Day of Imprisonment

Luo Xi liked solving mysteries because it brought him a special kind of comfort.

It was like eating iced watermelon on a hot day.

That feeling was mesmerizing.

"What exactly is the iron chain locking up Teacher Han?" Luo Xi muttered to himself, already having several possible answers.

"The most likely possibility is some kind of contract or agreement. 'Contracts' in the Day of Imprisonment really have binding power. Violating the contract will inevitably lead to the punishment described in it."

"It's also possible that it's the other half of Teacher Han's body, but this is less likely. Lacking half of his body would only prevent him from escaping on his own, but if he asked for help, he could still get away even without the other half."

"The last possibility is that the chain imprisoning Teacher Han refers to Liang Yunshi, the administrator here. If that's the case, it'll be difficult to deal with."

The reason Luo Xi came to Piggy Elementary School was because 'Teacher Han' had asked him for help last time.

The request for help itself was unusual.

There were several other Memory Retrievers present at the time, including Wu Rui, but Teacher Han didn't ask any of them for help, only him. This suggested that, in his eyes, the others weren't capable of saving him.

"So, he knows me?"

Luo Xi believed this for another reason: Teacher Han, this half-corpse, was clearly a very cautious person. He seemed to be acting all the time, and even when asking for help, he only said one sentence.

"What he actually said was, 'If you save me, I can help you.'" Luo Xi narrowed his eyes: "If it was just a request for help, the first part would have been enough, but he added 'help'? Does he know what I'm trying to do?"

This was why Luo Xi planned to return to Piggy Elementary School on this loop day.

Currently, Luo Xi knew that he had experienced amnesia before, meaning that he had been a Memory Retriever before and had done some things.

Luo Xi understood himself relatively well. Just as he had told Liang Yunshi, the administrator here, he couldn't possibly experience amnesia again if he had been a Memory Retriever. At the time, she laughed at him for being too crazy and arrogant, but in reality, Luo Xi wasn't showing off or trying to be cool when he said that.

He was just stating the facts.

Liang Yunshi said she didn't know him, only that she had heard the name 'Luo Xi' and knew that a Memory Retriever named Luo Xi was 'hard to deal with'.

Luo Xi believed this.

Because if someone knew him, they wouldn't say something like that.

Including the fact that his former self had arranged for someone to pretend to be a non-existent mother to specifically monitor his amnesiac self, and had given him pills to suppress his thinking abilities—if this was done by an enemy, it would be understandable, but if it was done by 'his former self,' it was clearly a 'signal'.

A signal that only he would understand.

That was that his former self had encountered something extremely difficult and almost impossible to solve, and could only escape by turning himself into an amnesiac. Of course, this wasn't the only possibility. For example, his former self had to do something, but the price of doing it was 'amnesia'.

For example, learning from Liang Qiu that Memory Retrievers couldn't leave the city limits.

Once they left, they would immediately 'die,' consuming a [Memory] and entering the next loop day.

If we temporarily ignore the assumption that there is only one city in the Day of Imprisonment, then Luo Xi could only think that going to other cities required maintaining the identity of an 'amnesiac'.

Of course, it didn't necessarily mean going to other cities, but some necessary 'unknown journey' became a direction for thinking and solving the problem.

"Whether I actively or passively chose to become an amnesiac back then, I must have prepared. Indeed, becoming an amnesiac is equivalent to the death of my former self, but isn't there a saying that true death is not dying but being forgotten? Letting others help preserve memories, such childish methods, I couldn't possibly not consider."

This was also why Luo Xi wanted to find people who 'knew' him.

Because from the mouths of these old acquaintances, he could piece together his former self from these fragments of memory.

Luo Xi entered the teaching building. He could freely move around the first floor, including entering any classroom.

But going to the second floor was not allowed.

Because all the stairwells had signs indicating that entry was prohibited, and were blocked by simple retractable wooden barriers.

However, this kind of obstruction certainly couldn't stop someone who really wanted to go up.

Luo Xi quickly found a breakthrough and went up to the second floor of the teaching building without anyone noticing.

It was much quieter here.

All the activities were taking place on the first floor and the playground outside. On the second floor, there was a kind of silence amidst the noise.

Luo Xi carefully observed and then found the teachers' office.

He first looked at the classroom directory on the wall, which had photos and information of all the teachers in this office.

"Is he even a teacher at this school?" Luo Xi frowned at this point.

He also found something else here.

A roster.

But it was for the students.

Luo Xi's heart stirred, and he immediately picked it up and flipped through it. There were many books, and Luo Xi flipped through them one by one, finding Wang Shuting inside.

But he finally found another classmate he knew.

Yang Minghao, who was also at Piggy Elementary School.

The starving ghost in charge of 'making mooncakes'.

However, the name Yang Minghao on the roster was marked as 'died accidentally'.

Dead?

"Wait a minute!" Luo Xi suddenly realized something, because he not only encountered Yang Minghao, who had turned into a starving ghost, in the mooncake-making project, but also encountered Yang Minghao in his normal state during the fire escape.

This kind of situation shouldn't be common, right?

Is Liang Yunshi, the scene manager, treating her employees like this?

That's too exploitative, especially since he's just a child.

Luo Xi didn't understand it at the time, but now he seemed to understand something.

"Because he's dead." Luo Xi suddenly smiled.

He now knew why the employees in Piggy Elementary School looked so strange.

Either they were half-corpses, or starving ghosts, or they looked like they had been burned to death.

In short, none of them were normal.

"They are all dead people, or rather, they died before the Day of Imprisonment was born, so dead people have no human rights and can be exploited at will?" Luo Xi felt that he had discovered an extraordinary secret.

Because before this, he hadn't heard any Memory Retrievers mention the existence of 'dead people', because death in the Day of Imprisonment had already been replaced by entering the next loop day or amnesia.

This made people forget what true death was.

"What the hell is the Day of Imprisonment? If they died a long time ago, why can they still become like that?" Luo Xi's expression was solemn.

The feeling of the paper in his hand was so real, the smell in the office was mixed with the scent of books, and outside the open window was the noise of children.

But all of this was fake.

"The mannequin in charge of the fire escape briefly regained his memory under my guidance, but when Teacher Liang came, she suppressed him and seemed to have re-brainwashed the mannequin." Luo Xi suddenly realized that the difficulty of rescuing Teacher Han might be much greater than he thought.

Even if he successfully found Teacher Han's contract, according to Luo Xi's understanding of Liang Yunshi, she would definitely notice and interfere.

Just then, Luo Xi heard footsteps behind him.

The sound of high heels.

Da da da, a person flashed and appeared at the door.

It was Teacher Liang.

At this moment, her exquisite and almost perfect face revealed a chill and terror that made one's bones shiver.

"Sir, why are you here?"

Her voice also carried a kind of coldness.

Although she was a woman, a beautiful, weak woman, Luo Xi was 100% sure that if she were to attack, he would definitely not be her opponent.

He might not even be able to block a single move.

Administrators possessed far greater fighting power than ordinary people, which Luo Xi had long known from Old Wang.

Before Luo Xi could speak, Liang Yunshi seemed to recognize him. She paused, then said, “It’s you. No wonder you looked so familiar. You’re really annoying. Why can’t you just follow the rules? Do you even know that you’ve already broken the rules of this scenario?”

As she said this, Luo Xi was certain she was about to attack.

Clearly, his actions of running here and looking through the roster had angered this young and beautiful female teacher.

She moved.

Like a terrifying beast.

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Luo Xi’s reaction was also very fast. He raised a card he had been holding in his hand and activated it.

Buzz!

After a strange sound, Liang Yunshi stopped in surprise, her eyes fixed on the sword pressed against her chest.

This sword had appeared out of nowhere, like a phantom, seeming unreal. Moreover, chains were wrapped around the hilt, and now, those chains had bound her completely. This was why she had been forced to stop.

“How could this be…” Liang Yunshi looked very confused.

She didn’t know what this card was, nor did she know what was going on with the sword, but she could feel a terrifying power, a power that could easily kill her.

This was the source of her fear.

“You don’t seem to recognize this card!” Luo Xi’s voice rang out.

Just now, if he had been a little slower, he wouldn’t have even had the chance to use the card and would have died at Liang Yunshi’s hands.

According to the rule that administrators can’t kill Reminiscent Ones at will, this meant that he had indeed broken a rule, so she was allowed to attack.

But conversely, Liang Yunshi’s haste, and her attempt to kill him immediately, could only mean one thing.

He might have stumbled upon a secret she absolutely couldn’t let anyone know.

Of course, he might not even be aware of this, but she was, and she had rushed over at the first opportunity.

“Teacher Liang, don’t move recklessly, because if you do, this sword will really kill you!” Luo Xi said, his eyes scanning the rest of the room.

“I guess you were able to find me here because you sensed the suicide bug on me. This might be one of your abilities, but I’d rather believe it’s a scenario mechanism. Otherwise, wouldn’t you be too powerful, able to plant bugs on people just by looking at them?”

“Moreover, the suicide bug can only be activated after a Reminiscent One fails in a scenario game. Otherwise, you could have just activated the suicide bug directly. Although killing me might be no different to you than stepping on a rat, it would splatter blood on you, and you’d have to change clothes. How troublesome…”

Luo Xi didn’t seem to be afraid of offending an administrator.

If he were afraid of administrators, he wouldn’t have used the [Kurapika’s Chain Jail] without hesitation.

The card description stated it was targeted at anyone present, which naturally included administrators.

“Actually, this card of mine is very precious. It’s a waste to use it on you, but I can’t blame myself. I blame you for being so aggressive!” Luo Xi smiled.

Clearly, he was trying to provoke her.

People are most easily exploited when they lose control of their emotions.

[Kurapika’s Chain Jail], this card seals the power of an ancient contract. When you activate this card and announce its activation, you have the right to ask any person present a question. The other party must answer this question directly and clearly, without ambiguity. If the target is judged to be lying or refuses to answer, the illusion of the Chain Jail will appear and kill the target – honesty is a virtue!

Luo Xi had been observing Liang Yunshi all along.

She displayed the expected state: surprise, anger mixed with fear, and that undisguised desire for revenge.

Luo Xi didn’t like that look.

“I have to kill her!”

Luo Xi made a decision in his heart.

Originally, his plan was to ask a key question, such as how to restore Teacher Han to freedom.

However, such a question would completely waste the value of this rare card.

Luo Xi hoped to replicate the success of ‘Sega Apartments,’ which was to kill the scenario administrator.

Perhaps, Piggy Elementary School would also be abandoned due to the administrator’s death.

If that were the case, it would be great.

“Luo Xi, you’ve gotten yourself into big trouble. You should know the consequences of attacking an administrator?” The murderous intent in Liang Yunshi’s eyes was barely concealed.

“Teacher Liang, you might not be clear about the effect of this card, and the function of that sword. Let me explain it to you.” Luo Xi pointed to the sword and chains that seemed to exist and yet seemed non-existent. “When I use this card, I can designate any target present, which can be anyone, including an administrator.”

“Next, I will ask you a question. If you know the answer, you must answer it. Silence is considered refusal, and whether you refuse to answer or lie, it’s a violation, and that sword will immediately pierce your heart. You will die. I heard that administrators are different from Reminiscent Ones. You don’t seem to rely on [Memories] to preserve memories…”

Luo Xi observed the other party’s reaction.

When faced with some key questions, no matter how much a person tries to hide, they will reveal some flaws and show their inner thoughts.

Some people also plan to deliberately make some redundant actions to confuse or mislead.

“You’re bluffing!” Liang Yunshi sneered.

“No, I’m not.” Luo Xi said expressionlessly, “You should also be able to feel the power on that sword, so you can only act like someone with a gun pointed at their head, with your tail between your legs.”

“Why don’t you come over and try, see if I can kill you.” Liang Yunshi’s expression and tone were provocative.

Luo Xi shook his head. “I’m just asking you a question. However, I want to state in advance that I’ve actually seen a copy of your administrator contract…”

“…” Liang Yunshi immediately sensed something was wrong.

“Of course, I know that not all of you administrators are the same. After all, some scenarios are large, some are small, some have no employees, and some, like yours, have many employees working for you, and you only need to stand at the school gate and identify who is a Reminiscent One.” Luo Xi smiled, as if chatting with a good friend.

At this moment, Liang Yunshi’s face became extremely ugly. Although she was trying hard to hide it, she wasn’t a good actress. Moreover, even the best actors couldn’t completely hide their performance.

And Luo Xi was a master at observing micro-expressions, movements, and eyes.

“Heh, you couldn’t possibly have had the chance to see the contract.” Liang Yunshi couldn’t help but say.

“Teacher Liang, so you mean that if I did see the contract, there are indeed clauses on it that would make you afraid. So, you’re actually afraid…” At this moment, Luo Xi wiped the smile off his face.

In fact, he didn’t want to smile.

He didn’t like to smile in the first place. Smiles were just a means of paralyzing others, or one of the many expressions used for communication.

“Then, Teacher Liang, please answer my question formally.” Luo Xi’s expression was very serious.

“Wait, Luo Xi, wait…” Liang Yunshi said anxiously, her face pale, trying to stop him.

But Luo Xi’s question had already been asked.

“…Please answer me, in the company structure, who is your superior?”

‘Formally answer my question’ was the keyword to trigger the card’s power, which meant that if she knew the answer to the next question, she had to answer it. Refusal or lying would result in death.

But Luo Xi also knew that in the administrator contract, there were clauses about ‘strictly prohibiting the disclosure of the company structure and superiors to Reminiscent Ones.’

Violation would include, but not be limited to, being annihilated!

So sometimes, Luo Xi felt that a good company should have a strict reward and punishment system.

It was just that Luo Xi was worried that the administrator’s contract might be of a different type, and it would be troublesome if Liang Yunshi’s contract didn’t have this clause.

Fortunately, the previous test had worked.

This allowed Luo Xi to confirm that there was such a clause.

Then, at the moment he asked this question, Teacher Liang was already finished.