Internally, Hua Haoming cussed the two out.
Lin Xiang, you’ve got defined features and large eyes, but what use are those big eyes when your heart is blind? Then there’s you, Xia Bai. What makes you think you don’t have any fixations? And you said that with so much sincerity, too.
Shouldn’t you have the clearest understanding of your fixation? It’s so glaringly obvious.
Your fixation is the most dangerous one of all, okay?!
Hua Haoming no longer wanted to converse with Xia Bai. He was aware of his fixation, and that was enough.
He sternly questioned Lin Xiang, “Think hard about what your fixation is. If you don’t identify it, it’ll be dangerous for us, and we won’t know how to save you.”
Lin Xiang began to ponder, “I detest dark things and like pure and clean things. Does that correlate to any fixation?”
Silence.
Hua Haoming gave up on Lin Xiang as well. He turned his gaze to Wen Qiu and asked, “How about you, Miss Wen?”
Wen Qiu was deep in thought. “There are three possibilities, I’m not sure.”
She didn’t have a noticeable fixation, but she knew that neither Meng Qing nor Song Mingliang had serious ones. However, even a slight preference could become dangerous once inside the morgue.
Faced with life-threatening situations, she’d expose her very core — even though it was to someone she deeply detested.
“Firstly, I have a mild distaste for men.”
The three men: “…”
“Don’t worry, sis. Many girls nowadays don’t like men, I totally get it,” Lin Xiang commented, “Doesn’tfixation mean an obsessive liking for something? Disliking something doesn’t count, right?”
The other two men nodded in agreement. Thankfully, disliking men wasn’t considered a fixation; otherwise, if Wen Qiu was influenced by the morgue, wouldn’t all of them be in trouble?
Wen Qiu continued, “I also like to throw things away. Initially, I started with decluttering, following the minimalist trend. But later, I couldn’t stand seeing unnecessary or disliked items occupying space.”
“…”
Disliking men and decluttering separately were harmless, but the combination of these two resulted in dire consequences.
Ultimately, if Wen Qiu entered the morgue, there was a high likelihood that they’d all be discarded.
“Thirdly, I have a mild OCD. I can’t help but want to correct things that appear asymmetrical.”
“…”
Lin Xiang immediately touched both his eyebrows and eyes.
Hua Haoming looked at his five fingers.
“What about you?” Wen Qiu asked Hua Haoming after explaining.
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.
Hua Haoming replied, “It doesn’t matter. If I were to be affected by the morgue, knowing my fixation wouldn’t help. You all couldn’t defeat me even if you teamed up. Best to just avoid me.”
“?”
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He seemed not to care anymore.
His germaphobic mother was no longer around to clean him up.
Hua Haoming sighed, “Let it be.”
They all understood what he meant: Meng Tianyou wouldn’t have to return to the morgue until they all had their own turns. He was safe. Even if they had to go through another round, they would all be mutated by then, and understanding Meng Tianyou’s fixation and how it would be distorted would be pointless.
It was already 4 AM.
Hua Haoming suggested, “Let’s sleep for two hours. We’ll wake up early to look for clues.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
That morning, Hua Haoming’s analogy about boiling frogs had come true. Two players were selected. The temperature of the water had risen to a dangerous level. Later that evening, two players had died.
From today onwards, the game was no longer safe. They could no longer let their guards down. Mutation and death lurked close by, and there were few normal players remaining. They had to speed up their investigations, even if it meant foregoing sleep.
Hua Haoming and Lin Xiang were just about to leave when they noticed Wen Qiu standing still, hesitating. It instantly dawned on them.
She didn’t want to return to that dormitory.
Lin Xiang offered, “Sis, we have an empty bed in our dorm. Want to crash for two hours?”
Wen Qiu glanced at them and replied, “I’d like to stay here. My brother is here.”
“Alright.” Hua Haoming took the tied-up Song Mingliang with him, leaving a bed for her.
As Song Mingliang was taken away, Xia Bai kept watching him. Blood was more evident on his cheeks, and not all of it was Song Qiang’s. A lot had flowed from the deep scars on his cheeks.
Those must’ve been marks caused by teeth. When Song Qiang had been taken away, his mouth was split wide open, void of teeth.
Song Mingliang’s head remained lowered, the dim yellow glow in his eyes seeming to fade.
After their departure, the members of dorm 312 quickly freshened up. They barely got two hours of shut-eye before waking up.
In the morning, there was class from 9:40 to 11:30, leaving ample time to gather clues.
Hua Haoming suggested that Xia Bai gather more information about campus legends from classmates. Due to frequently volunteering during anatomy classes, Xia Bai was very popular amongst the students. But Xia Bai insisted on going to the library.
Left with no other choice, Hua Haoming and Lin Xiang accompanied him, while Wen Qiu took the seemingly normal Wen Dong and Meng Tianyou to gather information from the student NPCs. The ever-silent Song Mingliang was locked in their dorm.
On the way, Hua Haoming asked Xia Bai, “You’re adamant about going to the library. Have you found something?”
Xia Bai nodded. “Last time, before leaving, I saw a lengthy report about a fetish for deformities in a newspaper. The article was dated just days before the first suicide case. We had to leave by then, and I didn’t manage to get a good read.”
Lin Xiang: “A fetish for deformities?”
Xia Bai: “Isn’t a fetish for deformities considered a… fixation?”
Lin Xiang, with a sudden realization, exclaimed, “Yes, yes, yes! It’s all coming together now! Let’s go search for it immediately!”
Blessed with a sharp memory, Xia Bai swiftly located the newspaper edition in question upon reaching the library.
Checking the dates and events, Lin Xiang searched the school’s online platform for any additional information. Meanwhile, Hua Haoming delved into medical journals. Fortuitously, the topic was covered in newspapers, online platforms, and journals alike, primarily because this incident had a wide impact in the medical world and Heping Medical College was also involved.
The term “fetish for deformities” was a broad descriptor. There were individuals who had perverse fascinations; for instance, there were some wealthy, desensitized individuals who took pleasure in watching gruesome content involving deformities.
In the medical field, the threshold for stimulation among those studying the human body was even higher. Some deviants had even more twisted fixations.
Online reports exposed a highly regarded dean from a renowned medical college who was obsessed with collecting specimens. However, his choice of collection was macabre: deformed infant corpses. Utilizing his position, he amassed a collection of these corpses over his decades-long career.
Upon this revelation, numerous victims came forward, bringing to light his monstrous actions.
Modern medical advancements have significantly reduced human deformities. Most would be identified during prenatal screenings and actions would be taken to prevent them.
Yet, many who went for prenatal screenings at this particular medical institution were assured that their fetuses were normal. However, the babies were born deformed and eventually became additions to the dean’s morbid collection.
Doctors weren’t the only ones who conceded to these powerful deviants in the medical field; there were professors who did the same.
“Look here! This Wang Badan guy is a faculty member at Heping Medical College,” Lin Xiang excitedly pointed at a photograph online.
Both turned their attention to the image, revealing a handsome, refined-looking man.
This professor named Wang Badan was one of those who catered to the perverse inclinations of those deviants of the medical field. Rumors circulated that he had set up a private livestream. Leveraging his position, he conducted exclusive broadcasts from the college’s morgue, some of which, sources claimed, included dissections of deformed corpses.
What was even more startling was the event that led to the discovery. Wang Badan went insane, inflicting horrific injuries upon himself. He took a sharp steel rod and inserted it into his body, skewering himself from bottom to top. This incident caused a sensation at the time.
During the investigation, his livestreaming activities were unearthed, leading to the exposure of his audience members, among whom was the aforementioned dean.
“He was… an objectophiliac. His madness stemmed from a distortion of his fetish,” Hua Haoming surmised after glancing at a few of Wang Badan’s photos, unable to hide his excitement, “It all adds up.”
Xia Bai, looking puzzled, queried, “Objectophilia? Like, he really likes certain objects?”
“…”
Lin Xiang and Hua Haoming exchanged a glance, staring at Xia Bai’s innocent and attractive face. Lin Xiang’s expression seemed to convey, “See? He’s so innocent and naive.”
The two then averted their eyes simultaneously.
“Yes, more or less,” Lin Xiang vaguely answered, “It’s like… being extremely fond of something. You get… very excited when you see it.”
Hua Haoming chimed in, “We should hurry. Class is about to start. Let’s grab a couple of buns and head to the classroom.”
“Right, right, right, we really should hurry.”
Lin Xiang hurriedly closed the webpage. “I feel we’re getting closer to the truth. It’s about time we had a proper meal.”
Xia Bai felt there were many loose ends that they couldn’t quite piece together yet, such as Song Mingliang, and the scent on Meng Qing that wasn’t just blood. The sewn lips of many of the cadavers suggested there was more they hadn’t yet discovered.
But it was indeed almost time for class. Without saying more, Xia Bai joined them on their way to the cafeteria.
As they entered the cafeteria, they happened upon Wen Qiu and Meng Tianyou leaving a dining table where Dai Liangyuan’s roommates were seated. Dai Liangyuan, who had gone to the morgue with Song Mingliang, had been taken away by his family yesterday morning, apparently covered in a lot of blood.
After purchasing their buns, they joined Wen Qiu and the others heading towards their classroom.
On the way, Hua Haoming asked Wen Qiu, “Found out anything?”
Wen Qiu responded, “We took Dai Liangyuan’s departure as a lead and found out about three student deaths related to the campus legends. They say they went mad, likely due to the mutation of their fixations. Our hypothesis seems to be correct.”
“That’s it?” Hua Haoming raised an eyebrow.
Seeing the undisguised dissatisfaction on Hua Haoming’s face, Wen Qiu retorted, “Yes, that’s it. Are you not satisfied?”
Hua Haoming quickly responded, “No, I’m not.”
“…”
Wen Qiu was furious. “What about you guys then? Have any ground-breaking clues to share with the class?”
Hua Haoming sighed, “To be honest, you’ve done better than us.”
Stepping into the classroom, Wen Qiu sneered.
The bell rang, signaling the start of class. They became increasingly nervous, not for the lecture itself, but for the preparation for anatomy class that was to follow.
Currently, only four players have not yet been chosen.
Initially, one player was chosen daily. But starting from yesterday, two were selected. Following the game’s escalating intensity, it was unlikely they’d revert to picking just one a day.
This meant each of the four had a 50% chance of being chosen next.
At the same time, that would also mean that, including Meng Tianyou, only three players would be left the next day to face a group of mutated players. The day after, Meng Tianyou would be the only normal one left.
Among them, Lin Xiang was the most anxious. Throughout the lecture, he frequently retrieved his phone to check the class group chat and clasped his hands in prayer.
As usual, shortly after the bell rang, the message from their counselor came in.
Counselor: [This afternoon, Xia Bai and Hua Haoming will be responsible for preparing for anatomy class. Following that…]
Lin Xiang cursed. “Fuck!”
Thank you for the chapter!! Can’t wait to see what’s in the forbidden room👀👀
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thanks for the chapter!!
I’m so excited. Get that spot Xia Bai
It’s already midnight but I’m getting excited because of this. Thank you for the chapter!
ohhhhh they’re so pooped… i shouldn’t have laughed… this won’t end well…
Thanks for the chapter!! ❤
The earlier conversation between Wen Qiu and Wen Dong suggests their parents only treat him as the golden child, so no wonder 🙁 Wen Qiu if you get out of here you should probably cut ties with your parents
ehe, about time our mc get’s to meet his corpse friends!
Oooh Lin Xiang is sooo sweet. 🥰