“Xunian?”
She called out softly to her deskmate, her voice gentle and tender, trying to evoke some sympathy.
“Do you take me for a fool?”
The cold, indifferent look in Xunian’s eyes crushed her heart, and then she said the one title she least wanted to hear right now.
“Duke’s Daughter.”
Shen Mosi’s cover was finally blown. She sighed silently, mustering the courage to raise her head and ask, “How do you know…”
Xunian was indeed sick, but she was also probing.
In fact, Xunian had suspected something was off about Shen Mosi from the very beginning. The moment she saw her, suspicion took root.
What kind of coincidence is that?
Shen Mosi, a rookie player who didn’t even know what the Strange Tales Ranking was, just happened to find her in the sports warehouse, just happened to rescue her from being bound with Iron Chains, just happened not to run into the ever-watchful, sickly Duke’s Daughter?
Moreover, from the very start, she had an inexplicable urge to get close to Shen Mosi. Everything Shen Mosi did tugged repeatedly at her heartstrings.
Her body recognized the Duke’s Daughter before she did.
This time, Xunian wanted to pretend to faint because of her illness but didn’t expect to truly lose consciousness halfway through.
She had no memory after class, only recalling Shen Mosi picking her up before she completely blacked out.
However, she clearly remembered Shen Mosi pounding on the table to scare Qi Dong.
How could an ordinary person shatter a wooden table with one punch?
Just as the Duke’s Daughter entered her dream, Shen Mosi was kissing her?
If she still couldn’t see that these two were the same person, she might as well get her brain checked.
Shen Mosi lay on the floor, looking pitiful and wronged, eyes red-rimmed, which inexplicably softened Xunian’s heart.
Xunian maintained her cold facade, emotionless eyes staring at Shen Mosi on the ground, ignoring her ongoing green tea act.
Although skilled at lying, she hated being deceived, and right now, she didn’t want to deal with Shen Mosi.
She glanced at the deeply ashamed Shen Mosi and hatched a plan.
She tugged at the Iron Chain binding her hands.
“Unlock it.”
Shen Mosi suddenly lifted her head, meeting Xunian’s indifferent gaze, her heart aching.
Perhaps Xunian’s earlier words about hating her… were true.
Without hesitation, Xunian knew who had made these chains.
Only the Duke’s Daughter liked playing these binding games.
She said nothing, quietly waiting.
Shen Mosi stared at her for a long time; her eyelashes trembled in the shadows before she finally relented.
Her hand flipped, and a Key appeared in her palm.
Shen Mosi stood and came to Xunian, bowing her head as she unlocked the chains.
Her jet-black hair fell over her eyes, obscuring her expression.
Even without seeing her face clearly, Xunian sensed the sadness weighing her down.
Fingertips unconsciously digging into her palm, she steeled herself not to look at Shen Mosi, treating her like air.
“I’m going back to class.”
Xunian spoke to the empty space and walked out the door.
Shen Mosi finally collapsed, clutching her chest, gasping for air.
This time, the energy spent was too much; she was starting to break down…
……
Xunian went straight to the classroom and pushed the door open.
Perhaps because it was lunch break, the Players had all returned to their dorms, leaving the classroom empty.
Two boxed lunches sat on the desk shared by Xunian and Shen Mosi, apparently left by someone for them.
Xunian grabbed one casually and ate a few bites to replenish her strength.
Qi Dong’s pile of things remained on the desk behind her, untouched.
Qi Dong could have taken them while no one was around and hidden them somewhere secret, but for some reason, she hadn’t.
After finishing, Xunian tossed the box into the trash and headed to the teacher’s podium.
She opened the drawer and found a report card on top.
She glanced at it and immediately noticed Shen Mosi’s name at the top — class first place, marked with a red star by the teacher.
She deliberately checked the names of Qi Dong, Yuan Shen, and Zhang San — ranked 46th, 41st, and 35th respectively.
There were 50 students in total.
The only clue so far was that the class’s top student, Shen Mosi, had seemingly died after being bullied.
Was it jealousy over Shen Mosi’s grades?
It probably wasn’t that simple…
The clues were still too few…
She would have to visit Hanako in the bathroom again when she had the chance.
Xunian put down the report card and rummaged through the drawer carefully but found nothing useful.
More puzzling was the relationship between the Duke’s Daughter and the top student Shen Mosi.
Was the Duke’s Daughter possessing Shen Mosi’s body, or was she Shen Mosi herself?
If the wallpaper on the button phone belonged to the top student Shen Mosi, then why?
Even if she asked directly, the Duke’s Daughter wouldn’t tell her.
With no more clues at the podium, her gaze returned to Qi Dong’s seat.
That button phone was probably still in Ran Feng’s hands; she wondered if there were clues hidden in the remaining books.
Judging by Qi Dong’s extreme reaction, there must be something there.
She walked toward the seat but suddenly tripped over something, her body pitching forward from inertia.
Xunian grabbed the nearby desk just in time to steady herself.
Looking down, she saw a crimson vertical pupil staring straight at her by her feet. The one-horned monster seemed to be assessing whether the creature before it was edible.
The next second, the Unicorn Snake opened its blood-red mouth wide.
Xunian grabbed the desk leg and with all her strength, thrust it precisely into the snake’s gaping jaws.
She pressed the desk leg hard against its mouth, stepping on the snake’s vital spot while pushing down with her elbow on the tabletop using her full body weight.
Soon, the Unicorn Snake stopped moving completely.
Strange.
Clenching her fists, she felt a steady flow of power surging through her body and was puzzled.
How did her physical strength improve after just sleeping?
Normally, she would have had to exert more effort, especially after just recovering from a fever and serious illness — yet she had easily defeated a Unicorn Snake.
She lifted the dead snake and weighed it; it felt heavier than the last one she caught.
Wondered what it tasted like.
Maybe she could take it back for a side dish.
She flipped through Qi Dong’s textbook. Apart from a scribbled name, it was almost blank, a pristine notebook.
Outside the classroom.
A man walked down the hallway, a sinister smile curling on his lips.
Ran Feng, just finished with lunch break, planned to see if anyone had been bitten.
There were many snake monsters like this in the Strange Tales game; although not poisonous, their attacks were fierce, and one careless move could cost a player an arm or leg.
He wasn’t pleased with the other players this round.
He was relishing the thought as he pushed open the classroom door.
The girl held the dead snake, looking at the newcomer with cold indifference.
Ran Feng took a cautious step back, eyes wide with shock.
Wasn’t Xunian just taken away by Shen Mosi, on the verge of death?
Who was this person in front of him who had killed the strange snake monster and remained completely unharmed?!