I’m A Little White Flower In An Escape Game ☆ 27

Arc 2: 《Deadly High School》 Ch15 — Ch29

Ruan Bai gleaned what had transpired the night before from the remaining players.

"Starting from yesterday, all the NPCs began to die, and their movements were too loud to ignore," the short-haired female player said in a hushed voice. "And, for some reason, from the second bell, the NPCs here stopped disappearing."

Her voice trailed off momentarily, then continued, "Last night... I tried to fall asleep before 11 pm, but Xiao Mi couldn't do it."

According to school regulations, students must all be asleep before 11 pm. The penalty for breaking this rule was that the "Xiao Mi" female player would remain trapped there forever.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Bai's heart sank. But what captured her attention more were the NPCs that no longer disappeared after the second bell. When she came to eat, it was too inconvenient to carry a ghost around. The confinement room was also located in a remote area, so she didn't see anyone around. If the short-haired female player was correct, then there must be a crucial reason for the changes happening at the school. Either the timelines from the past and present have merged, or they have all come to the past and become embroiled in this catastrophe.

As she pondered this, Ruan Bai's gaze flickered. The only variable before the second bell rang last night appeared to be that she had carried a female ghost out of the basement?

"Could it be... the changes in the school are related to it?" Ruan Bai mused, furrowing her brow as she gazed down at the female ghost by her feet. She wondered how this spirit might be of use to her later.

After their meal, they returned to their respective classrooms. The female player's warning proved true: the school was teeming with pale and thin NPCs before class. But the once-bustling campus was now barren and eerie, shrouded in silence and left unattended.

Upon entering Class 8, Ruan Bai noticed only a handful of students remained. Two teachers were absent due to sickness, marked in stark red on the schedule. The overpowering scent of Chinese medicine filled the air, making her uneasy. As the bell rang, the homeroom teacher--also sick--shambled in with a ghostly aura emanating from him, his ashen complexion looking more undead than alive.

He surveyed the room with a leaden gaze before uttering in a croaky voice, "The headteacher is holding a meeting. Everyone, go to the playground."

Another meeting. Ruan Bai sighed inwardly, realizing the quest had been triggered once more.

With the female ghost cradled in her arms, Ruan Bai followed her homeroom teacher and classmates to the playground. There, she surveyed the sickly homeroom teacher and the other NPCs. They seemed oblivious to the spectral presence in Ruan Bai's embrace. They showed no sign of surprise at her audacious actions. Once everyone had gathered, the homeroom teacher ascended the podium.

A curious expression graced her otherwise unchanging face, one that was equal parts mournful and resolute. Her voice was hoarse and unpleasant, and with each sentence, she coughed twice, punctuating her words with a distinctive high-pitched timbre that grated on the ears. "I believe we are all aware of the recent messages about Fourth High School, and our illness has reached an incurable level," she declared, carrying across the playground. "But through Master Li, we have learned that this is not the school's problem, but rather the misdeeds of a few female students' ghosts."

Ruan Bai's mouth curled into a smirk as she listened to her homeroom teacher's speech. Her previous prediction had indeed come true.

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"We have done wrong, and we will repent. Many teachers have died already, and the cost has been high enough, but innocent people are still left! To solve the current situation, the principal has spent money to invite Master Li, who said he could help us solve this problem. Still, we all need to make some insignificant sacrifices for this..."

This school's sorry state of affairs was undoubtedly the handiwork of the self-proclaimed feng shui master. He had manipulated the principal into implementing perverse regulations, leading to lifeless students and reckless teachers. And who knows if his influence had played a role in transforming the five unfortunate female students into malevolent spirits.

The vengeful ghosts' retaliation had caused a widespread epidemic, resulting in countless casualties and public outcry. Despite the late 1980s, when the disease was not incurable, it was still troublesome. This was especially true because the Fourth Middle School was situated in a rural area, far from big cities.

Ruan Bai had often wondered why the school's internal discipline was so harsh. Yet, parents continued to send their children here. But last night, after some research, she finally understood the reason behind it all. Even the principal believed in ghosts and gods! How could a school built in such a superstitious location thrive?

Though the school was not entirely biased in its position, it was still considered a city, and most families in the surrounding rural areas could only strive for a better life through education. The high-pressure environment of the Fourth Middle School had some effect on their academic performance. The parents' desire for their children to succeed had driven them to accept the malice of particular teachers, ultimately leading to this tragic outcome.

"Master Li said, as part of this school," her voice ringing out with unwavering conviction, "our blood can have a certain effect on the school. And to maintain our beloved institution, we need you to contribute a little bit of your own blood." Her gaze swept over the students gathered before her, her eyes alight with fervour. "But fear not," she continued, her tone softening to a honeyed whisper, "just a little bit of blood is all we need to cure all of your illnesses. With renewed health, you can continue studying, attend university, and bring honour to your ancestors. You'll be the only ones in the village who can succeed!"

Her words had a magnetic pull, a hypnotic rhythm that drew in the students below. Their expressions softened, replaced with a wistful yearning for the opportunities promised by their head teacher. They had worked tirelessly for the sake of learning, for the chance to rise above their circumstances and make a better life for themselves. Some of them had been abandoned by their families because of their serious illnesses and the inability to pay for medical expenses... If they could survive, they could regain everything! And now, here was the chance to achieve everything they'd ever wanted, all in exchange for a mere drop of blood.

The headteacher stood tall on the elevated platform, her face alight with an indescribable fervour. "Let's start according to the class rankings," she announced, her voice ringing out with a note of finality. "Everyone come up one by one to donate blood!"

With a command, the final conspiracy was finally revealed to everyone. The head teacher wanted their blood. Hearing this, Ruan Bai sneered in her heart.

Even the headteacher appeared uncertain about Master Li's instructions. For the blood donation, she insisted on selecting first the lowest-performing students as guinea pigs. Ruan Bai recalled a saying about how no snowflake was blameless during an avalanche. Teachers and students are responsible for their transgressions, whether they actively participate or turn a blind eye.

Had they acted promptly by closing the school, halting corporal punishment, and seeking government aid during the malaria outbreak instead of covering it up to preserve the school's reputation, perhaps the situation wouldn't have deteriorated to such an extent. Master Li may be malevolent, but did he force the teachers to work their students to death? Five lives have been lost. Don't these teachers and students share the responsibility?

And now, even amid this calamity, they resort to underhanded means!

Class 8 and Class 9 were the first to donate, but when combined, they only had ten remaining students. After the NPCs had finished, it was the players' turn.

As the first in line, Ruan Bai stepped forward. "I apologize, teacher. I feel dizzy and frightened. I cannot bear to cut my finger," she said, feigning panic and knocking the bowl of blood the homeroom teacher was about to offer her out of his hand.

In the face of the furious homeroom teacher, Ruan Bai blinked innocently and murmured, "Or why don't you just expel me? My mom's already found me a good match, and girls should get married at sixteen or seventeen. It's not bad to go back home and farm."

The head teacher never anticipated such a defiant student who didn't even relish the notion of reading books. Shocked and angered, she cursed with a scowl, "How could you willingly degrade yourself? Don't you aspire to go to university and become successful?"

"Why must I become successful, teacher? How could you talk like that?" Ruan Bai widened her eyes with dread, quivering as she retorted, "We farmers toil hard and pay taxes legitimately. How is that degrading ourselves? Additionally, you always have an inclination towards enslaving others. Such terrifying thoughts are simply the cancer of capitalism!"

As she finished speaking, Ruan Bai looked at the head teacher with disappointment, as if she had never expected such narrow-mindedness from her.

The headteacher stood there, speechless.

Blocked by Ruan Bai and disgusted by her impudence, the head teacher grew so irate that her face turned crimson. She sneered coldly, "You're quite articulate, but you dare to flout school rules and defy your teacher?"

Hearing this, Ruan Bai blushed faintly. "I'm about to get married, teacher. You should expel me posthaste. I'm no longer a student, so I won't have to follow school rules."

"——You!" The head teacher's patience with Ruan Bai had run out after being blocked repeatedly. She glared at Ruan Bai, her voice sharp and commanding. "Catch her, now!"

Ruan Bai didn't plan on letting the head teacher win. With the female ghost still clinging to her back, she stopped pretending and leapt to the side. An NPC approached her, but she quickly lifted the ghost and wielded it like a powerful weapon, smashing it onto the surrounding students and teachers.

The female ghost had a cold aura and a stiff body, making it a more formidable weapon than any wooden stick. The NPCs, for some unknown reason, were terrified of it. Even if they couldn't see the ghost, they instinctively avoided it. If they were hit by Ruan Bai's ghostly weapon, they would recoil in pain and stay clear of her.

With this tactic, Ruan Bai could easily break away from the NPCs while carrying the female ghost. Other players had already grasped her plan and knew that fighting back was the only way to survive. They followed closely behind Ruan Bai.

Unfortunately, one female player hesitated, and the class teacher eventually caught her.

From a distance, Ruan Bai witnessed the female player being enveloped in a sea of arms as thin as paper, almost translucent. These arms resembled monsters' tentacles, relentlessly pulling their prey towards an infinite abyss. With a sickly flush on their pale faces, the students and teachers appeared as if they had just found a panacea and were clinging to her with strange and excited expressions.

"It's your turn to give blood, classmate!."

With a shrill scream of pain, the female player vanished within seconds, consumed by the dense arms. She had been eliminated.

Ruan Bai's heart chilled as she saw this scene. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain in her ankle, and hastened her escape.

With great effort, they managed to outrun the students and teachers. Finally, they arrived at the detention room of the office building. Although it was considered the most dangerous place, it was their only refuge now. The NPCs refused to enter, fearing the female ghosts sealed in the basement. Their dark eyes fixated on the players' backs, their fiery gaze almost searing through them. In response, Ruan Bai and the others hurriedly entered the room and closed the door behind them.

But upon entering the detention room, Ruan Bai released her grip on the female ghost and spun around, grabbing Shen Qing Yun's collar and slamming him against the wall.

Her voice was low and carried a sense of irresistible determination. "Tell me everything you found in the principal's office! Don't even think about playing any tricks!"

A school that was not particularly prestigious could not have attracted children from wealthy families like Du Wen Shu. The information regarding his enrollment and escape from the school must had beene in the principal's office.

——— Translator's Notes ———

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