Behind the thick fog lay a deadly swamp.
In a normal school, students could relax and unwind without worrying about a swamp nearby. Unfortunately, this world was anything but normal.
The moment Luo Yu stepped into the white fog, every nerve in her body went sharp and alert. The damp, cold mist carried the scent of rotting leaves. She could smell it clearly. The ground under her feet was slick and soft.
She moved carefully around the swamp, watching the muddy path and keeping an eye on the fog for any change. The mist drifted like smoke and wrapped around the woods. It swirled and shifted in every direction. The landscape blurred until she couldn't tell which way was forward. Anyone could get lost among the identical scenery and be swallowed by the endless white.
But Luo Yu noticed something different.
Deep in the thickest part of the fog, she saw a light flickering.
It was small. Just a pinprick. A tiny dot. If she hadn't been paying attention, she would have missed it completely. She guessed it might be a flashlight in the distance.
During night self-study, she had secretly flipped through the school rules and student handbook that Sun Heng gave her. The handbook mentioned that security personnel patrolled the small woods twenty-four hours a day. If a student ran into trouble on the grounds, like encountering aggressive wildlife or getting lost, they could ask a guard for help.
Based on that, the light beyond the fog was probably from a Security Guard on patrol.
Luo Yu's heart leaped with excitement.
First, because she had finally found another human in this eerie forest. Second, if she could reach the guard, he could help her find her way out. Then she would make it back to the dorm before curfew.
She hurried toward the light.
But the swamp made progress slow. Even though she moved much faster than before, practically flying by comparison, the distance between her and that glow didn't seem to shrink much.
And the more she walked, the more something felt wrong.
She had been moving for a long time. Even if she couldn't reach the light right away, she should at least see it getting closer and brighter. So why was that faint glow beyond the fog growing more blurred and dim?
A terrible thought surfaced.
What if the light wasn't getting closer at all? What if it was moving away?
That led to an even worse conclusion. The guard with the flashlight was heading in the opposite direction, and he was faster than she was.
She couldn't let that happen.
That guard was her only way out. Determined not to lose him, Luo Yu broke into a run. At this point, she couldn't afford to care about the swamp anymore. She had to seize her only chance.
She ran faster and faster.
Her effort closed the gap slightly. But soon enough, the light grew distant and dim again. Was the guard also speeding up?
She was furious.
What was a security guard running that fast for anyway? Trying to clock out early? That was coming out of his paycheck.
Finally, just as the glow was about to vanish completely, she couldn't hold back anymore.
"Hey, wait up! Someone's lost over here."
At the same moment, the ground gave way under her foot.
She didn't need to look. She knew. She had stepped into the swamp. Worse, because she had been running too fast and too distracted, by the time she realized what was happening, both feet were already sunk in the mud.
Luo Yu's face went pale.
If she had been keeping a positive attitude up until now, the blow after blow of setbacks was starting to wear her down.
She wasn't really going to die here, was she?
The eerie fog. The swamp. The stench of decay. And the cold that seeped into her bones.
She couldn't stop herself from trembling. She suddenly felt so cold. So terribly cold.
She didn't want to die.
Staring blankly down at the swamp swallowing her feet, Luo Yu felt exhausted. But she hadn't given up hope completely. She silently assessed how deep she had sunk and what methods might get her out.
Truth be told, she wasn't confident. But waiting around was certain death. She had to try.
She shifted her right foot. To her relief, it didn't seem too deep. When she pushed, she could feel it starting to lift. But her left foot seemed to be sinking deeper in response.
Now what?
She stopped moving.
Just then, a flood of light swept across her vision.
Luo Yu looked up, drawn by the brightness, and instantly realized what it meant.
The guard.
Her shout had been heard. The security guard had turned back with his flashlight. Now he stood not far away on a patch of dry ground. The light was so bright it hurt her eyes. She could make out his silhouette but not his face.
"Hello..." Luo Yu waved and called out with relief.
But her joy didn't last long. A darker thought crept in.
She remembered the Female Teacher in the classroom and how she had turned into a monster.
In this school, things that looked human weren't always human. So why should this security guard be any different? What if he was a monster too?
After all, a normal guard who saw a student stuck in a swamp wouldn't just stand there in silence and stare, would they?
Luo Yu fell quiet. Her caution returned.
This time, the guard moved. He lowered the flashlight and let his face emerge from the glare. And he smiled.
"Excuse me," he said. "Can I help you with something?"
"You, you're not..."
Luo Yu couldn't believe her eyes.
The man in the black uniform with a flashlight in his hand, the one standing across the swamp, was the same worker she had seen at the steamed bun window during dinner. So he worked security on the side?
She relaxed immediately.
She couldn't feel wary around someone who looked like that. Even in the darkness, he seemed to glow, like some tall, radiant god stepping down from the heavens. He radiated endless reassurance.
"Sorry, I'm lost," Luo Yu said, scratching the back of her hand awkwardly. "Could you point me back to the dorms?"
What should follow now was a classic scene. The handsome security guard escorting the lost female student safely home.
She had to admit she was kind of looking forward to it.
But the man completely ignored her. His eyes glinted with amusement as he studied her. Then his gaze sharpened, and a flash of red light passed across his pupils.
Luo Yu suddenly lost control of her body.
Horrified, she realized that under his watchful gaze, her feet moved forward on their own, step by step, while the rest of her sank deeper into the mire.
Summary:
Luo Yu chases a flickering light through a fog-shrouded swamp, desperate to find a security guard who can guide her back before curfew, but the light keeps moving away and she sinks into the mud. When the guard finally returns and reveals himself as the handsome steamed bun window worker, she lets her guard down completely - only to discover he can control her body with a flash of red light, forcing her deeper into the swamp. The chapter ends with Luo Yu losing all autonomy, her attraction to his beautiful face having doomed her to a trap she never saw coming.
Trivia:
- The security guard is the same person who served Luo Yu steamed buns at dinner.
- The fog is described as actively shifting and blurring the landscape, suggesting it may be supernatural.
- Luo Yu remembers the female teacher transforming into a monster, which primes her suspicion.
- The handbook explicitly mentions 24-hour security patrols, giving Luo Yu a reason to trust the light.
- The light behaves unnaturally, moving away despite her running toward it.
- The guard's red-glowing eyes appear immediately before Luo Yu loses control of her body.
- Luo Yu's left foot sinks deeper when she tries to lift her right foot, suggesting the swamp is actively trapping her.
- The guard's divine description ("radiant god stepping down from the heavens") directly contrasts with his evil actions.
- The "classic scene" trope is acknowledged but subverted when the guard ignores her request.
- Luo Yu's romantic distraction is explicitly framed as her fatal flaw in this encounter.
Notes:
• B - A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S's 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.
• 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.
• A - A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R's high school squad.
• 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.
• 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.