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[Willow not supporting wind: This painting is indeed a bit strange. Let me see who painted it. It seems the first floor is full of art from freshman students...]

As their two game characters stopped, Chu Changge and Willow not supporting wind, who were walking, also halted and looked at the painting before them.

This painting was truly a bit strange...

While the other paintings on this floor were all rather peculiar and highly abstract, if one had to pick the most abstract of them all, it would definitely be this one.

The others comprised sketches, ink wash paintings, and watercolors. This one, however, was drawn with colored pencils.

It wasn't that Willow not supporting wind was bragging, but she hadn't used colored pencils for drawing since leaving kindergarten.

And it was even rarer for high school students to use colored pencils.

The overall tone of the painting was warm, its palette dominated by bright red, orange, and tangerine, with a touch of black.

On the large sheet of paper, there was only a single head in the center, depicted entirely in shades of red. Its mouth was wide open, as if letting out a painful wail.

The eyes were hollow black pits, as if the eyeballs had vanished.

Despite the artist's mediocre skills, Willow not supporting wind still broke out in a cold sweat.

"Come to think of it, I think I've seen a similar painting online before," Willow not supporting wind murmured, taking a step back.

Chu Changge didn't make a sound; instead, he squatted down to inspect the rather unattractive painting. He placed his phone on the ground beneath him, where he could easily see the screen.

Willow not supporting wind saw him extend his hand, pick up the painting, and begin to inspect it carefully.

Front, back, not even sparing the frame—to Willow not supporting wind, it looked as if Chu Changge wanted to devour the painting.

After examining it for a while, Chu Changge finally spoke, "The artist is Chu Hang, from Class Eight of the first years."

Accustomed to Chu Changge's habit of talking to himself, Willow not supporting wind didn't respond.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, he continued, "This painting is a few years old."

After saying this, Chu Changge fell silent.

Slightly bewildered, Willow not supporting wind finally asked, "What do you mean?"

Chu Changge looked at her. "Judging by the colors and the age of the paper, this painting must be at least two years old. The art gallery appears to have three floors. The game character mentioned earlier that the first floor displays works by freshman students. By that logic, the second and third floors should feature art from sophomores and juniors, respectively."

Willow not supporting wind still didn't understand.

Chu Changge continued, "Chu Hang created this piece during his freshman year, which was at least two years ago. Later, he became a sophomore, and then a junior. If he didn't die midway through…"

Willow not supporting wind finally caught on. "You mean we might find other works by Chu Hang in this art gallery?"

If he was alive during his sophomore and junior years, then his other works should be on the second and third floors.

"I'll go to the second floor; you stay here," Chu Changge said, seeming as if he wanted to check the time.

However, there were no clocks in the vast art gallery corridor, so neither of them knew what time it was.

Willow not supporting wind took a deep breath. "Split up?"

Chu Changge nodded. "Time is tight. We have to split up."

Without too much hesitation, Willow not supporting wind, feeling somewhat nervous, nodded. "In that case... what should I do if I stay on the first floor?"

"Look for paintings," Chu Changge said simply. "There might be other abnormal paintings on this floor. As soon as you find one, run up and tell me immediately."

It sounded like a physically demanding task...

Willow not supporting wind nodded, looking somewhat nervous.

She never expected her attempt to curry favor would not only fail but also backfire so spectacularly. Willow not supporting wind was thoroughly exasperated by this.

"Look at these paintings carefully. Remember that," Chu Changge added.

"These corridors make it easy to find people. I'll generally be on the second floor for now. If you don't find me on the second floor, then go up to the third," Chu Changge paused here. "If you can't find me on either the second or third floor, you can call out my name, though it's best not to."

"Oh, right. Sometimes you might find treasure boxes in this mini-game. I suspect the treasure boxes contain special items that can be taken out of the instance."

Willow not supporting wind nodded, feeling incredibly flattered.

She never imagined this guy, who usually just mumbled to himself, would actually say so much to her.

But before she could even finish her astonished nodding, Chu Changge had already turned and headed for the stairs.

The CLACK, CLACK, CLACK of footsteps echoed through the vast first floor, making Willow not supporting wind feel a bit apprehensive.

Only when Chu Changge's figure disappeared at the top of the stairs did Willow not supporting wind apprehensively withdraw her gaze. "Find paintings..." she muttered. She spun around on the spot, then bent down to examine the paintings on the floor. "I haven't finished searching the first floor yet. I'll start here. Maybe I'll even find a treasure box or something..."

「Meanwhile, Fatty and Zi Liang had successfully infiltrated the freshman academic building.」

Due to the afternoon break, there weren't many people in the building.

Only a few students keen on self-study remained in the classrooms, but this didn't hinder their actions.

Zi Liang looked a bit dazed, as if he hadn't been near anything related to studying for a very long time.

The two had snuck into a large office and were rummaging through the chalk in the cabinets.

The items found in the restroom were related to chalk, so it made sense to look for chalk first—that was Zi Liang's line of thinking.

Apparently, Fatty shared Zi Liang's thoughts too.

The two felt a sense of camaraderie, clearly on the same wavelength.

At this moment, Zi Liang noticed a line of text appearing at the bottom of his game screen.

[You found a small box while rummaging through the storage cabinet. Open it?]

As an experienced gamer, Zi Liang was instinctively about to choose "yes."

However, Fatty suddenly snatched his phone. "Don't open it."

Zi Liang was slightly taken aback. "Why?"

Fatty coughed, then said secretively, "What if it's like Pandora's Box and unleashes some monster..."

Zi Liang nodded understandingly. "That makes sense!"

Fatty: "..."

At this moment, Zi Liang noticed another change on his phone screen.

[Something seems to be pinned under the box.]

[Spend ten minutes to move the box?]

Fatty uneasily glanced at the wall clock in the office. It was two-forty...

He stared at the office clock for several seconds, then lowered his head to look at his phone. "Ignore this option for now. Let me think for a moment."

After saying this, he genuinely lowered his head and remained motionless, as if deep in thought.

Zi Liang looked at Fatty strangely. Why did it feel like Fatty had been acting more and more peculiar ever since they entered the classroom building?