Chapter 100: Death Class 7 (Part 24)

After dealing with the ambush, Shen Qingqiu quickly turned to check on Xiao Muyu. She grabbed her hand and rolled up her sleeve.

Unable to see anything in the dim light, she tentatively used her fingers to feel around but found no apparent wound.

“Does it hurt?” she asked, her tone a bit tense.

Xiao Muyu shook her head, gently retracting her arm. “It hurt when it grabbed me, but it’s fine now.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded and vigilantly glanced around. She couldn’t afford to act recklessly now.

Xiao Muyu patted her, telling her to ease up a little. She opened the group chat and called out a few times, “Su Jin, can you hear me?”

There was no response. Xiao Muyu’s heart sank. She reached out a few more times and even sent a message. No reply came.

“Even this isn’t working now.” Shen Qingqiu eyed the four doors around them, brows creasing. “Looks like the game has officially started.”

“That’s not good news.” Xiao Muyu murmured while quickly processing the situation. “The game must have started right after that voice announced the rules. We passed four intersections without marked doors. Nothing happened until the last one. There must be something special about this setup.”

She glanced back at the intersection they just passed. They had been attacked immediately after choosing to walk straight ahead.

“Qingqiu, do you think we took the wrong path?” Xiao Muyu voiced her thoughts. “So it triggered these doors to have things inside that would attack us?”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes twinkled upon hearing her name. She pondered the question and was about to respond when a boy’s scream suddenly erupted to their left.

Frantic footsteps followed the terror-filled scream. It sounded like two sets—one hurried, the other heavy but quick. Something must be chasing him.

It seemed someone else had triggered a trap, and things weren’t looking too good for him.

But the footsteps soon turned back, running toward them by the sound of it. It became even more alarming when Xiao Muyu heard two doors opening, and the footsteps grew louder.

“Oh no,” she whispered.

Without a word, Shen Qingqiu swiftly pulled Xiao Muyu into her arms. She smoothly spun around, pressed Xiao Muyu against the room wall to their left, and leaned over her.

Shen Qingqiu wore a dark brown coat, and they were in the darkest spot in the area, so they blended in well.

The two stood tightly pressed together as Shen Qingqiu blocked Xiao Muyu from view. They were so close that Xiao Muyu could feel the curves of Shen Qingqiu’s lithe body through their clothes.

Amidst the tension-filled atmosphere, with their bodies pressed so closely, Xiao Muyu started to feel warm, and she consciously kept from breathing too noticeably. Hers and Shen Qingqiu’s coalescing breathing amplified in her ears. It felt hot and suffocating, and the faint fragrance that clung to Shen Qingqiu wrapped around her, making her head spin.

The boy came rushing over, but something came barreling in from behind, tackling him before he could cross the intersection. He hit the floor with a heavy thud. From their position, they could only see his torso and head.

At that distance, in an area where no light reached, Xiao Muyu couldn’t make out who he was. But she could sense the boy’s despair even without seeing his expression. He cried and screamed in pain, desperately clawing at the floor to get away.

After one last scream, he fell silent.

Xiao Muyu watched his body involuntarily twitch, his head slumping to the floor.

She picked up the sounds of what seemed like a beast tearing into flesh, gnawing on bones, coming from the far side of the room with horrifying clarity. The stench of blood combined with the foul smell of an unknown monster to form an oppressive scent of death, pushing away the faint fragrance she had found comforting.

Xiao Muyu’s chest tightened with an inexplicable unease.

She subtly tilted her head, resting her face against Shen Qingqiu’s neck. The steady pulse from her carotid artery grounded her to reality.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed again—one, two. Xiao Muyu sensed the body blocking her tense up. In her peripheral view, she caught a head appearing around the corner, towering above them. From that height, it could easily spot them.

Still chewing, the monster lowered its head to sniff the dead boy, twisting its neck as it swayed. The two would be completely exposed if it took another step forward and tilted its head slightly.

It turned its head and called out twice. More of its kind emerged behind it.

Xiao Muyu felt sweat forming on Shen Qingqiu’s neck. A drop of it landed on her own face. Shen Qingqiu was tense. With three towering monsters having tasted blood, they wouldn’t be able to run once caught. They could only wait for death.

Fortunately, the three monsters continued feasting gluttonously. They slowly dragged the boy’s body away, his limp hand and head telling a story of unspeakable horror and brutality.

*Bang, bang, bang!* Three doors slammed shut in succession. The bloody hunt seemed to have subsided, at least for now.

Shen Qingqiu looked down at Xiao Muyu and exhaled deeply. “They’re gone,” she said, her voice hoarse and dry.

Xiao Muyu didn’t feel much better. She only mumbled a “Yeah”, not moving.

Shen Qingqiu froze before realizing a second too late that she was still pressing Xiao Muyu against the wall. She hadn’t put much thought into what she was doing in her haste earlier. Looking at it now, even though they were both women, their ambiguous relationship made the posture feel overly intimate.

Shen Qingqiu quickly stepped back. She was usually a shameless flirt, but this unintended moment of intimacy flustered her a little, making her fumble over her words. “Sorry. I was in a rush.”

Xiao Muyu brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. Her ears felt warm, but it wasn’t too noticeable in the dim light, so she managed to maintain her composure. She looked up at the flustered Shen Qingqiu and gave a small smile. “It’s rare to see you embarrassed. But you don’t have to explain. I understand.”

Shen Qingqiu, of course, refused to admit it. “I just thought it was inappropriate. There’s nothing for me to be embarrassed about.”

The two slowly walked to where the boy had fallen earlier. Blood had formed a large pool on the floor, and a long trail of it disappeared into the shadows. It was a horrible sight to bear.

“She’s really going all out. There will probably be less than a handful left in Class 7 after today.” Xiao Muyu turned her head away, took a few steps back, and then pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, handing it to Shen Qingqiu.

“Wipe off your sweat.”

“You actually brought something like this?” Smiling, Shen Qingqiu took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her brows. Then, she carefully folded it before tucking it into her pocket.

Xiao Muyu looked at her in confusion. “Why are you keeping it?”

Shen Qingqiu flashed her a bright grin. “I’ll wash it clean and return it to you.”

Xiao Muyu couldn’t think of a retort. Then, she suddenly asked, “Whenever we face monsters, you’re braver than anyone else, and you don’t balk at a fight. So why were you so nervous just now? Because there were three of them?”

Shen Qingqiu’s grin faded, and she fell silent. After a long pause, she finally spoke. “I’m not afraid of them finding me. Forget three. Even if there were more, I would cut them down without mercy.”

She glanced at Xiao Muyu with a complicated expression, then continued in a low voice. “But when I looked at you, I got scared. I don’t even know why. I couldn’t control it.”

Xiao Muyu turned her head away, swallowing a few times, yet the words she wanted to say remained stuck in her throat. After a long silence, she forced the conversation back to their current predicament. “Now that we can’t reach Su Jin and the others, we must hurry. I’m afraid they’ll end up like that boy if we dawdle.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, saying nothing more. She couldn’t let her emotions bother Xiao Muyu right now. Whatever else there was to say would only matter if they made it out alive.

“A monstrous hand appeared when we walked straight ahead. The boy ran around recklessly and triggered multiple doors in succession. So we can be fairly certain that taking the wrong path will get us attacked.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded. Thinking about Su Jin and the other two, she sighed. “I just hope they can stay calm and not run aimlessly.”

“The game difficulty has gone up,” said Xiao Muyu. “And people instinctively run upon encountering danger. Once they run in the wrong direction, the danger only multiplies.” Luckily, Shen Qingqiu was dauntless and a ruthless fighter, so neither of them needed to run thus far.

The lights above the doors started flickering with increasing frequency. Feeling a strange unease, Xiao Muyu took a few steps forward. The flickering slowed the moment they moved.

Xiao Muyu immediately got the hint. “Standing here without moving isn’t an option either.”

Shen Qingqiu just kept her eyes fixed on the crossroad ahead. The doors on both sides still had the “X” mark. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stretched her hand backward, signaling Xiao Muyu to stop. Then, she slowly turned left.

Xiao Muyu didn’t insist on following closely this time. Instead, she kept a safe distance, watching Shen Qingqiu.

They took one step, two steps, and crossed the intersection without incident.

Shen Qingqiu quickly waved Xiao Muyu over. Turning the corner, she noticed the rooms on either side had no markings.

“Does encountering an ‘X’ mean we should turn left?” Shen Qingqiu asked uncertainly.

Xiao Muyu shook her head, similarly unsure. Looking around, she saw no markings on either side and cautiously continued straight.

Shen Qingqiu guarded her as they passed through another crossroad. Nothing happened this time.

“I think I’ve figured something out. No marks mean we go straight, and ‘X’ might mean a left turn. It’s just…” A strange feeling still gnawed at Xiao Muyu’s mind.

“Too easy,” Shen Qingqiu finished for her. “An intersection with three paths to choose, and we’ll know after one try?”

Xiao Muyu nodded.

“Except we don’t have a choice. We have to find the exit within an hour, but who knows how big this maze is? We can’t rely on luck to get out. We need clues.”

She sent the gathered information to the group chat. No matter what, they had to try. Maybe it’d mean something if Su Jin and the others saw it.

Shen Qingqiu chuckled, looking ahead. “In that case, let’s be a little more reckless. Who cares if it’s right or wrong? Let’s try it out. If someone’s foolish enough to stand in our way, I’ll make sure to add a little extra to my dowry to show my sincerity.”

Despite her frivolous words, Shen Qingqiu’s presence was commanding. She wasn’t joking. The trace of vulnerability from when she’d admitted being scared earlier had disappeared. She was just like when they first met—proud and confident.

Xiao Muyu realized that she preferred the arrogant and fearless version of Shen Qingqiu.

The next stretch of road went smooth as they followed the discovered pattern. It seemed that was the way it worked.

But immediately after they made another left turn, they saw two girls. They were only two crossroads away, but Xiao Muyu couldn’t tell who they were.

Since anything could happen in this place, Xiao Muyu didn’t act impulsively. She watched as the two girls checked the doors on either side of the path, then discussed briefly before preparing to turn left.

As the two girls turned the corner, a hand like a dried-up branch suddenly reached out from the left passage with such speed that it took them completely by surprise.

A room blocked their figures, but Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu could hear the sound of flesh tearing, followed by groans. Then, the hand clenched something in its hand, dripping with blood.

“Ah!” A sharp scream pierced the silence, only to abruptly cut off.

Neither Shen Qingqiu nor Xiao Muyu moved. The hand quickly tossed what it held, and the bloody object rolled right in front of them.

It was a beating heart.

Soon after, the creature emerged. The mummy towered high enough that it had to stoop down so it wouldn’t hit the ceiling. It looked at Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu, mouth twisted into a grotesque grin.

“Such a pity it’s not your heart.” The voice, sounding so gruff it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female, dripped with malice. It was Liu Ya. They recognized her the moment they saw her.

Shen Qingqiu’s gaze sharpened like knives as she glared at her. Her lips were a thin line, holding back venomous words. Logic told her that provoking Liu Ya right now would not be wise.

“Don’t make a mistake. Or else… hehe.” Liu Ya turned and disappeared into the dark.

Xiao Muyu looked at the crossroad before her. She glanced left and right, only to notice that the X’s were gone. In their place were black, solid dots.

The appearance of this new mark made everything uncertain again.

What worried Xiao Muyu even more was that the two girls had turned left only after inspecting the doors. They must have passed through several crossroads by now. It stood to reason they had figured out the pattern and rules to get this far.

So why did they get killed for turning left just now?

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Author had something to say:

Their feelings are clear now. This chapter is about their developing romance. Xiao Shen nailed it with a kabedon and got Xiao Xiao.

Now, cuties, have you figured out something with the dots and X’s? I’m only asking the cuties who were high school science students. For the others, I’ll explain later. Don’t worry.