Despair Game

Chapter 20 Stopping the Heartbeat

I took the transparent bag left by Officer Xiao Hu Zi and felt a heavy weight in my heart. This was a relic of Lou Chang, and I once believed that Lou Chang's death had a great connection to me.

I sat alone on the sports field, waiting for a long time before managing to gather myself and open the bag.

As Xiao Hu Zi had said, it was a newspaper clipping.

I carefully pulled it out because the newspaper seemed to be quite old, with a yellowish surface and many words that were difficult to read.

Why did Lou Chang have an old newspaper on him before he died?

I slowly unfolded the newspaper, and as soon as I turned the page, I saw several striking headlines: "Campus Fire, Fifty People Dead."

I was shocked, quickly and carefully laying the entire newspaper flat. The main article stated:

"A high school campus building caught fire, resulting in the deaths of over fifty people. According to police investigations, all of the deceased were from the same class, and there was one survivor. The police suspect that this survivor is very likely the perpetrator. After several days of investigation, the police found in the campus archives that the perpetrator resided in Wanhu Village, and the police have launched an investigation."

So, this was the case that occurred in the abandoned building seven years ago. An entire class of people was burned to death, leaving only one suspect, and that suspect lived in Wanhu Village!

I carefully calculated in my mind. Lou Chang hinted to me about Wanhu Village. In reality, he wanted to tell me that a perpetrator was hiding there, and this perpetrator committed the crime of killing an entire class seven years ago.

So, in our class, with over fifty people, deaths were starting to occur one by one. Could it be that Lou Chang's intention was to imply that the little devil was the perpetrator from seven years ago, and in order to find the little devil, we must first find Wanhu Village!

But why, after so many years, hasn't the police discovered the truth? Could it be that the police haven't found Wanhu Village?

I looked at the date on the newspaper, March 27, 2009. It was indeed seven years ago!

Therefore, the most important thing now was to find Wanhu Village! This cursed thousand-year-old village!

After contemplating all these thoughts, my mood improved. At least I had a direction now and no longer needed to wander aimlessly.

At that moment, the little devil sent a message.

"Alright, a new game is about to begin. Get ready, everyone."

I sighed as I held my phone. Even though I knew about Wanhu Village, I still had to handle the present situation first.

I stood up and returned to the classroom. As soon as I entered, everyone looked at me quietly. I knew it was because of my actions in saving Liao Zhi just now that had stunned them.

Under everyone's gaze, I sat in my seat, and Xiao Ming nudged my arm and smiled, saying, "You were pretty cool today."

"Get lost!" I replied.

Little devil sent another message at this moment:

"Do you guys remember that we had a game we didn't play before? Let's play it this afternoon."

"What game?"

"I knew you would come up with some conspiracy. Damn it!"

The little devil sent a smiling emoticon and then said:

"Since you all don't remember, let me remind you. The new game is: all male students in the class must participate. Each male student needs to prepare 100 pieces of paper, numbering them sequentially from 1 to 100. Then, starting from student number 1, each student will draw one to three pieces of paper in order. This will continue in a rotating fashion until all the papers are drawn. The person who draws the last piece of paper, which is number 100, will have to face a punishment."

"Is that clear, everyone? We'll start after school ends, and there's a time limit of 20 minutes."

"Hosted by Xiang Nan."

People in the group chat kept complaining, and some enjoyed the spectacle, engaging in a heated argument.

"We already passed this game. Why are you bringing it up again and changing the rules?"

"Yeah, why only let the guys play? It's unfair."

"Damn it! Are you even a man?"

I kept pondering in my mind that no matter how this game was played, someone would have to face punishment, and the most important thing was who drew the last ten papers.

By now, I didn't have any better ideas, and the only relief was that Su didn't have to participate in this game.

After class, Xiao Ming consciously walked outside to smoke, and Su came over and sat next to me. She helped me cut the pieces of paper while expressing her concern:

"You've already stood out several times. Please, please, please don't stand out this time. Do you hear me? Do you think you're Sun Wukong?"

Su's words made me laugh, and I replied, "If I were Sun Wukong, I would've turned the little devil into minced meat long ago. Why would I be here helping him cut paper?"

Su said earnestly, "So, since you're not Sun Wukong, don't try to be superhuman. Take care of yourself properly, because that's the only way you can protect me, you know?"

Her words struck a chord with me, and I gratefully held Su's hand as she cut the paper, looking at her, and her soft, pink lips.

"Xiang Nan, I’m so sorry. Keep going."

Just at this crucial moment, Qin Yong entered the classroom from outside, causing both Su and me to blush instantly.

When I saw him about to leave, I quickly called out, "Come back. If you have something to say, just say it."

Qin Yong walked over with a mischievous smile, and Su, feeling shy, dropped the papers, claiming she needed to use the restroom, and ran away.

"How are we going to play this game later? I saw that little punk, Jin Xiaofeng, seems to be recruiting people secretly again. But when I asked him, he denied it."

I rubbed my throbbing temples and said, "Let's not worry about him. This game has a hundred numbers, and even if he buys more people, we only have around twenty male students."

Qin Yong nodded in agreement and started helping me organize the papers.

We finished preparing the one hundred numbered papers just as the school bell rang, signaling the end of class.

I held the papers in my hand, feeling anxious and unsure about how to approach this game.

Jin Xiaofeng's leg was still limping, and he was privately chatting with people, probably involved in bribery. But when I looked at him, he still seemed afraid and avoided eye contact.

After school, I took the initiative to walk up to the podium and addressed my classmates, saying, "No more nonsense, let's get started. Stay calm, everyone. Maybe this punishment will be simple."

"We only have twenty minutes, and everyone will draw in order of their seating positions."

Ever since I saved Liao Zhi last time, everyone inexplicably followed my lead, and no one caused any trouble. Under my guidance, they drew their numbers obediently.

Zhang Yong drew number 01.

Chen Feng drew numbers 02, 03, and 04.

Wang Yu drew numbers 05 and 06.

Zheng Donglai drew numbers 23, 24, and 25.

Jin Xiaofeng drew numbers 56, 57, and 58.

Xiao Ming drew numbers 87, 88, and 89.

After four rounds of drawing, only the last ten numbers remained.

I noticed Jin Xiaofeng starting to take action. He kept whispering to people, with a wicked look on his face. I knew he was up to some tricks again.

Qin Yong came up and drew three numbers: 90, 91, and 92.

Then another person drew three numbers, leaving only five papers remaining.

According to the order, the next ones were Zhang Bin, Jin Xiaofeng, Liao Zhi, and me.

At this moment, Jin Xiaofeng began to reveal his true colors. Touching his injured leg that I had caused, he said in a sly manner, "It seems like Liao Zhi won't make it. It's just the three of us. Let's draw quickly."

After speaking, he gave a signal to Zhang Bin, who understood and drew only one paper, leaving four remaining.

Jin Xiaofeng, with a smirk on his face, limped over to me and said, "Didn't expect this, Xiang Nan. I've tricked you once again. Don't blame me, though. There's always winners and losers in games, hehe."

After he finished speaking, he reached out to take the papers from my hand.

As long as he drew three papers, it would be me who would face the punishment today.

Actually, Qin Yong had warned me before, but at the time, I had a headache and didn't pay much attention to it.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Although I felt somewhat unwilling in my heart, there was nothing I could do. The game was fair, and I could only blame myself for being careless.

Just as Jin Xiaofeng was about to take the papers, Su suddenly stood up. She was so anxious that tears were welling up in her eyes as she looked at Jin Xiaofeng and said, "Jin Xiaofeng, I beg you, please don't draw three papers, okay?"

Jin Xiaofeng looked at Su with an interested expression and asked, "Oh, begging me? What do you have to beg me with?"

Tears kept rolling down Su Jingying's cheeks as she stood alone in front of Jin Xiaofeng. Seeing her frail figure, my heart ached. I walked over and hugged her, saying, "Don't beg him. I'll be fine, trust me!"

Su cried and pounded on my back, continuously shouting, "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Xiang Nan, you liar!"

Jin Xiaofeng stood on the side, enjoying the spectacle, and said, "Hey, Su, if you take off all your clothes in front of the whole class, I'll agree to draw only one paper for you. How about that?"

What the hell!

I turned around and punched Jin Xiaofeng in the face. With his injured leg, he was easily knocked down by me. I kept throwing punches, wanting nothing more than to beat him to death on the spot.

However, unexpectedly, Jin Xiaofeng pulled out a gun from his pocket!

Pointing it at my head, he viciously said, "Keep hitting me! Keep hitting me, damn it!"

I gasped for breath and dared not lay another hand on him. Faced with someone holding a gun, I had no means to resist.

Everyone stepped back in fear, afraid of being accidentally harmed by Jin Xiaofeng.

Jin Xiaofeng stood up, the gun pressed against my head, and said, "Today, I'll draw numbers 97, 98, and 99."

Helplessly, I closed my eyes, and Su's crying could be heard behind me.

At that moment, the closed door suddenly opened, and Liao Zhi, who was wrapped in bandages, walked in.

The classmates automatically made way for him, and he slowly approached us with his head lowered. Jin Xiaofeng grew anxious and shouted at Liao Zhi, "Get lost! Otherwise, I'll shoot you dead!"

"Do you hear me?"

Liao Zhi didn't even glance at Jin Xiaofeng and walked directly to our side. He bent down and picked up a piece of paper from the ground. It had the number 100 written on it.

He lifted his head slightly, smiled at me, and said, "I've lived this long, and you're the only one who has helped me go beyond. Thank you."

"I choose number 100."

I stared in disbelief at Liao Zhi, not knowing whether to feel relieved or happy. After Liao Zhi made his selection, he lowered his head silently and returned to his seat.

At the same time, a message arrived in the WeChat group from Little Devil.

"The game is over. Liao Zhi drew number 100, and the punishment is stopping the heartbeat."