***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to --- for the donation! ^^
***
Xiao Mingyu's death had caused quite a stir, and the circumstances were bizarre—so it was only natural that the players would come to investigate him.
But Ruan Qing had never expected to run into them here, of all places, and under these circumstances.
Fortunately, the room was dimly lit, he was wearing a baseball cap, and his position was mostly obscured by the tall man’s figure. The people outside the window didn’t seem to recognize him.
But if the standoff continued, that might change.
Ruan Qing’s heart sank. He lowered his head even further, hiding completely beneath the brim of his cap, doing his best to make himself invisible.
The man, seemingly surprised by the presence of others outside the window, glanced briefly at the uninvited guests before speaking coolly.
"I’m not threatening him. He’s free to leave anytime."
The man’s actions couldn’t exactly be called a threat—after all, Ruan Qing was the one begging him.
Theft wasn’t a minor offense, but it wasn’t necessarily major either. In serious cases, expulsion was a real possibility.
For an ordinary student who had worked hard to get into university, begging the man to delete the surveillance footage was the only option. Even if the man’s demands were twisted, he’d probably end up giving in.
Ruan Qing couldn’t reveal that he wasn’t actually a student, and he definitely couldn’t expose himself as a player in front of these men.
He had no choice but to keep playing the role.
After hearing the man’s words, Ruan Qing bit his lower lip. His lips were already injured, and the slight pressure sent a sharp pain through him, making his eyes instantly well up with moisture. He looked as though the man’s words had shattered him, leaving him on the verge of collapse.
Fragile and pitiful—like a helpless little lamb with no means of resistance.
But he didn’t leave. Anyone could see what his choice was.
The one who had spoken earlier was Shen Qifeng. Even he wasn’t sure why he’d intervened, but as he watched the pitiful figure behind the man—who had chosen to stay—a flicker of disdain crossed his handsome face.
Hopeless.
Shen Qifeng averted his gaze and didn’t offer any further help.
The others didn’t even glance into the room, as if they had no interest in any of it.
They couldn’t care less about the sordid dealings inside, or even about this dungeon itself.
When they’d entered the dungeon, all the players had been gathered in one place—but the person they were looking for wasn’t among them. Clearly, he hadn’t been dragged into the dungeon by the special item.
They’d arrived a step too late.
He was truly brilliant—in less than a minute, he had decisively entered another dungeon to avoid being forced in.
This was the third time he had tricked them.
A dark aura emanated from the group, their entire presence like that of enraged beasts, radiating danger.
Lost in their own thoughts, none of them bothered to glance inside the room.
Not that it would have mattered. After all, who would expect a player to spawn into the dungeon as an NPC? And who would imagine a high-level player being threatened by a mere dorm supervisor?
It wasn’t unusual for college students to miss curfew. A quick explanation to the dorm supervisor was usually enough to get inside.
The group didn’t look like students at all, yet the dorm supervisor didn’t seem to notice. He simply took out his keys, unlocked the door, and let them in without question.
Once again, only the man and Ruan Qing remained in the room.
The man settled back into his chair, crossing his long legs. He tilted his chin up, his tone carrying a note of command that brooked no refusal.
"Come here."
Ruan Qing’s slender frame trembled slightly, his face paling further. For a long moment, he didn’t move, as if caught between hesitation and resistance.
The man didn’t rush him. His gaze lingered on Ruan Qing’s clenched hands, watching his struggle with detached calm.
It wasn’t that he would accept any choice—it was that he already knew exactly what Ruan Qing would choose.
When a hunter is certain his prey can’t escape, patience comes easily.
Seconds ticked by, the air in the room growing heavier, until finally, Ruan Qing moved.
As if surrendering, he took stiff, reluctant steps toward the man.
The man didn’t uncross his legs. Instead, he studied the figure before him, then tilted his chin slightly toward his lap.
"Sit."
His presence was overwhelming—far too commanding for a mere dorm supervisor. With his striking features and imperious demeanor, he seemed less like an employee and more like a young master lounging in his estate, issuing orders with effortless arrogance.
And the one receiving those orders had no power to refuse.
Ruan Qing froze completely at the command, fingers tightening around his sleeves, his entire body stiff with helpless tension.
In the end, he still walked stiffly to the man's side, pressing his legs together as he sat sideways on the man's lap. His hands rested rigidly on his own knees, his posture as straight as a child's.
He had complied by sitting there, but the man wasn't satisfied.
His expression darkened as he looked at the person before him, commanding in a low voice, "Spread your legs. Face me and sit properly."
Simply sitting on the man's lap had already drained Ruan Qing of all his courage—let alone adopting an even more humiliating position.
Ruan Qing's face grew even paler. His slender body trembled faintly, his already swollen lips quivering slightly, making him appear utterly fragile.
But it seemed he had no choice.
Ruan Qing slid off the man's lap, then finally parted his legs and sat facing him properly.
However, he kept himself as far away as possible, barely perching on the very edge.
The man was far from pleased with this. His long fingers settled on Ruan Qing's waist, then tightened slightly as he lifted him effortlessly, pulling him flush against his own body.
The unfamiliar scent enveloped Ruan Qing almost completely. His eyes widened, and he instinctively tried to struggle—
But he remembered his predicament just in time, his half-raised hands freezing mid-motion.
The man studied the stiff yet obedient figure before him, his deep voice carrying a rough edge.
"Continue."
Ruan Qing's hands trembled faintly at the command. He placed them on the man's shoulders, then slowly leaned in closer. The distance between them shrank until their breaths nearly tangled together.
The position—sitting on his lap—was perfect for a kiss.
The man's gaze lingered on Ruan Qing's swollen lips, his Adam's apple bobbing uncontrollably as his expression darkened further.
Just as Ruan Qing was about to close the final distance—
"CRACK!"
The man's eyes flew wide open. Disbelief flashed across his face as his hand instinctively reached for the back of his head.
His fingers came away smeared with blood.
Clutched in Ruan Qing's hand was the police baton that should have been lying on the desk—the source of the sound was the brutal impact against the man's skull.
The man's glare turned murderous, but in the end, he slumped unconscious into the chair. Ruan Qing quickly scrambled off him.
The school was vast, and the original owner didn't even belong here. Tracking him down wouldn't be easy.
So Ruan Qing had struck without hesitation.
However, since the players were currently in Xiao Mingyu's dorm room, it obviously wasn’t the right time for him to go there. After some thought, Ruan Qing decided to return to the original owner’s classroom first.
***
Shen Qifeng and the others soon arrived at Xiao Mingyu’s dorm. The door was locked from the outside, clearly indicating no one was living inside.
It made sense for the other roommates to move out after a death in the dorm. Without hesitation, the group forced the door open.
The other beds in the room were completely empty, with only one space still containing personal belongings—Xiao Mingyu’s.
They wasted no time and immediately began searching.
Aside from the small knife used for self-harm, the only useful item seemed to be a diary.
The diary belonged to Xiao Mingyu, and every page was filled with records about a "con artist’s" daily life.
Xiao Mingyu was fully aware that this person was a fraud, yet he bizarrely gave them whatever they asked for—even meticulously documenting every detail about them.
Even in the moments before his death, he never stopped writing.
The last few pages of the diary were stained with blood, as if he had started recording right after self-harming, completely indifferent to the blood dripping onto the pages.
If not for the detached, clinical tone of the entries, one might have assumed the con artist was someone Xiao Mingyu loved.
But his writing contained no trace of emotion. It read more like a researcher coldly observing a subject—studying this fraud with terrifying precision and an equally terrifying obsession.
The reason was unknown. The purpose, unclear.
Tucked inside the diary were several photos, all of Xiao Mingyu and the con artist together.
The con artist was undeniably beautiful, with delicate, striking features. Despite his somewhat sleazy and unlikable demeanor, he was the kind of person who stood out in a crowd.
But no matter how attractive he was, it didn’t explain why someone would still fixate on him while on the verge of death.
The group’s attention didn’t linger on the con artist’s face. Instead, they focused on one particular photo.
In it, the con artist was holding a phone while posing—a phone that looked eerily familiar.
So familiar, in fact, that they had seen it just an hour earlier.
Aside from text, their dungeon information included video footage of the instance.
One scene showed Xiao Mingyu receiving a call from "4444" at midnight. The screen abruptly cut to black, followed by footage of Xiao Mingyu jumping from a building.
Then the scene shifted to an empty classroom where a phone suddenly rang. A hand, as if being controlled against its will, slowly moved toward the "answer" button.
The footage ended there. If nothing went wrong, the person in the video had likely answered that fatal call.
He would be the next target of the Death Call.
Shen Qifeng took out his phone and replayed the video. The phone receiving the "4444" call in the footage was identical to the one in the scammer's hand.
This scammer was the next victim.
Shen Qifeng closed the diary. "Let's go find that scammer."
Lu Xiuyuan and the other two had no objections, and the remaining players they brought along certainly didn’t either. Clues in dungeons were always pieced together through the deaths of countless NPCs and players. Once this NPC died, it would be the players' turn next.
The scammer’s information was easy to track down. Soon, they discovered he had disguised himself as a student and infiltrated the school. It didn’t take long to find his nighttime hideout either.
An empty classroom on the first floor of Chongming Building.
The group quickly arrived at the classroom, but it was deserted.
Lin Yan glanced at the clothes and belongings on the desk. "He must’ve stepped out for something."
No one cared why the scammer would leave in the middle of the night. Lu Xiuyuan casually took a seat.
"We’ll wait for him here."
