Volume 1: Breaking the Cage
Escape 06
Legal Hunting
Xin Lan hung the clothes on the balcony, then returned to her own bed.
Zhou Mingfang remembered that Xin Lan had said earlier she wouldn’t come back, but she did return. Where she went during that time, only she herself knew.
Zhou Mingfang felt like there were cats scratching in her heart, wanting to ask, but she didn’t dare to.
Xin Lan had said, there are no permanent teammates, which means she could leave at any time.
Zhou Mingfang clutched her own fragments of clues tightly, and moved a little closer to the wall.
No one could be trusted here, and everyone was in danger.
She didn’t want to die.
Xiao Chun was the last one to go to bed. She turned off her light and curled up, not even daring to fall into a deep sleep, fearing that her clues might be stolen while she slept, or that the girl in the neighboring bed might seek revenge.
Xin Lan slept soundly, vaguely hearing the sound of a bell.
Xin Lan: Is it twelve o’clock already?
Ling Jiu: Mm-hmm.
Xin Lan fell back asleep.
In the dead of night, a faint sound could be heard in the dormitory.
The sound was so subtle, it could almost be ignored.
Ling Jiu, however, immediately paused the TV series she was watching and observed the source of the sound in the dormitory.
Someone sat up in bed and got down quietly, treading lightly.
Her movements were somewhat slow; Ling Jiu recognized her at a glance as the girl who had been beaten by Xin Lan earlier that evening.
The person fumbled around on her desk, finding what she wanted.
A faint, dim light reflected off the blade – it was a fruit knife.
Ling Jiu didn’t know what she intended to do and didn’t wake Xin Lan. She watched as the person approached Xin Lan’s bed with the fruit knife, stepping onto the wooden ladder of Xin Lan’s bed.
Ling Jiu: Host, someone with a knife is by your bed!
Xin Lan opened her eyes, expressionless.
Ling Jiu felt something was off about her demeanor and hugged her little yellow chick, not daring to speak.
The knife’s gleam became the only distinct point of light in the night. Xin Lan sat up directly, grabbed the wrist, and twisted it forcefully.
A scream of pain woke the other two roommates. Xin Lan, with a cold face, picked up the knife that had fallen on the bed.
The girl, in the first moment of pain, descended the ladder and retreated several steps.
Xin Lan got off the bed with the knife and advanced towards the girl.
The girl backed away in panic, colliding with a chair in the darkness, making a harsh noise.
“You can’t kill me. The hunting time is over now. If you kill me, you’ll be eliminated too.”
The girl’s voice trembled. It was pitch black around her; she couldn’t see clearly what was nearby. She could only move based on her memory of the room’s layout. She couldn’t see what was in front of her either, but she could feel that overwhelming pressure.
Xin Lan said nothing, grabbed the girl’s arm, roughly pulled up her clothes, and cut off a piece of flesh.
The girl let out another blood-curdling scream, and Xin Lan impatiently told her to shut up.
“If you make any more noise, as soon as the hunting time starts tomorrow, I can guarantee your head will be separated from your body in an instant.”
Xin Lan’s voice carried suppressed anger. She threw the knife on the ground, returned to her bed, and covered herself with the blanket.
Ling Jiu didn’t dare to make a sound, understanding that the host had a strong aversion to being woken up.
The reason for her displeasure was likely not that someone tried to stab her with a knife, but that her sleep was disturbed.
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Xiao Chun and Zhou Mingfang were both awake, but neither dared to get out of bed and turn on the light.
Xiao Chun relaxed a bit; that person had brought it upon herself, and the hunting time was over, so she probably wouldn’t do anything to her tonight. She stretched out her legs and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, when Xin Lan got up, she saw the bloodstains and a piece of human flesh on the floor.
Her face showed the refreshed look of someone who had slept well, with only a vague memory of last night’s events.
People tend to have unclear memories of events that occur when they’re woken up during sleep.
Xin Lan showed no expression as she took her toiletries and left the room.
Zhou Mingfang and Xiao Chun felt a bit nauseous at the sight of that piece of flesh. They didn’t dare to look and averted their gaze, walking out.
There were quite a few people in the washroom. Xin Lan saw Shen Shuiyan.
Shen Shuiyan also happened to see her and gave her a smile.
Xin Lan noticed an empty spot right next to her and walked over with her basin.
“How did you sleep last night?”
Shen Shuiyan asked while washing her hands.
“Not bad.”
Xin Lan turned on the faucet and squeezed out some toothpaste.
“Last night, in the middle of the night, someone was screaming. It woke me up.”
Shen Shuiyan turned off the faucet, her words full of probing intent.
“I always sleep very deeply.”
Xin Lan started brushing her teeth, cutting off Shen Shuiyan’s thoughts of further conversation.
While Xin Lan was washing her face, someone entered the washroom with a pale face, telling everyone that a person had died in their dormitory.
The person who died on the first day was a male student, also discovered in the dormitory the next morning. He died silently, without any wounds on his body. Just looking at him, he appeared to be sleeping, but he had indeed stopped breathing.
Even stranger was that the corpse disappeared right before everyone’s eyes.
No one knew if only the bodies of those killed by the rules would disappear, or if all corpses would vanish.
Xin Lan emptied the water from her basin and followed everyone’s footsteps to that dormitory, carrying her basin.
Many people were crowded at the door. Xin Lan placed her basin on the wall in the corridor and squeezed her way in.
From the lower level, one couldn’t actually see what the person sleeping above looked like. Xin Lan climbed onto the neighboring bed and saw the young woman with closed eyes.
A seemingly ordinary girl, looking as if she were sound asleep, but her complexion was the pale blue of a corpse, her chest completely still.
Xin Lan knew without looking that this was already a dead person.
Xin Lan looked down and met eyes with Shen Shuiyan in the crowd.
“She’s already dead.”
As soon as Xin Lan’s words fell, muffled sobs could be heard from the crowd.
It was only upon seeing the corpse that everyone’s fear was truly triggered.
Xin Lan didn’t leave; she sat on the edge of the bed.
She wanted to see exactly how this corpse would disappear, or if it would truly disappear at all.
Yesterday, it was a male student who died, and the news came from the boys’ side. None of the girls had actually seen a corpse vanish into thin air before their eyes.
However, the transfer of clue fragments was determined by the rules, so this probably couldn’t be faked. Because of this, it was unlikely that anyone would intentionally move the corpse, but Xin Lan preferred to see things with her own eyes.
Some people dispersed, but others remained in the dormitory.
The other three girls living in the dormitory didn’t say anything either, just keeping their heads down, not daring to look at that spot, busying themselves with their own affairs.
The girl whose bed Xin Lan had occupied merely glanced at Xin Lan before sitting down on a chair.
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Classes started at 8:00, and no one wanted to be late.
Xin Lan took out her phone and checked the time; it was now 7:30.
Five minutes later, the corpse in front of her began to change.
Xin Lan watched as her body gradually became transparent, finally disappearing completely.
Xin Lan felt the bed, touching nothing.
Others also saw the corpse disappear. Some covered their mouths, while others didn’t dare to linger, turning to leave immediately.
Xin Lan got off the bed and walked out.
Shen Shuiyan was beside her, following her for a couple of steps.
“I remember your dormitory and mine are in opposite directions.”
Shen Shuiyan should have been walking back, not forward.
“You seem a bit different from what I imagined.”
Shen Shuiyan had previously thought Xin Lan was just a pretty girl who was a bit silly.
After all, a long time ago, she had seen Xin Lan in love once. At that time, she hadn’t broken up with Zou Yunfei yet. She was clinging to Zou Yunfei’s arm, acting coquettishly, wanting to go on a date over the weekend, but was rejected by Zou Yunfei.
Zou Yunfei’s impatience was so obvious, yet she hadn’t noticed and still persisted relentlessly.
Not long after that, Shen Shuiyan heard that Zou Yunfei had dumped her.
It was as expected.
However, the Xin Lan she saw now was quite different from the one in her memory, as if she had become much more composed, bold, and intelligent.
Although it wasn’t as dramatic as being a completely different person, the distinction was very clear to her.
Xin Lan didn’t question her words much, but instead responded with a similar yet opposite statement.
“You’re not much different from what I imagined.”
“How so?”
Shen Shuiyan became interested, looking into Xin Lan’s eyes.
“As smart and beautiful as I thought.”
This couldn’t really be considered mere flattery from Xin Lan, after all, what she knew from the subsequent plot was indeed a smart and beautiful Shen Shuiyan.
Shen Shuiyan was somewhat taken aback, but that surprise was quickly concealed, replaced by a beautiful smile.
Shen Shuiyan’s beauty was without aggression, like a water lily.
“Thank you for the compliment. You’re very beautiful too.”
Beautiful like a fiery red rose, making one want to reach out and pluck it, yet afraid of pricking their fingers.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going back now.”
“Goodbye.”
Ling Jiu: Host, weren’t you supposed to be stealing her away? Why does it feel like you’re not very close to the top student?
Xin Lan: Have you ever seen a villain personally recruit their minions?
Ling Jiu: Host, wake up!
Xin Lan: …I forgot again, but it’s not a big deal. Even without stealing her away, I can still be the last person to survive and get out.
Ling Jiu: But our mission… qwq
Xin Lan: I know. Worst case scenario, at the very end, I’ll lay out the clues in front of my ex-boyfriend, first tell him we can team up, then tell him I was lying. I’ll let him watch me piece things together bit by bit, let him know what it feels like when death approaches, that no one can save him, slowly sinking into despair. By then, won’t he be weeping and waiting for death?
Xin Lan: Wouldn’t this count as torturing both the heart and body?
Ling Jiu was speechless and choked up. Are you a devil?
Ling Jiu: But didn’t we say we were going to steal his woman?
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Xin Lan: Hmm…
Xin Lan, walking in front, paused her steps and turned back to see Shen Shuiyan standing still, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing her turn back, Shen Shuiyan reflexively smiled at her.
“What I said yesterday still stands.”
“Alright, I’ll remember that.”
Shen Shuiyan nodded. She had her own ideas too and didn’t plan to tie herself to one team. More choices meant more paths.
The two walked in opposite directions, yet ended up meeting again at the bottom of the dormitory building.
The two exchanged a glance and, with unspoken understanding, began walking side by side.
“I’m in Class One.”
Compared to before, neither of their class assignments had changed much.
“Did you know the person who died today?”
“She was from my class, but I didn’t know her well.”
“I think we can be classmates now.”
LP: Re-translated on October 31, 2024