The Rules of Shadow

Chapter II

Having learned from my previous experience, I was not too anxious about being stuck in my seat at the right time, despite being aware that each classroom had its own rules. However, it was difficult not to feel nervous.

I sat down and waited silently for the class bell to ring. I waited for ten minutes until the bell rang and the classroom filled up. After the first round, only about ten people remained in the classroom.

In the last 30 seconds, the teacher stood up silently, took out his chalk, and began writing on the blackboard. Everyone held their breath as they watched the teacher's pen. The classroom rule: the classroom doesn’t need any ....

As the teacher wrote the rules, I heard footsteps approaching. The heels of shoes clattered crisply. Just as the teacher finished writing the last two words, a girl burst into the classroom in a lumbering manner.

Her face was red from running, and she nearly fell. I offered my hand to help her stand firm and not fall to the ground.

The class bell rang just in time, and the teacher finished writing her last two words. She made it into the classroom before the bell stopped ringing, and she smiled at me as she breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was flustered, she maintained her composure.

However, when I turned to look, I noticed that the last word written by the teacher was 'expression.'

Classroom rule: the classroom doesn’t need any expression.

I was about to reply to the girl with a smile, but I froze as a horrible scream rang out. The girl beside me was actually split in half, and bright red color filled my eyes. I was scared. The blackboard had white letters on a black background. The word 'expression' stung my eyes. My muscles trembled, but I knew I couldn't be scared.

“Congratulations to all of you who are still with us and able to continue listening to the classs. At the end of the second class, there are 220 students remaining in our school. You can already start looking forward to lunch today.”

Finally, after 40 minutes, the familiar voice rang along with the dismissal bell, and I let out a long breath. I didn't dare show any expression or even pull my facial muscles after witnessing the girl in front of me split into a smile. After the long session, I could barely keep my face from twitching.

I quickly scanned the classroom and saw only two or three people left, gasping for air. Holding still for 40 minutes was a test of endurance and physical strength. Witnessing someone explode into flesh and blood made it even harder to remain completely still.

“The rules are unchanged. There will be a 20-minute break between classes. You can relax in the playground, cafeteria, gym, chess room, or other designated areas until the next class. Please use this time wisely. The third class will start promptly at 10:00 a.m. Please do not attend two classes on the same floor. The cafeteria's meat supply is about to be replenished.”

After 40 minutes of tightness, I was already fatigued. I climbed up to the third floor in a daze and found a random classroom. I plopped right down on my desk. I jolted awake when the preparatory bell rang. As soon as I lifted my head, I noticed that nearly 20 silhouettes had gathered in the classroom. I sat by the window and poked my head around. Most of the classrooms were empty, with just one or two people sitting sporadically. Due to the high rate of students leaving, almost half of the students on the third floor have left this classroom. Under these panicked circumstances, many people wanted to come together and offer support.

The teacher on the podium promptly stood up and quickly wrote the classroom rules on the board with chalk, displaying a precise and efficient manner.

Classroom rule: at the beginning of class, the teacher will hand a knife to the student closest to the podium, and that student may continue to pass it in any direction. When the teacher looks down and reads from the handout, students are asked to keep passing, and it is forbidden to stop passing for more than three seconds. When the teacher's voice terminates and he would look up, the person holding the knife needs to scrape at himself/herself within three seconds or he/she would be eliminated.

While I was still holding back my drowsiness and reading silently, the teacher's singing had already begun with the ringing of the class bell.

The first student who took the knife did not even stay up to three seconds, but after taking the knife quickly threw it to the back of the table, it is obvious that he is for self-scratching this thing looks extremely resistant and fear, because the force is too much, the knife even slightly rotating on the table, almost cut the back of the hands of the second row of students.

Everyone watching this scene can not help but breathe, this is only the first stick of the class, do not be so soon out of order. Fortunately, the second student has a lot of courage, quick eyes and hands grabbed the rotating knife handle, finally rushed to hand out the knife before three seconds.

The third student was obviously much more calm, after receiving the knife, turned around and looked at the crowd, calmly raised his finger until he counted two numbers, before calmly handing the knife to the fourth student, which is undoubtedly a model for all.

The class dragged on for forty minutes, and everyone had to stay calm and dilute the time as much as possible to maximize the preservation of physical strength. Counting three seconds for fear of making a mistake, counting two seconds was the safest way to go.

The next few people followed his example and tried to count to at least two before handing over the knife. Originally panicked classroom has become quite organized, and I was in the sixth position, was also ready to learn his same silent count of two seconds, but let me did not expect things suddenly happened.

At the moment I received the knife, the teacher on the podium frothing at the mouth suddenly raised his head, his pupils dark and deep, staring in my direction, the noise came to an abrupt end.

I frozed, even though I had already read the rules three times, but out of the blue, things took a wild turn.

I didn't expect that I would be the first person to see the teacher looking up, the panic of not being able to do anything came over me, my hand couldn't help but tremble, and I actually dropped the knife on the table, hurrying back to my senses, my heart tensed, trying to feel the position of the hilt.