The woman's name was Yang Tian. She had already survived two Games. But her actual skills were average at best. The only reason she had made it through the last two was by using her looks to latch onto the strongest player she could find. In the previous Game, she had attached herself to Sun Heng and lived. And now, in this Game, she had been matched with him again.
At first, Yang Tian thought she had gotten lucky. She wouldn't have to throw herself at another man. But the way Sun Heng looked at Luo Yu made her uneasy. He seemed more interested in her than in Yang Tian herself.
Escape Games were dangerous. Even a veteran like Sun Heng couldn't save everyone without limits. In many situations, saving one person meant letting another die. So when danger struck, Yang Tian had to make sure she was the one Sun Heng chose to save. From that perspective, Luo Yu was nothing but a massive obstacle and a direct threat1.
Yang Tian saw the special treatment Sun Heng gave Luo Yu, and it made her seethe with hatred2. A beautiful woman like Yang Tian was intensely wary of her own kind. And Luo Yu wasn't bad-looking. Fine features. A slender figure. Waist-length black hair. She spoke gently, her eyes glinting softly when she smiled. Yang Tian had noticed her from the very beginning. She had even seen the little commotion Luo Yu caused at the dinner counter before the players gathered.
That only confirmed Yang Tian's suspicion. Luo Yu was just like her. Using her appearance to latch onto others, hoping to survive the Escape Game. Back then, Yang Tian had been secretly pleased that Luo Yu had chosen the wrong target. An NPC at a dinner counter. Ha. Never mind that NPCs in Escape Games were naturally hostile toward players and rarely formed positive relationships. Who knew if that seemingly normal NPC was just a monster in disguise? One wrong step and you would trigger a death flag, getting killed before you knew what hit you.
And in the end, Luo Yu had chosen an NPC at the dinner counter. Those NPCs were always cannon fodder3. What good could they do? In a school-based Escape Game like this, the final boss was bound to be at the principal or teacher level, or at the very least, the head of security. But Yang Tian had no intention of cozying up to NPCs. This was an Escape Game, not a dating sim. NPCs were dangerous. Instead of wasting energy on them, she would be better off holding onto the strong veteran who could actually protect her.
What Yang Tian hadn't expected was for Luo Yu to not only charm an NPC but also catch Sun Heng's attention. Acting all sweet and innocent4, putting on that pure, helpless act5 to stir up a man's protective instincts. Hmph. Don't think that was enough to compete with her.
Yang Tian leaned against Sun Heng, giggling, while inwardly seething. It was fine. Luo Yu was a complete newbie. She wouldn't last more than a few days. And even if she somehow avoided triggering a death flag... ha. Just wait.
Meanwhile, in Classroom 3 of the senior division.
Luo Yu had no idea she had already become a thorn in Yang Tian's side. She was struggling through her evening self-study session. The teacher on duty was the same female teacher who had targeted her during the day. The hostility hadn't let up at all. If anything, it had gotten worse. That vicious-eyed woman seemed to watch only her. The moment her eyes left her workbook, or she spaced out for even a second, the teacher would call her out and scold her as a lazy, bad student.
Luo Yu could feel her standing in the class growing worse by the minute. That was not a good sign. If the entire class turned against her and started shunning her, her situation would become truly dangerous. Could the secret of Qinggang High School be connected to this strange atmosphere?
As she thought about it, Luo Yu's mind started to wander again.
"Luo Yu! I caught you again!" The female teacher barked, louder than before and louder than ever.
Luo Yu jerked her head up. When she saw the teacher's face, a cold sweat broke out across her entire body.
She saw the female teacher smiling.
Her eyes had become two gaping black holes. She grinned, revealing jagged fangs and a blood-red tongue.
"Luo Yu. Since you can't seem to focus no matter what, I'll have to take you to the principal's office."
The teacher's voice was low and eerie, and it seemed to carry some strange power. Luo Yu's limbs no longer obeyed her. They moved as if following the teacher's command, ready to stand up and follow her to the principal's office.
Luo Yu knew, with a gut-wrenching certainty, that if she went to the principal's office, she might never come back out. She fought with every ounce of strength she had. But it wasn't enough. Her legs were already starting to rise on their own.
The teacher's grin stretched wider. A little more to the left.
Was the monster that eager already?
In the classroom, the other students kept their heads down, focused on their work. None of them noticed that their teacher had turned into a monster. The dissonance made Luo Yu's head spin.
Suddenly, an intense sensation of being watched washed over her. The gaze didn't come from the monster's two hollow eye sockets. It came from above.
More than one monster was hunting her.
The realization chilled her to the bone. The monster disguised as the female teacher seemed to need her in the principal's office before it could act. But what about the one above?
Luo Yu could feel it. The pressure from above was stronger than the pressure from the front of the classroom. Much stronger.
What kind of monster was up there?
She didn't remember provoking anyone while she had been away from the classroom.
Luo Yu forced her head up, straining toward the ceiling. In that instant, her gaze passed through the thick concrete above and straight through to the pitch-black sky looming over the school building.
And embedded in that sky.
Was a pair of blood-red pupils.
The moment their gazes met, a searing pain shot through Luo Yu's eyes. She squeezed them shut, but the red pupils had already burned themselves into her mind. They were impossible to erase.
She didn't know how long passed. Seconds? Minutes?
Finally, the blood-red eyes in the sky faded. The crushing pressure dissipated. Luo Yu's whole body went slack, and she sank back into her seat.
What surprised her was that the monster in the classroom hadn't continued its attack. It had reverted to the female teacher's form, standing at the lectern, and it was trembling slightly, as if afraid of something.
Luo Yu had no idea what was going on.
For the rest of the session, the monster didn't bother her.
It wasn't until the bell rang, ending evening self-study, and Luo Yu was swept along in the crowd of students heading to the dorms, that she began to piece things together.
The monster disguised as the teacher had been afraid of the red eyes in the sky.
What were those eyes? Did they have something to do with Qinggang High School's secret? And why had they appeared at just the right moment? Could it be that they were helping her?
Summary:
Yang Tian's jealousy toward Luo Yu intensifies as she watches Sun Heng's attention shift to the newcomer, viewing the gentler woman as a direct threat to her survival strategy. Meanwhile, Luo Yu endures a harrowing evening self-study session where her teacher transforms into a monster with black holes for eyes, attempting to compel her to the principal's office. Just as Luo Yu's resistance falters, a pair of blood-red pupils appears in the sky above, burning into her vision and causing the monster to tremble in fear, leaving Luo Yu questioning whether she has found an ally or something far more ominous.
Trivia:
- Yang Tian has survived two Escape Games by using her beauty to attach herself to powerful male players.
- Yang Tian attached herself to Sun Heng in the previous Game and was matched with him again in this one.
- Luo Yu attracted the female teacher's hostility during the day, and that hostility intensified during evening self-study.
- The female teacher's transformation triggers when Luo Yu cannot focus on her workbook.
- The monster teacher's voice carries a supernatural compulsion that makes Luo Yu's limbs move against her will.
- The other students in the classroom remain completely unaware of their teacher's transformation.
- The red eyes in the sky appear directly above the classroom and seem to frighten the monster teacher into submission.
- Luo Yu's gaze passes through solid concrete to see the sky, suggesting supernatural perception.
- The red eyes cause searing pain when Luo Yu looks directly at them, yet they may have saved her from the monster.
- The monster teacher is visibly trembling after the red eyes fade, indicating fear of whatever is watching from above.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ Literally "a nail in the eye, a thorn in the flesh" – a Chinese idiom meaning a person or thing that one finds extremely irritating or threatening. Translated idiomatically as "a thorn in Yang Tian's side" to preserve the visceral irritation while maintaining natural US English flow at B2 level.
2 ↩ Literally "teeth itching" – a Chinese expression describing intense frustration, anger, or hatred that makes one's teeth ache. Conveys a visceral, almost physical response to irritation. Translated as "seethed with hatred" to capture the simmering anger and physical tension.
3 ↩ Literally "cannon ashes" – a Chinese term meaning expendable people or cannon fodder. Used in military and gaming contexts to describe characters or individuals with no value beyond being sacrificed. Translated idiomatically as "cannon fodder," which has the same meaning in English and is accessible at B2 level.
4 ↩ A reduplicative Chinese expression describing someone who appears obedient, well-behaved, and innocent in an almost performative way. Translated as "sweet and innocent" to capture the performative, somewhat disingenuous quality.
5 ↩ Means "pure and innocent" – used to describe someone who appears untouched and blameless, often in a way that elicits protective instincts from others. Translated as "pure, helpless act" to capture the vulnerability Yang Tian perceives as manipulative.
Notes:
• Yang Tian - A beautiful woman who has survived two previous Escape Games by leveraging her looks to attach herself to powerful male players. She views other attractive women as threats and is intensely jealous of anyone who might divert Sun Heng's attention away from her. Calculating and possessive, she sees Luo Yu as a direct obstacle to her survival and will do whatever it takes to remain Sun Heng's protected favorite.
• Sun Heng - Scar-faced veteran player, survivor of three horror Escape Games. Confident, authoritative, unofficial leader. Gave Luo Yu school rules handbook during night self-study. Information source, not active participant. Yang Tian attached to him previously; his interest in Luo Yu fuels her jealousy. Speaks with calculated authority, subtly predatory toward female players. Claims survival hints and rule knowledge; warns rule-breaking = death. Credibility uncertain, but Luo Yu trusts his warning.
• A - A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R's high school squad.
• B - A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S's group.
• S - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• T - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• Luo Yu - A gentle-voiced woman with waist-length black hair, fine features, and a slender figure. She is a complete newcomer to the Escape Games who unwittingly attracted attention by interacting with an NPC at the dinner counter. Currently struggling through her evening self-study session while being targeted by a monster disguised as her teacher. She is confused, afraid, and beginning to sense that something much larger is watching over her. Female student at Qinggang High. Protagonist who becomes lost in the woods during the escape game. Determined and resourceful, though currently confused by the game's isolating mechanics. Believes she has been targeted by the game system itself. The protagonist and viewpoint character. A student at an abnormal school who has already witnessed a teacher transform into a monster. Currently navigating a fog-shrouded swamp in search of an exit. Practical but prone to romantic distraction when faced with an attractive face. Her desperate hope for survival clashes with her growing suspicion that nothing in this school is what it appears to be.
• N - A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• M - A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.