Chapter 250: Online Dating Scam Record (Thirtee
Despite Guo Guo and Zhang You's efforts, Shi Qingqing's emotions remained uncontrollable, and she remained on the verge of collapse. In desperation, they could only take her back to Dormitory 101.
What’s interesting is that when the two stood outside the dormitory door and knocked, the tightly closed wooden door didn’t move at all, only dust fell with the knocks, as if the building had been abandoned for who knows how many years.
And the moment Shi Qingqing was replaced, an indescribable subtle change instantly overcame. The door returned to its normal clean state and was opened with a creaking sound.
"Qingqing? You're back!"
It was Li Qi who opened the door. Her sharp eyes froze for a moment, and she unexpectedly opened the door wide. Seeing Zhang You and Guo Guo following behind her, she immediately understood what was going on.
"Thank you , otherwise I would have to go out and look for her again."
She was holding a coat in her hand, which just wrapped around the shivering Shi Qingqing, who gradually calmed down.
Guo Guo took the opportunity to ask, "Can we go in for a while?"
Li Qi understood and nodded, "Of course, you guys are a big help. Come in."
Whether it was because Li Qi had tidied the room again, or because Shi Qingqing hadn't been there much, Dormitory 101 was noticeably cleaner than it had been yesterday afternoon. However, the yellow paper that had been torn from the window yesterday still hadn't been restored to its original state, exposing large swaths of black and white newspaper. Shi Qingqing glanced at it and, as if deeply irritated, dove into her bed and refused to come out.
Under this situation, communication would be extremely difficult - Guo and Zhang looked at each other and decided to use Li Qi as the entry point.
Li Qi seemed to know what they were going to ask and said directly, "She's been like this ever since I moved in. She was doing much better recently. We just had to keep an eye on her at night and in the early morning to make sure she didn't get lost. But ever since the fraud case, especially after we were locked in the building yesterday, she's been so upset that her condition has deteriorated again. If you ask her now, it's probably going to be hard to get the answers you want."
Zhang You caught a detail from this conversation: "...Since you moved in?"
"Oh, I forgot you didn't know." Li Qi answered frankly: "I took a leave of absence from school for a while and just recently returned to school. Shi Qingqing is my first and only roommate."
Zhang You and Guo Guo's thoughts moved slightly.
Shi Qingqing was stimulated after the headless ghost incident. In other words, judging from the timeline, Li Qi had not experienced the headless ghost incident, so...
They both said in unison: "Have you ever attended evening self-study?"
The girl thought for a moment and said, "No."
Guo Guo immediately asked, "Have you ever been attacked?"
Li Qi frowned: "What attack?"
Guo Guo gestured with his hands: "Is it the one that appears after midnight and may make people age? Anyway, it's very painful! Everyone is terrified, but no one knows who the attacker is-"
Li Qi's frown deepened, and finally she shook her head decisively: "I haven't heard of it."
Guo Guo: “?!”
Wait? Why didn't Li Qi get "punished" for not attending evening self-study classes?
With doubts, five minutes later, the few of them completely figured out the timeline.
Li Qi "returned to school" a month ago, just as the headless ghost stories were about to die down and the scams were just beginning. This also explains why Li Qi's reaction to the newspaper content yesterday was completely different from Song Rong's - she had no psychological trauma at all, so naturally she was not afraid at all.
But when we calculate this way, a question becomes increasingly obvious:
According to Li Zeya, the punisher would only stop when all students had received the "education" during evening self-study and kept silent. But seeing Li Qi, who was not shy about the headless case, it was obvious that she did not meet this condition. How could she still be safe and sound?
[Given the school's relentless pursuit of the case, they wouldn't let it go just because there's only one fish that slipped through the net.]
In the spiritual connection, Zhang You expressed his own analysis.
Zheng Wanqing's somewhat weak voice rang out: "So, at least one of them is lying."
So the question now is:
Who is lying?
These were the only two NPCs who showed a positive attitude towards them, and they didn't want to offend them at this moment. Guo Guo was racking her brains to recall what she would say if Tang Xinjue was standing here, but was suddenly brought back to reality by Li Qi's voice:
"I don't know what you're up to, or what questions or concerns you have about me. But I advise you to just say whatever you want to say—otherwise, it might be too late."
Li Qi turned her head toward the window and through the gaps in the torn newspaper, she could vaguely see a figure approaching the dormitory building.
The school staff are here!
Looking at Li Qi's somewhat blurred silhouette against the backlight, an inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over Guo Guo once again. In a moment of inexplicable impulse and anxiety, she actually blurted out all her questions. She even mentioned how Zheng Wanqing had been attacked last night and how her life was in danger today.
“Guoguo!”
Zhang You grabbed her.
Even without his roommate reminding him, Guo Guo knew he had said too much.
Revealing too much information to NPCs, especially information related to the safety of the team, is undoubtedly a dangerous act. If Li Qi's friendliness and sense of security are just some kind of exceptionally clever disguise, it could lead to unpredictable losses.
Furthermore, whether it was Li Qi or Li Zeya's "normality", it was only relative to the other, more bizarre students. To be fair, there had never been a completely normal NPC in this dungeon, nor could there be one.
——If we have to count, perhaps only Shi Qingqing, who was driven crazy, is truly a "normal person".
Looking at Li Qi again, the girl's expression still didn't change much. She just nodded thoughtfully: "I see... I understand. I'll help you keep an eye on it."
At this moment, there was a noise coming from the dormitory building's main entrance. Even from this distance, it was clear that it was the voices of several adult men.
The school staff have arrived.
Even though he had prepared himself mentally, when he actually saw the NPC in front of him, Guo Guo's hair stood on end and he almost took a step back.
Zhang You's hand held her back firmly. His palm brought a suitable temperature, which was different from the scorching heat of the blood jade pendant, but it had a more reassuring power.
This calmed her down and she handed over the complaint form.
The person who took the form was a thin and short middle-aged man with yellow spots on his face. He quickly scanned the paper with his eyes, and then immediately turned to the other two men in a flattering manner: one was a man wearing glasses and had a smiling beer belly; the other was an elderly man in a black Zhongshan suit, with a serious expression and meticulously dressed.
The youngest man with yellow spots exchanged glances with the two men, then looked back at the complaint form with disdain and disgust: "What is this?"
Zhang You said calmly, "This is what you just asked for directly."
Yellow-spotted man: "..."
"Oh—" He raised his eyebrows sarcastically. "Is this what you guys, claiming to be dissatisfied with the school's investigation results and refusing to comply with school regulations, finally organized for several days and tinkered with on your own? Huh?"
A stack of papers was thrown back fiercely:
"It's a piece of garbage!"
Amidst the flying papers, the man with glasses and a beer belly slowly spoke:
"Students, you are already adults. This is a university, not a nine-year compulsory education system, nor is it a place for you to throw tantrums. The school has given you the opportunity to give feedback. At the very least, you must follow the rules and procedures and submit the relevant..." He glanced at the paper on the ground: "...organize the documents. This will make it easier for the school to review and approve them, and not waste the leaders' time. Do you understand?"
Just as 606 had worried from the beginning, the man really seized on the incompleteness of the complaint form and started to make a fuss about it. He talked about everything from personal ability to personality, to the school's rules and reputation. In the end, the core answer was just one:
Not accepted.
Zhang You picked up the discarded complaint forms one by one from the ground. Regardless of whether his blood pressure was rising like Guo Guo's, he remained calm on the outside.
"I don't agree with your point of view."
"Even if there are many students who were harmed, are the opinions of these 13 people unimportant and worthless? So, with tens of thousands of students on this school, and even fewer teachers and administrators, can we say your opinions are unimportant and can be vetoed?"
"On the contrary, even if there's only one form, even if only one student has a complaint, the school has the responsibility and obligation to accept it and resolve it. Furthermore, your so-called rules and procedures are exactly one of the issues we're trying to address. How can you still use them to constrain us?"
"You!" The yellow-spotted man flew into a rage. "You're making unreasonable arguments! You have no respect for your leader!"
Guo Guo: "You are throwing things around, it's impolite!"
If the other party's oppression and malice were not too obvious, she would even want to speak a few more points on Zhang You's behalf, at least say more than the man with glasses and beer belly.
But Guo Guo still had to stop. At the same time, Zhang You could see beads of sweat on her temples: being able to improvise these two sentences in a short time was already her limit.
Even though some of his requests were rejected, the man with glasses and a beer belly wasn't particularly upset. A smile seemed to be printed on his face. "Well, let's put it another way. Even if we accept your appeal, what do you want? Are you going to force the school to protest by refusing food or drink if your demands aren't met?"
…??? You’re the ones who locked us up here!!
Guo Guo wanted to retort, but his throat was so sticky that he couldn't make a sound.
In other words, some specific sounds can no longer be made.
The facts reminded them that these were not only three unpleasant school teachers, but also extremely powerful ghosts.
It was as if there was an invisible rule restricting them. Every seemingly normal conversation took a lot of effort to say. And the more direct the rebuttal and denial, the more energy was consumed - even if it was just a simple "no",
This terrifying internal energy consumption was manifested in outward fear and a stuttering. From the perspective of an ordinary person, it seemed as if two inarticulate students were facing three experienced school leaders, mumbling and unable to answer under their questioning.
During the mental connection, Guo Guo regretted for the first time not bringing Tang Xinjue and Zheng Wanqing down with him. If the four of them shared the pressure evenly, the space for laning would definitely be increased a lot.
"They must be using some kind of technique to force you to speak and act according to the rules. If you get caught by them, these conversations will definitely become traps later. Don't let them drag you out; take action when necessary!"
Although Zheng Wanqing was anxious, she couldn't rush over immediately and could only remind him remotely.
Zhang You: [Okay.]
Although they are currently unable to clearly understand the ghost's intentions, this hypocritical admonition combined with the silent battle makes the ominous premonition stronger with every second.
Seeing the two students' "acquiescence," the man with glasses and a beer belly smiled even more broadly. "The school has worked so hard to train you, but you're acting so unreasonably. It's really disheartening to the teachers. It seems the school's regular education isn't enough. How about this? Tonight, in the First Teaching Building, our Head of Moral Education will personally give you evening self-study!"
"…Have there been any progress in the fraud investigation?"
Zhang You finally spoke up, but instead of directly refuting, he shifted the topic. "The scammers haven't been caught, our appeals haven't received any response, and victims are dying in accidents one after another...and you're trying to educate us? Who's going to bear these risks?"
She changed the subject and made a request: "We need physical protection from the school."
The continuous extended questions and turns of phrase rendered Beer Belly's prepared responses useless. His facial expression froze for a rare moment until the serious elderly man next to him coughed. He then reluctantly gave up the conversation and changed his words:
"Of course the school is concerned about your safety, but this is a turbulent time, and there are too many issues to deal with. The teachers are unable to cope. At most, we can dispatch two security guards to ensure order in the dormitory building during the day. You should also be more considerate of the school and stop making unreasonable demands."
...Wait, this statement can be refuted!
Zhang You's eyes lit up, and he grasped the logical flaw in the words and was about to refute them when another sharp female voice suddenly interrupted:
"Are you kidding me?"
They were all startled, only to find Li Qi standing at the corridor exit, arms folded, brow furrowed. "Four people died in this building last night, and you told me to maintain order during the day? What? Are you afraid that those who died at night will escape during the day?"
The three middle-aged men didn't expect to be interrupted so suddenly. They were caught off guard and froze for two seconds before hastily sending her away: "What do you know! I've already told you to be considerate of the school..."
"I refuse." Li Qi interrupted directly: "What do you mean by sympathy? Sympathy for you for shielding a fraudster, sympathy for you for shirking your responsibilities, sympathy for you for not giving me food or drink, sympathy for you for scaring my only roommate into a fool?"
The series of retorts not only stunned the school, but also made Guo and Guo look at each other in surprise:
When Li Qi spoke, he was not restricted by those strange rules!
The man with glasses and a beer belly flushed red as he pointed at her with a trembling hand: "You, you have no respect for discipline, no respect for leadership..."
"The last school that emphasized discipline every day was my high school. Later, during another health inspection, everyone from top to bottom was expelled."
Li Qi said coldly, "You guys can't do this or that. I have a better suggestion. Why don't you just stop doing it and let someone who has more time take charge?"
