Chapter 67: The Haunted School—Sunshine Doll (5)

Little Tang Mu crouched down, reaching to pick up her notebook.

But Zi Yushu’s foot landed firmly atop it.

The dirt on the sole of his shoe smudged the hard cover, soiling not just the notebook, but also the pure, burning heart of Tang Mu herself.

“I have a girlfriend now,” he said. “Stop coming after me, you understand? I don’t want my girlfriend getting the wrong idea.”

...

Tang Mu didn’t say much more.

She quietly withdrew all her warmth.

Her gaze grew colder, sharper.

“But just over a month ago, you told everyone that I was your girlfriend.”

“Did I?” Zi Yushu put on a long, thoughtful look, as if he genuinely couldn’t recall. “Maybe you remembered wrong?”

“I didn’t. And I wouldn’t remember wrong.” Clutching her notebook, Tang Mu stubbornly pressed on, determined to get the answer she wanted from his lips.

“You’re just scared. Afraid your parents will be called in. But if you were really that afraid, you shouldn’t have gone around flirting with all the girls, breaking their hearts, and getting your mother to scold them into transferring schools.”

“In truth, you’re nothing but a coward!” she spat.

At being called a coward, Zi Yushu’s eyes narrowed. He stared at Tang Mu for a few silent seconds, then laughed coldly.

“Yes, I am. So what?” Zi Yushu’s gaze was just as icy as Tang Mu’s. “Universal law says those under fourteen lack legal capacity for action. Under sixteen, you can’t be held criminally responsible. Tang Mu, have you heard of the law of the jungle? Once we leave school, we must follow the law, respect elders, care for the young, and uphold morality. But in school, we have our own rules. Here, neither law nor morality can restrain the gray areas where we walk!”

He looked at Tang Mu with defiant arrogance, as if the feelings of others meant nothing to him.

“Anyone smart enough to get into this school won’t waste a good hunting opportunity. The weak, gentle herbivores are destined to be devoured, not even crumbs left behind. Survival of the fittest—that’s my nature. I only enjoy the thrill of the hunt. As for those who are hunted—whether they end up dead or alive, spared or consumed—that’s none of my concern.”

“So you… you’ve already been hunted by me. Whether you escape unscathed is none of my business, is it?”

No wonder his mental strength was rated S.

A blow from a higher dimension.

...

Tang Mu’s eyes reddened.

And at this moment, the elder Tang Mu thought: No wonder she once loved Zi Yushu so desperately. They were, at their core, the same kind of people.

Like attracts like.

...

After this devastating blow, little Tang Mu, clutching her diary, leapt from the sixth-floor railing.

The grass on the first floor was drenched in blood.

When the body hit the ground, it was broken beyond recognition.

Tang Mu was stunned.

She had never committed suicide.

She had, with perfect clarity, absorbed Zi Yushu’s “theory,” then taken a lighter and set fire to every diary she’d written from grade one to six.

As for Zi Yushu himself...

Back then, he was a force of overwhelming mental pressure to her. She didn’t confront him head-on, but quietly gathered her strength, vowing to bide her time for revenge.

But now, was the story finally changing?

And she could once again take charge of her own body.

Excitement began to bubble up in her.

But she discovered that the girl who had died was named “Tang Mu,” while she was still “Tang Mu.”

And in terms of identity, she was “Tang Mu’s” younger sister.

She had even replaced “Tang Mu” and returned to Rose Primary School.

Gradually, everyone began to realize that although “Tang Mu” and “Tang Mu” were twins, they were utterly different.

One was gentle and harmless—a little lamb.

The other was wild and untamable—a big gray wolf.

At the same time, several new transfer students appeared in the class. Above their heads hovered the label “Player.”

“Oh, new faces.” Tang Mu walked up to the new kids, hooking a finger under their chins.

“Wasn’t this game supposed to be a single-player dungeon? After such a long prologue, there are suddenly several more players joining for the fun?”

Tang Mu first sidled up to a little girl. “What’s your name?”

The little girl trembled. “Jing… Jing You.”

Then she immediately tugged at the boy beside her. “The one from ‘Horror Campus: The Sunny Doll’—she’s the creepy girl who’s going to hunt us down. She must be a vital NPC. We have to get on her good side if we want to find the clues to clear the game.”

The other boy was also filled with fear.

...

“This theme is campus violence. The girl called ‘Tang Mu’ was wearing red when she died—maximum creep factor. We don’t even know if we’ve bought all the right items, or if we’ll survive to the end…”

Tang Mu: “…?” When did she become an NPC in a dungeon?

“Hey, even if I am an NPC, isn’t it a bit rude to discuss your game-clearing clues right in front of me? And why are you so sure I’m the NPC?”

Jing You, trembling, removed her contact lenses.

“This item… it’s supposed to let us tell who’s a player and who’s an NPC after entering the game. And… it helps us quickly master the mechanics…”

Tang Mu was silent for a moment.

She thought these people were absolutely ridiculous.

What kind of player would show their survival item to something scary?

Perhaps it was Tang Mu’s strange gaze that made them nervous, because the players hastily explained, “The game interface told us to seek out an NPC called ‘Tang Mu’—she’s the key to clearing the game.”

Oh?

Is that so?

“How many people are playing this round?”

Jing You pointed at Tang Mu’s classmates behind her. “Rose Primary, Grade Six, Class Two, plus me and Yin Juncai—forty-nine in all.”

Forty-eight players, plus one Tang Mu.

Just as Tang Mu began to wonder if there was something wrong with this game instance, a message suddenly appeared on her screen:

Please initiate campus violence and eliminate everyone except yourself!

“Horror Campus: The Sunny Doll” is a deadly chase game. You are the hunter; all others are the hunted. The deceased “Tang Mu” will become your most capable ally.

Attack these naive little lambs!

Your resentment will be fed by their terror!

After reading the game prompt, a strange smile crept across Tang Mu’s lips.

“Oh, I really am ‘Tang Mu’s’ younger sister. I transferred here a month after her death. And you? What brought you all to Rose Primary?”