Raising a Wife in a Supernatural World [Infinite] – CH26

Chapter 26: Spook High (26)

“Teacher Qin!” a student cried, catching sight of his approaching figure, its voice instantly brightening with genuine delight.

The other students turned their heads one after another, their eyes shining with pure reverence against the macabre backdrop of scattered corpses and mangled flesh.

“Teacher Qin.” The student leading the group stepped aside to clear a path. Pointing toward the terrified, trembling crowd below, it asked, “They ran over after seeing the paper slips. Should we let them up?”

What it truly worried about wasn’t whether those students posed a threat, but rather… with so many mouths to feed, would Teacher Qin go bankrupt from giving out honey water? What if they drank it all, and none was left for the original class?

Mortals were driven by self-interest, and aberrations were no different.

Seeing through the little entity’s petty calculations at a glance, Qin Fu’an clapped a hand onto its shoulder and walked past it to peer down the stairwell.

Below, a cluster of students was fighting tooth and nail against the onslaught of monsters; those in front battled desperately, while those behind scrambled upward, seeking sanctuary.

“Let them up,” Qin Fu’an said, glancing sideways at his students. “If you don’t let them up now and they all turn into monsters, are you so sure you’ll live to see tomorrow?”

If they couldn’t even survive the night, did they seriously expect to drink honey water and munch on snacks?

Stung by his casual words, the students snapped to their senses, finally realizing that the desperate souls below could either be allies keeping them alive or executioners sealing their doom.

Without needing any further urging, they hurriedly broke formation. As they ushered the survivors upward, they urgently exhorted the newcomers to scavenge for suitable weapons to hold off the monstrous training aids together.

Over on the side Xie Yunhuai was holding, the situation was largely identical. Seeing this flank yield, his team obediently followed suit and let the retreating students pass.

With these surviving students bolstered to their ranks, Qin Fu’an’s tactical options multiplied.

He divided the youths into three echelons based on their current exam scores: the perfect scores at 100, the safe scores at 80, and the barely-passing margins at 60.

The 100-pointers were handed the best weapons and stationed at the very front; the 80-pointers held the second line to plug any gaps; and the 60-pointers stayed strictly within safe perimeter zones, scavenging for more improvised weapons and fashioning crude yet functional barricades out of discarded uniforms, textbooks, and loose sheets of paper.

Virtually every surviving student received a designated task from Qin Fu’an. An evening physical exam that was supposed to be a slaughterhouse battle royale was forcibly transformed into an organized siege defense under his command.

With ten minutes left on the clock, nearly half of the entire school’s surviving student body had gathered inside this instructional building, including the four players.

Though they were players, Qin Fu’an had integrated them seamlessly into the ranks alongside the NPC students, assigning each tasks within their capabilities. They were run so ragged that they couldn’t spare a shred of mental bandwidth to worry about where Nan Zhu was hiding or whether she was in danger.

When the countdown hit the three-minute mark, the swarming wave of Physical Training Aids finally began to thin out. It took half a minute just to spot a lone straggler or two wandering in the distance.

The instructional building was temporarily safe.

With the monsters completely cleared, the crisp chime of the dismissal bell rang in the students’ ears like a celestial symphony.

As the cheerful chimes echoed to an end, the massive countdown hanging against the blood-soaked black canopy of the night ticked down to its final threshold: 00:00:59.

The final minute.

Qin Fu’an let out a quiet sigh of relief. Before he could address the sea of eager, adoring gazes fixed upon him, a chorus of piping voices erupted as the students called out “Teacher Qin” over each other in a frantic scramble.

It seemed they only knew how to chant “Teacher Qin”—delighted, lively, grateful, and overflowing with adoration…

A stark, polar opposite to the numb, manic shells they had been during the day.

Even high above in the sky, the colossal tentacles that had waged war alongside Xie Yunhuai all night slipped down into the crowd under the cover of chaos, sneaking over to gently tug at the hem of Qin Fu’an’s jacket, utterly refusing to let go.

“Congratulations, everyone. The physical examination has concluded successfully.”

Having spoken, Qin Fu’an met Xie Yunhuai’s subtly shining gaze. Reaching down, he pinched a shadowy tendril wrapped around his wrist, fixing the boy with a deeply meaningful look.

Xie Yunhuai: “…”

Dammit, how on earth am I supposed to make my soul stop being so ridiculously clingy?!

Off in a corner, Bai Song nudged Yake, who was zoning out against the wall, murmuring, “Look, the boss is trading sweet glances with his deskmate again.”

Yake: “…”

Once this run is over, I am going to buy a handbook on ‘100 Ways to Cling to a Golden Thigh’ and memorize every single page. One day, I will find my own sugar daddy boss!

In the end, tears of pure, unadulterated envy threatened to leak from the corners of his mouth.

Chen Qi and Zhao Jiayue: “…”

A pair of total drama queens.

Yet glancing up at the blood-red timer entering its final ten seconds, the two women couldn’t help letting out breathless smiles of relief.

This long, harrowing day was finally… drawing to a close.

At that exact moment, every surviving student looked up in unison, locking eyes with the final seconds in the night sky.

They watched it count down from ten, bleeding away second by second.

Three. Two. One—

“This physical examination has concluded,” a soft, familiar voice echoed melodiously over the entire school grounds. “Congratulations to all students who achieved passing marks. May you continue to forge ahead in the coming days and earnestly participate in every upcoming examination.”

“Curfew is set for 9:30 PM. All students are instructed to return to their beds promptly to rest, maintaining robust physical health and adequate sleep to welcome tomorrow’s studies and exams in peak condition.”

The proctor’s voice faded into the wind. The entire school grounds fell deathly quiet, so still that even a breath was scarcely audible.

Only when the surviving students watched the pair of crimson high heels rooted in the fourth-floor corridor pivot with a sharp, echoing clack, its crisp footfalls receding down the hall until vanishing into nothingness…

Starting from the fourth floor, an explosion of ecstatic cheering and wild, celebratory shrieking reverberated through the entire campus within two short seconds.

“…The floor is about to cave in from the shaking,” Chen Qi remarked, complaining dryly under her breath even as she let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.

It was finally over.

Amid the raucous clamor, another system notification rang distinctly in Qin Fu’an’s ear.

“Congratulations. As a Proctor, your outstanding conduct and exceptional achievements during this examination have earned unanimous acclaim from faculty and students alike. Following thorough review and deliberation by campus leadership, the administration has resolved to bestow upon you the permanent title of [Examiner].”

“Furthermore, in recognition of your dual role as Acting Teacher for Grade 12, Class 4, which has significantly bolstered the institution’s academic faculty, the administration has unanimously appointed you as an Official Teacher, entitling you to the combined salary and welfare benefits of both an Official Teacher and an Examiner.”

“May you redouble your efforts in the days ahead to cultivate and educate even more distinguished graduates for Spook High.”

As the prompt dissolved, the translucent Proctor interface before Qin Fu’an transformed into a sleek, pale-blue Examiner terminal.

A dense web of glowing dots still covered the display, their scope no longer confined to Grade 12, Class 4, but encompassing every surviving student across the entire school grounds.

However, all the dots were currently greyed out and locked, indicating that because the examination period had officially closed, an Examiner could not exercise administrative surveillance off-hours.

Simultaneously, the [Proctor] badge pinned to his uniform darkened into an ominous, blood-soaked crimson, accompanied by a system prompt granting him the option to conceal it from view.

After a brief inspection, Qin Fu’an dismissed the newly updated Examiner screen, quietly masking the badge on his chest amidst the surrounding chaos.

Fortunately, he had been standing by the balcony overlooking the yard with his back turned to the crowd, so no one—specifically referring to the players—caught wind of the transformation taking place on his person.

Once the interface was tucked away, a notification chimed to confirm that his dual salary had cleared.

The funds were automatically deposited into the official teacher credential tucked inside his pocket; whenever campus transactions were required, a simple scan of the card would settle the bill.

Qin Fu’an checked the balance. It wasn’t an exorbitant fortune, but it was more than enough to fulfill the promise of snacks he had made to those kids tonight.

And so, amidst the ecstatic, hysterical cheers of survivors who had cheated death, Qin Fu’an peeled off his grime-streaked school jacket. Bypassing the overexcited mob of youths, he set off alone toward the student dormitories.

After an entire day of non-stop maneuvering, even his spirit was wearing thin.

There were no streetlamps lining the campus paths. Fortunately, all Physical Training Aids—whether living or dead—had been swept away the moment the exam concluded. Aside from the pitch-black darkness, Qin Fu’an encountered no further threats along the way.

Yet just before he could cross into the dormitory building, several figures blocked his path outside the entrance doors.

“Looking for me?”

Qin Fu’an lifted his lids, lazily taking in the hesitant, fidgeting players bathed in the dim amber glow of the entryway lights.

Faced with his cool appraisal, they seemed at a loss for how to broach the topic, stammering and exchanging nervous glances without voicing their thoughts.

Noticing the faint trace of impatience brewing between Qin Fu’an’s brows, Chen Qi felt her chest tighten. Stepping forward, she asked directly, “Boss, we came to ask if you’ve seen any sign of Nan Zhu?”

Fearing he might misread their motives, she hurriedly added, “We’ve been searching for her ever since the exam ended, but every student we asked said they hadn’t seen her. We were worried she might have run into trouble or gotten trapped somewhere, which is why…”

“She’s dead.”

Her explanation was severed clean by Qin Fu’an’s flat, unhurried reply.

Chen Qi’s voice choked in her throat. The other three stared at him, their eyes wide with sheer shock.

Taking in their stunned expressions, the corners of Qin Fu’an’s slitted eyes lifted in a languid, wicked arch. With an easy chuckle, he added with velvet malice:

“What a shame. I killed her myself.”

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