Relying on Beauty to Commit Crimes in the Escape Game

Chapter 2

Before entering a new classroom, they exchanged the clues they had found.

“There are a total of 30 desks in the classroom, all empty. There’s as much dust on them as on the floor,” Xia Qirong said.

“30 desks?” Duan Zhen furrowed his brows. “According to the register, there are 31 students in the class.”

“Could it be the kind of routine where there’s one unexpected person?” Xia Qirong rubbed his chin. “There are only 30 students in the class, but the register shows one extra person, and we can’t find who that extra person is.”

“Just looking for whoever doesn’t have a seat will allow you to figure it out,” Sun Le suddenly interjected. “This hypothesis has a loophole.”

“After all, we have too few clues,” Xia Qirong waved his hand. “It seems this is a game of gathering information. If we explore a few more classrooms, we should find more clues.”

“A game?” Li Xi’s tone sounded slightly unusual.

“Don’t you think this mode is similar to a game?” Xia Qirong smiled and said. “Especially in this world, it feels so scripted, almost on par with domestic horror movies.”

Li Xi stared blankly, but then he felt someone lightly press his cap brim, and it was Duan Zhen: “Don’t listen to him. We can’t underestimate matters concerning our lives.”

Li Xi’s face, which had pursed lips earlier, immediately softened: “Mm, I’ll listen to you.”

After speaking, he lowered his head, and the brim of his cap covered most of his face. Duan Zhen originally felt somewhat strange in his heart due to his words, but as he looked at the brim covering most of his face, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow. He reached out and lifted Li Xi’s cap, seeing his confusion, and explained: “If it’s pressed too low, it obstructs your vision.”

Li Xi obediently allowed him to raise the brim of his cap, and he smiled up at Duan Zhen. “I understand now, I’ll pay attention to it from now on.”

That gaze carried a hint of dependence, and Duan Zhen, rare as it was, was lost in thought for a few seconds, thinking of his own younger brother. Duan Zhen had a 16-year-old younger brother, who was weak due to a congenital heart condition, gentle and soft-spoken. The gaze that looked at him was always filled with reliance and admiration, similar to the way Li Xi looked at him.

But then his gaze landed on Li Xi’s face and paused.

The young man had a beautiful face, with eyes that curved up and lips that were plump and rosy. A slight curve of those lips could easily steal someone’s heart.

Duan Zhen probably understood why Li Xi chose to wear such a cap in the instances. He remained silent for a moment before saying, “As long as it doesn’t obstruct your vision.”

Li Xi looked at him with apparent confusion, seemingly unaware of why Duan Zhen changed his tone. After lowering his head, he secretly curved his lips.

Indeed, the strategy mentioned in the guide about suppressing and then revealing one’s appearance unexpectedly was effective!

While Xia Qirong continued grumbling discontentedly, Duan Zhen glared at him, instantly silencing him. He obediently followed Sun Le into the second classroom.

As they spoke, Yao Jiu remained silent, his gaze constantly shifting toward the corpse in the classroom. His face grew paler, and he pressed his chest while breathing heavily.

Finally, before entering the second classroom, he couldn’t hold back any longer and spoke with a trembling voice, “Are you sure nothing will happen? We’ve provoked all the ghosts in each classroom. What if they break through the seals later?”

“They won’t,” Xia Qirong waved his hand and winked at him. “Even if they manage to escape, the low-level creatures in this world are no match for our Bro Duan.”

Duan Zhen, who was walking ahead, didn’t refute, which made Yao Jiu relax a bit.

Li Xi walked beside Duan Zhen, quickly glancing up at the man. He didn’t see any trace of complacency in his eyes.

—Even in this world with such low difficulty for him, he never let his guard down.

After realizing this, Li Xi curved his lips and instinctively wanted to lower his cap brim but remembered Duan Zhen’s words and stopped himself.

Duan Zhen thought he was scared and reassured him by patting his shoulder.

The second classroom was similar to the first, with desks neatly arranged, but the thick layer of dust was filled with messy footprints and handprints.

Duan Zhen’s gaze swept across the floor, and he said in a deep voice, “The footprints are fresh.”

As if they were left just a second before they entered.

In the horror world, only people hide from ghosts. There was no reason for the ghosts to hastily flee. The frowns on everyone’s faces revealed their suspicions. Only Li Xi couldn’t help lowering his head, worried that he might unintentionally reveal something.

Having read the script before coming, he naturally knew that this scene wasn’t originally part of it. These footprints were left by the ghosts here who discovered his presence and hurriedly peeked at them.

Seeing everyone’s analysis going off track, Li Xi made a note of them in his notebook.

The group entered the second classroom and, following the previous procedure, thoroughly searched the entire room.

“There are a total of thirty-one desks in the classroom, and the only anomaly is this photo,” Xia Qirong pointed to the desk in front of him.

The black-and-white photo showed the smiling face of a young boy, but the smile was too wide, giving it an especially eerie look.

Yao Jiu suddenly exclaimed and immediately hid behind Duan Zhen. Due to his hurried movement, he accidentally bumped into Li Xi, who was now standing beside Duan Zhen.

Li Xi, following his character as a delicate and weak flower, took a few steps back from the force of the collision, causing the desk next to him to tilt.

“What’s wrong?” Duan Zhen frowned.

“That photo just blinked!” Yao Jiu exclaimed. “Didn’t you all see it?”

“It only blinked, of course we saw.” Xia Qirong waved his hand: “That’s normal in this kind of horror world. You’re overreacting.”

“Is that so?” Yao Jiu seemed uncertain.

His hand had been pressed against his heart the whole time, and Li Xi, playing the role of a delicate flower, despite being bumped into, worriedly asked, “You’ve been clutching your chest for a moment now, is your heart hurting?”

“Yeah, I have a heart condition. It only recently improved,” Yao Jiu said, his mouth unnaturally curving upward.

His luck had always been poor. He had heart problems since he was young, unable to run or jump. After enduring until now and finally finding a treatment method, he was unexpectedly dragged into this horrifying game.

“In the game, you can buy items that will fully make you recover,” Li Xi tilted his head and smiled at him. “It’s not a problem if you want to have a healthier body.”

“Really?” Yao Jiu’s expression changed.

“You’ll understand once you leave the low-level world,” Xia Qirong said nonchalantly, placing his hand on Yao Jiu’s shoulder, causing him to shiver. “Don’t be so jumpy. You won’t survive in the mid- to high-level worlds if you’re afraid like this.”

“Enough,” Duan Zhen said coldly. He walked to the window and looked outside, his gaze narrowing.

Through the window, they could see a desk lying upside down on the ground below. Judging from the angle, it seemed to have been thrown from the adjacent classroom.

“There are 31 students per class,” Duan Zhen furrowed his brow. “But there are only 30 desks in one class because it was thrown out of the window.”

“That makes sense,” Xia Qirong nodded in agreement.

Li Xi also chimed in. When Duan Zhen looked over, he raised his face and said, “I feel like there are no more clues here.”

Duan Zhen seemed slightly taken aback and then said, “Let’s go.”

After that, he took the lead and walked out of the classroom.

Yao Jiu quickly followed behind him, while Li Xi lagged a step behind. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the black-and-white photo on the desk.

The boy in the photo was making a strange face, sticking out his tongue that seemed to grow longer and longer. The photo seemed to have been soaked in water, and it was getting more and more blurred.

Li Xi silently stared at him.

Sensing his gaze, the ghost in the photo hesitated for a moment and quickly retracted its tongue, returning to a normal appearance. Its mouth unnaturally curved into a strange and coy smile.

Sun Le saw that Li Xi didn’t move, so he turned his head and asked, “Is there something strange?”

“No,” Li Xi shook his head and took a step forward.

Because they had been delayed for a while, the others had already reached the next classroom but stopped at the doorway without any intention of opening it. Yao Jiu, who was even more timid, now had a pale face and cowered behind Duan Zhen.

Li Xi approached lightly, leaned forward, and looked into the classroom.

The classroom was brightly lit, with books of various sizes placed on the desks. The students were quietly studying with their heads down. It seemed like a normal self-study class, but in this eerie school building, it felt out of the ordinary.

“Are these all ghosts?” Yao Jiu’s voice trembled.

“There are many clues here,” Li Xi whispered. “But it’s also dangerous.”

“They seem to be passing something,” Sun Le said.

“Looks like they’re passing notes,” Xia Qirong said with a grin. “Ah, the memories of school days.”

Duan Zhen listened silently as they spoke, then suddenly said, “The clues are on the notes.”

He glanced at Yao Jiu and Li Xi and quickly explained, “In the Senafel world, every appearing ghost has its purpose. By finding the main line of the world, we can follow the thread to solve the mission.”

After he finished speaking, Xia Qirong said with a smile: “Senafel’s world is a traditional horror game with a bit of decryption. It’s much easier than other worlds.”

“I see,” Li Xi ignored him and softly said to Duan Zhen, “Thank you for your guidance.”

Duan Zhen paused: “You’re welcome.”

Feeling satisfied with his successful attempt at being cute again, Li Xi secretly leaned closer to Duan Zhen.

“With so many ghosts, it would take about six talismans to drive them away,” Sun Le said, taking out a stack of yellow paper from his bag.

Duan Zhen shook his head: “We don’t need talismans. We’ll just go in.”

After a brief pause, he added, “During class time, students won’t leave their seats.”

“I’ll go in with you,” Li Xi immediately followed, “The students might throw the notes in the trash bin. We can search for clues separately.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” Duan Zhen recalled his previous performance and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not afraid,” Li Xi straightened his chest and cleared his throat before softly saying, “And I believe that Brother Duan will protect me.”

Normally, in a game, even individuals within the same team would be suspicious of each other. However, Li Xi’s gaze was filled with trust, respect, and reliance.

Duan Zhen looked at him and after a few seconds, he said, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He slowly pushed open the door of the classroom.

Lol at the ghosts running away in fear haha! Tho that picture boy sure was creepy x_x