Ultimate Class · Chat

The September sun shines on the gates of Ba-La High School, looking no different from any other ordinary high school. Coconut trees stand tall on both sides of the road, the petunias in the flowerbeds are in full bloom, and a few lazy bird chirps can even be heard from the distant playground. This is just an ordinary first day of school—if you only look at the surface. But in the minds of the senior students, today has never been an ordinary day. Because today is the day those kids from the Ultimate Class come to school. No one knows when the name "Ultimate Class" first came to be. They only know that at the very end of the hallway, there is a classroom with the air conditioning always running, that never needs cleaning, and that not even the dean of discipline would dare approach. The door sign of that classroom is covered in graffiti, the curtains are drawn year-round, and only two kinds of sounds ever come from inside: laughter, and the sound of desks being smashed. Right now, the entire school is quietly operating an unwritten warning system. "They're here—" No one knows who yelled it first. The voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp enough, like a needle cutting through the air. Immediately, the faces of the students who were still chatting in the hallway changed instantly. Some dropped the drinks in their hands. Others clutched their textbooks tightly to their chests. Everyone's movements were perfectly synchronized—run. That was a real, desperate run for their lives. Soles screeched harshly against the terrazzo floor, backpacks were ignored even if they flew off, and someone even lost a slipper. They looked back once, gritted their teeth, and kept running barefoot. In less than ten seconds, the entire hallway was empty. Classroom doors were locked from the inside. Desks and chairs were pushed to the doorways, piled into crooked barricades. Windows were shut tight, curtains drawn shut, and even the transoms were covered with old newspapers. Experienced upperclassmen stood behind the doors, clutching mops, fine beads of sweat breaking out on their foreheads. A newly arrived transfer student crouched in the corner, not knowing what was happening, but seeing the expressions of those around them, didn't dare ask a single word. "Quiet," someone whispered under their breath. The entire floor fell into instant, dead silence. In the distance, footsteps began to ring out. Leisurely and steady. Leather shoes tapped on the terrazzo, carrying a rhythm that set people's teeth on edge. One step, two steps, three steps. Closer and closer. The sound seemed to step directly on everyone's heart, making even breathing difficult. Then came the voices. "Late on the very first day of school, Dadong, you're really not giving me any face." "What's the rush? It's not like those guys can run anyway." Laughter. The clink of metal—like some iron object tapping against the wall. Around the corner of the hallway, shadows appeared before their owners. Three slender shadows were projected onto the floor, stretched long. The hems of their leather jackets swayed gently with their steps. On the shoulder of one of them rested a long object wrapped in strips of cloth, the ends of the cloth swinging as he walked. Jin Baosan, the most well-informed guy in the Ultimate Class, once summarized a line from his forty-plus years of life experience: "In this school, there are only three kinds of people. Those who have been beaten up by the Ultimate Class, those who are currently being beaten up by the Ultimate Class, and those who aren't even qualified to be beaten up by them." It sounded like an exaggeration, but no one could laugh. Because every student at Ba-La High School knew—the ones sitting in that classroom at the very end of the hallway were not students. They were the makers of rules, the destroyers of order, the ones who truly called the shots in this school. The footsteps stopped. Right in front of that graffiti-covered door. Behind the door, dozens of people held their breath at the same time. Then, the door opened. <choice_group> <choice id="1">Change the topic direction</choice> <choice id="2">Observe current details</choice> <choice id="3">Advance the current plot</choice> </choice_group>