Chapter 75.3: First High School (34)

Fang Qingyuan didn’t search for information either; instead, he looked at Li Shuyang and the other two with a confident expression and asked, “Are you guys players?”

Li Shuyang nodded. “We entered the instance before it upgraded.”

On the other side, Mu Ye’an heard Li Shuyang’s voice, and while flipping through the data, he glanced at Li Shuyang, furrowing his brow slightly.

This person... he felt like he had seen him somewhere.

But Mu Ye’an couldn’t recall where at the moment, despite the strong sense of familiarity.

Due to the distance being relatively far, he could only vaguely hear their voices and couldn’t make out what Li Shuyang was saying.

Mu Ye’an pushed aside his doubts since he couldn’t remember and continued to look at the data.

Li Shuyang seemed quite generous and explained to Fang Qingyuan what happened after they entered the instance.

However, they avoided discussing these matters in front of Ruan Qing, as revealing anything about the horror game in front of an NPC was not allowed.

Fortunately, Ruan Qing sat quietly at the other side of the archive room, looking at the files about Song Yu and those notebooks on the table. The distance was not close enough for him to overhear their conversation.

Ruan Qing had a rough idea of the contents of the notebooks; he picked up Song Yu’s file and took a look.

Song Yu’s file was quite simple, with most of the information left blank, just like what they had investigated before.

There was no mention of the village he came from, no information about his parents or siblings.

It seemed like this trip was fruitless.

However, the other players didn’t think the same way. At least they now knew the situation of this instance. After all, the group of students in this instance didn’t really understand the truth of the matter; most of it was just hearsay.

But from Li Shuyang’s account, at least they knew a substantial amount about the instance.

As they listened to the end, the players all looked at the teenager sitting at the table with some strange expressions.

No matter how they listened, they felt that something was off.

At least it’s far from what they imagined; the school bully’s position was actually maintained entirely by his lackeys.

Moreover, he was the one who was easily bullied. If it weren’t for his family background, he might have been...

After failing to find any useful clues, Ruan Qing gave up and simply closed his eyes, adjusting his emotions and state, as well as organizing the information he just saw in the notebook.

If Ruan Qing had doubts before that the Song family members were not simply sealing the black mist, after reading the notebook, he confirmed his speculation.

The notebooks were all about research on the black mist and the ‘deity.’

It all started with a mirror.

The Song family, as generations of Tian Shi (heavenly masters), accidentally discovered a ‘deity’ sleeping inside a mirror. (T/N: It is a term used in Chinese culture and Taoism to describe a person who possesses special knowledge or abilities related to the heavenly realms and the supernatural. Tian Shi is believed to have the power to communicate with deities, spirits, and celestial beings, and they are often regarded as spiritual leaders or experts in various rituals, exorcism, and divination.)

Because of the deity’s slumber, its power began to go out of control, gradually spreading from the mirror into the real world, which was in the form of a black mist.

Once an ordinary person came into contact with the black mist, they would inevitably be influenced by it and turned into terrifying monsters.

So, for the sake of the world, the Song family sacrificed their own clan to seal the black mist.

And every dozen years or so, they would send a talented member of their clan to come and seal the black mist again.

As if sacrificing themselves for the world.

But Ruan Qing didn’t think so. The Song family seemed to be sealing the black mist, but in reality, they were likely... stealing the power of the black mist.

Because the container they used to seal the black mist was their own bodies, and the power they used to seal it actually came from the black mist.

So the extensive research in the notebook was mostly about how to use the black mist to seal the black mist, seemingly for the sake of the world, but actually to steal the power of the black mist.

After stealing it, they just put on the pretense of sealing it for the greater good.

Of course, in addition to this nice-sounding pretext, it’s also to ensure that the resentful ‘deity’ wouldn’t wake up.

The black mist turned people into monsters, just like what happened to Mo Ran and Xiao Shiyi, right?

To become stronger.

Therefore, no matter how righteous and lofty the writings in the notebook might be, Ruan Qing dared to conclude that the Song family’s purpose for sealing the black mist was never about saving people, but rather about wanting to harness the black mist for themselves.

After all, the three people from the Song family he had met were all ruthless, none of them the kind to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world and its people.

One of them killed an entire class, and who knew how many others in order to escape.

Another used the entire First High School’s students as stepping stones just to get his younger brother out.

As for the last one, Song Yu, though he hadn’t done anything yet, he had already become a ghost. Given his personality, it’s only a matter of time before he did something terrifying.

Among those three notebooks, one of them contained several pages about forming a marriage contract.

Ruan Qing picked up that notebook and flipped to those pages, reading them carefully again.

It’s a contract meant for sharing a lifetime with a loved one, to grow old together in happiness and romance.

But now, there’s a big problem...

Song Yu... was no longer human.

Ruan Qing calmly asked in his mind, ‘System, will this contract affect my ability to leave the instance?’

[No, it won’t.]

The system’s icy voice paused for a moment, then continued, [As long as the game system determines that you are still human.]

In other words, once the game system determined that he was no longer human, he wouldn’t be able to leave the instance.

Ruan Qing’s heart sank a little. This contract was meant for sharing their lives, but Song Yu... was dead.

Was it Song Yu who would share his life, or would he share Song Yu’s...?

Ruan Qing tightened his grip on the notebook. In reality, ever since Song Yu died, he had always felt a little cold, and his body temperature had dropped somewhat.

Originally, he thought it was just because of the presence of ghosts. After all, it did get colder when there were ghosts around.

However, his body temperature kept dropping, and even with intense exercise, it didn’t rise.

Ruan Qing lowered his gaze and murmured, “Am I still human now?”

This question involved the instance, and the system couldn’t answer it, so it remained silent.

Besides, Ruan Qing’s tone was more of a murmur than a question to the system.

He pressed his lips, looking fragile, and asked with a somewhat helpless and restrained sob, ‘If I can’t leave the instance, will you... leave me?’

This question clearly had nothing to do with the instance. The system hesitated for a moment but eventually answered ruthlessly, [Yes.]

Although it was cruel, that was the truth. A genuine NPC trapped in the instance wouldn’t have a dedicated system.

So once a player couldn’t leave the instance, the system would be reclaimed by the main game system, perhaps becoming someone else’s exclusive system someday.

After hearing the system’s response, Ruan Qing relaxed his grip on the notebook and regained the calm tone from before, saying, ‘Oh, thank you. So, I’m still human.’

It was as if the vulnerability and helplessness from just now were mere illusions created by the system.

The system, which had just processed all this, remained speechless.

Ruan Qing was indeed somewhat uncertain if he was still human, as his body was getting colder. His body temperature was about to drop below 34 degrees Celsius, which prompted him to ask the system.

Fortunately, the answer provided him with some relief.

Because if the game system had already determined that he couldn’t leave the instance, it would have naturally left him.

And since it was still there, it meant he was still human and had the possibility of clearing the instance.

However, if he didn’t act quickly, who knew what would happen.

Ruan Qing shifted his gaze to the notebook that was specifically researching about the ‘deity’.

That notebook was the oldest and seemed to have been used for a long time; the pages had started to turn yellow.

Ruan Qing flipped through it and eventually closed the notebook. There wasn’t much about ‘deities’ in the notebook; it mainly focused on the study of the black mist.

Following the methods in the notebook might make one powerful, but Ruan Qing didn’t think that becoming successful through those means would still qualify as being human.

Just as Ruan Qing was about to put the notebook back, he noticed a pattern on the back cover.

Ruan Qing paused; this pattern seemed familiar... where had he seen it before?

It was as if... he saw it in the hands of Pei Yan!

The other had a similar notebook in his hands!

Ruan Qing remembered seeing Pei Yan holding a notebook while playing basketball. At that time, he was standing close to their class, preparing to shoot. Ruan Qing saw the pattern on the back of the notebook back then.

Pei Yan was sitting at the desk opposite to his. Ruan Qing stood up directly and walked toward Pei Yan.

Perhaps because other players were afraid that Ruan Qing would overhear their discussion, they all paid some attention to him when he stood up.

The teenager arrived next to Pei Yan and reached out his hand. “Can I see your previous notebook?”

Pei Yan hesitated for a moment, not understanding Ruan Qing’s intention, but still handed over the notebook with an indifferent expression.

Ruan Qing took the notebook, and indeed, the pattern on it was exactly the same as the one on Song Yu’s notebook.

Ruan Qing returned to his previous spot and opened the notebook.

The notebook contained a story about a deity.

A being capable of granting human wishes.

As long as the price of a human soul was paid to summon the deity, and if the deity responded to the summoning, the wish would be granted.

However, after the wish was fulfilled, the deity would devour the soul of the summoner.

The notebook provided detailed records of the summoning method.

Ruan Qing finished reading and flipped to the last page of the notebook.

Recorded on the last page of the notebook was the fact that for hundreds of years, countless people had attempted to prove the effectiveness of this summoning method, but it had all been in vain.

The summoning method was ineffective... or was it?

No, perhaps it’s not that it’s ineffective, but that the deity could not hear the summoning.

This deity being referred to was undoubtedly the one trapped in the mirror by the Song family for centuries, the vengeful deity whose power was stolen.

Ruan Qing searched through the notebook but couldn’t find the name of that deity.

Maybe there were other notebooks with the same patterns.

However, Ruan Qing felt that he didn’t have much time left.

His body temperature was dropping, and the lethal temperature for humans was below 25 degrees Celsius.

At this rate, he had less than three hours at most before his body would completely perish.

In such a situation, with a group of ghosts still threatening him, it would be better to take a chance of finding the notebook that may or may not exist somewhere.

There’s one being that definitely knew the name of the deity, and that was... the deity itself.

After all, he now possessed the human soul and the summoning method, right?

Actually, he could remember it just by reading it once, but he read through it again, memorizing all the details of the summoning process in his mind.

After all, one wrong step could mean death for him.

Ruan Qing looked thoughtfully at the people in front of him, contemplating how to shake them off.

After a moment of thought, Ruan Qing stood up again, and everyone’s gaze turned to him once more.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Ruan Qing avoided their eyes and said, “I need to use the restroom.”

Fang Qingyuan was the first to disagree. “It’s dangerous to go to the restroom now.”

Ruan Qing, with an expressionless face, uttered three words, “I can’t wait.”

Li Shuyang pondered for a moment, stood up, and walked over to Ruan Qing’s side. He handed over a plastic bottle in his hand and cautiously said, “Brother Su Qing, how about... you use this to solve it?”

Ruan Qing: “......?”

Ruan Qing looked at the plastic bottle handed to him by Li Shuyang, but he didn’t quite understand. A hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.

Li Shuyang tilted his head when he saw that Ruan Qing didn’t respond and, his gaze shifted slightly to Ruan Qing, he asked, “What’s wrong, Brother Su Qing? Is the bottle opening too small?”

Everyone subconsciously followed Li Shuyang’s words and looked at a certain spot on Ruan Qing.

Ruan Qing: “......”

 

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