Yang Peng

Thud!

Bai Yuze took a punch to the face, then Yukino pinned him to the ground.

Although he could smell Yukino's fragrance up close, he couldn't say he was happy about it!

"Ow, ow, ow! Lady, stop twisting it!"

"Tell me! Where's your accomplice? If you don't, I'll break your arm!"

Aikido included joint locks. Yukino had Bai Yuze's arm pinned behind his back, and she only needed to apply a little more pressure to make him suffer.

"Stop twisting it! It's going to break! I'm really not lying!"

"Hmph. Still playing tough with death staring you in the face!"

Yukino only kept applying pressure. To save his arm, Bai Yuze had no choice but to tell her about the important Rules Horror clues hidden in his pocket.

Sitting on Bai Yuze's back, Yukino freed one hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out the note to read it.

"Hmph. You've prepared quite a few props for carrying out your plan!"

Yukino still didn't believe him. Just then, a scream came from the room next door!

"That's... Yuigahama!"

Hearing the scream, Yukino's usually calm and collected mind suddenly fell into disarray. She hesitated, then finally shaped her right hand like a knife and struck Bai Yuze on the neck.

Once she felt the person beneath her go still, Yukino stood up and cautiously pushed the door open, then went outside.

Yukino had only been gone a short while when Bai Yuze climbed to his feet. He tried moving his numb arm, then rubbed his neck and chuckled.

"Concern really does make you lose your head. You didn't even stop to think about whether you could take me."

Bai Yuze considered his situation. He'd already finished searching the room, and there was no point staying here. The most important thing now was to go out and gather information.

He looked at the half-open door, hesitated for a moment, then decided to follow her.

After leaving the room, Bai Yuze glanced back at the number on the door. It read 104.

"If I heard right, the sound came from the left."

Bai Yuze looked left. There were rooms 101 and 102, while 103 was directly across from his room.

The door to 102 was open, and Yukino stood in the doorway with an incredulous look on her face.

Bai Yuze tried not to draw Yukino's attention. Since he was taller than her, he could easily see over her shoulder into room 102.

A man lay on the bed inside. The wound on his neck had sprayed blood across the wall, leaving behind a disturbing smear.

A knife was embedded in the man's neck.

In the corner of the room, a pink-haired girl was trembling. Clearly, she had been the one who screamed.

When the pink-haired girl saw Yukino standing in the doorway, she hurried over and threw herself at her.

"Waaah, Xiaoxue, where are we? Is this some kind of prank?"

Yukino knew she couldn't afford to panic. If she did, both she and Yuigahama would be in even greater danger.

Yukino said nothing, only patting Yuigahama on the back to comfort her. Yuigahama then noticed Bai Yuze watching from nearby.

"Um, who's that guy? Did you make a new friend, Xiaoxue?"

Yuigahama's question struck Yukino like a bolt of lightning. She turned around and stared warily at Bai Yuze.

Once Bai Yuze had made sure to keep a safe distance from Yukino, he helplessly spread his hands.

"You've got me all wrong. If I really were a kidnapper, I would've tied you up tight already. How could I have left you a chance to escape?"

Bai Yuze's words gave Yukino pause. It was true: if he really were a kidnapper, she wouldn't have been left unharmed in that shabby room.

Besides, the corpse in the room backed up Bai Yuze's claim. The man had been wounded in the neck, and the blood had sprayed outward. If Bai Yuze had done it, he should have been covered in blood.

Most importantly, kidnapping and murder were two different things. If Bai Yuze had only wanted money, there would have been no reason to kill anyone.

Was he so dissatisfied with the small-time criminal charges that he'd killed someone just for fun?

Though suspicion of Bai Yuze had eased, Yukino and Tuanzi still kept their distance from him for safety.

Seeing this, Bai Yuze shrugged. He walked into room 102 and began examining the man's body, hoping to find something useful.

The handle of the scalpel embedded in the man's carotid artery gleamed coldly. Bai Yuze decided to leave it for last and turned his attention to the man's hands.

The man's right hand was clenched around something. Bai Yuze pried it open and found two items.

A milk candy and a note.

[Hello, dear player. I'm not sure if that's what I should call you, but let me introduce myself first. My name is Yang Peng, and I'm twenty. I won't go into the rest. I know you're confused, because I was just like you when I first arrived in this hellhole. This place is full of danger, but as long as you follow the rules, you can at least survive here. There are some things I can't tell you directly. It will change them and cause trouble, like a child. I don't want my well-meant help to do more harm than good, so I've scattered information around the residence. I hope it helps you. Good luck.]

"Yang Peng? Looks like this instance isn't entirely new."

There were two pieces of news. The good news: someone had left clues and help behind. The bad news: you couldn't tell whether the clues were real or fake.

There were selfless, noble people in the world, people brave enough to blaze a trail for those who came after them. But Bai Yuze couldn't be sure whether a man named "Yang Peng" was trustworthy.

Nor could he tell whether the dead man before him was Yang Peng. If it was Yang Peng, did that mean his clues had been wrong in some way? He'd died here, after all. Perhaps there was a mistake in his information that had led to his death.

"Um... shouldn't we call the police and let them handle this?"

Watching Bai Yuze search the corpse, Tuanzi couldn't help reminding him. To anyone else, his actions were unmistakably tampering with a crime scene.

Bai Yuze gave an awkward chuckle and smiled at Tuanzi.

"That's a sensible idea, but I don't think phones are any use here."

Tuanzi's words also reminded Bai Yuze that his own phone was missing.

"You have a phone?"

Tuanzi was slightly taken aback by Bai Yuze's question.

"You don't? Or did the killer take yours?"

As she spoke, Tuanzi took her phone from her skirt pocket and dialed the police. Things turned out just as Bai Yuze had said: her phone showed a full signal, but for some reason, she couldn't get the call through.

Bai Yuze stared at the phone in Tuanzi's hand, momentarily stunned. He guessed the instance had deliberately let Tuanzi keep her phone. The signal was full, but she couldn't call the police. The whole situation reeked of despair.