The probing questions from Shen Qingqiu and the ambiguous investigation by Chen Kaijie together formed Xiao Muyu’s rough hypothesis regarding the plot of Replica No. 004.
An incident triggered by conflicts among students led to a horrific tragedy, plunging the entire Class 7 of senior year into a curse.
Every time, someone would fall into a nightmare at night and participate in a game. The loser of the game… dies!
Xiao Muyu turned and looked at the windows of the distant classroom of Class 7, where Liu Ya and Lin Xue happened to be sitting next to each other by the window.
The two were chatting at the moment. Xiao Muyu couldn’t hear what Lin Xue was saying, but it made the usually reclusive Liu Ya laugh.
Then Xiao Muyu saw Lin Xue reach out and gently rub Liu Ya’s head, a gesture full of affection and tenderness.
Lin Xue then whispered something into Liu Ya’s ear, and finally, they held hands, creating a harmonious atmosphere that starkly contrasted with the deathly stillness of Class 7.
Xiao Muyu kept watching them, which Shen Qingqiu noticed and looked over too.
“What did you find?”
The two had separated and were now doing their own things again. Xiao Muyu seemed a bit distracted, “It seems that Liu Ya and Lin Xue have a very good relationship.”
Shen Qingqiu watched for a moment, “Yes, they’re very close. They go in and out together, and they even sit together. Very intimate.” Then she asked, “Do you find her suspicious?”
Xiao Muyu nodded, “In this replica, Liu Ya has been drawing my attention far too often.”
Taking a deep breath, she turned to address everyone in the group chat, “Our goals are clear. First, survive the nighttime hunting game. Second, find out what happened during the two police reports at Yuanning High School and how these curses originated.”
“Understood,” replied Su Jin and Chen Kaijie promptly.
The day passed uneventfully. Although Zhang Zhu was previously unruly and didn’t believe in the so-called curse of Class 7, after this incident, he became very obedient, staying within sight of his classmates to avoid any accidents.
Aside from attending classes, Xiao Muyu didn’t say much and seemed quite sullen.
After dinner, Shen Qingqiu, Xiao Muyu, and Zuo Tiantian were walking by the artificial lake. Seeing the pavilion, Zuo Tiantian shuddered and whispered, “How can you dare to walk here?”
Hearing this, Xiao Muyu glanced at the pavilion and the water level, which was exactly the same as in her dream, and her eyes slightly unfocused.
Shen Qingqiu glanced at Xiao Muyu, touched her lips, and smiled like a fox, “Although last night was thrilling, there was another kind of excitement that made me forget the horror of last night.”
Xiao Muyu didn’t respond, just glanced sideways at her and continued to walk with her head down.
Shen Qingqiu, somewhat contemplative, reined in her smile and seriously said, “Is there something bothering you? You’ve seemed distracted all day.”
Xiao Muyu paused in her steps, then nodded after a moment.
Shen Qingqiu sighed, “I know you’re very smart, but three heads are better than one. If you have a problem, talk it over with us instead of keeping it to yourself.”
Xiao Muyu shook her head, “It’s not that. I just can’t figure out what the problem is, so I didn’t tell you because I was afraid of misleading you.”
Zuo Tiantian opened her eyes wide, “How could that be!”
“Zuo Tiantian is right. What you think of as trivial could be a guiding light for us. What are you stuck on?”
Shen Qingqiu’s expression was serious, showing none of the usual frivolity that often left people speechless.
Xiao Muyu wasn’t unwilling to share with them; she just felt that it might be too early to discuss some guesses. Especially with Zuo Tiantian and the others trusting her so much.
“Up to now, all my doubts can be roughly concluded, except for two points that I find confusing.”
Zuo Tiantian was puzzled, but Shen Qingqiu, always paying attention to Xiao Muyu, had a guess, “Is it about the listening materials handed out today?”
Xiao Muyu looked at her with slight surprise and then understanding, “Yes.”
Shen Qingqiu smiled, “Then I probably know what you’re conflicted about.”
Her gray eyes fixed on Xiao Muyu with a touch of softness, “The missing desk and chair on the day Luo Zihao died have been bothering you, and now there’s a missing book.
It’s not unusual for a book to be missing, but when you link these two things together, it becomes a problem, right?”
Xiao Muyu had to admit, no one understood her better than Shen Qingqiu.
“Right, but it all seems too obvious. I feel I shouldn’t jump to conclusions too quickly; it’s not always a good thing.”
Like last night, her hasty assumption nearly got Shen Qingqiu killed. If Su Jin hadn’t intervened, Shen Qingqiu would have been the sacrifice last night. She subconsciously glanced at Shen Qingqiu again.
No one understands the feeling of knowing someone too well, especially someone you like, better than Shen Qingqiu.
Xiao Muyu said a sentence and then looked at her, making Shen Qingqiu understand what she was thinking.
“We’ve faced countless dangers together and survived by relying on your seemingly hasty conclusions. How can one mistake make you afraid to use them?”
Shen Qingqiu looked at Xiao Muyu intently, speaking softly, her tone unusually gentle, a stark contrast to her usual mischievousness.
Xiao Muyu was stunned, not speaking, just shifting her gaze away. She felt exposed again by Shen Qingqiu.
“What’s the big deal? You’re not a god, mistakes are human. Besides, your mistakes are almost negligible,” Zuo Tiantian comforted, noticing Xiao Muyu’s hesitation.
“Xiao Muyu, they aren’t useless. You chose them because you trust them. Taking some risks is part of it. Even if they can’t handle it, I’m here. Be bold, make guesses, take actions. Even if you make mistakes, we’ve got your back.”
“Yeah, Miss Shen is scary enough to spook even ghosts. We’re not pushovers either.”
“Working together, even if you make a wrong call, we can handle it,” Su Jin and Chen Kaijie, who were listening in, voiced their support.
“Thank you.”
Xiao Muyu looked at them, silent for a moment, then simply said two words. But the emotions behind them were clear to all.
“Linking these two events, I have a hypothesis. Luo Zihao’s missing desk and chair could imply that there was a missing set in the classroom, corresponding to the missing book.”
Moreover, the students mentioned that missing books are not a new occurrence, which means it’s not a coincidence. If it keeps happening, the bookkeeper would be cautious, not repeatedly making the same mistake.”
She explained in detail, and Su Jin began to understand Xiao Muyu’s point.
“Do you mean that the number of books is correct, but there’s a mistake with the people?”
Su Jin’s words sent a chill through everyone, making them shiver. The implication was terrifying. Zuo Tiantian felt goosebumps.
Chen Kaijie stammered, “So, Xiao team, you mean there’s an extra person in Class 7? And that person…isn’t human?”
Zuo Tiantian rubbed her arms, feeling a chill. They had encountered ghosts in the replica, but this blending of humans and ghosts was even more terrifying.
Realizing that someone you spend every day with is a ghost, the cause of the deaths around you, is heart-stopping.
“If you’re right, Liu Ya’s suspicion increases significantly,” Shen Qingqiu said, reviewing the students and teachers she had observed, still finding Liu Ya suspicious.
Zuo Tiantian also nodded, “Could Liu Ya really be a ghost?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head, “It’s just a guess. We have no evidence. And Liu Ya is too obvious, which makes me doubt it’s her.”
Su Jin had an idea.
“If you’re right, there’s someone in Class 7 who shouldn’t be there. Since I’m set as a teacher, I should have the student list. Each term’s mid-term and final exam scores are usually kept electronically. I can check for clues.”
Xiao Muyu’s eyes lit up, “Good thinking, Su Jin. Go check.”
Su Jin didn’t delay, heading to the office and opening her computer.
Sure enough, there were score sheets for each term’s monthly, mid-term, and final exams. After a quick look, Su Jin found she only started handling Class 7 in their senior year.
Browsing quickly, she sent the six score sheets for the two terms of senior year to the group.
Xiao Muyu opened the sheets and compared them. Since they entered senior year, no students had transferred in or out of Class 7.
For the first term of senior year, the class had 50 students, including Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu, and Zuo Tiantian.
Shen Qingqiu pointed out, “You’re a real scholar, ranking first, and over 30 points ahead of the second place.”
Xiao Muyu glanced at Shen Qingqiu, then at her scores, noting she was last, and over 30 points behind the second last.
“Same to you.”
Xiao Muyu: “…”
At the end of the term, there were still 50 students, but by the third-month mock exam of the second term, there were only 48.
Xiao Muyu quickly found the names, a boy and a girl, who were among the previously mentioned three dead students.
The sixth score sheet, from the fourth-month mock exam, just over a month ago, showed 47 students, with Luo Zihao still listed.
Xiao Muyu compared them again and again, finally pointing at Liu Ya’s scores on two of the sheets.
From the mid-term of the first term to the end of the term, Liu Ya’s total score plummeted from 598 to 144, making her the last, surpassing Shen Qingqiu.
“What’s going on? Such a drastic drop,” Zuo Tiantian frowned.
“End-of-term exams are usually in mid to late January,” Xiao Muyu said, and everyone thought of the police records Chen Kaijie had mentioned.
“Could it really be Liu Ya? It’s all in January.”
Xiao Muyu was silent, continuing to look at the second term. The whole class’s grades were falling, but Liu Ya’s scores returned to over 570, even improving in the third-month mock exam.
“What about Lin Xue?” Shen Qingqiu suggested.
Xiao Muyu hesitated, then looked for Lin Xue in the list. The names were ordered by scores, making it difficult to find.
She found Lin Xue’s scores for four exams, but had to search twice for her name in the end-of-term sheet.
Xiao Muyu frowned, shaking her head, and looked carefully.
Lin Xue’s scores were above average, consistent with the class’s trend, nothing unusual.
“Lin Xue seems normal,” Su Jin commented, comparing the sheets.
The four students who had accidents showed significant score fluctuations, especially in the January exam, hitting their lowest points.
Six sheets, over forty names in different orders, made it hard to observe.
Xiao Muyu told Su Jin, “Su Jin, do you have a computer? Follow my instructions and import the scores into an Excel sheet.”
Su Jin quickly complied, opening a video call to follow Xiao Muyu’s steps, entering formulas into Excel.
Finally, a functional sheet appeared on the screen, showing a graph of each student’s scores for the six exams.
“Wow, I never knew Excel could do this,” Su Jin marveled.
Shen Qingqiu smiled, “You should see her with a computer; this is just a minor trick.”
Su Jin and the others were impressed. Their team had a real scholar, who solved puzzles in an unexpectedly brilliant way.
Author’s Note: Xiao and Shen are like bickering enemies, one always teasing and the other always retorting. Watching Xiao show off skills and solve puzzles.
