Everyone who chose to become a White Tower player had considered the question of life and death from the day they registered.
Even a timid player like Li Shuang had prepared herself for it.
"Don't worry," Xiao Jun said. "Since the four of us came here, we've already thought through all the consequences."
"All right." Zheng Xun nodded. "I'll pick an order at random, and you'll follow me in one at a time. You don't need to fight the bosses. Just stay close to me."
Li Shuang was the first to enter the instance with Zheng Xun.
Li Shuang didn't have much experience, and she was afraid of saying the wrong thing and interfering with Zheng Xun.
She followed Zheng Xun anxiously the whole way, barely daring to breathe. She nearly screamed in the storage room, but covered her mouth just in time.
One run was over.
When they emerged from the instance, Li Shuang's legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground.
She had survived.
Zheng Xun didn't spare her another glance and immediately called the next person.
The second was Cheng Jie.
Though Cheng Jie was blunt, he didn't cause trouble. Before they set out, Zheng Xun told everyone not to fight, and he really did hold back.
Instead, it was Zheng Xun who stared at him after they cleared the instance.
"What are you looking at?" Cheng Jie asked irritably.
"Nothing. I thought you'd been possessed." Zheng Xun looked relieved.
"...Do you feel uncomfortable if you don't take a couple of jabs at me?"
"A little, yeah."
"..."
The third was Xiao Jun.
This time, Zheng Xun slowed down. Before opening the instance, he exchanged a few quiet words with Xiao Jun, but the others couldn't hear them clearly.
: What are Erchui and Vice President Xiao talking about?
: Probably working out a plan.
: Xiao Jun's pretty capable. A couple of years ago, he used to solo A-rank instances all the time.
: Once he took the vice president's position, he probably didn't have a choice. The president's useless, so the vice president has to carry everything.
: Who is Songbird's president, anyway? He's never shown his face.
: Tao Xueji, Tao Xueqing's older brother. Songbird's president used to be the eldest brother, Tao Xueshan, but he sacrificed his life, so the second Tao brother took over.
: That second Tao brother is so mysterious. There aren't any photos of him, and nobody's seen him in person.
: It's open, it's open! Zheng Xun and the others are going into the instance!
As with the previous two runs, Zheng Xun set the pace, but Xiao Jun disappeared as soon as they entered the school building.
Vice President Xiao only appeared after Zheng Xun had been on the rooftop for a while.
"Did you find anything?" Zheng Xun asked.
"Yes," Xiao Jun said with certainty.
"All right, then."
Ignoring the NPC Xiaoyin and the boss Liang Queyin, the two of them jumped off the rooftop together.
They arrived on the first floor of the White Tower.
This time, Zheng Xun didn't rush to start the next run. Instead, he waited for Xiao Jun to open his wristband.
The wristband had a camera function, and Xiao Jun enlarged the photos he had taken.
"This is Class Five's roster. Liang Queyin's name is on it, but none of the girls have the character 'Yin' in their names."
He swiped to the next picture.
"But I found their class photo. There's a girl in it who looks exactly like 'Xiaoyin.'"
Xiao Jun tapped the screen again and swiped to the third picture.
"Their names are on the back of the photo. 'Xiaoyin's' real name is Li Yueying."
Everyone else was startled.
"Li Yueying?" Cheng Jie raised an eyebrow. "That security guard is called Li Yuechu. Brother and sister?"
Xiao Jun nodded.
"Very likely."
Zheng Xun looked silently at the evidence. His expression showed that he had already guessed part of the truth.
"Just as I thought," he said after a moment. "I went looking for the roster and the photo, but what I saw was different from what Xiao Jun photographed. I didn't see what Li Yueying looked like."
"You mean," Li Shuang began to understand, "that NPC was interfering with you?"
"Right." Having confirmed that, Zheng Xun brought up another matter. "What happened with Teacher Xu?"
"He was falsely accused," Xiao Jun said. "I found a torn-up statement in his office. It basically said that Liang Queyin liked him, but he didn't want a relationship with a student beyond that of a teacher and student, so he rejected her. Liang Queyin came to hate him for it and falsely accused him. He couldn't bear the vile things people said, so he took his own life."
"Ah..." Li Shuang cried softly. "How could that have happened? Poor teacher."
"What about Security Guard Feng and Security Guard Li?" Xiao Wu asked from the side.
"Security Guard Feng wasn't falsely accused. He really did commit an evil act, but the victim was Xiaoyin. Liang Queyin was twisting the truth." Zheng Xun spoke without expression, then looked at Xiao Jun.
Xiao Jun confirmed what Zheng Xun had said.
"That's right. I found a notice issued by the school. The real victim was Student Li."
"Then it's not hard to explain why Security Guard Li showed up," Cheng Jie said gravely. "He came for his sister. Maybe he had something to do with Security Guard Feng's death."
With all the clues pieced together, a tragic story unfolded before everyone.
Li Yueying had been resented for being too outstanding and bullied by a clique led by Liang Queyin. The poor girl had also been abused and killed by a devil of a man. To avenge his sister, Li Yuechu had taken revenge on Security Guard Feng and Liang Queyin in turn. As for Teacher Xu, he was an additional tragedy.
The truth had come to light.
No one spoke for a long time. They were as silent as stone statues. Only Zheng Xun had already prepared for one last chance to enter the instance.
Before setting out, he asked Xiao Wu, "Are you still coming? There's not much need, really. I already know who to look for."
Xiao Wu didn't hesitate.
"Please let me come with you."
"All right, then."
Their figures blurred and vanished from the first floor of the White Tower.
This time, Zheng Xun had a clear objective, and he didn't slow down. After so many repeated runs, the fact that he still had this much stamina made him a monster in the eyes of outsiders.
When they saw Li Yuechu again, both of them felt differently, especially Xiao Wu.
As they said goodbye, Xiao Wu said earnestly to Old Li the security guard, "Old Li, you don't have to feel guilty anymore."
The words seemed to fall outside NPC Old Li's range of comprehension. He didn't react and simply kept his honest smile.
Only after they left the security office did Zheng Xun ask Xiao Wu why he had said that to Old Li.
Xiao Wu was a little embarrassed.
"I was just guessing. Not being able to protect his sister must be what hurts him the most. Revenge can't make up for that pain."
Walking ahead, Zheng Xun slowed for a moment, then continued as if nothing had happened.
"They're NPCs. They don't have feelings. Those truths are all part of the script."
"I-I know..." Xiao Wu came back to himself and explained in a fluster, "I was overthinking it."
"It's fine." Zheng Xun summoned his hammer. They were about to face the bosses in the school building. "It's an immersive way to play. Nothing to criticize."
Xiaoyin first appeared at the entrance to the school building.
But this time, Zheng Xun didn't send Little Red Riding Hood after her.
Xiao Wu was a little puzzled.
"Brother, shouldn't we chase her?"
"No, it's not time yet."
Zheng Xun paid her no mind. Following his original plan, he dealt with the first two bosses and headed up to the rooftop.
Before pushing open the rooftop door, he suddenly said, "Xiao Wu, that's not your real name, is it?"
Xiao Wu froze.
"I may have to expose your identity in a moment. That's the only way to save her. I'm asking your permission first so I don't offend you."
Zheng Xun rested one hand on the rooftop door handle. A gentle press was all it would take to open it.
He waited.
After half a minute, a voice broke the silence.
"All right, I don't mind. Sorry for the trouble."