Despair Game

Chapter 6 Change the way to play

We were silent in the dark classroom, surrounded by the bloodstains of Ye Jin, who was already dead. The blood marks on the faces of my classmates and me made it seem as if we had conspired to kill him.

I could hardly catch my breath. The warm and sticky blood kept sliding down my face and into my neck. I quickly wiped my face and, with trembling hands, reached out to check Ye Jin's nose. It confirmed what I feared—he was already dead.

"Quick, call the police!"

I stammered, looking at the class monitor, Qin Yong. He was visibly frightened, but he nodded and hurriedly took out his phone.

Just as Qin Yong took out his phone, all of our phones rang simultaneously, startling everyone.

I checked my phone and saw that it was a WeChat group message.

The little devil sent a smiling emoji, but to me, it looked like the face of a devil!

"Ye Jin has completed the task without punishment. Tomorrow morning, I will continue sending red envelopes. Enjoy the game, classmates!"

The air was still filled with the scent of Ye Jin's blood. Even though he was the third classmate to die, I still found it difficult to accept. The little devil could control our lives and deaths at will, and the condition for survival was participating in each game they designated.

I glanced at the time; it was just midnight. We were so close, just a little bit away.

The students in the class were obviously still awake. As soon as they saw the message from the little devil, they showed concern for our situation.

We exchanged glances, and the class monitor and a few other classmates looked remorseful. I had no choice but to pick up my phone and say:

"I'm sorry, we couldn't protect Ye Jin. He's dead."

Everyone was curious about the cause of Ye Jin's death and started discussing it loudly.

"Oh, he's dead?"

"Oh my God! Couldn't more than ten of you stop his death?"

"Was it because you didn't protect him properly, or did the little devil kill him?"

After sending the message, Qin Yong slammed his fist on the table in extreme frustration.

To be honest, I was angry too. I didn't even know how to answer the questions from my classmates. Should I say that Ye Jin died under the protection of more than ten of us, killed by a falling fan?

Who exactly was this little devil?

The police and teachers arrived quickly, and we stayed to protect the crime scene.

Fortunately, there were surveillance cameras in the school, so our entire ordeal was recorded. Otherwise, it would have been challenging to explain the blood on our bodies. Ye Jin's death was once again ruled an accidental death, and we were merely criticized and educated by the teachers.

After cooperating with the police and finishing the paperwork, it was almost dawn. Qin Yong called me to join him in eating steamed buns outside.

On the way, Qin Yong suddenly whispered, "Xiang Nan, I think you're the rational one in our class. Do you think these incidents are coincidences?"

His question really hit me. I hoped it was just a coincidence, but how often do coincidences like this happen? Three lives had already been lost, and I could only shake my head and say I didn't know.

Qin Yong sighed and took a few steps before suddenly saying, "I don't know if you believe it or not, but I think our class has attracted an evil spirit!"

"Evil spirit?"

An evil spirit, in essence, means a ghost in movies. I had thought about it, but when it came to reality, I found it hard to believe.

Qin Yong nodded and furrowed his brow, saying, "Yes, an evil spirit! My grandfather is an old man, and he told me that when people die with grievances, they can turn into evil spirits. They are invisible and can possess others to harm people. To get rid of it, we need to find its roots, meaning why it harbors grievances."

I nodded, not fully understanding. After hearing Qin Yong's words, I suddenly remembered the information I had looked up on my computer at home on Saturday. The village where many people died was in our county. If our class was really being targeted by some evil spirit, could the little devil be someone from that village?

I said to Qin Yong, "Can you ask your grandfather to help us?"

Qin Yong seemed hesitant and sighed, "My grandfather is in poor health, and his condition has worsened in the past two years. I'm worried about his health. But if more people in our class continue to die, no matter what, I will have to ask him to come."

"Okay!"

In that instant, my impression of Qin Yong greatly improved. No wonder he was popular and liked by teachers. Even in this situation, he could disregard his own feelings and consider others in the class.

Qin Yong and I each ate a basket of steamed buns. He insisted on treating me, and I couldn't refuse. That's how Qin Yong and I became good buddies, which was quite interesting.

There were police officers dealing with the scene where Ye Jin died in the classroom, so in the morning, our class was arranged to study in the dormitory.

Since I hadn't slept all night, I just freshened up a bit and prepared to rest.

I casually answered the questions from the people in the dormitory, not wanting to mention last night's scene.

Just as I lay down, the little devil sent a message in the WeChat group:

"A new red envelope snatching game has started. This time, the Luck King will receive punishment."

After saying that, the little devil sent a red envelope worth 500 yuan.

"The Luck King will be punished? Who would want to snatch it?"

"Are we being so direct now? Yesterday, Ye Jin died directly, and today, the Luck King will die directly. Why don't you just let us all die together!"

"I'm not going to snatch it. The Luck King still has to face punishment. What's there to snatch! Damn!"

"Everyone, don't snatch it. If you have the guts, let us all die together!"

"That's right!"

"Don't be foolish and don't snatch it!"

My eyes lit up. That's right! This time, everyone spontaneously decided not to snatch the red envelope, and it seemed to be effective. If no one snatched the red envelope, I didn't believe the little devil could make us all die together. That's perfect!

Everyone surprisingly showed remarkable unity this time, and not a single person reached for the red envelope.

I really wanted to know what the little devil was thinking at that moment. Would he be furious?

Anyway, I waited for a while, but the little devil remained silent. Hopefully, he had compromised.

As I continued watching, I fell asleep. After all, I was exhausted from last night.

I slept until noon, and it was a message in the WeChat group that woke me up.

I groggily picked up my phone, and it was a reply from the little devil:

"Since everyone doesn't want to snatch the red envelope, that's fine. From now on, you don't need to snatch it anymore. I'll just send it directly."

I had a feeling there was an underlying message in the little devil's words, and true to that, he continued, saying:

"So, the new game is for Jin Xiaofeng and Zhao Lili. You guys vote for one person. The one with more votes will receive a separate 500 yuan red envelope, while the one with fewer votes will face punishment. If you don't vote, both of them will receive punishment."

"Twenty-four hours limit. The game begins!"

The little devil had come up with a new twist. I had also figured it out. His goal was to have someone die in every game, and the person who died always had conflicts with others. His game instructions were tearing apart our relationships, first destroying the bonds between classmates, turning us against each other, and then killing one person.

"How despicable!"

I couldn't help but send a message in the group, speaking from the heart.

Unexpectedly, the little devil replied to me:

"Very well, Xiang Nan is very active. So, you will be the judge, responsible for counting the votes when the time comes."

I slapped myself hard. The classmates in the group no longer dared to speak, but the guys in the dormitory started discussing.

"If we continue playing these games, we'll be played to death sooner or later."

"Damn! It's all because of my curiosity and greed for red envelopes!"

"I wonder who this little devil really is. It's so eerie. Is he a ghost?"

I didn't join their discussion but quietly put on my clothes. Their words reminded me of Qin Yong's words. If the little devil was really an evil spirit, he must have grievances. The reason behind his grievances would be his root, and I had to find it.

The school wasn't that big. As long as I asked around, I was sure to find some clues.

I first rushed to the cafeteria because I remembered there was an older man there.

At that moment, there weren't many people in the cafeteria. I slowly walked towards the area where they boiled water when a man in his thirties stopped me and asked what I was doing.

After giving it some thought, I asked, "Uncle, I wanted to ask if the oldest chef in the cafeteria is here?"

The man held a cigarette and sized me up before saying, "You're from Class 9 of the sophomore year, right? I heard that three people from your class have died recently."

I quickly nodded, relieved to have finally encountered someone who understood. The man exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled, saying, "You kids all want to be heroes like Di Renjie. You're the fourth person to come and ask me. Let me tell you, this matter of people dying is no small thing. If you can figure it out, what's the use of the police? Do you understand?"

"Also, let me tell you again, the only old grandpa who had been working here for more than seven years passed away at home last week. So, all the staff here are new. Got it?"

After hearing his words, I nodded with some disappointment.

However, there was still some information. First of all, I should be happy because I wasn't the only one investigating this matter now. There were three people ahead of me.