***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to Zzz for the donation! ^^
***
Before figuring out who the System’s avatar truly was, Ruan Qing didn’t want to engage too much with these people, so he left without hesitation.
Yet after only a few steps, his legs gave out, and he collapsed forward, utterly drained.
Exhaustion—it was overwhelming.
Those few hours in the Nightmare World had left him a hundred times more fatigued than reality. Clearly, entering the Nightmare World didn’t count as rest.
Ruan Qing weakly closed his eyes, bracing for impact—but just as he thought he’d hit the ground, someone caught him around the waist. Then, his vision blurred, and the scenery around him changed instantly.
The person holding him had jumped off the building!
Any lingering drowsiness vanished as Ruan Qing’s eyes flew open, his heart skipping a beat. Instinctively, he clung tightly to the man carrying him in a bridal hold.
They were on the fourth floor!
Even a physically enhanced ordinary player wouldn’t dare leap from that height, let alone while carrying someone.
Ruan Qing’s delicate face paled, the corners of his eyes reddening from the discomfort of the fall. His damp eyes brimmed with tension—but thankfully, the man landed safely with him.
The one who’d jumped was the same male classmate who’d earlier "saved" Ruan Qing from Ling Qishuo… and one of the suspected avatars of the System.
After landing, the classmate didn’t set Ruan Qing down. Instead, he swiftly carried him behind a nearby wall, hiding them in the blind spot of anyone looking down from above.
Seconds later, figures appeared at the fourth-floor window they’d just jumped from, scanning the ground below.
Ruan Qing immediately understood why the jump had been necessary—the others had woken up, and there’d been no time to escape normally.
Noticing Ruan Qing’s gaze, the classmate tensed, his handsome face flushing slightly as he raised a finger to his lips.
"Shh."
His intention was to signal silence, but in doing so—still holding Ruan Qing—he accidentally pressed him fully against his chest.
The movement was too sudden. Before Ruan Qing could react, his face collided with the classmate’s cheek, his lips brushing the corner of the other’s mouth.
The warm, soft contact froze the classmate in place. His face burned crimson, and he hastily released Ruan Qing, stammering,
"S-sorry, I—"
Ruan Qing was in no mood to listen to his apology. Because the male classmate had let go too quickly, he had practically been thrown down, making it impossible to steady himself. His body lurched uncontrollably toward the ground.
"!!!" The male classmate’s eyes widened at the sight. Reacting swiftly, he reached out and wrapped an arm around Ruan Qing’s waist, pulling him into his embrace.
Ruan Qing collapsed against the male classmate’s chest, his lips brushing the side of the other’s neck. Though his delicate face still held a trace of panic, inwardly, he was completely indifferent.
In fact… he really wanted to punch this guy.
One coincidence might be accidental, but repeated coincidences could only mean it was deliberate.
This man was absolutely doing it on purpose—yet Ruan Qing couldn’t say a word. Instead, he had to look at him with gratitude.
This time, the male classmate’s ears burned crimson. His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably, and he stiffly released Ruan Qing.
"S-sorry…"
Though his apology was still stuttered, his voice was deliberately hushed—far too quiet to be heard from the fourth floor.
Standing at the fourth-floor window were the three who had just awoken from the nightmare world.
Ling Qishuo’s expression darkened with fury when he failed to find the person he was looking for. His murderous gaze shifted to the other two, who were also searching.
The fact that he’d been deceived the moment he entered the dream could only mean someone was behind it—and the culprits were clearly these two.
Ji Nanyu and Han Feng weren’t faring any better. They’d been forcibly awakened at the critical moment of intercepting someone, only to find no trace of the person who had roused them.
Fearing the young man might die in the nightmare world, they hadn’t bothered investigating further and had chosen to re-enter the dream instead.
Not only had they failed to find him in the dream, but they’d also lost him after waking up.
With two people missing from the dorm, it was obvious who had taken him.
A thick, seething killing intent churned in the depths of their eyes before they all turned and left the dorm.
***
The male classmate’s name was Cheng Muyun. According to him, he couldn’t bear to watch Ruan Qing be deceived and hurt by those men, which was why he’d taken him and jumped out the window to escape.
Ruan Qing neither accepted nor rejected this explanation, obediently following Cheng Muyun.
Though he hadn’t suffered any major injuries in the nightmare world, the bumps and knocks had left him sore all over. Now that the adrenaline had faded, his entire body ached.
Cheng Muyun wasn’t in much better shape. Ling Qishuo, now insane, had become exponentially more dangerous, and Cheng Muyun had taken quite a few injuries himself. If he hadn’t escaped the nightmare world in time, the two of them might have ended up destroying each other.
Both of them needed a place to rest, so Cheng Muyun took Ruan Qing to an off-campus hotel.
Cheng Muyun checked his phone balance, then blushed and looked at Ruan Qing with some embarrassment. "Uh…"
"Do… do you have any money? I only have enough for one room."
The clothes Cheng Muyun wore weren’t cheap—his watch alone cost over a hundred thousand. Ruan Qing highly suspected the man was lying to him, but he could only shake his head.
"No."
The money the original owner had scammed from Xiao Mingyu was long gone. Lately, he’d been surviving on free rice from the cafeteria, so naturally, he didn’t have any cash to spare.
In the end, they could only book one room, with Cheng Muyun using the leftover money to buy some wound medicine.
Though there was only one room, it had two beds, so it wasn’t too cramped for the two of them.
The only issue was the single bathroom, which made showering a bit inconvenient.
Cheng Muyun blushed and stammered, "Y-you go first. I’ll shower after you’re done."
Ruan Qing gave a slight nod, then gathered his towel and clothes and headed into the bathroom.
The bathroom door was frosted glass, covered in decorative patterns that completely obscured the view inside. Only a vague silhouette could be seen—so blurry that it was impossible to tell what the person was doing. The sounds from the bathroom were also drowned out by the running water.
By now, Cheng Muyun was nothing like his earlier self. The shy, sunny demeanor had vanished, replaced by something predatory and dangerous. His gaze darkened as he stared at the bathroom door, watching for a long, long time—until the sound of water finally stopped.
In the end, he lowered his lashes and closed his eyes, reverting to his previous expression.
The glass door slid open. Ruan Qing stepped out, fully dressed, using his towel to dry his damp hair as he left the bathroom.
"I’m done."
Perhaps because of the hot water and steam, Ruan Qing’s face was slightly flushed. A few strands of wet hair clung to his skin, making him look like a seductive spirit stepping out of a painting.
Just standing there was enough to make someone lose their mind.
Cheng Muyun, who had just regained his composure, froze. His eyes darkened imperceptibly before he feigned flustered panic, ducking his head and clumsily rushing into the bathroom—so fast he nearly slammed into the door.
After Cheng Muyun entered the bathroom, he locked the door behind him and turned on the shower. The sound of rushing water once again drowned out everything else.
Since the previous person had only just left, the bathroom still seemed to carry traces of their presence—their scent, their lingering warmth—and it instantly stirred an inappropriate reaction in Cheng Muyun.
The frosted glass door blocked all outside view. There was no need for him to hide anything now.
With his back to the glass door, Cheng Muyun let the water cascade over his body, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the spot directly beneath the showerhead. It was as if he could see a figure standing there, his dark eyes so intense it was unnerving.
Yet there was nothing beneath the shower at all.
The sound of water masked all noise—both inside the bathroom and beyond it.
"Ring… ring…"
Ruan Qing, who had been drying his hair, froze. He turned toward his phone on the couch, his nerves tightening once again.
The call was from 4444.
But it was still daytime. He shouldn’t be receiving a call from 4444 yet.
The phone kept ringing, insistent, as though it wouldn’t stop until he answered.
After a brief hesitation, Ruan Qing finally picked up the phone and slowly pressed the answer button.
"Mmm… ah… don’t…"
"Nn… unh…"
Familiar, sweet, and breathy moans spilled from the phone—seductive enough to send his heart racing and his blood surging uncontrollably.
Ruan Qing fell silent. As the sounds and breathing grew increasingly erratic, the other end of the call also went quiet.
After nearly half a minute of silence, a low, hoarse voice finally spoke.
"First of all, I’m not gay. I don’t like you, and I have no fantasies about you—because, again, I’m not gay. But your voice is… somewhat pleasant. Not that I like it or anything. That’s not the point. My only duty is to inform you of how you’re going to die. If you don’t listen, you won’t know your fate."
As if worried Ruan Qing might misunderstand, the man on the other end emphasized again, "I was just listening. I don’t enjoy hearing men moan—seriously, I’m not gay. I do this for everyone."
The room was dead silent. The live-stream audience was equally stunned. Due to a sudden bug, they hadn’t been able to hear the sounds from the call—but after the man’s earnest explanation, they instantly pieced together what those muffled noises must have been. The next second, the chat exploded with laughter.
[PFFFT—HAHAHA! Oh my god! Does he even hear himself?! "I’m not gay"? What straight man in his right mind would WANT to listen to another dude moaning?!]
[Dungeon Boss: I swear I’m not gay, I just wanted to hear your moans, that’s all.~ If I could sneak a kiss and get a little panting action, even better.~]
[If you want to listen, then just listen. My wife can’t even get off the phone right now. That explanation of yours is totally unnecessary—plus, it just makes you sound desperate (laugh-cry emoji).]
[You act like this with everyone? Listen to yourself—does that sound believable at all? No one else gets calls from you in broad daylight, and even if they do, all they hear are blood-curdling screams of death, alright?]
Just as Cheng Muyun stepped out of the bathroom, he happened to catch the last part of the man’s sentence—along with the seductive moaning that started up again. He exploded on the spot. Snatching the phone out of Ruan Qing’s hands without even checking the screen, he immediately started cursing into it, using incredibly harsh language.
“You f*cking kidding me? This is harassment, you know that? Your life must be a pathetic mess if you’re calling people like this. And ‘I’m not gay,’ my ass. You sound like some broke-ass, trashy loser!”
The person on the other end clearly wasn’t used to being talked to this way—let alone being cursed out. It took them a long moment before they could squeeze out four words:
“…None of your business.”
Cheng Muyun let out a cold laugh.
“People like you—sewer rats—I can’t stand. Don’t let me find out who you are, or else—”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The call had clearly been hung up.
Cheng Muyun’s entire body radiated fury and danger. He turned toward Ruan Qing with a sharp glare.
“Are you stupid? You get a call like that and you don’t call the police? You just let him harass you like that?”
Seeing Ruan Qing bow his head and obediently take the scolding, Cheng Muyun’s anger eased slightly.
“Whose number was that!?”
Ruan Qing pressed his lips together, then softly replied: “4444.”
Cheng Muyun: “???”
He thought he must have misheard. His voice rose.
“Whose!?”
Ruan Qing quietly repeated: “4444.”
Cheng Muyun: “…” (T/N: Since the Chinese pronounciation for the number "4" sounds like "death or die", it feels like Ruan Qing was cursing Cheng Muyun.)
