal, nanny, and security guard here, he had really just been an ordinary cleaning uncle before all this.

He had never received any systematic educational training and didn’t even have a Deceitful Object to his name. The two Protectors, Fierce Wolf and White Tiger, were passed down from his predecessor. He himself didn’t really have any special skills.

The idea of using the students’ anxiety to gain Energy already made him uneasy. Now, knowing this method could make the students depressed, he was even more terrified.

He hoped every child would be okay. This was the simple thought and goal of an educator who was not an educator.

Patting the balding uncle’s shoulder, Lin Daiyu said, "Don’t worry. What doesn’t kill them will only make them stronger."

"That’s right," Duan Fei added with a nod. "We’ll keep an eye on them. You can rest assured."

Despite their assurances, the dean of instruction couldn’t shake his unease, but for now, he had no choice but to leave it in their hands.

Walking to the familiar mulberry grove, the dean of instruction silently prayed to his former colleagues, hoping they would watch over the students.

The next day, the results of the previous night’s exam became available to the players. Under the new system, the sixty students were squeezed for fresh anxiety, which significantly boosted the Otherworld Machine’s Energy.

Knowing he was on the right track, Duan Fei felt it was time to proceed to the next step.

He didn’t even need to push them; the remaining students naturally moved on to the next stage themselves.

The news that you could draw cards from the experimental class exams—and that drawing might give you a chance to pet White Tiger as much as you wanted—made a swarm of students flock to the five players like bees to honey, eager to find out how to get into the experimental classes.

And the players’ answer was: take an exam.

A class could hold thirty-six students. Right now, there were only twelve, which meant each class could still accept another twenty-four students.

If you want in, then please take the exam.

The results will be released in real time. Only the top fifteen from each exam will be taken and distributed evenly among the classrooms until they are full.

And once the classes are full, will there be no more exams?

The answer, of course, was no.

The other students were in regular classes. If a student in a regular class scored higher than someone in an experimental class, the regular student would move up to the experimental class, and the experimental student would be demoted to a regular class.

Due to the scarcity of resources, only the top three in the experimental classes had a chance to win a prize, but the very name "experimental class" was an honor in itself.

In order to maintain their honor, the students in the experimental classes grew even more anxious.

They were forced to study in every spare moment. Seeing other students studying filled them with dread, which in turn provided Energy for the Otherworld Machine.

Duan Fei thoughtfully reduced the number of exams per day, holding them only twice—at noon and in the evening—with real-time rankings, prize draws, and seat changes.

But this, conversely, only made them more anxious.

Students in the regular classes wanted to get into the experimental classes. Students in the experimental classes wanted to fight for the top three spots. The top three students didn’t want to give up their ranks and hoped to draw the prizes they desired.

This subtle change plunged the entire school into a massive rat race.

This rat race swept over them like a tsunami, pulling every student into its current and forcing them to compete frantically.

Of course, some students didn’t get caught up in it.

They were either too poor at their studies to compete or were clear-headed enough to see that this was a calculated reform, designed to trap them in a vortex of competition from which they couldn’t escape.

Moreover, ever since the first person won the grand prize, the probability of winning it had become lower and lower. The original pity-prize tickets had become scarce, and now even snacks were rarely seen.

The smart ones were still competing, but the smarter ones had already stepped out of the vortex and begun to wonder why the entire school’s atmosphere had changed in just over a day.

’What in the world is wrong with this school?’

At noon, Glasses didn’t take the exam. He walked into the cafeteria and ordered lunch instead.

In the past, you couldn’t say the lunch was bad, only that it had a certain... British flair.

Back then, the eggs were burnt black, the meat was purplish, and the rice was undercooked. Eating was just a chore to get through.

The students didn’t know that their lunches were provided by the Otherworld Machine.

That machine could provide food as long as it had enough Energy, but before, there was too little anxiety, so the food it provided was terrible.

But now, the students were providing three times the previous amount of anxiety. This massive influx of anxiety had led to a dramatic improvement in their meals, yet they had only become more anxious and unhappy.

Picking at his food, the student couldn’t help but feel a little lost.

’Just why is this happening?’