The Ax Falls Again

In just one short day, another person had died.

Ye Shengge remembered something in a daze. His long eyelashes trembled slightly as he subconsciously reached out to grab the sleeve of Mu Jinran’s school uniform. He whispered, “I remember him. Yesterday in the class group, he admitted it himself—he said he told the police about the red packet game.”

Not only that, but this person named Zhang Ming had arrogantly sent messages in the group, stating that he wanted to see what kind of “punishment” would actually happen.

At that time, Ye Shengge knew that this person did not believe a word the anonymous sender said. He did not believe that the anonymous person could decide the life or death of the players, and he even sneered at the other students for being afraid.

Just like the Luck King yesterday.

Whether from the perspective of “killing the chicken to scare the monkeys” or to make all players believe this was a real death game—thereby instilling fear and increasing the “fun” of the game—people like Zhang Ming were the anonymous sender’s favorite targets.

After all, one death might be explained away as an accident. But a second one…

It was not hard to predict that as soon as Zhang Ming met his end, every student who doubted the authenticity of the messages would be thoroughly convinced. From then on, they would live every day in trembling fear, praying that the ax hanging over their heads would not fall.

This was exactly the scene the anonymous sender wanted to see.

When the time came, he would surely increase the difficulty of the instructions, then put on a mask and hide nonchalantly among the crowd, enjoying the sight of the players exposing their ugliest sides.

Thinking of this, Ye Shengge felt a chill run down his spine.

Yesterday, he had been blinded by the dungeon boss’s seemingly simple and harmless appearance, thinking things were too straightforward.

In reality, as the boss of the dungeon, how could the anonymous sender be truly simple or harmless?

“Don’t overthink it.” Mu Jinran glanced at his sleeve, which was being tightly gripped by the youth. His gaze softened slightly. “I will go over and take a look first. Perhaps it really is just an accident.”

Seeing Ye Shengge’s piteous state, Jiang Yan no longer cared about his petty mood. He moved flusteredly to comfort him: “Exactly, don’t be afraid. How about this—you go back to the dorm and rest first. Mu Jinran and I will go check it out, and then we’ll come back and tell you everything.”

Clearly, everyone knew by now that this was not an accident, yet they still clumsily told lies to coax Ye Shengge, wanting to keep him from being afraid.

But Ye Shengge did not want to deceive himself.

The youth’s exquisite, pale face looked incredibly fragile, but his beautiful eyes were filled with determination. He said, “I am going with you.”

Before Mu Jinran or Jiang Yan could refuse the proposal, he asked: “Did you two tell the police about the game?”

“No.” Jiang Yan shook his head instinctively, then added: “At the time, I thought someone was just playing a prank, so I didn’t say anything.”

Ye Shengge looked at Mu Jinran and saw him nod as well, and he couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.

That was good; at least they were safe for the time being.

This question successfully distracted Jiang Yan and Mu Jinran. By the time they regained their senses and intended to refuse, Ye Shengge had already walked a long way with them. It was far too late to turn back.

Helplessly, they could only take Ye Shengge to the place where Zhang Ming had jumped.

When they arrived, the police had already set up a cordon. However, the onlookers showed no intention of leaving, surrounding the area so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

This was not surprising. In a fully enclosed school, even a small matter would draw a crowd, let alone something as massive as a suicide.

Even if they couldn’t watch or take photos up close, they wanted to stand at a distance to join in the “fun.”

With Jiang Yan leading the way, it was easy to squeeze through. Ye Shengge reached the front unscathed and immediately saw the pixelated corpse lying within the cordon.

“Are you here to watch the show too?” Someone nearby saw how good-looking Ye Shengge was and couldn’t help but lean in to strike up a conversation.

Jiang Yan’s expression changed instantly. Like a protective beast guarding its food, he opened his mouth to bark the person away, but he was stopped by a single look from Ye Shengge.

“Do you know something?” Ye Shengge turned his gaze to the NPC passerby.

“I saw him jump from the fourth floor with my own eyes. Logically, that height shouldn’t kill someone, but his luck was rotten. He landed right on his head and died on the spot.” Speaking of this, the NPC pointed at the body on the ground and said excitedly: “Look, his head is split wide open.”

Ye Shengge frowned, feeling somewhat repulsed by this cold-blooded onlooker’s attitude.

The NPC had no sense of “respecting the dead.” After saying that, he let out a sneer and continued: “But he deserves to die from jumping. When he was egging others on to jump back then, he should have known his day would come.”

“What did you say?” Ye Shengge was surprised, immediately realizing he had stumbled upon an important clue.

Just as the NPC was about to speak, he was interrupted by Mu Jinran, who had squeezed in right behind them: “The school just sent a notice. Classes are suspended today as well. Wait for the notification to resume.”

Ye Shengge nodded casually, turning his gaze back to the NPC, wanting to hear the rest.

But the NPC, upon seeing Mu Jinran, acted like a mouse seeing a cat and ran away without looking back. Not only that, but the surrounding crowd also began to disperse for some reason.

“What’s wrong with them?” Seeing a major clue run away, Ye Shengge was anxious. He wanted to chase after him, but the NPC was running even faster.

“What else? They think Mu Jinran is here specifically to disperse the crowd. No one wants to be reported and named by the Student Union for loitering, so of course they have to run.” Jiang Yan crossed his arms, mercilessly exposing Mu Jinran’s reputation.

Hearing this, Ye Shengge finally understood why.

He lowered his eyes in disappointment, planning to ask someone else if he got the chance.

“But you don’t need to worry. If there’s anything you want to know, you can ask me. What others know, I probably know too.” After undermining Mu Jinran, Jiang Yan didn’t forget to display his own value.

But he forgot that when it came to school matters, Mu Jinran, as a member of the Student Union, knew far more than he did.

This was something he had just implicitly confirmed while trying to insult Mu Jinran.

Ye Shengge naturally realized this too and immediately looked at Mu Jinran expectantly, his beautiful eyes shining like stars.

No one could bear to refuse such a gaze.

Mu Jinran looked at him for a few seconds with a darkening gaze, then nodded. His voice was calm and serious: “Okay. Whatever you want to know, I will tell you.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yan looked like a wolf whose territory had been invaded. His face changed violently as he glared at him, his eyes full of warning.