Chapter 99: Death Class 7 (Part 23)

The time displayed was the day Lin Xue perished in the flames.

The alarm in each room rang one after another, becoming a continuous uproar that threw everyone into a state of confusion. Each sound carried the urgency of a life-threatening situation, making those already anxious even more panicked.

Xiao Muyu furrowed her brows, feeling incredibly distraught amidst the blaring alarms.

Shen Qingqiu, who had been holding her hand, noticed her discomfort. She leaned in and cupped her hands over Xiao Muyu’s ears.

The jarring sound immediately softened to a dull buzzing. It was still loud, but the chafing discomfort had disappeared.

She lifted her head to look at Shen Qingqiu, her gaze focused yet somewhat vacant, as if lost in thought, with a hint of confusion.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t quite understand what was going on. However, seeing Xiao Muyu like this made her uneasy. So, she stared at Xiao Muyu seriously and spoke loudly into her ear.

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

Xiao Muyu just kept looking at her.

The alarm continued for over a minute. Once it stopped, Shen Qingqiu let go of her hands, looking at Xiao Muyu with concern. “What’s wrong? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Still out of it, Xiao Muyu murmured, “I said the wrong thing.”

“What?” Shen Qingqiu didn’t know what she was talking about.

“I said I understood Liu Ya’s feelings. Even though words like that would only make her angry, I still said it. I couldn’t control myself.” Her gaze flickered intensely before she quickly looked away, glancing around the room.

Shen Qingqiu felt a bit puzzled, but as she was about to say something, Xiao Muyu had already returned to her usual self. Her eyes were alert and sharp, and she was cautiously moving around.

“Since Su Jin and the others are inside, we might not be the only ones here.” Xiao Muyu had regained her usual composed tone as she analyzed the situation. “Maybe other students chosen as prey have also come in.”

“Right. But it still hasn’t told us what hunting method will be used in this hunting ground.” Shen Qingqiu knew this wasn’t the time to discuss other matters. So she chose to suppress them for the moment despite her doubts.

She couldn’t relax, though. She didn’t know whether those two strange voices meant to warn or threaten them. For once, she felt a bit scared.

After walking about fifty meters, Xiao Muyu had gotten the gist of what the area looked like.

The size of this place was hard to estimate, but it seemed like a vast platform. Inside were rooms marked with “409” isolated like square pillars, arranged in rows and columns, scattered like stars. Each room had four doors, one on each side.

Xiao Muyu had sharp eyes, and what struck her as odd was that some doors bore a black symbol resembling an “X”.

Xiao Muyu took note of the symbol after seeing it for the first time. Along the way, she saw that some rooms had several consecutive X’s while others were blank.

She thought about it. The symbol didn’t appear in these rooms based on any regular patterns. However, whenever the door on the left had the symbol, the corresponding door on the right would also have it. In other words, they appeared in pairs, usually more than once. Although she couldn’t figure out what that meant, one thing was definite: it meant something.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingqiu didn’t spend much time thinking about the scene. She focused on the gaps between the rows. Front, back, left, or right—something could pop up at any moment no matter which direction they went. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down.

After walking for a while without finding anything unusual, Xiao Muyu stopped. Although she hadn’t covered much ground, the arrangement was quite clear. She had drawn a rough map in her mind and then explained it to Shen Qingqiu, Su Jin, and the others in the group.

“From what I’ve seen so far, the area is limited, but there should be many of these rooms marked 409. They’re like chess pieces scattered across the floor.

“Room 409 is about 20 square meters, with a height of 2.8 meters, which will block part of your line of sight. You have to be careful when passing by. Each room has four walls, with a door on each side, and every four rooms form an intersection.

“Also, take note that some doors have symbols on them. I’ve seen an ‘X’ on some… but I still don’t know if it’s a letter, a cross, or something else. You guys can think about it.”

Xiao Muyu shared her findings in detail.

“Got it.” Footsteps sounded on the other end after the reply.

A while later, Chen Kaijie’s voice came through. “Leader Xiao, we’re also seeing X’s here. It comes and goes, but the pattern matches what you said. Whenever it appears on one door, the door across from it also has one. We’ve received your message. We’re trying to figure out our location. It would be best if we could meet up with you two.”

“Alright,” replied Xiao Muyu. “But there are no landmarks here, so I’m not sure about the direction, too.”

She couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Shen Qingqiu understood right away. She took out her dagger and cautiously carved it on the wall to see if it would leave marks.

Shen Qingqiu withdrew her hand. On the wall was a shape that resembled a cloud. Maintaining a serious expression, she drew four dots beneath it. After thinking for a moment, she added a lightning bolt pointing forward.

Xiao Muyu: “……”

“Does it look like it? Will they be able to understand?”

Xiao Muyu’s lips quirked against her will at the little rainy cloud drawn on the wall. Still, she indifferently said, “You’re a child.” (TL: Cloud and rain in Chinese figuratively refers to s*x.)

Despite saying that, Xiao Muyu told Su Jin and the others, “Qingqiu used her dagger to leave a mark on the right-hand side of the room, around eye-level height. It’s a cloud with rain and lightning. If you see it, let us know.”

The three on the other side were all confused. Why use such a complicated mark?

After that quick discussion, Xiao Muyu continued forward. Shen Qingqiu didn’t let go of her.

“Likes it but still calls me a child,” she muttered.

Xiao Muyu kept her gaze straight ahead, looking every bit the cool, serious type.

The two didn’t walk much further this time when suddenly, there was a synchronized *click*, and the world was instantly plunged into endless darkness. It was enough to drive someone mad with fear in such situation.

“Ah!”

Shen Qingqiu quickly grabbed Xiao Muyu, her face full of vigilance. Several male and female screams reverberated around them—some close, others distant—proving that other people had entered as well.

But the darkness didn’t last long. Suddenly, all the red warning lights flickered on, bathing the whole area in a red glow.

Red lights lit up the doors of every room, and all other colors had vanished. The number “409” below each red light also glowed red, like eyes lurking in the dark, watching everything inside.

Although the dim red light limited visible areas in each room, the X-shaped symbol above surprisingly stood out.

*Beep—beep—*

After several long beeps, the same voice they heard on the night Luo Zihao died rang out with mechanical delight.

“Welcome to the game, everyone. I’m sure the hide-and-seek round has already left a deep impression on you, and tonight’s game will certainly not disappoint. This round will last one hour, and there’s a simple way to clear it. You know the drill. Survive and live! Remember, survive at all costs. If you die here, you will die for real!”

The voice grew more bloodthirsty and excited as it went on, sounding like a psychotic killer.

“Now, let me announce the game rules. This round is a large maze. Players must find the exit within an hour. Please find your way out of the maze yourself. The clues are among you. Never forget your identity. What is the most important thing for a student? Hehe. As part of a strong science class, explore thoroughly.”

After delivering the mystifying message, the voice vanished again, leaving Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu, and the others perplexed.

At that moment, a noise came from not far away. The two couldn’t discern what it was. Without having time to process the game rules, Shen Qingqiu cautiously led Xiao Muyu forward.

Xiao Muyu felt at ease with Shen Qingqiu by her side. She looked at the areas illuminated by red lights for any more symbols.

One, two, three… They’d passed five intersections. Xiao Muyu found no markings on the rooms to the left or right. But at the sixth intersection, all four rooms had a medium-sized X. Xiao Muyu suddenly felt nervous for some unknown reason, and she couldn’t help but warn, “That symbol has appeared.”

Shen Qingqiu immediately caught sight of it from the corner of her eye. She gave a slight nod of understanding. The two instinctively slowed their pace.

They just passed the intersection and decided to continue forward when one of the doors suddenly opened with tremendous force—like something inside had kicked it open.

The door scraped Xiao Muyu’s right arm before slamming into the wall. A flaming, blackened hand reached out from the room, with fingers curled like claws, exuding a burnt odor as it lunged toward Xiao Muyu’s throat.

Shen Qingqiu had already pulled Xiao Muyu towards herself. However, the hand’s agility didn’t match its stiff, chicken feet-like form. Even though the two were on guard, they hadn’t expected such an attack.

Fortunately, Xiao Muyu’s mind was not the only quick part about her. In that crucial moment, she tilted her head back and raised her arms, barely managing to block the monstrous hand intent on strangling her.

However, the hand clamped down on her right arm in an iron grip. What came next was a burning pain from the flames, and an agonized groan escaped her.

“Muyu!” Shen Qingqiu shouted, her eyes reddening in panic.

But the pain didn’t last long. Xiao Muyu didn’t have the luxury to look at Shen Qingqiu’s expression amidst the pain. However, the other woman had already swung her dagger, chopping off the blackened hand at the wrist.

The hand gripping Xiao Muyu’s right arm loosened and dropped to the floor.

The disembodied hand was now panicking. It quickly turned and tried to retreat into that particular Room 409. But Xiao Muyu, who had recovered a bit, wasn’t about to let it escape after what it did. With gritted teeth, she stomped on it.

Shen Qingqiu paused before her extended foot followed with a larger step. Her expression was stony as she grabbed the severed hand, chuckled coldly, and yanked it out.

“Stop playing tricks! Get out here!” With frightening strength, she pulled the thing from the room.

The creature hiding behind the door never expected someone to choose to drag it out from its hiding place instead of running away. It was so terrified that it screamed, conveying fear and shock. The other ghost hand, which had been prepared to strike again from Shen Qingqiu’s side, instantly shrunk back.

Xiao Muyu didn’t expect Shen Qingqiu to be so defiant and was slightly stunned.

The thing Shen Qingqiu had dragged out was about one meter tall, with arms nearly as long as its body. Its skinless face was gaunt and shriveled. Tiny, green bean-like eyes in those hollow eye sockets showed unconcealed alarm. Its other hand was clinging to the door frame, desperately trying to crawl back inside.

Shen Qingqiu was furious beyond measure. She’d been harboring fear the whole time, and when that thing attacked Xiao Muyu, her heart stopped. Seeing Xiao Muyu’s pained expression made her feel a cold shiver run through her head.

She lifted her left foot high before kicking down. The creature’s upper body slammed heavily to the floor, its three remaining teeth flying out. One of them flew through the gap in the door behind Shen Qingqiu and struck a pale eyeball hanging out of its socket. The door immediately shut tight, and there was no sound afterward.

Despite her off-the-charts combat prowess, Shen Qingqiu wasn’t reckless. She didn’t want to waste too much time. After kicking its head off-center, she swiftly kicked the creature back inside. The door slammed shut much faster than when it opened.

Xiao Muyu stood to the side, watching as Shen Qingqiu’s murderous look still hadn’t subsided. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like smiling. How could a woman as intimidating as the devil look so cute? Maybe her head was spinning.

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Author had something to say:

Just a reminder, this time we’re tackling another science problem. What will it be?

I haven’t figured out any for humanities yet. Really sorry about that. Any good suggestions?

Xiao Shen will probably make a name for herself in the ghost community after this battle. She scares them to death.

That little ghost crying its eyeballs out: She scares me to death.