Playing the Foolish Beauty in a Deadly Game - Chapter 55
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- Chapter 55 - You Deceived Me Again, Nelson
Lin Qiao was unaware and also found it very strange why the female teacher would pass messages to the sacrifices. “If we can figure out what she wants to convey, we can understand her purpose,” Lin Qiao eventually focused on the news as a breakthrough, but unfortunately, the reports pasted behind the paintings were incomplete.
Nelson, thinking that investigating the reports was a waste of time, boldly suggested, “Let’s try to guess blindly. Everyone does things for a motive or purpose.”
“What do you think the female teacher is trying to achieve?” Considering the female teacher’s identity as an evil spirit, her purpose was either to harm people or to convey some kind of message. Lin Qiao believed it was the latter. As for ghosts conveying messages, there were two types. One was to pass on information about themselves, revealing their own grievances. The other was to uncover the truth of the matter, exposing the true face of the other party.
Lin Qiao’s expression was still puzzled, and he couldn’t understand: “Both types are very strange. What help can a sacrifice be?”
“Under what circumstances would ghosts seek help from their food…” When Lin Qiao said this, his guess became clearer. It was either due to conflicting interests or when they were in danger and needed the sacrifice.
“Consuming the sacrifice can increase energy, which is clearly not the case. If it were, they wouldn’t be hiding but would come out to eat people.”
“I remember that NPCs in this world can’t interfere with live-streaming matters, but we just deduced that they are monitoring all players’ live-streams.” As a result, even if the live-stream audience wanted to tell the players something, they couldn’t openly say it in the chat but had to hint subtly.
“Nelson,” Lin Qiao confirmed the current situation: “The NPCs are here, and the Church and humans are using the players to clean up the haunted site at Dawn Middle School, No. 458 Chaotian Road.”
“But they can’t be discovered by the players, or rather, they can’t be captured by the players’ live-streams, which is why they are avoiding us.”
“Could it be that the female teacher wants us to discover other NPCs to protect the other ghosts in the school?”
Lin Qiao looked up in confusion. He couldn’t think of it. He felt so stupid: “It doesn’t seem like it. The female teacher was actually warning us that ghosts are not trustworthy and should not be sympathized with.”
However, apart from the female teacher’s words, the other guesses explained why the art studio and the music classroom, which were clearly very dangerous, had become inexplicably safe, with not a single ghost in sight. Most likely, the NPCs had dealt with them. In the art studio, they even knew to clean up the dust and leave no footprints. In the music classroom, Lin Qiao and the others had arrived suddenly, and the NPCs had left in a panic.
The evil spirits in the live-stream mostly gathered here. The representatives of the Church and humans learned from the live-stream that the group was coming here, so they evacuated the surrounding residents to make room for Lin Qiao and the others. One reason was to avoid involving others, and the other was to seize a good opportunity.
So many players gathered together for an outdoor live-stream was a first in the history of the scenario game. Their combined likes must have attracted quite a few evil spirits. It would be a pity not to capture all the evil spirits in this situation.
Most importantly, “Dawn Middle School, No. 458 Chaotian Road” was impossible to detect on ordinary days. Any camera that went in would be blocked and interfered with by an unknown magnetic field, making it impossible to see the inside clearly. People couldn’t just go in without caution. However, the players were unaffected, and the live-stream lens was always on. The representatives of the Church and humans could monitor the situation in the players’ live-streams and use the live-stream to figure out the situation at Dawn Middle School.
Moreover, the evil spirits were attracted by the players’ likes and had little interest in the NPCs, reducing their harmfulness. It seemed like an opportunity not to be missed for a roundup!
After realizing this, Lin Qiao naturally didn’t want to stay any longer. His protection value was already too high and had mutated. If the Church discovered it, that would be disastrous.
The human representative in charge of this operation also noticed something unusual. They were indeed using this live-stream for a roundup. Since it was their first attempt, they were very nervous and not very skilled. If this roundup succeeded, they could entice players to “gamble” with live-streams every year when the sacrifices came.
The combat-suited personnel were reporting the situation, and the Pet Church also sent two representatives to cooperate.
“Only Dao Zhang and Bian Yi are live-streaming now. The others’ live-streams are all turned off.”
“Qiao Jiang and Nelson have already noticed something unusual. Will we be discovered?”
The human representative reassured his subordinates: “Even if they discover it, it’s okay. Lin Qiao, as a civilian, will understand our actions. Moreover, what we’re doing is also to ease the burden on the players.”
“However, Lin Qiao disguising himself as a player and mixing into the sacrifices is a good method. This method can be used every time the sacrifices come.”
The representative of the Woof Woof Church was the girl who had given Lin Qiao the dog: “Lin Qiao has realized that ghosts have different levels, and some ghosts are trying to convey messages to them.”
“How interesting,” the Woof Woof Church girl’s eyes were bright: “Number 08 should be able to protect Lin Qiao well. He is the most outstanding enforcer in the law enforcement team.”
“Why did Number 08 take a liking to Lin Qiao? He has such excellent genes, but they can’t be passed on. It would be great if Lin Qiao could have babies.”
The representative of the Meow Meow Church was a young man in a vest suit, looking like a butler’s uniform, with very good demeanor: “Our young master also chose Lin Qiao. It would be great if Lin Qiao were a player. The way they stick together, our young master would definitely become human.”
The black cat by Lin Qiao’s side was the representative of the Meow Meow Church’s young master. However, the other party was reluctant to turn into a human. Last year, it was barely arranged by the Meow Meow Church to be by a player’s side, but it almost got disemboweled.
The reason was that the black cat didn’t provide any protection value for that player, not even when it was hurt, it didn’t provide any emotion of fear.
When the Meow Meow Church was about to give up, the black cat actively chose Lin Qiao. Even though Lin Qiao was not a sacrifice, the entire Meow Meow Church was very happy.
The Woof Woof Church representative next to them felt uncomfortable with the hat on, so she took it off, revealing a pair of dog ears.
Looking at the hat, her face changed. She was first stunned, then surprised, followed by joy and restraint.
Finally, she looked at Lin Qiao on the screen wearing a hat and said with a smile: “The representative of the Meow Meow Church, what did you just say?”
The Meow Meow Church representative kindly repeated: “I said it would be great if Mr. Lin Qiao were a sacrifice. Then our young master would become human, no less than your Number 08.”
The Woof Woof Church representative laughed out loud. She stood up, walked back and forth with her hands behind her back: “I remember there was a very high-level female ghost in this school, wearing a yellow mask. Why hasn’t she appeared yet?”
The human representative was puzzled and immediately switched to the live-stream video, then paused the live-stream on Dao Zhang’s interface: “Here it is. It’s really strange. This female ghost is very fond of handsome men. Why didn’t she go after Nelson and instead went to catch the Taoist?”
The representative of the Meow Meow Church spoke up: “There’s a class in this school full of orphans. The teacher wanted to convey what happened back then. Lin Qiao guessed wrong.”
The representative of the Woof Woof Church sighed: “Nelson is misleading him with ill intentions.”
The human representative did not deny it: “That’s correct. This school has had many newsworthy incidents with severe repercussions.”
“At that time, the relationship between pets and humans was in chaos. There was a female teacher at this school who caught a couple of students in a compromising situation in the middle of the night. The boy, fearing expulsion, claimed that the girl had seduced him.”
“But the girl was also ruthless. She had someone beat up her boyfriend in the restroom, and the hired thug accidentally killed him.”
“Later, the girl became quite radical. She stole equipment from the lab, started a fire, and caused the death of a firefighter. That’s when the school began to be haunted.”
“At its worst, she retaliated and killed a class of students who had no parents.”
The human representative was very angry at this point: “The impact at the time was extremely negative. People accused our government of sacrificing a group of parentless children to quell the haunting incidents.”
“It was only after an investigation that we discovered it was the female ghost seeking revenge. The teacher of the deceased students was the one who had initially found the ghost cavorting around.”
The human representative suddenly realized something: “So it was that teacher warning Lin Qiao about the female ghost. If that’s the case, then it wasn’t the female teacher guiding Lin Qiao to discover us…”
The representative of the Woof Woof Church shrugged: “That’s what I’ve been saying, Nelson has been misleading Lin Qiao all along.”
“From splitting up to going to the art studio and the music classroom, if Lin Qiao hadn’t gone to the teaching building just now but had gone to the dormitory building first, he probably would have run into our people.”
The representative of the Woof Woof Church, though she looked like a young girl, was not to be underestimated. As a dog, her mind was as cunning as a fox’s: “Why is Nelson so insistent on having Lin Qiao meet our people? Poor little Lin Qiao is being toyed with.”
Before long, the representative of the Woof Woof Church found the answer she was looking for.
In the video, Dao Zhang was holding a duster. They had just come out of the cafeteria when a female ghost wearing a yellow mask appeared, holding a person in her hand.
Dao Zhang stopped and stared at her, narrowing his eyes: “Is that a ghost? The person she’s holding is… Nelson?!”
Bian Yi’s face turned pale, but he was also secretly delighted: “No way, the top-liked person is dead?”
He quickly checked the rankings. If there was an opening in the top five, wouldn’t that give the rest of them a chance?
But Nelson’s name was still at the top. Had Nelson not died but just been captured by the ghost?
Dao Zhang let out a sigh of relief: “It’s a paper figure. She’s holding a paper figure.”
Bian Yi was puzzled: “Why would she hold a paper figure?”
Dao Zhang hesitated, then said: “Take a look at Happy Sè Sè Paper扎Shop.”
Bian Yi scrolled through the live-streams and found the shop, which wasn’t broadcasting but had comments from people who had bought items.
“This Nelson paper figure is really well-made. The abs are all there, and the waist is strong. Buying two gives double the joy.”
“Why does my Qiao Qiao wife only have 800 likes? Does she think my Qiao is not good enough?”
“Strongly recommend the Lin Qiao cat-ear limited edition. It meows when it’s being… you know, and it has ghost detection. Highly recommended!”
Bian Yi was speechless. This paper figure shop was really good at business.
Dao Zhang cleared his throat: “The female ghost has a yellow face. This is probably what they call a ‘yellow-faced ghost,’ which means she’s a lecherous spirit.”
“If she catches you, your chastity might not be safe. You wouldn’t want to be raped by a ghost, would you? Make some disgusting gestures to make her lose her appetite.”
Bian Yi naturally didn’t want to be taken by a ghost, but when he looked up, he saw the female ghost with the yellow mask sneer contemptuously at Dao Zhang’s words and then vanish on the spot.
Well, it seemed the ghost didn’t fancy them.
Dao Zhang stroked his beard: “Maybe I’m just too ugly for her.”
In just one encounter, Bian Yi’s protection value plummeted from the remaining three hundred to one hundred, showing how strong the yellow ghost had been.
Bian Yi’s ranking in likes moved up to fifteenth, but there were still ten people ahead of him.
He became more and more anxious, and a voice whispered in his ear again: “Didn’t I tell you that you need to do something to change the current situation?”
“The opportunity is here. Now, say it in your live-stream: Lin Qiao is not a player. Lin Qiao has turned into a cat.”
“Don’t you feel wronged? He’s clearly not a player, yet he’s occupying the position of a player. You can only have one cat or one dog, but he has two pets at the same time.”
“He’s cheating. It’s unfair, unfair, unfair…”
The nagging voice kept ringing in his ear, drilling into his mind even when he covered his ears.
Dao Zhang noticed Bian Yi’s odd behavior and slapped him on the shoulder, snapping him out of it.
Dao Zhang said: “You’ve been possessed by a ghost, which is why your protection value dropped so fast. I don’t suggest we continue. Let’s retreat.”
Bian Yi, however, didn’t think there was a problem: “I haven’t been possessed. Hey, bro, do you know that Lin Qiao is not a player? And he turned into a cat himself.”
“He has two pets, while we only have one. The protection value he gets is double. This is unfair to us. How can the game allow such an unfair thing to happen?”
Dao Zhang held the duster in his hand: “How could Lin Qiao not be a player… turning into a cat, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Upon closer reflection, Dao Zhang realized something was off. The NPCs here wouldn’t censor information about the horror game, and they were highly adaptable.
Dao Zhang defended: “As for having two pets, you see, killing other pets gives you protection value. Similarly, if you go out to feed stray cats and dogs, doing good for both kinds of animals, wouldn’t that also give you protection value?”
Bian Yi’s face turned even paler. He listened to something with his ear, then suddenly spoke with delight: “But other players killing their own pets doesn’t change their faction, and being kind to both cats and dogs doesn’t change factions either.”
“Lin Qiao was initially assigned two types of pets. He doesn’t have a faction.”
“Or he belongs to both factions. No matter which faction kills him, they can get protection value. He’ll be killed today or tomorrow anyway. So…”
Dao Zhang slapped Bian Yi on the forehead again with the duster, the more he spoke, the more absurd it became: “Listen to yourself. Isn’t it contradictory? If Lin Qiao is not a player, killing him is like killing an NPC, not an enemy player. How could you get protection value?”
“One moment you say he’s not a player, the next you say he can be killed by both factions. Don’t you think that’s a problem?”
“I think this evil spirit is instigating us to fight among ourselves. Today, I’m going to put an end to you!”
Dao Zhang swung the duster at Bian Yi, who uncontrollably dodged. His protection value instantly dropped to zero, and his body twisted in an eerie manner.
Bian Yi faced Dao Zhang, but his limbs were running backward. Bian Yi was conscious, but he couldn’t control his body. The voices in his ears changed from nagging to laughter.
It seemed that something had grown on the back of Bian Yi’s head, tearing at his scalp.
“Help, save me!” he cried out loudly, being dragged away by the white face that had appeared behind his head. His entire body was forcibly bent 180 degrees, upside down.
Dao Zhang glanced at Bian Yi occasionally while chasing, and his scalp tingled. Bian Yi’s head kept spinning, as if deliberately looking back.
However, it was the back of his head that was turning back, and not just one face had grown on the back of his head.
Without a word, Dao Zhang swung his duster. The direction of the two people’s struggle was heading straight for the dormitory building.
Bian Yi’s words played on the screen of the human representative as if they were true. The human representative sent someone to check Lin Qiao’s information and found that Lin Qiao indeed had no trace of living in this world.
Realizing that something was not right, the representatives prepared to investigate. The best way was to bring Lin Qiao and question him personally.
However, the “Best Streamer Competition” was currently Lin Qiao’s protection. If the other party was really a player, being captured by NPCs would be equivalent to NPCs breaking the game rules.
“Not a player, but turned into a cat? Is that true? How could an ordinary civilian turn into a cat?” The human representative did not believe it.
The representative of the Woof Woof Church then shook the communicator and spoke: “We’ve already sent our team to check on him. Watching him surrounded by a group of small animals without taking action does not count as breaking the game rules.”
“Moreover, Number 08 has been with him for so long; he should be able to see some flaws. I’ll have his companion ask him.”
The representative of the Meow Meow Church was a step slower, and after realizing something, he slapped his thigh and got up, saying: “The Meow Meow Church has important matters to attend to. I’ll leave first.”
The Woof Woof Church representative sneered, convinced that the other party was going back to warn someone.
At the same time, Lin Qiao’s protection value and likes began to soar. Without broadcasting, the scene was eerie.
The Doberman seemed to smell something and made a decisive move, signaling Lin Qiao to leave quickly. The black cat was a bit anxious and restless, wanting to turn into a human but having to endure it.
Lin Qiao saw from a distance that the gate they had come through had turned into a wall, and the green ghost that had appeared in Class 4 was guarding it.
The Doberman wanted to rush over but was stopped by Nelson: “If we fight, it will waste time. Although I don’t know what you’re nervous about, you probably don’t want to attract anything else, do you?”
Then Nelson added: “Brother, I think I hear barking, as if it’s coming from downstairs.”
“Let’s go around the experimental building along the corridor and hide in the dormitory.”
“When I was wandering around the campus during the day, I noticed that a part of the fence behind the dormitory building had collapsed. We can climb over from there.”
The black cat bit Lin Qiao’s trouser leg, trying to stop him from doing this. However, Lin Qiao rubbed the cat’s head and surprisingly agreed: “Okay.”
The black cat was so angry that it almost turned into a human, but the Doberman slapped its head down.
Yatagarasu’s calico cat had no worries and was fast asleep on the head of the Czech wolf dog.
Nelson’s Czech wolf dog followed behind the Doberman, occasionally sniffing and showing a puzzled look in its eyes.
However, it seemed to sense danger and howled as a warning, only to find that the Doberman remained silent.
Lin Qiao became quite docile, being led by Nelson towards the dormitory building. They walked for a long time but didn’t leave the teaching building.
Nelson felt that Lin Qiao was too quiet, so he took the initiative to ask: “Brother, why have you suddenly stopped talking?”
Lin Qiao glanced at the live-stream ranking, looked up, and smiled softly: “My likes and protection value are both increasing.”
Nelson, like a well-behaved child who had eaten candy, said: “Congratulations, brother. You’ll be number one soon.”
Lin Qiao’s beautiful eyelashes trembled as he lowered his eyes: “If we can survive this game scenario, the likes and emotional values we gain will be converted into corresponding points.”
“My original goal was to be number one because the points for being number one are the highest.”
“But among the top five, the safest is not the first place…”
After the passing line is announced, players who are eliminated will not die immediately but will linger on.
However, they won’t last long. The ghosts, attracted by the players’ high likes, can’t help but devour the players.
The maintainers of this scenario world, namely the human NPCs and the Pet Church, will also attack players who have been eliminated.
This is because eliminated players are unstable factors that need to be removed from the scenario world.
“After the final passing line is announced, the ultimate top five will be generated. I wonder what will happen then.”
“The sacrifices are naturally meant to be enjoyed by the ghosts. How could there not be time for enjoyment? So I guess there will be another escape.”
“The eliminated players will dodge the ghosts’ pursuit while desperately trying to kill the players ahead of them.”
“The ghosts will be attracted to players with high likes, and players with high protection values will be kept by the Church.”
Nelson still held Lin Qiao’s hand tightly. His hand was dry and warm, especially comforting in the cold night.
After passing the pillar they had walked by three times again, Lin Qiao stopped and broke free from Nelson’s hand: “What’s in the dormitory building?”
“I don’t know.” Suddenly he laughed: “Brother really tells me all the clues.”
He counted on his fingers: “Reminding me about the high likes, telling me to pay attention to the colors of the ghosts, and now you’ve told me what will happen at the end of the scenario.”
Nelson sighed, holding his hair: “I don’t know how to thank brother.”
Lin Qiao took the calico cat from the head of the Czech wolf dog and placed it on the ground.
The calico cat’s fur was all fluffed up, and the black cat and the Doberman were also alerting something at the end of the corridor.
Lin Qiao took out the exorcism gun he had exchanged and raised it tremblingly: “No matter what’s in the dormitory, it has come now.”
As Lin Qiao’s words fell, footsteps came from the end of the corridor, and a woman wearing a yellow mask walked gracefully.
She hummed an unknown tune, followed by a group of ghosts with white face masks.
Nelson stretched and took the initiative to walk towards the yellow-masked female ghost.
Nelson went over and affectionately kissed her. He seemed to have changed his face, smiling flirtatiously: “He is the one. Look how nervous those dogs downstairs are.”
Even Nelson’s adopted Czech wolf dog was bewildered. Lin Qiao suddenly remembered the female teacher’s words. At that time, he thought she was talking to him, but he didn’t expect that she was warning Nelson.
This guy had colluded with the female ghost. Perhaps this outdoor live-stream, this entire action, was all planned by Nelson.
Lin Qiao gradually understood. No wonder he was misled when mentioning the reports behind the easels, no wonder it was always Nelson who was guiding the way, no wonder the other audience members were called to Class 4 for some group slap.
The yellow-masked female ghost and Nelson worked together inside and out, using Dao Zhang’s hand to deal with the ghosts who came to join the fun.
It was probably that the “tampered water” was not a problem from the beginning, and Yatagarasu was deliberately sent away by Nelson.