Song Shi initially thought that turning off the lights would signal her desire to avoid visitors, but unexpectedly, the person outside was determined not to leave without seeing her.
She pushed the chair back and stood up, pulling a hair tie from the bundle on the table to gather her damp hair into a ponytail.
She flicked the light switch on the wall and moved toward the door handle.
"Newcomer, don't you know the rules? It's your first day and you haven't even greeted our sister before you sleep?" The shout, accompanied by a thudding sound of a kick on the door, drowned out the sound of Song Shi's footsteps.
Song Shi twisted the door lock open, and as she swung the door open, the girl who had kicked it did not retract her foot in time, her face showing a look of shock. With a scream, she lunged at Song Shi.
Song Shi sidestepped smoothly, her cold gaze following the girl as she crashed to the floor.
The room was cramped, with the chair positioned right by the door. In her panic, the girl pushed it forward, and the scraping noise of the chair against the floor was grating.
The girl yelped as she climbed back to her feet, rubbing her knees and elbows, limping back to stand behind her "sister."
The so-called "sister" stood right in front of the door.
Song Shi looked up, recognizing the blue-and-white school uniform provided by the school. The girl had shoulder-length light brown curly hair, slightly faded with black roots growing out, arms crossed, her right hand holding a burning cigarette between her fingers.
She sauntered into the room, ignoring Song Shi, and surveyed the newly tidied space, her gaze stopping on a pile of red boxed milk on the table.
The girl who had fallen earlier also noticed and, disregarding the pain in her leg, squeezed back in, picking up one of the boxes to inspect it. "This milk is expensive! It's from the Everlife Group, the brand made for awakened individuals! I heard it boosts mental strength!"
"This kind of milk can strengthen the body for ordinary people too. I've never tried it before." As she spoke, the girl opened a straw and, without asking Song Shi's permission, stuffed it into her mouth.
A flash of irritation crossed Song Shi's eyes. She stepped forward, snatched the straw from her mouth, yanked it out, and threw it on the ground, crushing it underfoot.
The girl, ready to drink, was momentarily stunned when she found her hands empty. Looking down, she saw the milk had already been returned to its original place.
Feeling insulted, she glared, trembling with anger. "What's your problem? It's just a drink! This is our turf!"
The walls of the dormitory were not soundproof, and her loud voice quickly reverberated throughout the entire building. The surrounding onlookers crowded the doorway.
The "sister" in front of her lifted her yellowed finger at the perfect moment.
Seeing this, the girl immediately fell silent, then arrogantly lifted her chin at Song Shi. "Let's see how my sister handles you!"
"Are you Song Shi?"
Song Shi raised her eyes.
The girl knew her name.
Had they been sent by Wei Yuyu's mother?
After the girl spoke her name, whispers began to ripple from outside the door.
"Offending... city security... reward... photo..."
Song Shi barely caught a few fragments of the conversation.
Her fingers tightened on the door handle. How many people had Wei Yuyu's mother briefed on this matter, and why did it seem like everyone knew?
A cautious expression clouded her face as she tensed, sensing danger.
The curly-haired girl chuckled, exhaling a plume of smoke from her nostrils.
"Get a good night's sleep tonight."
With that, she turned and walked away.
The girl who had fallen, equally surprised, hastily shoved through the crowd to follow. "Why—" she started, but was silenced by a fierce glare from the other girl. She immediately shut her mouth and shrank back, following her superior.
Inside the room, the stifling smell of smoke lingered, while the crowd outside dispersed, each person returning to their dorms. Song Shi locked the door and sat in the chair for a moment.
They had come to confirm something.
To confirm whether this newcomer was truly Song Shi.
They were the advance party; the main group was still to come.
"Get a good night's sleep tonight," the words echoed in her mind as she turned off the light and climbed into bed.
---
7:00 AM.
The whistle blew from downstairs, cutting through the morning fog and intruding upon the ears of the still-sleeping. The sharp sound prompted a few curses.
Song Shi emerged from the bathroom, droplets of water still clinging to her face. She took the uniform from the hanger, changed into it, and tied her hair into a ponytail.
Breakfast was distributed: two eggs and a carton of milk.
After breakfast came moral education class.
Song Shi sat at her desk, staring at the thick moral education book before her, which was as heavy as two stacked bricks.
For some reason, she thought about how much damage this book would cause if struck against her head.
She spent the whole morning in a daze.
It was only then she realized.
Moral education was a mandatory course at all correctional schools.
This free school was a multi-purpose facility: it housed orphans, social misfits seeking "credentials," troublemakers from other schools, and detained minors.
The red banner on the classroom wall boldly proclaimed: Even as society's castaways, do not let this school become the prison that traps you.
Since it was a slogan, it indicated a discrepancy with reality.
Song Shi glanced at it once and quickly concluded: A prison for society's castaways.
Faced with these individuals, the Federation did not expect them to learn anything useful to contribute to its development. It simply hoped to curb their moral behavior so that they wouldn't harm society once they were released.
No wonder when Li Bingwen spoke of the school's achievements, he mentioned how it had reduced the crime rate in the area.
Song Shi admitted she had misjudged him.
The supervisors lectured throughout the morning. When one grew tired, another took over.
The supervisors were the rulers of this school.
There were no teachers in a correctional school, only supervisors.
---
12:00 PM.
Classes ended on time.
Everyone lined up orderly to enter the cafeteria under the supervision of the supervisors.
The cafeteria was enormous, able to accommodate over a thousand people dining simultaneously.
With so many people, conflicts were bound to arise.
At intervals along the walls stood supervisors holding equipment.
Even among the neatly arranged dining tables, supervisors were patrolling.
Song Shi joined the queue, collected her meal, and searched for a seat.
More than half the cafeteria was occupied, and nearly all the tables had someone sitting at them. She found a table with two empty spots and placed her tray down.
As she was about to sit, the other six people at the eight-person table abruptly stood and scattered, moving to different tables with empty seats to avoid sitting near her.
Song Shi was not surprised. She remained calm and continued to sit and eat.
The food was unappetizing, a mixture of unknown vegetables that had a grayish, off-putting color.
Song Shi took a spoonful, and the taste was just as unappealing as its appearance. She fought the urge to spit it out, closing her eyes and forcing herself to swallow.
This was the only way for her to maintain her energy.
For the next few months, she would have to eat this every day.
"Hey, new here? It's normal not to be able to eat this food."
A boy, about her age, sat down across from her and placed his tray on the table.
At the same time, the once-empty eight-person table was now filled, and the only vacant seat was the one beside her.
Song Shi immediately became alert.
"Call me Tong Ge. We'll be seeing each other often," the boy said, seemingly with enthusiasm.
Song Shi didn't relax for a moment and sped up her eating.
"Eh? You seem to really like this food," the boy said, feigning surprise. "Then you can have mine too."
Without hesitation, he dumped all his food into her tray.
Even the plate went in.
"Oops, sorry, my hand slipped."
He nodded to his lackey, who immediately reached over to scoop the food.
His fingers came into direct contact with the food, but the lackey seemed oblivious.
The plate was retrieved, the food was now mixed together, and it looked even less like food.
Because of the boy's rough handling, some food splattered outside the tray and even onto Song Shi's arm.
It was summer, and Song Shi wore a short-sleeve shirt. She quickly pulled her arm back and wiped the food off.
"Eat up, this is from Tong Ge's heart."
The lackey nudged her shoulder, urging her to eat, as food splattered on her again.
Song Shi scowled in disgust, but the boy didn't seem to notice. He reached out again to push her, but Song Shi raised her gaze, gripping her spoon tightly.
"Hey, Xiaogeng, stop being so touchy-feely!" Tong Ge stretched out his hand to stop him, then looked at Song Shi. "Xiao Song, eat up."
Song Shi remained still, her eyes scanning the supervisors who were supposed to be maintaining order in the cafeteria.
The few supervisors who had been patrolling their area had now disappeared into other sections, avoiding their zone and even steering their gazes away.
Song Shi knew what was happening.
The man known as Tong Ge on the opposite side spoke again, "Xiao Song, can't finish your meal? Let me bring someone of your kind to demonstrate."
"Of my kind?" Song Shi furrowed her brow.
A slender young man was dragged over by the arm and seated in the empty spot next to her.
Song Shi turned her head to look, momentarily stunned by his appearance.
"A high-probability diverger from the Peacock system, just like Xiao Song," he said, pushing Song Shi's plate in front of the young man beside her. Wiping the insincere smile from his face, he issued a direct command, "Chen Suqin, eat it."
Under his watchful gaze, the boy trembled as he took the spoon from the table, not daring to resist, and spooned the food into his mouth.
In that inappropriate moment, a passage from the "Guide" flashed quickly through Song Shi's mind, detailing the characteristics of the Peacock system.
"Soft, docile, timid..."
"Eat your sister!"
Song Shi raised her hand and slapped the spoon away just as it was about to reach the boy's mouth.
(End of chapter)