Chapter 152
Lin Yi raised his head and looked at the moon hanging above his head. It was a full moon, but obscured by thick clouds.
There were no lights here in the graveyard. In fact, there were very few lights in the entire Xiushen Academy. When he’d been looking at the other buildings of Xiushen Academy, there were no lights there. The only lights were in building they’d escaped from; pale light from the high-intensity flashlights shot out from the building.
In the eyes of the Monster, Xiushen Academy was a dark place and this was indeed the case.
The moon hanging in the night sky was like mere decoration. Not a single beam of moonlight could make it through the clouds.
Lin Yi retracted his gaze and looked at the girls. Though the number of girls before him was evident at a glance Lin Yi still counted seriously in his heart: one, two, three, four, five…six.
He looked into the depths of the darkness again, took a breath and continued silently in his mind:
Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve…
More and more girls emerged from the mass graves, revealing themselves in the darkness. They looked at the people on this side of the graveyard.
Having superb night vision didn’t seem like such a good thing at a time like this. Only Lin Yi saw their current situation. The five girls hadn’t noticed that there was an extra ‘person’ among them, much less the extra ‘people’ appearing in the darkness beyond.
Lin Yi lowered his eyes. He decided not to tell them the current situation. These ‘people’ simply faced towards them but made no further moves. This at least showed that they hadn’t done anything to put themselves in danger. As long as they keep things up, there shouldn’t be any big problems.
“Xiao Gege, are we going to go through this graveyard?” Someone among the girls asked Lin Yi.
They’d run out of the room to escape from Xiushen Academy but now they were blocked by a gravesite. But standing here was no safer than walking through it.
They heard faint shouts from the other side of the building.
Such loud shouts made them wonder what kind of torture they would face if they were captured. They might be beaten to death with the keel whips; they might be drowned in the pool; or they might be thrown back into the room, left to endure hunger until they starved to death.
Qin Zhou was their pillar and Lin Yi was someone close to Qin Zhou. So at this time, they naturally regarded Lin Yi as their pillar.
Lin Yi actually wanted to pass through this graveyard. If he just stood here, then the only clue he would get was ‘There is a mass grave in Xiushen Academy’, which seemed to be of little use. But if he traversed this graveyard, he might find more clues. If Lin Yi were alone, he wouldn’t hesitate to walk into the graveyard but now he has to consider his companions.
For the moment, it was unclear what dangers this gravesite held. If he entered the graveyard and asked the girls to wait for him at its boundary, Lin Yi couldn’t guarantee those NPCs won’t suddenly swarm them. If that happens, what he did would be seen as him abandoning his companions and this suspicion would not be easily explained away.
This world relied on the concerted efforts of all the participants. His actions might destroy the unity that Qin Zhou had built.
If he takes the girls into the graveyard with him, their already dangerous situation would only become more dangerous. Even if he had three heads and six arms, he wouldn’t be able to guarantee everyone’s safety. He couldn’t even guarantee his own.
Doing this would be tantamount to the leader leading everyone into danger or worse, to their deaths.
Lin Yi wasn’t really good at dealing with such choices. If Qin Zhou were here, he would be able to handle it better. But for him, it wasn’t possible.
But, it had to be done. Lin Yi didn’t have any time to waste on dilemmas.
He thought for a while and said, “Xixi, count the number of people we have.”
Xixi, immediately sensing something fishy, said, “What?”
Some of the girls counted not thinking much of it. Their expressions suddenly changed.
Lin Yi scratched his head and said sheepishly, “That’s right. There’s a ghost here.”
Xixi: “…”
The other four people: “…”
After a brief escape from reality, everyone’s expressions turned ugly.
Lin Yi gave them the choice as to what to do next. He didn’t even provide the choices. He simply waited for the girls to discuss and decide.
The girls were frightened out of their wits by the presence of the extra ‘person’. Their situation, with a wolf in front of them and a tiger behind, left them at a loss. In the end, the final choice fell on Lin Yi.
Xixi looked at Lin Yi fearfully and took a few breaths before saying, “…Xiao Gege, we’ll do whatever you say. We…we will listen to you.”
Seeing Lin Yi’s hesitation, Xixi quickly said, “Don’t worry, no matter what choice you make, we will all bear the risk together.”
The others nodded.
Lin Yi said, “Then you guys find a place nearby to hide.”
Xixi was momentarily stunned. “Then…what about you?”
Lin Yi said, “I’m going into the graveyard.”
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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In the end, Lin Yi was surrounded.
Lin Yi didn’t dare take another step. He looked at these ‘people’.
When he first looked in from outside gravesite, these ‘people’ had no facial features. As he went in deeper, facial features slowly appeared on their faces.
They all had the same face.
They were about forty years old, with heavy forehead wrinkles. They had their arms stretched out towards Lin Yi, as if they wanted to catch him.
When they looked at Lin Yi, they displayed a nervous expression, as if they were afraid Lin Yi would disappear. Their gazes and the movements of their hands kept Lin Yi tightly within their sight.
Lin Yi tried taking a step back. They did not retreat nor did they move forward. Though they kept following him with their eyes.
Because if he takes a step, they too take a step, Lin Yi could not move forward. He could only withdraw from the graveyard.
Worried that as he retreats, ‘they’ would swarm up like zombies smelling carrion, Lin Yi retreated by walking backwards.
His foot stepped on soft soil and because he had been so focused, so on guard against them, he tripped over a corner of a tombstone and fell to the ground.
They lowered their heads in unison, making sure that Lin Yi stayed within their sight.
But at this time, Lin Yi no longer paid attention to them. He looked at the tombstone that had tripped him.
There was no name, no place of origin or life story of the deceased on the tombstone; only a strange dilapidated photo of the deceased. The photo showed a little boy, about 11 or 12 years old, exuding a lifelessness at odds with his age.
This little boy seemed very familiar. Lin Yi stared at the photo and was about to look up when…
A pair of pale arms hugged him from behind and began strangling his neck…
Meanwhile…
Ah Hao and the five girls ran desperately. But no matter how fast they ran, they couldn’t shake the sound of footsteps chasing after them. The footsteps ran even faster than they did. Every sound the pursuer made seemed to step on their hearts, trampling it, causing blood to flow everywhere.
Ah Hao looked back as he kept running. When he saw what it was chasing them, he stumbled in fright, falling on the road they were running on.
Hua Hua, who was running a few meters ahead, saw that he had fallen. She hesitated, wanting to go back to help him. Probably because he felt that he was done for, Ah Hao said sadly, “Leave me, run!”
“Go!” he shouted in a tearful voice.
Their strength were no match for the existences here. Ah Hao knew very well that he was a dead man. He could sense that thing was almost upon him. He didn’t want to get others hurt because of him. And so, he yelled, “Just go!”
As soon as the words were out, Ah Hao felt a shadow cover him. He didn’t dare to look back now. That glance back just now had already frozen the blood in his veins.
But the next second, his blood began to flow again.
Ah Hao saw the shadow bypass him and continue to chase the girls who were still running ahead.
Ah Hao didn’t immediately understand the development of the situation and he remained confused until there came a loud voice behind him!
“Over there!”
Ah Hao looked behind. His blood was going through twists and turns — cold, hot, and cold again.
‘Eyes’ and two of the bald men were catching up!
Survival instinct made Ah Hao scramble up from the ground. He knew that he couldn’t run far and if he ran forward, he would definitely be overtaken. Ah Hao glanced to the side, then ran towards the building next to him on weak and trembling legs.
There were several floors in the building. Ah Hao didn’t have time to count. He ran hurriedly to the second floor. He couldn’t hide in this building for long. Eyes and the thugs had seen him running in. It was only a matter of time before they catch him. Ah Hao had to find a way to get out of this place. So he chose the second floor and waited for those people to enter the building. The second floor wasn’t that high up so it would be easier to find opportunities to sneak out.
After getting to the second floor, Ah Hao found that not every room here had locked iron doors. He tried pushing one door open.
It gave a creak.
The door was pushed open.
Ah Hao didn’t have time to rejoice at his good luck. He quickly got in, closed the door and locked it.
After having done all that, all the strength in his body was gone. He slid down against the door panel like mud, landing to a sit on the ground.
His body was on the verge of collapse but Ah Hao’s nerves were still tense. He was sitting right behind the door. The door panel was very thin and he could clearly hear everything going on outside.
Although those footsteps from before had been so close at hand, Ah Hao had had companions with him. He needed to protect the five girls so even though he was afraid, he had a buffer. Now he was alone, and the fear he’d pushed away before doubled at this moment. Ah Hao was so scared that he forgot how to breathe.
He heard footsteps and voices outside the door.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t find him.”
“Fuck, I’ll kill him when I catch him.”
Then there was the sound of each door being pushed open. Ah Hao gulped nervously. He raised his head to look at the door lock above his head.
Although he’d locked the door, it gave him no sense of security.
If those people couldn’t open the door, they would know that he was in this room. But Ah Hao had no choice. He didn’t dare risk leaving the door unlocked. He remained behind the door, escaping by walking on the edge of danger.
Ah Hao stood up, hand against the wall for support.
He had to leave. It wasn’t safe here, not at all!
There were no lights in the room so it was dark.
The only thing visible was the corner of the window illuminated by moonlight.
Ah Hao approached the window. He was planning to jump out and escape from here.
But the moonlight was obstructed by the closed window and Ah Hao couldn’t see anything clearly. He didn’t dare turn on the lights so he could only stretch out his hand and fumble over like a blind man.
He was afraid of bumping into something in the room and causing a noise that would alert the people outside.
He fumbled and fumbled.
He caught hold of what felt like a table.
Ah Hao felt for the edge of the table, intending to avoid it.
The table was made of something very cold. Ah Hao thought it might be glass. His computer desk at home was also made of glass.
But this had nothing to do with whether he could make it out of here. Ah Hao was still anxious. The busy footsteps outside had stopped, as if they had stopped right outside the room he was hiding in.
“You haven’t found him yet?”
Someone asked outside the door.
“Not yet.”
…
Ah Hao felt that any second now, they would find that the door was locked and then find him inside.
He was so anxious that he wanted to stamp his feet.
Too anxious and too scared, he groped more and more. Then there was a ‘clang’.
Ah Hao was so frightened that felt like his soul had left his body.
His whole body froze and he looked towards where he had fumbled. He was really afraid that this sound had been noticed by the people outside.
He stared at the door warily though it would do nothing.
Ah Hao stared for a while but no one pushed the door open.
He breathed a sigh of relief and planned to continue exploring.
As soon as he took a step, his toes seemed to hit something, causing a couple more “clang” sounds.
He looked once again towards the door again in fright. This time he wasn’t so lucky. Ah Hao heard them talking outside.
“Did you hear something?!”
“What was that sound?”
Fuck, fuck!
He was going to be caught.
Ah Hao didn’t dare to go any further. But he also didn’t want to stay. He could only squat down and fumble for whatever it was he’d kicked away.
He had to move that thing away, otherwise he couldn’t guarantee whether the next step he took would make it sound again.
After groping around on the ground, Ah Hao got a hold of what he had accidentally kicked just now.
He felt its outline and was slightly stunned. When he realized what it was, he could hardly believe it.
It was a landline phone.
There was a curled cord connected to the receiver so even though it fell to the ground and was kicked away by Ah Hao, he managed to quickly retrieve it.
Ah Hao picked up the phone and stood up quickly.
He was saved! Everyone was saved!
Ah Hao put the receiver to his ear, followed the cord to reach the telephone itself. He got it!
He pressed a key at random and the LED light on the dialing interface lit up, illuminating the number keys.
Ah Hao didn’t hesitate, he pressed three numbers.
110Beep–
It went through.
Ah Hao was trembling with excitement. Although he didn’t know where Xiushen Academy was, it didn’t matter. He had heard that the police could trace the location of the call. He was certain the police would be able to find the address of this place through the call.
This way he would be saved!
Beep–
At the second ring, Ah Hao regained his breath. He knew that a call to 110 wouldn’t be answered immediately, just like a normal call. He just had to wait. This was a special number and the waiting time wouldn’t be long.
A maximum of three beeps. After the third beep, his emergency call would be answered.
For sure!
The third ring.
‘Dudududududu——’
Rushing, with almost no interval.
The operator had hung up.
Ah Hao’s breathing completely stopped. He knew full well that the 110 hotline could never be busy and the operator wasn’t allowed to hang up.
A severed call could only have come from his side.
But he hadn’t cut the call!
He hadn’t touched the telephone at all while the call was going through. How could he dare?
Ah Hao started to tremble. He stiffened and forced his eyes to drop down little by little.
On top of the phone was…
A hand, not his, was pressed against the hang-up button on the landline’s dialing interface.
Ah Hao despaired. What did he mean ‘saved’? Any hope of survival was shattered.
He thought he’d been lucky, so no one outside had come to open the door.
He thought he’d been lucky, so those noises he’d accidentally made hadn’t been noticed by the people outside.
If he really were lucky, he wouldn’t have found himself in this place.
He had no luck at all. All he had was a desperate struggle before death.
He could even be considered extremely unlucky.
There was someone in this room.
The perfect thing to wake up to on my birthday! Thank you for the update!!
Omg I knew someone was in that room but this is so eerie