Zhu Meng actually wouldn't bother badmouthing someone unless she really disliked them. If she had a grudge, she'd usually settle it on the spot. Although Li Dongyuan seemed quite affectionate on the surface, Lin Qiu Shi hadn't forgotten his past experience of being trapped by Li inside the door. If Lin Qiu Shi hadn't been lucky back then, all of them could have fallen victim to Li Dongyuan's scheme.
Anyone capable of passing through the eighth door was no good person. Li Dongyuan especially had shown a drastically different side beyond the door compared to his harmless babyface outside.
The next door they had to enter with Li Dongyuan belonged to a White Deer member's fourth door. They didn't know yet exactly whose it was, but Ruan Nan Zhu had already obtained a clue about that door in advance.
The clue contained only two words: Zuo Zi.
After getting the clue, Ruan Nan Zhu did some investigating and briefed Lin Qiu Shi on the basics. Zuo Zi was a character from Japanese folklore who also appeared in a nursery rhyme. The story went that a girl named Zuo Zi was hit by a car on a snowy night, breaking her in half at the waist, and she bled to death. Shockingly, just a few days later someone wrote a song about the incident with lyrics that went:
"Silly Zuo Zi, who called herself Zuo Zi since little, loved bananas but could only eat half each time, poor thing. Zuo Zi has gone far away and must have forgotten me already, I miss you Zuo Zi."
However, the one who wrote the song soon died a bizarre death himself, his lower half also gone when they found him...
The song had one last line: "My legs are gone, will you give me yours?"
Legend said that if one sang this song out loud, Zuo Zi would appear and take that person's legs.
After listening to the clue, Lin Qiu Shi felt goosebumps rising on his arm. "Kinda creepy."
"It's alright," Ruan Nan Zhu judged the scariness of clues solely based on their usefulness. "At least this makes clear an important condition for death."
"Right," Lin Qiu Shi agreed. "When do we go in?"
"Three days later, once we're fully prepared," said Ruan Nan Zhu.
Lin Qiu Shi nodded. "Almost ready."
"Good."
Over the next few days, Lin Qiu Shi wore a special bracelet and stayed inside the villa while Ruan Nan Zhu crossdressed to get ready. Ruan Nan Zhu's female disguise was so seamless that Lin Qiu Shi had grown used to it. He even secretly thought to himself that Ruan Nan Zhu made a rather attractive girl... Of course, he didn't dare say that out loud.
Three days passed swiftly. Lin Qiu Shi was watching TV right before entering the door when he suddenly sensed something off about the atmosphere. Taking a closer look, he realized everyone else in the villa had vanished.
He got up from the sofa and randomly opened a door, unsurprised to see the familiar sight of the twelve doors outside.
Three doors had already been sealed. Lin Qiu Shi walked over to the fourth and pulled it open. The heavy metal door creaked and his surroundings transformed. He now stood on a dark pathway, nestled under lush foliage. Glancing around, he quickly determined his location - inside a school campus, surrounded by orderly classroom buildings. Dawn had just broken, with perfect stillness and silence, save for the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze.
Lin Qiu Shi walked forward a few steps and saw a man up ahead also looking around. Though a stranger, something about the man's temperament seemed oddly familiar. After a brief hesitation, Lin Qiu Shi took off his bracelet and called out to him.
The man turned with a smile. "The door?"
Lin Qiu Shi grunted in affirmation, then carefully spoke their agreed code phrase: "Friend, want some honeydew flavored gum?"
"I'd love some, though my fourth tooth isn't great," the man replied.
"Li Dongyuan?" Lin Qiu Shi asked.
The man nodded. "Lin Qiu Shi?"
They extended their hands and shook lightly, confirming each other's identities. Despite having expected it, the drastic difference between Li Dongyuan's appearance inside and outside still surprised Lin Qiu Shi. Beyond the door, he had grown much taller, with his cute babyface replaced by a gentle yet imposing manner.
"Let's go, we're probably meeting in the classroom building," said Li Dongyuan, extremely familiar with these affairs. "My name here is still Meng Yu, don't get it wrong."
"I'm Yu Linlin," Lin Qiu Shi introduced himself.
They chatted cautiously as they walked, mostly discussing matters inside the door while guarding key secrets as competitors.
Approaching the classroom building up ahead, Lin Qiu Shi spotted eight or nine figures waiting below.
"Five men, four women," Li Dongyuan counted briefly. "Zhu Meng should be among them."
"Let's check," said Lin Qiu Shi.
He instantly recognized Zhu Meng, as she was the tallest of the four women. She also wore a pale long dress familiar to Lin Qiu Shi, with a white crystal rabbit pendant on her chest.
As Lin Qiu Shi walked over, Zhu Meng's eyes curved into a dazzling smile that tugged at his heart.
Li Dongyuan didn't share his excitement, asking flatly, "That's her?"
Lin Qiu Shi nodded.
"Gorgeous indeed," Li Dongyuan complimented.
Lin Qiu Shi thought to himself, if only you were this polite arguing with her outside...
They joined the group and, as expected, someone was throwing a tantrum again with familiar complaints of being kidnapped and trapped in a dreadful TV show.
The two newcomers this time were a man and woman. The woman was ghostly pale, on the verge of fainting, while the man's expression was equally ugly as he angrily interrogated everyone about their location and identities, demanding to know why nobody had called the police...
"If none of you will leave, then I'm out of here!" the man yelled after a while to no response. Finally declaring he refused to stay in a room with them, he stormed off threateningly. The others watched him with pity or impatience, but no one tried to stop him.
Lin Qiu Shi was about to intervene when Li Dongyuan grabbed his arm and subtly shook his head.
"Why?" asked Lin Qiu Shi.
"Don't worry, he'll be back soon enough," Li Dongyuan assured.
"Oh," said Lin Qiu Shi.
Just as Li Dongyuan predicted, the man returned in less than five minutes, looking even more distraught than when he had left. Clearly he had seen something frightening outside.
At least he had fallen silent instead of shouting now.
The group stood in a clearing under the classroom building, politely exchanging identities with pleasant strangers.
Lin Qiu Shi and Li Dongyuan successfully met up with Ruan Nan Zhu.
Ruan Nan Zhu smiled. "I'm Zhu Meng, you are?"
"Meng Yu," Li Dongyuan extended his hand towards Ruan Nan Zhu, but it was ignored as Ruan turned his gaze upon Lin Qiu Shi instead.
Lin Qiu Shi gave a helpless look. "Yu Linlin." He shook Ruan Nan Zhu's hand under Li Dongyuan's bitterly envious stare.
"I'm Xia Ruibei," the girl Li Dongyuan had brought introduced herself demurely in a gentle voice. "So nice to be working with you."
Ruan Nan Zhu laughed. "Likewise."
They stood chatting below the building when the clear ding-ding-ding of a school bell rang out from inside. Students started trickling onto campus grounds and into classrooms, showing no surprise at the sight of them. The previously dark building also lit up in a few windows.
Just as everyone wondered what they were supposed to do, a middle-aged man came downstairs claiming to be their reception teacher, offering to take them to their dorms.
"Stay put for a few days until the students finish exams, then you can start work," he explained while leading the way. "But there has been some unrest at school lately...be careful..."
"Unrest?" someone asked. "What do you mean? Did something happen?"
The teacher didn't answer, only shaking his head and eventually snapping that it wasn't their business to know when pestered further.
Everyone fell silent.
From the conversation, Lin Qiu Shi learned that they were a renovation crew hired by the school to refurbish old campus buildings after exams ended. However, he still didn't know how many days remained until then...
The teacher brought them to an aged dorm building arranged by vertical sections with only one restroom per floor. The corridors were crammed full of clutter.
"It's only temporary, bear with it," the teacher said. "You won't be here long...other teachers have moved out since this building is soon to be demolished. But since you'll only stay briefly, make do."
The dorms left a rather awful impression, with black mold stains and damp splotches covering the walls and peeling paint ceilings.
After giving them the keys, the teacher mentioned the old school building for renovation was located behind the sports field. He refused Ruan Nan Zhu's request to guide them there, claiming he had classes to teach and suggesting they explore themselves, preferably during the day...the unspoken implications were obvious to all.
The teacher rushed off after speaking, clearly reluctant to associate further.
Leaning on the railing and chewing gum, Li Dongyuan remarked that the NPC was rather interesting.
"How so?" asked Lin Qiu Shi.
"NPCs are usually fearless, but this one seemed pretty scared to me," analyzed Li Dongyuan.
Lin Qiu Shi didn't fully grasp his meaning and stayed silent.
"Such a wide world, nothing is too bizarre," Ruan Nan Zhu dismissed uncaringly. "Let's check out our rooms first."
The dorms fit four people per room with bunk beds. The eleven of them neatly filled up three rooms.
"This place is so old and moldy, it makes me sick," Xia Ruibei complained in a quiet voice the moment she entered.
"Just bear with it for now, we won't be here long," Li Dongyuan placated.
Ruan Nan Zhu showed no preference for rooms and headed straight for the top bunk above Lin Qiu Shi, feeling the blanket. "No telling how long it's been since anyone slept here, all damp."
"I'll help dry it for you," Li Dongyuan offered immediately.
Xia Ruibei frowned in displeasure, likely thinking that she would have received the same treatment if not for Ruan Nan Zhu's existence. She gazed at Ruan Nan Zhu, unhappy but forcing down her emotions.
Ruan Nan Zhu was always sensitive to people's moods and instantly noticed Xia Ruibei's resentment. His eyes glinted with mischief as he clearly formulated some nasty idea. "Linlin, come help me dry the blanket," he called out.
Lin Qiu Shi: "..." He now understood Ruan Nan Zhu's expressions far too well. One look at that face told him this rascal was surely up to no good, even if he didn't grasp the full situation.
"Alright, I'll go start a fire," he said helplessly.
Before Lin Qiu Shi could leave, Li Dongyuan blocked his path with a meaningful look. "I'll do it."
Lin Qiu Shi: "..."
Li Dongyuan: "Don't worry, darling, leave it to me." He headed out to gather coal and kindling.
Seeing this, Xia Ruibei felt even worse. She clearly had feelings for Li Dongyuan but received no reciprocation. Believing that persistence would eventually sway him, this sudden Zhu Meng girl threatening her plans left Xia Ruibei indignant and anxious. Especially since Zhu Meng seemed even more shameless than herself...after all, Xia Ruibei rarely met girls who could out-flirt her throughout life...
Ruan Nan Zhu slowly and smugly ate both eggs under Li Dongyuan's attentive care, even thanking him politely afterwards.
Li Dongyuan smiled gently. "As long as you're happy."
To which Ruan Nan Zhu responded, "I'd be even happier to eat Linlin's eggs."
Li Dongyuan: "..."
Lin Qiu Shi's expression had gone numb, resigned to the fact that he couldn't escape Ruan Nan Zhu's scripts, though he still wondered what exactly was meant by his eggs and hoped no misunderstandings would arise from Ruan Nan Zhu's wording.
During lunch, they asked some students if anything unusual had happened at school lately. Most reacted obliviously until one high school senior instantly paled at the question, hastily grabbing his food tray wanting to leave.
Li Dongyuan blocked his path. "We're not done asking yet. Leaving so abruptly is quite rude, don't you think?" His tone sounded perfectly harmless, yet his imposing manner clearly declared he was no gentle figure to be trifled with.
The student said, "Ask all you want, but if you truly wish to know, go check the recent newspapers in the school library."
Ruan Nan Zhu raised a brow. "What are you so afraid of?"
The student shook his head, refusing to answer.
Lin Qiu Shi noticed his hands clutching the food tray trembled slightly despite the bravado. Anyone could tell the young man was in the throes of extreme terror.
"Let him go," Ruan Nan Zhu waved his hand. "We'll meet again."
Li Dongyuan frowned, seemingly wanting to press further but ultimately said nothing, removing his hand to let the student pass.
"A high school senior from Class 3," Ruan Nan Zhu noted. "We can find him later even without a name."
"How do you know?" Xia Ruibei asked, amazed.
Ruan Nan Zhu pointed at the student's chest. "He's wearing an ID tag with all that information."
Xia Ruibei: "..."
Ruan Nan Zhu: "What, you didn't notice?"
Xia Ruibei: "..."
Ruan Nan Zhu: "No worries, I saw it so it's fine." He deliberately flashed Xia Ruibei an insincere smile.
Xia Ruibei nearly suffocated from rage at Ruan Nan Zhu's scheme...