Chapter 161
Chapter 161
What did he mean by not indulging them too much?
What about the points?
Lucia wanted to ask more, but Qiao Yu had already turned and left. At some point, she had become the only person remaining in the entire room…
No. There was one more!
She looked back at Han Yoon-sik, who still lay stiffly on his bed, and took one step toward him. Almost immediately, however, she withdrew her foot.
Nervously, she opened the streamer list and saw the streamer ID that had turned gray.
Han Yoon-sik… was really dead?
Why?!
Lucia was not grieving Han Yoon-sik’s death. She was trying to understand what had killed him.
Had that guy unknowingly violated a death rule?
But hadn’t he been bragging about all the points he had earned before bed?
Remembering the words left by the person who sold her the Review Card, Lucia began to understand.
Her vigilance rose to its highest level at the same time…
She pressed her lips together and tried to catch up with him for an explanation, but there was no trace of him in the corridor.
Lucia stared down the empty hallway and sighed in disappointment.
Who… was he?
Elsewhere, Qiao Yu, who had been forced into the role of a “dangerous and mysterious figure,” was rummaging through the dilapidated reading room.
Footsteps, sometimes slow and sometimes hurried, sounded in the corridor every so often.
The reading room was thick with dust. Covering his nose and mouth, Qiao Yu squeezed into the gap between the shelves and pulled out a palm-sized booklet.
The writing inside had faded with time until it was almost illegible. Only the illustrations remained faintly visible, their lines and style strangely unsettling: a spider… a horse’s head… a doll… a girl covering her face… a young woman wearing a scarf… and a Hairy Hand.
Shang Yan’s voice suddenly drifted faintly through the corridor. “Aunt Deng, where’s the backyard?”
The next second, Aunt Deng answered from directly outside the door. “Straight ahead, then turn right!”
Qiao Yu hurriedly returned the illustrated booklet to its original place. Crouching low, he moved to the window and climbed out through the narrow opening.
The instant he escaped the reading room, its door was flung open. Aunt Deng stared into the now-empty room, her icy gaze settling on the window that had not been fully closed.
She walked over and stood before it. Only after staring for a long time did she look away.
Meanwhile, Shang Yan pulled Qiao Yu all the way to the backyard. Standing there, he panted continuously, annoyed that his childhood pickiness and refusal to eat properly had resulted in such a frail young body.
Qiao Yu patiently waited until his breathing evened out before asking, “How did you know I went to the reading room?”
Shang Yan coughed. “I guessed.”
“Hmm? Based on what?”
“The moment you received five hundred thousand yuan.”
Qiao Yu understood. The bastard had followed him the instant he left.
Shang Yan had never intended to hide it. With shameless composure, he asked, “What were you doing in the reading room?”
Qiao Yu spread his hands. “Studying.”
“Do I look like I believe you?”
“You’re so scheming that you can make stalking sound fresh and refined. How could I possibly tell whether you believe me?”
Shang Yan fell silent.
Qiao Yu truly never yielded when he had reason on his side-and when he didn’t, he would still twist the argument until he claimed three points out of ten.
More and more people gathered in the backyard. An announcement began to echo from an unknown source.
“Time’s up! Loving Home Orphanage welcomes all our new children. It’s time for our nightly entertainment-playing a game! Is everyone excited?”
No one answered. The streamers were completely bewildered, while the resident children had lost all their daytime cheer. Their faces were so deathly pale that they looked as though they had fallen into a vat of flour.
“All right, I know you’re very excited. Now it’s time for the game. You’ve all played One, Two, Three, Freeze before, haven’t you? Make sure you follow the rules strictly.”
“The streamer with the highest current score-little Lucia, please step forward.”
Lucia froze, standing helplessly in place.
A pair of hands appeared from nowhere and shoved her hard in the back.
She stumbled forward two steps before she could regain control. When she looked back, she saw Qiao Beibei, who had played with her during the day, standing with both hands extended and a sinister look in his eyes.
An inexplicable chill ran through her.
“Now, you will select ten new children to participate in the game. A friendly reminder: people can die during this game.”
Lucia looked at the frowning streamers and knew she was in trouble.
She had carefully kept her score in second place, yet the job of offending everyone had still fallen to her.
Who would have expected Han Yoon-sik to be so useless that he got himself killed on the very first night?
What should she do?
Did she have to name them?
“Can I refuse to choose?”
Laughter came from the broadcast. “Of course. But someone has to play, and you will definitely be one of them. Every child randomly selected afterward will have 10 points deducted-and naturally, so will you.”
Damn it!
If she chose, she would offend people. If she refused, she would still offend people.
With that in mind, Lucia gritted her teeth and pointed randomly.
The ten selected streamers naturally resented her, but there was nothing they could do.
“Next, the lineup may be changed before the game begins. Streamers with higher scores may choose a streamer with a lower score to take their place. You may choose only once, so choose carefully. Countdown: ten seconds.”
How vicious!
On the very first day, the Instance had already torn the group apart and destroyed any possibility of cooperation.
Sure enough, everything during the day had been an illusion…
“Ten, nine…”
The streamers had initially been hesitant. The moment they heard the countdown, however, their indecision vanished. They immediately opened the scores on the streamer list and began calling names.
“I choose Azim.”
“I choose I Want a Doctorate!”
“Ten-Thousand-Year Bookworm.”
“Bu Yan Er Yu.”
“I’m Your Dad?”
Why had someone suddenly started insulting people?
The unselected streamers looked curiously at their Thai friend, all of them confused.
Chinnawat was speechless too.
What kind of ridiculous ID was that?
It was far too easy to misunderstand.
Then… he saw the streamer who had left him speechless earlier walk forward with an innocent smile.
No!
If he had known it was Qiao Yu, he would never have chosen that name…
At least they had met before.
The next second, he fed that flash of regret to the dogs.
A white card flashed before his eyes and instantly covered him in cold sweat.
A Review Card?
He had searched all afternoon without finding even a trace of one. Why did this guy have one?
Where had he found it?
Oh no. Was Qiao Yu going to hold a grudge and swap Chinnawat back into the game?
As expected, the broadcast sounded again.
The lineup would be reversed one final time before the game began.
“Finally, any child holding a Review Card may choose any person and exchange places with them. Time limit: three minutes.”
Qiao Yu smiled delightedly. With a turn of his wrist, he revealed a Review Card and gave Luo Yunmeng a little devil’s grin. “Want to buy it? It’s still only eighteen percent of the regular price.”
Grinding her teeth, Luo Yunmeng pulled out her phone. “…I’ll buy it. I’d be a fool not to!”
[WeChat received: 1,800 yuan.]