The people who had been running from the direction of the experimental building had already entered the stairwell. It seemed like they had sensed something, because they were heading straight for the top-floor bathroom without stopping anywhere along the way.
"Move! Now!"
"Teacher Bai, why did you stop?"
"You guys keep watch on the third-floor stairwell entrance. I'll stand here on the fourth floor and make sure they've all gone up before we head down." Chen Ge was extremely bold — he stepped right out to the side of the corridor and used his Yin Cowl to peer across the long hallway into the bathroom.
"But..."
"Do as I say." Chen Ge stayed alone at the fourth-floor landing on the right side, his gaze fixed on the left stairwell.
After roughly ten seconds, he clearly heard footsteps echoing up from the left stairwell below. Then several figures dressed in white appeared on the fourth floor.
"What a strange outfit? All white? Even their shoes are white?"
Three of them had come upstairs. In addition to being dressed entirely in white, they shared another unsettling trait — every one of them had scars on their face.
Not just one or two marks, but extensive burn scarring covering most of their faces, like Zhang Ju. The sight was more than a little disturbing.
"These are the school's administrators?" Chen Ge watched them enter the bathroom, then led the other students downstairs, slipping past them without a trace.
"Teacher, where are we going next?"
"We need to find a way to the east campus." Chen Ge's voice was clipped and urgent. Those white-clad figures had put enormous pressure on him.
"Seriously, why are you guys acting so nervous? It's like we're doing something shady."
"You still think that if we get caught, all we'll face is a scolding from the school?" Chen Ge stared into Zhou Tu's eyes. The boy's gaze darted away; he couldn't meet Chen Ge's stare.
"You'll understand once we reach the east campus." Chen Ge led the students around the teaching buildings, taking a quiet side path that brought them gradually closer to the sports equipment room beside the main building.
"Teacher, weren't we heading to the east campus? What are we doing at the sports equipment room?"
"Looking for tools. Wang Yicheng, Zhou Tu — you two stay outside and keep watch. The rest of you, come inside with me and search. Grab anything you can find that looks like rope." Chen Ge pried open the equipment room door and found a large number of jump ropes.
"Teacher! Those people seem to be heading this way!" Zhou Tu's voice came from outside the gate. He had spotted several white silhouettes emerging from the teaching building and moving straight toward their position.