The players set out with high spirits, but their midday exploration yielded little progress.
Aside from confirming that certain Teachers might be problematic, they had no other clues to help solve the mystery.
Information gathering hit a wall. Every Student in the school had turned into learning machines, ignoring the players' attempts at conversation completely.
As for locations that might hold important clues—like the school's Office Building—the players were quickly discovered and chased out by Security Guards the moment they tried to get close.
The Security Guard was fierce, warning that if there was a next time, he'd report the players to their homeroom teachers for Demerits.
And the players knew—a "Demerit" here wouldn't just be a mark on a file or a School-wide Criticism. It would be something far worse.
With every action met with failure, the players couldn't help feeling discouraged.
"Damn it. We can't do anything. We're completely in the dark—isn't this just waiting to die?" one player muttered.
"What the hell is wrong with this stupid school? Everyone here is like a zombie. You couldn't get a word out of them with a crowbar. All they do is study, study, study..." another added.
"Look, I know there are a lot of rules, but honestly, this school doesn't seem that dangerous. How about we just stop exploring and focus on surviving the seven days?" Mr. Short backed away nervously.
Sun Heng cut him off: "Newbie, don't underestimate this Escape Game. It's not going to let you off easy."
"Exactly," Yang Tian chimed in with a sugary voice, her tone almost teasing. "Don't let the calm of the first day fool you. If you ask me, if we're not careful, people are going to start dying tonight~"
Mr. Short's face went pale. His fingers twitched spasmodically, and then he suddenly exploded:
"All of this is just your guesses anyway! You're making this place sound so dangerous just so everyone will follow your orders, aren't you?!"
"Back when we went to the Office Building, you made the new players go first! I got caught by the Security Guard because of you—I almost got a Demerit!" he continued, his voice rising to a snarl.
He glared at Sun Heng: "You can boss whoever you want around, but I'm done! I'm out!"
Cursing under his breath, Mr. Short stumbled back several steps, positioning himself outside the player team that had gathered around Sun Heng.
Sun Heng watched him coldly, showing no intention of stopping him: "Fine. If you want to leave, then leave."
He swept his gaze across the other players: "Anyone else who wants out, feel free to go now. I won't say a word."
Hearing this, some players in the group began to waver.
Before long—including the freckled girl from that morning—four or five players had drifted over to Mr. Short's side.
Luo Yu noticed that Mr. Fatty who'd been timid earlier, then suddenly changed his tune, hadn't left. He stayed with Sun Heng's group.
Yang Tian's expression soured: "What a bunch of ungrateful rats. Bro Sun, you're way too nice to them."
Sun Heng gave an indifferent smile and casually slipped his arm around Yang Tian's waist as she leaned into him: "It's fine. Keeping them around would've just held us back anyway."
"Bro Sun is right," Yang Tian shot Luo Yu a defiant glance, then let out a saccharine laugh as she pressed against Sun Heng.
…Okay, flirting with a guy is one thing. But why did she have to look at me? Luo Yu wondered.
Luo Yu shuddered.
Ugh. That honestly grossed her out.
And so, the two groups of players parted ways—with no love lost between them.
Sun Heng, for his part, didn't feel like he'd lost anything or that his pride had taken a hit.
Letting those players go had actually been part of his plan.
Generally speaking, players had two ways of gathering information in a game.
The first was active exploration—collecting data from the environment or from NPCs.
The second was simply waiting. As time passed, the game's environment would naturally undergo changes, revealing key information in the process.
With their exploration blocked and no breakthrough in sight, they had no choice but to wait for those changes to bring information to them.
Of course, the game wouldn't hand over information for free.
Changes meant… danger.
The further along they went, the deeper those changes would become—and the more dangerous the players' situation would grow.
If he was right, people would start dying tonight. Compared to experienced players, it would be the disorganized, cowardly newbies who'd be more likely to die first under the Game Rules.
And from those deaths, they could extract critical information about the game.
After all, what was an Escape Game if not sometimes pushed forward by the players' own deaths?
* * *
On the other side, Mr. Short—having left Sun Heng's group—felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.
He'd been fed up with Sun Heng for a while now.
Bossing everyone around just because he'd survived a few games. And making others take on those dangerous missions…
Hmph. Dangerous?
He didn't see what was so dangerous about this game.
The worst part of an Escape Game was not knowing the death rules—accidentally triggering something and dying without even understanding why.
But now? He already knew the death rule from Sun Heng.
School Rules.
As long as he followed the School Rules and stayed careful, he'd definitely survive these seven days.
Nothing happened that afternoon.
At dinner, Mr. Short made a point of not sitting with Sun Heng's group.
But during evening self-study, something happened that left him shaken… The freckled girl was dead.
She'd been in his class—sickly-looking, low energy, always appearing exhausted.
That morning, she'd fallen asleep during class and gotten chewed out by the homeroom teacher.
Anyone else would have been extra careful after that—making sure not to make the same mistake twice. But during evening self-study, that girl fell asleep again!
The homeroom teacher was furious and called her out.
But Mr. Short noticed something—the corner of the teacher's mouth twisted into a distorted, greedy smile.
The girl was taken to the Principal's Office for criticism.
At first, he didn't think much of it. But not long after, he heard a scream echoing from the hallway—coming from the direction of the Principal's Office!
The scream was clear and unmistakable. Yet the Students around him acted like they hadn't heard a thing, heads buried in their books, studying like machines.
Cold sweat poured down his back. He sat there, restless and uneasy, waiting… but the only person who came back was the homeroom teacher.
And the "teacher's" mouth still had bits of flesh and blood smeared around the corners, barely wiped clean!
Holy—holy shit. This homeroom teacher was definitely a monster.
It was all that girl's fault for not paying attention in class. He wouldn't be as stupid as her. He'd follow the School Rules. He'd study hard.
Trembling, Mr. Short flipped open his textbook and put on a show of studying earnestly.
The homeroom teacher threw a few malicious glances his way, but didn't cause him any trouble.
When class finally ended, he couldn't stand it a moment longer. He bolted out of the classroom like his life depended on it.
Shaken to his core, all he wanted was to get back to the dorm and sleep. But on his way there, another player—Mr. Fatty—called out to him.
* * *
Meanwhile, Mr. Short - who'd split from the group - was buddying up with Mr. Fatty.
"Fatty, thanks to you I'd be lost. I honestly didn't know what to do!" Mr. Short said.
Mr. Fatty chuckled. "Don't mention it. Us new players have to look out for each other, right?"
"You have no idea - when I saw that monster eat someone, I was terrified. After talking with you, I finally calmed down," Mr. Short continued.
Mr. Fatty kept his eyes on Mr. Short with a grin. "It's nothing. We're almost there. Let's hurry up."
"Yeah, yeah." Mr. Short picked up the pace.
"Honestly, you're the man! You've got serious guts - tricking that Sun Heng's whole team, gathering info, and still remembering us newbies," Mr. Short continued, flattering him as they walked.
Mr. Short had been wary of Mr. Fatty at first. He figured the guy was just Sun Heng's errand boy, and coming to him out of nowhere probably meant trouble.
But Mr. Fatty wasn't nearly as simple as he looked. On the surface, he played along with Sun Heng. Behind the scenes, he had his own plans.
Like this time - he'd told Mr. Short he'd found what looked like a way out of the game, and wanted to bring him along to check it out.
Mr. Short had jumped at the chance.
If the escape point was real, he could leave the game early. If it was fake, he'd just be wasting his time - no real harm done.
Besides, Mr. Fatty said the exit was on the dormitory roof. He'd already confirmed it - going up there didn't violate any school rules.
They finally reached the rooftop.
Mr. Short looked around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"So, Fatty - where's the exit?" Mr. Short asked.
Mr. Fatty couldn't be lying to him, could he? But if he was, what did he gain from it?
Mr. Fatty didn't answer.
Mr. Short saw him staring straight ahead, a strange smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It sent a chill down his spine - it reminded him of that monster in the classroom, the one that had eaten the freckled girl.
"Fatty... what are you..." Mr. Short took a step back.
Mr. Fatty turned to the side. Behind him, another figure emerged.
"No! That's - that's not right! How is she here?! She's not - " Mr. Short exclaimed, backing away in terror.
"You're not... you're not the Fatty..." he whispered.
A short, choked scream rang out across the rooftop.
Mr. Short crumpled to the ground. Completely still.
* * *
Meanwhile, Luo Yu returned to her dorm.
It was a four-person room, but only the girl who'd woken her up that morning was there.
The girl leaned in mysteriously, casting a wary glance at the two empty bunks, then whispered to Luo Yu:
"Luo Yu… don't you feel like something's off about this school?"
Summary:
Sun Heng's player faction fractures as Mr. Short leads a splinter group away, believing the school's rules can be easily followed. Meanwhile, the freckled girl dies during evening self-study after falling asleep twice, revealing the homeroom teacher to be a monstrous killer. As Mr. Short flees in terror, Luo Yu's dormmate shares a growing sense of wrongness about the school.
Trivia:
- Sun Heng's strategy explicitly relies on player deaths to reveal game information, making him dangerously calculating.
- The freckled girl's death occurs because she broke the School Rules twice by falling asleep in class.
- The homeroom teacher is physically confirmed as a monster, with flesh and blood on her mouth after the killing.
- Mr. Fatty unexpectedly stays with Sun Heng's group despite his earlier timid behavior.
- The security guard's threats are serious enough that players fear Demerits as lethal punishments.
- Only Sun Heng's group and Mr. Short's splinter faction remain separated after the midday split.
- The school's students ignore all player interactions, behaving like machines obsessed with studying.
- Luo Yu notices Mr. Fatty's change of heart but does not comment on it directly.
Notes:
• 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.
• S - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• B - A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S's group.
• 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.
• Sun Heng - Scar-faced veteran leader of the main player faction. Pragmatic and calculating, uses other players as disposable assets. Previously had Yang Tian attached, his interest in Luo Yu fuels her jealousy. Subtly predatory toward female players, gave Luo Yu a rules handbook, warns rule-breaking = death. 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.
• Yang Tian - A beautiful woman who survived two Escape Games by leveraging her looks to attach to powerful players. Aligned with Sun Heng, she shares a class with him and acts as his vocal supporter. Calculating and possessive, she views Luo Yu as a threat, displaying hostility and jealousy. Flirtatious and sharp-tongued, she taunts others to assert her position.
• Luo Yu - A female player inserted into the game world. Tasked with uncovering the school's mysteries. Possesses keen observational skills and analytical thinking. Shows empathy but remains pragmatic about survival. At the time of this chapter, she has already encountered a teacher-monster and survived an attack, leading her to understand the game's true threat. A female player trapped in the Escape Game at Qinggang High. Has lost her memory of events prior to her arrival. Must either uncover the school's secret or survive seven days. Physically slender and not particularly strong. A hopeless sucker for beautiful faces, she cannot bring herself to hate someone attractive even when they're trying to kill her. Maintains a self-deprecating, wry sense of humor even in mortal danger. A player who observes rather than leads. She notices the subtleties in group dynamics and feels mildly disgusted by Yang Tian's showy behavior. Quiet and perceptive. Female protagonist trapped in the Escape Game. A high school student with a bold, flirtatious streak, she is drawn to the handsome cashier without understanding why. Currently suffering from memory loss regarding the previous night's events. Appears carefree but is observant of the school's oppressive atmosphere.
• K - A student from East Middle who followed N to National High School out of care, successfully remaining pure through N's protection until a misunderstanding involving Anonymous Student 0008 led to her capitulation.
• R - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.