MS Chapter 44

Ouyang Bai is quite the chatterbox; once he starts talking, he can go on for at least two hours without stopping.

The impact on sleep quality from a midnight visit from a Female Ghost is nothing compared to this guy.

After dozing off in a daze, Lu Qingjia surprisingly woke up late the next day.

After a night had passed, most students had digested some of the terror from the previous afternoon, and since the majority hadn’t had dinner last night, the cafeteria was quite crowded for breakfast.

Of course, Lu Qingjia was unaware of this. By the time he got up to wash up, Ouyang Bai had already gone to the cafeteria alone and returned to tell him.

And he came back empty-handed, without bringing him any food.

Lu Qingjia looked at him, “You came back empty-handed? At least bring me a couple of pancakes!”

Ouyang Bai wrinkled his nose in disdain, “Breakfast is boring, it’s all salad, bread, pudding, fruit, pizza, pasta, what’s there to eat?”

“I usually have noodles or rice in the morning; at the very least, dumplings, buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks—anything is better than that stuff!”

Only then did Lu Qingjia remember that this guy has a typical local palate, and he’s picky and spoiled. He can compromise at other times, but in the morning, he’d rather not eat than have something he doesn’t like.

Lu Qingjia wiped the water off his face with a towel and said helplessly, “Can’t you at least bring me something decent? Besides, as an administrator, how can you have these issues? Don’t you have some rations in your personal space?”

He knew the financial background of these administrators. Generally, a Player’s initial Game space is measured by the size of a backpack or a box; having a space as big as a room is already the result of a long struggle.

But these administrators often carry a small world with them or have accumulated treasures from cultivation instances—what could they possibly lack?

Ouyang Bai disagreed, “I’ve said it before, in the real world and in instances of this level, to maintain Game fairness, we are also heavily restricted.”

“I came back to find something, and I locked my power level and backpack items from the start; otherwise, it would be impossible for anything to come out. So, based on my performance, I’m just a genuine intermediate Player.”

Then he added, “But I did find two good pieces of meat in my backpack.”

He held up two pieces of fresh-looking meat that resembled beef.

Ouyang Bai excitedly said, “This is the meat of a magical beast I had in a mid-level instance in another world; it’s incredibly delicious. I hoarded several tons before leaving the instance, but later, as more good things piled up in my space, I forgot about it.”

“Now that everything that shouldn’t appear at this level is locked, I found some left. I’ll go to the kitchen and make two bowls of noodles with fried sauce; wait for me, the taste is really amazing.”

Lu Qingjia wanted to ask him when he developed a hobby for cooking, but the guy had already run off.

The student dormitory here has a great environment, somewhat like a high-end hotel apartment. There aren’t many people on each floor, and there are living rooms, kitchens, and modern laundry facilities, making life very convenient.

Ouyang Bai arrived at the kitchen, opened the fridge, and saw there were still plenty of fresh vegetables, so he took out a cucumber and an onion. The kitchen was well-stocked with ingredients.

Rice, flour, beans, and similar items were stored in large, clean, sealed glass jars, showing little sign of use, indicating that the boys here weren’t very interested in cooking for themselves.

With about an hour left before class, Ouyang Bai didn’t bother to knead the dough and directly grabbed some noodles.

He first diced the marbled meat and put it in the pan to sauté, then began slicing the cucumber.

The knives, not used often, had a bit of rust on the handles, making them somewhat unwieldy.

Ouyang Bai was focused on preparing breakfast when suddenly, a Player appeared beside him.

The other person was holding a carrot he had taken from the fridge, turned on the faucet in the nearby sink, and while rinsing it, struck up a conversation with Ouyang Bai.

“Hey, man, making breakfast yourself? Quite ambitious.”

Ouyang Bai looked up at the comment, smiled, and said, “What can I do? I can’t just skip breakfast; it’s not like we’re in a starving instance. If I have the conditions, I might as well make it.”

The other person laughed along, but suddenly, a thought struck him. Ouyang Bai, due to inertia, was about to let the knife fall onto the vegetables, but it veered off course and was about to cut his finger.

This Player had a terrifying ability: he could use his blood to cast curses on others.

Although the prerequisites for activation were a bit troublesome, requiring a mix of the target’s blood with his own and then applying it to the target’s skin.

If the blood applied to the skin wasn’t removed within three seconds, the curse would succeed.

Once cursed, the target would turn into a bomb; as soon as he activated his ability, they would explode, causing significant damage over a wide area—a very insidious and convenient ability.

Yesterday, Lu Qingjia had eliminated six Gold-digging players in one go, putting them in a precarious situation. Given the cunning and perverse way they acted, it was clear that if he wasn’t dealt with soon, he would be a future threat.

But Lu Qingjia was too cunning, a tough nut to crack, so someone had their sights set on Ouyang Bai, who was following closely behind him.

This guy was completely unguarded, with flaws all over, looking like he was just trying to ride coattails. They planned to cast the curse on him and wait for the right moment to detonate.

Lu Qingjia would be severely injured, if not dead, and as for the school rules against breaking regulations, they could just wait for an opportunity.

After all, with so many Players from different factions allowed in, the Game would eventually provide opportunities for them to fight each other.

This Player pretended to chat to draw Ouyang Bai’s attention while using telekinesis to create a small accident to make him bleed, all without him noticing.

Just as the knife was about to cut Ouyang Bai’s hand, he suddenly slipped with the hand holding the cucumber, avoiding the blade.

The bomb Player was quite disappointed, but the knife’s inertia didn’t stop. Due to the rust on the handle, it suddenly broke under the force of the shift, leaving the handle in Ouyang Bai’s hand while the blade flew out and embedded itself in the bomb Player’s body.

The accident happened so quickly and smoothly that the bomb Player was stunned when he saw the blade half-embedded in his chest.

Ouyang Bai was the first to react, quickly supporting him, “Oh my god, man, are you okay? I didn’t mean to!”

“Did you hurt your heart or lungs? Let me find something to bandage it!”

The bomb Player checked himself and, fortunately, found that he hadn’t hit anything vital. Seeing Ouyang Bai flustered and clumsy, he was filled with rage but didn’t forget his original intent.

At that moment, someone appeared silently behind Ouyang Bai, almost without a presence.

He opened his mouth, and his tongue was pitch black and slippery, like a living leech.

His tongue quickly extended to the ground, trying to crawl up Ouyang Bai’s pant leg.

This Player’s tongue was similar to a leech, capable of sucking blood without the target noticing, and working in tandem with the bomb Player, it was a seamless combination.

Just as it was about to touch Ouyang Bai’s calf, he suddenly stood up and said, “This won’t do, I’ll go get the first aid kit.”

Then he stepped back, accidentally stepping on the leech guy’s tongue, causing the leech to grimace in pain.

But that wasn’t the end; the slippery tongue made Ouyang Bai slip, and instinctively, he reached out to steady himself, forgetting that he still held the knife handle.

Although he had locked his abilities at the Intermediate Level Game level, even so, his strength was more than enough to pierce flesh with a blunt object.

Thus, the knife handle pierced straight through the leech guy’s tongue.

When Ouyang Bai turned around and saw this, he was startled, “Oh my god, man, when did you sneak in? I really didn’t see you; it wasn’t intentional!”

The leech guy clutched his tongue, his face twisted in pain, and Ouyang Bai hurriedly said, “Oh no, that knife handle is rusty; we need to deal with it quickly.”

“Wait for me, you two!” He ran to the nearby living room and rummaged around, finally finding a first aid kit.

He took out a bottle labeled disinfectant and sprayed it on the leech guy’s tongue.

The leech guy, already in pain, suddenly felt like his wound was being doused with alcohol, salt, and menthol, and the sensation was excruciating.

“Ugh—” The leech guy let out a miserable scream, biting his tongue.

Ouyang Bai sprayed twice more and began to sense something was off. He sniffed the air, “Why does it smell like medicated oil?”

Then he realized that the contents of the first aid kit might have been swapped out by the boys playing pranks, and he felt incredibly guilty. Seeing the leech guy in pain, he panicked, “I’m so sorry, brother, just hang in there; I’ll wipe it off right away.”

Fortunately, there were paper towels on the stove, and Ouyang Bai quickly pulled out several sheets, carefully wiping the leech guy’s tongue.

At that moment, the bomb guy also regained his senses from the dire situation and realized this was a perfect opportunity for a sneak attack.

He pulled out a small knife from a nearby knife block, controlling it with telekinesis, aiming the tip at Ouyang Bai’s back.

Just then, Ouyang Bai suddenly smelled a foul burning odor and screamed, “My meat!”

He hurriedly turned to check his pan, and sure enough, the meat was burnt black and smoking, stuck in the oil that had been rendered.

As Ouyang Bai left, the small knife, unable to stop in time, flew into the leech guy’s body, hitting him right in the face and completely severing his already damaged tongue.

“Ah—” The leech guy screamed clearly without his dangling tongue.

Ouyang Bai was startled and quickly turned back to look at him, only to forget that he was reaching for the pan.

The pan was hot, and he accidentally burned his hand, instinctively throwing whatever he was holding.

As a result, the hot oil from the pan splashed all over the bomb guy, who was preparing to sneak attack with the knife in hand.

Even with enhanced physical attributes, he couldn’t withstand such pain, and the bomb guy screamed in agony from the extreme burn.

He writhed in pain, instinctively struggling, and as he retreated, he bumped into the marble countertop, falling to the ground while trying to grab onto something.

He grabbed a towel under the knife block, and several knives came crashing down, with two embedding themselves in his body and one cleaver leaving a deep wound down to the bone on his arm.

Both the bomb guy and the leech guy were in so much pain they could hardly speak, and Ouyang Bai stood in the middle of the kitchen, feeling utterly helpless.

In the end, he felt that the bomb guy’s wounds were more severe, so he hurried over, grabbing the knife in him to pull it out: “Hey, man, the gauze should be fine; let me pull the knife out to stop the bleeding.”

The bomb guy was filled with hatred for this pretentious smiling tiger, who he thought was a soft target, only to find he was tougher than Lu Qingjia. Suddenly, he heard Ouyang Bai let out a hiss.

He felt a jolt and quickly asked through gritted teeth, “What’s wrong?”

Ouyang Bai replied, “It’s nothing; I might have cut my palm while pulling out the knife. It’s not a big deal.”

The bomb guy felt a surge of joy; despite the setbacks, he had finally gotten the other’s blood.

At this moment, as he helped himself pull out the knife, Ouyang Bai’s hand was already stained with his own blood, which meant it was already mixed. The blood would seep in from his palm in three seconds.

Now he could make this treacherous guy explode right there; he couldn’t wait any longer. To hell with the big picture; he wanted this guy dead now.

To avoid being affected, the bomb guy gritted his teeth and said, “I’m fine with the knife wound; the key is the burn; it hurts like hell. Quickly go to the big fridge in the living room and bring back some ice cubes; if there’s no ice, any ice cream or popsicles will do.”

Ouyang Bai nodded repeatedly, “Oh, okay.”

As he hurriedly ran out of the kitchen, in that instant, the bomb guy revealed a sinister smile, his mind racing, activating his ability.

“Boom—” A violent explosion shook the entire boys’ dormitory. Those who heard the noise rushed over.

However, Ouyang Bai was the first to arrive. He looked at the kitchen, where two Players were left with only half of their bodies, and he was dumbfounded—

“I was gone for less than ten seconds; how did you two end up like this? Did you get ambushed?”

He scanned the surrounding Players warily, “Who did this? How despicable to ambush two severely injured people.”

The bomb Player and the leech Player were still breathing, but they were gasping for air.

He pointed at Ouyang Bai’s hand, “You, you—”

Ouyang Bai looked at his hand and forced a smile, “You’re in this state, so don’t worry about my little injury.”

“I just brushed off some blood when I went to get the ice, and I found my palm wasn’t cut; it just hurt a bit from the burn when I was pulling out the knife. It’s nothing; a bit of toothpaste will fix it in half an hour.”

The bomb Player spat out a mouthful of blood, using his last breath to scream, “You treacherous bastard, I won’t let you off even as a ghost!”

Ouyang Bai took a step forward, and the other guy cried out, “Don’t come any closer—”

And then he died on the spot.

The surrounding Players looked at Ouyang Bai, their initial disdain turning into wariness.

Two Players had died, and he himself had faced no punishment. The bomb guy’s unwilling wail before death, along with the evident inhumane torment they had suffered before dying, left a chilling impression.

That perverse Lu Qingjia at least calculated to let people die quickly; this seemingly innocent and kind guy was actually a sadistic tormentor.

Among those who had been close to the two dead Players, someone muttered, “Last night at dinner, those two were sizing him up; he must have noticed, right?”

“Yeah, I saw it too; he even turned back and smiled at them.”

“At that time, I thought he was just silly; who knew that smile meant this?”

“Stop talking; it gives me the creeps. Don’t let him notice us.”

The crowd murmured and dispersed far from Ouyang Bai, leaving him standing there, his face already accustomed to loneliness.

As class time approached, the surrounding people gradually left, and Ouyang Bai noticed Lu Qingjia standing at the back of the crowd.

He seemed to have caught something and rushed over to him, but as he got closer, he hesitated to look at his expression, fearing that even the one person he hoped would understand him in reality would show doubt and wariness.

Ouyang Bai lowered his head, speaking hesitantly, “It wasn’t me.”

But he heard a round of applause. He looked up to see Lu Qingjia smiling and clapping for him—

“Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! Even though you talked for two hours last night, it’s still not as impressive as seeing it in person. Truly a breathtaking way to clear the level.”

“You don’t believe me?” Ouyang Bai said, feeling wronged.

“I do believe you,” Lu Qingjia said with a smile, putting his arm around Ouyang Bai’s shoulder, “I believe you made them die of stupidity.”

“Ugh— I can’t tell if you’re praising me or mocking me,” Ouyang Bai said, but deep down, he was quite pleased that Lu Qingjia didn’t just follow the crowd.

“Of course, I’m praising you,” Lu Qingjia said, “That bomb’s activation condition likely required both his and the target’s blood, but you were mixing their blood together while going back and forth between him and the leech guy, sticking it to them.”

“It’s just that the rhythm was thrown off by you, and that fool completely lost his mind, not having time to reassess whether he might hurt himself. The moment you left, he couldn’t wait to detonate.”

“That ability is indeed quite useful; I’m sure the bomb guy has used this trick to kill countless enemies. It’s quite ironic now.”

“But even if you locked your abilities to the intermediate level, you must have known those two were planning to ambush you, right?”

Ouyang Bai sighed, “I knew; I figured it out as soon as they got unlucky.”

“But what level are they, and what level am I? It’s like they’re hanging themselves with their own rope; it’s quite unfair to them.”

“I genuinely wanted to help them, but who knew they’d be so unlucky and end up killing themselves in a matter of moments.”

He sighed again.

Lu Qingjia: “…”

Is this what they mean by the deeper the white, the darker it becomes? But he understood why even the administrators doubted him.

Ouyang Bai lamented, “My two pieces of meat are gone, and my noodles are gone too.”

Lu Qingjia took out two buns and handed them to him, “Here, eat these. They were made by the chef at my shop; they’re quite good.”

Seeing this, Ouyang Bai was delighted and quickly took the buns, savoring them sweetly, forgetting all about the two guys from just moments ago.

In a sense, that’s quite terrifying.

The two of them arrived at the classroom just in time, returning to their seats. Lu Qingjia’s male classmate next to him looked a bit better but was still trembling.

Seeing Lu Qingjia, he asked in a shaky voice, “What class is it today? It won’t be another one where someone dies, right?”

Lu Qingjia replied, “That depends on the teacher, but have you finished organizing the materials I asked for?”

The boy handed over a USB drive, “It’s all here, but I ran into someone on the way back to the dorm last night, and he took a copy.”

Lu Qingjia said, “No problem, let him copy it.”

Since Ji Ye showed no interest in matters that were already well-known, the upcoming lessons would only become less known. Even if he obtained many clues, he would need to extract useful information and make deductions himself.

If one couldn’t deduce anything, having the materials would be useless. Smart people who could understand would naturally find other ways to uncover clues.

At that moment, Ji Ye walked in just as the bell rang.

He looked in a good mood, pushed up his glasses, and addressed the students present, “Good morning, everyone.”

“Today’s topic is respecting the elderly and loving the young. This is not only a traditional virtue of our country but also a precious quality that tests a person’s love, patience, and empathy.”

“Of course, no one is perfect. Many of you here are young and impetuous, full of pride, and far from the age of maturity. Even when you reach that age, due to your unique circumstances, you may still harbor a sense of superiority, making it a luxury to maintain patience and humility.”

“I believe many of you have experienced situations where you didn’t consider others’ perspectives, even if the other party was elderly, young, or weak. Perhaps it wasn’t your intention, but harm has already been done.”

“In this lesson, I will guide everyone to reflect on past impulses, summarize your own mistakes, and hypothesize how you would make amends if given the chance.”

“Of course, as per tradition, we’ll have a student demonstrate.”

At this moment, a Player raised his hand, and Ji Ye said, “Please speak.”

The Player said, “Teacher, does this lesson also require us not to lie?”

Ji Ye’s smile widened, “I hope everyone can be as honest as possible, but if it’s really hard to say, you can embellish it appropriately.”

“But remember, do not fabricate stories.”

Everyone understood that this lesson was likely targeted.

Before they could ponder further, Ji Ye called on a student by their student ID, a Player with a scar on his face.