Relying on Beauty to Commit Crimes in the Escape Game

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The thin door provided no soundproofing, and a few individuals were laying on their beds, surrounded by the monstrous roars of creatures and the sounds of battle.

 

Occasionally, they could hear the chilling sound of chewing.

 

“Will they be alright?” Li Xi whispered.

 

The single hospital bed was small, but fortunately, he had a small stature. He nestled on Duan Zhen’s chest, and it wasn’t too crowded.

 

Duan Zhen didn’t say anything, he just stroked Li Xi’s hair, as if comforting him.

 

Li Xi secretly looked up, stealing a glance at him. He saw the man pursing his lips, knowing that he wasn’t in the best mood right now.

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“I’m a little scared,” he whispered, snuggling closer to Duan Zhen, and boldly wrapping his hand around his waist.

 

That waist was really slim, and for a brief moment, Li Xi’s thoughts wandered.

 

Considering Duan Zhen’s physique, he probably had abs. Li Xi wondered when he could openly touch them a few times.

 

Duan Zhen hadn’t even realized that he was being taken advantage of. He reassured him in a low voice, “Don’t be afraid, they won’t come in.”

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After thinking for a moment, he added, “Even if they do come in, I’ll be here.”

 

Li Xi’s heart fluttered under his comforting words. They were so close, and Duan Zhen thought that the noises from outside had frightened him. He stretched out his hand and covered Li Xi’s ear.

 

His hand almost covered half of Li Xi’s face.

 

The palm was dry and warm. Li Xi, feeling a bit bold, nuzzled against it, and he could even catch a whiff of Duan Zhen’s distinctive refreshing scent.

 

Thinking he was being sly but actually appearing quite innocent, Li Xi blushed and retracted the hand that was sneakily caressing Duan Zhen’s waist, placing it on Duan Zhen’s wrist. He rubbed his face against it like a cat that had just been petted. He closed his eyes, feeling safe.

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He had initially thought that he wouldn’t be able to sleep in this noisy environment, especially not in Duan Zhen’s arms. But to his surprise, Li Xi fell asleep not long after, and he slept through until morning.

 

When he woke up, he felt a bit dazed. He rubbed his face against his chest, only to realize that he was still in Duan Zhen’s embrace.

 

What a missed opportunity! How could he have fallen asleep like this?

 

Li Xi felt regretful.

 

He had hoped to wait until Duan Zhen fell asleep and then secretly feel his abs. But now, he had missed the chance. He looked downcast, and his small curly hair on his head seemed rather dispirited.

 

“Did you not sleep well?” Duan Zhen asked, “Is it too cramped to share a bed?”

 

“No, no,” Li Xi quickly said, fearing that the next words would be about sleeping separately tonight. He waved his hands, “I slept very well, especially with Brother Duan by my side. I felt incredibly safe.”

 

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Duan Zhen smoothed down the unruly curls on Li Xi’s head, his gaze carrying a hint of gentleness. “That’s good.”

 

Li Xi was about to say something when the door to the ward opened.

 

He got startled, and his whole body ended up in Duan Zhen’s arms.

 

“It’s breakfast time, line up and go to the first floor,” the nurse in the pink uniform said coldly.

 

She looked similar to the nurse on the second floor, but a bit shorter and plumper, clearly not the same person.

 

Hearing the nurse’s voice, Li Xi carefully pulled his head out from Duan Zhen’s embrace.

 

His action prompted Duan Zhen to gently pat his head a couple of times. The boy’s hair was fine and soft, feeling like the fur of a young kitten.

 

“You can’t just barge into the ward,” the nurse said, her voice even colder. “Even if Doctor Gu likes you, it doesn’t mean you can break the hospital rules.”

 

“Doctor Gu?” Li Xi furrowed his brows.

 

That disgusting guy hadn’t died? He was practically blown to a pulp. That necromancer must be truly remarkable to bring him back from that.

 

His expression darkened, and Duan Zhen thought he was scared, quickly comforting him by gently patting his back: “Don’t worry, we’ll go down together.”

 

Li Xi realized that his facial expression wasn’t right and quickly widened his eyes, blinking a couple of times, “Okay.”

 

They washed up first in the small bathroom, then lined up to go downstairs.

 

Breakfast was on the west side of the first floor, resembling a hotel buffet, where everyone could select what they wanted to eat. The breakfast was fairly substantial, but after seeing the state of the hospital last night, those who had witnessed it weren’t particularly hungry. Who knew if the food here was real or something else disguised as food.

 

The group symbolically took some items and placed them on the table, but they actually ate the dry rations they had in their backpacks.

 

Despite them wearing patient gowns, their backpacks remained, and neither the nurses nor the doctors seemed to acknowledge them.

 

“The hospital in the daytime feels more like a fantasy realm,” Duan Zhen remarked. “When they say escaping from the hospital, it should be the hospital at night. But just to be safe, we’ll check the entrance later.”

 

Li Xi was on the side, battling with the dry biscuits.

 

He couldn’t get used to them, they were tasteless, and he felt choked eating them. He would take a few bites, then drink a large mouthful of milk. He was full in no time.

 

His stomach was full, but his mouth wasn’t satisfied. Li Xi reached into his backpack and pulled out a piece of orange-flavored fruit candy, popping it into his mouth, his eyes squinting with satisfaction.

 

They didn’t sell fruit candy on the continent he was from. He had come across it in a shop recently and bought a pack to try. Eventually, he ended up buying all kinds of candy.

 

One had to admit that the food in this world was really delicious.

 

He listened to Duan Zhen’s analysis while sneakily eating a few more pieces. The last one was milk-flavored candy, rich with the taste of milk, one of Li Xi’s favorite candies.

 

When Duan Zhen finished speaking, Li Xi took a piece of candy and offered it to him, feeding it to him directly.

 

Duan Zhen opened his mouth and ate it, tasting a hint of sweetness. Only then did he realize it was candy.

 

“I bought it at a store before,” Li Xi said with a beaming smile. “Is it good?”

 

Duan Zhen nodded. Before he could say anything, Xia Qirong pitifully said, “I want some candy too, Little Li Xi, don’t just care about Brother Duan alone.”

 

Li Xi didn’t want to pay attention to him, but for the sake of his own image, he reluctantly took out a handful of candy from his bag and gave it to him.

 

The difference in treatment was quite obvious. Xia Qirong, enjoying his candy, shook his head and lamented, “I’m not as likable as Brother Duan, am I?”

 

After saying that, he got a kick from Sun Le, grimacing without saying anything more.

 

Li Xi cautiously glanced at Duan Zhen’s expression and found that he was lost in thought about how to solve the mission, apparently not hearing Xia Qirong’s words. This left Li Xi feeling somewhat regretful.

 

“Good morning.” Another group of people entered the cafeteria, with Bai Hua at the forefront. When he saw Li Xi, his eyes lit up, and he reached out to greet him, “You didn’t come back last night, I was afraid something happened, turns out you went to find your teammates.”

 

“Hmm,” Li Xi didn’t want to pay much attention to him.

 

“Breakfast looks quite rich,” Bai Hua said, rudely sitting down next to them.

 

Although he said that, he took a look at the food on the table in front of Duan Zhen’s group, which hadn’t been touched much, and then proceeded to take out compressed biscuits and canned food from his backpack to eat. His team members sat at another table, eating the food provided by the cafeteria.

 

Li Xi finally had the time to observe those people.

 

Bai Hua’s team had six members, including him, with five males and one female. The girl was rather beautiful, her long hair tied up high even though she was wearing the blue and white hospital gown. Her fair cheeks radiated a youthful and attractive charm.

 

The only problem was her eyes, dark and devoid of any emotional fluctuations.

 

She looked more like a puppet being manipulated.

 

Li Xi shifted his gaze to the other team members, and they were all the same.

 

He had a certain speculation in his mind, about to retract his gaze when suddenly one of them slightly raised the corners of their mouth.

 

When he focused his attention to look again, that person appeared devoid of any energy.

 

A spy?

 

Li Xi tugged at Duan Zhen’s sleeve and whispered in his ear, “The spy should be in Bai Hua’s team.”

 

Duan Zhen’s eyes darkened.

 

Breakfast was over, and the nurse announced that they were free to move around in the morning. They could take a walk in the back mountains but were not allowed to leave the hospital grounds.

 

“How about you introduce yourself?” Duan Zhen spoke up, his expression neutral. “You saw what happened last night. With the large number of monsters, if we want to explore the hospital, we’ll need to cooperate.”

 

“Do you believe me now?” Bai Hua smiled, relieved. “That’s great!”

 

He waved his hand to call over his team members, “We all use code names outside. From Bai Yi to Bai Wu1Basically it’s from Bai One to Bai Five, so each one of them is called Bai One, Bai Two, Bai Three, Bai Four, Bai Five. I thought it’d be awkward to address them as such, so I’m keeping the original text.”

 

He asked one of them to step forward, placing his hand on her shoulder, “Little Si2Four is the only girl in our team, and we all take good care of her. She doesn’t need to do much on ordinary days.”

 

Saying that, Bai Si turned her head to reveal a slightly shy smile.

 

However, that smile seemed to be only on the surface, with no trace of warmth in her pitch-black eyes.

 

Bai Hua went on to introduce the approximate abilities of the others and finally extended his hand, “The stories of your team have spread widely among mission participants. It’s said that meeting you on a mission is like a stroke of great luck.”

 

“You flatter us,” Duan Zhen extended his hand and shook it.

 

After the introductions, the two teams split up to search for clues. Duan Zhen stood still, his brows furrowed, as he pulled out the ruby amulet Li Xi had given him.

 

The amulet looked just like before, nothing seemed wrong with it. However, Duan Zhen had felt a brief sensation of heat when he shook hands, like the amulet had suddenly warmed up.

 

It seemed that there was indeed something off with Bai Hua, and perhaps he was the spy they were looking for.

 

Li Xi tugged at his sleeve and whispered, “Brother Duan, let’s go to the back mountains.”

 

The scenery in the back mountains was beautiful, even though they had a couple of tagalongs. It was almost like a half-date.

 

Duan Zhen thought there might be some clues there and nodded, putting the amulet back into his pocket. Thinking for a moment, he cautioned Li Xi, “Avoid any physical contact with Bai Hua; he seems to have the ability to control others through touch.”

 

“Got it.” Li Xi nodded.

 

Duan Zhen also reminded Xia Qirong and Sun Le, then the four of them set off for the back mountains.

 

On the surface, this place was indeed a top-tier hospital, and the hills on the back were meant for patients to relax with their beautiful scenery. Walking along the cobblestone path, they could still see other patients in the distance.

 

However, many of them appeared frail, with a sickly pallor, taking a few steps only to stop and catch their breath. Caregivers closely followed them.

 

“It seems that many of the monsters from last night are actually patients,” Sun Le whispered.

 

It was more accurate to say that at night, the people in the hospital turned into monsters, rather than the other way around. Even the dilapidated hospital would revert to its previous state. They lived in the hospital just as they did before, as if in a cycle.

 

Li Xi knew this beautiful place was just an illusion, so he didn’t reach out to touch anything. Instead, he quietly walked beside Duan Zhen and gently held his hand.

 

After all, during a date, holding hands was a given!

 

Duan Zhen glanced at him, and their eyes met – Li Xi’s round and sparkling ones. Duan Zhen hesitated for a moment, but he didn’t pull away. He let Li Xi hold his hand.

 

The kid must be scared, thinking about the monsters from last night, he thought.

 

 

 

Everyone: thinking strategically about what to do next

Li Xi: having a one-sided beef with emergency rations

Also, Duan Zhen is so nice :’)) What a cutie

 

Thank you for reading! You can consider checking out my ko-fi for bonus releases (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

1Basically it’s from Bai One to Bai Five, so each one of them is called Bai One, Bai Two, Bai Three, Bai Four, Bai Five. I thought it’d be awkward to address them as such, so I’m keeping the original text2Four