Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Mr. Luo’s Heart, School-wide Lockdown, No Escape

The next day at noon.

As if sensing that time was running out, Luo Huan took Yun Zhenyue on a leisurely stroll around campus.

The two of them ambled through the campus, from the academic building to the athletic field, from the cafeteria to the dorms...

Their footprints covered the entirety of Chilling Middle School.

Luo Huan walked slowly, her gaze distant as if she were recalling bits and pieces of the past.

The atmosphere between them was quiet and serene.

Most of the time, Luo Huan did the talking while Yun Zhenyue listened attentively, only murmuring a few words now and then.

Yun Zhenyue watched Luo Huan’s fingers brush over the rust on the athletic field’s fence. She also noticed a commendation for the star student, Du’er, in the corner of the bulletin board, though the notice itself had been faded by the wind and rain.

Luo Huan led Yun Zhenyue to a corner of the school. Pointing at an abandoned wall, she said with a smile, "See that drawing on the wall? I did that. What do you think? Not too bad, right?"

Yun Zhenyue’s gaze fixed on it.

She saw a large hole smashed in the middle of the wall, and the mottled surface was covered in graffiti.

In the upper right, there was a drawing of a middle-aged man in black clothes.

Due to the artist’s lack of skill, the distorted lines made his expression seem extremely exaggerated. He was grinning from ear to ear, showing a mouthful of white teeth.

Later, seemingly to vent frustration,

an ugly little turtle had been added to his forehead in retaliation.

That little turtle was clearly a later addition; its colors were still vibrant.

But no matter how you looked at it,

the artist clearly had deep feelings for this man.

In the drawing, he appeared confident and gentle.

It seemed a far cry from the crazed Mr. Luo of legend.

"You drew Mr. Luo?" Yun Zhenyue guessed.

During her days at the school, she had already heard plenty about Mr. Luo.

Any abnormal who heard his name couldn’t help but show fear in their eyes.

Although she didn’t know why Luo Huan wanted to escape from Mr. Luo,

the drawing before her still made Yun Zhenyue feel puzzled.

’Their father-daughter relationship must have been quite good in the past.’

"Yep~"

Luo Huan stretched lazily and squatted down by the wall. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright, and she wasn’t her usual boisterous self. She just stared at the drawing, lost in thought.

"Back then, I loved climbing over the wall to skip class and go have fun outside. Dad would send people everywhere to find me."

"When I couldn’t get out, I liked to doodle on this wall. All the drawings on it are mine."

"Later, after Dad found out, he was afraid I’d get hurt climbing the wall, so he secretly had someone smash it, leaving a hole for people to get in and out."

’Mr. Luo had people smash this hole?’

Yun Zhenyue was stunned.

’Isn’t that a sign of a great relationship?’

The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

’Could it be that something happened after that?’

’Something that made Luo Huan determined to escape Mr. Luo’s control, and drove him mad in the process?’

’Does it have something to do with Luo Huan’s mother?’

DRING DRING DRING~

Before Yun Zhenyue could sort out her thoughts,

the school bell rang.

Luo Huan gently closed her eyes.

It seemed even the DRING DRING DRING of the bell filled her with a deep sense of nostalgia. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Yun Zhenyue didn’t disturb her, waiting quietly for Luo Huan.

A minute later,

Luo Huan finally opened her eyes and said with a small smile, "Let’s go. It’s time for class."

With that, she waved her hand.

She sent the panda doll that had been following them back as well.

Ever since the panda doll realized it had done something wrong, it had been filled with regret, constantly trailing behind them to protect them.

...

First period in the afternoon.

It was the abnormal head teacher’s history class.

Yun Zhenyue had just opened her book

when she suddenly noticed something was wrong with Lily, who was lying beside her.

Lily seemed to have sensed a threat, and all the white fur on her body stood on end!

She could feel Lily’s wariness and unease.

’Is... Mr. Luo here?’

Yun Zhenyue was already prepared.

She had secretly called Gu Yuan the night before to tell him what was happening.

Gu Yuan hadn’t said much, just told her to go ahead with her plan and not to worry.

This filled Yun Zhenyue with confidence.

’I have to help Luo Huan solve this!’

In that instant!

RUMBLE~

The entire academic building began to shake violently. The ground trembled, and dilapidated windowpanes were rattled from their frames, crashing to the ground with a series of THUDS. All the abnormals on campus panicked.

"An earthquake?"

"What’s happening? I have a bad feeling about this."

"What is that—"

Just as all the abnormals were rushing downstairs,

they saw an unbelievable sight!

The entire boundary of Chilling Middle School was enveloped by a gigantic, blood-red barrier of light!

No one could escape from this barrier!

In other words,

they were all trapped inside the school to die!

And the abnormal dean of teaching, who should have been handling this emergency, was instead bowing respectfully.

Before him

stood an old man in ragged clothes, who appeared to be utterly mad.

His graying hair was like withered grass, and his eyes, though cloudy, held an invisible authority and a frenzied gleam.

All the school staff stared at the old man in shock.

This was none other than Principal Luo Chengfu, who had been missing for a long time!

Why had he suddenly returned?

Could it be that he’d found his daughter?

"We respectfully welcome the principal’s return to lead the school!"

Upon hearing the shout from the abnormal dean of teaching,

the entire staff, with no time to think, also bowed to welcome Mr. Luo!

But Mr. Luo’s eyes paid them no mind.

He just stared blankly at the academic building,

clutching a yellowed old photograph in his hand.

Half a day earlier, while searching for his daughter in the outside world, he had inadvertently sensed her presence. The direction was Chilling Middle School. He had dropped everything and rushed back like a madman.

He had then immediately sealed the entire school to prevent his daughter from disappearing again.

That was an outcome he could not bear!

"—Huan’Er, my Huan’Er!"

"Are you in the school? Come out and let your papa see you!"

At that moment, Mr. Luo called out to the academic building, turbid tears rolling from the corners of his eyes. His deeply lined cheeks spoke of the hardships he had endured, and his white hair trembled in the wind.

To find his daughter,

he hadn’t hesitated to clash with other factions over the years.

But as long as he could find his daughter, it was all worth it!

In this moment,

he was no longer a principal.

He was just a father who had finally found a glimmer of hope,

and he couldn’t bear to let that last hope fade away.

But after a long wait,

he didn’t hear his daughter’s familiar voice.

Nor did he see her emerge from anywhere.

Even now, she still refused to see him?

"Huan’Er..."

"Papa has missed you so much. I’ve always loved you so deeply. Papa has gone nearly mad trying to find you!"

"Why are you hiding from Papa?"

Mr. Luo trembled. He seemed to be thinking of his daughter, the one who haunted his every waking thought. His obsession magnified in this moment, his sorrow and pain on full display.

"Ever since your mother passed away, I’ve only had you..."

"You were always so obedient, always listened to Papa. You never made things difficult for me."

"I just want to see you once. As long as I know you’re safe, Papa can be at ease. Can’t I even see you just once?"

"What will it take for you to come out?"

"—Do you need Papa to rip his heart out and show it to you?"

...

Meanwhile, inside the academic building, Yun Zhenyue looked at the pale-faced Luo Huan.

The principal’s words echoed throughout the school.

But upon hearing them, Luo Huan merely crouched in a corner, hugging her legs tightly.

She was terrified.

No matter what the principal said, she refused to go out and see him.

"Luo Huan..."

Yun Zhenyue’s heart was heavy. She had more or less pieced together the sequence of events.

Luo Huan’s story wasn’t actually that complicated.

At first, Luo Huan and her father, Mr. Luo, had a close and harmonious relationship.

But after Luo Huan’s mother died, Mr. Luo’s personality changed drastically.

Combined with what Luo Huan had said before about being constantly punished by her father, and Mr. Luo’s current mad, controlling cries, it seemed he had poured all his love onto Luo Huan.

But that love was a heavy one.

A shackle that bound her.

For a child with a naturally lively spirit,

especially someone with Luo Huan’s outgoing and carefree personality,

she couldn’t stand her father’s almost perverse control and thus wanted to escape.

Now, Luo Huan bit her lip, resentment flaring in her eyes. "He talks about Mom dying... wasn’t he the one who drove her to her death?"

"If he hadn’t been so obsessed with his achievements, Mom wouldn’t have worked overtime every day in her office, grading papers and preparing lessons, until she finally died from exhaustion!"

’So that’s how it was?’

This had happened while they were both alive.

Even after becoming an abnormal, Luo Huan still couldn’t forgive Mr. Luo.

Hearing this, Yun Zhenyue’s heart grew even heavier.

And just then!

She suddenly heard gasps of alarm from all the abnormals across the school!

She turned her head to look out the window!

"BOOM!!!"

A gigantic, blood-red mass of flesh was falling from the sky!

It was falling incredibly fast!

It looked like it would destroy all of Chilling Middle School in just three minutes!

And when Yun Zhenyue saw the fleshy mass clearly, her mind went blank!

It was actually a giant heart?

Mr. Luo’s heart...

It was really falling.