IGSB – Chapter 20
Chapter 20: Who's the Murderer? (Part 1)
Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu never expected the New World to have such a trick up its sleeve.
They had thought it was a familiar internet meme that could save their skins, but it turned out to be a completely unexpected move.
But what was even more surprising was the broadcast announcing that Zhou Xiuxiu was dead.
How could that be?
Just a moment ago, she had been alive and well, enthusiastically leading the way for them.
With this thought, the two turned to look at Zhou Xiuxiu, and the other players followed suit.
Zhou Xiuxiu was sitting in a seat behind them, resting her chin on her hand and smiling at them.
The sunlight outside was brilliant, its bright and gentle rays falling on her face, outlining her features and illuminating her flawless, youthful appearance, making her as beautiful as a painting.
A player couldn't help but speak up, "Isn't Zhou Xiuxiu perfectly fi—"
"Bang!"
A sudden, violent sound brutally cut him off.
The beautiful scene lasted less than three seconds. Zhou Xiuxiu's head suddenly slammed hard onto the desk. Her entire body collapsed onto it, her smooth skin beginning to rot and blur, and blood splattered everywhere from the impact.
The once-soft light turned gloomy, and a bone-chilling cold, carrying the thick stench of blood, spread rapidly through the classroom.
Everyone was startled, completely caught off guard.
The broadcast speaker installed in the upper-right corner of the classroom was still making noise, a faint crackle of electricity mixed in, its words drifting lightly into the room—
"Question: Who killed Zhou Xiuxiu?
"Question: Who killed Zhou Xiuxiu?
"Question: Who killed Zhou Xiuxiu?"
The broadcast was like a machine that had suddenly broken, unable to proceed and only capable of repeating that one sentence.
The abruptly eerie question lingered in every corner of the classroom, awakening the fear hidden deep in people's hearts.
Although Xia Zhiyi had specifically watched many horror movies to build up her courage, and had indeed become much braver, she was still frightened when confronted with such a scene directly. Her stomach even felt a little upset.
Jing Ruyu noticed her discomfort, reached out to pull her into an embrace, and turned her face away, trying to lessen the impact of the scene.
Teammates were supposed to help each other, so no one thought anything of it.
The questioning broadcast continued its clamor, and no one knew when it would stop.
The mangled Zhou Xiuxiu remained collapsed in her seat, motionless.
Soon, the broadcast's alarm-like repetition finally ceased, as if a machine that had been broken for years was repaired and could finally resume its work.
【Questioning complete. Players, please find the answer within seventy-two hours and write it on the blackboard.】
【Requirement: A perfect score answer.】
【Hint: This is an open-book test. All players have a total of two chances to answer.】
【Hints complete. The countdown for the first attempt will now begin—】
After the broadcast finished, a red countdown timer suddenly appeared above the classroom blackboard.
The panel clearly displayed "72:00:00," which jumped to "71:59:59" the next second. The final number, 59, was visibly ticking down.
Then, a crisp and abrupt "ding-dong" sound rang out.
【Ding-dong—】
【Congratulations, players, for triggering the main storyline.】
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
Jing Ruyu: "..."
No way, this bizarre question is actually the main quest...
It seemed they had encountered another timed instance. What was more shocking was Zhou Xiuxiu's identity. They had originally thought she was the quest NPC for this instance, but it turned out she was the victim.
"Then who is the quest NPC this time?" Xia Zhiyi asked the million-dollar question.
Glancing around, Jing Ruyu's gaze slowly lifted upward, finally resting on the broadcast speaker.
"It."
In the novice instance, the New World had mentioned that quest NPCs could appear in different forms, telling players not to be surprised.
So, to put it simply and directly, whoever issued the quest was the NPC.
The broadcast then announced two more important reminders.
【Hint: This instance contains a 'Death Keyword.' If a player says the related word, they will be killed by the Ghost King. Players, please speak and act with caution.】
【Hint: The related word is connected to the Ghost King.】
Xia Zhiyi: "?"
There's something like this??
Wait, it's like they highlighted a key area, but also not???
Jing Ruyu also felt it was like highlighting the entire Milky Way as a key area.
When there are too many key points, there are no key points.
Then she heard Xia Zhiyi say, "I think this Ghost-slash-King is just making things difficult for me, Xia."
"?"
Jing Ruyu asked sincerely, "What is this 'Ghost-slash-King' of yours?"
"Oh, I was afraid those two words might also be the Death Keyword. If I said them, I'd be a goner. So I added a slash to prevent getting wiped out."
"..."
Quite resourceful, but... it wasn't really necessary.
"The term 'Ghost King' is unlikely to be the Death Keyword for this instance. It's too commonly used here. No matter how insane the New World is, it wouldn't set such an easy-to-trigger word in the second instance," Jing Ruyu analyzed logically, then paused before nodding firmly. "Yes, I'm still alive."
Xia Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was a bit risky. Let's not test things like that with our lives next time."
Seeing her nervous state, Jing Ruyu felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. She subconsciously raised her hand and patted Xia Zhiyi's head, her eyes curving into a smile as she replied, "Alright, I know."
This time, they weren't as awkward as they were in the first instance.
The situation was urgent, there was no time for awkwardness. Besides, it was normal for teammates to be close.
With this mindset, the two turned their attention to their surroundings with complete naturalness.
Besides Zhou Xiuxiu's corpse, only the six of them, the players, remained.
Zhou Xiuxiu's death was gruesome and somewhat bizarre. Unsure if other dangers were lurking, the group didn't rush forward to offer themselves up as sacrifices, decisively choosing to observe their surroundings first.
Xia Zhiyi got up, walked to the door, and looked up at the broadcast speaker above.
It was a brand-new white speaker, seemingly installed not long ago.
So the question was, was the quest NPC the person behind the broadcast, or the broadcast itself?
Xia Zhiyi's imagination ran wild: If it was the broadcast itself, does that mean there wouldn't be a clearing time?!
Otherwise, a small broadcast killing people would be too difficult, and even a bit... comical.
Who knew that the broadcast, as if reading her mind, suddenly added: 【All players, please participate actively in the instance game. Do not adopt a slacking mentality.】
【If players fail to clear the instance within the specified time, we will dispatch clearing staff to carry out a forced clearing.】
Xia Zhiyi raised an eyebrow.
Whoa, it has mind-reading abilities too?
"You want to slack off?" a boy with red-dyed hair, sitting in his seat, spoke up in a thuggish tone. "Then please do your slacking far away from us. Don't drag us down. I don't want to be held back by an idiot."
"Right, super beauty?" He turned his head to curry favor with Jing Ruyu.
Unexpectedly, after hearing him, Jing Ruyu suddenly pressed a finger to her ear, turned her face away, and let out a hiss— "Sss—"
Then she said uncomfortably, "I heard an idiot hitting on me. My ears hurt."
Red-haired guy: "???"
He immediately felt he'd lost face. "Hey, you woman, have you no manners!"
"No."
Jing Ruyu turned to him, her expression blank.
"Being polite to you is too much of a luxury. I don't like to waste."
Xia Zhiyi covered her mouth and chuckled, turning to point at her bag. "I brought some iodine."
Jing Ruyu played along, "That's great. Disinfect my ears for me."
Red-haired guy: "???"
Damn it, they're doing this on purpose!!!
Jing Ruyu walked over to Xia Zhiyi's side, only then remembering a crucial matter. "Zhiyi, aren't we unable to bring these things in?"
"Oh, I just wanted to try. Maybe I could have gotten lucky and slipped past the New World's security check when I came in. Then we wouldn't have to search everywhere for medicine when we get hurt," Xia Zhiyi said as she took off her backpack, unzipped it, and looked inside. She couldn't help but let out an "oops" before looking up. "It's been confiscated."
The New World had only left her a set of clothes, not even a single band-aid—how heartless!
"..."
Jing Ruyu patted her shoulder sympathetically.
Xia Zhiyi glanced at the countdown on the blackboard again and turned her head. "Let's search the classroom first. Since she was a student in this class, maybe we can find something in here?"
Jing Ruyu agreed with this approach.
They re-examined the classroom.
Zhou Xiuxiu's transformation had caused the entire scene to change along with her.
The classroom, once filled with books and students and bathed in bright light, was instantly emptied, leaving only the few of them. A gloomy black and an eerie purple intertwined, weaving a massive, somber, and sinister net that engulfed the entire room.
Zhou Xiuxiu sat in the very middle seat, blood pouring from her, her death a gruesome sight.
In this scene, besides the drawers and the teacher's desk, the only other thing they could search was Zhou Xiuxiu herself.
The other players were all somewhat afraid of the scene and didn't dare to approach.
Only Jing Ruyu's gaze was firmly captivated by the scene.
She stood rooted to the spot, staring motionlessly at Zhou Xiuxiu in the center.
Bright red blood covered the entire desktop, flowed down the corners of the desk, and pooled into a large, viscous puddle underneath.
Zhou Xiuxiu lay face down on the desk like that, her hands hanging limply at her sides.
This scene was like... like...
"Ruyu," Xia Zhiyi's voice came from the side, tinged with confusion. "What are you looking at?"
Jing Ruyu frowned slightly, raised her finger to point at Zhou Xiuxiu, and asked, "Do you think this could be the state she was in when she died?"
Not a gruesome scene set up just to scare the players, but that she was actually in such a horrific state when she died. Was that even possible?
Hearing her words, the players present immediately turned to examine the breathless Zhou Xiuxiu, and the more they looked, the more they felt she had a point.
"It's possible," Xia Zhiyi said. "This state of death, that would have to be..."
"Falling from a height."
The two said in unison.
With no time to marvel at their synchronicity, Xia Zhiyi covered her mouth in shock. "The broadcast said someone harmed her. Don't tell me someone pushed her off a building?!
"Damn, that's too vicious!"
Jing Ruyu's brow was tightly furrowed; she didn't deny this possibility.
Right now, no one knew the truth of the matter. They could only make assumptions and then seek verification step by step.
If someone really had murdered her intentionally, that was just too vile...
"Who, who is it! Who's so vicious!"
Another male player in black clothes took two fearful steps back.
"That person can't still be here, can they? They're not going to push us too, are they?!"
The red-haired man spat disdainfully. "What the hell is there to be afraid of? If they dare to push me, I'll push them down first!"
The remaining male player analyzed seriously, "There's also a Ghost King in the instance. So is it possible... the Ghost King did it?
"The Ghost King has a grudge against Zhou Xiuxiu, and we have to find the Ghost King to avenge her?"
Hearing this, the group couldn't say for sure whether it was possible or not.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the classroom became heavy again.
"Impossible."
A seventh voice suddenly appeared, its low tone carrying a trace of cold hoarseness.
As the voice fell, the previously breathless Zhou Xiuxiu abruptly sat up, her blurry body leaning back at an extremely contorted angle.
The blood on the desk continued to flow, gradually turning a thick black and merging with Zhou Xiuxiu's ever-lengthening black hair, which spread throughout the classroom in a dense, crisscrossing pattern like a giant spiderweb.
Zhou Xiuxiu slowly straightened up, her mangled face repairing itself until it was fair and clean.
She stretched her lips into a sinister smile.
"Because I am the Ghost King."
But the teacher's desk was completely empty, not a single person in sight.
Zhou Xiuxiu: "?"
Where did they go?
In the hallway, Xia Zhiyi was pulling Jing Ruyu's hand, fleeing for her life.
The other players followed behind, running with all their might.
What the hell, the Ghost King was revealed right at the start!
If not now, when!!
Only an idiot would stay in the classroom and wait to die!!!
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