Chapter 3: Clues (Slightly Revised)

The corridor had no lights, but the moonlight was very bright; Lu Ming used a stick to gently close the door.

The piercing sound drew nearer and nearer; the black shadow reflected off the wall, grazing the sign of the 【safety exit】.

Suddenly, the piercing sound stopped.

Lu Ming's eyes narrowed, they subconsciously gripped the wooden stick, and could clearly feel that thing was just behind a wall.

It seemed to have lasted much longer; I don't know how long; the piercing sound rang again, echoing, echoing, then gradually faded.

"........"

Lu Ming loosened their grip and released the girl in their arms.

Qiuqi Liuli took two breaths, almost raising their hand, but seeing Lu Ming raise both hands, they made a gesture of "absolutely no taking advantage".

With a sigh of relief, they said: "Forget it, however you put it... thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lu Ming nodded in millimeter increments, then stood up and patted their pants.

Qiuqi Liuli suddenly felt great.

No matter how you say it, we did make contact; at least we should show a little apology!

"Bandage, clean." Lu Ming threw a lump of white stuff.

Qiuqi Liuli stretched out their hands and barely caught the bandage; it was very clean, emitting a faint alcohol smell.

"Let's go to the cafeteria," they suggested.

And Lu Ming stood by the table, their gaze sweeping the dim room, with no intention of leaving.

The darkness seemed to still hide something; if you want to appear and then leave, perhaps you accidentally discovered a clue that could be the key to ending the game.

For example, formalin…

"Then... listen?" The girl thought they could make a sound again, unless they wanted to lure that thing back.

But what's with the face? Pretending to be deaf and mute? Really rude!

Some joy: "Shall we leave first?"

Lu Ming didn't reply, and instead touched the table.

"Goodbye."

Qiuqi Liuli read the information from the boy's back.

Enough, I'll go on my own!

Qiuqi Liuli opened the door, left the infirmary, and their footsteps gradually faded away down the corridor.

A bloody smell came from their breath; Lu Ming sniffed and touched the tabletop with their index finger.

The guesses got closer.

Lu Ming reached for the wall edge and turned on the light switch.

"Zizz—"

A faint electric current sound rang once, and the dim yellow light illuminated every corner of the room.

【Discovery: a cold corpse】

【Clue: gunshot wound, a woman shot to death?!】

【Exploration: 2 points】

Several lines of text quickly jumped within the field of view.

That corpse leaned against the cabinet, dark red liquid on the ground, forming an arc behind the cabinet.

The cabinet was covered with cloth; seeing what was inside, Lu Ming covered their nose and lifted the cloth.

In a moment, they saw clearly what was inside the cabinet.

Animal specimens, they were all soaked in jars filled with green liquid; two or three jars had already broken, liquid dripping onto the floor, dripping onto the female corpse's head.

Lu Ming furrowed their brow and instead observed the female corpse wearing a white coat on the ground.

It looked like she had been dead a long time, the blood had dried into a sticky state; player, should n.

【What was found in the blood pool (a handgun stained with blood)】

【Handgun: stained with blood, may affect firing; if you mind the bloodstains, it will be a very wrong weapon.】

"Suicide?"

Lu Ming furrowed their brow slightly, but quickly dismissed the idea; a gunshot wound to the forehead—if it were suicide, how would one even fire the gun?

Then it could only kill some ability.

"Mmm... mmm..." The corridor again echoed with a scraping sound, eerily distant.

"How fast......"

Lu Ming snorted, picked up the gun from the blood pool, shoved the door open and rushed out.

【Location: cafeteria】

Turning the corner, he ran through the dim building; his footsteps quickly followed.

【Prompt: heart rate quickens】

【Speed 3】

【Composure -5】

Lu Ming wanted to meet the dean as soon as possible; perhaps the gun could stop it, but they had never fired a gun, facing this meaningful game, they still allowed for mistakes.

"………………"

【Plot hint:

That, Sister Chen told Yuanyuan the story of the gray wolf in the infirmary; Sister Chen would from time to time tell stories.

From just the gray wolf, it was hungry, it donned sheepskin to mix into the flock, then stopped stealing sheep…

But the story wasn't finished.

The dean entered…】

【Condition fulfilled: that night, Yuanyuan cafeteria】

【Player: Lu Ming】

【You have entered the main storyline!】

Lu Ming had no time to worry, because the footsteps echoing in the hallway were getting closer and closer.

……………………

I'm done for! Definitely a dream!

What game is loading? Understood.

Unbelievable, I want to go home…

In the cafeteria, a few people sat in the same spot, complaining and muttering to themselves.

The tables were set with candles, the weak candlelight like a dark bonfire.

From their clothing, they came from the same place, did the same work, and the only thing they had in common was———fear, peace.

Emotions are easily contagious, especially negative ones, which subtly affect the group.

Qiu Qiliuli clearly knows that part of the reason for her annoyance comes from the current environment.

She didn't even notice that she had already entered a side story.

Okay.

Suddenly, a tap on the shoulder—a handsome young man.

Can I sit at the table?

Qiu Qiliuli froze: "Of course."

After the language was unified, the way to tell nationality was by looking at the face; at least the male whose face could be confirmed was also Asian.

The male student sat opposite, extending his hand politely: "Mo Yan, C Country."

Qiu Qiliuli politely shook his hand, giving her name and nationality.

"You also got the news about entering the plot, right?" Mo Yan lowered his voice, his eyes trembling in the candlelight.

"Seems…" After being suddenly reminded, Qiu Qiliuli only then recalled that she might have missed a few hints just now: "Enter… side storyline?"

"As expected, also…" Mo Yan glanced around the cafeteria: two, three… plus himself makes five.

So that's how it is…

"What's wrong?" Qiu Qiliuli asked.

Mo Yan pinched the bridge of his nose: "You know the main storyline can only be undertaken by one player, right? The condition makes it easy to become the sole player who hasn't entered the cafeteria."

The player who hasn't entered the cafeteria…

Qiu Qiliuli thought of another C Country player; they had formed a team a long time ago, but it had already disbanded by the time they left.

Bang!

The cafeteria door was flung open violently; the commotion made everyone turn their gaze toward the door.

Behind the door, it swayed, creaking.

Before the young man could even catch his breath, he slammed the door shut, looked toward the window, and the hallway was already empty of that thing's silhouette.

"Lu Ming?" Qiu Qiliuli stood up, inexplicably feeling a bit relieved.

"Brother, were you also chased by that thing?" asked a white-collar youth from the same C Country; upon seeing what Lu Ming held in his hand, he froze.

That handgun stained with blood.

Everyone gasped, sucking in a breath of cold air.

After making sure they had completely shaken off that thing, Lu Ming leaned against the door and sat down slowly; only heavy breathing remained in the cafeteria.

Upon entering the game, the kind of training he usually did,

"Lu Ming..." Mo Yan seemed to chew over the two words repeatedly.

Sensing the mood was off, Qiu Qiliuli hurriedly explained to everyone: "Just now we formed a team, also player..."

Mo Yan walked past, the candlelight swaying along the way: "Also from C Country, right?"

Lu Ming glanced up, feeling his strength recover a bit, and stood up.

The door was opened again.

"Still?" Mo Yan said: "That thing hasn't gone far yet."

"Want to end the game?" Lu Ming turned and asked.

"Of course." Mo Yan said in a consultative tone: "In this situation, it's better to first discuss strategies together as a family."

"Discuss..." Lu Ming glanced around the cafeteria: "With whom?"

Those who met his gaze instinctively looked away.

Mo Yan had no choice; after all, the key to ending the game in the main storyline was, compared to that, he hoped Lu Ming could stay.

"Family, Lu Ming is the only one who has entered the main storyline; only by following him can the game end. Who wants to join me in looking for clues?"

The cafeteria fell dead silent.

The white-collar from that country looked around, waiting for others to set an example, believing that even if it were himself, he would surely…

This kind of psychological suggestion is a common malady; when everyone thinks someone will volunteer to step forward, the question becomes meaningless.

Behind Mo Yan, a hand reached out; Qiu Qiliuli raised her voice: "Together."