Chapter 82: Death Class 7 (Part 6)

Behind the two, a face as desiccated as beef jerky pressed against the glass. Its bulging eyes stared unblinkingly into the dorm room. *Hehh-chhh, hehh-chhh.* A sound like broken bellows escaped its throat.

The other four girls were on the verge of breaking down. Their muffled sobs filled the room.

Xiao Muyu’s heart thudded painfully in her chest.

“What… what is it doing?” she forced the words out through gritted teeth.

Shen Qingqiu’s face was pale, but her expression remained calm. She glanced sideways at Xiao Muyu and whispered, “It’s looking for someone.”

“Who?”

Shen Qingqiu didn’t answer.

A thought crossed Xiao Muyu’s mind. Her expression subtly shifted. “Did you look into its eyes?”

Shen Qingqiu raised a finger to Xiao Muyu’s lips, gently shushing her. She then shook her head. With a smile, Shen Qingqiu covered Xiao Muyu’s eyes.

A chill ran through Xiao Muyu’s heart. That thing had entered the room.

Screams erupted around them as a putrid, sour stench began to spread.

Although Shen Qingqiu tightly covered Xiao Muyu’s eyes, her other senses remained acutely aware. She could feel a cold wind brushing past her skin. Shen Qingqiu had moved.

Xiao Muyu heard the dagger striking against a hard object, followed by Shen Qingqiu’s usual icy and imperious tone.

“Get out! Stay away from her!”

Shen Qingqiu hadn’t closed her eyes or avoided it.

This realization shattered what little composure Xiao Muyu had left.

She didn’t know what happened to those who looked into the creature’s eyes, but one thing was clear. She couldn’t let Shen Qingqiu face it alone.

This woman, full of ill intent, had barged into Xiao Muyu’s heart like that evening’s encounter. She left Xiao Muyu no room to refuse and no way to drive her out.

So, as Shen Qingqiu made her move, Xiao Muyu clasped the hand covering her eyes and pulled it away. She saw the scene before her.

The four girls hiding under their blankets were now sitting up. They stared blankly at Xiao Muyu and the mummy that had forced half its body through the window.

Shen Qingqiu slashed a deep gash across the mummy’s neck. Her face radiated an unrestrained killing intent.

However, her expression immediately changed upon noticing Xiao Muyu’s movement. She turned her head in disbelief.

The mummy’s hollow eyes emitted a bright green glow, locking onto Xiao Muyu instantly. A wave of dizziness overcame her, as if her soul were being sucked out of her body.

Scenes of various fatal accidents flashed through Xiao Muyu’s mind like a whirlwind. The only constant was that she was always the one meeting her end.

But the sensation didn’t last long. Shen Qingqiu grabbed a bunk bed’s railing and vaulted up. She plunged her dagger into the creature’s right eye in a single leap, gouging out the shrunken, pea-sized orb.

“I told you to stay away from her,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “You want to look? Fine, I’ll dig out your damned eye!”

A loud wail echoed through room 312 as the tall, thin mummy reared back, clutching its face. It stumbled around erratically, like a person on stilts losing their balance.

Strangely enough, the rest of the dormitory remained quiet despite all the howling and wailing in their room.

*Whoosh, whooo.* A gale swept through the room. The mummy, tangled in a mess of dead branches and leaves, forced its way through the window again. The shroud clinging to its frame was filthy and tattered.

Its brown, shriveled face emerged from the rags, mouth gaping wide in a roar, nearly pressing against Shen Qingqiu’s face.

The sight was so horrifying that the four other girls in the room convulsed before collapsing. Their screams abruptly cut off.

Shen Qingqiu frowned, tilting her head away from the creature. She delivered another clean strike with her dagger.

“If you dare come back,” she exclaimed in a cold and grim voice, “I swear I’ll gouge out your other eye, or I will not bear the name Shen!”

Perhaps it was Shen Qingqiu’s overwhelming aura or merciless actions, but the mummy quickly shrank back despite its reluctance. It threw a few manic, incoherent words at them before retreating outside.

Shen Qingqiu vigilantly kept her eyes on it as she shouted commandingly.

“And shut the damn window!”

*Bang!* The window slammed shut, rattling from the impact.

Xiao Muyu: “……”

“Xiao Muyu, have you lost your marbles? What were you doing just now?”

Xiao Muyu hadn’t recovered from the shock. Shen Qingqiu—usually all smiles and seemed so mild-tempered before her—suddenly snapped at her.

Shen Qingqiu had never treated her like this. Xiao Muyu stood there, mouth slightly open, staring blankly at her.

Shen Qingqiu’s youthful face was dark, her expression glacial. Her slender brows were tightly furrowed, and her voice was as cold as shards of ice falling to the ground.

Despite the timing, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but marvel. No wonder even ghosts were afraid of Shen Qingqiu. This woman was a force of nature when she lost her temper.

Shen Qingqiu’s anger flared hotter as Xiao Muyu wordlessly stared at her, expression unchanging. She snorted coldly.

“If you’re so eager to die, there’s no need to seek that thing. I can grant your wish right now.”

Xiao Muyu glanced at the dagger in Shen Qingqiu’s hand. “And how do you plan to grant it?” she calmly asked.

Shen Qingqiu was so furious her breathing became erratic. She clenched her teeth and took several deep breaths to steady herself.

Xiao Muyu noticed how Shen Qingqiu nearly trembled from fury. She softened her tone. “You told me not to look into its eyes. Yet what did you do?”

“I couldn’t avoid it, but I could still make sure you did!” Shen Qingqiu’s voice rose with her mounting frustration. “Why did you have to pull my hand away? Did you even listen to anything I told you?”

“Are you that afraid of it? You gouged out its eye and shouted at it without a second thought.” Xiao Muyu realized she wasn’t upset upon being scolded. Instead, warmth flickered in her eyes, and her tone gentled.

“You think I’m afraid of that thing?” Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were red from anger. With a tense frown, she ground out, “What I’m afraid of is you being… You know what it felt like the moment it saw you. That thing isn’t here to kill anyone tonight. It’s choosing someone. You got involved with Luo Zihao when we entered the instance, while I saw him fall to his death. Don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind. The fact that everyone in our class is so terrified of us—doesn’t that mean we might be the next unlucky ones? This instance hasn’t turned into a bloodbath yet, but do you know what’s coming? Those visions, those scenes—”

“I know,” Xiao Muyu said, her voice unusually gentle. “And that’s why I can’t leave you to face it alone.”

Shen Qingqiu had more to say. However, that one sentence gently and unyieldingly shoved all her words and frustration back down.

Her expression grew complicated as she stared intently at Xiao Muyu.

“If, as you said, we’re the next unlucky ones, we’ll have to face it sooner or later. We’re teammates. We should confront it together. Acting alone would only make things more dangerous. Besides, I’d worry even more if you were on your own while you’re injured.” Xiao Muyu smiled lightly. “I must admit, you’re pretty scary when you lose your temper. If it did pick me, I doubt it would dare do anything after seeing you.”

Shen Qingqiu felt strangely embarrassed. “The ghosts in a Level A instance are harder to deal with,” she said, much quieter now. “I wasn’t afraid of that thing because it had a physical form. But if the danger comes in accidents, I fear I won’t be able to protect you.”

Shen Qingqiu appeared agitated.

“What did you find out?” Xiao Muyu immediately asked.

Shen Qingqiu’s reaction was too intense to be solely about the difficulty increase. Her tone suggested she knew something more.

“Three students from Class 7 have died. Luo Zihao jumped off the building. A month ago, a boy died when an exterior wall panel fell on him. And before that, a girl walking on the path got in the back of the head by a soccer ball and died on the spot.”

Each incident seemed plausible in a school setting. However, they shouldn’t happen so frequently.

“You’re saying these accidents are linked to being chosen?” Xiao Muyu was surprised. Had Shen Qingqiu uncovered so much already?

Shen Qingqiu inhaled deeply before replying softly, “Yes. There’s a selection every night. The form varies. This school is a hunting ground.”

“How do you know this?” Xiao Muyu was baffled.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at her with an unreadable look. She opened her interface. Two words appeared above her head, gleaming golden.

Xiao Muyu’s mouth opened before she burst into laughter.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Shen Qingqiu groused. “You probably have one too. It was your words that reminded me to check. When I did, I found it was already activated. So, here we are.”

Above Shen Qingqiu’s head hung none other than the title rewarded to her in a previous instance—School Bully.

The title came with a description.

School Bully
Rarity: S. Unlocked by clearing an instance with a combat output of 15,000/s.
Description: The so-called School Bully is the school’s overlord, a personage with an aura that’s 2.8 meters tall. Once activated, the Schoool Bully title evokes fear in students and worry among the teachers. With self-proclaimed authority, you may bully boys and dominate girls effortlessly. Even ghosts fear you!
P.S.: Please remember to be a good citizen.

Xiao Muyu wanted to laugh even more. “So you used the title to bully boys and dominate girls?”

Shen Qingqiu stared at her. She smirked. “Bully boys, sure. But dominate girls? Would you let me?”

Xiao Muyu gave her a sidelong glance. “So, you heard all that information from someone else?”

“Yep. I targeted those going to the restroom alone,” Shen Qingqiu elaborated. “Dragged them inside, pinned them against the wall, and interrogated them. They’re so scared of me. I didn’t even need to threaten them before they fess up.”

Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but laugh. She expected nothing less from Shen Qingqiu. A few simple words and she could already picture the scene.

“But the selection thing is just my guess. In those students memory, they only had a nightmare. But those who had accidents in their dreams usually end up the same in reality.” Shen Qingqiu made this connection after accidentally looking into the mummy’s eyes.

Xiao Muyu glanced out the window. Shen Qingqiu was probably right.

“Your School Bully title sure comes in handy,” she casually commented. “Tiantian and I tried questioning people in class, but no one would say anything. Your method of dragging people into the restroom is quicker.”

“Tiantian?” Shen Qingqiu suddenly asked.

Xiao Muyu froze in confusion. School Bully Shen Qingqiu frowned with grievance in her eyes. “How long have you known her, and you’re already calling her Tiantian? We’re together day and night, tied by the red thread. Yet, you always call me by my full name.”

Xiao Muyu looked flabbergasted. “That’s what you focused on?”

*Click.* The lights in the dormitory went out.

Shen Qingqiu knew they shouldn’t be doing this right now. She reached out to grab Xiao Muyu’s arm. Eyes fixed on the window, she backed toward their beds.

The tall, thin figure was still there. However, it wasn’t standing by their room but one next door.

“Looks like it’s not just us,” Xiao Muyu murmured.

“Class 7 is within the selection range,” Shen Qingqiu whispered. “Those students hadn’t specified what would happen. But we won’t be getting any peace tonight.” After a moment, she added, “There’s another tough fight ahead. You should rest for now.”

Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but admire her carefree nature. Shen Qingqiu could rest even with that creature roaming outside.

But she made a good point. Xiao Muyu took off her shoes and lay on the bed. “Your injury hasn’t fully healed. You should rest, too.”

Shen Qingqiu hummed in agreement.

Their eyes adjusted to the darkness after the lights went out. A faint light filtered in from outside, allowing Xiao Muyu to vaguely see Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. They glimmered beautifully. However, she couldn’t shake the feeling they hid something bad within.

Then, she saw the person staring at her throw off her shoes before lying down beside her.

Xiao Muyu’s eyes widened. “Shen Qingqiu, what are you doing?”

Shen Qingqiu blinked, then quietly spoke. “Resting.”

Xiao Muyu was both exasperated and amused. Even in such a terrifying situation, Shen Qingqiu managed to distract her from everything else.