Chapter 45: Dormitory Ghost Tales (3)

Chapter 45: Dormitory Ghost Tales (3)

◎[Two in One] "If he disrespects you again, I will kill him."◎

Ignoring the other person, Shi Youqing turned his back, nestled into the bed, and opened the cell phone Bo Huai had given him.

It was an old-fashioned flip phone with only half the battery left. He quickly opened a few of the limited applications to check.

The phone had an owner; the photo album was filled with funny group photos of classmates against various school backgrounds, and the contacts list had many classmates' names, including those of the three NPCs in his dormitory.

In the message draft box was a new draft:

"Rented. If needed, call any number in the contacts, I'll come over. — Bo Lai."

Shi Youqing immediately understood.

Given the era represented in this replica, mobile phones weren't widespread yet. Some students who owned phones would rent them out for extra pocket money.

As for Ren Yi, he was likely a phone-owning NPC roommate in Bo Lai's dormitory.

Shi Youqing flipped through the contacts and indeed found the name.

Before the noodle-haired boy returned, Shi Youqing had scanned most of the group photos in the album, forming an initial impression of the three NPCs in the dormitory.

Yu Xiaohui in the photos loved to goof around, Dorm Head Chen Zheng usually wore a poker face, and the timid Lu Mingliang was shy in front of the camera.

As for the rest of the classmates, Shi Youqing hadn't met them in person yet, just quickly scanning to get a general impression—they all looked like typical high school students with nothing unusually odd.

However, the identity of the murderer wouldn't be written on anyone's face.

The difficulty of this replica was not small. Not only was there limited time, but the range of potential murderers was also extensive, including male dormitory students, dorm supervisors, and teachers.

They only had from tomorrow to Friday afternoon to identify the killer.

During this time, they also had to complete the dare tasks assigned by NPCs.

Shi Youqing thought of the newcomer in Bo Lai's dormitory who died for refusing the dare, clearly lacking game experience. Such inexperienced players were unlikely to be matched to a replica of this difficulty level. For instance, both he and Bo Lai were newbies who had only completed one replica each when they teamed up with Chen Bing, who had three replicas under his belt. The difficulty level of their subsequent replica was just right, even accommodating some newbies.

Because there wasn't a significant gap between them.

From the third replica onwards, the difficulty, coupled with probability factors, meant no pure newbies.

Each replica had only one clue, and this replica's clue was in their possession.

Other players were auto-matched.

Players without clues who teamed up would have the replica's difficulty balanced to their level, similar to competitive games in reality where a mix of experts and novices would find the match easier for experts but much harder for novices.

This meant that if a newbie entered this replica, the veteran player they teamed up with must have substantial experience, like having completed at least five or six, or even more, replicas.

Shi Youqing frowned slightly. This situation had its pros and cons. In a lucky scenario, a newbie could ride on the coattails of a veteran player, passing the level with ease and acquiring more chess pieces than their level warranted. However, they also ran the risk of an early death.

"This is gambling with life."

Therefore, even if people in real life would like to be guided by veteran players, most would first find clues themselves for safety, ensuring that the team they join matches their level, or team up only with players who have less than three more instances of experience than themselves.

As Shi Youqing thought about veteran players, hurried footsteps sounded outside, followed by the door opening; it was the return of the noodle-haired boy.

"What a test of courage, there's nothing scary at all! Found it under the dorm supervisor's door on the first floor!" The noodle-haired boy tossed the paper ball to Chen Zheng, laughing as he climbed into the upper bunk, "As if this could stump me!"

Chen Zheng glanced at him, tossing the paper ball into the waste basket: "Alright, let's go to sleep, we have to get up early for morning exercises."

"Morning exercises?" Shi Youqing suddenly propped himself up.

"Yes, it's every day. Why are you so jumpy?"

"Oh... I forgot."

He lay back down, thinking he should be able to complete the run if he just took it slow.

The rude-speaking man had already lain down in the upper bunk, and the dormitory fell silent; Shi Youqing lay with his eyes open, unable to sleep.

A minute later, there was a soft knock on the door, and Feng Bin coughed outside before entering the dormitory across the hall.

This was a signal to notify him of a safe return.

Shi Youqing relaxed, closed his eyes, and began to drift off to sleep.

……

The next day at six o'clock, the wake-up bell rang.

Shi Youqing, still groggy, felt someone patting his bed: "Get up, wash up, and then go for morning exercises."

It was the dormitory leader Chen Zheng's voice.

He mumbled a response and propped himself up in bed.

The light was already on, and the people in the dormitory were bustling about; soon, all three NPCs left with their basins.

There was no private bathroom here, so they had to wash up at the communal sink outside.

Noodle-haired boy, imitating his peers, walked out with his basin. His bunkmate, now standing by the door, observed the students bustling around, including the players, with a superior air.

It seemed to be nearing winter, the mornings were particularly cold, and Shi Youqing struggled to extricate himself from his warm bed.

Someone entered, and thinking it was a roommate, he continued to put on his socks, head bowed.

Not until the person with two hot water kettles stopped by his bed did Shi Youqing slowly look up.

"Bo Hua?!"

"I've already got the water ready," the newcomer squatted down, pulling out Shi Youqing's shoes for him, "I'll make the bed, you go wash up first."

"But you..."

"I've already tidied up my side." After helping with the shoes, Bo Hua mixed the hot water and turned to tidy up the bed.

"...Thanks."

With morning exercises approaching, the students outside hurried more, and Shi Youqing quickly washed up and brushed his teeth.

He was completely oblivious to the dark gaze of the person at the door.

*

The exercise session was short, only about fifteen minutes. The students lined up and started running around the playground.

The line was ordered by height, with Bo Hua at the very end of their class and Shi Youqing in the middle.

The pace was leisurely, not particularly tiring, but the cold weather gave Shi Youqing a headache after just one lap. Meanwhile, Noodle-haired boy kept urging from behind, "Can you go any faster? This is painfully slow..."

...Well, you can go die then.

Shi Youqing, with a blank expression and panting, took a moment to breathe when suddenly Bo Hua overtook him from behind and abruptly pulled him out of the line.

"What the..."

The row of students looked back in surprise but couldn't stop and quickly moved ahead.

A teacher from the edge of the playground came over, shouting, "What are you doing? Why aren't you joining the exercises?"

"He's hypoglycemic," Bo Huai said, holding his arm, making him lean against himself to rest, "I'll take him to the infirmary to check."

The teacher, seeing Shi Youqing's pale face and his long, black eyelashes resting closed against his eyelids, looking pitiful, was startled: "Take him quickly to check. If he's not well, he shouldn't come for morning exercises anymore."

Before Shi Youqing could react, he heard Bo Huai say, "Thank you, teacher," and then was helped by the other boy to walk outside.

The two didn't go to the infirmary but instead found a secluded spot near a flower bed.

Shi Youqing sat resting, while Bo Huai bent over him, pressing on his temples, "Does it still hurt?"

Shi Youqing had already recovered, breathing lightly, "It doesn't hurt anymore."

After watching him for a while, Bo Huai suddenly stood up straight, "Wait here for me a moment."

In less than two minutes, he returned, slightly out of breath from running.

Bo Huai had gone back to the dormitory to fetch his thermos, filled with hot water he had poured that morning. It had cooled to a drinkable temperature in the cold air. Approaching, he unscrewed the lid and handed it over.

Shi Youqing took a couple of sips, the warm water soothing his dry, cold chest. His slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he shifted to the side, "Sit down too."

Bo Huai remained standing still, like a tree.

It was only after a moment that Shi Youqing realized he was using his body to block the curious gazes from the exercise field.

Seeing Shi Youqing stop drinking, Bo Huai took back the thermos and closed it, "Did you hit someone yesterday?"

Shi Youqing looked up in surprise, his long eyelashes slightly fluttering. Though surprised that the other knew about it, he remained silent.

He didn't want to elaborate; his action was somewhat impulsive, but he had no regrets. The insinuation in the man’s words last night was clear. He could ignore others' negative attitudes, but he wouldn't tolerate behavior that disgusted him.

Bo Huai must have heard about it from Yu Xiaohui and others during the morning run...

"What's his name?" Bo Huai didn't press further but changed the question.

"I don't know, he's in..." Shi Youqing started to answer but then stopped, glancing at Bo Huai’s somber face, feeling as if he was snitching, so he got up, "They're finishing the morning exercises, let's go back to the classroom."

After the morning run was the time for morning reading.

Fortunately, Shi Youqing, Bo Huai, and Feng Bin's seats were close together. Feng Bin tossed him a note while the teacher was away.

It read: All the players are in our class. I've informed them to meet on the rooftop after morning reading.

Shi Youqing clenched the note in his palm, looked around, and besides the three of them in their team, there were six others without NPC indicators over their heads. This meant, including the newcomer who died last night, there were a total of ten players in this instance.

Apart from Yu Ze, all were unfamiliar faces.

Yu Ze had seen him on the exercise field, his face devoid of any emotion, consistently ashen.

Shi Youqing remembered what Hao Tianshuo had said.

Witnessing a familiar comrade die right before one's eyes can be an insurmountable trauma, let alone the loss of a loved one.

As soon as the bell rang signaling the end of class, students rushed toward the cafeteria, leaving behind only a few scattered NPCs and players. Feng Bin led the way out, followed by the other players.

On the rooftop, nine people were grouped in clusters of two or three, standing apart from each other.

Facing each other and seeing all the players’ faces clearly, Shi Youqing was still somewhat surprised.

Most high school students are nearly fully developed, so when he had first seen Bo Huai, Feng Bin, Yu Ze, and the two players from the dormitory, the incongruity wasn’t too pronounced. He had subconsciously assumed that most players would be young. But seeing the obviously over-forty face and the balding man, there was an instant, indescribable sense of shock.

Clearly, the NPCs here didn't find anything odd about these players posing as their classmates...

The balding man, realizing he and the forty-year-old were the center of attention, quickly clarified loudly, "I’m only twenty-five, not much older than you guys, haha!"

The noodle-haired boy remarked dryly, "This isn’t a job interview, why lie about your age?"

"...I really am twenty-five!" the man said, somewhat frantically, "A twenty-five-year-old programmer!"

"...I see, you should have said so earlier."

“……”

There was a moment of silence.

"Let's all introduce ourselves," Feng Bin broke the ice, briefly introducing himself along with his teammates Shi Youqing and Bo Huai.

"I'm Zhang Yu," said the programmer, still looking a bit aggrieved, "Really, twenty-five!"

“……”

The noodle-haired boy raised his hand briefly, "Li Da!"

The forty-year-old man nervously glanced around, "I-I'm Zhang Yongbo."

"Yu Ze."

"I'm Ye Jing..." The man in the white T-shirt, who had the lowest presence in the group, sneaked a glance at Shi Youqing and then at Bo Huai, "I'm in the same dormitory as him."

"Zongtu Yuan," the man standing alone at the edge of the rooftop, kicking at the ground with his foot, spoke with a hint of mockery, "After leaving the instance, we don’t have to keep a record of the dead. What’s the point of these introductions?"

After a brief silence.

"...Hey, what kind of way is that to talk!"

"Are you sick?"

"Zongtu Yuan?" The man named Zhang Yongbo's eyes widened in recognition, "I know you! You’re that veteran player who's collected over a hundred chess pieces, right?! I've been wanting to find you, and here we are!" He started running towards him.

Zongtu Yuan stepped back in disgust, "Get lost."

"This…" Zhang Yongbo stopped awkwardly in his tracks, "I didn’t mean anything by it, just wanted to make a friend..."

"Make friends?" Zongtu Yuan’s expression was haughty, "Kneel here until evening, and I might consider it."

"…" The man’s face turned pale.

The atmosphere grew tense.

"Speaking of which, about the incident in dormitory 306 yesterday, does anyone know who it was?" Shi Youqing suddenly asked.

The players looked startled and shook their heads.

"You mean Liu He?" Zongtu Yuan suddenly turned to him, "He came in teamed up with me, what about him?"

Shi Youqing: "..."

Feng Bin couldn't help but say, "Your teammate is dead."

"I know," Zongtu Yuan rubbed his wrist, "My team page showed it last night. No need to tell me again."

After a collective gasp, Zhang Yu muttered, "Looks like you take money to guide people. Even if there's no emotional attachment, shouldn't you at least feel some responsibility?"

Zongtu Yuan laughed, then his face turned cold, and he walked over briskly.

Zhang Yu stepped back in alarm, but his collar was suddenly grabbed, and the man patted his face, "Fools deserve to die, and you're no different. Why does a dead man talk so much?"

"Let go of me…"

Before Zongtu Yuan could make another move, something struck the back of his head, not hard but distinctly provocative.

He froze.

The pebble he was hit with rolled to his feet.

The man then stepped on it forcefully and turned around.

Behind him stood only Shi Youqing and Bo Hua.

The former was humming and looking at his own toes, while the latter watched him with an expressionless gaze.

Zong Zhu Yuan raised an eyebrow, showing interest in Shi Youqing, "You were pretty bold yesterday. Why are you sneaky today?"

"Did you like that style yesterday?" Shi Youqing looked up in surprise, "I didn't know."

“……”

Zhang Yu seized the chance to slip away and hurried to where Feng Bin was.

"Alright," Feng Bin said sternly, returning to the main topic, "Everyone is clear about this task, the time is short, but there are too many suspects. We need to work together, share the clues we find, and then collectively identify the culprit. It'll be more efficient."

Zhang Yu agreed, "Yes, I think so too!"

"Why should we?" Li Da chuckled, "So the useless ones can just wait for clues and win by doing nothing?"

Feng Bin replied, "If we don't get out, it means death. I don't think anyone would intentionally slack off."

"Then coordinate well," Li Da shrugged and walked towards the stairway.

Feng Bin had anticipated this, knowing not every group would be cooperative like the last instance, so he turned to the others.

Outside of the squad, except for Zhang Yu and Yu Ze, who always kept a stoic expression, the others did not show a clear stance. Zongzhu Yuan didn't even consider collaborating with them and merely watched Shi Youqing and Bo Huai like a spectator.

Just as Feng Bin was about to speak, Ye Jing suddenly raised his hand and whispered, "I... I'm willing to cooperate, but..." He looked at Shi Youqing, "Do you... remember me?"

Shi Youqing blinked rapidly.

The expressions of the two teammates beside him changed.

In just a few seconds, Shi Youqing recalled the dreams he had before the binding game, the Red Shoes copy with Gao Fei, and Qiao Mingcheng's words.

This person in front of him seemed to be a teammate from his "dreams"...

...This was somewhat troublesome.

But before he could speak, the other party took the initiative: "Can I talk to you alone?"

Shi Youqing naturally nodded in agreement.

He asked Bo Huai and Feng Bin to go to the cafeteria first and followed Ye Jing downstairs, walking to a deserted corner of the teaching building before stopping and saying, "Speak."

Ye Jing looked bewildered, seemingly afraid of him, his hands clenched tightly into fists: "That... wasn't it you who fell into the lava?"

...As expected.

Shi Youqing feigned ignorance: "What do you mean? I don't understand."

The other party scrutinized him carefully, and after a while, let out a quiet sigh of relief: "So it wasn't you... I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else. That person looked a lot like you but was antisocial, didn't speak in the copy, had no will to live, and was the first to die... Because they were very beautiful, I always remembered them. Seeing you today really scared me..."

Shi Youqing said, "There are people in this world who look alike."

Ye Jing nodded: "Yeah, it's a kind of fate, I guess..."

Shi Youqing then asked him, "When did the copy you mentioned take place?"

Ye Jing answered truthfully, "A month ago... actually, it was my last copy."

It's normal for players without hints to have a month interval between two copies. At that time, it was just before he entered the game — during that period, he often had nightmares, and later signs proved that they were clearly not just dreams.

Ye Jing stole a few more glances at him and sighed, "You two... really do look very alike."

"Let's go eat," Shi Youqing said softly, "I'm hungry."

The other person nodded, then instinctively offered, "Shall I get your meal for you?"

"..." There was a brief silence before he realized his words had been misconstrued as a command. Shaking his head, he clarified, "That's not what I meant. My teammates probably already got food for me. You should go ahead."

The other person uttered a few embarrassed 'oh's and then scurried away, face flushed.

The cafeteria was crowded, probably still with a queue. Shi Youqing wasn't in a rush. He walked slowly towards it, and as he rounded a corner, someone appeared suddenly, squinting at him.

"Another boss so soon?"

Shi Youqing looked up, expressionless.

Zongzhu Yuan observed the youth's delicate features under the sunlight up close, causing a stir in his heart. "You're well-cared for, so why mingle with the lowly?" he remarked.

Shi Youqing took a step closer to him.

Zongzhu Yuan, much taller, was surprised by his approach, his haughty demeanor shifting slightly. Before he could fully discern the deep shadows cast by the other's eyelashes, a familiar hand swung towards him.

"!" This time, with experience, he dodged in time, simultaneously unclasping his wristwatch, glaring furiously. Yet, before he could react, his cheek suddenly stung – struck by a loud slap from the youth's other hand!

...Had he not dodged earlier, he would have faced blows from both sides.

"So harsh?" His voice was ice-cold.

Shi Youqing quickly stepped back to a safe distance, "I won't fight you. Goodbye."

Just a few steps forward, Zongzhu Yuan easily caught up, "Trying to run?"

Sensing the encroaching breath, Shi Youqing decisively pulled out the slender claw knife Bo Huai had given him and swung it backward.

The man stepped back, but the blade still grazed the back of his hand, shielding his face, drawing blood instantly...

He froze, then raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Now that's more like it."

Shi Youqing turned back, disgust evident in his eyes, "So, you're that kind of person."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have a tendency towards violence. If you're looking for a hobby, maybe you could try hitting yourself every day. You seem strong enough to satisfy yourself."

"Who the hell enjoys that?!" Zongzhu Yuan's face turned green with anger, completely enraged. "I didn't hit you because it's the first time I've seen a man slap someone..."

"A slap distributes the force evenly across the palm and avoids hitting vital areas. It's better for everyone. If you prefer a rougher approach, I can call someone..."

"Call who? You think you can summon people amidst this crowd?" Zongzhu Yuan stepped towards him, but before he could touch the youth, he was suddenly thrown to the ground by a swift, shadowy figure grabbing his neck...

Shi Youqing hadn't expected Bo Huai to intervene, nor did he anticipate these two starting a fight without a word in the midst of students coming and going...

Zongzhu Yuan was retaliating, but Bo Huai's eyes were filled with unmistakable intent to kill, fighting as if it were a matter of life and death.

In the midst of their fierce, flesh-pounding brawl, Zongzhu Yuan realized his opponent was targeting vital points. He swept his leg with full force, but missed. In a moment of carelessness, his neck was tightly clamped, forcing him to flip his attacker over, then the intense struggle resumed.

In no time, they were both countering each other's moves, with cracking sounds echoing frequently...

Their fight was incredibly intense, verging on drawing blood. Shi Youqing quickly intervened, "Stop fighting!"

Zongzhu Yuan spat out a mouthful of blood, about to scoff, when he heard Shi Youqing urgently pulling Bo Huai away: "Teachers will notice! We'll be in trouble for breaking rules..."

Zongzhu Yuan: "..."

Bo Huai withdrew, having just been fiercely engaged but now acting the model student, dusting off and standing up straight.

"Damn it," Zongzhu Yuan, still with the imprint of a slap on his face and unable to calm his fury, glared at Bo Huai venomously, "He has a reason to hit me, but what the hell got into you?"

Some players in the distance, noticing the commotion, ran over.

"Shi Youqing never hits anyone," Bo Huai said gravely. "If he hit you, you must have bullied him. You brought this on yourself."

"You..."

As the players finally arrived, the uncle among them saw the injury on Zongzhu Yuan's face and seized the moment, loudly fussing over him: "Oh my! How did you get hurt? We're all players; why resort to violence? Bullying a teammate? And this slap mark... are you okay?"

Already infuriated, Zongzhu Yuan's patience snapped at the man's tactlessness, directing his unreleased anger towards the innocent uncle's behind, then spat out another mouthful of blood, glaring: "Get lost!"

Zhang Yongbo, terrified out of his wits, covered his behind and scrambled away.

Shi Youqing: "..."

Feeling genuinely hungry, he stopped paying attention to Zongzhu Yuan and turned to go to the cafeteria with Bo Huai.

On the way, he said, "That guy is a lunatic, just ignore him."

Bo Huai's expression darkened slightly, "I've already applied to change dormitories during the morning reading session."

Shi Youqing was surprised, "That quickly?"

Bo Huai stated flatly, "If he disrespects you again, I'll kill him."

"..." Shi Youqing immediately looked at him.

But there was no hint of frivolity or jest on that face, only utter seriousness.

[Author's Note]

Thanks to the angels who supported with landmines: zbht (Love Raising Little Jo version) 2; Underground Girlfriend of a Lone Soldier 1;

Thanks to the angels who nourished with nutrient solutions: zbht (Love Raising Little Jo version) 10 bottles; Zhang San Li Si 5 bottles; Silver Starlight 3 bottles; Stranded 1 bottle;

I'm truly grateful for everyone's support, I will keep striving!