Chapter Forty-Three: The Competition Ends

Fang Nian gazed at his own face on the computer screen and gave a helpless smile.

"That's right, this person is not an external teacher at all—he was me in disguise, and my purpose was to trick him into confessing his crime. This proves that what you see is not always the truth, so before you speak, you must be careful and prudent."

With that, Fang Nian opened a piece of software on his computer—a live streaming app. The viewer count exceeded ten million, and the screen was awash with countless scrolling messages.

"Damn, so the murderer is this teacher? Is he mentally unstable, making so many students play along with him? What trash, scum, he's not human."

"He's the real murderer who killed the female student. That bastard deserves to die, may he rot in the lowest hell."

"Go die, you scum, you don't deserve to be a teacher, no one will mourn you."

...

Vicious curses surged forth, endless malice pouring in like a raging river. Everyone was shocked; faced with the overwhelming abuse in front of the camera, they finally began to understand what Xia Ye felt—her despair.

At this moment, Xiao Yin suddenly stepped forward, tears streaming down her face. She knelt before the camera, shouting loudly.

"Stop cursing! Teacher Fang isn't the killer, neither is the external teacher. Xia Ye really committed suicide; she jumped herself, and I was right there in front of her."

Sobbing uncontrollably, Xiao Yin recounted the moment Xia Ye jumped from the building on the live stream. That day, Xia Ye had invited her to the rooftop, pouring out all her sorrows. Xiao Yin thought she just wanted to vent, but after finishing her last sentence, Xia Ye suddenly stood up and leaped.

Xiao Yin cried so hard she could hardly breathe, but the malice on the scrolling messages did not stop.

"So that's it? Then you're the killer. She trusted you as a friend in her final moments, yet what did you do?"

"Exactly, with friends like you, how pitiful. Poor Xia Ye."

"The most poisonous is a woman's heart. You say it was like that, but who knows if you pushed her? Vicious wretch."

...

Facing the abuse, Xiao Yin was on the verge of collapse. Just then, all the students of Class Three, Grade Twelve gathered around, shielding Xiao Yin, comforting her, and confronting the millions of netizens through the camera, fighting back with all their strength.

Fang Nian was moved; it seemed they truly had changed.

After a moment, Fang Nian calmed the students and walked to the camera himself, his cold eyes flashing with icy resolve.

"Don't you understand yet? The ones who killed Xia Ye, who destroyed countless innocent lives, are you keyboard warriors. Hiding behind your screens, unleashing endless malice upon others—you're the real scum."

"From the bus kidnapping onward, in just one week, you've switched sides countless times. From abusing Xia Ye to punishing her so-called killer, you’ve always been led by falsehoods. How many people have you attacked? How many hateful comments have you posted? You didn’t know the truth, yet you judged and guided the crowd toward darkness."

Fang Nian’s words were sharp, but the netizens were unmoved, counterattacking even more fiercely.

"What do you know? It was all your scheming. You're the scum, the coward."

"Trash, so you were tricking us all along. Disgusting—you should die."

"If you can't handle criticism, stay offline. If you don't go online, you won't see these messages."

...

The malice on the screen persisted, but Fang Nian’s tone shifted from strength to pleading, two lines of tears aging his face in an instant.

"I've conveyed everything I wanted to say. I don’t know how much of it will reach you. Many will keep acting as they wish, spreading malice—but even if one person changes, it will be worth it."

He finished, pulled the circuit breaker, and everything fell silent.

...

On the exhibition center's three-dimensional projection, the theme hunting ground of "Class Three, Grade Twelve" was plunged into darkness the moment Fang Nian cut the power. Then the word "END" appeared, signaling the conclusion. No one expected the hunt would end so peacefully—the audience, used to violence and chaos, found it hard to adjust.

However, when the completion rate appeared, the whole venue was stunned once again—it was 0%. Only then did the spectators realize: the way to clear the "Class Three, Grade Twelve" hunting ground was not to escape the kidnapping, nor to gain anything, but to resist being changed by the teacher.

Yet none had succeeded. All twenty-eight students of Class Three, Grade Twelve, under the teacher’s guidance, let go of their malice and embraced the light, rediscovering their kindness.

At that moment, a thunderous applause erupted in the exhibition center, carrying the voices of tens of thousands. The audience’s recognition wasn’t for the unusual method of completion, but for the power that "Class Three, Grade Twelve" sought to convey to the viewers—and to the entire broken world.

That pure kindness, untainted by malice, was precisely what this survival-of-the-fittest world lacked.

Soon, the jury issued the final score for "Class Three, Grade Twelve": 95 points, E+. Staring at the astonishing result, the Summer Hunting Ground camp burst into wild cheers and shouts.

They had waited far too long for this day. Since the death of Xia Moyan’s mother, the Summer Hunting Ground had hovered on the edge of the elite families. But now, they were back—they had reclaimed their place.

Summer Junyi’s face was twisted with joy, excitement lighting up at the flood of congratulations from all directions.

Yet Xia Moyan showed no trace of happiness. It wasn’t dissatisfaction with the day’s result, but rather the hunt itself had left her deeply surprised.

She had crafted this theme herself, hoping to spread positive energy, to create a hunting ground that made people forget the brutality of the hunt.

But in practice, she faced countless challenges. How could hunters forget their identity as hunters and fully immerse themselves in their roles? How could she control the hunting ground’s direction without entering it herself? How could Teacher Fang, as an NPC, fully display his charm?

These were all problems she had not solved before the hunt began. Yet now it seemed each was perfectly resolved, and the effect was extraordinary. Such a novel hunting ground would surely cause a sensation in District 16, perhaps even draw the attention of its core.

No matter how she speculated, Xia Moyan couldn’t find a satisfactory answer. Just as she was about to give up, Fang Nian suddenly appeared beside her.

"So, did we win?"

Xia Moyan looked at Fang Nian with suspicion, startled by what she saw. His complexion was pale, sweat beaded on his forehead like pearls—he looked like someone newly recovered from a serious illness.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Fang Nian smiled and waved his hand.

"I'm fine. But the award ceremony—you’ll have to attend."

Xia Moyan felt a strange sense of emotion. Her keen mind sensed something, but she didn’t press the matter, replying softly,

"Alright. You should rest."