Relying on Beauty to Commit Crimes in the Escape Game

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On April 4, 2044, a game called “Escape from Terror” came out, pulling most people on Earth into a different dimension. It claimed that by completing forty worlds, they can safely leave the terrifying realm and receive mysterious rewards.

 

Now, five years after the game began, no one has heard of anyone successfully clearing it.

 

[World loading…]

 

[World loading complete. Welcome to Senafel- the Nightmare Campus]

 

[Every school has widely circulated paranormal legends, such as the thirteenth step1It refers to the horror stories that say that if there’s a staircase that has exactly 13 steps, it leads to hell, the self-playing piano, the continuously spinning red shoes2This one refers many morbid fairy tales, maybe you’ve even heard of a version of Snow White featuring a pair of red shoes. Basically, the wearer, who is usually an awful person, ends up wearing the shoes and dance forever, until the feet are worn down and bloody, and even if you cut off your legs, the red shoes will keep on dancing with your mutilated feet in them, and the pale face floating in the fountain… At Shidai High School, a story is passed down that at midnight, the sound of scraping can be heard on the playground as if someone is slowly digging their way up from the ground. One night, a pale hand emerges from the soil…]

 

Li Xi opens his eyes and quickly surveys his surroundings. There are five people standing on the playground, with three of them close together. One person stands out with a tall figure, tanned skin, clean-cut short hair, and sharp phoenix-like eyes, emitting an air of aloofness that makes it difficult to approach.

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It seemed that Li Xi and Duan Zhen ended up in the same world. Li Xi’s eyes brightened a bit when he thought of his current persona. He quickly pressed down the brim of his hat, preventing the other person from noticing his intentional gaze.

 

The mission was displayed on Li Xi’s smart wristband, but he glanced at it casually and ignored it. Instead, he quickened his pace and walked up to Duan Zhen, asking in a whisper, “Excuse me, can I join your team?”

 

Before the man could respond, Li Xi continued speaking rapidly, “My ability is spiritual perception. I can foresee danger, and I think it’s safer to be in a group in this world… Don’t worry, I can take care of myself and won’t hold you back.”

 

In a world filled with ghosts, having a team member who can predict danger is extremely important. Li Xi knew that the psychic in Duan Zhen’s team couldn’t participate in this world due to certain reasons, so he deliberately fabricated this ability for himself.

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As expected, Duan Zhen’s beautiful and sharp phoenix-like eyes looked over, silently assessing him for a few seconds before nodding in agreement.

 

Li Xi curved his lips lightly. “Thank you. My name is Li Xi.”

 

“Duan Zhen.” Duan Zhen’s voice was as cold and aloof as his demeanor, with a slight huskiness that tickled people’s ears.

 

The teammate beside him walked over with a cheerful smile. “Hi, I’m Xia Qirong, and he’s Sun Le. When there’s danger, just stay behind us.”

 

The tall and thin Xia Qirong slung his arm around the person next to him. “Young Le is our shield, and I’m like the nanny.”

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Li Xi nodded at them with a slight curve of his lips. He was wearing a light-colored T-shirt and casual pants, with a white baseball cap on his head. The brim of the cap was always low, only revealing his well-shaped red lips and slender chin, giving him the appearance of a physically frail and shy high school student.

 

“May I join as well?” The final person hurriedly approached. He was a young man with a clean and fair appearance. He had been listening to their conversation from a distance and only now introduced himself, saying, “My name is Yao Jiu, and I just entered the game… But I’ll do my best not to hold you back.”

 

“A newcomer?” Xia Qirong was momentarily surprised and looked at him curiously. “I’ve heard that newcomers were captured and brought here, but this is the first time I’ve encountered one.”

 

Yao Jiu forced a bitter smile. “Those of us outside don’t understand the rules of being captured here.”

 

Every year, people would disappear, and all they could do was pray not to be the next.

 

“Quiet.” Duan Zhen suddenly frowned.

 

A rustling sound gradually came from around them, as if something was scratching the ground. The sound wasn’t loud, but it was unsettling to hear in the eerie and terrifying environment.

 

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Li Xi thought for a moment and whispered, “There’s no danger. It might be some kind of warning.”

 

“Yeah, things like this happen a lot in the Senfael world,” Xia Qirong chimed in. “It’s like a horror movie, but there’s a pattern to it. It’s better than other worlds.”

 

“It’s prompting us to enter the teaching building.” Li Xi furrowed his brows and continued, looking up at the teaching building in front of them.

 

The exterior of the building was once painted in crimson, but now it had worn off due to wind and rain. The peeling paint was uneven, resembling dried blood on the surface. Coupled with the pitch-black interior of the teaching building, it appeared eerie.

 

The playground was covered in sand and gravel, with the trees completely devoid of leaves. The branches twisted and distorted, casting devilish shadows in the darkness.

 

The rustling sound grew closer.

 

“Following the conventions of horror movies, if we don’t go in, we’ll definitely be killed off in the plot,” Xia Qirong said, stroking his chin, looking completely unfazed.

 

“Let’s go in,” Duan Zhen said, and he pushed open the iron door. The door, which hadn’t been moved for a long time, let out a loud creak in the darkness.

 

As they stepped into the hallway, a chill washed over them with the opening of the door, and the temperature in the surroundings instantly dropped.

 

“It’s so cold. The temperature actually dropped,” Xia Qirong exclaimed, pulling out his jacket from his backpack. “Luckily, I listened to the experience of the seniors and brought some clothes.”

 

“You’re familiar with the patterns of Senafel?” Li Xi shifted his gaze away from Duan Zhen and glanced at Xia Qirong.

 

“This is my second time in this world, but many people have already figured out the patterns of the Four Devils’ World,” Xia Qirong replied.

 

He was about to continue sharing some insights with the seemingly naive new team member, but Duan Zhen suddenly spoke up, “Li Xi, which floor shall we go to first?”

 

“Let me see.” Li Xi’s attention immediately shifted to Duan Zhen.

 

He pretended to close his eyes and pondered for a couple of seconds, but in reality, he was recalling the plot of this world. Then he answered, thanks to the cheat sheet in his mind, “The second floor is safer, but there might be clues on the third floor.”

 

“Go to the third floor,” Duan Zhen decided without hesitation, pausing for a moment before adding, “Xia Qirong, stay quiet.”

 

Xia Qirong responded with a sullen “Oh”.

 

There were a total of five floors in this building, and they followed Li Xi as he led them to the right side. The third floor housed the classrooms for the senior students, and the classroom doors were locked, with only a dusty window offering a glimpse of the interior.

 

Just standing there, they felt a chilling aura enveloping them.

 

“There should be clues inside the classroom,” Li Xi said, possibly frightened as he unconsciously moved closer to Duan Zhen.

 

Duan Zhen glanced at him with lowered eyes. From a distance, he had already noticed that this young man had a slender figure, and now that they were closer, he realized that the young man’s height only reached his shoulder.

 

“If you’re scared, stay behind me,” Duan Zhen unusually added a few words, violently kicking open the classroom door with a resounding crash.

 

A thick cloud of dust billowed out, and Duan Zhen waved his hand, squinting his eyes as he looked down at the ground.

 

The dust was thick enough to leave footprints, and they obviously hadn’t stepped into the classroom, yet there were numerous scattered and distinct footprints on the floor, as if many people had hurriedly fled from the room.

 

“So many ghosts? No wonder this floor feels so eerie,” Xia Qirong couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’ll take quite an effort if we get surrounded.”

 

Duan Zhen responded calmly and walked into the classroom.

 

The others followed suit, with Yao Jiu hesitating but ultimately clinging to the wall, as if he would flee from the doorway at any moment.

 

At this moment, Sun Le, who had remained silent, took out a stack of talisman papers from his bag and threw one into the air. The talisman paper ignited and landed on the four corners of the room.

 

“We have one minute. No ghosts will enter until the talisman paper burns out completely,” he stated.

 

Five individuals dispersed to search for clues.

 

Duan Zhen searched the podium, an old wooden one that was quite large. On top of it was an outdated attendance register, and there were drawers on the left side, which turned out to be empty. He carefully picked up the attendance register and flipped through it, finding normal records of students’ attendance.

 

As he continued scanning the pages, he felt a light tug on his clothes.

 

“Brother Duan,” Li Xi’s voice sounded beside him. It was a clear, youthful voice, like a clear spring, but it was always suppressed, occasionally revealing hints of unease.

 

“Just call me by my name,” Duan Zhen said, from his perspective, he could only see the white baseball cap.

 

Li Xi looked up and pointed at the podium.

 

Duan Zhen took a step forward as he understood Li Xi’s thoughts, and Li Xi tapped on the podium, producing a clear thumping sound.

 

—The podium was hollow.

 

Li Xi crouched down and pointed softly at the cabinet under the podium. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

 

The cabinet had round handles, and a short wooden stick passed through the middle of the two handles.

 

Duan Zhen furrowed his brow and glanced at Sun Le.

 

“There’s still half a minute remaining,” Sun Le said.

 

Duan Zhen initially wanted Li Xi to remove the wooden stick, but considering his nerves, he signaled for him to stand up instead. He then bent down and slowly grasped one end of the stick with his hand.

 

“There might be something inside. Be careful,” Li Xi said beside him, clutching the corner of his clothes with tightly pursed lips, as if afraid. However, if someone could see his eyes, they would realize that he wasn’t looking at the cabinet at all. He was fixated on every movement Duan Zhen made.

 

Duan Zhen pulled the stick out, and nothing happened.

 

Li Xi suddenly exhaled a breath, but immediately held it again.

 

Duan Zhen opened the tightly shut cabinet door with some force. Just as he opened it, something fell with a loud thud—a corpse!

 

Duan Zhen wrinkled his brow, narrowly avoiding being hit by the corpse. He glanced at the almost burned-out talisman and searched the corpse’s school uniform. Then, he grabbed Li Xi’s wrist and said to the other three, “Go!”

 

They quickly exited the classroom, and Sun Le affixed a talisman at the door. As soon as they finished, they heard the sound of dragging footsteps from inside, and the glass at the door reflected the horrifying, yellowed face of the corpse. It opened its mouth and emitted a hoarse sound, repeatedly pounding against the door but being repelled by the power of the talisman.

 

Duan Zhen clearly felt the grasped wrist tremble for a moment. He released his grip and lightly patted Li Xi’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, it can’t come out.”

 

“I’m not scared,” Li Xi retorted softly, “I’m just a bit nervous.”

 

Meeting for the first time and being in such close proximity made him nervous to the point where he couldn’t even walk well. He felt that the next step would inevitably lead to an open relationship!

 

Here I am picking up another project (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*

To be honest, world hopping in horror worlds are some of my favorite tropes when it comes to novels, so when I stumbled upon this one and found out that no one was translating it, I couldn’t resist!

Hope you guys will enjoy it with me (≧◡≦)

 

1It refers to the horror stories that say that if there’s a staircase that has exactly 13 steps, it leads to hell2This one refers many morbid fairy tales, maybe you’ve even heard of a version of Snow White featuring a pair of red shoes. Basically, the wearer, who is usually an awful person, ends up wearing the shoes and dance forever, until the feet are worn down and bloody, and even if you cut off your legs, the red shoes will keep on dancing with your mutilated feet in them