Shen Yi couldn't help but gasp.
Although she didn't remember exactly who the school leaders were, she figured that anyone at the leadership level had to be at least in their forties or fifties, right?
But the people sitting inside, both men and women, were either crossing their legs, leaning back in their chairs, or standing to the side smoking.
And now, every single pair of eyes was staring right at her in unison.
The scene couldn't have been more horrifying.
Chen Jiaojiao was also scared silly.
Crying loudly, her face a mess of tears, she still managed to shout anxiously, "Run!"
Shen Yi didn't hesitate for a second; she turned and bolted.
Inside the office, the atmosphere fell into a subtle silence for a second.
Then, someone laughed.
"We've already caught quite a few today. These kids are really curious, rushing one by one to the leadership office just to serve themselves up on a silver platter."
Someone next to him chuckled along.
"Tell me about it. That little boy just now even asked me, 'Teacher, are you new here?'"
One of the relatively kind-looking men stood up, walked over to Chen Jiaojiao, and crouched down.
He had a smile on his face and looked very gentle, like some kindly neighborhood uncle.
"Little girl," he said, his voice equally gentle, "tell us, what do your mom and dad do?"
Chen Jiaojiao had still been crying.
But now, driven by her survival instincts, she suddenly held back her tears.
"M-my mom is a designer..." she sobbed, speaking rapidly. "She exhibits her work at many famous international design shows! My dad, my dad is a hotel chain boss... a v-very famous one..."
"Very good."
The man smiled.
His smile grew even gentler.
He stood up and jutted his chin toward the people beside him.
"Take her away. Off-campus," he said. "Make a call and have a nice little chat with her mom and dad."
The person next to him nodded, grabbed Chen Jiaojiao, and walked out.
It was still inconvenient for them to carry out their extortion operations inside the school. Going off-campus wouldn't cause as much of a stir, and there would be less trouble.
"What about the kid who ran away? Our people aren't all here yet; she won't ruin our plans, will she?"
"Don't worry, leave her to me," another person chimed in sinisterly, rubbing his wrist that was still numb. "Once I catch her, I'll finish her off first."
...
Shen Yi turned a corner and ran in another direction.
She was fairly familiar with Hejing.
After all, she had been going to school here for a while and had wandered around when she had free time.
She had a rough idea of where the terrain was complex and where it was easy to hide.
Behind her, footsteps pursued relentlessly.
An adult's speed was much faster than a child's.
Moreover, the area around the leadership office was too open, without many obstacles to hide behind; looking out, everything was in plain sight.
The man sprinted madly after her.
He ran very fast.
But Shen Yi ran even faster.
He was completely baffled.
How could a kid run this fast?
Those little short legs were pumping so fast, as if equipped with a motor.
What was even more ridiculous was her high stamina.
Even if she wasn't tired, he was.
When she reached the lake, Shen Yi paused for a second.
She was actually hesitating.
Wondering if she should just jump into the water.
The system's voice suddenly rang in her mind: [I advise you not to.]
[The probability of death is as high as one hundred percent.]
Hearing this, Shen Yi calmed down for two seconds.
Actually, she wasn't that scared.
At worst, she could just load her save file and start over.
But Shen Yi also firmly remembered the bug in the cheat the system had given her.
If she loaded a save file, there was a chance she would be sent on time travel.
The fear of the unknown was simply more terrifying than death.
Shen Yi suddenly stopped in her tracks, swiftly abandoning any thoughts of loading a save file, and turned around to dash toward the garden.
The school garden had many rare and precious varieties of flowers and trees, and because they grew so densely, it was very suitable for hiding.
But Shen Yi never expected that after rushing in, she would literally bump into a familiar face right around the corner.
...
Shen Ruxu was immersively cutting flowers.
He was very conspicuous, tall, holding a large bouquet of flowers in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. A pile of petals had already fallen at his feet—red, pink, and white, forming a small carpet.
Hearing the shouting, he softly went, "Hmm?"
He subconsciously turned his head.
Then he saw a familiar little figure.
A dark blue school uniform, a ponytail, and rapidly pumping short legs.
It was an acquaintance.
A bright smile appeared on Shen Ruxu's face, and he greeted her in a cheerful tone:
"Hi, Xiao Yi."
Shen Yi, panting heavily from running, slammed on the brakes.
She saw him, as well as those large scissors gleaming in the sunlight.
The girl's brain short-circuited for a second, and then she grabbed his sleeve.
"There's a bad guy here!" she yelled, speaking rapidly. "Teacher, save me!"
Shen Ruxu blinked.
He glanced in the direction Shen Yi had run from.
There was a person chasing after her, panting, with a ferocious expression.
Taking advantage of the situation, Shen Yi tightly grabbed his hand and hid her entire body behind Shen Ruxu.
Of course, she couldn't possibly count on this eccentric drifter to help her. Shen Yi just wanted to try and divert the danger toward him, calling him "Teacher" with particular affection.
Naturally, the premise of diverting the danger was that the two of them didn't know each other.
Shen Yi's luck wasn't too bad.
Shen Ruxu indeed didn't know this man, and likewise, the other party didn't know him.
He didn't frequently meet with his father's subordinates, and since there were too many personnel in this operation, not everyone recognized each other.
Shen Ruxu looked down at the small hand gripping his sleeve.
Then he looked up at the person chasing them.
He smiled.
"Hi," the young man casually greeted the person, his tone relaxed. "Good morning, are you guys playing some brand new battle royale game?"
Shen Ruxu could guess that the man chasing Shen Yi was a member of the organization's current operation.
But he didn't have any team spirit anyway, so he naturally didn't care about the other party's identity.
Shen Yi pretended to be panicked and hid behind him, secretly hoping that these two outlaws would start fighting each other.
Actually, rather than the two of them fighting, Shen Yi felt that the possibility of her suffering the consequences was a bit higher.
But in this current situation, she couldn't escape even if she tried, so she could only attempt a last-ditch struggle.
"She's your student?" The man didn't know Shen Ruxu either and simply assumed he was genuinely a teacher. He found it strange: "Did we actually miss a teacher? You're pretty good at hiding."
As he spoke, his gaze darkened.
"You got into trouble and actually wanted to ask me for help. You really are bad, Xiao Yi," Shen Ruxu realized something, but he didn't react much, merely complaining verbally before handing the bouquet of flowers in his arms to Shen Yi. "Hold onto these and wait for me here."
Holding the scissors in his hand, his smile completely faded away.
Shen Ruxu was exceptionally tall, without the slightest hint of frailty.
The vibe he gave off had always been exceptionally dangerous.
Shen Yi instinctively covered her eyes, her hands trembling. The entire process of Shen Ruxu dealing with the opponent probably didn't take more than three minutes.
Pressing down forcefully, he forcibly pinned the man heavily to the ground, his completely steady hand pressing the cold blade of the scissors against the man's neck.
During this whole time, he didn't utter a single word of nonsense.
With a short, sharp scream, the body twitched a few times before falling completely still. Shen Ruxu casually tossed the person into the flowerbed.
He turned his head slowly to look at the young girl behind him, his voice drawing out, "Aren't you going to run? Xiao Yi."
Shen Yi's heart pounded like a drum.
She opened her eyes and met his gaze.
The young man's snow-white shirt was splattered with specks of blood. A smile was clearly evident on his face, but given the circumstances, it looked exceptionally eerie on his otherwise cute features.
He looked as though he might plunge those scissors into her at any moment.
"It's still not too late to run, Shen Yi."
