Relying on Beauty to Commit Crimes in the Escape Game

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After about half an hour or so, Duan Zhen finally sent the first message— it was a list of items.

 

Li Xi glanced over it briefly and saw that everything was included. If he didn’t know better, he would think they were going to a deserted island for some kind of survival challenge. However, considering Clemens’ personality, it wouldn’t be impossible for it to turn into a deserted island massacre.

 

He clicked his tongue lightly, recalling the guide, and began typing messages to Duan Zhen.

 

“Thank you, Brother Duan. I will prepare everything according to the list, ok.”

 

After typing the message, he hesitated for a moment, changed the last “ok” to “okay” and the period to a tilde (~)1Alright so I took some liberties with this one. In the original text, there wasn’t really an ok/okay, but there was characters that are more like a sound/intonation. The first one, that I replaced with “ok” is formal, while the second one (okay) is supposed to sound cuter. Basically he changed this and added the ~ to make it cuter from what it was, and then clicked send.

 

After leaving him on “read” for a while, Duan Zhen responded with a long paragraph, highlighting certain points. It contained several strategies, tips, and precautions specific to the Clemens’ world.

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It didn’t seem like Duan Zhen was planning to accompany him, but Li Xi lounged on the bed, swinging his legs and feeling completely unconcerned. His peach blossom eyes curved up in a mischievous smile.

 

He typed slowly: “Thank you so much!”

 

Duan Zhen responded, “You’re welcome. It’s all experience accumulated by seniors.”

 

“It’s precious to me.” Li Xi sent a voice message, sincerely saying, “No one has ever told me these things. I…”

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He stopped and changed to text: “If I come back alive, I will definitely repay you.”

 

There was no further reply from the other side.

 

Li Xi hummed a tune in his room, completely unworried, and rolled around with the custom-made Duan Zhen body pillow in his arms.

 

As expected, less than ten minutes later, a message came—Duan Zhen said they could go together this time in Clemens’ world. Both of them were at an intermediate level, and the difference wouldn’t be too big.

 

Li Xi naturally didn’t agree immediately. He hypocritically pretended to decline a few times before happily accepting. He even received Duan Zhen’s room number as a result and was told that they would have a meeting later to familiarize themselves with each other’s abilities.

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Although he had known it in advance, Li Xi still expressed surprise in a message: “I live right next to you. We are really destined.”

 

To maintain his image of a well-behaved person, he didn’t chat much with Duan Zhen. After setting the time for the meeting tomorrow, he obediently said goodbye and sent a cute cat emoticon.

 

Duan Zhen also bid farewell, punctuating his message with a period.

 

With his mind occupied by the matter at hand, Li Xi went to bed early and woke up early. He didn’t feel like moving, so he lazily beckoned with his finger, and objects in the room floated up, neatly taking care of his face-washing and teeth-brushing routine.

 

A slice of toasted bread with strawberry jam flew to his mouth, and after brewing the milk tea, it poured into an exquisite crystal cup and settled steadily in front of him.

 

Li Xi was dressed in a combination of white and pale yellow clothes, and his hair naturally puffed up, making him appear like a fragile underage youth.

 

“Does it make me look too young?” He examined himself in the mirror, but when he flattened his hair, he lost that pitiful little white lotus look.

 

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Oh well, let’s leave it like this for now. He could gradually mature as they got along. If he changed too quickly, it might raise suspicions.

 

Since their rooms were next to each other, Li Xi picked up his hat but didn’t put it on, afraid of ruining the natural hairstyle he just made.

 

The one who opened the door was Xia Qirong, the most carefree and never one to sit still for long. When he heard the knocking, he shouted that it must be Li Xi. But as soon as he opened the door, his voice abruptly stopped, and he froze in place.

 

“What’s wrong?” Duan Zhen walked over.

 

“No…nothing.” Xia Qirong stuttered for a moment before returning to normal: “Li Xi is here.”

 

He awkwardly took a step back.

 

Li Xi was accustomed to this kind of reaction and ignored it. He looked up at Duan Zhen and smiled: “Brother Duan.”

 

With just one smile, his charm became even more lethal. Even Duan Zhen’s expression showed slight changes.

 

Li Xi noticed their reactions and, as he expected, began his performance.

 

He appeared slightly startled, tightened his grip on the hat in his hand, and slowly lowered his head, raising his hand to put the hat back on.

 

Duan Zhen held his wrist.

 

“It’s nothing.” He tugged his wrist again and spoke in a gentle tone. “Come in.”

 

Li Xi softly acknowledged with an “Mmm” and cautiously followed behind Duan Zhen.

 

Inside the room, only Sun Le was sitting in his place, not appearing to be confused as to why they had been lingering at the door.

 

The table was round, and Li Xi carefully sat opposite Duan Zhen. He discreetly glanced up at him, only to find their gazes meeting.

 

He quickly averted his gaze back to the table.

 

“No need to be nervous.” Duan Zhen saw him hunching his shoulders, resembling a nervous little stray cat just brought home, and spoke to reassure him. “The world we’re about to enter has a higher difficulty level, so we need to understand your abilities.”

 

“My abilities…” Li Xi pursed his lips. “They’re actually just as you saw before, I’m able to foresee things. In the world of Clemens, it might not be very useful.”

 

“Your psychic ability is very strong,” Duan Zhen shook his head. “You have natural talent in this area.”

 

Li Xi whispered a thank you.

 

He kept his head lowered, clearly showing nervousness. Even his voice trembled at the end of his sentences as he spoke.

 

“You two can go back first,” Duan Zhen contemplated for a moment and said to Xia Qirong and Sun Le, “I’ll take him to make some tests on his physical fitness.”

 

“Good.” Xia Qirong had been restless for a while, so as soon as he heard that, he immediately pulled Sun Le out of the room.

 

He knew that his earlier reaction at the door was too exaggerated. Based on Li Xi’s previous experiences, being able to reveal his face meant he trusted them.

 

But… he didn’t expect Li Xi, when fully revealed, to be so attractive. Just looking at him, his mind went blank, as if he had been hit by his beauty.

 

“To be able to remain calm in the face of such a face, Brother Duan truly deserves admiration,” Xia Qirong sighed in relief after leaving the room.

 

Sun Le nodded silently.

 

With that level of attractiveness, it’s no wonder he was treated like a canary and escorted all the way here. If it weren’t for his entire team being wiped out, no one would have willingly let him roam freely. In this perilous world, possessing such a face was either his good fortune or a tragedy.

 

…

 

Once the two of them left, Li Xi relaxed his body a little and discreetly raised his eyes to look at Duan Zhen.

 

As expected, Duan Zhen was also looking at him.

 

“Let’s go,” Duan Zhen stood up. “I’ve set up a gym here.”

 

Li Xi pretended to appear nervous: “I… I don’t have very good stamina.”

 

“It’s okay,” Duan Zhen used his fingerprint to open the door. “One month’s time is enough to improve your physical fitness.”

 

 

 

 

And so they saw his face for “real” this time! I find Xia Qirong’s monologues pretty funny ahah

 

 

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

1Alright so I took some liberties with this one. In the original text, there wasn’t really an ok/okay, but there was characters that are more like a sound/intonation. The first one, that I replaced with “ok” is formal, while the second one (okay) is supposed to sound cuter. Basically he changed this and added the ~ to make it cuter from what it was