Chapter 248: Online Dating Scam (XI)
Under the pressure of more than a dozen gazes, Guo Guo quickly imagined in his mind: If it was Tang Xinjue standing here at this moment, what would she do next after proposing the bet?
——Wealth and honor are achieved through risk.
Thinking of this, Guo Guo calmed down and said something calmly in his mind, but when he spoke, he turned into a timid voice:
"...Well, first, tell me what the punishment is."
The girls whispered for a moment and gave this answer:
"If you lose, you have to use your social media account to help us scold the scammers."
This sounds very normal, and at first glance there is nothing dangerous about it, but it makes Guo Guo even more alert.
There are no dangerous requirements, will the NPC who almost has "bad intentions" written on his face let them do it?
Moreover, Guo Guo still remembered that when they just entered the dungeon yesterday, one of the requests this group of people made to Zheng Wanqing was the same - even if they were determined to scold the liar to vent their anger, why did they have to use 606's hand to do this?
She asked: "There is no network signal in this building. How can I contact the scammers through social software?"
"That's your own business." The girls said with a smile, "But if you win, you can get a chance to skip evening self-study once - just this once."
"Of course, you have to tell me who else among us had an accident last night besides poor classmate Xiao Huan. Any missing word will be considered a mistake."
"So, are you sure you want to bet?"
Guo Guo gritted his teeth: "Bet."
Then, she followed her memory from last night and said the names of the "accident victims" one by one:
"Lian Rui, Feng Wei... Gao Wanwan."
These are the people whose complaint forms showed mutations during the five hours from curfew to 12 o'clock.
"are you sure?"
The girls stared at her.
Guo Guo's forehead was covered with sweat, and his brain was rapidly recalling every scene that happened last night, afraid that he would miss anything.
After all, just a few hours ago, she and the other members of 606 only regarded the changes in the complaint forms as some information revealed by the NPC under the dungeon rules, rather than some kind of death list.
The air grew cold again. The sweat that had just seeped out of his back quickly evaporated. Guo Guo's skin broke out in goose bumps, and his heart pounded under the dense gazes of the room.
——This was the first time she took the initiative to negotiate with NPCs, even alone.
Before this, this high-risk task had always been completed by Tang Xinjue.
It wasn't until she actually stood in this position that she truly understood the magnitude of the mental ordeal she would endure in just a few seconds:
What if she guessed wrong?
What if her sudden flash of reasoning went wrong?
In this 50% risk, if she loses, will she be able to bear the consequences of failure?
If her teammates were implicated because of her own judgment and impulsiveness, would she be able to make amends?
Countless questions popped up in Guo Guo's head as her mind raced. She subconsciously turned her head to glance at Tang Xin Jue, then quickly turned back and pursed her lips as she said,
"I'm sure."
After a few seconds of silence, the corners of the girls' upturned lips turned cold.
"Congratulations, you got it right."
The room's temperature returned to normal. Guo Guo finally breathed a sigh of relief, not even wiping the sweat off his face before asking, "I won. How do I redeem my reward? What should I do if I don't attend evening study?"
Faced with a series of questions, the leading girl rolled her eyes and said dissatisfiedly, "Redeem rewards? Do you think we're NPCs? As for the specific procedures, can we tell you in advance? You'll know when the time comes."
After saying that, before Guo Guo could react, they instantly returned to their anxious "normal state" and hurriedly pulled Guo Tang and the other two to see the scene where the other girls were murdered.
Walking in the narrow corridor, Tang Xinjue asked Guo Guo why he took the risk just now.
"I remember you weren't like that," she said.
Guo Guo shrugged and asked, "Do you remember what you said to me during the two days of training before entering this dungeon?"
Tang Xin Jue frowned: "The scope and difficulty of this question are a bit too high."
Guo Guo: "The other day I asked you, why is it that with you who has such strong mental power, Wanqing who has such strong defense, and Sister You who is as meticulous as a hair, a magic support like me with poor physical foundation can't develop in a single direction? I also need to practice mental power, combat, and strategy?"
"You ask me back: In an extremely difficult dungeon, we need to work together and fight through every level to get through it, escaping death. Is this good luck or bad luck?"
Tang Xinjue thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "I remember now. You said at the time that no one would be more unlucky than us."
Guo Guo smiled and said, "Of course I would answer that. But you told me the opposite, which shows that we are very lucky."
She read out Tang Xin Jue's original words word for word:
"In one dungeon, there's me and Wanqing, who excel at damage, and you and Zhang You, who excel at support. There's someone to cover for unexpected events, someone to turn the tide in desperate situations, and someone always standing by to support you. Isn't this a perfect combination?
But in real-world dangers, especially in dungeons filled with traps, we often don't get such an idealized environment. One day, you might not have Zhang You, Wan Qing—maybe even me.
The scene in Guo Guo's memory emerged before her eyes. Tang Xinjue helped her adjust her helmet, his eyes calm and reassuring: "By then, we will be alone, but we must also be everyone. And then, persevere to the end."
Guo Guo followed the crowd and stopped at the door of another dormitory. Her thoughts returned to reality. She turned to look at Tang Xinjue, "Now that you and Wanqing are both injured, and Sister You can't take care of everyone alone, I'm going to make a bold choice. If anything goes wrong, I hope you won't blame me when we get back."
Tang Xin Jue smiled back, "How could that be? You've made great progress, and I'm very happy."
…
The second "scene of the incident" was Gao Wanwan's dormitory. Compared to the previous victim who jumped from the balcony, her room was much bloodier and more terrifying:
Her legs were still standing straight in front of the sink, but her upper body was buried in the sink, her neck was stuck in the drain, and her head was not visible.
"We believe she drowned in the water because she was depressed. But after she died, for some unknown reason, her head was sucked into the sewer. It's so pitiful."
The girls shook their heads and sighed.
Guo Guo: “…”
It would have been fine if the last person who jumped off the building was committing suicide, but for this one, is there really such a difficult way of committing suicide in the world?
As for why her head could strangely be stuffed into the sewer after she died... She couldn't help but think of how Zhang You mercilessly flushed the appeal form down the drain last night, and took a step back guiltily.
"Well, Gao is indeed very pitiful. Did she leave any last words? Or did she have any roommates?"
"None." Sun Miao shook his head. "There are very few juniors in this building. The only ones who can be considered familiar with her are you and Song Rong."
Song Rong was not among the crowd, so they only stared at Guo Guo.
"Then why did she commit suicide?" Tang Xinjue suddenly asked, "The amount of money she was defrauded of wasn't that large. If she was feeling down, she could have just talked to a couple of friends. But she chose such an extreme approach. Isn't that suspicious?"
The girls' expressions suddenly changed. "What do you mean? Are you blaming the victim? Just because the amount of money you were scammed wasn't much, you can't be sad and depressed? Just because you have friends around, you can't have a breakdown and commit suicide? Who made that rule? You two?"
Guo Guo: “…”
Seeing that the atmosphere was not good, she decisively shifted the blame: "It has nothing to do with me, she said it all by herself!"
Tang Xin Jue, who was instantly separated from him, said: "..."
Fortunately, the girls' attitudes only deteriorated, and they didn't continue to rage. They even insisted on showing them around the dormitories of the other two victims. Similar to Gao Wanwan, the "cause of death" of these two girls was highly similar to what appeared on the complaint form last night:
One fell headfirst from the top bunk onto the floor, and the other banged his head against the window until it broke.
Guo Guo didn't find any useful information in their dormitory. Everyone refused to reveal anything, only telling her that the school would send someone to collect the complaint form today, and then they dispersed.
After returning to dormitory 404 exhausted, Guo Guo recounted everything to Zhang You.
"Will the school come to collect the complaint form?"
Zhang You pondered for a moment, then picked up the complaint forms and examined them one by one. Just as Guo Guo had suspected, the form belonging to the girl named Xiao Huan, like the other three from last night, had begun to seep with black liquid, which soon dissolved and disappeared.
"So, what we know now is: First, students who encounter accidents due to various reasons during the day do not necessarily die." Zhang You concluded.
Just like Sun Miao, who jumped off the building in front of them the day before and came back unharmed the next day.
"Second, the student whose complaint form turns into black liquid will definitely die."
In addition, I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but these students who “committed suicide” had seen them directly or indirectly the night before.
"Third, the curfew is after 7pm. Between 7pm and midnight, there will be harassment similar to the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, but the lethality is not high. The real danger is after midnight, when an unidentified figure will enter our dormitory and choose one person to attack."
When attacked, they will temporarily lose all ability to move, without even a chance to resist , and will jump directly to the next morning.
"Fourth, there have been many cases of headless ghosts in the school. In order to stop students from talking about this, they arranged [evening self-study] specifically for students to discipline us."
At this point, Zhang You changed the subject: "Guoguo, the reward you said you got was a chance to skip evening self-study, right?"
Guo Guo nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
"That means we'll definitely be forced to attend evening self-study classes sometime sooner or later." Zhang You's eyes were stern behind his glasses. "If it's anytime soon, it might even be today."
Guo Guo understood: "Before that, the school will send someone to pick up the appeal form... This is the opportunity we must seize!"
