Chapter 28 - Third Game (1)

Strange Tales of the Abandoned School

Chapter 28 — Third Game (1)

It was a miniaturised version of the door to the escape game and truly had its distinguishing features.

This was a forum.

[It is prohibited to disclose any information about the escape game to ordinary people.]

[Game failure – Death (synchronised in a reasonable manner in the real world)]

[Items are non-transferable/non-giftable.]

[If the item holder dies, the item will be unbound and be unowned (reset), and can be rebound.]

Game clearance rewards:

Death (direct death and direct assimilation into the game, becoming part of the instance) General clearance – no rewards/no penalties Excellent clearance – random item reward (quality/quantity depends on the level of difficulty/completion) Perfect clearance – special rewards

[Entering the game instance will grant a protection period (team/individual)]

In the long series of guidelines were some of the rules directly pinned by the escape game, and below were the posts made by players. The most commonly seen ones were wanted notices and announcements. They described some of the players’ features and the aliases they used. Then, they recounted how those players used various means to kill their teammates, seized their items, and cleared the games. Since players on this forum were unable to upload photos, they could only provide dictated descriptions.

Jiang Xiaoli read a few of the wanted notices, but she just couldn’t imagine what those players who plotted against their teammates to seize their items looked like.

There was also a post titled “Advice for Newbies”, listed with one, two, three and four.

Do not disclose real information to teammates upon entering an instance. Do not reveal your location/residence in the real world to teammates. It would be best to use an alias (to prevent being doxxed in the real world). It would be best to keep a low profile and not show off your items, etc.

Certainly, there were also opposing opinions in the comments.

“This game is meant to make people stronger and the weak are meant to be the nourishment for the strong, right?”

“Items are wasted in the hands of those noobs, so I should have them.”

“Even if I don’t make a move, those noobs won’t survive more than a few games anyway. They might as well contribute to my progress.”

…

The arguments were intense, possibly because the forum was anonymous. If you don’t reveal who you are, no one can find out or trace you through this forum, except for the escape game. These…might just be empty boasts, or they might have been blowing their own trumpet, or maybe they really did it and were proud of their achievements.

Jiang Xiaoli browsed through and even found a bait post claiming to have discovered another way to transfer items, offering high prices to purchase various items and inviting interested parties to contact them. There were quite a few replies. It was unclear whether those who replied were genuinely fooled or were looking to counterattack and seize the items…

The escape game had pinned the rules at the top, so it was unlikely that players could find a loophole to transfer the ownership of items. Since…this forum was run by the escape game itself.

There were quite a few bait posts like this, some even directly revealing their location or contact information in real life. Jiang Xiaoli checked the date of the original poster’s latest reply, which was already a week old.

——Who knew if they were still alive?

“After clearing many games, you’ll become stronger and obtain many items, even permanent ones.”

Li Hongying leaned on Jiang Xiaoli’s shoulder, brushed the tip of her nose against Jiang Xiaoli’s neck, and licked her skin with her tongue. Her breath was icy cold.

“By then, you will also become very formidable in the real world. Exorcising ghosts, resolving supernatural events…You could even become a feng shui master…never lacking in material possessions and wealth.”

However, Jiang Xiaoli was lacking right now.

“Doesn’t that mean many masters could be players too?”

“Not necessarily. Some weren’t chosen by the escape game but through pure inheritance or talent.”

Li Hongying hugged Jiang Xiaoli and let her lean back into her embrace. She lowered her head, left gentle pecks on Jiang Xiaoli’s neck, and then bit down.

“Hiss…” This person, Li Hongying, really acts on a whim and does whatever comes to mind. However, that was the agreement…Jiang Xiaoli gradually relaxed until she felt a slight coolness around her waist, and then she raised her hand to stop Li Hongying’s hand.

“Li Hongying?”

Li Hongying didn’t respond, using her tongue to lick the wound on Jiang Xiaoli’s neck. The icy sensation caused a series of goosebumps. Finally, she encircled her without making any unnecessary movements.

Jiang Xiaoli felt weak all over, not knowing how much Li Hongying had taken, but it felt like she was seeing stars in front of her eyes. Jiang Xiaoli shook her head lightly and wondered how much of Li Hongying’s attitude towards her was obsession and possessiveness, and how much was genuine emotion.

Could a vengeful ghost…a vengeful lady in red feel an emotion like love too?

Jiang Xiaoli lowered her eyes.

She didn’t know.

Moreover, she and Li Hongying weren’t exactly in a romantic relationship, but Li Hongying would nonchalantly take advantage of her all day. She even got jealous and prevented others from approaching her. At first, she was extremely resistant, even minding distant people online. However, after going through an instance, Li Hongying seemed to have changed somewhat.

Sometimes, this kind of Li Hongying would make Jiang Xiaoli forget that she was a vengeful lady in red.

Perhaps she should take some time to visit a temple to look for something that could protect her, such as consecrated jade. What if it was useful in this escape game? And then there’s the peachwood sword…She wondered if only those items produced in games were considered high-quality artefacts. It would be great if those bought in the real world could possess even half the power of game-made ones.

All of this would be quite a hefty expense. Jiang Xiaoli sighed. Once she regained some of her strength, stood up and walked over to the computer. She turned it on and searched for well-known temples in the area.

“Are these really useful? Can I bring them into the game?”

“They are, but they are limited.”

Li Hongying glanced at the temples she had searched in Baidu, one of which was a popular tourist destination. It appeared to be only an ordinary temple, yet people had faith in it and so it had “power”. As for those talismans, prayer beads, and brocade pouches…If they were truly blessed by a master, they might have some protective effect against evil spirits, but most of them were just souvenirs.

“Buy them, at least they’ll give you some peace of mind.” That way, if she saw a ghost, she wouldn’t be so scared that she’d cry and call for her.

Jiang Xiaoli chose a temple close to home and planned to go there to pray tomorrow. Even if it was futile, burning some incense still brought her peace of mind.

Just as she was about to close the webpage, a news advertisement popped up with a sensational headline: ‘Another Encounter with a Homicidal Maniac, a Six-Foot-Tall Figure Hacked to Death on the Street’.

As if by some strange impulse, Jiang Xiaoli clicked on it.

Most of the images were obscured by pixelisation. whipped out her phone to search for the incident, only to discover it had transpired just that day.

“Oh my god, it’s not safe walking on the street even for such a robust man?”

“Don’t go out at night! It’s so late at night that you’re still wandering the streets. You’re really not following the rules of conduct for men! ”

“What’s wrong with this madman? And this guy…I saw the surveillance footage. Why did he just stand there dumbfounded when someone ran at him with a knife?”

“Maybe he was scared stiff?”

…

There were many comments, but this incident wasn’t on trending searches. It was likely suppressed.

The deceased was surnamed Guan, a 26-year-old male. The incident occurred in the early hours of that day. No one knew why this man was walking on the street so early in the morning, nor did anyone know why that madman suddenly pulled out a knife and attacked a total stranger. After committing the murder, the madman fled. What was even more bizarre was that despite the traffic light being red, he ran across the road without looking at the cars, as if seeking death. A car didn’t stop in time and ran him over, and the madman died too.

Jiang Xiaoli’s hands became somewhat numb and rigid. She scrolled through the comments. No one mentioned anything about an escape game, and most people felt that the killer might have escaped from a psychiatric hospital, as he appeared abnormal. As for the deceased surnamed Guan, the comments only expressed pity and thought about how unfortunate this person was. Of course, there were also some cynical remarks, and there was no shortage of netizens mocking the notion that in the past if something happened to a woman going out at night, she deserved it.

She felt that person was Guan Lin.

He was hacked in the back, and then…decapitated.

He had a sturdy build. The surveillance footage was unclear, but he should also have had tanned skin, right? Once a person has settled on a particular belief, they tend to interpret any details in a way that confirms that belief. Jiang Xiaoli read through this news article several times, searched for any subsequent updates, and finally closed the webpage. She sat in front of the computer desk, feeling a bit disoriented.

Was this the work of…the escape game?

Death that was synchronised…in a reasonable manner in the real world.

It all seemed perfectly reasonable. No one would have suspected this incident as something supernatural. The death of that madman was also too ‘coincidental’. It was possible that in an effort to save resources, the escape game simply disposed of two failed participants at once.

“You might want to consider going to the gym and getting a membership card.”

Li Hongying floated behind Jiang Xiaoli and explained, “By improving your physical fitness, you will be able to run faster.”

“And read more books about the supernatural, even if they are just stories.” Li Hongying whispered, “Knowing some common knowledge can help you live longer.”

“Alternatively, you could earn a lot of money and spend lavishly to seek protection talismans or treasures from highly revered monks or powerful Taoists who are blessed with golden light in the real world. Although these are not as versatile as the random rewards in escape games, they still have some value.”

Jiang Xiaoli leaned back in her chair and sighed.

She was extremely poor and certainly didn’t resemble a wealthy person. Besides, she definitely couldn’t let her parents know about these things, right? Even if Jiang Xiaoli had told them, they probably wouldn’t have believed her and might even ridicule her for being overly superstitious.

When she thought about this, Jiang Xiaoli opened her Moments feed. Her parents had posted a photo of themselves at a scenic spot that day. Their pose style in the photos was so middle-aged, and there were a bunch of relatives commenting below, showering them with praise.

After giving it a like, Jiang Xiaoli looked at Li Hongying and asked, “Can you cook?”

Li Hongying was stunned.

“I’m feeling a bit dizzy, but I’m hungry. If you can cook, could you make me a bowl of noodles?” Jiang Xiaoli spoke in a matter-of-fact tone since Li Hongying had sucked her blood.

“If you can’t, never mind, I’ll order takeout…”

“I can. Do you want eggs?”

“Yes.”

Li Hongying seemed to smile faintly and turned away.

Jiang Xiaoli leaned against the wall by the kitchen door for a while, feeling that Li Hongying at this moment didn’t seem to have the chilling aura of a vengeful ghost anymore.

…She couldn’t change the fact that they were bound together. Moreover, if she didn’t die, she probably needed Li Hongying to clear future games and survive.

Jiang Xiaoli watched absentmindedly as Li Hongying skillfully scrambled the egg mixture, removed it from the heat, then boiled water and cooked the noodles.

Li Hongying was only eighteen years old, just a third-year student in senior high school when she died.