IGSB – Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Who's the Murderer? (Part 4)
When Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu returned to their dormitory, the sky had already grown quite dark.
So far, aside from the Ghost King, they hadn't encountered a single ghost. They had no idea what the night would hold...
The two entered the girls' dormitory and gave their names and class to the dorm mother, who immediately led them upstairs.
The dorm mother was very enthusiastic, explaining the school's rules as they walked. “Lights out at our school is at ten o'clock, and you must be back in the dorm by eleven at the latest. If you're not back by then, you'll be locked out.
“Our school is very strict about this, so you must abide by the school's rules and regulations now that you're here.”
Xia Zhiyi obediently agreed.
Jing Ruyu glanced at her, noticing that with her backpack on, she looked more and more like a well-behaved student.
Upon reaching the third floor, the three of them turned a corner, passed one dormitory, and stopped in front of another.
The dormitory door had a glass window, allowing a view of the room inside. A sign with “304” hung above it.
After opening the door, they saw a standard eight-person room with an attached private bathroom and a small balcony for drying clothes. There happened to be three empty beds: a top and bottom bunk near the door, and a bottom bunk near the back door.
“This is the place. The names are posted on the beds, so find yours. The other new student has already arrived.
“Oh, right, two students from here aren't coming to school lately, so you don't need to mind them. Alright, I'll be on my way if there's nothing else.”
With that, the dorm mother closed the door and left without hesitation.
Hearing that they weren't coming to school, the two immediately thought of the two key figures: Zhou Xiuxiu and Ming Hui.
Currently, only the two of them were in the dormitory; the others were absent, including Liu Xue, who had returned to the dorm before them.
They had no time to wonder where Liu Xue had gone and immediately went to check the names on the empty bunk beds.
The top bunk read, “Class 3, Grade 2, Ming Hui,” and the bottom bunk read, “Class 3, Grade 2, Zhou Xiuxiu.”
The two thought to themselves, as expected, yet they also felt a little surprised.
They hadn't expected Zhou Xiuxiu and Ming Hui to be roommates, sharing a bunk bed.
For a moment, all the clues seemed to point toward Ming Hui, implicating her in Zhou Xiuxiu's death.
The two exchanged a glance and, with a silent understanding, began to go through Zhou Xiuxiu's and Ming Hui's belongings, making sure to return everything to its original place when they were done.
In the end, they found nothing. Besides textbooks, workbooks, and a change of clothes, there was no useful information.
They stood before the beds, lost in silence.
Just then, the dormitory door opened, and Liu Xue returned.
She walked straight to her bed and sat down. “I've searched. There's nothing.”
Xia Zhiyi turned to ask her, “Where are the other people in this dorm?”
Liu Xue replied, “Oh, they went out to do laundry.”
She casually recounted what she had seen when she went out. “Not far from here is the large bathhouse, where hot water is supplied for a limited time. Next to the bathhouse are the washbasins. The students go there to brush their teeth and do laundry. The facilities are all quite nice; I didn't see any horror-movie-style decor.”
She then asked, “Did you find any clues about the ferry crossing on your trip?”
“No,” Jing Ruyu said. “And you?”
Liu Xue shook her head. “Me neither. I asked several students, and they all said they didn't know.
“However, I think you two might have a tough night ahead.”
“Why do you say that?” Xia Zhiyi asked, looking at her in confusion.
Liu Xue raised her hand and gestured between Zhou Xiuxiu's bed and the empty bunk bed on the other side.
“Because your beds are right across from Zhou Xiuxiu's.”
Whether the Ghost King was present or not, just hearing her name was stressful enough, let alone her bed.
Liu Xue genuinely sympathized with them and was also genuinely relieved that she hadn't been assigned a bed opposite the Ghost King's.
It couldn't be helped; in a place like this, you had to rely on luck.
Hearing this, Xia Zhiyi bent down, neatly made Zhou Xiuxiu's bed, pressed her palms together, and said with a sincere expression, “Rest in peace, Xiuxiu. Please don't come looking for us tonight, and don't eat people. People don't taste good.
“Once I clear this instance, I'll definitely burn three large stacks of the latest math workbooks for you. I guarantee you'll be satisfied. If you're not, you can visit me in a dream, and I'll burn a pen for you so you can write your own problems.”
After speaking, she returned to Jing Ruyu's bottom bunk and sat down, looking well-behaved—she was too lazy to climb up to her own bed just yet, so she decided to sit there for a while.
Liu Xue: “…”
Three large stacks of math workbooks… For a moment, she couldn't tell if Xia Zhiyi was trying to torture the Ghost King.
Not knowing what else to do, Xia Zhiyi took out Ming Hui's notebook and began to flip through it.
Jing Ruyu, meanwhile, went out to the balcony to observe the surroundings.
The girls' dormitory faced the outer wall. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but white fog, just short of having a sign that read “Dead End.”
She watched for a long time without seeing anything of note, when suddenly she heard Xia Zhiyi call her name in surprise from inside the room.
She immediately returned to the room. “What's wrong?”
Liu Xue also leaned in closer.
Xia Zhiyi pointed to the writing in Ming Hui's notebook while holding up the paper slip, her face a mask of shock. “The handwriting on this note… it's Ming Hui's.”
It turned out not to be a curse written to her by someone else, but a curse she had written for another person—one she apparently never had the chance to deliver.
This discovery was an immense surprise to Xia Zhiyi.
Who had made Ming Hui angry enough to write such a curse?
Had she seen something, or did she know something?
Was what she knew truly related to Zhou Xiuxiu's death?
Liu Xue hypothesized, “In that case, it's highly likely Ming Hui transferred schools to avoid this person. She didn't want to see them?”
She rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. “Honestly, if we hadn't seen the Ghost King right at the beginning, I'd really be suspecting this person is the Ghost King…”
The curse note in her palm suddenly felt inexplicably cold to Xia Zhiyi, and a sinister chill crept up her back.
Xia Zhiyi said, “I've got goosebumps again.”
Jing Ruyu gently squeezed her hand, giving her a sense of security, and then said, “Tomorrow, we'll search Ming Hui's desk again. We might find something else. For tonight, let's just focus on staying safe. After all, we still don't know what the night will bring.”
“Mm.” Xia Zhiyi and Liu Xue nodded.
Soon, the other three students returned. Unfortunately, they were from the neighboring class and knew nothing about the matters of Class 3, Grade 2, leaving Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu unable to ask them anything.
The two decisively gave up, deciding to wait until tomorrow.
Remembering something important, Jing Ruyu asked, “Excuse me, what time does the Political and Educational Office usually come for room inspections?”
“A little after eleven, I think,” one of the girls replied. “The Political and Educational Office is extremely strict, and their inspections take a very long time. Just stay in bed and sleep soundly, and you'll be fine.”
Jing Ruyu understood. “Thank you.”
...
At ten o'clock that night, it was time for lights out.
The dorm mother was outside, loudly urging everyone to get into bed and go to sleep.
Xia Zhiyi climbed onto the top bunk, and as she looked up, she saw the glass window on the door.
Through the glass, she could see that the lights in the hallway were still on, casting a bright glow. But no one passed by, and despite the sound of the dorm mother's voice, a sinister chill seemed to seep in from all directions.
She suddenly thought of the note Ming Hui had written and of who occupied the bed opposite theirs. Amplified by the darkness, the sense of terror multiplied. Goosebumps instantly broke out on her skin, bringing with them a sliver of fear from the depths of her heart.
Glancing down at the bottom bunk, she decisively took her pillow and went down to seek refuge with her ex-girlfriend, who radiated a sense of security.
“Can I sleep with you?” she asked Jing Ruyu with a straight face. “I've suddenly developed a fear of heights and don't want to sleep up there.”
As a person, one should be brave when it's time to be brave and a coward when it's time to be a coward. It was better to be frank about it; there was no shame in it.
The others: “?”
A fear of heights from that bed???
Jing Ruyu glanced at her, said nothing, and thoughtfully lifted the inner side of her blanket.
“Thanks, thanks.” She happily lay down inside.
Liu Xue: “…”
Even an excuse like that works? I really don't understand the camaraderie in this New World…
The lights went out, and the once-noisy dormitory building instantly plunged into dark silence.
The bed this time was smaller than the one in the novice instance, making physical contact unavoidable as they lay together. Fortunately, under the circumstances, the awkwardness faded after a moment or two.
The dormitory was very quiet; no one spoke.
A few minutes later, the student NPCs were sound asleep, their breathing growing even and peaceful.
None of the three players were asleep. They were waiting for the night to reveal its sharp claws.
Time ticked by, ten o'clock slowly creeping toward eleven.
All was silent, the surroundings so quiet one could almost hear the air moving.
The bright lights in the hallway had been replaced by the green glow of emergency exit signs, which looked eerie no matter how one looked at it.
They waited and waited. More than ten minutes passed, but they heard nothing, saw nothing, and nothing happened. It was as if the night had always been this way.
Yet they still didn't dare to relax.
When the time reached 11:05 PM, heavy footsteps finally sounded from outside the door, thudding against the floor one after another, unsettling one's nerves.
Accompanying these dull, terrifying sounds were the hissing breaths of monsters and the scraping of dragging chains…
Despite this, the NPCs remained asleep, leaving only the players to consciously face it all.
All the strange noises converged in the long corridor, taking form under the eerie green light.
Xia Zhiyi quietly glanced out the window and froze.
Outside the glass window, ghostly figures flickered, and indescribable monstrosities vied for her attention.
They were either slender or massive; some were covered in tumors of varying sizes, while others had their flesh pierced by sharp white bones. Under the green light, shadows danced across their forms, all of them exuding an unspeakable, sinister terror.
Xia Zhiyi jerked her gaze back, covered her mouth, and instinctively hid in Jing Ruyu's embrace.
Jing Ruyu pulled her into an embrace, gently stroking her back. Her brow was tightly furrowed; she had clearly seen the situation outside as well.
As expected, the night was completely different from the day.
The two waited with bated breath for a long time. The monsters didn't enter, merely pacing back and forth outside like patrolling guards.
Recalling the day's broadcast announcement, they suddenly understood.
This was… the Political and Educational Office, responsible for room inspections.
Xia Zhiyi was thoroughly impressed.
To have these monsters serve as the Political and Educational Office… it was truly worthy of the New World. The quieter the day, the more thrilling the night!
After some time, her pounding heart finally calmed down.
As long as the monsters didn't come inside, they had nothing to fear.
Just then, a change began to appear on Zhou Xiuxiu's bed across from them.
On the wall there, lines of what looked like words slowly appeared. The words were mixed with ink-like, bright red bloodstains, making them very blurry. One would have to go over to Zhou Xiuxiu's bed to see them clearly.
“There are words,” she whispered very, very softly to Jing Ruyu.
“Wait…”
Lifting her gaze, she saw something else besides the words, something unexpected. There was a ghost under Ming Hui's bed.
A ghost, completely white and faceless.
Caught off guard, she sharply sucked in a breath. Afraid of alerting the ghost and the Political and Educational Office, she made sure to muffle the sound, and her movements as she lay back down were incredibly careful and light.
“There's a ghost under the bed over there. It scared me to death.”
Her voice was as soft as it could possibly be.
If not for the Political and Educational Office's rule against getting out of bed, and if not for their patrolling monsters outside, she would have already started a hundred-meter dash. Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing was the best!
But just as she finished speaking, Jing Ruyu pulled her into an embrace and held her head down, preventing her from looking up.
“We have one here, too,” Jing Ruyu replied.
Xia Zhiyi froze for a moment.
In her peripheral vision, she could just make out a deathly pale shadow clinging to the bed board above them, and a wave of sinister, cold air settled silently beside them.
At the same time, a gaze fixed upon them, unwilling to leave.
Xia Zhiyi: “…”
Great. She was going to be an insomniac tonight.
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