Chapter 27 - Second Game (20)

Rainbow Kindergarten

Chapter 27 — Second Game (20)

Was this the effect of the lighter or the effect of the flame? Or any flame would do?

There was a book corner in the classroom, but it was already covered by flames. Although the ragdolls couldn’t approach the school building because of the fire, the acrid smoke made one choke, so they couldn’t stay there for long.

In the end, they went to the apartment building.

The blankets, clothes and other items were set ablaze. The clothes with flames were thrown at the approaching ragdolls, causing them to scamper away in fright. Wei Qianrong hurled her compass, smashing it straight at the head of the trench coat ghost, and the trench coat ghost was so infuriated that it intended to raise its machete to hack them. With a swish, Ding Yirong switched on the flashlight, while Yang Zixuan seized a mop from the washroom and swept down the security guard ghosts attempting to ascend the staircase.

The compass ruthlessly smashed onto the trench coat ghost’s wrist, causing it to cave in, but it still had a tight grip on the machete. Ding Yirong shifted the flashlight to his left hand, gripped his mini wooden sword with his right, and thrust forward. When the flashlight briefly stopped working, it immediately lit up again. Both opportunities were used to immobilise the trench coat ghost.

The peachwood sword was ferociously inserted into the trench coat ghost’s body, and black mist continuously spilt from it at that instant, like a punctured balloon.

Ding Yirong stabbed vigorously into the trench coat ghost’s body. This ghost felt otherworldly, like touching mist, as if numerous fine threads were impeding the peachwood sword. However, it lacked the sensation of flesh and blood. If he were set on describing it…it was like being wrapped in almost melting marshmallows, sticky and difficult to move in.

“Go!”

The trench coat ghost dissipated, and Yang Zixuan stopped having a confrontation with the security guard ghost. He turned to escape. Yao Qinyu hugged a huge pile of clothes and led the children downstairs in the other direction. Shang Chi ignited the clothes in his hand and threw them down, then followed to leave.

“At this rate, more than a dozen ragdoll and security guard ghosts remain.” After creating some distancing between them, they analysed the situation together.

“I, I can’t, can’t run anymore. I really…can’t…” The voice belonged to Yao Qinyu, sounding incredibly feeble.

“Hold on a little longer, it’s almost dawn.” Shang Chi casually wiped his sweat with a coat. In any case, these clothes would be burned later, so there was no need to be particular about it.

Wei Qianrong glanced at the compass needle when she had a moment and sighed, “Get ready, they’re coming soon.” The ghosts were on the tail, and they actually didn’t have much time to rest. Yao Qinyu was exhausted. In fact, everyone wasn’t faring well. Wei Qianrong glanced at Yang Zixuan. This guy remained composed, concealing any signs of emotion, yet his physical exertion should be the greatest.

5:30

The game was still far from over.

The night was as dark as ink, and no light could penetrate. Only the flames of the school building continued to burn.

“It’s possible that…this kindergarten has a formation? Like a Yin Gathering Formation?” Wei Qianrong started to let her imagination run wild while touching the compass, “Why don’t we burn the locust trees?”

Yang Zixuan wiped the sweat from his neck with his sleeve and nodded, “Let’s go.”

They set fire to the locus trees and screams came from the shadows. By the time they burnt out, it was still not dawn yet. To no avail.

They couldn’t find a shortcut to clear the instance. Then they could only continue to toil through the night, patiently waiting for the break of dawn.

6:00

The sky was still pitch black.

The clothes retrieved from the apartment had been depleted, leaving only five dolls in pursuit. One of the security guard ghosts was killed with the peachwood sword, but the total number of them… They continued to encounter slow-moving security guard ghosts in pursuit behind them, and the burnt smell of the security guard ghosts was exceedingly distinct.

6:30

“It’s not over yet… When will this come to an end? Will we ever see the light of dawn… Sob, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…”

“Shut up!” Wei Qianrong’s expression was far from pleasant, but Yao Qinyu still cried so pitifully, so much that…it caused one to have a jarring headache.

“Nobody wants to die!”

During the interim break, except for the sound of Yao Qinyu’s sobbing, the other players were all resting silently and had neither the physical nor mental capacity to chat or engage in any other activity.

It was 7 o’clock, the beginning of a new day, and past the time to get out of bed. It should be over by this time, right?

Wei Qianrong touched the pointer of the compass, then lowered her eyes, lost in her thoughts. She didn’t know whether Jiang Xiaoli was alive after being pulled to another space. Could she have…

They couldn’t go to the school building. From the early hours of the morning until now, they had run back and forth many times to the playground, canteen, and apartment building. They were exhausted and weary, but they couldn’t sleep or rest, nor could they afford even a moment of slackening. Their nerves were stretched taut and everyone was in poor condition.

Fortunately, none of them died. The children were well-behaved as they followed after them and weren’t killed by the ghosts… Wei Qianrong watched Shang Chi holding a child wearily, she suspected these children were fake, and had died a long time ago. It was only because of the game’s setup that they appeared in such a manner. The children didn’t cry or make a fuss, nor did they sleep all night. They adapted better than Yao Qinyu to the game. Even if they were almost chopped down by the ghost’s machete, their expression wouldn’t even change.

“Here we go again…” With a sigh, Wei Qianrong looked at the doll that climbed the stairs step by step and straightened itself.

The security guard ghosts seemed to have begun some kind of strange mutation. Its whole body was a lump of black uncooled and melted liquid moving slowly on the ground. A bit like a snail, but it resembled a slime more. They had a very burnt smell, which could be smelled before one saw the ragdolls.

6:59

The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive.

Wei Qianrong stopped and looked at the ragdolls following behind her, only to find that they had all stopped moving.

Then, the security guard ghost and the ragdolls, all began to spontaneously combust.

No, it was the entire kindergarten that began to burn.

As if someone had thrown a large fire from another dimension into it, intending to burn and purify everything.

7:00

The scene froze.

Clack, clack, clack.

A stiff figure that was tall and slender approached from a distance.

It was the NPC, Teacher Wang.

“Thank you all for your help for all these days, leave the children to me, and you may leave from here.” He said such a line mechanically and awkwardly, like a puppet of some sort, simply following instructions.

As soon as his stiff fingers were raised, a red door appeared out of thin air, slowly creaking open.——However, the creaking of the gradually opening door was simply Wei Qianrong’s dubbed sound effect; in reality, no sound was made throughout the whole process.

One by one, the children ran towards Teacher Wang, then obediently lined up behind him.

“We cleared the game?” Shang Chi was still in a trance. After enduring for so long, he was suddenly being told it was all over. It took him a while to come to his senses.

“We’ve cleared it, we’ve finally cleared it…” Yao Qinyu muttered, looking extremely haggard, and was the first to step through the door. As soon as she entered, she disappeared.

Wei Qianrong looked at Teacher Wang and asked, “What about Jiang Xiaoli?”

Teacher Wang slowly turned his head to look at her, a stiff smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Those who are still alive have cleared the instance.”

It was the same as not saying anything. No matter how much she asked, he ceased to answer.

Shang Chi stepped through the door, followed by Yang Zixuan, Ding Yirong, and finally Wei Qianrong.

Teacher Wang looked at the door, waved his hand, and the door disappeared. As soon as the door vanished, the flames that had stopped in their motion suddenly burst into a more ferocious blaze.

Teacher Wang held the hand of the surviving children. A group of people stood hand in hand, and behind them was a raging fire. The school building, apartment building, canteen, and security room… No building was spared, and the entire kindergarten was engulfed in flames.

Everything had come to an end.

[Ding! Congratulations on clearance of the game: Rainbow Kindergarten~]

[Currently evaluating the level…]

[Perfect clearance! Reward: Exorcism Talisman x 5]

[After completing the beginner’s instance once, qualification as an official player has been obtained. Access granted.]

[Entering the rest period, wishing the player a pleasant life~ See you next time~]

Jiang Xiaoli staggered. Her legs felt extremely weak as she fell to the ground, and she ended up kneeling at the foot of the bed.

Despite sweating profusely and feeling utterly exhausted from the ‘mini-game,’ the sweat vanished after crossing that red door, and she found herself in pyjamas. Only the soreness of her muscles made her feel like they weren’t her own.

“Take it easy getting up,” Li Hongying supported her and helped her to stand with great care. Jiang Xiaoli struggled to maintain her balance, so Li Hongying simply pulled her into her embrace.

“Rest for a moment. Do you feel any other discomfort?”

Jiang Xiaoli shook her head. Before coming out, she was running a kilometre. Her whole body ached from the exercise. Push-ups left her arms throbbing. Sit-ups made her feel like her waist wasn’t her own. And as for the running a kilometre… Haha, well, that escape game seemed to want her ‘dead’.

When she thought of Wei Qianrong and the others, she reckoned they must have had an unforgettable night. Jiang Xiaoli then felt that her excessive exercise didn’t endanger her life and didn’t seem like such a big deal. Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave that mini-game before it ended. It appeared the escape game didn’t intend to let her go out and bid farewell to her teammates——Truth be told, there wasn’t really much to say goodbye to. After all, you never know who you’ll meet next time.

Wei Qianrong… She was a good person.

Jiang Xiaoli thought it would be great if she could meet a bunch of good teammates like this in the next game.

“What…are exorcism talismans?”

“Exactly the literal meaning. A talisman that can dispel ghosts, but it’s only temporary. Ghosts are unable to approach you, and they are not eradicated.” In terms of practicality… Li Hongying felt it was better to take matters into her own hands. Once she acted, the ghosts had no chance of survival. Why bother with the effort of driving them away?

With this in mind, Li Hongying reached out and touched Jiang Xiaoli’s face, and the coldness made Jiang Xiaoli shiver.

Li Hongying smiled.

“Rest well tonight.”

Tomorrow, she would claim the benefits she deserved from this instance.

Jiang Xiaoli wasn’t concerned with this matter. After all, she would have died long ago if it weren’t for Li Hongying. Tonight…was seriously too tiring.

“Alright, thank you.” Her voice was weak, devoid of any strength. Li Hongying put her arms around Jiang Xiaoli and made her lie in bed. Before long, Jiang Xiaoli fell asleep.

…

The exorcism talisman was a talisman painted on yellow paper. Jiang Xiaoli couldn’t understand the pattern on the talisman as it belonged to the kind of intricate designs that were ‘mysterious and impressive’ to her.

“Li Hongying, did it mention last night how long it will be until the next game?” Jiang Xiaoli stuffed the talismans into her pocket. She couldn’t understand this thing, but couldn’t she just toss it out when the time comes and use it?

“It even mentioned granting access… What access? The forum Wei Qianrong mentioned…”

“The timing is uncertain, and dependent on the situation. It could be tonight, or it could be next month. As for the forum and access…Can’t you search for it on your own?”

Search for it? Where could she search for it? Jiang Xiaoli was uninterested. The timing was uncertain? This truly made one at a loss for words. She glanced at Li Hongying. This ghost hadn’t even sucked her blood yet, and she didn’t know when she would. Suddenly, a notification on receiving money came through, and Jiang Xiaoli felt excited. Had her salary been deposited?

She gleefully turned on her phone and checked her balance, and the money had indeed been deposited. She was about to open Weibo to check if anything had happened recently when she suddenly found a familiar icon on her phone…

It was an open door, emitting red light.

The author has something to say: This arc is over! Sending you a finger heart! Love you all!