Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

He Shujn opens her eyes to the sound of reciting books.

Early morning, homeroom class

Her classmates are right there next to her. Some are slacking off, some are working hard, even some have their heads suspiciously hanging low, with their waists curled deep, eating their breakfast carefully.

He Shujn can smell their hard boiled eggs. A slightly off-putting smell of wholly cooked proteins.

There are always someone that has their book standing on end, blocking their face, so that the teacher cant see what theyre doing.

Of course, its painfully obvious to the teacher, but they wouldnt bother to stop these little distractions from reality.

He Shujn listens to the loud reciting of some classical Chinese writing Or possibly ash? Ac? What was this girls name again?

He Shujns mind is having a hard time adjusting.

The last second she was closing her eyes in a dilapidated little residence, going to sleep as per X Beijins instructions;

The next, she suddenly snaps awake from some endless stupor, and is showered in the morning sun, listening to the reciting of books, and the little whispers between students.

Looking up, she can see all the banners that befit the secondary six grade. They basically tell them to study hard and aim high.

It hits her. Shes back at the first day of her secondary six.

Shes back on Earth.

Almost immediately, a shock rushes through her, and she stands up reflexively, turning her head all around, like shes trying to imprint all her fellow students faces in her mind.

She observes all of them closely, as they look back at her, confused, but also with popcorn ready.

Lively. Energetic. It belongs to teens, almost at adulthood.

Was it all a dream?

He Shujn? Asks the teacher supervising their homeroom class, seemingly spooked, whats wrong?

Suddenly, He Shujn starts laughing but with tears also rolling off her eyes, and she says, Im fine! Im fine, Im just teacher, I she is smiling really dumbly right now, Im just too happy.

Someone is quite audibly mumbling whether shes gone madWho would be happy heading into their secondary six life?

But He Shujn really is glad.

Shes back at this moment. At the normal, peaceful, calm Earth.

She and her students would be writhing in pain for the coming Gaokao and the countless weekly tests and monthly tests. Theyre hopeful for the future a year on, almost in their grasp.

It feels like the morning sun at nine.

Just looking at them gives endless possibility, endless positivity, endless hope.

He Shujn wipes her tears and sits back down. She looks at what the student behind her has on the desk, and ignoring the gaze that says weirdo, she also takes a language book out, and flips it open, then just starts reading loudly.

Without a care in the world. Not thinking about where she really is, or about Nightmares, or about the Tower.

Just let her, happily, joyfully, enjoy this homeroom class. The first day of her secondary six class. A turning point in her life.

Reading, reading, but her voice starts cracking. Tears are still rolling, she is still wiping, but in the end, she just crashes onto her desk, with the book over her head. She can smell the faintly wooden scent of a new book, and the soy milk the student in front of her is having.

She just ends up wailing.

The whole classroom has gone quiet. All the students are confounded, and the teacher quickly walks over to He Shujn, panicking a little, and asking, He Shujn, are you alright?

He Shujn is still crying.

Shes babbling something, but no one can make out what shes saying.

But all the feelings all the sadness, happiness and possibly hopelessness? That is coming off of her.

The teacher finds He Shujn inconsolable.

So, on this first day of school, He Shujn ends up at the school clinic.

Here, her wails are finally dying down. The teacher, worried, asks if she needs her parents, or to go home to take a rest.

But then, she sees He Shujns young, still developing features, turn into a mature and collected expression she has never seen on her before.

She seems to think calmly, then shakes her head, and tell her, no, thanks. Ill be taking a rest here, and then go back to class.

The teacher still looks worried.

Instead, its He Shujn, who looks just mentally collapsed earlier, reassuring her that shes fine, and only needs some time to take a rest at the clinic.

The teacher at the clinic also tells the teacher that she will watch over He Shujn, so it might be better to give her some time to rest quietly.

So the teacher supervising homeroom finally leaves.

He Shujn lies down, with her back to the clinics teacher. Then, she pretends to be asleep, and the teacher of the clinic also leaves with light, gentle steps.

As soon as the door to the clinic closes, He Shujn quickly sits back up.

Looking at the closed door, she cant help but sigh, and smile bitterly.

Whatever the case, she couldnt go back to being that simple, nave secondary six student anymore.

She has already become He Shujn, the Missiontaker, who has struggled and fought in the Tower for dozens of years.

When she was back at her secondary six classroom, she admits that she did feel happy like she has never done in a very long time.

Heavens know how much shes wanted to return to the normal, return to human civilisation.

It caused her emotions to spiral uncontrollably. There was even a moment when she really thought she was back on Earth, in the past, and time reversed, or everything is already over, or even that the Tower was just an unusually long dream.

A dream.

That word snapped her awake. She knows she is still inside a Nightmare.

She recalls X Beijin painstakingly reminding them again and againTo remain sane and awake whatever happens in the Nightmare.

Though she couldnt hold herself back from indulging in the moment a little.

She cried and she laughed. It was a genuine reaction. It was exactly the representation of all her complicated, intense emotions. She was almost going to choke with how hard she cried.

But at the same time, deep inside her, she watched what she was doing, calmly, coldly.

She knowsAt least, by referencing what shes seen in the Tower, whats going to happen.

The first day of the secondary six classWhat follows soon enough, would be the parents, teachers, students, school administrations, even the department of education, all going mad. She cannot let herself end up in the vortex of the whirlwind to come.

She knows she must leave the classroom as soon as possible. She cannot stay with the others. The disaster is coming, and she must first ensure her own safety.

No one knows, what the consequences will be, for death in the Ultimate Nightmare.

Therefore, with such a calculation in her mind, she let her rampaging emotions and tears run amok, so the homeroom teacher would be forced to take her to the clinic.

When the teacher suggested she could go home for the day, it was a rather attractive proposal to He Shujn for a second.

Especially, when she thinks about how she might still be able to see her parents, still normal, and unaffected by madness.

But He Shujn ruthlessly shut that option out.

She doesnt know if the Ultimate Nightmare really is recreating her life perfectly. What if, in her Nightmare, her parents are simply madmen?

Then if shes back at their side, as per the usual insane parents, theyd send her straight back to school.

Not to mention that theyre fake. They arent her real parents. She also doesnt want to numb her mind with fake parental warmth at a critical moment like this.

Theyre in a terrifying Nightmare, an Ultimate Nightmare that belongs to all humanity.

He Shujn takes a deep breath, and wipes the tears still welling up from her eyes once more.

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