Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Qiao Jin took in Lin Zhu’s battered appearance, now genuinely surprised. “You were with him?”

Until now, she had only considered Cheng Miao a promising player. Her two teammates were not exactly burdens, but neither had stood out.

Seeing that Lin Zhu had escaped a deadly situation without Cheng Miao and without any clear route to safety forced Qiao Jin to reassess the delicate-looking boy.

Lin Zhu removed his glasses and wiped them on the hem of his shirt, lips pressed down. “Brother Qin was there too.”

Qin Musong, who had been serving as a human backdrop, gave a cool nod to confirm it.

After Lin Zhu described the previous night, another blow struck the already fragile team.

“There… there really is a ghost!” The auntie staggered backward. Her plump finger moved from Qiao Jin to Qian Ming before stopping on Cheng Miao. “You said there weren’t any ghosts!”

Qi Jiajia bared a row of white teeth in a sinister grin. “Point that finger one more time. Try it.”

Cheng Miao pulled Qi Jiajia back and did not argue. She had no patience for it.

This was only the second day, and four people were already dead. The speed of the deaths made her deeply uneasy.

“Sister Li triggered a rule by speaking after lights-out.” Cheng Miao shared what had happened the previous night. “Her death was probably an accident enforced by the rule. No talking after lights-out.”

“Then why didn’t you warn her? You killed her!” The auntie’s fear found an outlet and poured free. She pointed at Cheng Miao, her accusation saturated with terror and directionless hatred.

“Do you have a brain? How was little Miaomiao supposed to warn her? If it were you, would you risk death to stop another player from acting stupid?” Qiao Jin looked gentle, but her words cut sharply.

Perhaps her soft image was too firmly established. The auntie merely stared, lowered her hand, then belatedly apologized. “I was panicking. Please… don’t abandon me.”

No one answered. Even Qiao Jin was anxious over the instance’s brutal pace.

The auntie seized Zhou Jian, the most timid person nearby. “You believe me, don’t you? I didn’t mean what I said…”

Her grip hurt, but Zhou Jian only grimaced and did not dare pull away.

“Can we use the restroom after lights-out?” Chen Yu asked. She and Freckles had shared a room the previous night. Fortunately, both were cautious and had remained silent.

“Using the restroom is a normal physical need. It should be safe.” Qian Ming had another lollipop in his mouth, making his answer indistinct.

“What about you? How did you survive?” After enduring enough irrelevant chatter, Qi Jiajia turned to the exhausted Lin Zhu.

He scratched his head. “I don’t know. I told you everything that happened. I hit the thing with my book, and the next moment I woke in my dormitory bed. I was afraid I’d return to the laboratory if I fell asleep again, so I stayed awake.”

“And you, Uncle Qin?” Qi Jiajia turned to Qin Musong. He seemed surprised that she had addressed him. Rubbing his nose, he answered gently.

“Brute force.”

Everyone glanced knowingly at the handgun on his waist. That method was not something they could imitate.

But how had defenseless Lin Zhu survived?

There were too few clues to reach an answer. Cheng Miao could only remind everyone to obey every known rule and stop dying pointlessly.

That afternoon’s basketball game took place in the gymnasium, with both classes in attendance.

The players sat in the stands. The gym was packed and noisy, and the lively atmosphere relaxed some of them. It only made Qiao Jin and the other veterans more wary.
Patterns emerged one piece at a time. No one would break the rules they had discovered yesterday, but the instance would never let them reach the fourth day without another incident.

Something was almost certain to go wrong in this gym.

“We’re two players short for the first game. We need two boys to join us.” The class monitor approached with the attendance sheet, her young face solemn.

The science-class players looked at one another before finally choosing Qin Musong and Old Yu.

Lin Zhu was in poor shape. Besides, an honor student like him did not play basketball. He did not even know the rules. Qin Musong and Old Yu were the only men left who could go.

Old Yu bit down on his knuckle, his face deathly pale. He did not want to play, but throwing a fit would accomplish nothing and might even violate another rule. Realistically, he knew he was the only possible choice.

He looked at Qin Musong, who sat silently off to one side yet remained impossible to ignore. “Brother Qin, what do you think we should do once we’re out there?”

Qin Musong glanced at him and pointed to the other athletes on the court. “Winning honor for your class should be part of being a good student. But Tan Tao wasn’t good at sports…”

In other words, they had a fifty-fifty chance.

Old Yu’s lips trembled. He turned, crouched in front of Cheng Miao, and pleaded, “Miss… Miss Cheng, about the game…”

Cheng Miao watched the energetic Ma Yuan on the court. “I think you should do your best to win. Remember the information Lin Zhu found? The science and liberal-arts classes competed in everything.”

Old Yu felt slightly reassured and thanked her under his breath.

Sharp-eyed Qi Jiajia spotted Boss Zou and Zhou Jian among the liberal-arts athletes. She tugged on Cheng Miao’s sleeve and motioned for her to look.

“Why did they go down there too…?” Chen Yu frowned. Beside her, Freckles gave her hand a comforting pat.

The two girls had become friends after rooming together. Although Chen Yu had already advanced to an Advanced Dormitory, Freckles was calmer and more adaptable than she was.

“They said they were short on players and needed help for the second game.” Qiao Jin had taken a seat beside Cheng Miao at some point. She pressed close, drawing a sinister glare from Qi Jiajia.

“Good. Then we won’t be playing against each other.” Old Yu muttered as he climbed down the bleachers. He took the jersey the class monitor offered and pulled it on haphazardly.

The whistle shrilled, and the game began. With his life on the line, Old Yu truly played as if his life depended on it.

Fortunately, he had played when he was younger and knew the rules. His movements were not especially nimble, but he did not commit a single foul.

With Qin Musong on the court, the science class won the first game with little suspense.

The players finally released the breaths they had been holding. Their reasoning was right. This could work!

Old Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead with the hem of his shirt as he came back up. He seemed unable to believe he was still alive.

“I’m alive. Thank God! Thank you, Miss Cheng!” Cheng Miao did not know whether to laugh or sigh at his ecstatic gratitude. “You were lucky. You guessed the rule correctly.”

Old Yu was an honest man. He knew he had survived only because the veterans had pieced together the rules. He bowed, then quietly took a seat off to one side.

“Boss Zou, did you see that? Neither of them got hurt.” Zhou Jian stretched for his warm-up and craned his neck toward Boss Zou. He had been unlucky enough to draw the short lot for the game.

Boss Zou kept his eyes on the people in the bleachers and nodded without answering. He did not particularly like Zhou Jian. The man radiated the indecision and weakness of someone beaten down by middle age.

But this was a Game of life and death. They were partners, and they both had to survive.

Old Yu and Qin Musong had lived. That meant victory was the key to survival. They had to win.