CIATB Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Rescue...Abandon...Opportunity...
"I...I..."
Kujo Ran's remaining left eye went wide.
Under the glare of the Half-Head Ghost—with only half a skull remaining—she stammered, cold sweat trickling down.
‘I….?’
‘I… what?’
‘This is a death trap of a question!’
Because, without any surprise...
If she couldn't answer, or answered wrong, the other party would definitely take her brain to complete itself!
Kujo Ran despaired.
At that moment, she snapped her head toward Lu Shiyan in the corner, her eyes filled with desperate pleading.
‘Save me! You promised!’
"Haah..."
Lu Shiyan leaned against the wall, watching the woman who looked about ready to wet herself, and shook his head with mild exasperation.
'A fool is a fool...but at least she's obedient enough. Not a bad chess piece.'
Since the deal had already been struck, he naturally wouldn't stand by and watch Kujo Ran die.
Lu Shiyan wasted no words. His right hand snapped out in a sharp throw.
Whoosh!
A spherical object tightly wrapped in a black school uniform flew toward Kujo Ran.
"Catch it!"
Kujo Ran instinctively stretched out both hands and caught the heavy bundle.
The texture was soft and yielding—warm and moist.
With trembling hands, she lifted a corner of the uniform.
When she saw what was inside, her pupils contracted sharply, and she nearly screamed out loud!
It was a human head!
A human head wearing gold-rimmed glasses—Kamiya Konan!
'Is this...Kamiya Konan, whose head was cut off by Lu Shiyan earlier?!'
Kujo Ran's mind reeled: 'Wasn't the body already cleaned up and eaten by the Shariki Giant?'
'Why is this head here?'
That question found its perfect answer in Liu Yuqing's mind not far away.
She pushed up her glasses, a flash of light crossing the lenses.
'Psychokinesis! It has to be that S-Grade ability!'
'That stinking middle-aged man must have used telekinesis while the Shariki Giant was feeding.'
'While everyone's attention was scattered, he quietly stole the head that had rolled into the corner!'
'This guy...his mind is terrifyingly deep. Was he calculating this far ahead even back then?'
Just then.
The Half-Head Ghost standing on the podium caught sight of the head in Kujo Ran's hands.
The half of a mouth it still possessed immediately curled into an ecstatic grin.
"Ah...found it..."
It stretched out trembling hands, as if receiving a sacred relic.
"Thank you, Teacher...this is my head!"
It spoke those absurd words in a tone of such pure, guileless sincerity that it made the skin crawl.
Kujo Ran's hands jerked in fright, and she hurriedly thrust the head forward.
"N-no need to thank me! Here! Take it! Take it away!"
The Half-Head Ghost happily received Kamiya Konan's head.
Then.
It did something that sent every person's sanity plummeting.
Schwick!
Rather than simply reattaching the head, it extended its claws!
With one swipe, it sheared off the entire lower half of Kamiya Konan's skull!
Leaving only the crown—still wearing the glasses!
Then it pressed the flat, cleanly-cut section firmly down onto its own smooth half-head!
Szzz-szzz-szzz...
Countless threads of blood erupted from the seam, writhing and weaving and stitching themselves together with manic speed.
In just a few seconds.
The brain and glasses that had once belonged to Kamiya Konan were perfectly integrated onto the Half-Head Ghost's neck!
"Hah..."
The reborn "Half-Head Ghost" stood there in a daze for a few seconds.
Then it slowly raised its head, the corners of its mouth stretching all the way to its ears.
"Ha ha...ha ha ha ha!!"
A familiar, unhinged laugh spilled from its lips.
Everyone felt a wave of goosebumps crawl across their skin at the sound, dreading what madness it might unleash next.
But.
The "Half-Head Ghost" only finished laughing, then gave Kujo Ran a deep bow from the waist, its tone becoming almost scholarly.
"Thank you, Teacher."
"I will cherish this...hard-won opportunity."
"I hope we...have the chance to meet again."
With that, it turned around, walked back to its seat with confident strides.
Kujo Ran was left thoroughly bewildered—but at least she was alive.
"Hah..."
Kujo Ran let out a breath of relief, pressing a hand to her chest, and glanced toward Lu Shiyan smoking by the window.
'Looks like this man keeps his word after all. I'll have to be even more careful from here on.'
At the same moment.
Bloody characters surfaced on the blackboard, announcing the end of this harrowing class.
【Assessment Passed.】
【Teacher Kujo Ran's performance this period: Passing Grade.】
【Reward: Overall Physical Constitution raised by 1 Minor Tier (F+ → E-).】
Hum!
A faint green light enveloped Kujo Ran.
The bleeding from her empty right eye socket stopped at once. The pain eased considerably—though the socket itself remained hollow.
'Not bad...'
She clenched her fist, feeling a thin thread of new strength coursing through her.
Just then.
4:30.
Ding-ling-ling——!!
The end-of-class bell rang simultaneously with Shariki Sanae's raspy broadcast voice.
"Students~ Teachers~ Class is over~"
"Everyone please proceed immediately to the sports ground for Morning Reading and Morning Exercise~"
"At that time...the Principal will personally come to inspect, you know~ hee hee hee...please everyone be prepared~"
......
As the broadcast ended, the atmosphere inside the classroom instantly tightened.
The 2 remaining ghosts rose from their seats first and left, as if answering some sacred call.
The 3 surviving Sakura Nation students—1 boy and 1 girl—hurriedly supported Natsuki between them and scrambled out of the classroom in a tumbling rush.
Yekaterina followed close behind.
Before leaving, she cast a long, deep look at Lu Shiyan in the corner, her expression unusually complex—as if she had sensed something.
But in the end she said nothing, turned, and left.
Rear rows.
Jiang Nan rose as well.
With Chen Tong—who had waited patiently behind him the entire time—he walked straight out of the classroom.
Wang Meng followed right on his heels.
Liu Yuqing was just about to leave when she noticed Yu Shishi still sitting beside her, staring blankly into the air.
Smack! Smack!
Liu Yuqing delivered 2 unsparing slaps to her face.
"Wake up! School's out!"
Yu Shishi jolted upright, clutching her face with a dazed expression.
"Huh? Is Chen Tong Teacher's class already over? That fast?"
"......"
Liu Yuqing stared at her, baffled, her jaw twitching.
"Hold on—we just finished 3 whole classes!"
"Even the ghosts have eaten their fill! How are you still stuck on the first one?"
"Are you sure you haven't lost your mind from fright?"
"Fright?! What fright?! Yuqing, stop messing with me!"
Yu Shishi flatly denied it.
"Then do you even remember Shariki Sanae?"
"Shariki Sanae? Never heard of her. Never seen her."
Yu Shishi flicked her wrist dismissively. "Don't know her."
"......"
Liu Yuqing was speechless.
‘This girl...could it be that she was so terrified her brain activated some kind of automatic memory-delete protection mechanism?’
‘Or does her Cleanse ability even wash memories?’
"Forget it—this way is fine too. At least it beats wetting her pants."
Liu Yuqing hauled her to her feet. "Hurry up and follow the boss! Don't fall behind!"
After sending Yu Shishi off, Liu Yuqing didn't leave immediately.
She found Guo Shuai, who had deliberately lingered behind.
"Guo Shuai, listen."
Liu Yuqing lowered her voice, her expression grave.
"That Lu Shiyan...his ability is S-Grade Psychokinesis!"
"And just now he kept stealing glances at the boss. The look in his eyes was completely off."
"You're 1 of only 2 combatants on the team. You need to keep an eye on him."
Guo Shuai heard this and gave a firm nod.
"Don't worry, Liu-jie! I'll watch him like a hawk!"
"Good!"
After delivering her instructions, Liu Yuqing also quickened her pace to catch up with the main group.
......
The classroom emptied in an instant.
Guo Shuai hadn't left. Instead, he feigned lingering weakness, slumped in his chair and groaning softly.
Because...Lu Shiyan hadn't left yet either.
In the corner.
When most people had gone, Lu Shiyan pinched out his cigarette.
Then he moved briskly to the window, pulled it open, reached outside, and felt behind the long-rusted external air conditioning unit...
And pulled out a waterproof tactical backpack.
"Let's go."
Lu Shiyan swung the backpack over his shoulder. Rather than leaving through the main door toward the sports ground, he turned and headed for the back door.
Kujo Ran followed right behind him.
Guo Shuai narrowed his eyes and peeked through the gaps between his fingers.
'That direction...that's the staircase to the 3rd floor. Not the way to the sports ground.'
'Are those 2 trying to slip away? Or are they up to something?'
Guo Shuai made up his mind: 'No good. I need to follow and find out!'
'If they're planning something against the boss, I'll put a knife in their backs!'
Thinking this, Guo Shuai was just about to stand up.
Suddenly.
A sound of sobbing drifted over from the front row.
"Wuu...wuu...wuu..."
Guo Shuai nearly jumped out of his skin. "Holy—! What are you doing?! Nearly gave me a heart attack!"
He'd thought it was the 4th ghost Kamiya Konan had mentioned.
He looked more carefully, and realized it was the small Sakura Nation girl who had been overlooked the entire time—Hoshino Hikari.
She was slumped over her desk at this moment, face a mess of tears and snot, crying with her whole heart.
"Kujo-sis doesn't want me...my own countrymen don't want me either..."
"Wuu wuu wuu...I don't wanna die...I wanna go home..."
Hearing this, Guo Shuai's mouth twitched.
Even her dialect came out in the crying—the translation really nailed the flavor.
He let out a sigh.
This was the apocalypse, not peacetime—not a charity either.
Nobody would unconditionally help dead weight.
'Forget it. Life and death are fate; wealth and honor are heaven's will.'
Guo Shuai shook his head, stood up, and turned to leave—to go after Lu Shiyan.
But.
The next moment.
Just as he walked past Hoshino Hikari, a hand suddenly grabbed onto his leg!
"Please!! Help me!!"
Hoshino Hikari lifted her tear-streaked face, eyes brimming with desperate pleading.
"I don't wanna die! I really don't wanna die!"
Looking into those eyes, Guo Shuai's footsteps froze.
He thought of himself.
Thought of that left-behind child who grew up in the countryside...
Parents away working in the city...
Only his grandmother for company.
Back then, if the boss hadn't given him a chance, he might already be a scarecrow staked in a wheat field right now.
"Haah..."
In the end, he let out a long breath.
'Since I'm the little brother, I need to think about what's good for the team.'
So he mimicked the way Jiang Nan had once asked him, looking down at her from above.
"Stop crying. Tell me—what ability do you have?"
Hoshino Hikari grabbed onto this lifeline and answered immediately.
"I'm...B-Grade! B-Grade Healing Light!"
"Oh...B-Grade, huh..."
Guo Shuai had felt a bit of resistance at first, since the other party was a Sakura Nation girl.
But the moment he heard "healer"—and B-Grade at that—his eyes lit up instantly!
'A support?!'
Now that was a rare resource!
'Actually...if it's a Sakura Nation girl, it's not like that's completely out of the question...'
'Bringing in some foreign flavour for the boss, adding variety to the team lineup—maybe that works?'
Though he was doing cartwheels on the inside, Guo Shuai kept up a pained, reluctant face, brow furrowed.
"Only B-Grade...that's barely acceptable, I suppose."
"Fine. On account of you coming from the same rural background as me—I'll give you a shot."
"Go to the sports ground for class first. If you can survive tonight, I'll introduce you to the boss."
"When that time comes, make sure you show your best. I don't have the final say."
Hoshino Hikari, hearing that someone was willing to take her in, was so moved she almost kowtowed on the spot.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll work so hard!"
"Alright, alright, go on—I've got things to do."
Guo Shuai waved her off and pulled his leg free.
"Mm!"
Hoshino Hikari wiped away her tears, gave a firm nod, and ran out of the classroom.
Guo Shuai watched her retreating figure, his eyes carrying not even a trace of worldly craving.
Not because he was the kind of man unbothered by women—unsheathing the blade with a serene heart.
But because...
The Magic Orb had torn through him like a blaze of glory, and taken far too much of his worldly desire with it.
"Farewell, my youth."
Guo Shuai put on a mask of suffering, and another tear of the Magic Orb rolled from the corner of his eye.
Then he suddenly remembered the actual matter at hand.
"Damn! I wasted a few minutes just now—I don't know if I can still catch those 2!"
"No good deed goes unpunished. Next time I really can't afford to be so merciful."
He hesitated no longer, endured the phantom pain below his waist, and bolted through the back door.
But.
Little did he know...
Those wasted 3 short minutes had just saved his life.
......
In the stairwell, deep in the shadows.
Kujo Ran was crouched low, her P90 submachine gun trained on the staircase opening connecting the 2nd floor to the 3rd.
She had held this position for exactly 3 minutes.
The moment there was any sound from that staircase, she would pull the trigger without hesitation and riddle whoever appeared with bullets.
"Hah..."
Kujo Ran checked the watch on her wrist and murmured quietly.
"3 minutes...still nothing."
"Looks like that Guo Shuai had no intention of following us."
Lu Shiyan, seated on the steps above, gave a nod at this.
Unhurriedly, he stood up, turned over the katana he had retrieved from his backpack, and tossed the empty bag aside onto the floor.
"Understood."
Lu Shiyan's gaze turned cold as he looked toward the iron-chained door leading to the rooftop.
"Since there's no tail, there's no need to waste the bullets."
"Time is limited."
"Let's move."
With that, he turned and walked up the stairs, his silhouette vanishing instantly into the darkness.
Kujo Ran holstered her gun and followed immediately...