I’m A Little White Flower In An Escape Game ☆ 22

Arc 2: 《Deadly High School》 Ch15 — Ch29

The regulation of teachers' deliberate torment of students sparked Ruan Bai's interest. She recalled how the teachers at this school had unrestrained power to punish students under the guise of school rules and regulations. The memory of a short-haired female student being beaten mercilessly by the language teacher haunted her. The student's hands swelled from the ten-board thrashing. Ruan Bai worried about her fate, especially after hearing about the confinement room.

However, the tone of the short-haired female student now suggests that the teachers' power might not be absolute.

"Have you noticed how the teacher talks about a student's violations?" the student asked. "Sometimes they pause before announcing it, but other times, they announce it immediately. Like when Hu Yao was 'expelled' yesterday, it was announced as soon as the class started, but when I was punished, the teacher stood next to me for five minutes before doing so."

The short-haired student faltered slightly before continuing, "Even last night, when the teachers found excuses to punish us, they would deliberately pause before punishing us."

Ruan Bai was taken aback and exclaimed, "Are you saying that the teachers can punish us only within a specific time limit?!"

The short-haired female student nodded in affirmation.

Initially, Ruan Bai found this notion unbelievable, but after pondering it, she realized it might be true!

As they entered the school, the head teacher wasted no time calling out Ruan Bai and Shen Qing Yun's names and docking ten points for breaking the rules. But when the announcement came for Class 9's point deduction, the head teacher paused for an eternity. Ruan Bai initially assumed the delay was due to the teacher's seething anger. Still, now she suspected the accusation against Shen Qing Yun was false, causing the teacher to follow protocol and delay punishment for five minutes.

This delay was in keeping with the game's style, where the players had a safe period after class, and delaying class time was advantageous. If the teacher wanted to punish rule breakers, they would have to sacrifice five precious minutes, allowing other players to catch their breath. This was something they could exploit.

Once Ruan Bai confirmed the rules, she quickly briefed the other players on the movement patterns of the ghosts in the detention room and what had happened there before. Despite her manipulation of the class rankings, Class 8 remained at the bottom. Given the teachers' hostility towards them, Ruan Bai doubted that another female player would join them in detention.

After sharing information, they dispersed to their respective tasks. Ruan Bai hurriedly reviewed her lessons according to the schedule to avoid further punishment.

Shen Qing Yun strode towards the entrance of the Class 8 classroom, his countenance grim as he searched for Ruan Bai. Alas, she hadn't budged an inch from her seat, and given the school's rigid regulations, he couldn't breach the threshold of the girls' classroom.

Minutes ticked by until the bell's strident chime signalled the start of the next period. The teacher appeared, holding a bulky pile of records and textbooks, his visage a mask of detachment. His eyes roved over the four girls sitting at the front, and his lips curled in a frown, his expression stern and lifeless.

He slammed the books onto the lectern with a resounding thud, his voice icy as he ordered, "The lowest-scoring students, commence the lesson."

Ruan Bai and her comrades braved a tumultuous time for the rest of the morning. Every teacher treated them with unbridled hostility, validating Ruan Bai's suspicions—they were the culprits who had wrought havoc on Class 8's academic average due to their sickness. Every class, they were reprimanded for various transgressions under the guise of "learning."

They were punished for their inability to memorize the lesson, their palms stinging from the slap. They were punished for exhibiting a poor attitude towards their instructors, their legs buckling from countless squats. Some instructors, with a reprehensible demeanour, even resorted to physical abuse.

The other female players strove to avoid punishment. Every disciplinary action inflicted upon them was excruciating and impeded their movements.

Despite their efforts to avoid punishment, the students were still singled out for their faults and subjected to harsh penalties. This consumed a considerable amount of their precious time, hindering the players' progress in class 8. However, Ruan Bai was different.

She risked her life to ascertain the specific requirements and rules for the teacher's false accusations against the students. The first time the language teacher singled her out, she boldly lied and claimed that she had previewed the wrong text due to an error and not because of her poor attitude towards learning. She even recited a passage from the "Speech at the Capital University of Medical Sciences" on the spot.

The language teacher stared at her with malevolence for a long time before snorting coldly and turning away. Ruan Bai knew that they were allowed to argue when the teacher accused the students of misconduct. However, her argument failed in physics class. The content she had previewed was not deemed "serious enough," leading the old physics teacher to punish her for "disrespecting" him by making her do ten push-ups.

Compared to other female players, Ruan Bai's punishment was much lighter, and doing push-ups was not a big deal for her at all. When the other female players in the class learned of her punishment, they looked at her with envy. Despite still being punished, Ruan Bai remained undeterred. On the contrary, she felt a sense of excitement.

As Ruan Bai retorted, she vaguely realized that her words held more weight than simply submitting to the oppressive authority. The game seemed to hint that rebellion was more useful than endurance. However, her previous teachers' actions had intimidated and oppressed her so much that she couldn't be sure of her suspicions.

Nonetheless, a feeling of suspicion mingled with hope emerged in Ruan Bai's heart. She suspected the female players would not be subjected to such a harsh environment without a greater reward. They just needed to figure out how to reap those rewards.

Over the following few classes, Ruan Bai found ways to muddle through, despite still facing punishment. The situation was tolerable until the lunch bell rang. They made their way to the once-clean cafeteria, now swarming with mosquitoes and insects. While it was understandable for the summer season, the sight and sound of so many insects buzzing around the uncovered meals disgusted her.

An uneasy feeling crept into her heart as Ruan Bai observed the surroundings. This A-level world was supposed to be challenging but felt strangely secure. The teachers had no real power and could only give physical punishment if the students broke school rules. The only potential danger lay in the nighttime confinement, but could that be the only peril?

She hesitated, considering her options. Her system had a feature to exchange credits for daily necessities like food. It seemed trivial under normal circumstances, but it was now her only means to avoid the cafeteria. The other players paid it no mind; even if they did, it wouldn't alter their situation. They had to eat to keep up with the intense learning and looming unknown crises.

They marched over to the food and brushed off the bugs, scrutinizing each dish. They gritted their teeth and forced the nauseating food into their mouths. They ate in silence, only occasionally exchanging glances.

Suddenly, one of the male players stopped mid-bite.

His body shook uncontrollably; a chill seemed to have taken hold of him. His face had turned an ashen hue, his teeth chattering and his nails a sickly blue. He was soaked in mere moments as if he had been plunged into frigid waters.

"Are you alright?" A player nearby asked, noticing his distress. But no one dared to go any closer, just giving him a wary glance from afar.

"I...I'm so cold," he murmured, his voice trembling, offering no reply. He curled into a ball, muttering, "So cold, so cold..."

He rubbed his body haphazardly, shaking violently. After a few moments, his face flushed, his eyes bloodshot.

Was he getting better?

The other players looked at each other, unsure of what to do. But it was Ruan Bai who noticed something was amiss. She raised her head and gazed intently at the male player for a long time.

As time passed, the man's face grew increasingly red. Even from a distance, one could sense the heat radiating off his feverish body. His features twisted in pain, and he clutched his head and fell to the ground, writhing and convulsing, his body racked with agony.

"It hurts, I'm so scared... so cold, so uncomfortable... help me save me..." he cried, his voice hoarse and desperate.

The man released a series of pitiful and heart-wrenching screams as he fell to the ground in agony. "Help me... don't... ah!!!" The silence that followed was deafening as he writhed in pain for about two minutes before letting out one final, desperate, piercing scream. And then, he was gone.

Ruan Bai stared blankly at the male player's lifeless body, her mind racing with thoughts of the various symptoms that had appeared on his body in just a few short minutes. These symptoms gradually left an indelible mark on her mind, ultimately forming a single word - malaria.

If she remembered correctly, the girl from class 8 had failed her exam due to an infectious disease. And among all the contagious diseases she knew, the only one that matched the male player's symptoms before his death was malaria. It was an insect-borne infectious disease that primarily spread through mosquito bites and was rampant in summer and autumn.

Did he die of malaria? What was the game trying to imply by doing this?

Just as Ruan Bai began to feel a faint glimmer of insight, Shen Qing Yun, who sat across from her, suddenly laughed. "Bai Ruan Ruan, I believe you owe us an explanation, don't you?" he said, his voice dripping with malice.

Ruan Bai looked up, bewildered, at Shen Qing Yun.

The man, who had been fooled by her several times, had finally managed to dig up some dirt on her and wore a false, pathetic expression. "According to the plot, Class 8 was supposed to be at the bottom, but because of your interference, Class 9 has also been relegated to the bottom," he said maliciously. "Our male player was supposed to be safe, but now, out of the blue, one person has died. Could it be due to your prior actions?"

Gu Buzhao once said that "badgers" loved all kinds of dirty tricks, and ostracism and slander were their specialities.

——— Translator's Notes ———

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