026 Lin Xiayue’s Squad

Why is it that the four of them are completely unharmed?

When the smoke finally cleared, I saw that they were encased in a transparent barrier, which explained why the flames hadn’t touched them.

Wang Yan’s ability was beast transformation, Lin Xiayue controlled gravity, the demure girl could heal—so the only possibility for this shield was the ponytailed little girl. She must have used her power to block the fire, a kind of protective shield.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Lin Xiayue and her group began searching for their next target, planning to transfer the identity of the ghost. With Wang Yan’s help, who could enter beast form, they quickly conducted a thorough sweep and dragged back two girls.

Seeing Lin Xiayue, the two girls trembled, apparently already aware of their fate.

“Sister Yue, can you spare me?” one of them asked tentatively. Lin Xiayue lifted her eyelids and replied irritably, “Only one of you can live. Choose.”

Thanks to Xia Qingqiu and Zhou Zitong’s interference, Lin Xiayue’s plan had been thrown into chaos, and she wasn’t in the mood for anything else now.

As time passed, the ghost identity was transferred in turn to Wang Yan, the demure girl, and the ponytailed girl.

Minute by minute, time slipped away. The female ghost’s figure appeared once more—it was the same one from the handkerchief game.

Howling, the ghost lunged at the six people. The ponytailed girl stepped forward, and an invisible barrier blocked the ghost. The ghost’s face was pressed flat, grotesque and terrifying.

“All right, only one of you can live. Have you decided?” Lin Xiayue sneered, standing before the two girls, awaiting their choice.

The girl who had spoken first wasted no time, bowing three times so hard that her scalp began to bleed, smiling as she looked at Han Xiaoman, not caring at all about the blood trickling down her face, “Sister Yue, is this enough?”

The other girl looked at her with disdain. “Hmph, I’d rather die than be a dog.”

The demure girl walked over. “You shouldn’t say that, you know.” A jade-green light enveloped the injured girl, healing her wounds in an instant.

“Thank you…thank you…”

The demure girl squatted down and said to the doomed girl, “As long as you’re alive, anything is possible. Without life, you have nothing.”

“You…” The girl was at a loss for words, knowing her death was sealed.

“All right, say goodbye to the world.” Wang Yan stepped forward, his arm partially transformed, and with a swipe, crushed the girl’s skull.

The headless body fell straight backward. The surviving girl screamed, scrambling behind the demure girl for safety.

“Wang Yan, can’t you keep your distance next time?” The demure girl complained, “You got blood all over me again.”

“Chu Yuyan, stop pretending to be a saint. We’re all butchers here,” Wang Yan replied indifferently.

So, the demure healer’s name was Chu Yuyan—I quietly committed it to memory.

“Hu Xing’er, drop your shield,” Chu Yuyan said, then pulled the trembling girl to her feet with a smile. “We’re friends now. What’s your name?”

“I…I’m Cai Tian,” she stammered, but soon relaxed, the joy of finding a group putting her at ease as she beamed.

“Hu Xing’er, did you get that? Her name is Cai Tian,” Chu Yuyan suddenly said, her expression turning cold as she shouted to the ponytailed girl.

Hu Xing’er flashed a wicked smile. “Thanks for your help. The next ghost is you, Cai Tian.”

With that, she dropped her shield. The ghost darted past her straight for Cai Tian.

Only then did Cai Tian realize it was all a trap. In this game of hide-and-seek, you had to know someone’s name to transfer the ghost identity. Lin Xiayue, being the leader of the art school, was known by all, but nobodies like her were anonymous.

If she hadn’t given her name, she might have survived a bit longer. But even if she realized this, the four of them could easily kill her by other means.

“Naive Cai Tian, thinking she could really fit in with them,” I sighed. “But whatever she did, she was doomed.”

“And honestly, dying instantly by the ghost’s hand was better than being tormented by them,” Tan Tou said. “Lin Xiayue has the leader’s aura, Hu Xing’er is the perfect lackey, but the harmless-looking Chu Yuyan is the most dangerous of all.”

“Don’t be fooled by her appearance. Wang Yan is just extra muscle, but Chu Yuyan is like their strategist.”

“She really is beautiful, though—” Chen Hao said, laughing.

“Chen Hao! Shut up!” Chen Hao was actually drooling over the monitor. I admit, Chu Yuyan was easy on the eyes, but after seeing her true colors, how could he still be ogling her?

I punched Chen Hao’s back.

He clutched his back, whining, “Why’d you hit me? I’m not wrong, Chu Yuyan really is pretty.”

“Chen Hao,” Tan Tou said seriously, “Stay away from her, unless you’ve got a death wish.”

Seeing Tan Tou’s sudden seriousness made me uneasy too, and Chen Hao quickly nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go, Sister Yue,” Chu Yuyan said, back to her sweet self, though behind her lay the split body of Cai Tian and another headless corpse.

Not long after Lin Xiayue’s group left the game, almost all the remaining girls were wiped out, with only one or two surviving by sheer luck.

After watching the livestream of their match, we headed to the cafeteria for a simple meal.

By chance, Wen Lingyu and Han Xue joined us. Han Xue greeted me cheerfully and sat beside me.

Wen Lingyu just nodded and sat across from me, between Tan Tou and Chen Hao, who hurriedly made space for her.

That lustful oaf loved sitting with girls.

“Wen Lingyu, what do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you,” Chen Hao offered eagerly.

“I want strawberry cake,” Han Xue said, but Chen Hao ignored her, his eyes never leaving Wen Lingyu.

Wen Lingyu looked uncomfortable under his gaze and finally said, “Get me a milk tea.”

“Okay, okay!” Chen Hao hurried off in search of milk tea. Han Xue shouted in frustration, “Chen Hao, my strawberry cake!”

“Get your Jian-ge to do it!” Chen Hao’s voice echoed through the cafeteria.

I ducked my head, shoveling rice with my chopsticks, while Tan Tou snickered across from me. Han Xue’s cheeks flushed as she huffed and sat down.

“Brother Zhenyu, can you help me get it?” Han Xue asked Tan Tou, apparently to ease the awkwardness.

I couldn’t let Tan Tou leave me alone with those two girls—I wouldn’t know how to handle it.

I shot Tan Tou a look, hoping he’d help me out, but he misunderstood and said, “Han Xue, I don’t know which vendor you want, so come with me.”

“Okay!”

With that, Han Xue bounced off after him, leaving just me and Wen Lingyu staring awkwardly at each other.

I didn’t know what to say. After everything that happened yesterday, I had no idea how to face her.

Wen Lingyu tugged at her clothes, shivering as if cold. I hurried to say, “Are you cold? Here, take my jacket.”

As I started to take it off, she quickly waved her hands. “No, no, that’s okay.”

The atmosphere plummeted to freezing again.

With nothing else to say, I just ate my plate of potato and beef in silence.

The cafeteria at D University was fully self-service and free. The administration had claimed it was to prevent comparison and distraction from studies, but I never thought that even after such terrifying events, the cafeteria would still be open.

The food was all laid out, to be reheated in microwaves, with not a single staff member in sight.

It was strange—not a single teacher had been seen since the incident.

Where had they all gone? Were they all dead? Or were they just watching from the sidelines?

I stared up at the security camera above the cafeteria, a chill creeping through me…