I’m A Little White Flower In An Escape Game ☆ 24

Arc 2: 《Deadly High School》 Ch15 — Ch29

Throughout the afternoon, Ruan Bai observed the school with a watchful eye. She did so both intentionally and unintentionally, sensing that time had taken on an accelerated pace. The class rankings seemed to have added a catalyst to this game, causing the temperature to rise and the leaves on the trees outside to become denser. The air was thick with mosquitoes and insects, and the number of students infected with malaria increased.

The first cases appeared among the students of Classes 9 and 8, with more than half of the boys and girls showing symptoms. Even in the hot summer, some girls were shivering in thick clothes, unable to stop crying out about the cold. To make matters worse, many teachers had also been infected with the disease.

Ruan Bai coldly observed all of this, confirming the speculation she had made before in her heart. The real boss behind the scenes in this school was not the teachers and students but something far more sinister. It was like the first world, where the mermaid Ah Ma was the source of danger, not the mermaids used as weapons.

The teachers could not harm the players without relying on the school rules, and even when they did, it was not always practical. Ruan Bai could always refute them with a sharp tongue every few times, making it difficult for the teachers to punish her. Her gaze shifted thoughtfully towards the office building where the principal's office was. It was there that she would find the answers she sought.

The school rules loomed over Ruan Bai like an ominous cloud, casting a shadow of fear and uncertainty over her every move. It was clear to her that the teachers were mere puppets, dancing to the tune of these rules. The events of last night replayed in her mind, the eerie bloodstains, and the cramped confinement room, all vanishing like a nightmare as soon as class hours began. This phenomenon undoubtedly suggested to Ruan Bai that all of these NPCs were ghosts and monsters.

The only question that remained was why. What had happened in 1988 that had caused the entire school to perish yet remain trapped within its walls? Ruan Bai had two choices: uncover the past or dig deeper into the rules and their creators. Time was of the essence, and she knew she had to act fast. Opting for the latter, she packed her things and headed to Class 9 to confront Shen Qing Yun.

When the dinner bell rang at 5:20 PM, Ruan Bai marched towards the classroom entrance, determined to expose Shen Qing Yun's true motives. She relished watching him squirm, trying to hide his true intentions. But to her surprise, he was not alone. Waiting alongside him was someone unexpected.

She noticed Shen Qing Yun approaching with a newcomer in tow. His face carried his usual gentle smile, but Ruan Bai couldn't help but notice the subtle tension between them.

"Sorry, Softie," Shen Qing Yun patted the newcomer's shoulder and gave him a meaningful smile. "He made a little mistake and was punished with detention room. Tonight, the three of us have to stick together."

The newcomer, a university student in his early twenties, looked obviously displeased towards Ruan Bai. Shen Qing Yun had clearly already managed to brainwash him.

Ruan Bai narrowed her eyes at the situation. She had expected Shen Qing Yun to continue his attempts to control her. Still, she hadn't anticipated him finding a willing accomplice.

But Ruan Bai was not so easily manipulated.

"Three people are good too," she said with a feigned indifference of joy. "We can support each other, increasing our chances of survival."

Shen Qing Yun looked at her suspiciously while the newcomer behind him snorted and shrugged indifferently.

As the three of them walked towards the cafeteria, Ruan Bai tried to be friendly towards the newcomer, even helping him swat away the mosquitoes buzzing around them. She didn't know how Shen Qing Yun had managed to convince the newcomer. He seemed to firmly believe Ruan Bai and was showing considerable resistance.

Fortunately, Ruan Bai didn't care and just smiled it off.

Shen Qing Yun watched their interaction from the side. Although he felt delighted, perhaps due to being tricked by Ruan Bai too many times, he felt something was off.

But then he thought, what could be the problem? He didn't believe Ruan Bai could bully him with another person present.

After finishing their meal, they gradually arrived at the entrance of the detention room.

And when it was 5:55 PM, just five minutes before class at 6 PM, Ruan Bai suddenly slapped her forehead in regret and cried out, "Oh no, Brother Qing Yun, I forgot to prepare in advance!" She stomped her foot and complained to Shen Qing Yun, "Brother Qing Yun, why didn't you tell me earlier that you would be bringing one more person? The women's clothing that Softie has on hand now doesn't seem to be enough."

She frowned and looked somewhat embarrassed as she glanced at the newcomer. "Aside from one outfit in men's sizes, the rest are all Softie's sizes..."

She was sure Shen Qing Yun had not explained last night's situation to the newcomer. She didn't believe that an average man, knowing he had to wear women's clothing to survive, would still accompany Shen Qing Yun to the confinement room!

"What? Crossdressing?" The newcomer's expression froze with a mix of shock and horror. Shen Qing Yun's heart skipped a beat as he sensed something was amiss.

"Why do we have to wear women's clothing?" the newcomer asked, his voice wavering.

"Because we have to survive," Ruan Bai replied absentmindedly, seemingly oblivious to their reactions. "Didn't Brother Qing Yun tell you? We have to spend the night in the detention room and wear dresses to blend in."

With that, she rummaged in her backpack and produced two white dresses of different sizes from the system mall. "I thought Brother Qing Yun was the only one, so I didn't bother borrowing from anyone else... You two, why don't you discuss how to allocate them?"

The newcomer's face turned a sickly green at the sight of the flimsy garments. Shen Qing Yun couldn't believe Ruan Bai would play such a cruel trick on them, and worse still, she had obtained the dresses from the system mall. What kind of escape system would stock useless clothes like this?

"Softie, stop messing around," Shen Qing Yun growled through clenched teeth, trying to keep his composure. "I know you don't have a good impression of us, but people's lives are at stake here. Don't play with such crucial matters. If worse comes to worst, I apologize on behalf of everyone."

"I am not fabricating this, Brother Qing Yun," Ruan Bai protested with a pout, "Do not regard me with such suspicion. And how could I have known there would be two of you...?" Tears swelled in her eyes. Her pallid face drooped in disappointment. "Since you do not trust me, why don't you go and borrow the dress yourself? I will not lend it to you now."

Shen Qing Yun saw the naivety etched in Ruan Bai's countenance and tightened his lips. He pondered over their past encounters, and his mind went blank. He realized that Ruan Bai was determined to make one of them wear the undersized dress. But the clothing was so constricting and diminutive that it would be too tight no matter who wore it. As this realization dawned on Shen Qing Yun, he felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead. He turned around and saw the newcomer, who had previously been so impressed with him, staring at him mournfully.

Shen Qing Yun: "..."

It was a catastrophe. They had been duped by Ruan Bai!

The newcomer asked in a melancholic tone, "Brother Shen, can you explain what's going on?"

Shen Qing Yun thought, you are merely cannon fodder for me to lean on; how could I explain it to you?

Faced with the newcomer's gaze and Ruan Bai's smug grin, Shen Qing Yun deeply regretted it. He had never loathed himself so intensely for overestimating his abilities.

He was wrong, dreadfully so. Why did he have to provoke her? The consequences of his actions were seen, and he had been struggling for so long without any advantage. Instead, he had been played by her. On one side, the newcomer relentlessly pressed with questions, while on the other, Ruan Bairuo's taunts insinuated. Shen Qing Yun's eyes twitched, feeling his headache intensify.

Too lazy to think of any reasons to deal with the newcomer, Shen Qing Yun patted the other person's back and stammered, "It's alright, trust me, the confinement room is very safe. You'll gradually grow to like this feeling..."

The newcomer's eyes widened in disbelief; he did not intend to ever like crossdressing.

The two men transformed into unrecognizable foes to fight for the only large skirt. With cruel and ruthless eyes, they engaged in a verbal battle. Ultimately, the shameless Shen Qing Yun emerged victorious, securing the large dress and leaving the small one for the well-built newcomer. The latter stared dumbfoundedly at the light and fluttering skirt in his hand, shedding tears of humiliation.

Ruan Bai watched the dissolution of their alliance with a smile on her face, highly pleased with Shen Qing Yun's newfound comprehension. When the clock struck six o'clock, they were thrown into the confinement room, beginning their journey tonight.

Perhaps unsettled by Shen Qing Yun's deception and soothed by Ruan Bai's gentle voice, the newcomer unconsciously drifted towards Ruan Bai.

As the guard outside receded into the distance, they sprang into action. Ruan Bai recollected the prior day when she and Shen Qing Yun had combed through every nook and cranny of the building. However, their efforts seemed to have been in vain, for the information they had gleaned was restricted to the school alone. The confinement room was the one location they had neglected to investigate or visit.

As night fell, the unlit office building was cloaked in darkness. A peculiar, somewhat acrid and unpleasant odour permeated the entire confinement room. When Shen Qing Yun began to pick the lock, Ruan Bai took a few measured steps back, her composure unshaken. Squatting down, she began to explore the confinement room. The wooden floor was damp, and mould grew in the corners. The walls were unpainted and rough, constructed of raw clay. The room was entirely bare, devoid of any furnishings.

However, one spot appeared suspicious, with a slight creaking sound when stepped on. Ruan Bai stumbled blindly and inadvertently kicked a slightly raised area. Halting, she cautiously extended her hand to investigate and discovered a loose floorboard. Her fingers hesitated briefly before gently lifting and setting the small piece of wood and setting it aside.

Beneath the wooden board lay a hidden recess with a steel ring that could be easily lifted. Ruan Bai's heart raced with excitement as she realized this must be the entrance to the basement. But her elation was short-lived as she heard a crisp unlocking sound emanating from Shen Qing Yun's direction.

"The lock's open," Shen Qing Yun whispered urgently, "we must hurry and leave."

Ruan Bai's heart leapt into her throat, a chill coursing through her body as if she had plunged into the icy depths of a frigid lake. The steel ring felt like a conduit for the cold, her fingers tingling with an otherworldly frost. It was a sensation like no other, an icy grip that twisted her bones and pierced her flesh. She couldn't help but let out a groan of agony.

"Softie?!" Hearing this sound, Shen Qing Yun was full of doubts and hurriedly pushed open the door and looked back. Through the dim light of the setting sun outside, he only saw the girl in the confinement room shivering slightly, as if she had been startled by something.

Then, as if grabbed by something, she was violently pulled into the ground!

**

Accompanied by a strange sound of rushing water, Ruan Bai's body became like a ghostly shadow, flashing by and disappearing completely inside the confinement room. She was forcefully pulled by a cold, pale hand like a rag doll, her body consumed by darkness.

As Ruan Bai was thrown around by the force of her attacker, her body slammed into the wall with a violent thud. Pain coursed through her, causing her to inhale sharply and clench her teeth. She reached for her backpack with a sudden jerk, her fingers frantically searching for her only weapon. With fierce determination, she pulled out a gleaming knife and plunged it into the pale hand before her.

At that moment, her mind was in turmoil, unable to process anything but her desperate need to survive. She had to make it out alive. Ruan Bai's strike was swift, precise, and merciless. The blade cleanly sliced through two fingers, leaving a bloody scar on her hand.

Without a second thought, she wrenched her hand free from the other person's grasp. The stench of blood made her nauseous, and the hand owner let out an ear-piercing scream. Seizing the opportunity, Ruan Bai scrambled away as fast as she could.

Creak...Crack...

She hunched over her back against the wall, panting heavily. The pitch-black darkness left her disoriented, unable to see anything but a blurry shape swaying in front of her. Her injuries throbbed painfully, but she pushed through the pain. Her abdomen and arms ached dully, but her left foot concerned her the most. A sharp pain shot up her ankle as she tried to move it; she had sprained it badly.

In mere moments, Ruan Bai surveyed her situation:

She was immobilized.

She was blind.

Exerting herself for too long was not an option.

And her captor was no mere mortal.

It was a monster.

Most likely, one of the female students died in this room back in 1988.

To defeat this creature, Ruan Bai must either find a way to restrain it or persist through the pain until class was over. But she was only human, susceptible to exhaustion and injury. Monsters, however, fear neither death nor fatigue.

"Squeak-crack!"

As the sound of a heavy wooden board creaked above her, Ruan Bai quickly ducked out of harm's way.

Enduring the pain in her ankle, she pivoted and delivered a swift kick to the monster's lower body, seized its head with one hand, and slammed it forcefully onto the ground.

Yet, as she did, she realized something was wrong.

Some unseen force prevented her from pulling the monster's upper body free.

Wait a minute, why was this person's "head" bald?

Ruan Bai's motion came to a halt.

In that split second, she finally perceived the creature's true nature. No, that wasn't its head; it was its feet! The monster was hanging upside down from the ceiling, suspended by a rope.

——— Translator's Notes ———

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