Hua Haoming stared at the white plastic bag for a few seconds, seemingly understanding something. He quietly put it away.
Neither of them spoke, letting the silence ferment between them.
Until they met Xia Bai.
Xia Bai glanced at Lin Xiang’s bald head and thought it looked quite good. After all, Lin Xiang was just in his teens and didn’t have the stubbornness of middle-aged men who, even with thinning hair, try to keep a strand to cover up.
His gaze then shifted to Hua Haoming, who seemed to be ignoring him. As casual as one would ask what was for breakfast, he remarked, “So, you have pica.”
“…”
Seeing no reaction, Xia Bai continued, “Lin Xiang gave you all his hair to eat. He sacrificed a lot for you.”
Lin Xiang felt touched, realizing that Xia Bai acknowledged his heartbreaking sacrifice.
Hua Haoming asked, “Why does the back of my neck hurt so much? It feels like it’s splitting apart.”
Both Xia Bai and Lin Xiang fell silent.
“I didn’t expect this,” Hua Haoming paused for a few seconds before confessing, “I thought about it earlier. I did eat strange things at some point, but I wouldn’t call it a fixation. There was a time in my childhood when I couldn’t afford food. While I was getting beaten up by a bunch of thugs, I accidentally tasted the flavor of soil. After that, I started eating dirt.”
In the game, all their strange habits were related to life experiences and psychological factors, rooted deeply within them.
Neither Xia Bai nor Lin Xiang had expected him to share his story since it was so personal.
He no longer seemed as nonchalant and reserved as before. The boundaries he had drawn for them seemed to have shifted.
“Bro, you’re so impressive!” Lin Xiang exclaimed, “You were once a kid who couldn’t afford food, and now you’re someone I couldn’t even hire for a billion! Isn’t this just like a classic underdog story?”
“…”
His perspective was indeed unique.
However, neither of them had expected Hua Haoming to have such a backstory.
It wasn’t just about the billion Lin Xiang mentioned offhandedly. Even when Wen Dong sincerely offered money in the past, Hua Haoming had disdainfully declined, giving off the impression of someone affluent since youth.
Of course, it’s possible that his wealth only came after becoming a player.
Hua Haoming looked at Xia Bai, “And you? Any thrilling experiences last night?”
Lin Xiang eagerly shared, “Xia Bai hasn’t had any interests mutate. He even got vital clues from a female non-teaching worker!”
Hua Haoming: “?”
Impossible! This made no sense!
He stared at Xia Bai in disbelief.
Xia Bai, looking a bit guilty, shifted his gaze and tried to divert the topic, “How do you feel now?”
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.
“Yes, bro, were you affected?” Lin Xiang asked.
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Finishing, he inquired, “What did you learn from the female school worker?”
Lin Xiang immediately relayed the information they’d garnered from the lady the previous night.
He asked, “Bro, if we uncover the truth, will there be any indication from the game?”
Coming back to his senses, Hua Haoming analyzed seriously, “There will be a system prompt. Doors or paths will appear, and passing through will allow us to exit the game.”
Lin Xiang: “Then why haven’t we received any prompts?”
“The first possibility is that we haven’t encountered the main character of the story. We need to find her. Her deformity is also a mystery that cannot be overlooked. This possibility is more likely.”
“The second possibility is that our conclusions are wrong.”
Xia Bai massaged his temples, feeling a similar fog clouding his mind. The hazy sensation was unsettling.
Just as he was about to organize his thoughts, Wen Qiu and Meng Tianyou approached. “Let’s talk?”
It clearly wasn’t going to be just idle chit chat.
This noon, Lin Xiang and Wen Qiu would be tasked to prepare for anatomy class without a doubt. It was hard to predict how Wen Qiu might transform tonight.
Tonight would mark the third day of the distortion of Wen Dong’s desires, which meant he might either torment himself to death or kill someone else. Given the nature of his transformation, it was more likely he’d kill himself.
Hua Haoming agreed, “Let’s talk.”
Ever since Song Mingliang had killed Song Qiang, Hua Haoming had restrained him, fearing he might harm others. Upon realizing he wasn’t a threat during the day, he had retrieved his soft sword this morning. Now, Song Mingliang’s whereabouts are unknown.
Wen Dong, in great pain and temporarily unable to walk, had taken leave and stayed in the dorm to rest.
Now, only the five of them remained.
Instead of eating in the dining hall, the group bought buns and headed to a small grove beside the academic building, eating and chatting. All save for Hua Haoming. He didn’t eat.
Wen Qiu addressed Hua Haoming, “My younger brother castrated himself last night. It seems the second night of transformation is never easy. Even if it doesn’t kill, it will still be agonizing. Tonight will be your second night.”
While Hua Haoming was shocked and sympathetic, he retorted, “Just speak your mind directly. We don’t have time for roundabout discussions.”
Wen Qiu, accustomed to his blunt demeanor, calmly proposed, “Then let’s cut to the chase. We’re running out of time. Should we exchange clues and act today?”
After contemplating for a moment, Hua Haoming pinched the bridge of his nose and looked to Xia Bai.
Xia Bai, rubbing his temples, turned his gaze to Lin Xiang.
They thought Lin Xiang would prioritize survival and agree to exchange information with Wen Qiu so they could clear the game together.
Surprisingly, Lin Xiang replied, “We’ll discuss it in the afternoon, after we’re done with anatomy lab.”
It was evident that their class group chat served as their game guide. The scheduled lessons were their tasks. They couldn’t be absent without reason, especially for the explicitly named teaching preparations. To be safe, they still had to prepare for the anatomy class today.
Wen Qiu took a measured look at each of them. “Fine. I hope you all consider this carefully. Game rewards are valuable, but you have to be alive to claim them.”
Once she left, Lin Xiang remarked, “They didn’t share any information with us before, and now they’re coming to us. It’s clear they’re missing something. We’ve pieced together the entire chain of logic. We just need to locate Chu Xuelin, find her deformity, and confirm the conclusions we’ve drawn.”
“We’ve come this far. Sharing info with her now would be a loss.”
Lin Xiang exhaled deeply, “When we prepare for the lesson at noon today, I’ll look for Chu Xuelin’s corpse and check for any deformities. If I can’t find it or if our theory can’t be verified, then we can exchange clues with them.”
His thought process was clear, and he’d quickly adapted to the rhythm of the game.
Hua Haoming asked, “Aren’t you scared anymore?”
He remembered how, on their way to school, Lin Xiang admitted he was terrified of corpses and ghosts.
Lin Xiang showed his sweaty palm, “I’m terrified. Just thinking about it makes me like this.”
“…”
Xia Bai pulled out a few talismans from his pocket and handed them to Lin Xiang. “Don’t be scared. Here, take these.”
Lin Xiang asked, “What are these?”
Xia Bai replied, “Corpse-sealing charms.”
Hua Haoming: ?
“Regardless of whether these charms work in our real world or not, this is a game world.”
Hua Haoming felt as if his foggy brain was getting a concussion. “Only skills acquired in-game can be used in-game. This means unless the person who drew these charms acquired the skill in the game or learned from an in-game NPC, they’re useless.”
Yet, Lin Xiang gratefully accepted them, “It’s for peace of mind.”
Hua Haoming advised, “They started investigating Chu Xuelin before us, so they might know more. They could be planning the same thing. Be wary of Wen Qiu, but you can also use this to your advantage and follow her to find Chu Xuelin.”
Lin Xiang inquired, “Did you discover anything else in the morgue yesterday?”
Hua Haoming massaged his temples again, “If Chu Xuelin really cursed them, there should be a medium for the curse. Something that, when seen or touched, would affect us so easily…”
Xia Bai jumped in, “There were a few specimens directly opposite the morgue entrance. One was a female corpse wearing a long dress.”
Hua Haoming affirmed, “Yes, her. It’s strange for her to be dressed. Focus on her.”
Xia Bai relayed the layout of the first floor to him until it was almost time for class.
Listening to their insights, Lin Xiang had started to feel a little more hopeful, but that fleeting confidence was shattered by an unexpected clap of thunder during class.
The sound made them all turn to look outside. A cold wind blew, and the sky darkened. After the thunder, rain began pouring. There had been no rain since they started the game, only overcast skies. This sudden thunderstorm felt like an ominous sign, making them all uneasy.
As class ended and they read the counselor’s message, other classmates hastily left the classroom, braving the rain.
Unsurprisingly, it was Lin Xiang and Wen Qiu’s turn this time.
Standing in the classroom for a few moments, neither spoke. They both had things to say but either didn’t know how to voice them, or felt it wouldn’t make any difference.
Finally, each went on with their original plan.
Lin Xiang and Wen Qiu headed to the morgue.
Xia Bai, Hua Haoming, and Meng Tianyou stood under a tree outside, holding their umbrellas. Raindrops continuously slid down the frame of the umbrella. The shower persisted and the sky was dark and heavy. Every now and then, a flash of lightning followed by thunder lit up the sky, but at least the wind had stopped.
A figure approached from a distance, gradually getting closer. It was Wen Dong, struggling with every step. He was drenched, seemingly from the rain, but there was sweat apparent on his forehead. He was pale, almost bloodless.
Upon reaching them, he weakly leaned against the tree, staring at the entrance of the lab building.
The trio didn’t speak to him. They all knew that silence was the best approach at the moment. He probably didn’t have the strength to talk anyway. He was visibly trembling.
With the increasing darkness and frequent thunder and lightning, the tense atmosphere became hard to bear. As time ticked by, anxiety grew. Their negative feelings spiked after Wen Dong’s arrival, as if emotions were contagious.
“You guys made plans for Wen Qiu to search for Chu Xuelin’s body too, didn’t you?” Hua Haoming suddenly asked Meng Tianyou, breaking the thickening silence.
“Too?”
Meng Tianyou responded, “So you guys also found out.”
Tilting his umbrella slightly, Hua Haoming pressed a knuckle into his temple and chuckled, “We did more than just ‘find out’. Even if Wen Qiu is a veteran player, she might not discover Chu Xuelin’s secret before Lin Xiang.”
Meng Tianyou, who had been on edge, laughed, “We discovered Chu Xuelin on our first trip to the library. Do you really think you know her better than us? We’ve known almost everything for a while now.”
Wearing an expression that read ‘Really? I don’t buy it’, Hua Haoming laughed, “Are you talking about Chu Xuelin’s deformity? You think we don’t know?”
Meng Tianyou paused, finding Hua Haoming’s smile irksome, “We know more than that. We know that it’s a defect-type deformity. That’s why she, with a PhD in medicine, raised salamanders. She was hoping to study their regenerative abilities.”
Xia Bai suddenly interjected, “She raised the salamanders?”
Meng Tianyou looked at Xia Bai, his tone softening, “Yes, she had them in a fish tank on her balcony. Some students saw it.”
Recalling the photo of Chu Xuelin he saw in the library, Xia Bai remembered a fish tank in the image, though he couldn’t make out its contents due to the plants and algae.
Xia Bai’s eyes widened in realization.
Pea flowers, salamanders.
Peas, red beans, fava beans.
Green algae, salamanders.
The answer, which had been on the tip of his tongue, finally emerged.
It wasn’t about regeneration… it was symbiosis!
He stared blankly in the direction of the morgue and involuntarily took a step forward, “We’re wrong. It isn’t Chu Xuelin. The main character of the story has never been Chu Xuelin — it’s always been the symbiotic ‘them’!”
Do these people just have 200 IQ or something??
let’s be for real here either the author themself has over 200 IQ or they just added in some random sh!t to make the story make sense, in this case I think it’s the former… But really why are they so smart?? 😭
me over here still not understanding sh!t:… 👁️👄👁️ please elaborate…