The silence was unwavering, it overtook the sounds of cries and begging as doubt began to creep into everyone's minds. Richard was innocent, they had just killed an innocent man brutally to save themselves. As someone who wanted to protect the weak and limit the strong, this was not something Kang Yumin could swallow down easily.
"Actually, when you and Zhen Yu were on the roof yesterday, I followed behind and sneakily listened in because I was curious about why you would go out alone. I heard everything he said, but even if he sounds like a good guy, NPCs were placed in this game to go against us. The reason why this is a S difficulty game is because the NPCs are intelligent," Zoren warned with a serious expression on his face.
Zoren's words were very logical. Of course, the NPCs were on no one's side but the game's, however Kang Yumin still felt a hint of hesitation in her heart. The words that Zhen Yu had spoken to her sounded very real, it was as if he was his own person with his own morals and thoughts- completely a separate being from the games itself. His eyes were also very bright, they were no less ambitious than a normal person's who had a life and dreams… Is that boy really nothing but lines of code programmed to go against them?
As the players who were chasing down Richard panted heavily amidst the silence, another sound appeared, the sound of footsteps. It was Zhen Yu who walked down the hallway, approaching the group of people standing near Richard's dead body that leaned against the wall lifelessly. His eyes were filled with remorse, regret, and guilt- all the emotions that the players tossed aside while taking Richard's life away.
Zhen Yu's hands were shaking, pupils blown wide, skin pale with a look of horror on his face. It was clear to anyone that the sight of a dead body terrified him, but he still approached Richard slowly with trembling fingers, holding a dark blue jacket that he found in a locker in his hands. "We were wrong…" Zhen Yu carefully placed the jacket over Richard head, covering his dead body, "I'm sorry." He himself, was unclear to whether he was apologising for being wrong, or apologising for indirectly killing Richard.
Unexpectedly, the first person to ever apologize was an NPC, someone who was not a part of the group that banged Richard's head repeatedly against the wall until the light in his eyes disappeared. Even if the other players disliked Richard, was it necessary to kill him in such a cruel way? Outside the game was Richard's family, friends, and close ones. Could they bear the guilt of taking someone's loved one away from them? It was cruel to think about it- the fact that a person who you cherish so dearly that you would give the world to them was being treated worse than a dog somewhere else.
"Come with me," Kang Yumin placed a hand on Zhen Yu's shoulder from behind him. Her touch was gentle but weighing, her voice was soft but firm- she was not taking a no for an answer. Leading them to the library once again, Kang Yumin then asked, "did you vote for Richard?"
"I did," Zhen Yu did not deny the truth. "I wholeheartedly believed that Xu Mingzhe would not kill his girlfriend, so when the voting started suddenly, I just decided to trust Xu Mingzhe without thinking about the possibility of his eyes being wrong or… that he might've been lying. That dream you had… I guess I can understand it now. How disgusted at yourself you must've felt when sending an innocent person to the punishment they didn't deserve."
Kang Yumin fell silent, she didn't know what to say in reply to that. After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke again, "I guess we do have something in common now… even if it's in the worse way possible."
Now it was Zhen Yu's turn to go silent. He didn't speak and just quietly stared into the distance, his gaze lowered as if questioning his own innocence in Richard's death. Kang Yumin could recognize that look anywhere, as she too had looked the same during one point of her life. She knew exactly what he was feeling, and how the feeling of despair and repulsion would soon overwhelm his thoughts and insides.
"After this is all over, it'll feel like you've never experienced anything at all, don't worry about it," Kang Yumin said gently. Zhen Yu knew that she was trying to comfort him, but this also revealed how players thought of NPCs. They thought that the trauma that they went through during these games did not affect the NPCs at all, because to them the NPCs were not real and would have their memories of the game forgotten to be reused for a new game, but that was not true at all. Everything that happened during this game, the feelings of guilt, death, and regret, they would stay with him for eternity, as long as his soul does not get destroyed.
"You talk like you know of the future Kang Yumin," Zhen Yu smiled, but this time it felt a little strained. "Thank you for trying to comfort me. I'm sure we'd all be fine if we could survive this."
"It's a pity that I'd have to leave this place eventually…" Kang Yumin spoke solemnly. "It's very likely that I would never see you again. There would be no one to remind me of what humanity is- of what humanity should be."
"Why won't we see each other again?" Zhen Yu questioned, though of course he knew the answer. There were hundreds of games out there, and even more actors that exists. The chances of them seeing each other again were very slim, and even if Kang Yumin refused to stop playing to take a break in the real world for a while, the possibility of coming across each other would still be very low. "Are you going overseas after graduation?"
To that question, Kang Yumin did not answer. Seeing that Kang Yumin didn't look very comfortable or happy to respond, Zhen Yu did not say anything else either and just silently sat across from Kang Yumin. After a while, Kang Yumin quietly got up and left, leaving Zhen Yu alone in the library.
"Please select a number between 1-10 to rate your mental state," a black cat suddenly appeared, jumping off the top of a bookshelf to land on the table with a soft 'thump'. "And no, you cannot refuse to answer. This is a requirement after anything deemed as 'traumatizing' appears on a job. As a system in the horror department, it is my job to ensure that all actors are stable and receive the necessary treatment they need."
"The company is quite considerate." Well, it could be considered as considerate but just barely as he was tossed into a game immediately after being hired, and then given an important role even though he was new in a S difficulty game. Yeah, now that he thought about it, he really wants to quit.
"The company is not heartless," system 13 sat on the desk with a proud expression on its face as if feeling prideful about the company it worked in. If Zhen Yu didn't know how colourful system 13's personality was, he would've thought that system 13 had been brainwashed by the company.
"If it's not heartless, then what is it?"
"Lifeless, everyone there is dead," system 13 lifted up its left paw and began licking without a care in the world. Really… why did Zhen Yu think it was a good idea to ask system 13 about anything at all? This system is an absolute diva!
"By the way, what gender are you?" Zhen Yu questioned curiously, "I doubt you'd like it if I referred to you as an 'it' forever."
"Isn't it obvious? Look at this luscious fur! Look at this handsome face! I am clearly a man!" system 13 exclaimed. "Didn't you take a full look at me yesterday? How could you not know? Do you not only have a mental illness where you want to look like a newborn baby, but are you also blind as well?"
"I did take a full look at you yesterday but, I couldn't tell because well… system 13… I think you accidentally turned into a neutered cat…" Silence… complete silence. For once the sassy system 13 couldn't open his mouth. "Well uh, good luck finding a girlfriend…" Zhen Yu got up and left the library.
"I'll let you know I have a wife at home!" came system 13's shout. "She is very hot and the most gorgeous system there is!"
Walking in the hallways, Zhen Yu came across Li Huohuo and Zhang Ruonan who stood inside a classroom together, seemingly discussing something. When Zhang Ruonan turned her head to the side, her eyes met Zhen Yu's eyes through the window and motioned for him to come inside. "Zhen Yu, I'll be upfront, let's team up together and hide in the same place tonight," suggested Zhang Ruonan.
"It'd be great for us if we could find a good place to hide. If the reapers can't find us until the 10 days run out, we will automatically win. What do you say?" Li Huohuo extended his hand out to Zhen Yu with a smile, it was quite a decent looking smile, but Zhen Yu knew deep down that it was fake. This was how terrifying this duo was, their acting wasn't bad at all, and it was clear that they were pros who most likely faked being friendly towards new players to take advantage of them.... aside from Richard who they discarded without a care here because he had 'no value' to them.
Zhen Yu is different from their previous victims, he is not a player. Because he is an NPC, he saw the personality of the two in front of him very clearly. Since he was 'just an NPC' in their eyes, they showed their true selves in front of him multiple times before, so of course he knew they were not trustworthy. They were the exact definition of 'two faced'.
"Sure," Zhen Yu smiled back at Li Huohuo and shook his hand. He already caused enough problems for the players, so it doesn't matter if he dies now or later anyways.
"Good, follow us," Li Huohuo said happily. Taking him downstairs to a door against the wall, Li Huohuo opened it to reveal the janitor's closet. "This is where we'll be hiding tonight. You already agreed so return here by 9:45pm. You can't take back your words or forget about the reapers, tomorrow morning we'll find you and kill you ourselves," Li Huohuo threatened.
"No worries, I'm the class president, how could I take back my words?" Zhen Yu assured. Seeing their eyes that clearly showed that they were looking down on him, Zhen Yu smile and calmly accepted that this would most likely be his last night.
Just like he said, when night came, Zhen Yu returned back to the meeting spot and entered the janitor's closet with the two players. At that point, they weren't even trying to hide their intentions as they pressured Zhen Yu to sit in front of the door, which meant that if the reapers found them, he would be the first to die.
"Zhang Ruonan, you know I love you right? But why do you get to be in the very back? Is it because you're the only woman here?" Li Huohuo whispered to Zhang Ruonan who sat safely behind the two meat shields in front of her.
"What if he did something to me as soon as he wakes up tomorrow morning? Besides, the female NPC already died earlier and the reapers have a two kill per day limit. Even if the reapers find us they could only kill one. Why wouldn't they kill the NPC in front?" Zhang Ruonan whispered back.
Her words were very reasonable and made sense however, Zhen Yu knew she was only making excuses to protect her own skin. The guardian angel protected him yesterday, so why wouldn't they do it again today if they really were an NPC who trusts the class president? Zhang Ruonan also knew that this was a possibility, so she set two walls in front of her so if Zhen Yu was protected and they were found, the reapers would kill Li Huohuo who was in front instead of her. She was a very smart and cunning woman.
Knowing this would probably be his last night in this game, Zhen Yu smiled and confidentially spoke, "Zhang Ruonan, you cunning bitch." Ah, it was great to have freedom.
Both Zhang Ruonan and Li Huohuo were shocked by Zhen Yu's words. "Wha…" before Zhang Ruonan could finish speaking however, 10pm hit and she was knocked out by the collar. Darkness covered all three of their visions and they all fell asleep, unknown of what's to come. 'Paycheck, here I come!'
When morning came, the first thing that Zhen Yu noticed was that he was alive, as well as a strange smell. 'Is that metal…?' Zhen Yu was greeted by the sight of the door once he opened his eyes. Nothing seemed to change however, once he moved his hand onto the ground to support himself up, his hand seemed to have landed into a puddle of something wet and sticky. Zhen Yu felt himself shudder, turning around to see what was behind him.
On the ground, piled up against one another were the dead bodies of Zhang Ruonan and Li Huohuo. Zhang Ruonan's body which was under Li Huohuo's looked more intact than the body on top of hers. A box cutter was clearly stabbed into her neck, meanwhile Li Huohuo had dried blood stuck in his hair which dripped down his face to his closed eyelids as a visible dent on the side of his head could be seen.
It was a revolting sight that made Zhen Yu cover his mouth and nose in fear. The inside of Li Huohuo's head could be seen and the mush mixed with blood that splattered all over the walls and floor were probably once part of Li Huohuo's body. Even the equipment used for cleaning was not spared as it was splattered with specs of blood on the handles. What was most frightening was not the dead bodies themselves, but how their expressions showed how blissfully unaware they were of their own deaths, looking like they were peacefully sleeping.
No matter how much pain they should've experienced during their murder, they could not wake up at all because of the collars, making them unable to scream or fight back, leaving them completely vulnerable. This was the most terrifying part. Li Huohuo's injury could only be caused by repeatedly bashing something against his head, but during the process of it, Li Huohuo didn't know what was happening at all. Zhang Ruonan's body looked way more intact, so she should've been bled out, but she couldn't do anything to stop it since couldn't wake up.
Not only that, but it was clear that one of the reapers were extremely violent and unstable from how Li Huohuo was killed, meanwhile the one who killed Zhang Ruonan seemed more remorseful like they didn't want to do it as they only stabbed her once. The unstable one was more dangerous, it meant that they were more than willing to commit these murders as long as they survived. However the real mystery was… why is there two dead bodies? Didn't a reaper already kill Lan Ying yesterday? How could they kill three people in one day? And if they didn't kill Lan Ying then… who did?
[The students 'Zhang Ruonan' and 'Li Huohuo' have been killed]
[Zhang Ruonan and Li Huohuo were both humans]
[Students remaining: 14/20]
[The guardian angel had protected Zhen Yu last night]
Zhen Yu felt chills creeping up his spine. If the guardian angel hadn't protected him last night, he really would've been killed. He did accept that it would probably be his last night yesterday, but seeing corpses right in front of him still made him afraid of his impending doom. Like Lin Huiyin said, the reapers were most likely players since he's definitely a threat to them as someone the NPCs gathered around, so it's very likely that he's been targeted. But because the guardian angel protected him last night, the reapers had no choice but to kill Zhang Ruonan and Li Huohuo instead, ultimately leaving him who was supposed to be their meat shield the only survivor out of the three of them, truly ironic.
Getting up, Zhen Yu stared at his hands that were covered in blood. His uniform wasn't completely clean either with bits of brownish blood splattered on it. Even if he wasn't killed last night, he would probably be voted off now that he looked guilty of killing someone. God… to be killed by a group of selfish humans… was that really so different from how he originally died?
Washing off in the bathroom, Zhen Yu took a look at his own appearance. The bits of dry blood very much stood out from his white uniform and blond hair, basically becoming an arrow that pointed to him as being the reaper… except he really wasn't. As he looked at himself in the mirror, another person came into view. It was Zoren who had a shocked and stiff expression.
"Hello," Zhen Yu turned his head to greet the player who had just entered the restroom. "I must look really guilty to you right now."
"Where… where are the dead bodies?" Zoren questioned, slowly backing away from Zhen Yu like he didn't trust him. To be fair, if Zhen Yu saw a dude covered in blood, he wouldn't trust him either.
"In that janitor's closet on this floor." After hearing Zhen Yu's answer, he backed away from Zhen Yu who was at the sink and as soon as he exited the bathroom, he took off running towards the janitor's closet. Sure enough, the bodies were exactly where Zhen Yu said they were, it was basically an admission that Zhen Yu was there when they died.
Once everyone gathered in the cafeteria like the morning before, Zoren began speaking. "Last night, Li Huohuo and Zhang Ruonan died. When I entered the male restroom on the first floor this morning, I saw Zhen Yu covered in blood and washing it off his hands. I even asked him where the bodies were and he answered correctly. They were in the janitor's closet on the first floor as well."
"Aren't these NPCs just so stupid?" Cheng Ming crossed his arms and scoffed. "You already look guilty and you just give the location of the dead bodies away like that? Idiotic. At least try to deny that you killed them. Hurry with the voting, we know who's guilty."
"Zhen Yu wouldn't do such a thing," Kang Yumin argued. "As someone who was voted the class president, wouldn't he have enough good qualities for the NPCs to trust him? And why would a murderer give someone ointment as an apology for hitting them? If it really was him, then wouldn't Cheng Ming be dead on the first night? And furthermore, a curse was used on Zhen Yu on the first night."
"Are you his personal lawyer or something? Look at all that blood! He even knew where they were! He's guilty! This is all evidence!" Cheng Ming retorted. "Even a million excuses wouldn't save him from being voted off. Look at all the players here, do they look like they want to believe you?" Even without much evidence, the players probably would've voted Zhen Yu either way because of the discrimination against NPCs.
"He wouldn't do that!" Xu Mingzhe exclaimed. "I know Zhen Yu would never do such a thing! He's always been friendly towards everyone and even helped me get my testimony out so I wouldn't be murdered!"
"And was that testimony correct? You killed an innocent man yesterday!" Cheng Ming pointed at Xu Mingzhe. "Don't think you're off the hook yet! You said that Richard killed your girlfriend but Richard was a human! Aren't both you and Zhen Yu who talked alone yesterday the most suspicious right now?"
"That's the problem," Zoren cut in between their argument, "the reapers can only kill two people per day, so why did Lan Ying, Zhang Ruonan and Li Huohuo all die? The speakers didn't announce a curse was used like on the first day either. Do you know what this means? It means a human killed Lan Ying since people who weren't killed by the reapers themselves shouldn't add to their kill limit because they didn't kill them. Xu Mingzhe's statement being correct and Richard who was a human being the culprit behind Lan Ying's death would explain why there were three killed, but the biggest question is, why would he do that?"
"Not you defending an NPC too!" Cheng Ming screamed angrily. "Are you all going crazy?! Look at that blood! Look at Richard's role! Are you stupid or just insane?" Cheng Ming dug out his phone and hurriedly pressed a couple buttons.
"What are you doing?!" Zoren rushed forward to grab Cheng Ming's phone in a panic but he was too late.
SCREEECH!
[A student has initiated the voting]
[You have 5 minutes to vote on the game website. Failure to vote will result in death. Choosing to abstain your vote is allowed if you cannot make a choice, however if everyone presses abstain, then all collars will explode]
Without hesitation, most players took out their phone and began voting. On the website, it showed that the votes were split between Zhen Yu and Xu Mingzhe. Even some NPCs who were a bit hesitant began to vote between the two.
"What are you doing just standing there!? Your precious class president who could do no wrong just killed two people! Hurry and get him out before he kills you too!" Cheng Ming shouted at the group of NPCs who refused to start voting right away.
"It's farfetched to accuse Zhen Yu of murder, we know what kind of person he is," Lin Huiyin crossed her arms. "Doesn't it seem more like you're trying to eliminate him right now? Weren't the reapers targeting him since day one? Are you guilty?"
"Two people have already abstained and there's six votes for Zhen Yu, the most you could do is make it six-six to tie now. Can you even make sure he survives? You might as well become his 7th and deciding vote." Cheng Ming taunted Lin Huiyin. Silently, Lin Huiyin grabbed out her phone and pressed a button.
[The voting time has ended. Everyone has cast their vote. The person with the most votes: Zhen Yu (6 votes), Xu Mingzhe (6 votes), abstained (2)]
[Since there is a tie between the two people with the most votes, the voting will be initiated again. The only ones allowed to vote are those who abstained. Students who abstained: Kang Yumin, Zoren Reyes. If the vote ends in a tie again, both Zhen Yu and Xu Mingzhe's collars will explode. 5 minutes left to vote]
All eyes turned to Kang Yumin and Zoren, but no one uttered a word to them. Even Xu Mingzhe and Zhen Yu whose lives were at risk didn't even utter a single plea for the two players to stare them and instead just stood there silently to see the outcome. Actually, both of them had voted for themselves.
Personally, Xu Mingzhe had already accepted death. A part of himself felt guilty for being the cause of someone's demise, even though he knew that this was his job. It was cruel, really. If you wanted to live faster, you would have to take the lives of others to gain one for yourself. Zhen Yu knew this, he understood this. He knew the one who killed Richard was not the players but himself.
"Yumin… I need you to trust me on this one. I understand that you like that NPC, but it's putting more and more people in danger the more innocents we lose. Xu Mingzhe is innocent, we have to vote out Zhen Yu now," Zoren was the first to break the silence, trying to convince Kang Yumin to go along with him after making his vote.
"I know for a fact that Zhen Yu is innocent. I won't budge on this matter," Kang Yumin crossed her arms. "It's impossible for him to actually kill someone."
"I found him in the bathroom trying to wash blood off himself and he even knew where the dead bodies were. I was suspicious of Xu Mingzhe being the real culprit of Lan Ying's murder too, but I've been able to confirm that he most likely didn't do it. Please, just this once, trust me," Zoren sounded like he was on the verge of begging. The calm and collected appearance that he always had was slowly breaking down into desperation. "Isn't this what you want? To protect the innocent?"
"… You are right." Kang Yumin turned to her phone and pressed a button however, to Zoren's dismay, she had voted for Xu Mingzhe. The votes were tied again. "I will stand for what I truly believe in."
"Are you crazy?! Are you going insane knowing you can't truly save him?!" Zoren questioned. "Tying the vote now will still kill him, it will kill both of them! At least we could've saved one."
"I believe it, that he truly didn't kill Zhang Ruonan or Li Huohuo. He won't die so easily, I know it." Kang Yumin had a look of confidence on her face however if one looked closely, they could see her fingers shaking from fear.
[The voting has ended. All students have voted. The voting has tied once again: Zhen Yu (1), Xu Mingzhe (1)]
[The students 'Zhen Yu' and 'Xu Mingzhe' will now have their collars explode]
[The guardian angel has forfeited their abilities and saved the student 'Zhen Yu' from execution]
[Xu Mingzhe will now be the only one eliminated. Collars will no longer explode. Please execute Xu Mingzhe in the next 10 minutes or all collars aside from Xu Mingzhe's will explode once the time is over. Time remaining: 9:59]
With eyes widened, Zoren snapped his head to look at Kang Yumin in shock. "Did you… did you know this would happen…?" he spoke in disbelief. "No… it's you isn't it? The one who's been protecting him all this time. You were so confident because you knew he wouldn't die…"
As the students began to move into Xu Mingzhe, the blue eyed male only stood still and stared at the ground wordlessly. He didn't try to run, didn't try to struggle- he didn't even try to plead for his life, knowing that he had no fear of death unlike Richard who only had one life.
"Everyone … thank you," Xu Mingzhe looked up and smiled with a hint of sadness, "I won't burden you anymore. I can't imagine how it must've felt being forced to kill one of your classmates yesterday. Let's… see each other soon, maybe." With a sudden burst of movement, Xu Mingzhe dashed towards the classroom window that was left open after Takamura Shuuji's departure.
"Xu Mingzhe what are you doing?!" Bai Lang hurriedly peered out the window, his head leaning over the frame as he watched Xu Mingzhe limp over to the opened school gates. When Xu Mingzhe's feet touched the ground outside the gates, his head exploded, blood splattering everywhere as a second body joined the first.
[Xu Mingzhe has violated the rules and received his punishment]
[The student 'Xu Mingzhe' has been executed]
[Xu Mingzhe was a human. Students remaining: 13/20]
Zhen Yu flinched back, wincing as he moved away from the window and shut his eyes in despair. It was another day that he survived, however he had no intention of thanking his saviour. Hopelessly, Zhen Yu walked out of the classroom alone, wishing this nightmare would end sooner, though he knew that another one was waiting for him as soon as he left this game.
"Cruel isn't it? The school gates I mean," Lin Huiyin's voice appeared behind Zhen Yu as he walked through the hallways. She always seemed to appear randomly like a ghost, smoothly following his rhythm as she walked beside to him. "I've always hated that detail as soon as I loaded into this game. It's disgusting that the company would leave that gate permanently open."
"… Why do you hate it?"
"Don't you think it's mocking us? The game presents an exit- an escape from all this, but all it does is create false hope. The gate will never close, it's always open for you to take a step outside to freedom, but it's all a lie. It taunts you so openly. Imagine you're a bird trapped in a cage with a door that's always open, but you know you can't fly away because you will immediately get shot down, isn't it wicked?"
After speaking, Lin Huiyin dug into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, something Zhen Yu didn't even know you could have in this game. Lighting up one for herself, she then held the pack of cigarettes towards Zhen Yu who politely declined. Stopping at a window, Lin Huiyin opened it, blowing a puff of smoke into the clear skies that seemed so peaceful compared to what was happening inside the school.
"Being presented a false freedom is so much more evil than giving none at all." Lin Huiyin no longer paid anymore attention to him and instead just stared outside with a cigarette in her hand, leaning over the window frame. Seeing her so entranced, Zhen Yu quietly left her alone, finding a spot for himself to stay for the day.
This was just his job- it was a game even, but still Zhen Yu could not rest his mind at all. He could feel guilt in his heart and anxiety in his brain. Silently in the empty classroom, Zhen Yu prayed to embrace peace once again, but no one would answer his call in an artificial world. He prayed for escape, but he's already crossed a line that he could never step back on.