《Please Stop Pretending To Be a Cute Newcomer!》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1: Horror Game


    When Shen Qingcheng opened his eyes, he found himself on a bus.


    The bus was rundown and the rough road outside made it a bumpy ride. He was seated in the very back. On his left was a dusty glass window, and on his right was a blonde teenager listening to music through his headphones.


    A dozen or so people were scattered across the bus, some playing with their phones, some sleeping with their heads drooping. The driver in front yawned widely, covering his mouth, then swerved abruptly.


    The bus turned perfectly and the driver kept guiding it along the potholed road.


    A child suddenly woke up and began to cry, its loud voice harsh and grating. Its mother patted and coaxed it to calm down, but it didnt stop crying.


    Shen Qingcheng tried to open the window next to him, but was unsuccessful. The bus was just too rusty.


    He looked out the window, which was so grimy and dusty that he could see very little. It was so bad that it almost felt like he had myopia. Still, in the distance, he could see a indistinct mountain and a cliff right beside the mountain road the bus was on.


    The child was still crying. A man woke up besides it and scolded it twice, but no one acknowledged him, and no one apologized.


    Shen Qingcheng cleared his throat and said Mister, Id like to get off.


    The bus was stuffy and noisy, and he couldnt think in it. He had to get out, to find a quiet place to clear his mind and wonder how he got here.


    The driver yawned again.


    You have to get off at the next stop, since theres no way youll be able to hail a taxi here.


    The teenager with the headphones glanced at him, and the graying grandmother in front of him turned around.


    This road only has one bus each day. If you dont ride it all the way to the village, there wont be any stores nearby. What are you going to do then?


    Shen Qingcheng considered it for a second, then replied Im going to the city.


    The city? The grandmother frowned. This way leads into the mountains. If you want to go back to the city, itll take four or five hours the other way. Did you take the wrong bus?


    Old lady, youre just yammering on and on! said the man who had scolded the child.


    He was ignored again.


    Shen Qingcheng answered the grandmother with a sincere expression.


    Yeah, I took the wrong bus.


    He didnt actually know if he had¨Ched just woken up here, after all.


    The grandmother smiled.


    Creak. The bus jolted to a stop. The driver called out sleepily from the front.


    Get off quickly.


    Shen Qingcheng got up neatly and stepped out of the bus, closing the door behind him. The bus was coated with more mud than had been visible from the inside, and it was thicker than expected. It was like the bus had been rolled through the mud multiple times.


    He looked up to see faces in the bus window watching him, indistinct and blurred through the dusty window.


    The bus started again and drove away, a dozen or so people still plastered to the windows, watching. Shen Qingcheng stretched and took a deep breath of fresh mountain air. It was much more comfortable out here than in the stuffy bus.


    It would be even more comfortable if there were a SF bus to take him back to the city, and a prebooked hotel with hot water and delicious food already ready for him.


    He smacked his lips together hungrily as he daydreamed, before sighing and starting to walk back. He couldnt help but consider the reason he had appeared on the bus as he began trudging down the road.


    Did that stupid ghost pull him into an illusion, or what?


    No way, he must be dead already


    Shen Qingchengs origin was quite strange. He was a celestial master, commonly known as Yin-Yang-xiansheng, who was taught by another highly renowned old celestial master that worked for the National Security Bureau.


    Twenty years ago, an old Taoist priest in Xuanqing Guan predicted the birth of a ghost that would bring about the misery and death of many human beings. Shortly after his prediction, he coughed blood and died.


    The celestial master was extremely concerned by this prediction. Taoism was declining, and he had no disciples fit to be his successor. He didnt even know if he himself was strong enough to face the ghost.


    Around this time, Shen Qingcheng was picked up out of an orphanage by the celestial master.


    He was so naturally talented that the old celestial master pinned all his hopes on him. He insisted on passing down his entire lifes teachings before he took his last breath, and Shen Qingcheng did his best to live up to his expectations. After two decades, he really did manage to kill that ghost.


    No, wait a minute.


    The price of that ghosts death shouldve been his life, right?


    That must mean Shen Qingcheng was dead. Where was he now, then? Shen Qingcheng touched his chin, pondering.


    Suddenly, he came to a fork in the road and heard a car honking behind him. He immediately stopped considering and turned around, waving vigorously.


    Brother, let me hitch a ride!


    The black car that he was yelling towards stopped, and the man driving rolled down the window, cold air rushing out. He stuck his head out.


    Where are you going?


    Shen Qingcheng inquired, Can you drop me off in the city?


    The man nodded. Get in the car.


    He looked to be in his early thirties, with an ordinary face. As he drove, he began to chat.


    Where are you from, little brother?


    Shen Qingcheng said promptly, without blinking, Im a local. Honestly, though, he had no idea.


    Im also a local. Today Im going home to visit relatives, said the man. Its pretty hard to walk this road, and there arent a lot of cars passing through, either. Why were you there, then?


    Shen Qingcheng could only reply, I found out that I took the wrong bus, and I ended up having to get off halfway.


    The man shook his head. Wow, you mustve been really far off to end up here.


    When will we reach the town?


    Theres a bus stop that well get to in half an hour, I can drop you off there.


    Okay, Shen Qingcheng agreed, and grabbed his wallet from his trouser pocket.


    The man wasnt pleased when he saw this. Hey, I dont want your money.


    Shen Qingcheng didnt try to argue, putting the wallet back. Then, Ill trouble you.


    He really had to save his money. After all, he didnt even know if he had enough money on him to stay in a hotel.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Half an hour later, the muddy dirt road had already turned into a stretch of highway. There was a bus stop on the side of the road, where the man dropped Shen Qingcheng off.


    The man waved goodbye, then rolled up his window and drove away.


    Such good people still existed in the world, huh Shen Qingcheng was greatly moved by the generosity of the man.


    He stood at the bus stop, waiting and taking a catalog of his things.


    He counted the money in his wallet. 465 RMB¨Cjust barely enough to stay in a hotel for two days. Luckily, he also had a credit card, though hed have to use an ATM to check the balance later.


    Unfortunately, he didnt know the password for the card


    He hurriedly opened the wallet again, relaxing only when he saw that the ID card had his correct name and photo.


    Shen Qingcheng then sorted out his next actions. First was booking a hotel, then changing the password of the card.


    As for figuring out why he was here? Did it matter why? He was dead, after all. There were countless possibilities.


    Still, he couldnt just ignore it.


    He slid his hand into his trouser pocket again, taking out a mobile phone. If he turned this phone on, it felt like there would be no turning back.


    Even turning a phone on could make massive changes in ones life.


    It was a pity that Shen Qingcheng had OCD. He couldnt help but turn on the phone.


    There was a huge red notification badge on the screen of the phone, indicating an unread message. Could someone like him really ignore it?


    Shen Qingcheng tapped on the notification.


    Test copy AO3 clearance tasks in progress


    Objectives: 1. Escape from Mount Mang. 2. Eliminate the specter. Complete either objective to clear the level. The time limit is seven days. Those who exceed the time limit will be punished for failure.


    Welcome to the horror world. Happy gaming!


    Shen Qingcheng was baffled.


    What the hell? What was a clearance task? Where was Mount Mang? What was the horror world?


    Who am I? Where am I?


    A swaying bus interrupted his thoughts by stopping right in front of him. He got in and took out two RMB to pay the fare, then sat down to inspect the phone more closely.


    The contents of the phone had changed at some point.


    The clearance tasks have been completed and the player has completed the objective: Escape from Mount Mang. The player now possesses a certain degree of survivability.


    Task completion time: 1 hour and 52 minutes. This clearance time is currently ranked first among all test copies.


    The reward will be settled after the player leaves the copy. Please select whether the player would like to leave the copy immediately.


    Yes/No.


    Shen Qingcheng was stunned. He had found the objective by accident, and had completed it by accident as well. Wasnt this a bit too simple?


    Well, at least now he knew the mountain he just came down from was called Mount Mang.


    His eyes lingered on the phone text for a second, and eventually he clicked No.


    The player chose to stay in the copy. Countdown: 6 days, 22 hours.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Shen Qingcheng really did end up spending six days in the copy. He changed his credit card password, upgraded himself to the best hotel possible, and had fun. He ate and drank to his hearts content, living a life akin to a salted fish.


    Even if he was a salted fish, he was definitely a celestial salted fish, okay?


    Shen Qingcheng almost wanted to cry. The 20 years he lived before were simply inhumane compared to this new life.


    If he could, he would love to proclaim loudly to this salted fish lifestyle that he truly loved it. If only he could extend the deadline to 10,000 years, and not a single week


    When the countdown was about to end, Shen Qingcheng returned to the hotel with his bags, finished eating all his snacks and sweets, then climbed into bed.


    He glanced one last time at his snacks, and sighed contentedly.


    Perfect.


    After tucking the quilt around himself, Shen Qingcheng closed his eyes peacefully.


    3, 2, 1.


    The countdown is over and the player is leaving the copy.


    The clearance data is suspicious. The player is suspected of using an external plug-in. Investigation is under way.


    What?


    The words resounded directly in his mind this time, shocking Shen Qingcheng greatly.


    Youre the one who said I passed the test, and now youre accusing me of cheating? How could you do this to me?


    His body seemed to blur, before he was gone, leaving behind a bed full of snack wrappers and a human-shaped depression in the middle.


    At the same time, a slight pop! suddenly sounded in the room, and the TV on the wall flashed and turned on by itself. The screen was playing the hot news from the past few days.


    On July 15th, there was heavy rain on Mount Mang. A black car hit a cliff and crashed due to the heavy rain blocking the view of the driver, who died on impact.


    On July 16th, the weather cleared up. A bus on Mount Mang Road crashed into a cliff due to the driver driving while fatigued. There were 17 passengers in the bus, as well as the driver. None of them survived.


    Heavy rain made the mountain roads muddy. After the bus incident, there were five consecutive traffic accidents on Mount Mang Road, resulting in 6 deaths and 3 injuries. Life is valuable; please drive cautiously and take care of yourselves.


    In the cabinet beneath the TV were stacked piles of magazines and newspapers that Shen Qingcheng bought to relieve his boredom. The top newspapers front page is covering the same event as the news.


    Shen Qingcheng came into the copy on July 17th.


    Mom, mom, gege is asleep! Can we watch TV now? A little girls voice and laughter echoed through the empty living room.


    Shh. Dont wake up your gege, or hell spank you again.


    The air wavered for a second. Suddenly, a little girl in a lacy pink dress was standing there, covering her mouth in panic.


    TLN:


    A celestial master () is a Taoist master.


    Xiansheng () is a Chinese honorific that basically means Mr. or Sir.


    Xiongdi () literally means Brother, but can basically be used by males to refer to any older man. If a man addresses another man they dont know as brother, you can pretty much assume he used Xiongdi.


    Salted fish () means corpse, but is also used for a lazy person or someone who doesnt want to do anything.


    Gege () literally means older brother, but is used to address slightly older men affectionately. They do not actually have to be blood-related. This will remain in pinyin to hopefully mitigate confusion, since in English brother is pretty much only used for actual siblings.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2: Rookie King


    The hall was predominantly white and blue, futuristically high-tech and filled with people bustling about.


    Shen Qingcheng looked around curiously. After leaving the copy, he had ended up here, surrounded by other people who were also disappearing and reappearing from time to time. Nobody else seems fazed by this.


    He was now on a large platform, surrounded by what seemed to be a sea of stars. Contradictorily, the platform did not seem big, but he could tell that there were tens of thousands of people on the platform. Somehow, he didnt feel crowded in the slightest


    Surrounding the platform was a huge list, written in shining light. The information on the list was changing in real time, listing code names in order of number of survival points. The name at the top remained unchanging. The name listed was simply the number 7.


    Upon closer inspectionthis person had six figures of survival points, while the next highest only had five.


    Someone next to him noticed that he was staring at the list, dazed. He shook his head and sighed.


    Another fan of God 7. Our God 7 is really so powerful He turned away.


    Brother, wait! Shen Qingcheng turned around and grabbed him.


    Shen Qingcheng had never been a shy person. He could carry a conversation with himself even if the other party ignored him, let alone if they took the initiative to speak.


    The person he had grabbed was surprisingly young, and was wearing a simple white T-shirt and baggy pants. A big smiley face was printed onto his clothes. He had a dazed expression, marring the handsomeness of his face slightly.


    He twitched away a little.


    I just said it casually. Theres no way you took offense to that, right?


    Players of horror games were roughly divided into two categories.


    One category, the moderates, tried their best not to offend anyone. The other category, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. They didnt care who they offended, because in their eyes, other players were nothing but survival points waiting to be harvested. The moderates called them radicals.


    The young man was a rookie. He had cleared three copies in total in the game today, but was still confused about it all. After he figured out the general rules of the game, he was unashamed to self-identify as a moderate.


    There was no room for shame when struggling for survival.


    He looked at Shen Qingcheng defensively.


    Im not offended, dont worry, smiled Shen Qingcheng. He couldnt tell what the young man was thinking, but that didnt stop him from casually slinging an arm around his shoulders.


    Hey, brother, you understand this whole situation, right?


    If he had asked the young man just a day earlier, he wouldnt have been sure, but he had just cleared an copy and in it, he had realized the true essence of the game.


    Sort of? said the young man. He tried to move away, but found that Shen Qingcheng was too strong.


    Shen Qingcheng smiled like a blooming flower. Then do you mind filling me in a little?


    The young man looked him up and down suspiciously. Youre a newcomer?


    Shen Qingcheng nodded. He was definitely a newcomer. Was it even possible to be newer than he was right now?


    The young man didnt believe him.


    Dont lie. The last player in this batch of new players came out yesterday. What kind of newcomer are you?


    Shen Qingcheng did kind of look like a new chick, though.


    Wait, it seemed like the new batch of rookie kings wasnt out yet?


    Horror games would introduce a large number of newcomers every once in a while, anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000, depending on how many actually passed the test copy.


    More experienced players were already accustomed to this kind of occurrence, but the young man was a newcomer who had been here for only a short time. His enthusiasm for welcoming new players had not subsided yet.


    He had just finished an copy, and he had three days off, so he paid special attention. Three days was enough for him to wait for the new king to come out. The rookie king was the first person to clear the test copy, and eight or nine times out of ten would develop very well.


    However, the rookie king who had cleared the most recent copy surpassed them by far. All of the older players who still paid attention were stunned. After all, a clearance time of less than two hours


    What did this mean? The current number one in the rankings, God 7, previously left behind an unbroken record of 7 hours.


    It was commonly theorized that God 7 drew his name, 7, from this incident.


    And the rookie king this time needed only a third of the time that God 7 used. The shock was unimaginable, and all of the players sighed that they were afraid another monster like God 7 had arisen.


    Shen Qingcheng innocently looked at the awed young man and thought very modestly in his heart that he was ashamed for only specializing in the skills of a dying practice.


    The young man looked at Shen Qingcheng differently after hed returned to his senses, with a little disbelief and incredulity. If he was right, this man was the rookie king who had beaten God 7s record


    After resisting for only a second, he couldnt help but ask, Are you really a newcomer?


    Mn, Sheng Qingcheng said helplessly. What would he even gain from lying? He was only asking about the basics of the game right now.


    My name is Chen Ge, and my code name is Gargoyle. The young man introduced himself, then kindly reminded, If you dont have a code name yet, you can use your personal terminal to make one.


    He added, The people here are all players, I think. Anyway, I havent seen any staff. If we have any questions, we usually check them using our personal terminals, but the game may or may not answer them. The mobile phone that publishes the tasks in the game copies is your personal terminal¨Cit should be on you.


    The rookie list was hanging by the platform, and the terminal could be used to query it in real time. If the name in first place changed, then hed know that the person beside him was actually the rookie king.


    Chen Ge really hoped that he was.


    Shen Qingcheng thought it over for a second, closing his eyes. Previously, he had left his mobile phone on the bedside table. Now, he reached into his trouser pocket, and his phone was actually there again.


    The style of the phone had changed, and it now appeared more advanced. When he opened it, there were three unread messages displayed on the screen.


    An external plug-in investigation result, a game reward, and a game statement.


    Hey, how come I cant check this? Shen Qingcheng asked, poking at the plug-in investigation result. He really wanted to know how he, a lliberal arts student, was supposed to have come up with a plug-in.


    Chen Ge didnt look at his phone, trying to respect his privacy. Instead, he recalled his own experiences as a novice and said, You need to agree to the game statement first.


    Shen Qingcheng opened the statement, scrolling straight to the end without reading it.


    Do I just click to agree?


    If you dont mind live broadcasting, sure. Theres a default streaming agreement inside, although Im not very clear on the specifics. I heard that your income from broadcasting can be converted into real currency and directly transferred to your account when you return to the real world.


    Chen Ge had just conveyed a lot of important information at once. Shen Qingcheng stared at him for a second, considering, before he clicked to agree.


    He was dead, and didnt have anybody left to go back to. Was there really a point in even trying to make it back? He was probably going to be stuck in the game forever.


    Chen Ge rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. Dont look at me, I really dont know if its true or not. When hed first heard the news, he had been thrilled.


    Brother, I think we should continue to have a nice chat about this. Shen Qingcheng patted his shoulder.


    This time, Chen Ge was very cooperative.


    You should set a code name first.


    He reached for his own terminal, rapidly refreshing the newcomer list.


    Three minutes later, the code name in first place of the rookie list really did change. There was a high possibility that the man beside him really was the rookie king.


    However, at this time, Chen Ges heart wasnt only filled with the surprise of meeting a big thigh to hold


    He asked with inexplicable emotion in his voice, Have you changed it?


    Its been changed. Chen Qingcheng began to complain regretfully, All the code names I liked were already occupied, so I randomly chose one.


    Which ones did you want to use?


    Shen Qingcheng touched his chin. Old Demon Shen, Great Demon King


    Chen Ge looked at the code names on the list again, heart trembling. Good thing he hadnt chosen randomly when he had just been starting out. Who could stand a code name like Alluring Beauty?


    The man beside him was still talking. Well, I am beautiful, and at least it doesnt seem like too lofty a name. Its quite an appropriate name for me.


    Chen Ge glanced at his face. He really was quite beautiful


    Their conversation didnt draw the attention of anyone else, but the code name on the list certainly did. People all over the platform were discussing it. Was the rookie king a beautiful girl this time? Otherwise, who in the world would pick such a code name?


    According to some, it was debatable whether the rookie king was beautiful, but they were definitely a girl.


    Shen Qingcheng listened to everyones discussion closely, nodding from time to time. He gossiped more actively than Chen Ge, despite being the topic of conversation.


    Chen Ge thought: this thigh is definitely not what I expected.


    There were more and more people coming in, and the full platform wasnt suitable for the exchange of more sensitive information, so Chen Ge and Shen Qingcheng went to Chen Ges personal space.


    Personal spaces were bound to a single player, and they could stay in it to rest or prepare between copies.


    Outside of copies, these game spaces were absolutely safe.


    Official copies are different from test copies. They are more difficult and require surviving for a longer period of time, usually somewhere in the range of half a month to a full month. The clearance tasks also change¨Cyou can survive to the end, or solve all the storylines to end the copy early.


    However, the game doesnt reward clearing through dragging the time out. You only get one survival point for every day you survive¨Cnot enough to exchange for a good item at the mall. The rewards for solving a storyline, on the other hand, is much greater.


    Chen Ge had relied on doing the bare minimum to get through his copies, and had never met a big shot who actually solved all the storylines to finish the copy.


    I have a question, said Shen Qingcheng as he raised his hand. What if a player solves the storyline on the first day, and they get less of a reward than they would for just surviving the month?


    Chen Ge wanted to laugh. Solving a storyline on the first day? He must be dreaming. Then he remembered that Shen Qingcheng really only took two hours to clear the test copy, and he could only remain silent for a second.


    It doesnt work like that. If a player clears the storyline on the first day, they will get both the storyline reward and the survival reward.


    Other players will only get one days worth of survival points, and additional rewards based on how much they know about the storyline.


    And the reward for solving the storyline is much more than surviving. He considered for a second. Its at least 50 survival points, I think.


    Surviving the whole copy would only net a player 30 points at most, plus it was uncertain that theyd be able to survive that long in the first place.


    Shen Qingcheng put his hand down. Okay, go on.


    Chen Ge continued, Survival points can be exchanged for props that have many functions. You can check them out at the mall later. In addition, you can trade for rest coupons and real-world coupons. Ive heard that copies will drop rest coupons, but never real-world coupons.


    The most important thing is that props can be dropped, and survival points can circulate between players.


    Whats that mean?


    Chen Ge said heavily, If a player kills another player in the copy, they can inherit all the survival points and some of the props of the killed player.


    He remembered the copy hed just finished. There had been a newcomer who didnt understand what was going on, and had only passed the test copy.


    No one had taken her under their wing, and so she ignorantly exposed that she was a newcomer as soon as she entered the copy, and was killed by a certain player.


    If the player doesnt have any special items to save themselves, they will be eliminated from the game, Chen Ge said. I dont know what happens to them in the real world.


    Shen Qingcheng looked at him, and saw the grief in his face.


    Chen Ge asked, Do you have any questions?


    Let me think for a second Oh wait, Ive got one. He asked curiously, Why are you answering my questions so honestly?


    Despite having aimed for this since the beginning, Chen Ge was a little embarrassed as he answered, I want to hug your thigh.


    He was being totally honest.


    Shen Qingcheng said, Ive only passed one copy. You must be more experienced than me.


    Chen Ge shook his head. If the ranking was based on seniority, God 7 would definitely not occupy the first place in the rankings. God 7 was the last rookie king, and now its you.


    Shen Qingcheng suddenly realized that the game had said something about him being number one when hed completed the clearance task. He got up and touched Chen Ges head, like he would a dog or a child.


    Hug it, then. Shen-ge will act as a good thigh to hold on to.


    Chen Ge:


    He took the opportunity to change the topic and said, Shen-ge, dont worry, if you dont say anything after entering the copy, no one will know who you are, and I definitely wont disturb you until Im at a critical juncture.


    Of course he had to be careful. If Brother Shen turned out to be a radical, he would be the first to die.


    But if it really was a critical moment If he didnt ask for help, he would die, and if he did, he might die. It was better to risk it.


    So youre not stupid, Shen Qingcheng, who could tell what his thought process was, said in surprise. He didnt mind Chen Ges raised defenses, and said, Children like you should be smart and keep themselves safe.


    He added, Im going back to my personal space for a while, but before that, do you want to come with me to the next copy?


    In order to enter the same copy, players had to form a team in advance.


    Chen Ge hesitated. He had just finished an copy and had three days off, while the rookie only had one day off. If he agreed, hed have to enter that night.


    But the other party was the rookie king He couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity to build a good relationship¨Cwho knew if it would come again?


    So he nodded, Okay.


    Shen Qingcheng glanced at him with a smile, and Chen Ge had the feeling his motivations had been seen through. He clicked on his terminal to return to his own personal space, disappearing in front of Chen Ge.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Shen Qingcheng was stunned when he saw his personal space. This shabby room, with no sofa, bed, wardrobe, table, chairs, or even snacks, was his personal space?


    He had thought that Chen Ges room was boring, but it seemed that he had misjudged the other party. Whoops.


    Shen Qingcheng sat on the ground¨Cout of sight, out of mind¨Cand checked his terminal.


    The results of the plug-in investigation are as follows: the players overflow attribute will be permanently reduced in the copies. As compensation, the players item store has opened a new mode, and all items are now 10% off.


    Shen Qingchengs face darkened as he read the message. What kind of stupid game was this? Where was he even supposed to have gotten plug-ins?


    It wasnt that he was being humble; he really didnt have the technical ability, and honestly, his only skill was killing ghosts.


    He was incredulous, immediately finding the customer service contact under the message. He typed, Did you find evidence that I was using a plug-in to cheat?


    The usually slow customer service responded quickly:


    No, so the player is being compensated.


    Shen Qingcheng was shocked. You penalized me even though I wasnt cheating?!


    Its just downgrading the overflow attribute a little, corrected the customer service. The Deterrence and Flaming Eyes buffs on the player affect the game NPCs, so the game balance is affected.


    Shen Qingcheng laughed. How could he blame them for his own strength? This explanation really made him feel quite self-satisfied. Whatever, even with his power level lowered, he was still strong. He would just regard this as going on a vacation where he had to stay low-key.


    He moved on to the next message.


    The player completed the objective: Escape from Mount Mang. 10 survival points will be rewarded. The clearance time is 1 hour and 52 minutes, breaking the previous record. 100 survival points will be rewarded.


    Shen Qingcheng tried to scroll down, but that was it. He only got 110 points in total?


    And that was with the record-breaking reward. Would other players only get 10 points? This game was really too stingy.


    Shen Qingcheng shook his head.


    There wasnt much time left before he would have to enter an official copy. He clicked into the mall to check if there were any preparations he could make. As a rookie player, he could only carry one prop into the copy.


    There were two types of props in the shopping mall: life types, and competition types.


    The former were used in the personal space, and could be used to decorate the room or exchanged for entertainment or food. The latter were used in copies, and were generally either defensive props or attack props, which could cause damage to spiritual creatures.


    Shen Qingcheng suddenly understood why the test copy reward was 10 points¨Cthe cheapest competition prop in the mall was exactly 10 points.


    Glancing over the names of the props, he made a face, then placed his order.


    You have received a new life gift package. The original price is 100 points. The price paid is 90 points.


    You have obtained an attack item: Mama Rongs Silver Needle. The original price is 10 points. The price paid is 9 points.


    Survival point balance: 11 points.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    After a few hours, it was time to enter the copy.


    TLN:


    Hugging a thigh is basically relying on someone who is more powerful (in terms of money, influence, strength, skill, etc.) Kind of like having a sugar daddy, or a doting older sibling.


    Ge () means elder brother, but is used to address slightly older men affectionately.


    Mama Rong is a villain from the Chinese drama .

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3: The First Copy


    The loyal viewers of the horror game live broadcast channel suddenly discovered that the lazy streaming company actually deigned to promote a new streamer for once. A small anchor with zero fans, Da Lala, was listed first on the newcomer list on the homepage, right next to God 7, the first on the overall list.


    The audience members who had originally come to watch other anchors couldnt help but glance over, and then they couldn¡¯t take their eyes away.


    The title of the live broadcast room read:


    A beauty was forced to become a horror game player in order to make money? What should rookie king Alluring Beauty do when he encounters God 7?


    Alluring Beauty? What a gimmicky name.


    God 7? Rubbing heat, huh


    Wait. Encounter?


    These companies were really becoming more and more unscrupulous in their marketing! The audience screamed in their hearts, but their bodies were more honest, clicking directly into the stream.


    It was early August. The weather was still sweltering, to the point that anyone who stood in the sun would feel like a bun in a steamer.


    Shen Qingcheng stood inside an iron fence with a suitcase at his feet. In front of him was an open playground and several clean buildings with childish drawings painted on the exterior walls. Small trees were planted in a circle on the edge of the playground, thin branches and withered leaves slumping in the sun.


    The left side of the playground was full of slides, seesaws, and various colorful mushroom toys, and the right side was occupied with a large canteen shaped like a chefs hat.


    This was very obviously a kindergarten.


    A car loudly drove away from him. Shen Qingcheng thought for a second, then picked up his suitcase and turned around to walk away.


    Shen-laoshi.


    He pretended he didnt hear anything, picking up his pace and walking to the gate door. His mouth tilted up in a smile, and he pushed at it with his hand.


    Seeing this, the audience, who had just entered his broadcast room out of pure curiosity, filled the barrage with question marks.


    The door did not open.


    Shen-laoshi, the voice called out again.


    Shen Qingcheng turned around, looking at the man who had appeared behind him at some point.


    The man was in his thirties, with a lean face and a pair of black rimmed glasses. His eyes were bloodshot under the glasses, and it looked like he hadnt slept in quite some time.


    Shen Qingcheng blinked. His vision was clear.


    The game had sealed his yin-yang eyes, so unless a yin being voluntarily showed itself, he couldnt see anything. He really wasnt used to the change yet.


    You know me? he asked.


    Arent you one of the teachers who applied for the job? The man was more surprised than he was for a second, then he regained himself and smiled.


    The other teachers have already arrived, so Shen-laoshi is the only one left.


    Oh, so it was an NPC. It was impossible for him to simply walk off, so Shen Qingcheng had to hoist his suitcase up and follow him.


    The man took him to a building with a bright yellow exterior and said, My name is Liu Wangyu. Im the deputy head teacher of Class 1, and Ill be in charge of your work here. Whats Shen-laoshis name?


    I thought Liu-xiansheng knew my name already. Shen Qingcheng glanced at him, and replied a name.


    Hearing the answer, Liu Wanyus eyes shifted a little. He said, I only knew your surname. Anyway, Shen-xiansheng can call me Liu-fuban.


    The summer weather was so hot that anyone would sweat profusely after being outside awhile, to the point that they looked like they had been caught in a heavy rain.


    Shen Qingcheng let out a long breath as he finally walked through the gate. Even his breath was hot.


    In the hall of the building, there were nine people waiting, either standing or sitting, and each with a suitcase at their feet. When they caught sight of the two people who had just entered, their expressions all varied.


    These were the players in this copy. Counting Shen Qingcheng, there were a total of 10 players, 6 men and 4 women.


    Teachers, Liu Wangyu raised his voice to attract their attention, now that youve all arrived, I hope that you all will be able to get along and cooperate with me so we can complete the preparations for the start of school as soon as possible.


    I know everyone is tired from coming all this way, so I wont arrange any work for you today. There are empty rooms on the third and fourth floors for you, one room per person.


    A female player sitting alone on a sofa, wearing a professional suit, asked, Where do we eat?


    The other players were also very concerned about this issue.


    Liu Wanyu wasnt angry at all that she interrupted him, and added mildly, Everyone eats in the cafeteria. Meals will be from around 7 to 8 in the morning, 11 to 12 at noon, and 6 to 7 in the evening. Teachers, please dont miss these meal times. The school year hasnt started yet, so the canteen is short-staffed.


    I have a question, said Shen Qingcheng, raising his hand. Does the cafeteria have snacks? Sweets are fine too.


    One of the other players, a young boy in overalls, rubbed his temples like he had a headache. Shen Qingcheng had already thought that his mannerisms looked familiar, and his suspicions were now confirmed.


    This boy was naturally Chen Ge.


    The expressions of the other players were indescribable. In contrast, the tall man beside the bookshelf remained silent and expressionless.


    Um. Liu Wangyu was stunned. You can probably find some at mealtime, I guess.


    Okay, said Shen Qingcheng, putting his hand down. You can continue.


    Liu Wangyu: Uh, thats about all I wanted to say. Just so you know, the children that often come to play in the kindergarten are the teachers children.


    He didnt stay any longer, leaving after giving them a basic rundown.


    The 10 players were left in the lobby, all of them firmly ensconced in their own positions. No one spoke for a while.


    Shen Qingcheng looked left and right. Since he was new to the scene, and was already not fitting into the group, he had to hold back from claiming a room first.


    He really wanted the best room!


    After a long silence, the professional woman who had just asked the questions spoke first, looking around the crowd. There shouldnt be any newcomers among us, right?


    As soon as she spoke, a long-haired girl in a white skirt on the large sofa opposite her trembled. She lowered her head, hiding her expression, but her hands gripped her skirt and her knuckles whitened.


    Several players noticed this, their eyes flashing.


    Hey, what are you trying to do by asking that, huh?! The boy who was sitting next to her asked aloud.


    He was about the same age as Chen Ge and had blond hair.


    The woman sneered, What do you mean?


    She glanced coldly at the girl in white and said, In the game copies, you should rein in your desire to protect others. It has no place here.


    The blond boy tried to argue, but she was too lazy to listen. Everyone shouldve seen the objectives. It takes 20 days to clear the copy, and the difficulty is medium to high.


    I believe that many of us will choose to explore a storyline, so I have a proposal: we can cooperate and exchange information. Since I know it will be hard to trust each other, I figuredI would put myself out there first.


    She didnt feel embarrassed when no one said anything, she just added, Of course, if you believe you can survive these 20 days by yourself, then you might as well pretend I didnt say anything and go pick out rooms.


    The players shuffled around for a while, each person carefully watching the expressions of the others. After a few minutes, two players stood up¨Ca man and a woman. They carried their suitcases upstairs.


    After they left, the womans face softened a little. She didnt say anything about their choice, instead flicking her hair back and saying, Ill go first then. My name is Zhou Anan, and I used to be a white-collarworker. Everyone else is free to introduce themselves with just their name.


    Someone else continued, Tian Haimeng.


    My name is Liu Zimei.


    The long-haired girl in the white dress said softly, I- my name is Bai Yi, and I used to be an art student.


    The blond next to her was leaning back on the sofa with his hands linked at the back of his neck. Xue Tong.


    Chen Ge glanced at Shen Qingcheng, hesitating.


    When hed encountered this situation before, hed always honestly reported his name. In the copies, the appearance of the players would be adjusted, so no one really knew each other when they returned to the game space. Besides, in the game space, most people used their code names, so sharing your real name didnt really matter.


    Hed already told him his real name After a few seconds of thought, he gritted his teeth and offered, Wu Hai.


    Chen Ges inner turmoil wasnt noticed by anyone else, and the introductions continued. The man beside the bookshelf said, his voice mellow and thick, Lu Qi.


    After Lu Qi, only Shen Qingcheng was left. Hey, its my turn?


    He swept his gaze over to Lu Qi, smiling with crinkled eyes: Well, I used to be a civil servant, and my name is Shen Meiren.


    Pfft. Xue Tong, who was leaning propping his head up with his arm, laughed immediately.


    The rest of the players, including Chen Ge, looked just as flabbergasted as Liu Wangyu had been when he heard the name.


    Youre not laughing? Shen Qingcheng stared curiously at the man beside the bookshelf.


    Lu Qi glanced at him momentarily, but said nothing, His handsome face had a chilly expression.


    Xue Tong was still laughing, but he clearly didnt have any ill intentions. Shen Meiren? You didnt choose this name because of the rookie king, right?


    Although it was unclear whether it was really possible to return to the real world, most of the players started live broadcasting with the expectation that they could really go back, and some of them would do anything to increase their audience.


    Borrowing a famous name to get attention was childs play to them.


    Alluring Beauty, Shen Meiren. It turned out that this was the reasoning behind his name? Chen Ge considered it silently.


    He was already a little regretful for having been so guarded against Shen-ge, since Shen-ge hadnt taken offense at all and had even encouraged him.


    Chen Ge thought that he mustve given himself such an outlandish code name to hint at his actual name, and he suddenly felt guilt rise in his gut.


    Shen Qingcheng didnt get angry after Xue Tong ridiculed him, and smiled calmly. I know, I was going to introduce myself as Shen Qi, but that would just make people think of God 7. That wouldnt be rubbing heat anymore, that would be rubbing a volcano.


    Xue Tong laughed. The long-haired girl in the white dress covered her mouth to hide a soft smile. Even the other players, who had been serious and tense from the game began to smile.


    Only Lu Qi pursed his lips and turned around. He lifted his suitcase from beside his feet and went upstairs.


    Gradually, the other players dispersed as well.


    Shen Qingcheng realized that he still had to choose a room, and he grabbed his suitcase and walked away quickly. Chen Ge, who had fallen behind in hopes of taking the opportunity to tell him who he was, could only open and close his mouth hopelessly without calling out.


    Well, they could talk about it later.


    In the horror game live broadcast room, the homepage recommendation effect was quite extraordinary. There were more and more viewers in Shen Qingchengs broadcast room.


    I heard there was a beauty here? Let me see, let me see!


    Wow, I love this little brothers appearance!


    Oh, why did my little brother leave? Wheres he going? Hes headed in the opposite direction, I hope he comes back soon!


    Finally an NPC arrived Control this naughty anchor 2333


    Ahhh, my little brother is called Beauty, definitely the name of a peerless god, awsl


    Come, God 7.


    +1, unfortunately, God 7 has already closed his broadcast channel, now we can only rely on editing a collection of clips of him after the copy ends to make ends meet.


    My God, God 7 is actually here!


    A wild God 7 was really caught!


    ? Did God 7 see Beauty just now?


    Shen Qi? Im fucking rolling on the ground laughing, does Beauty know that he narrowly avoided dallying with God 7 in front of God 7 himself!


    Beauty is really good at this, Im learning from him hehehe~


    No wonder Im still single, its because Im not good at flirting with beautiful women. My heart is withering.


    I started jumping blindly just now. When the players are close to death, I am afraid, but I also cant help but want to watch wuwuwu. This scared girl is now online.


    Youre a world apart from me, I only dare to watch the copies that God 7 goes through.


    Why does Beauty want to change rooms?


    Did he find something?


    Is someone going to die? Im ready!


    The barrage slowly became more serious.


    Shen Qingcheng was standing in front of a mans room, explaining himself.


    There were many vacancies in the apartment complex, and Deputy Head Liu Wangyu had generously allocated the third and fourth floors to them, but there was only one best room on each floor.


    These two rooms were taken by the two players who had chosen to clear by surviving until the end.


    Shen Qingcheng had previously suffered a lot in order to complete a task that had tangled him up for 20 years, and since he was now free, he really wanted to relax a bit, so he planned to negotiate with these two.


    He first found the man, and he was currently standing in front of him. What do you think, xiansheng? I can compensate you with Mama Rongs Silver Needle.


    The man was very annoyed, and shouted, Not enough! before slamming the door with a bang.


    Shen Qingcheng, who had just had the door shut in his face, touched his nose and turned to the fourth floor instead. However, the female players attitude was even worse than the man just now, slamming the door on him just as he said that he wanted to change rooms.


    He shook his head and sighed. The other rooms were all the same, so he randomly chose the empty room across from the woman without any thought. As he entered the room, he whispered doubtfully to himself, It cant be that Mama Rongs needles are that bad, right?


    Back then, they had definitely made Ziwei scream, right?


    The room was a very ordinary single room with basic furnishings, like a bed, a table, and a closet. It was much better than the bare personal space. The only downside was that there was no toilet.


    There had probably been bathrooms in those two rooms Shen Qingchenghadnt been able to trade for.


    He squatted, opening his suitcase, and hanging the simple clothes inside up in the closet. He then took out his terminal to check his tasks.


    Official copy B0072 clearance tasks in progress


    Objectives: 1. Find the truth hidden in Xingxing Kindergarten. 2. Live. Complete either objective to clear the level. The time limit is 20 days.


    Welcome to the horror world. Happy gaming!


    The second objective was easy.


    Just as Shen Qingcheng though that, he received a message from Chen Ge.


    Forming a team in advance didnt let them see through their disguises, but they could use their terminals to contact each other. Unfortunately, the number of team members in one team were limited.


    He opened the message. There was only one sentence in it: Shen-ge, the one called Wu Hai is me.


    What a kind, pure child, Shen Qingcheng thought to himself. He sent a reply: How could you have become stupid right after I just praised your cleverness?


    Chen Ge, who had been conflicted for a long time and eventually sent a message due to his shame, exclaimed in his heart.


    How mean!


    In the summer, the sky brightened early and darkened late, so the sun had not yet set when it was time for dinner. Shen Qingcheng disliked the heat outside, so he stayed in his room and played games all afternoon. When he finally came out, he was dizzy.


    Downstairs, he met Zhou Anan, who had just come back from dinner. She was the professional woman who had organized the introductions. Shen Qingcheng greeted, Good evening.


    Zhou Anan was briefly stunned, and said unnaturally, Good evening.


    As Shen Qingcheng passed her, she asked, When everyone gathered information this afternoon, they found that many places were locked. Did you find anything interesting?


    Shen Qingcheng looked at her blankly and said, I was playing games in my room.


    Wow, someone wants to be an empty-handed white-eyed wolf! Xue Tong, who had just come up from behind, deliberately said loudly. Beside him was Bai Yi, who still looked soft and weak in her white dress.


    When she heard his sarcastic voice, Zhou Anans face turned cold, and she left without waiting for Shen Qingcheng to speak.


    Xue Tong approached and patted him on the shoulder. Its altright, dont tell her anything if you dont want to. She said she wanted to exchange information, but she turned out just to want others to send information to her without doing any of her own work. Ha, how could such a good thing exist?


    Shen Qingcheng shrugged indifferently. He really had played games all afternoon. Why was it that no one believed him?


    Playing his games had made his brain tired, so Shen Qingcheng said goodby to Xue Tong and Bai Yi. After having dinner, he went back to his room to rest a while, and it didnt take long before he succumbed to drowsiness.


    In the middle of the night, Shen Qingchen was awakened by a chill.


    The weather had definitely been hot. Before he went to bed, hed turned on the air conditioner, and hed slept under only a quilt. Now, the air conditioner had stopped running, but the room was colder than it had been when it was on.


    He tightened the quilt around himself and couldnt help but shiver.


    There was a rhythmic clicking from outside the door, like someone was walking tirelessly back and forth in the corridor. The sound echoed in the long corridor, faint and airy.


    Shen Qingcheng looked out the window. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, the moonlight shining normally.


    Alas, in the middle of this night, it was questionable if it was possible to sleep peacefully.


    The owner of the footsteps seemed to know that someone was awake. The steps stopped in front of Shen Qingchengs door. After a while, they said, Shen Meiren.


    Accompanying the sound was a slow, heavy knock on the door.


    Boom, boom, boom.


    His heart beat in time with the knocks, and he couldnt help but picture a blood-stained hand knocking at the door.


    Shen Meiren.


    The voice became bitter and cold. Its me, open the door


    No, Im going to sleep, he muttered.


    As he finished speaking, he took the air conditioning remote control out from under his pillow and turned up the temperature. He tightened the quilt around himself again, turned over, and fell asleep again.


    The night passed.


    The next day, Shen Qingcheng was woken up by the heat. He felt like he was about to be cooked, dazedly touching his sweaty forehead, before he was startled by a sudden scream.


    Ahhhhh! Someone died!


    The author has something to say:


    Shen Qingcheng: Wow, this wake-up service is super unique~


    TLN:


    ¡°Heat¡± is attention. Basically, drawing heat is using a more famous person¡¯s name to elevate yourself, through creating scandals or other schemes.


    Laoshi literally means teacher and is used as a honorific. Im leaving this in pinyin since it sounds awkward otherwise.


    The barrage is a scrolling chat that goes across the whole screen.


    Probably a natural endowment that led to him having the skill Flaming Eyes. Yin-Yang eyes let you see spirits/ghosts.


    Fuban () is literally class deputy. Used mostly for the student council VP. Since this is a kindergarten, this probably refers to the deputy teacher or a similar position.


    Meiren ( ) is literally beautiful person.


    Alluring Beauty is . Shen Meiren shares two of the same characters ().


    Remember, for all Chen Ge knows, Shen Meiren could be his real name.


    Qi () is the number 7.


    2333 sounds like laughter, so its textspeak that basically means lol or lmao.


    awsl stands for , which literally means ah, I died. Actual meaning is it¡¯s so cute.


    Crying onomatopoeia.


    Pretty much what it sounds like. It seems that at some point Qingcheng tortured this dude with heated needles. It could be friendly threatening, but I doubt it.


    Xingxing () is literally star.


    A white-eyed wolf is someone ungrateful, or someone who bites the hand that feeds them.


    You may have noticed that some terms have changed. The first chapters have been edited to reflect this. Feel free to let me know if I missed something, especially if its in the footnotes (Ive been messing with them a lot¨Cformatting is hell).


    By the way, only the A/Ns that have interesting content will be translated. A lot of them are just the author saying thank you for the subscriptions.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4: A Knock At The Door


    He blinked blankly. It took him a few seconds to process that sentence.


    The tranquility of the morning had been shattered by that scream, and the sound of players rushing upstairs, inquiries, and low sobbing slowly filled the corridor.


    Shen Qingcheng threw his quilt off and walked to the door, standing in his doorway in heavily creased clothes. Someone died?


    The person who had died was Shi Juan, the woman who lived across from Shen Qingcheng.


    Shi Juans door was wide open now, and several players were inside checking the situation. Except the man who had left with her the previous day, the rest of the players were all present.


    Shen Qingcheng was so far that from his position he could only see half of an ankle hanging off the bed, pale and bloodless.


    At the door, Xue Tong was half hugging the crying Bai Yi to comfort her. Shen Qingcheng thought back for a second, and realized that the scream had sounded like Bai Yis voice.


    To have faced a murder scene first thing in the morning How terrible.


    Chen Ge was the first person who came out of Shi Juans room. He was covering his mouth, and looked like he wanted to vomit but couldnt. His face was as white as the ankle of the dead woman.


    He walked to Shen Qingcheng and called in a low voice, ¡°Shen-ge.¡±


    Shen Qingcheng glanced at him. ¡°What¡¯s going on inside?¡±


    Chen Ge¡¯s face paled again. ¡°Shi Juan is dead.¡±


    Bai Yi had told them Shi Juans name. She had had dinner with Bai Yi the night before, and then had left first before Bai Yi had returned with Xue Tong.


    I know shes dead, so Im asking you how she died. Bai Yi had screamed so loudly, and he wasnt deaf.


    Chen Ge hesitated: I didnt see very clearly, but it seems she was suffocated to death.


    Shi Juans whole face had turned purple, and her eyes were bulging. He shuddered whenever he thought back to her dead face. This copy was really too dangerous¨Cit was just the first day, and someone had already died.


    No blood? Shen Qingcheng raised his eyebrows.


    There didnt seem to be any.


    Why does Shen-xiangsheng think there should be blood? Zhou Anan asked, coming out of the room. Why dont you share your thoughts with everyone?


    Bai Yi was still crying, her head on Xue Tongs shoulder. She was almost choking on her tears.


    Zhou Anan was upset by her crying, and said angrily: Cant you stop crying? What, do you think you can get away with it just because youve been spoiled? Which one of us hasnt grown up being pampered and spoiled by our parents, huh?


    Xue Tong really couldnt get used to Zhou Anan. Every time she said something, he had the urge to fire back a few words.


    Luckily, Liu Zimei rushed to smooth things out, saying, Alright, alright, lets discuss Shi Juan first.


    She paused. First, we have to find out if it was a ghost who killed her, or


    She didnt say the remaining two words, but all the players present knew what she meant. They had to check if the death was man-made or not.


    If it was really done by a person, they would have to stay on guard not only against elusive spiritual creature, but also their fellow players.


    Zhou Anan and Xue Tong each took a step back, and Zhou Anan said, Lets gather in the hall downstairs and discuss what happened last night.


    Oh, Id like to take a shower first, said Shen Qingcheng, tugging at his wrinkled clothes as several heads turned to him. I mean, if you guys dont mind, I can just do it later.


    His tone was very generous.


    Ten minutes. Zhou Anan left as soon as shed finished her sentence.


    Shen-ge, Ill go down first, Chen Ge whispered as he followed behind the others.


    You said ten minutes, but its not like I agreed


    Shen Qingcheng pouted and stepped into Shi Juans room.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Ten minutes later, Shen Qingcheng appeared in the hall right on time. He had not only taken a shower and changed into clean clothes, but had also gone to the cafeteria to pick up breakfast.


    The death had been discovered very early, so everyone had been woken up before they had the chance to eat breakfast. Smelling the aroma of the food coming from Shen Qingchengs food containers, they couldnt help but think of how they had had to wait in the hall for him, and they felt quite resentful.


    They were both hungry and angry.


    When did you buy that¨Chow did we not see you in the hall at all? Xue Tong asked with a frown.


    Theres a back door by the stairs thats closer to the cafeteria. I just discovered it, Shen Qingcheng said, then found a place to sit. He offered the food bag. Do you want any?


    Lu Qi turned his head to look at him, and after a brief moment took two shaomai.


    Thank you.


    No need for thanks, Shen Qingcheng said happily, dumping the whole bag into his arms. I have a small appetite, so you might as well finish all this.


    Chen Ge, silently watching their interaction, felt his heart sour. Shen-ge might have had a small appetite, but he hadnt eaten breakfast yet


    Okay, its not 8 yet. The faster we finish this up, the faster we can go eat, Zhou Anan said, then she looked at Bai Yi, huddled next to Xue Tong.


    Bai Yi, you discovered Shi Juans death first. Can you explain to everyone why you went to find Shi Juan so early in the morning?


    Bai Yis hands clenched in her skirt again. She had stopped crying, but her voice was choked when she said, I made an appointment with her last night to have breakfast together today. We all got up a little early, so I went to Shi Juans room after I washed up to find her.


    Her door wasnt closed. I called for her twice, and she didnt answer, so I pushed the door open, she said, trembling with fear. And then and then, you all saw what happened to her.


    Shen Qingcheng had seen Shi Juans body, and she had indeed been suffocated. Not only that, but he was sure that it was not the work of a ghost.


    He had been a celestial master for 20 years¨Cit was impossible not to be able to tell if it was a ghost who had done it. He could do it even with his yin-yang eyes blocked.


    Shen Qingcheng, feeling proud of himself, sipped some soup. Ah, delicious~


    I can confirm that Bai Yi did say yesterday that she was going to have breakfast with Shi Juan today, said Xue Tong.


    The reason he knew was because he had invited her to breakfast yesterday and been rejected.


    However, his word along could not clear the suspicion on Bai Yi.


    Who here lives on the fourth floor? It was Tian Haimeng who had spoken, despite having previously kept a low profile.


    Xue Tong was one of the players who lived on the fourth floor. Upon hearing that, even Bai Yi couldnt keep him appeased, and he immediately exploded. What do you mean? Are you trying to accuse us of killing her?!


    The other players expressions were unreadable. It was obvious that they were still unsure whether Shi Juan had been killed by a player. Speaking out so defensively¨Cno matter how they looked at it, it must be because of a guilty conscience.


    Shen Qingcheng leaned towards Lu Qi, speaking into his ear, I think hes kind of stupid.


    Dont get so close to me. Lu Qi frowned, speaking in a low voice. As he met Shen Qingchengs innocent gaze, he pursed his lips and moved away.


    Me, Xue Tong, Shi Juan-jie, Lu Qi, and Shen Meiren live on the fourth floor, Bai Yi supplied in a whisper, restraining Xue Tong.


    Zhou Anan took over. Those of you on the fourth floor, tell me if you heard anything last night.


    Xue Tong said first, No!


    Lu Qi said lightly, Footsteps.


    Wow, what a coincidence, I also heard footsteps~ Shen Qingcheng immediately answered as well.


    Everyone turned their attention to Bai Yi.


    She seemed a little nervous to have so many eyes on her. She lowered her head, not daring to look up, and said stutteringly, I-I also heard footsteps. In addition, I also heard someone knocking on the door.


    Shen Qingcheng looked at her, narrowing his eyes.


    Who was knocking? Whose door was it? Was it Shi Juan? Zhou Anan asked.


    Um, I dont think it was. Bai Yi raised her head and glanced at Shen Qingcheng carefully. I live next to Shen Meiren, and the sound seemed to be coming from his door.


    And, besides, she hesitated, her gaze alternating between Shen Qingcheng and Lu Qi.


    And what? Say it now!


    Bai Yi gritted her teeth. And I heard someone call Shen Meirens name, and it was Lu Qis voice.


    She added quietly, ears red, All of you know that Lu Qis voice sounds very special. I wouldnt hear it wrong.


    Its very special, very nice, very deep. Shen Qingcheng nodded in agreement.


    Chen Ge wanted to cry when he saw that he still had the heart to tease others. For the first time, he felt that choosing to hug this thigh was a mistake. Shen-ge might be the rookie king, but he wasnt reliable at all!


    Are you the only one who heard it? Chen Ge asked, reminding everyone that it was just Bai Yis unilateral claim.


    Lu Qi also added, I didnt leave my room last night.


    One person said he had never left his room, the other said she heard his voice at Shen Qingchengs door, and it was unclear who was telling the truth.


    I wonder, Bai Yi said, realizing something. So Lu-dage never left his room. But I just saw Shen Meiren specially bring you breakfast, so you should have a good relationship. Why didnt he open the door for you?


    Yes, since their relationship was so good, why didnt he open the door? Regardless of whether the voice was Lu Qi who knocked on the door or not, why did Shen Meiren choose not to open the door?


    Did he not hear? Or was he not in his room at all?


    Seeing everyone looking at him, Shen Qingcheng took out a tissue to wipe his mouth and burped, What are you looking at me for? Isnt it about time to work on the storylines?


    It was early in the morning and the weather was cool, so it was time to go on a walk. He was a celestial master, not a policeman¨Csolving a case was way beyond his ability.


    Zhou Anan stood up. Shen Meiren, please explain Bai Yis words, or else


    She wouldnt kill him, but she definitely couldnt let Shen Meiren move freely before she completed her clearance task, or she would die unaware of how she was killed.


    Or else what? Shen Qingcheng was curious.


    Shou Anan: Or else we can only lock you up.


    In this supernatural world, being trapped in one place was just waiting for death.


    Oh, Im so scared. It wouldve sounded more realistic if his expression wasnt so indifferent.


    Lu Qi: All your guesses are based on the assumption that what Bai Yi said is true.


    Yes, yes, Chen Ge echoed quickly, If what she said was false, wouldnt you have gotten the wrong culprit?


    I-I didnt lie, I really did hear Lu-dages voice. Bai Yi lowered her head aggrievedly, I just said what I heard, if it wasnt true then Shen Meiren couldve just denied it. Why did he suddenly change the subject?


    They had clearly just been discussing Shi Juans death.


    What she said was very reasonable, and Shen Qingcheng almost believed her.


    Little girls today didnt study, instead spending all day long thinking of who knows what.


    He grabbed the person next to him. Did you change your name?


    Lu Qi: What.


    Why else would she call you Lu-dage? Did you change your surname to Lu-dage?


    Shen Meiren! His attitude angered Zhou Anan. Please be more serious, this affects the lives of all of us players!


    You wont believe me even if I say I didnt do it, he shrugged innocently. Okay, okay, Im serious. Bai Yi, are you really sure I did it?


    Bai Yi: I didnt say that.


    Shen Qingcheng: You didnt say that, but its what you meant. Do I look good with dirty water on me?


    All of the players attention was on the two of them. Bai Yi flinched and stepped back, as id frightened by his tone. It couldve been a ghost


    Shen Qingchengs expression changed subtly. Instead of being as aggressive as before, he raised his eyebrows and asked, Did you hear a knock at the door last night?


    Bai Yi didnt understand why he suddenly asked that, but after hesitating for a moment she nodded.


    Shen Qingchengs eyes became complicated and full of sympathy, but he was too embarrassed to pursue it further.


    The two sides each remained insistent that they were right, and the scene fell into a stalemate. As everyone was silent, he sneaked up to Lu Qi and asked, Do you really not know who the murderer is?


    Lu Qi looked down at him, his black eyes appearing particularly deep. He didnt say if he knew who the culprit was, but he was very sure when he stated, You knew it was a person who killed her.


    ! Shen Qingcheng covered his mouth.


    If he didnt want to answer, he didnt have to answer, jeez. Why was he exposing him? He angrily walked away from him.


    After a few minutes.


    Is everyone here? Liu Wangyu came in and was met with everyone gathered in the hall. He smiled and said, Perfect. Your jobs have just been arranged, and they shouldve been sent to everyone.


    He was dressed the same as yesterday, with black rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. His eyes were much less red. It seemed that he had had a good rest last night.


    Shen Qingcheng copied the others, finding out:


    Identity: Xingxing Kindergarten Class 1s PE teacher. Attachment: Exercise Classroom password xxxxxx.


    He forgot all his previous anger at Lu Qi, and asked, What did you get?


    Lu Qi: Security.


    Yo yo yo, his figure definitely suited his job very well.


    After confirming that everyone knew their identities, Liu Wangyu said, One set of the childrens class uniforms and textbooks will be delivered today. Teachers, please arrange your classrooms as you like.


    After saying this, he smiled at everyone and quickly left.


    What do we do now? Liu Zimei asked. She was a good-natured person, honest and gentle, but she didnt have very strong opinions.


    Lets eat first, Zhou Anan said tiredly. With your identities, the locked places we found yesterday should be open. Everyone should hurry up and collect information.


    Does Shi Juans death not matter?! Xue Tong was dissatisfied.


    Do you know who did it? She snorted coldly, stepping forward with her high heels clicking loudly and pushing Xue Tong away.


    Shen Qingcheng and Lu Qi had already had breakfast, so they didnt go with the others.


    After everyone left, Lu Qi, the newly appointed security guard, went straight to the kindergarten security office. Shen Meiren, the PE teacher, followed Lu Qi at a sedate pace.


    Lu Qi didnt say a word and didnt ask why. Shen Qingcheng couldnt hold back, Arent you going to ask me why Im following you?


    Do whatever you want.


    You cant take back what you said now! Security guard-dage has to protect me. You saw how they targeted me in the hall just now¨CIm so scared! He clutched at his chest, acting heartbroken. I cant believe they wanted to lock me up! Im super afraid of being locked in a little black room.


    My surname is Lu.


    He was taken aback. What?


    He didn¡¯t speak again. Shen Qingcheng thought for a while, then hesitantly said, Lu-dage?


    Lu Qis footsteps stopped, and when Shen Qingcheng didnt react in time, he suddenly accelerated.


    Hey, wait for me!


    Lu Qi didnt say a word.


    Wait, hadnt he forgotten something?


    Xingxing Kindergartens security office was next to the classrooms. There was a sign with white characters on a blue background on the door frame. Lu Qi was standing at the door. He was about to push it open.


    Youre walking too fast! Its way too hot to be running. Shen Qingcheng complained behind him. He had to jog for two minutes before catching up, and he felt overheated.


    Seeing Lu Qi waiting, he pushed the door open, and cool, dusty air billowed out.


    Cough. He immediately hid behind him, waving his hand through the air to clear it. How long has it been since this place was last opened? Its so dirty.


    The security office wasnt very big, its natural lighting was dim, and it looked very bare. In the center of the room were two desks, placed side by side. Two computers were on the desks, turned off.


    Opposite the table was a monitoring screen. The screen was black, and several wires had been violently torn away and hung to the side. In addition, blank papers were scattered across the ground.


    A month and a half, said Lu Qi as he turned on the lights and walked in.


    A month and a half. There were 20 days left before school started, but none of them would be getting to relax and have a summer vacation.


    Are you here to adjust the monitoring screen?


    En.


    Shen Qingcheng hesitated over whether or not to go inside. There was too much dust, and he had only just taken a shower. Suddenly, he felt a great force at his waist, and Shen Qingcheng was pushed in.


    Then, with a bang, the door closed.


    TLN:


    As far as I know, the only spiritual creatures in this WN are ghosts. You can generally think of these two terms as interchangeable unless this changes, at which point this footnote should change as well.


    Shaomai () are a type of dim sum dumpling, made of a pleated wrapper around a meat and veggie filling.


    Source


    Jie () is the female equivalent of ge. It means elder sister, and it is a close form of address used on slightly older women.


    Dage () is basically ge but more demonstratively affectionate.


    Throwing dirty water on someone is like throwing them under the bus¨Cit means youre framing or putting the blame on them.


    A little black room () is a place where someone is confined so they can reflect on their wrongs, and is sometimes used to refer to getting banned. It is often used humorously.


    En () is a sound of affirmation.


    Thankfully, fewer footnotes this time.


    Since Ive caught up to Foxaholic, chapters should now be coming out on a weekly basis, where previously Ive been posting as soon as I finish a chapter. Im off this whole week, so heres hoping I can build a nice stockpile.


    This also means less changes in previous chapters, since Ive got most of the terms ironed out by now. Still, some things are subject to change. (For example, I might change God 7 to 7-shen; any opinions on this are welcome. Previously I felt it looked clunky, but it would make the honorific use more consistent)

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5: Child


    The lights flickered and went out, the room plunging into darkness.


    Shen Qingchengs hair was blown into his face by the gust generated from the slamming door. He lost his footing, falling forward uncontrollably. He thought bitterly that he had been walking around the world as a celestial master for so many years, but had never expected to get caught in this damn broken game.


    Just when Shen Qingcheng thought he would hit the table, a pair of hands reached out from the darkness and accurately grasped his waist, with such a strong grip that his kidneys hurt a bit.


    Shen Qingcheng naturally knew who was catching him, so he closed his eyes trustingly so they could adjust to the darkness.


    Thus, he didnt see the strange and tangled emotions in Lu Qis eyes when he caught his little movement.


    Little black room?


    His voice was still low and deep, like an elegant cello.


    Shen Qingcheng was happy when he heard those words. He hadnt expected Lu Qi to have remembered something he had just thrown out casually¨Cwhat a good friend. Just as he was about to make a joke about the situation, Lu Qi released him and said coldly, Stand still.


    He opened his eyes and stood up obediently, looking left and right. He could faintly see the blurred outlines of the security office.


    Did you see who pushed me just now?


    No. He stepped aside.


    Had he not seen the culprit, or had he seen that no one had been there? He poked a finger at his wide back and asked.


    The light seemed to be broken. Lu Qi had been trying to open the door when he noticed the poking at his back, and he immediately turned around and grabbed Shen Qingchengs hand.


    Ow, ow, ow! Shen Qingcheng screamed, grimacing in pain. His entire index finger was caught in the palm of his hand. Take it easy, Im fragile!


    He was acting like Lu Qi hadnt grabbed his hand, but instead had chopped it off.


    He was calling out so painfully that Lu Qi held himself back from scolding him and said in an unkind tone, Dont stand behind me.


    You just blocked the dust for me, Shen Qingcheng muttered softly, rubbing his finger and glancing at the other man like he had suffered grievances.


    Obviously he had been behind Lu Qi so he could avoid the dust.


    Lu Qi didnt care about his explanation at all. He wasnt particularly good with words, but no one had ever dared to be presumptuous in from of him in the past. Shen Meiren seemed to have been born entirely to annoy him.


    Anyway, you dont have to try to open the door. Shen Qingcheng wanted to poke him again, but was stopped by his cold gaze. Whatever, he wouldnt poke him this time. You cant get out.


    Only then did Lu Qi turn his full attention onto him.


    What do you mean?


    Well, Shen Qingcheng pursed his lips, motioning him to look under the crack of the door, It should be past 8 by now. Even if the sun wasnt out, it shouldnt be pitch-black outside.


    The security office door was made of wood, and the gap below it was about a finger wide. In the dark room, light should be leaking in, but clearly it wasnt.


    Did you see someone or not? Shen Qingcheng asked.


    Lu Qi looked up and said coldly, Its a child.


    Shen Qingcheng didnt question the likelihood of there being such a strong child, instead complaining, Children are more and more arrogant these days. If I catch one, Ill give them a good spanking.


    That girl from last time, for example. She liked to watch TV while others were sleeping without saying anything, and she would even let out some discordant laughter from time to time.


    Luckily, her parents were still sensible. Once they saw their child being beaten up, they apologized honestly and promised to teach her well from now on.


    What are you thinking of? Lu Qi looked at him questioningly. This person seemed to know a lot about this.


    Shen Qingcheng replied with a smile: I was remembering a kid from my last copy.


    Lu Qi thought he was deflecting; how could he know that what Shen Qingcheng said was totally true?


    Another gust of wind suddenly blew in the dark security office, and the last trace of warmth inside vanished.


    There was a chill at their necks, as if someone was blowing a cold breath onto their napes. The coldness crawled down their backs and goosebumps appeared all over their bodies, their scalps numbing.


    The smile on Shen Qingchengs face disappeared, and he lowered his eyes to his wrist.


    What, the other man followed his gaze, Does it still hurt?


    He had consciously used very little of his strength, but Shen Qingcheng was too sensitive.


    Hidden from both of their sights, a little boy, around four or five years old and wearing a small school bag on his back, was obediently grabbing Shen Qingchengs wrist.


    His eyes were very big, and in his eye sockets were two thick black masses without whites. They were filled with countless sins and resentment, in contrast to the calm expression on his face as he looked up quietly at the two men.


    Shen Qingcheng shook his head, but it was unclear whether or not he was answering Lu Qi or not. He reached out with his other hand and directly pulled the boys hand away from his wrist.


    The boy was stunned for a moment, staring down blankly at his empty hand. When he raised his head again, his calm expression had distorted, and two lines of bloody tears were flowing from his eyes.


    The room temperature suddenly dropped by more than 10 degrees, and the cold began piercing into their skin and bones.


    The monitoring screen on the wall started to flicker. The screen was divided into several sections, where pictures intermittently appeared and disappeared. The voices of women arguing and men hurling insults rang out.


    A ear-piercingly sharp cry from the child suddenly sounded.


    The light emitted by the monitoring screen brightened the room. Only then did they realize that the piles of paper on the ground were not blank sheets of paper at all, but sheets of paper money.


    Under their gazes, the cold white paper money was gradually died bright red.


    Mom¨C The childs screams turned from eager into meaningless crying. Wuwuwu


    This damn brats so resentful! Shen Qingcheng grimaced and covered his ears.


    Lu Qis eyes were cold and his right hand moved¨C


    Dong, dong.


    The sudden knock on the door stopped the crying abruptly, and Lu Qi also stopped moving.


    Dong, dong. The person outside the door knocked twice, and an old voice asked, Is there anyone in there?


    Shen Qingcheng quickly replied, ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡±


    The flickering of the monitoring screen stopped, and it hung on the wall, blank and pitch black once again. The overhead lights turned on. The two of them looked at the bottom of the door, where there was visible light through the gap.


    Oh no, this door is locked. Ill find someone to open it, the voice outside the door said.


    No, no, we know the password. Shen Qingcheng poked the other man, urging, Hurry up and tell him the password.


    Lu Qi rattled off a few numbers.


    After a few beeps that indicated the owner of the voice was entering the password, the door of the security office opened from the outside. An old lady with gray hair and a flowery dress stood at the door, and a child was holding on to her thigh and peeking out from behind her legs.


    The old lady was obviously relieved to see them. Are you okay?


    Shen Qingcheng returned with a smile, Were okay, it was pretty cool inside.


    When the old lady heard that, she hesitated.


    Is there something wrong? Shen Qingcheng asked.


    She sighed and didnt explain in the end, saying Its nothing. No one has cleaned this place in a long time, and the inside is very dirty. Unless theres something wrong, you shouldnt go in.


    Were you pushed in? She pulled the child out from behind her, and apologized, Im sorry, my child is too naughty.


    The child shrunk back, whimpering, and didnt speak, just staring at them with resistance and fear.


    The old lady had to apologize to them again.


    Lu Qi watched them silently for a while, then suddenly asked, Did anyone die here before kindergarten started?


    Why are you asking this? The old lady became vigilant, reaching for the childs hand. What place in this world hasnt seen death? It just isnt always widely known.


    That answer didnt satisfy Lu Qi, but she obviously didnt want to elaborate further, and he didnt know how to proceed.


    Shen Qingcheng reached out, touching his shoulder. When he looked at him, he said, If you want to know, you can ask me. I know that not only have people died in this kindergarten, there were at least two deaths, and it was possibly a mother and her son who died.


    After speaking, he looked at the old lady and smiled, Am I right?


    I dont know anything about the nonsense youre spouting. The previously friendly old lady turned away and walked off with the child. Didnt I tell you not to go to that security office any more? Its not clean


    The two watched the grandmother-grandson pair leave.


    Shen Qingcheng: Is that child the one who pushed me?


    Well, he said, his tone a little hesitant, hes human, so he shouldnt be strong enough to have done it


    Well, theres a simple explanation. He was possessed.


    Lu Qis expression changed slightly. So you knew.


    Wasnt this old news? Shen Qingcheng began to break the pot, and the corners of his lips curled up. I knew, and I still know a lot more, but what will you give me in exchange?


    He poked his shoulder with a smile. Voluntary principle, Lu-dage.


    Ah, Im speechless, Beauty is really great at this


    My surname is Lu, not security guard, understand? ????


    Lu-dage, what kind of tiger and wolf words are these hahaha


    Wuwuwu I feel a bit bad for God 7 but seeing Beauty duck behind God 7 to hide and then poke his head out to look is really cute


    Today I learned that God 7 is really patient with Beauty, and this stupid dog game has finally grown a human conscience. What a beautiful encounter~


    Im new here, Id just like to ask why God 7 is so low-key even though hes so powerful? Zhou Anan is clearly accusing Beauty of being the killer


    Thanks for your question. I have been a fan of God 7 for many years¨Cwhen the game broadcast first inexplicably appeared, I became his fan. Here I want to clarify that God 7 is actually a really good guy. When he first started clearing copies, he would help other players all the time! Then something happened, and¨Cwell. You know how it is.


    Now God 7 is reluctant to take action, and will always wait to see if other players are worth exchanging information with at the beginning of each copy. If they arent worth it, hell just explore alone.


    Encounter? What encounter? Clearly God 7 has a relationship with Beauty!


    I think these two are interacting quite normally, how can it be that exaggerated?


    Hahaha, everyone knows that, but it doesnt stop our YY


    Ah~ Appeared~ The ghost appeared with a smile of death~


    Ill kill this stupid dog game! I didnt get to see God 7 hugging Beauty, I hate it so much!!


    God 7 hugged him because Beauty was afraid of the little black room? Thanks, I hit it!!


    Thinking of the two of them in a dark, cramped black roomhehehe


    For one instant I wasnt scared at all!


    How does Beauty know it was a mother and son who died? Im really curious about Beautys profession, it feels like he knows a lot


    Hes poking Lu-dage again Oh, Beauty is so good at this~ Losing to him isnt disgraceful at all.


    Before returning to the apartment, Lu Qi went back into the security office to check it again. The monitoring screen was completely broken, and couldnt turn on. The computer was in good condition, but all the videos on it had been deleted, leaving only a few empty folders labeled Qi Mei.


    Remember the videos that the kid showed us? Shen Qingcheng asked. It was the same woman in all of them.


    The men had changed several times, but they were all yanking at the woman. Their relationships with her were clearly not great.


    Lu Qi: One of them was Liu Wangyu.


    What?


    Lu Qi didnt elaborate. How could you tell that Shi Juans death was man-made?


    Tell me who the killer was first. Shen Qingcheng turned to walk backwards, looking into Lu Qis eyes. Actually, even if you dont tell me, I already know. Bai Yi, right?


    Now our demands are equal, he laughed. Tell me how you could tell the killer was Bai Yi.


    He didnt know how to solve cases, but that didnt stop him from being interested.


    Lu Qi didnt answer, and they walked to the apartments in silence, Zhou Anan bumped into them in the hall, and she directed a complicated gaze at Shen Qingcheng.


    Shen Qingcheng: ???


    Bai Yi is dead. You can go and take a look, she said with a pale face.


    Shen Qingcheng was surprised. So soon? I thought I would at least have to wait until night fell.


    TLN:


    Paper money () is money that is printed for the sole purpose of burning. Burning paper money for a dead loved one is believed to send it to them in the realm of the dead, where they can spend it.


    Knocking onomatopoeia.


    Breaking the pot () is letting a situation run its course without trying to steer it to a different outcome. Since hes been exposed, he basically said fuck it and stopped trying to hide.


    Voluntary principle () is a tenet of civil law. Basically, civil subjects cannot impose their own will on others¨Cthey are free to accept a deal or refuse if they dont like the terms. Here, it means he wants to make a deal. Think quid pro quo.


    Tiger and wolf words () is internet slang for dirty jokes/vulgar words.


    YY stands for yiyin (), slang for fantasizing about sexual acts. Basically, they ship it.


    Hitting it () means that the poster is excited by their cp/the person they like, and their behavior is making the poster excited/happy.


    Chapters will hopefully be posted on Mondays from now on.

 Chapter 6

    Bai Yi died in the bathroom of the infirmary.


    When she was found, she was draped face down over the sink bowl, arms dangling limp at her sides. The aorta in her neck was cut open, and the blood had gushed out into the sink.


    After the sink had filled, blood had flowed out, eventually covering all of the white floor tiles.


    Bai Yi had worn an off-white skirt, but now it was dyed red, and blood dripped off the hem onto the ground.


    The whole bathroom was filled with the lingering fishy smell unique to fresh blood.


    The weapon that had slit Bai Yi¡¯s neck was placed on the counter, next to her head. It was a small black dagger.


    Shen Qingcheng might not have known, but the other players who had seen the dagger, and the audience in the live broadcast room, all knew the origin of the dagger.


    It was the cheapest item in the game mall. Usually, only players who had just passed their test copies would buy it.


    Bai Yi had died under such a rookie dagger.


    Shen Qingcheng: ??? Wasn¡¯t this ¡°Mama Rong¡¯s Silver Needle?¡±


    According to Zhou An¡¯an, they had gone to the cafeteria to have breakfast in the morning, then dispersed. Bai Yi had received her identity as a kindergarten doctor, so she was best suited for exploring the kindergarten infirmary.


    However, the infirmary wasn¡¯t in the same building as the classrooms, and Bai Yi had always looked weak and in need of protection. There had been a murder the previous night, so Bai Yi had cried and said that she didn¡¯t dare go alone.


    Xue Tong felt that, as a man, he should protect her, and naturally offered to accompany her.


    ¡°She said she was going to the bathroom. I waited for her while I was looking around the infirmary, but she didn¡¯t come out even after I waited for a long time. She didn¡¯t respond when I called her name at the door,¡± Xue Tong recounted slowly. ¡°Because it was a woman¡¯s restroom, I hesitated for a while before going in.¡±


    He swallowed hard and didn¡¯t say that he should¡¯ve gone in sooner. He knew he couldn¡¯t save anyone from ghosts.


    It was already good enough that he could protect himself.


    Everyone gathered in the hall again, and this time even the man who chose to wait out the deadline came.


    Two players had already died in less than a day. Bai Yi¡¯s death already seemed terribly tragic just from a description. He couldn¡¯t guarantee that nothing would happen to himself, so it was safer to stay with other players right now.


    Nobody cared about him.


    Zhou An¡¯an was more concerned over what Shen Meiren had said when he had first walked in.


    ¡°Shen Meiren, when I said Bai Yi was dead, you asked ¡®so soon?¡¯ What was the meaning of that? Did you know that Bai Yi was going to die?¡±


    Only Zhou An¡¯an and Lu Qi had heard his words earlier. Now, the rest of the players turned their attention to Shen Qingcheng.


    Chen Ge also looked at him in surprise. Strangely, he didn¡¯t doubt him for a second, but instead only wondered what rude thing Shen-ge was going to do next.


    Shen Qingcheng didn¡¯t deny it, asking with a smile, ¡°Do you think I did it?¡±


    ¡°I have an alibi this time. I was with Lu Qi from beginning to end, from morning to night, from dawn to dusk. He would know if I left his side to kill someone, right, Lu Qi?¡±


    Lu Qi¡¯s brows furrowed, embarrassed by Shen Meiren¡¯s words.


    ¡°I believe it wasn¡¯t you,¡± Xue Tong said suddenly. Although his expression wasn¡¯t as ugly as Zhou An¡¯an¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t much better either. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Shen Meiren, it was¨Cit was some other thing.¡±


    ¡°I saw it. When I went in, the thing was standing behind Bai Yi, and it saw me.¡± He took a sip of water to ease his fear, clenching the water glass tightly. ¡°I just don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t kill me. It just said three1 words with a gloomy smile.¡±


    He took a deep breath, slowly spitting out those three words.


    ¡°As you wish.¡±


    As you wish. Whose wish? What kind of wish was it?


    Bai Yi¡¯s death had suddenly become much more confusing.


    Shen Qingcheng was not surprised at all to hear this. He had long known that he had to be careful with his words, especially in this shitty game where ghosts outnumbered people. That girl had tried to borrow the excuse of ¡°yin¡± happenings the other night.


    When Bai Yi had suddenly said that ¡°it could¡¯ve been a ghost,¡± he knew something was going to happen to her, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to happen so quickly.


    Zhou An¡¯an and the others had already had a similar discussion, so they weren¡¯t too surprised, but instead just dubious.


    Just as in Shi Juan¡¯s death, all of the information they knew was one-sided, and they didn¡¯t know whether or not to believe it.


    If they believed Bai Yi, then Shen Meiren had killed Shi Juan; if they believed Xue Tong, then Bai Yi had been killed by a ghost, and if they didn¡¯t believe him, Xue Tong must be the culprit.


    ¡°You know what that sentence means.¡± Lu Qi met Shen Qingcheng¡¯s eyes, certain.


    Ah, he was being stared at by a dozen pairs of eyes again.


    Shen Qingcheng said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s okay to expose my bottom2, but can¡¯t you wait until we¡¯re in private to do it? You can expose it as much as you want, you can do whatever you want to it, I won¡¯t resist.¡±


    Lu Qi felt a headache come on.


    ¡°Cough, cough.¡± Meng Tianhai coughed twice. They were just talking about being exposed, how come it sounded so much like he was going to take off his clothes?


    He said, ¡°Shen Meiren, if you really know something, please explain it to everyone.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not hard for me to say,¡± Shen Qingcheng said in a generous manner, ¡°But if you want to ask a favor from me, you should act more like it. I¡¯m not a philanthropist.¡±


    Zhou An¡¯an, who was subtly mocked, didn¡¯t have a very good expression on her face.


    Shen Qingcheng: ¡°Anyway, where should I start?¡±


    Chen Ge reminded, ¡°As you wish.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, that. Might as well explain it first.¡± He nodded, then casually said some explosive words. ¡°Bai Yi killed Shi Juan.¡±


    Everyone was shocked. Xue Tong frowned. ¡°How can you tell it wasn¡¯t that thing that did it?¡±


    Shen Qingcheng: ¡°You probably won¡¯t believe me when I say this, but I could just tell that the aura at the scene of her murder was different from that of a ghost.¡±


    ¡°Why is this getting more and more incomprehensible?¡± Someone muttered in the background.


    Shen Qingcheng: ¡°In the morning, when everyone on the fourth floor was discussing whether or not they heard anything, Bai Yi said she heard a knock, but none of you did, right?¡±


    Xue Tong scratched the back of his head and said, ¡°I slept quite deeply, and I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    Lu Qi: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I also heard a knock at the door, and a voice calling my name,¡± Shen Qingcheng said, turning his head. ¡°It was your voice, Lu Qi.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that in the morning?!¡± Xue Tong asked angrily. He¡¯d even tried to cast suspicion on Bai Yi when he¡¯d denied it.


    The others frowned.


    Shen Qingcheng looked at Lu Qi¡¯s expressionless face and mentally sighed regretfully. What a handsome face¡­ too bad he seemed to have facial paralysis.


    Shen Qingcheng: ¡°What would be the point in saying it? Should I just invite questions about why I didn¡¯t open the door?


    ¡°Actually, Bai Yi was supposed to die last night,¡± he said in a more serious tone, ¡°but she somehow escaped.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, I¡¯m just getting more and more confused.¡± Chen Ge gave up.


    Shen Qingcheng gave him a look that seemed to say ¡°you¡¯re so stupid¡±. The others unnaturally avoided eye contact, not wanting to admit that they didn¡¯t understand either.


    Shen Qingcheng opened his mouth and said, ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way. Unless a ghost has a specific target for revenge, there¡¯ll be footsteps when they kill.


    ¡°First, they cast a wide net. That¡¯s what those footsteps were. When you hear those footsteps, congratulations, you¡¯ve been added to the ghost¡¯s kill list.


    ¡°Second, they slowly tighten the net and catch the fish¨Cthis corresponds to the knock at the door. If you hear the knock, that means the ghost has selected you and you might as well wash your neck3 and wait.


    ¡°Finally,¡± he shrugged, ¡°they kill the fish.¡±


    Ah, talking about it has made him crave fish head with chopped peppers? now.


    ¡°In other words, that thing¨Cer, that ghost¨Cactually wanted to kill Bai Yi last night?¡± Chen Ge nodded in understanding. ¡°Wait, Shen-ge, you also heard the knock.¡±


    His voice softened as he said that last part.


    Shen Qingcheng: ¡°Well, Bai Yi survived fine, so of course I have my own ways to save my life as well.¡±


    As for how exactly he planned to say he had done it¨Cwell, he hadn¡¯t thought of that yet.


    No one else had any doubts; only Chen Ge couldn¡¯t figure it out. Didn¡¯t Shen-ge only pass a single test copy? Where did he get enough survival points to buy a life-saving prop?


    Maybe it was just because he was such a big thigh.


    Now, Meng Tianhai asked, ¡°Then what¡¯s up with the dagger?¡±


    Ghosts wouldn¡¯t cause items to drop when killing players, only players themselves would. Of course, it was because of this that they suspected that it wasn¡¯t a ghost who killed Bai Yi, but Xue Tong.


    ¡°It¡¯s Shi Juan¡¯s,¡± Lu Qi said quietly. ¡°Props that didn¡¯t originally belong to you can only be stored in the game space after the copy is over. Therefore, she must have taken it off Shi Juan.¡±


    Lu Qi¡¯s words made everyone look at him, and even Shen Qingcheng blinked curiously.


    He moved to his side. ¡°Lu-dage, please explain in detail.¡± He pushed gently at his leg.


    Lu Qi was quiet for a second, then said, ¡°¡±Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Shen Qingcheng immediately moved back to his seat.


    The audience in the live broadcast room was shocked. They had been chasing God 7 for several years, but they definitely didn¡¯t get this kind of preferential storytelling treatment!


    They felt like pickled fish, sour and unlikable, the type of fish that should just wait to be killed by a ghost.


    ¡°Bai Yi used her own props to hide from the ghost, then killed Shi Juan and took her dagger,¡± Lu Qi said.


    He had also had doubts in the beginning, until Shen Meiren had revealed that a ghost had been eyeing Bai Yi last night and he had connected everything together.


    Shen Qingcheng waited for a while but didn¡¯t hear anything else. He couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    Lu Qi: ¡°En.¡±


    That¡¯s right, of course.


    The other players suddenly realized what had happened.


    The chances of a player dropping a prop after dying to another player was only 50%, and Bai Yi actually chose to kill for this 50% chance.


    As she had hoped, a prop dropped. Unfortunately, it was the useless newbie dagger.


    Liu Zimei said uneasily, ¡°So Shi Juan was actually the rookie.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s flustered and bewildered performance had successfully fooled everyone from beginning to end. But there was no way a rookie could¡¯ve acquired the survival points necessary to exchange for a special item.


    Zhou An¡¯an snorted coldly. ¡°Shi Juan was also fooled. That¡¯s why she befriended Bai Yi in the first place.¡±


    Shi Juan thought she and Bai Yi were in the same predicament. How was she to know that Bai Yi was the one who would end up killing her?


    It didn¡¯t matter why Bai Yi had pretended to be a newcomer, or if she was actually a radical in disguise. The fact was that she had chosen to stage the fake ghost attack and kill Shi Juan.


    She had used up her life-saving tools and felt insecure, so she decided to kill Shi Juan in order to increase her own odds at surviving.


    She had calculated very well. Shi Juan had chosen a conservative way to pass the copy, so she must be the type of person to cherish her life. She would¡¯ve bought defensive props.


    Even if Shi Juan¡¯s death didn¡¯t get her the right props, Bai Yi could just cast the blame on others.


    Nobody knew what to say for a while.


    The most uncomfortable person in the hall was Chen Ge. He had seen a rookie killed by a veteran player in his last copy.


    Unconsciously, he had trusted her more than the others.


    Who would¡¯ve thought that the real rookie was Shi Juan, who chose to wait the time out from the very beginning.


    Even if Shi Juan wasn¡¯t a rookie like Shen-ge, who had only passed the test dungeon, he could tell that she had only been through a few dungeons because she had brought the dagger with her.


    Thinking of this, he turned his attention to the man who had also chosen the ¡®live¡¯ objective. He hesitated. Could this man be a rookie too?


    The man was scooping ice cream for himself, and when stared at inexplicably, he hugged his ice cream to himself and turned his back to Chen Ge. What, never seen a big man east strawberry ice cream before?


    ¡°What about the blood and the ¡®as you wish¡¯ thing?¡± As everyone else remained silent, Xue Tong pointed out the key point.


    ¡°Does this still need explaining? Can¡¯t you see the similarities between Shi Juan¡¯s death and Bai Yi¡¯s? The person they were about to kill escaped, and the next day a murder you didn¡¯t commit was attributed to you. In their place, would you want to do as Bai Yi wanted?¡±


    Once he had finished firing off questions, Shen Qingcheng clarified, ¡°But not all ghosts like such bloody deaths, just most of them.¡±


    Xue Tong was stunned by how Shen Qingcheng had suddenly opened fire?.


    Lu Qi: ¡°Did any of you see the ghosts clearly?¡±


    Xue Tong was at a loss for words, but as soon as he heard an easy question to answer, he quickly replied, ¡°I saw it. It¡¯s a woman, about one meter tall?, with big eyes and a melon seed? face, as well as long, straight legs. She also has a beauty mole between her eyebrows.¡±


    A beauty mole.


    It must be the woman who had appeared on the monitoring screen, a woman who was most likely named Qi Mei.


    TLN:


    1 In the original, it was four words instead (ÈçÄãËùÔ¸).


    2 Expose my bottom (½ÒÎÒÀϵ×) basically just means ¡°expose me¡± or ¡°expose what I¡¯m hiding¡±. It does sound a little dirty the way he says it¡­


    3 Wash your neck (Ï´¸É¾»²±×Ó) basically means ¡°prepare to be beheaded¡±.


    ? Fish head with chopped pepper (¶ç½·ÓãÍ·) is a spicy Hunan fish dish.


    Source


    ? Words like bullets and all that.


    ? Raws say around 1 meter (Ò»Ã××óÓÒ), but that¡¯s a bit over 3 feet, so maybe it¡¯s a typo.


    ? A melon seed face (¹Ï×ÓÁ³) is exactly what it sounds like¨Ca face shaped like a melon seed.