It was an extremely hot Monday morning. The sun was above head, leaving no place where its rays could not reach. A hot, dust-laden wind blew, making people feel sweaty and uncomfortable.

 

Some Jazz music was being played while the students exercised. The students were arranged in order of their year. From junior 1st year to senior 3rd year. It was the same as any other Morning Assembly they had held before.

 

The principal entered from the side, following behind a few people, one of whom Rong Qing Lin recognized as the Academy director and another as the young entrepreneur that had been often appearing on TV recently, and some men in black, most likely bodyguards.

 

"Psss- Psss, Hey, isn't that Lei Jun?" A pretty brunette, Yu Yan, spoke from the side.

 

"Lei Jun? As in that CEO that has been on the entertainment news lately?" A short-haired teen, Jin Yong, called from the side.

 

"Ohhh- isn't he the one who was photographed with the Movie Empress Fei?" Others joined in the fun.

 

"Hey, aren't those bodyguards?"

 

"Bodyguards? What? Does he think he is the president of the country or something?" Jin Yong spoke in disdain.

 

Exercising could not stop the whispered chatter of the students, as they spoke with gusto despite breathing huffy breaths.

 

Lei Jun and his entourage settled on the chairs and shade provided near the stage, where someone served them cold water. The students secretly stared in envy as he elegantly chugged the whole glass down. Several Adams' apples moved up and down.

 

"I am so thirsty that my throat is as dry as the Sahara desert."

 

"I think I could down a whole bucket."

 

"Bucket?? I could drink a whole tank's worth of water!!!!!" Jin Yong exaggerated.

 

"Oh, will hot water do?" Yu Yan snidely remarks.

 

The director walked up the stage. As the music stopped and the students stood up straight, he began to read his lengthy and tedious speech for a full 10 minutes, thanking this and that, promising this and that, but only a few were listening to him.

 

Rong Qing Lin stood near the front of his line, listening in on others' chats as he daydreamed.

 

'I wonder what Bao Bei and Bao Bao are doing?'

 

He was wearing a baggy white t-shirt and royal blue track pants, but it couldn't hide his tall and slender body and defined muscles. His whole body was exposed to the sun, his pretty face shrouded in the sun's rays, appearing so pale.

 

Suddenly, the director stopped talking.

 

Rong Qing Lin adjusted his posture. His slightly downturned round eyes inspected the stage.

 

Were the director's blabbers finally over?

 

The director tapped on the mix as he spoke to the teacher, who walked to his side.

 

Was there a problem with the mic? 

 

[Ding Dong!]

 

Suddenly, another voice distracted their attention. Everyone reflexively raised their heads.

 

There, hovering in the sky, was an emperor penguin wearing a top hat and a tail suit, holding a cane in his hand…no.....Flippers?

 

[Ding! System loading 1%,2%,3%,4%,.....,55%,56%,.......,98%,99%,100%]

 

[Ding! Player Loading 1%,2%,3%,4%,.....,55%,56%,.......,98%,99%,100%]

 

[Ding! Welcome players to the Immersive Escape Game: Abyss.]

 

A childlike voice rang out of the penguin, with a high, shrill, ringing tone unique to children.

 

[Ding! Number of players…..Calculated....1,524 players…Confirmed.]

 

[Ding! Game location..... Selected…. Maple Leaf Academy Facility…Confirmed.]

 

[Ding! Game time...Allotted.....10 days…Confirmed.]

 

[Ding! Game Rules...Loaded...Eliminate all the players without skill cards...Confirmed.]

 

[Ding! Game victory condition…..Survive until the end of the game and eliminate all non-skill cardholders…Confirmed.]

 

[Ding! Game Penalty…..Immediate annihilation…Confirmed.]

 

[Ding! The first level of the escape game: Natural Selection shall now begin!]

 

There was a dead silence.

 

Someone spoke.

 

"E,e, eliminate…..a, as in kill people!!!"

 

"Why did a penguin suddenly descend from the sky? How can a penguin talk? What does he sound so much like those ghost children in the horror movie I saw last night?" Jin Yong exclaimed in horror.

 

"Is that what's important to you!! Seriously?" Yn Yan gasped in exasperation.

 

"Ah, oh, why is the penguin wearing a tuxedo and a tall hat and why is his cane so cool?!" Jin Yong tried again.

 

"Oh, come on!! And it's a top hat and tail suit" was Yn Yan's frustrated reply.

 

"Are we experiencing supernatural events?"

 

The students began to feel restless.

 

The director angrily spoke with the penguin and raised his hand to grab it by its shoulder.

 

[Ding! Violence against the system is prohibited!]

 

Vvvvvvooooooommp—

 

A cloud of blood burst.

 

Para- Para- Para- Para-

 

Blood sprays in all directions.

 

Like the pitter-patter of light rain.

 

Some bloody things and the director's clothes clatter on the stage.

 

The entire audience had become silent.

 

Blood streamed from the stage to the ground as it winded its way out.

 

"K-Kyyyyyyyaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

 

The students and teachers near the stage had their eyes straight and their faces ashen.

 

Just now, they had seen with their own eyes that the Director was still talking, breathing...living, and then he spontaneously combusted and died in full view.

 

The male teacher nearest to the director was covered in blood. He shakily stepped back and started to retch his lungs out. The teachers barely maintained order.

 

It was so chaotic that, seemingly,  no one realized the source of their utter terror silently disappearing in place.

 

No one, that is, except one.

 

And if there is one, there will be another.

 

And if there is another, there will be many more.

 

One of the teachers checked his mobile phone. "What's going on? Why are there no signals!!"

 

"What?" Several other teachers also took out their mobile phones and tried calling one by one, but none could get through.

 

Beep– Beep–

 

"Hey, what is going on here? Get out of here and go to the police station."