Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Only two people occupied He Lecheng’s office.
In ordinary school life, what was strange about a student with psychological problems seeking out their homeroom teacher for a heart-to-heart talk to relieve some stress?
From the very beginning, the falsified school rules Hui Yulian had provided warned the players not to enter He Lecheng’s office.
That had been suspicious.
Sure enough, the real school rules contained no such prohibition.
Not a trace of fear showed in Xiao Huai’s eyes as he looked at He Lecheng, as though he had forgotten which NPC had slaughtered people without mercy the day before.
The sweet, metallic scent of blood permeated the office. Its bizarre decor looked nothing like a school office. If anything, it resembled…
A doctor’s office. More specifically, the office of a doctor in a psychiatric hospital.
All manner of strange paintings hung on the walls, while a variety of toys and dolls covered the desk.
The first thing to catch Xiao Huai’s eye was the oil painting of Ivy Girls’ School hanging beside the clock.
From its brushwork and style, he could vaguely deduce that it depicted Ivy Girls’ School in 1987.
“Mr. He, may I talk to you?”
“Of course. As your homeroom teacher, helping students relieve stress is part of my duty.”
Xiao Huai met He Lecheng’s eyes. “Then I want to leave this place.”
He Lecheng arched a brow. This time, it was Xiao Huai who walked toward him.
Xiao Huai took out Hanako’s diary and smiled faintly. “Sir, none of you ever said we weren’t allowed to leave the school.”
Then he continued, “No, that came out wrong. There is no way out because this world is fake. Isn’t that right, my lord god?”
When Xiao Huai had questioned Hui Yulian about the criteria she used to choose people, He Lecheng had answered for her.
And at the time, He Lecheng had used the pronoun “we.”
He had said, “our world.”
The world of the gods.
Ever since then, Xiao Huai had suspected that some NPCs within the game were actually gods playing roles.
He Lecheng’s smile slowly faded. He regarded Xiao Huai in silence.
Xiao Huai seemed to have anticipated that reaction. He began reciting the contents of the diary.
Hanako’s Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
She was happy every day. Many big sisters played games with her here.
Here, she made many friends.
Here, none of her friends were human.
Here, someone jumped to their death every day.
Here, every corpse reeked of oil.
Here, everyone was a child, though only a handful of them remembered.
Ivy Girls’ School had never been a high school. From the very beginning, it had been an elementary school.
“And you are the dreamweaver’s attending physician, Dr. He, the doctor who treated Jiang Shuli.”
The instant he finished speaking, He Lecheng narrowed his eyes to slits. Barely concealed delight gleamed within them. His body trembled slightly as excitement swept through him.
He Lecheng’s mouth fell open, and a shrill laugh burst from his throat like the manic cackle of a circus clown.
He laughed until his stomach hurt, clutching it as tears of mirth slid from the corners of his eyes.
“Hahahaha! How fascinating! No one has uncovered my identity in such a long time! Your name is Xiao Huai, isn’t it? You’re the one who stole my work badge.”
Xiao Huai met his gaze calmly. “You never said stealing was forbidden.”
He Lecheng’s eyes shone. His voice dropped to a quiet murmur.
“But you should understand what awaits you if you return to the source of the contamination. Wouldn’t it be better to remain safely in my world and obey the rules?”
He reached out to touch Xiao Huai, but Xiao Huai turned aside and maintained his distance.
He disliked people deliberately touching him.
He Lecheng did not take offense. After a brief pause, he smiled playfully.
“You hold an enormous advantage. You’re the very last student in the class, after all.”
A roguish smile lingered on Xiao Huai’s lips. “Mm… I suppose ranking last is rather useful. But sir, there’s a problem with the school rules.”
He continued in a low voice. “Rule Ten: homework.”
He Lecheng held absolute authority over homework. He could assign as much as he pleased. What if he assigned tasks that were impossible to complete?
At that point, everyone would become his toy. Whoever he wanted dead would die.
“As for Rule Nine, I think you already know that we fulfilled it from the very beginning.”
Apart from Class 44, every student in the other classes was already dead. Could they take the standardized exam? The answer was obvious.
The rule’s scope appeared to cover the whole school, but in practice, it applied only to their class.
Even if the highest score in the class was only twenty points, that student would still rank first in the entire school.
He Lecheng’s smile grew wider and wider as he watched Xiao Huai in silence.
Xiao Huai said, “But one question still intrigues me. Why introduce identity cards into this game? Your objective can’t be that simple.”
He Lecheng gave a noncommittal laugh.
“Child, the answer is quite simple.” He snapped his fingers, and He Lecheng’s false skin fell away.
The figure beneath wore a flamboyant robe, its multicolored stripes intertwining in bizarre patterns. A pointed hat sat atop the figure’s head, adorned with rainbow bells that jingled crisply with every movement.
The God of Mischief’s face resembled a painter’s palette, covered in vivid makeup. Exaggerated shadow framed the eyes, while a peculiar smile curved the lips.
“Because I am the God of Mischief. You were simply unlucky enough to encounter me.”
The instant those words fell, the office door flew open. A dagger stabbed toward Xiao Huai with deadly precision.
He was not surprised when he saw the attacker’s face. He shifted slightly aside and avoided the blade.
Even a god could not casually attack a player.
A believer, however, was a different matter.
The God of Mischief’s believer: Hu Jiang.
Hu Jiang cast off the novice persona he had been wearing and glared viciously at Xiao Huai.
“You don’t seem particularly surprised to see me,” Hu Jiang said coldly.
“I have to admit, your act was quite convincing. At first, I thought you were slow, foolish, and very much a novice.”
“Heh.” Hu Jiang clearly doubted that. “When did you discover my identity?”
Xiao Huai said, “Mm… At first, it was probably just intuition. Later, I happened to see a stone glowing under your blanket one night.”
It was a contact stone used by the Falcon organization, and Xiao Huai had caught it flashing by chance.
If Hui Yulian had not tried to bind him to her side earlier, he might never have known what it was.
Her scheme had inadvertently worked in his favor.
She and Hu Jiang belonged to the same organization, and the timing of Hui Yulian’s death had been far too convenient.
Her roommates were not the only people who could obtain a strand of her hair. A trusted teammate could do the same.
So when Xiao Huai saw the Red Finger hidden on Hui Yulian’s body, he deduced Hu Jiang’s identity.
Hui Yulian had tried to write Hu Jiang’s name, but she ran out of time. All she managed to leave on the Red Finger was the character pronounced gu, meaning “ancient.”
The character hu contained gu as one of its components.
That confirmed Hu Jiang was the murderer.
Hu Jiang laughed. “So that stupid woman dragged me down after all.”
Several dark patches of livor mortis appeared across his body, releasing poisonous vapor into the air. Xiao Huai arched the end of one eyebrow and retreated several steps. When he tried to leave the office, he discovered that the door had been locked.
He Lecheng was delighted to watch the chaos unfold. He simply sat behind the desk with his chin propped on one hand, observing them.
Xiao Huai covered his nose and backed toward the door.
“Wait… Before I die, shouldn’t you at least let me die knowing the truth? Otherwise, if I suffer an unjust death in this instance, there’s a very good chance I’ll come back to curse you.”
Hu Jiang froze for a moment, then raised his chin with a self-satisfied smile.
“All right. I’ll grant that wish. Let’s start with my identity.”
“Hello. My name is Hu Jiang. I have cleared a fourth-floor instance, and I am also one of my lord’s loyal believers.”
“My mission is simple: make sure every one of you remains here forever!” The poison spreading around him was on the verge of surrounding Xiao Huai.
Xiao Huai watched the madness consume Hu Jiang’s eyes and asked softly, “How do you plan to accomplish that?”
“Heh. By making every one of you play Hanako’s game, of course.”
The moment he finished speaking, Xiao Huai chuckled.
He lowered the hand covering his nose.
His lips curved into an unruly smile.
“That’s right. So you knew too.”
He drew an object from behind his back.
The moment Hu Jiang saw what Xiao Huai was holding, his pupils contracted violently.