Upon seeing the list, everyone, except for Wen Qiu and Wen Dong, instinctively thought about going to see Meng Qing. But they all held back.
Yesterday, the counselor had chosen Meng Tianyou, and Meng Qing had gone on his behalf. When she returned in the evening, she seemed abnormal. Today was her turn. If she went again, no one knew what would happen to her.
Perhaps she wouldn’t survive.
Or perhaps she would become extremely terrifying.
Song Qiang immediately asked Meng Tianyou, “Your mom went on your behalf yesterday. Will you do the same for her today?”
The look of reluctance on his face and the avoidance in his eyes said it all. They all knew he didn’t want to cover for his mom, and they knew what he was thinking. If he went in his mother’s stead, there would be one additional abnormal person. Since his mom had already been affected, she might as well go once more.
That way, he would be safe throughout the whole game.
Since others knew what he was thinking, it meant that this decision could be understood. It wasn’t irrational, just selfish and cold-blooded.
Meng Qing didn’t seem to feel the same way. Right after Song Qiang asked, she raised her head and said, “No, Tianyou can’t go. I’ll go… I’ll go to the morgue.”
Xia Bai turned to look at her. Like Song Mingliang, Meng Qing seemed to retain some semblance of rationality during the daytime and didn’t appear scary.
She was wearing long sleeves and pants, but they couldn’t completely hide the faint odor emanating from her.
Wen Qiu said she had been in the bathroom last night, doing something that resulted in a lot of blood. This smell should be the smell of blood, but it wasn’t that — not entirely.
Since mother and son had already made such a decision, the other players didn’t care to interfere, nor did they have the right to.
That left Wen Dong.
Obviously, Wen Qiu didn’t want him to go. She was the person who understood most clearly how a visit to the morgue could bring about eerie changes to the visitors.
During lunch, she came to their table again.
Wen Qiu: “Hua Haoming, let’s talk.”
Hua Haoming, who never liked beating around the bush, replied, “Just say it.”
Wen Qiu: “Can you cover for my little brother? Name any price.”
Hua Haoming: “No.”
He refused so decisively that Wen Qiu hesitated for a moment. “I’ll give you any amount of money you desire. If you want weapons, that’s fine too.”
Hua Haoming: “Sorry. I’m not confident I’ll come out unscathed.”
“Why not? You’re in the top 20 on the leaderboard, a member of the Game Management Bureau’s Strike Team. How could you say that you have no confidence?”
LIkely due to her anxiousness, Wen Qiu brought up two explosive pieces of information.
Xia Bai and Lin Xiang glanced at Hua Haoming, then lowered their heads to eat, pretending they hadn’t heard anything.
It turned out that when Old Yang had mentioned “other departments,” he was referring to the Game Management Bureau.
Hua Haoming remained unfazed. “Since you know I’m on the Strike Team, you should understand our team’s philosophy. Clearing the game comes first, and human lives come second. If I visit the morgue and something happens, can your little brother clear the game?”
Wen Qiu was choked up by his words. Taking a deep breath, she spat, “You’re just as annoying as the rumors say you are.”
“…”
Wen Dong also came over.
He knew why his sister had visited Hua Haoming’s table. Since the matter concerned himself, he thought he should personally make the request to show his sincerity.
“Brother Hua, I heard you’re really skilled. Our family has a decent amount of money. If you have a method, perhaps we could…”
Hua Haoming responded like an emotionless rejection machine. Despite Wen Dong’s sincere attitude, he didn’t even give him the chance to complete his sentence before he said, “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
Seeing this, Wen Qiu got even angrier. “Don’t beg him, I’ll go in your stead!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wen Dong understood Hua Haoming’s stance and said, “I’ll go myself.”
“Tbe? Qtja jw P ublcu ab afii beg qjgfcar lo rbwfatlcu tjqqfcr ab sbe?” Pa kjr bynlber atja rtf kjr ralii oeglber, tfg jcufg oijglcu eq sfa jujlc.
Qfc Gbcu gfqilfv, “Szqijlc ktja? Dbat bo er jgf atflg mtlivgfc. Pa’r jii atf rjwf. Po rbwfatlcu tjqqfcr ab sbe, P kbeivc’a yf jyif ab ojmf beg qjgfcar flatfg.”
Wen Qiu chuckled. “We’re not the same.”
Wen Dong frowned. “You’re the only one who thinks that way.”
Before Wen Qiu could say anything more, she saw three curious faces. She grabbed Wen Dong and left the cafeteria.
Once they left, the curious Lin Xiang immediately asked, “Bro, what did Wen Qiu mean by the Game Management Bureau? Is the Strike Team the suicide squad you mentioned previously? Are you really one of the top 20 players?”
“After the game started, many player organizations were formed, and the Game Management Bureau is a relatively official organization among them, responsible for managing both the game and anomalies,” Hua Haoming explained briefly, then asked, “Do I not look like one?”
Lin Xiang thought to himself, You really don’t.
Although he didn’t know how many players there were in this world, someone in the top 20s would inevitably have some renown. Moreover, the name ‘Strike Team’ sounded impressive.
Hua Haoming seemed very casual, and he didn’t look like someone so formidable.
Lin Xiang suddenly recalled what had happened the previous night. The bolt, which he couldn’t lock despite using all his strength, was easily locked by Hua Haoming with a soft sword that he materialized from god-knows-where.
“Um, uh, she just mentioned that you’re just like the rumors say. She doesn’t seem to have a good impression of you,” Lin Xiang commented casually.
Hua Haoming didn’t seem to mind. “Compared to the rest of my team, my reputation is pretty good.”
“…”
Lin Xiang didn’t know how to respond to that. Wasn’t their team supposed to be composed of amazing people? Shouldn’t tales of their heroics bring tears to people’s eyes?
Lin Xiang said, “There must be some misunderstanding, but, Bro, you do come across as quite cold, which could lead to misunderstandings.”
As he said this, he decided to ask despite knowing the answer wouldn’t be good, “Bro, if the counselor chooses me tomorrow, you won’t cover for me, right? Even if I offer you a billion?”
“Yeah, I won’t,” Hua Haoming answered without a shred of hesitation, unaware that he was hurting a young boy’s heart. “Apart from Xia Bai, I won’t cover for anyone else.”
“…?”
Xia Bai, looking confused, slowly raised his head.
Lin Xiang felt a mix of envy and admiration. “As expected of a distant friend of Xia Bai.”
“…”
Xia Bai hurriedly swallowed the rice in his mouth. “I don’t need you to cover for me.”
“…”
In the end, it was Meng Qing and Wen Dong who went to prepare for anatomy class that afternoon.
Just like before, they stood outside the anatomy lab, waiting.
Wen Qiu wore a cold expression the whole time, refusing to respond to Hua Haoming when he greeted her.
Lin Xiang whispered, “Bro, you’re really insensitive sometimes.”
Hua Haoming said, “Must be all thanks to our team leader’s influence.”
Since they already knew that he was a member of the Game Management Bureau’s Strike Team, Hua Haoming mentioned his team casually while chatting.
Lin Xiang took the opportunity to ask, “Bro, is your team leader really amazing?”
Hua Haoming took a deep breath, wincing as if he had a toothache. “Don’t ask.”
Lin Xiang obediently refrained from asking further. He was naturally curious but he knew boundaries when he saw them.
Xia Bai, on the other hand, was somewhat curious. What kind of person could make Hua Haoming react this way?
This time, Meng Qing and Wen Dong came out before half an hour was up.
As soon as they emerged, Wen Qiu hurried over to Wen Dong and asked, “How is it?”
With the two previous examples in mind, Wen Dong cautiously replied, “I feel fine, but I don’t know if my feelings are accurate.”
No one approached Meng Qing. When she had come out yesterday, Meng Tianyou had immediately gone to meet her, but this time, although he took a few steps forward, he didn’t get too close, maintaining some distance.
Surprisingly, Meng Qing didn’t hug Meng Tianyou tightly as she had done yesterday. She simply came out, her eyes fixed on Meng Tianyou, looking somewhat vacant.
They all secretly observed her but didn’t say anything.
In the afternoon, the anatomy class proceeded smoothly with Xia Bai and Professor Liu’s harmonious interaction, just like before.
The cadaver’s mouth was still sewn shut, and when Xia Bai suggested cutting open the stitches on his mouth to study the oral cavity, Professor Liu, who usually agreed with him, refused.
It was clear that something was amiss.
They all thought about the reasoning behind sealing one’s mouth after death which Song Qiang had mentioned.
That evening, all the players were feeling troubled. Except for Xia Bai’s group, the other three families had all sent someone to the morgue, and no one knew what would happen at night.
Wen Qiu approached Xia Bai and said, “Xia Bai, could you please keep an eye on Wen Dong? If anything happens to him, send me a message immediately.”
Xia Bai nodded.
Hua Haoming asked, “What about you?”
“If Meng Qing goes to the bathroom again tonight, I’ll definitely go and see what she’s doing.”
Wen Qiu added, “But I’m alone, and she’s already been to the morgue twice. If there’s any danger, I’ll send you a message, and you must come up.”
Hua Haoming agreed.
When they returned to the dormitory after their evening classes, the atmosphere was noticeably much tenser than it had been the previous two nights.
Wen Dong couldn’t stop shaking his leg, appearing very nervous. He was the first one to have gone to the morgue and knew that he might undergo some mutation, but he didn’t know what he would become.
To reassure him, Xia Bai talked to him for a while.
As the time for lights out approached, when Xia Bai was about to get into bed, Wen Dong suddenly grabbed him.
Xia Bai turned to look at him and found that Wen Dong was staring at his lips, his gaze intense and focused.
“Xia Bai, your lips are so red.”
Xia Bai also stared at him for a few seconds, then pulled his hand away and got into bed.
The clock on the wall pointed to midnight, and the entire school plunged into darkness.
Meng Tianyou: [Wen Dong has also shown signs of abnormal behavior.]
He had been lying on his bed in silence, keeping a close watch on the situation in the dormitory.
Xia Bai didn’t reply to him. In the dormitory, there were two abnormal individuals. One wanted to take off his pants and the other had commented on how red his lips were. Xia Bai bundled himself tightly in his small blanket.
The dormitory fell into silence, with the two still normal individuals constantly monitoring the actions of the two abnormal ones.
At 2:05 in the middle of the night, Wen Dong, who occupied the bed opposite Xia Bai, made his move. He got off his bed and started searching around the dormitory.
The owner of bed number four was so tense he might as well be a mummy. After noticing this, Xia Bai resigned himself to the fact that he’d have to flip over and sneak a look underneath.
Wen Dong had retrieved a mirror.
Just as Xia Bai was about to see what he was up to, a terrified scream shattered the dormitory’s silence.
The scream came from upstairs. It came from the mirror-holding Wen Dong’s sister, Wen Qiu.
The scream was filled with panic and was so loud that it reached even the lower floors, as if she had encountered something extremely terrifying.
Xia Bai immediately got out of bed and headed upstairs.
He had seen Song Mingliang leave the dormitory without any punishment the previous night, so he left without hesitation.
Meng Tianyou hesitated for a moment, but since Wen Qiu’s roommate was Meng Qing, he followed Xia Bai down.
At the staircase, Xia Bai ran into Hua Haoming and Lin Xiang. None of them said a word, and without wasting a second, they rushed towards Wen Qiu’s dormitory.
The door to Room 405 was still closed. Hua Haoming called out to Wen Qiu, and a weak, tearful response came from inside.
He kicked the door open and was greeted with the strong, nauseating scent of blood. The smell permeated through the whole room, causing his stomach to churn.
Xia Bai turned on his phone’s flashlight and pointed it towards the direction of the bathroom.
The layout of the male and female dormitories in this building was the same. The bathroom was on the other side of the four beds, not adjacent to the balcony. The door to the washroom was half open, but they couldn’t see inside.
A large pool of blood had spilled out onto the floor, flowing past Wen Qiu’s feet and towards the outside.
Wen Qiu sat paralyzed in front of the bathroom door, her white clothes, pants, and hair all stained red, looking both horrifying and pitiful in the dim and run-down bathroom entrance.
Hua Haoming asked her what had happened, but she only responded with meaningless sounds, as if whatever horrifying scene she’d witnessed was still playing in a loop behind her unfocused eyes.
Tonight, she hadn’t slept at all, nervously wrapped in her blanket.
As expected, Meng Qing had gone to the bathroom again tonight.
She had heard everything clearly, from Meng Qing getting out of bed to opening the bathroom door and the sound of water from the bathroom.
At first, she hadn’t moved, listening to the rushing sound of water to mentally prepare herself. The dark, blood-covered figure from last night had left her with severe psychological trauma.
Hua Haoming, that bastard, always brought up the point that this wasn’t her first time in a game. But was slight exposure all that was necessary to dispel one’s instinctual fear? She had just entered games two more times than the others. She wasn’t some god.
However, when she smelled that distinctive stench – blood, but not only blood – she knew she had to go and take a look.
She moved slowly in the darkness, even slower than last night, and quietly approached the bathroom door. She subconsciously stopped breathing.
She didn’t need to open the door herself; the wide gap in the door was enough for her to look inside.
She pressed her hands into the blood on the floor and leaned down, trying to reduce the height and scope of her phone’s light as much as possible.
A faint beam of light entered the dark and damp bathroom. It couldn’t stand up against the pitch-blackness that filled the entire bathroom, but it could barely illuminate the darkness right in front of her with a weak glow, as if the light had gone through a yellowish filter.
A person was sitting with their back to her in the bathroom. Water from the showerhead was flowing over their head and down their entire body.
Meng Qing had extremely pale skin. Her long, curly black hair hung behind her, blending into the darkness in the dim environment. Her fair body appeared as if it had been split into two.
As if she noticed someone was watching her, she slowly turned her head.
Her face, covered in water droplets, had a wide-open mouth. Her eyes were vacant.
Meng Qing’s body turned with her head.
Only then did Wen Qiu see her full body and what it was blocking. A piercing scream sprang forth instinctively from her throat as she nearly fainted right there and then.
In the damp bathroom with a clogged drain, Meng Qing had nothing left save for a hollow flesh shell.
The author has something to say:
Leader: Don’t undermine me in front of my wife.
Xia Bai, with his blanket wrapped tight: Husband, there’s a pervert here.
Hua Haoming: ? You’re calling someone else a pervert?
whoa… eaten from the inside?
Thanks for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️❤️
What is clogging the drain!??? Is it Meng Qing? 😭😭
😰i feel like i need more information but at the same time like i need less information about what happened
Huh? Was she hollowed out from the inside? 🤔
I wonder whats making the mutated with xia bai. Thanks for the chapter!! 🩷😊
What is with the mutated peoples reaction to Xia Bai…? Is it because of how he acts towards the corpses? Causing the ghost(s) to have a “good” impression of him or something?
ayo don’t tell me the ghost is a p*rvert looking at our beautiful Xiao Bai he couldn’t hold hack his perverted desires!! 🤣🤣🤣
Also the Qi Mei part was disgusting, although I am confused about their description of what Qi Mei is doing, I know that I do not need anymore info since it is already graphic enough for me 🙂
(my English is failing me, help! 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟)