Chapter 17 Another Death

Hearing Hu Xiaotian’s question, Zhang Xiaofan sneered, “Everyone’s got their own clever plans. Although Shen Fengxing’s analysis seems reasonable, there are too many flaws. If we recklessly accuse Xu Hong, what if she isn’t the killer?”

The thought made Hu Xiaotian’s face pale. He said, “I understand. If Xu Hong isn’t the killer and we falsely accuse her, she’ll die.”

“Exactly. The rules in the red envelope group say that everyone has only one chance to make an accusation. If you accuse the wrong person, you die. So unless someone is absolutely sure, no one dares to point fingers,” Zhang Xiaofan continued. Suddenly, a scream echoed from the classroom, and a group of first-year students huddled around a frail boy who had collapsed, his eyes vacant.

“There’s a dead person! Someone’s dead!” His friends shrieked.

The deceased had once followed Chen Delong; after that night searching for and killing Su Qianqian in the game, this group had joined the red envelope group as well.

Zhang Xiaofan didn’t know the boy’s name, but when he went over to look, the death was just like Ma Biao’s—no visible wounds.

“The killer has struck again,” Hu Xiaotian said gravely.

“This time, right under our noses.” Zhang Xiaofan felt the weight in his heart. The killer was too mysterious; when striking, it was as if neither gods nor ghosts had noticed. There was no way to defend against such a threat.

While he pondered, Zhu Kai dragged the weakened and dazed Xu Hong into the classroom. Xu Hong looked miserable—her cheeks swollen from blows, her body covered in bruises, her shoulder seemingly shattered and collapsed. She couldn’t even cry out now, her eyes empty and fixed on the floor.

After entering, Song Feng quietly told Zhu Kai about the death. Zhu Kai responded coldly, “Looks like no one dares to accuse Xu Hong. Then I’ll kill her myself. She admitted it earlier anyway.”

Without waiting for anyone to respond, he stabbed her. Xu Hong, already gravely injured, succumbed easily. But after a long wait, Bao Lei gave no indication that the game was cleared, leaving everyone staring at each other in confusion.

“So Xu Hong… wasn’t the killer after all.”

“I’m guessing she was. If not, Bao Lei would have told us we passed the game.”

“I told you she wasn’t. She was out just now, and someone died here. It couldn’t have been her.”

“Who knows. The killer’s abilities are so mysterious. What if Xu Hong could split herself or something?”

“Yeah, that’s possible.”

“Damn, Zhu Kai is ruthless. He kills without blinking,” Hu Xiaotian muttered under his breath.

Zhang Xiaofan said, “He’s always been reckless. Besides, most people in this classroom have killed someone now. It’s hardly surprising.”

“The killer is still hiding among us. For now, I do have a suspect.” Zhu Kai, having cleaned the blood from his hands, strode to the podium with a fierce glare. “Wang Hu is still hiding somewhere in the school. I suspect he’s the killer. I’m ordering everyone to go find him. Once you do, report immediately. We must eliminate him.”

With a sweeping gesture, Zhu Kai left, taking Chen Jing with him. Chen Jing now followed him everywhere.

Hu Xiaotian cursed quietly, “Isn’t he just taking the chance to get rid of threats?”

“There’s not much he can do. In this class, only Wang Hu and the killer threaten him, so he’ll deal with Wang Hu first.” Zhang Xiaofan’s gaze shifted to Murong Feng. The situation was dire—on one side, the killer lurked among the students; on the other, Zhu Kai stirred chaos, slaughtering classmates at will. He couldn’t just sit back.

He walked toward Murong Feng, who was, as always, absorbed in the novel ‘Netherworld Live’. Zhang Xiaofan wished he could snatch the phone and see what was so fascinating.

“Murong Feng, you seem pretty unconcerned. Aren’t you afraid the killer will target you?” Zhang Xiaofan said angrily.

“Xiaofan, I’ve always thought highly of you; why are you losing your composure so quickly?” Murong Feng replied calmly.

“Murong Feng, once the killer gets used to his abilities, he’ll target strong ones like you first. Aren’t you worried at all?”

“I know that. But what good does worrying do?” Murong Feng shrugged, closed his phone, and suddenly spoke seriously, “The killer really is powerful.”

“You’ve seen him?” Zhang Xiaofan asked, surprised.

Murong Feng shook his head. “When that first-year student died, I paid attention. At the moment of death, there was no disturbance nearby. It’s unimaginable—how does the killer actually kill?”

“If we could figure out how the murders are committed, finding the killer wouldn’t be so hard,” Zhang Xiaofan said helplessly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “Could it be that the killer had a grudge against the victim? Maybe we should investigate the victim’s relationships.”

Murong Feng shook his head. “You think this is a detective case? Hmph. Sometimes killing is simple. The killer’s ultimate goal is to wipe us all out. To him, there’s no order of who goes first.”

“So the murders are random,” Zhang Xiaofan said, feeling the situation grow heavier. Random means trouble.

“At present, it seems the killer has mastered an ability that lets him kill unnoticed. But…” Murong Feng’s eyes burned, “No one dies without cause. Their deaths must involve something—poison, sudden heart failure, suffocation. If we figure out how the victims died, we’ll uncover his methods.”

Zhang Xiaofan nodded at his words, his gaze falling on the body that hadn’t been dealt with yet. Under the astonished stares of the others, he walked over.

“Move aside; my husband is investigating. You first-years better step back,” Lin Rou, ever watchful of Zhang Xiaofan, cheered him on as he headed toward the corpse.

Su Qianqian protested, “Lin Rou, Zhang Xiaofan is my boyfriend. Why do you always say that?”

“Su Qianqian, do you two have a marriage certificate?” Lin Rou replied carelessly.

Su Qianqian was stunned.

“No? Then shut up.”

“Enough!” Zhang Xiaofan snapped impatiently at Lin Rou, “Is this really the time for jealous arguments?”

“Hmph, if I hadn’t saved you all that day, you’d have been in trouble already,” Lin Rou muttered, though she dared not speak louder.

Zhang Xiaofan sighed helplessly; if not for that, he wouldn’t bother with Lin Rou.

Ignoring the two girls, he crouched down and asked, “He’s your classmate, right? What’s his name?”