PTYS Chapter 87

Zuo Tiantian smiled faintly after hearing Su Jin’s comment. “That’s true, but don’t you think Miss Shen is actually afraid of Captain Xiao? So, if Captain Xiao truly didn’t like her behavior, she probably wouldn’t act this way.”

Su Jin’s eyes brightened. “Do you think so too? I feel like our captain is cold on the outside but warm inside, while Miss Shen is the opposite. Even though Captain Xiao always seems to be annoyed with Miss Shen, when something happens, he gets more anxious than anyone.”

As Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian were chatting, Shen Qingqiu suddenly sneezed, startling several students in the classroom, who quickly looked at her.

When they realized it was just Shen Qingqiu sneezing, they turned back, still shaken.

It seemed they were genuinely frightened; even the slightest disturbance alarmed them.

Xiao Muyu also glanced over, his eyes questioning. Shen Qingqiu waved her hand and then looked down to see a message from Xiao Muyu.

“Did you catch a cold?”

Shen Qingqiu felt a sweetness in her heart and quickly replied: “No, I just sneezed suddenly.”

After reading the message, Xiao Muyu still looked her over. He had chosen her clothes, so she shouldn’t be cold.

But he was worried she might have gotten chilled since she was injured yesterday and spent so long in the water.

Shen Qingqiu knew Xiao Muyu was looking at her, smiled, and typed again: “Are you worried about me?”

Xiao Muyu: “No.”

Shen Qingqiu: “Everyone can see it clearly, it’s obvious you are.”

Xiao Muyu: “You are too much trouble.”

Shen Qingqiu: “How am I trouble?”

Xiao Muyu scrolled up, pursed his lips, and sent a message: “You know it yourself, now let’s talk about serious matters.”

She had been acting less like herself recently. In the past, she would never have chatted with Shen Qingqiu about such trivial things at a time like this.

Shen Qingqiu was overly clever. Once she sensed Xiao Muyu’s leniency, she would push her limits.

Xiao Muyu quickly refocused her thoughts, which had been disrupted by Shen Qingqiu’s sneeze.

Seeing no response from Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu peeked at her, smiling, but didn’t disturb her further.

She wasn’t foolish when it came to important matters. Sitting in the back row, she couldn’t see the students’ expressions but could observe their small movements.

Most students were in a daze, reading like mechanical recorders. Only a few kept glancing at her and Xiao Muyu, clearly wanting to ask questions but too afraid to do so.

Suddenly, Xiao Muyu moved. Shen Qingqiu saw a new message from her.

Xiao Muyu: “I suddenly thought of a possibility. Chen Kaijie might not be unrelated to Class 7. He could be within Class 7’s scope. Last night, he wasn’t selected, so he didn’t enter the instance.”

Shen Qingqiu replied with three words: “It’s possible.”

Xiao Muyu: “Another question, why are Class 7’s students, and even teachers, cursed?”

This was an easy-to-overlook question. They hadn’t considered it deeply because it was obvious that Class 7 was cursed. They focused on how Class 7 students got cursed.

But they hadn’t considered why Class 7’s students and teachers were cursed in the first place.

Instance 004 had already hinted that logic was still in play. Given the logical setup, the curse on Class 7 must have a reasonable explanation. Why not Class 8 or the entire Yuanning High School?

Other teachers and the principal seemed anxious but not as lifeless as Class 7’s teachers.

Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian fell into deep thought, staring at the issue.

Shen Qingqiu: “The students I interrogated don’t know why Class 7 is cursed. There’s no reason in their memories.

“This instance task requires exploration, and the completion conditions are unknown. But the system said that passing the instance requires two conditions: staying alive and completing the task. The task is likely related to the reason Class 7 is cursed.”

Su Jin, Zuo Tiantian, and Chen Kaijie: “Agreed!”

Xiao Muyu: “It seems this is a deliberate setup by the system. They are cursed but don’t know why.

“However, while memories can be forgotten, objective evidence will leave traces. We need to find these traces.

“Also, those included in the curse must be related to the reason for the curse. Based on my previous assumption, if you, Chen Kaijie, are also a target of the curse, you must be connected to the cause of the curse on Class 7.

“So, how could a police officer be connected to a school or its students within his jurisdiction?”

Su Jin: “Brother Chen, do you have any other identities besides being a police officer?”

Chen Kaijie: “No.”

At this point, Chen Kaijie frowned deeply, got up, dressed, and began recalling the information he gathered yesterday, trying to find any clues.

Xiao Muyu: “If you have no other identity, the most common connection between a police officer and civilians is through cases.”

Chen Kaijie paused, “Cases?”

Chen Kaijie: “Do you mean the cases of those students dying accidentally?”

Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu: “No.”

Both sent the message almost simultaneously. Xiao Muyu paused, and Shen Qingqiu quickly sent a “you first” emoji.

Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but laugh internally. This woman knew everything but liked to stay in the background and listen.

Xiao Muyu: “The accidental deaths are just the result of the curse. Chen Kaijie, use your position to check if any students from Class 7 in senior high school have filed any police reports.

“It doesn’t have to be an official case; even small disputes or conflicts involving the police should be checked. It might not be just this year, but also previous years.”

Shen Qingqiu: “If you find nothing, you can also check the parents and neighbors using your position.”

With their suggestions, Chen Kaijie, Su Jin, and Zuo Tiantian understood. Campus incidents weren’t new. Adolescents were immature and egocentric, which could easily lead to tragic outcomes.

Class 7 of senior high school likely didn’t escape such issues. Following this lead might reveal the truth.

After the morning exercises, Yuanning High School had to do radio gymnastics. Once completed, others gradually arrived.

As the classroom filled up, leaving only two empty seats, no one could stay calm. Finally, someone couldn’t help but ask the students who just entered.

“Did you have a dream last night? Did you enter it too?”

The question was asked in a suppressed tone, not loud, but everyone in the classroom heard it and looked at the two students.

One of the questioned students was Huang Meng. Her face was pale with heavy dark circles, indicating poor mental health. Her reactions were slow, and after a while, she nodded.

“Who was it?”

“Zhang… Zhang Zhu,” Huang Meng’s voice trembled as she said Zhang Zhu’s name. Her memories of last night’s dream were blurry, but the fear was clear, especially Zhang Zhu’s screams when found.

She couldn’t continue, trembling on her desk.

No one spoke, each looking down at their books. No one comforted her because no one had the right. Sooner or later, it would be their turn.

Zhang Zhu was the last to enter the classroom. When he came in, the students were unusually silent.

They all looked at Zhang Zhu with undisguised sympathy and sorrow. Xiao Muyu glanced at the boy who had lost his edge, then focused on the two girls on her right, Liu Ya and Lin Xue.

Lin Xue behaved like the others, watching Zhang Zhu. Liu Ya, next to her, glanced at Zhang Zhu with a cold smile, then continued her doodling, seemingly uninterested.

Liu Ya’s abnormality was noticed by not only Xiao Muyu but also Shen Qingqiu and Zuo Tiantian.

But it made sense. They had only been in this class for a day and could already tell Zhang Zhu bullied Liu Ya, so it was normal for Liu Ya to feel relieved at his misfortune.

Not only Zhang Zhu, but other students also treated Liu Ya coldly. Apart from Lin Xue, no one seemed to interact with her.

In the cafeteria, Zuo Tiantian, Xiao Muyu, and Shen Qingqiu sat together, away from Class 7 students, discussing in low voices while eating.

“Did you notice anything unusual?” Zuo Tiantian asked, looking around while eating a bun.

“Liu Ya is strange,” Xiao Muyu said, sipping porridge.

“Yes, her expressions are odd. She doesn’t seem to have friends in Class 7 except for her deskmate. I saw four people had conflicts with her yesterday, though they were one-sided,” Shen Qingqiu said, peeling a tea egg with skill.

Her focused expression and dexterous fingers made the task look almost elegant. She cracked the shell, rolled the egg, and peeled it in a circular motion, making the shell come off smoothly, her manner reminiscent of undressing.

Xiao Muyu watched, thinking even peeling an egg could be seductive if done by Shen Qingqiu.

“Our guess might be correct. If the issue in Class 7 is bullying, leading to retaliation, then Liu Ya is very suspicious,” Zuo Tiantian frowned, feeling something was off.

“If the retaliation was caused by bullying, the punishment is excessive. It’s not just retribution but a massacre, disproportionate to the crime.

“This seems less like a curse and more like a haunting. Reviewing previous instances, except for the purely mechanical 002, the vengeful spirits in other instances had reasons for killing. I don’t think this instance would arbitrarily set vengeful spirits to kill.”

While Xiao Muyu was talking, Shen Qingqiu placed the peeled egg white in front of her.

Xiao Muyu was momentarily stunned, then looked at Shen Qingqiu with a complex expression.

Zuo Tiantian was also surprised. Shen Qingqiu, deep in thought about Xiao Muyu’s words, said, “So if bullying led to extreme suffering or even death for someone, that person might have turned into a vengeful spirit. The red-clad ghost you saw, Muyu, could be responsible.”

Zuo Tiantian nodded repeatedly. “If such a serious incident occurred, Chen should investigate police records, which might provide clues.”

Xiao Muyu nodded, absentmindedly eating the egg white Shen Qingqiu gave her.

She disliked eating egg yolks, a habit she rarely mentioned, known to few.

How did Shen Qingqiu naturally separate the yolk and give her the white?

Xiao Muyu frowned slightly. Shen Qingqiu was always a distraction, yet she couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know I don’t like egg yolks?”

Shen Qingqiu looked surprised, then at the yolk in her bowl, and finally smiled. “I don’t like egg whites.”

“Uh…” Xiao Muyu was speechless. So because Shen Qingqiu disliked egg whites, she assumed Xiao Muyu must dislike yolks?

“I don’t like egg whites; you don’t like egg yolks. We’re a perfect match.”

This logic, no wonder it could stump the system.

Zuo Tiantian looked around, then focused on eating, not wanting to interrupt.

Author’s Note: This is a transitional chapter with reasoning. What’s the next game to be played?