Volume 1: Breaking the Cage
Escape 21
Legal Hunting
Xin Lan was unsurprised to be called out and walked over unhurriedly.
“You really dared to call on me, Zou Yunfei, aren’t you afraid I’ll chase after you?”
Zou Yunfei turned his head, pretending not to hear at all.
“Teacher, I want to ask, can the last surviving ‘Grandma’ be caught again?”
“Of course, it’s a very free game,” the PE teacher answered.
Zhou Zhou thought of something, his face turned pale. He thought it would be like the previous warm-up game, where those selected wouldn’t be chosen again.
Xin Lan smiled leisurely at him and stood in the middle of the circle.
“Do you know, there’s an ancient saying I particularly like.”
“Return the favor with their own way.”
Xin Lan closed her eyes, and Zhou Zhou became fully alert.
Shen Shuiyan’s gaze did not leave the person in the middle. She knew she would definitely be fine, but she just wanted to watch.
“Grandma, Grandma, what time is it?”
“Four o’clock.”
“Grandma, Grandma, what time is it?”
“One o’clock.”
Xin Lan’s demeanor was very relaxed, with closed eyes and hands in pockets, as if she were not participating in a terrifying game but rather on an outing.
“Grandma, Grandma, what time is it?”
“Twelve o’clock.”
Xin Lan opened her eyes, locked onto her target, and headed in that direction.
Zhou Zhou’s stamina had already been significantly drained from an earlier run, and now he had little energy left to run again.
However, both Zou Yunfei and Chu Lu had injuries, so even if they pulled him along, they wouldn’t be much faster. If hindered, they might get caught.
Zhou Zhou could only hope that Xin Lan was just aggressive in her actions but not strong in chasing people.
But obviously, his prayers were not effective, as Xin Lan quickly closed in on him.
Zhou Zhou panted, his survival instincts pushing him to keep running.
His steps grew heavier, as if filled with lead, his leg muscles aching.
Xin Lan followed him effortlessly from behind, like a cat toying with a mouse, enjoying his desperate struggle.
Ling Jiu was timing Xin Lan, and Xin Lan told her to remind him in the last thirty seconds.
Xin Lan was lazy to hit people. The conflict with Zhou Zhou wasn’t deep; although he followed Zou Yunfei, he wasn’t as brash as Chu Lu, who spoke carelessly and seemed greasy. He spoke less, and he made a mistake by calling her today.
This was fine, using the rules to eliminate one first.
Ling Jiu: Host, time’s up!
Zhou Zhou thought time was running out, and since Xin Lan hadn’t caught him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
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This was good; Xin Lan would be eliminated by the rules. Her belongings would surely go to Shen Shuiyan. Without her threatening Shen Shuiyan, Shen Shuiyan would definitely return to their team, reducing an enemy and gaining clues, greatly increasing their chances of winning.
But before he could celebrate for a few seconds, he heard footsteps behind him.
A hand grabbed his collar, stopping him in his tracks.
“Got you.”
The voice was cheerful, yet it froze his body inch by inch.
No more, no less, exactly ten minutes.
Zhou Zhou didn’t even have time to speak before he disappeared.
Zou Yunfei’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Xin Lan.
“What are you looking at me for? Do you want to be the next catcher, hmm?” Xin Lan stared straight at Zou Yunfei, smiling as she spoke.
That smile was full of provocation, making Zou Yunfei’s blood boil, wanting to fight her to the death.
But he retained some rationality, calming himself down.
Xin Lan’s running speed was fast, and he was injured. If Xin Lan chose him, he might not catch her, and chasing others was uncertain. But Zou Yunfei didn’t want to risk his life.
Xin Lan didn’t choose Zou Yunfei, she chose Chu Lu.
Zou Yunfei was to be kept for later torment. If he was too weak and couldn’t catch anyone, his death would mean her mission’s direct failure.
So it was better to keep him for now, but the one next to him had no value to keep. He had been beaten before, and as long as he didn’t cause trouble, there was nothing much to do with him.
Chu Lu stood in the center with a grim expression. He had a brain and knew not to act impulsively to chase Xin Lan. Zhou Zhou was already a lesson.
This time Chu Lu pursued Xu Deng, and the two kept running.
Chu Lu thought that if he couldn’t deal with Xin Lan, could he not attack her teammate?
Seeing Xu Deng about to be caught, Xin Lan ran beside her, planning to grab her and pull her over.
If Xu Deng had run towards her position from the start, she would have already grabbed her, but Chu Lu blocked this direction, forcing Xu Deng to run elsewhere, and Xin Lan could only chase to assist.
Xin Lan thought if it didn’t work, she would let Chu Lu catch her first and then kill him.
Xu Deng suddenly stopped, and Chu Lu thought she was giving up.
But then Xu Deng did something unexpected: she turned and kicked Chu Lu hard in the lower body, then ran off.
That was one of the most vulnerable spots for a guy, and the sudden heavy blow doubled him over in pain, sweating profusely, rolling on the ground.
“Didn’t expect it, quite capable,” Xin Lan smiled, praising Xu Deng.
“Living in the world, one has no choice,” Xu Deng adjusted her broken glasses, modestly accepting the compliment.
Chu Lu stood up with difficulty, but his injury hurt when he ran.
Everyone stayed far from him. Ten minutes was almost up, and he had to accept failure.
“Xin Lan, you’ll meet a bad end!” Chu Lu shouted with a twisted expression before disappearing.
“Is he sick? I was the one who kicked him, not you. Who can he blame for not catching up?” Xu Deng couldn’t understand; this was a brutal game after all.
Xin Lan completely ignored it. Many had cursed her, wishing her a bad end. What was Chu Lu compared to them?
Back when she was a villain, curses against her were counted in heaps. Though her end was indeed not great, she was now the protagonist.
There was no such situation; at most, it was an impossible dream of cannon fodder.
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Xin Lan didn’t care, but others did.
Shen Shuiyan felt anger hearing it. Clearly, the other side started the trouble, and failing to match her skill, they cursed her little tiger. Her little tiger was so amazing; she would certainly live a long life. Only those people would meet a bad end.
The person was gone, and Shen Shuiyan couldn’t do anything but silently put this account on Zou Yunfei’s head.
Zou Yunfei was also feeling terrible. In one game, two of his three brothers were gone, leaving him seemingly isolated.
His hatred for Xin Lan deepened. He saw Shen Shuiyan looking in his direction, feeling slightly better.
Fortunately, he still had Shen Shuiyan on his side. She must be looking at him out of concern.
No matter what, he must endure to the end, to show Xin Lan that he, Zou Yunfei, would be the one laughing last.
Shen Shuiyan was indeed watching, thinking of how to torment people.
The game had claimed three lives by now.
With six more rounds to go, only sixteen people remained.
The girl caught by Zhou Zhou who pushed her teammate to be a scapegoat in the first round died in the fifth round, avenged by that boy’s brother.
Nine rounds later, this nightmare-like chase game finally stopped.
The PE teacher blew the whistle, gathering everyone.
They came as twenty-two, now only twelve remained.
In just a few hours, ten lives were lost before everyone’s eyes.
“Alright, students, class is over, you can go eat now, see you next time,” the teacher said with a smile, and the students hurriedly left.
Xu Deng initially felt the atmosphere was heavy and wanted to say something, but seeing Xin Lan as if nothing happened and Shen Shuiyan also unfazed, the two were even discussing what to eat later.
“How about tomato and scrambled eggs?”
“No, the other day I had tomato and scrambled eggs that were too sweet, suspecting the chef mistook sugar for salt.”
“Then how about clay pot rice and soup?”
“Sure.”
Xu Deng twitched her mouth. She lost her appetite because of the game earlier.
These two made her feel humble; she should be under the car, not in it. She lost.
“Are you eating? We three can line up together,” Xin Lan asked, turning her head.
“Eat,” Xu Deng immediately responded, as if she hadn’t been the one without appetite earlier.
Xin Lan went in, and there were few people queuing at the window. Everyone sat scattered, unlike the first day with so many people.
“Is every class required to have a PE class?” Shen Shuiyan noticed the numbers didn’t add up; there shouldn’t be any other reason, and it couldn’t be that only their class received such ‘special treatment’ to participate in the game.
“It should be, which is good.”
Good, the rules accelerated the game’s progress, sharpening conflicts. She didn’t need to resolve many people to get enough clue fragments.
Meaning, Shen Shuiyan also needed to speed up.
Xin Lan and Shen Shuiyan exchanged a glance, and Shen Shuiyan immediately understood, nodding.
“I’ll go find him tonight, and we’ll meet at the teaching building.”
Xin Lan suddenly remembered something and nudged Ling Jiu.
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Xin Lan: Is the guy who abused the original host and caused her death still alive?
If he died due to some uncontrollable circumstance, she’d miss a chance.
Ling Jiu: He’s still alive.
Xin Lan: That’s good.
Xin Lan planned to find him tonight; what if he died if she delayed further?
Night fell, and the clock struck.
The campus grew quieter, and the pitch-black night was like a monster with a wide-open mouth, ready to swallow people whole.
The sound of quick footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by the sound of a door closing.
Xin Lan: Where is he now?
Ling Jiu: The teaching building.
Xin Lan stood up from her chair. That was perfect, Shen Shuiyan was going to meet Zou Yunfei at the teaching building too. She originally planned to take her teammate to the boys’ dorm to handle matters, because she was worried about Shen Shuiyan. What if she got bullied?
LP: Re-translated on November 20, 2024