I’m A Little White Flower In An Escape Game ☆ 7

Arc 1: 《Mermaid Village》 Ch2-ch14

Amid the enigma of the mermaid village, a saboteur lurked among the players, waiting to be exposed. Ruan Bai deduced that the culprit who had slashed the wooden plaques on the first night must possess intimate knowledge of the village's inner workings, as the plaques held critical significance in the game. If apprehended, this individual could provide valuable information through interrogation, but how to identify them remained the question.

As Ruan Bai ruminated, Gu San had a sudden revelation. It proposed his plan, "I shall divulge the wooden plaque incident to select players and trade information. However, I will only entrust this to experienced players who have cleared the game."

Gu San omitted his reason for doing so. Still, Ruan Bai understood that veteran players had greater knowledge and investigative prowess. Additionally, their ability to communicate more effectively with one another would prove vital in cracking this enigma.

Of the remaining twelve players, the most seasoned were Qin Yu and the white-collar woman, having cleared the game thrice.

After deliberation, Ruan Bai recommended to Gu San, "Why not inform Qin Yu?"

"I presumed you would choose the emphatic lady. She appears more approachable, does she not?"

Ruan Bai's response was nonchalant. "I'm not stupid," she said with a shrug.

Her time in society had taught her to be cautious and sceptical of others' intentions. As a seasoned player who had already cleared the game three times, she was not easily swayed by the white-collar woman's empty gestures of kindness, which only amounted to a few words of consolation and tears.

To Ruan Bai, genuine kindness was demonstrated through actions, not words. She couldn't help but wonder why the white-collar woman had not given her even any banal advice, such as not going out alone at night or avoiding solitary activities. Even a small gesture like that would have made a difference in Ruan Bai's perception of her.

In contrast, Gu San, though not as talkative as the white-collar woman, had taken the time to teach Ruan Bai the game rules and offer his assistance, as long as she wasn't a burden. This act of kindness had given her a sense of security, unlike the white-collar woman's baseless friendliness, which only made her suspicious.

Ruan Bai recognized that she and high schooler Wang Wen Wen were vulnerable and easily manipulated in this Escape Game. With their personalities, they were bound to be used as cannon fodder or abandoned as human shields in critical moments. Ruan Bai suspected that the white-collar woman had something nefarious in mind for them.

Without hesitation, Ruan Bai handed the mermaid bell to Gu San. "I found this in the Taoist temple," she said, omitting the part about moving the statue.

"The sound of the bell last night may have come from this." Gu San took the bell from Ruan Bai, examining it thoughtfully before handing it back. "This is your find; you should keep it," he said, his eyes flicking to meet hers. "Task items can be stolen, so don't let other players know. If you reencounter a mermaid, this bell may come in handy."

Ruan Bai nodded in agreement, tucking the mermaid bell away in her pocket. She and Gu San then hurried to Qin Yu's team's house. Unfortunately, one of the team members perished during the night, leaving only three survivors. Qin Yu's team was packing and preparing to move to a new location.

After explaining their intentions to Qin Yu, Gu San shared only a portion of the information they had gathered; he omitted some details but told about the wooden plank. He suggested they choose a house with protective talismans instead.

With the mermaid bell now in Ruan Bai's possession, calling upon the "mermaid mom" might no longer be effective.

Qin Yu and his team experienced players who knew how to protect themselves and didn't question Gu San's strategy too deeply. Once they confirmed the information's accuracy, Qin Yu shared what they had discovered. "We found a notebook belonging to a researcher who had come to investigate five years ago," he revealed. "His research was focused on genetic diseases in humans. According to his notes, his research institute had purchased a 'mermaid' at a steep price. She had a human upper body and a fish lower body, covered in scales."

It was common for those with severe deformities to suffer from some level of intellectual disability. However, this mermaid was different from the other research subjects. She possessed a normal human memory and could recall her birthplace and the fact that she had many mermaid relatives. Intrigued by this phenomenon, the researcher went to the mermaid village to investigate how this genetic anomaly came about.

"What happened to the researcher?" Gu San asked suddenly, "Since his notebook ended up in the player's hands... is he dead?"

It was unlikely for someone to disappear without any reason in a game like this.

Qin Yu nodded gravely. "Yes, he's dead. His grave is in the western forest, but the villagers won't say how he died."

Gu San sensed that the conversation had reached a dead end in the "transaction" and decided not to push further. With a nod, he and Ruan Bai left the house.

As they stepped into the evening, the mountains were already shrouded in darkness. A chilling wind blew past, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Ruan Bai mulled over the information they had just acquired, piecing together a rough picture of what had happened in the mermaid village. First, the beginning of everything should have been the researcher bringing his own data and notes to the mermaid village deep in the mountains. A genetic condition caused some girls in the village to exhibit mermaid-like traits. The villagers exploited this by selling them off to the highest bidder, catching the attention of the research institute. But the girls, treated as commodities, were undoubtedly harbouring resentment.

Last night, Ruan Bai could easily read the resentment on the woman's face when they met her. The pendant, inscribed with the words 'beloved mermaid,' piqued Ruan Bai's curiosity. She was sure it held a story, a mystery she wanted to uncover.

The villagers would never have given the pendant to the mermaid. To them, these creatures were nothing more than sellable chickens, ducks, fish, or geese. The only possibility was that the researcher who had entered the village five years ago had given it to her.

Ruan Bai was unsure what had happened between the researcher and the mermaid or what the villagers had done to them. But she knew the researcher had died here, and the mermaids had started retaliating at night. To protect themselves, the villagers hung talismans on their doors to ward off ghosts and demons. These talismans were most likely obtained from the mermaid Ah Ma.

But even the mermaid Ah Ma seemed to hold some resentment when she took away the mermaid bell. The old woman had told Ruan Bai that this village had once worshipped the mermaids as guardian deities. This was not surprising, given that the mermaids resembled the creatures depicted in ancient mythology. Ruan Bai had read about similar stories, where tribes worshipped children with atavistic phenomena as child prodigies. Yet driven by greed, one mermaid after another was sold, leading to tragic consequences. Perhaps, their reverence for the mermaid Ah Ma had been tainted by money.

However, why did the mermaid Ah Ma still protect them if that was the case? What was the purpose of the mermaid bell? Was the mermaid girl they encountered last night deceased or alive? What had befallen her? Where had the adults and little girls from the village gone?

Furthermore, how much did the player, who acted as a saboteur, know?

One enigma after another, but they lacked enough information to untangle them for the time being. Thankfully, compared to being entirely clueless at the outset, they now had a rough direction to pursue and knew where to investigate next.

"Gu San, what's our next move?" Ruan Bai contemplated and inquired of Gu San, "Should we visit the researcher's grave?"

Qin Yu and the others had presumably already been there, but revisiting the site could lead to fresh revelations.

"No, the grave won't go anywhere." Gu San firmly declined, saying, "We can go tomorrow or the day after. We have more pressing matters to attend to now."

He pondered, tapping his fingers and raising his eyebrows, "Do you have a guess as to when the person who will attack the players will arrive and cut the wooden plaques?"

Around six or seven o'clock in the evening, Ruan Bai speculated. As it got dark then, if they needed to switch lodgings, Qin Yu and the others could still do so an hour earlier.

"It's nearly six now," Gu San checked his watch nonchalantly, "Shall we go and catch them?"

Ruan Bai nodded, "You go ahead and find a hiding place. I'll confront them alone and wait outside the house." She couldn't always let Gu San take the lead. This time, she would attempt to demonstrate her own value.

——— Translator's Notes ———

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