Upon seeing the names of the chosen ones, the rest of the classmates left with a sense of relief. Some even offered consoling words to Xia Bai before they departed, their eyes filled with sympathy.
Once they were all gone, Lin Xiang said, “Xia Bai, I’ll go in your place.”
Seeing Xia Bai’s desire to protest, he preemptively stopped him, “It’s not an impulsive decision. I’ve given it thorough thought and have made this choice rationally. Hear me out.”
Lin Xiang tried his best to remain composed, not wanting to show his panic in front of Xia Bai. “Meng Qing tormented herself to death on the second night after entering the morgue. But she had entered twice, so the distortion of her fixation was definitely amplified. Song Mingliang harmed Song Qiang on the third night after his visit to the morgue. This means, even if I enter the morgue, I should, under normal circumstances, be able to last at least two and a half days. I believe that in these two and a half days, you will uncover the truth and bring me out of the game.”
“You’ve always been so clever.”
“If you were the one to go, I couldn’t guarantee your safe return. Between you and Brother Hua, one of you is the brains and the other the brawn. If both of you mutated, we’d really be fucked.”
Hua Haoming added, “Lin Xiang is right, let him go in your place.”
Xia Bai shook his head. “You’re forgetting something. Dai Liangyuan mentioned that not everyone who prepared for anatomy class went mad and died. I don’t have any fixations, so I might be one of those.”
Hua Haoming: “…”
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiang seemed torn. “Ah, you have a point. Perhaps both of us will be okay.”
Hua Haoming: “…”
Turning to Lin Xiang, Hua Haoming said, “You go ahead and eat with them. I need to have a word with him.”
He pulled Xia Bai to a small grove beside the teaching building, resting his back against a tree trunk, arms crossed, as if preparing for a serious talk.
Hua Haoming began, “I meant what I said that day. You’re the only one I’ll cover for. But now, I can no longer do so.”
Xia Bai asked, “Why are you willing to do so? Apart from keeping an eye on me when you came to the school, did you truly want to protect me?”
“Of course.” Hua Haoming continued, “You’re very important. I might not like admitting it, but the truth is, many consider you more important than me.”
Xia Bai questioned, “Because of my Xi Shen that went missing?”
Hua Haoming nodded. “Back then, I’d just exited a game in Quanguang City. I was supposed to have a short vacation, yet I rushed over with two others from the Game Management Bureau immediately after receiving the news from Old Yang. We were well aware of the gravity of the situation.”
Confused, Xia Bai asked, “Considering your reaction then, your claim seems improbable. Why did you come immediately upon hearing Old Yang’s words?”
“Do you actually believe Old Yang is just a regular officer from your neighborhood’s tiny police station?” Hua Haoming shot Xia Bai a glance.
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.
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Xia Bai fell silent, recalling how the pretty sister had addressed Old Yang as ‘Teacher Yang’. It was a strange term to use. He had assumed Old Yang was her mentor.
“The Game Management Bureau, unbeknownst to many, has been around for a while. You have no idea how many have sacrificed themselves and how much others have given up, all in pursuit of understanding and ending the games.”
“There have been some advancements, mostly during the initial emergence of these games. It seemed like the games were deliberately revealing themselves. Now, progress has stalled, and we’re left with brute-forcing our way through them.”
“Ever since these games appeared, people have disappeared. This is the first time a corpse has vanished, and it might be a new development. That’s why we rushed here as soon as we got the news, even if the chances were infinitesimally small.”
Xia Bai understood why Hua Haoming refused to help everyone else and was even willing to risk his own life by entering the morgue on his behalf.
“Let Lin Xiang go in your place,” Hua Haoming said. “Besides what I’ve told you, there’s also the matter of the game’s rewards.”
“I’ve mentioned to you all that if you manage to clear the game, those who perform well will receive rewards. The game is actually quite generous when it comes to rewards. After all, once a game is cleared, it disappears from that location. Everything within the game and its convertible assets can be awarded to players.”
“The worst reward is points, followed by items, then weapons, and the highest reward is skills.”
Hua Haoming emphasized, “Currently, according to the Game Management Bureau, skills are divided into three levels: those inherent in weapons, those attached to one’s body, and the highest and rarest – soul skills.”
“Even among top players on the leaderboard, very few possess powerful soul skills. Such skills are elusive; you can’t just earn them by performing well. They require an affinity with the specific game.”
Xia Bai understood, “You think I might obtain a soul skill in this game?”
“I think there’s a chance. The key to this game is the morgue, or rather, the corpses. You know what unique traits you have, and there’s a strong connection there.”
Xia Bai countered, “You’ve always suspected me, yet you want me to obtain such a powerful skill?”
Hua Haoming didn’t directly answer Xia Bai’s question. Instead, he said, “Having another powerful player is beneficial. With a soul skill, there will be more games cleared safely.”
Xia Bai responded, “I’m not as noble as you all. I don’t want to clear games. I just want to be a regular forensic doctor.”
Hua Haoming looked at him, “Not even surveillance could find your Xi Shen. Do you really believe they’re still in reality? They’ve likely entered a game.”
Xia Bai’s expression was resolute, “I’ll strive for that skill. I want to be someone noble.”
“…”
Hua Haoming remained silent for a good ten seconds before speaking, “So, let Lin Xiang go for you. If you want a soul skill reward, the least you must do is keep your wits about you and find more clues. You’ll have to perform the best among those who clear this game.”
Xia Bai shook his head, “If I rely on someone else and they risk their life for me to clear the game, how could my performance be considered outstanding? If skills are so hard to come by, I might not get one this way. If I enter the morgue and still manage to clear the game, the chances might be higher.”
That made a surprising amount of sense.
Just as Hua Haoming was starting to agree, Xia Bai added, “Plus, as mentioned, some people entered the morgue and came out fine, indicating that not everyone has some strange fixation that can be distorted. I truly believe I don’t have one either.”
“…” Hua Haoming could stand it no longer. “I’m not a stranger to you. You once told me in private too. Do you really think you don’t have any fixations?”
Xia Bai looked puzzled, “What distortable fixation could I have?”
Hua Haoming bluntly stated, “Necrophilia!”
Shock painted Xia Bai’s face. His eyes widened. “How could you say that about me?”
Hua Haoming was baffled.
Xia Bai explained, “I just want to give the poor, homeless corpses a home.”
Hua Haoming: “…”
In the restaurant, Lin Xiang waited anxiously, glancing toward the entrance every few seconds, eager to know whether Hua Haoming had managed to persuade Xia Bai.
After countless glances, he finally spotted the two figures and eagerly waved them over, “Over here, over here!”
Before Lin Xiang could utter a word, Hua Haoming filled him in, “Xia Bai and I will go this noon.”
Lin Xiang turned to Xia Bai, “Xia Bai…”
Xia Bai explained, “Based on what you said, even if I mutate, I’ll have two and a half days. I will be lucid for two days to search for clues. The morgue is pivotal. It might hold missing key pieces of evidence. We have to investigate.”
Convinced, Lin Xiang conceded, “Fine, one of you has more game experience than I do, and the other is smarter. Since you’ve decided, I won’t object.”
Hua Haoming spoke as if laying out his last wishes, “If I mutate, hide yourselves at night. If Xia Bai mutates… tie him up during the night and make sure he doesn’t kill himself.”
Meng Qing had a fixation for cleanliness, and she killed herself in the process of cleaning.
In that case, wouldn’t Xia Bai’s liking for corpses distort into a desire to turn himself and those around him into corpses?
Lin Xiang nodded vigorously. Noticing Xia Bai’s slight frown, he inquired, “Xia Bai, what’s wrong? Did you have an unpleasant chat with Brother Hua?”
Xia Bai cut straight to the point. “He doesn’t respect me or my dreams.”
“…”
Hua Haoming chose not to comment, merely muttering, “Let’s eat.”
Xia Bai began eating the plain porridge that Lin Xiang had bought for him.
Unlike others, these two didn’t dawdle when it came to visiting the morgue. After making up their minds, they went right in after finishing their lunch.
Although it wasn’t their first time entering the anatomy building, every previous visit had them hastily climbing the stairs, never venturing into the dimly lit corridor on the ground floor.
The surrounding banyan trees, with their sprawling branches, cast a shadow over the building, making it damp and dark. This dampness and darkness gave rise to a chill and a pungent smell. The heavy scent of formaldehyde could suppress this stench, but it could not dispel it. The stench subtly lingered at the tip of their noses and seeped into their very pores, as if one was submerged in the stagnant water of decaying aquatic plants.
The corridor on the ground floor was longer than the one on the second, with even more rooms. They weren’t all morgues; some were specimen rooms storing various human and animal organs.
According to the instructions the counselor sent them, they had to go to Morgue No. 4 and transport the cadaver from Room No. 5 to Laboratory 203 on the second floor.
Throughout the week, everyone involved in the anatomy lesson preparation had gone to Morgue No. 4. It was located at the end of the corridor and seemed to have never been locked. The door was left slightly open, with a dark, narrow gap. Oddly, the school didn’t seem concerned about anyone entering this particular morgue.
Reaching Morgue No. 4 meant walking through the corridor, passing several specimen rooms and morgues.
Worried that Xia Bai might lose control, Hua Haoming immediately grabbed his wrist, walking briskly through the silent, gloomy corridor. The further they went, the darker and damper it became. The floor was slick and seemed to be covered in moss.
By the time they reached the entrance to Morgue No. 4, both of their eyes were moist. The sting of the formaldehyde was overwhelmingly sharp.
Even though its potency nearly suppressed the other foul smell, it was not enough. Even with masks on, the mixed odor was nauseating to the point where one would wish to stop breathing altogether.
An even colder air seeped out from the gap in Morgue No. 4’s door, causing both of them to break out in goosebumps.
Hua Haoming released Xia Bai’s hand, revealing the soft sword he carried. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the weathered, old door and gently pushed it open.
The author has something to say:
Xia Bai felt that his pure and noble ideals had been insulted, and unilaterally decided not to play with Hua Haoming.
want to keep xia bai away from the corpses? keep on dreaming 😂
Omg, why i decided to read it now and not waited for few more chapters? Such a cliffhanger TTwTT
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Thanks for the chapter!! 🧡🧡
Such a cliffy. When next? Thank you!
Xia Bai is pouting😂
Thank you!
poor xia bai 😂 being distracted
thank you for the chapter!~
Please respect Xia Bai and his dreams!!!
I really need to say this real quick, but if it wasn’t for the mention of a guy named Ling Jiangye which I’m assuming is the su!c!d@l sqad’s leader and ml, I would suspect Hua Haoming is the ml, he is ranked in the top 20 after all….
Nah, top 20 is too low for an ML. At least they got to be top 3 according to danmei regulation lol.
xD too bad Ling Changye isn’t even ranked in the list!!!! (Lol the list is based on points so it depends on how many times someone has entered the game, ml is mysterious and hasn’t appeared anywhere. Still super OP though!! He only clears hard/large maps)
Or any map Xia Bai is in… 👍
lol this is also me. I had to recheck the summary to realize that hua haoming was not the ML