Chapter 4: Taking the Initiative

As soon as the Little Devil sent this message, many classmates burst into curses.

"This is going too far! Isn't this just forcing people to accept punishment?"

"I was really stupid to join this group. Sigh..."

"Lili has a boyfriend. I have no idea how this game is supposed to work. So frustrating..."

I didn't respond to the messages in the group. I thought that whatever was said there was of no use and would only draw the Little Devil's attention.

We still didn't know who the Little Devil was and didn't even have any suspects. The most crucial thing was to find a way to crack the game, rather than just complaining in the group.

Jin Xiaofeng suddenly slammed the table and roared at us furiously,

"None of you are allowed to touch my woman. Don't even think about it. Whoever gets the lucky draw and becomes the lucky one, you'd better accept the punishment obediently. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Jin Xiaofeng and Zhao Lili were a couple and were always showing off their affection. Everyone in the class knew about it.

Jin Xiaofeng was notoriously petty. Relying on being a rich second - generation with a wealthy family, he often made a huge fuss in the class over trivial matters, and no one could stop him. I guessed that Zhao Lili was with him just for his money.

After Jin Xiaofeng spoke, everyone fell silent. But then the Little Devil sent a message:

"To make the game more interesting, if this game isn't completed, both of them will be punished."

Jin Xiaofeng flew into a rage and said in the group,

"Fuck you! Zhao Lili is my woman. I order you to cancel this game. I'll give you money. Name your price if you dare!"

In fact, I knew that many people in the class disliked Jin Xiaofeng and were just watching the show. Seeing that his woman was about to be involved with someone else, they secretly felt delighted.

There were also some people who liked to curry favor with him and started echoing in the group:

"Yeah, change the game. This one is a bit too extreme, isn't it?"

"Brother Feng has already said he'll give you money. Don't be too pushy. Just let it go."

The Little Devil never replied.

Today was Friday. After school, everyone was in a hurry to go home. I had originally planned to wait for Su Chunxiao, but her father picked her up by car, so I had to take the bus back alone.

Sitting on the bus, I took out my phone and found that many people in the group had already started grabbing the red envelope.

I chuckled. No matter what others said, with so many people in the class, there were always some bold and care - less ones who took the lead. The red envelope was snatched up in an instant. This time, the lucky one was Ye Jin.

Ye Jin sent an emoji showing his helplessness, and then Jin Xiaofeng started cursing non - stop in the group.

I was too lazy to watch him act like a rabid dog, so I turned off my phone and closed my eyes, pondering over what had happened in the past two days.

Fortunately, this time the game time was two days, which gave me enough time to calm down and think about this matter carefully.

Ye Jin used to be Wang Rui's underling. After Wang Rui died, he lost his backer. And there was no way Jin Xiaofeng would allow Ye Jin to get close to Zhao Lili. If we couldn't find a way to crack the game this time, both he and Zhao Lili would be punished.

I thought of what the chubby policeman had told me. The case seven years ago? What on earth had happened seven years ago? Why had I never heard anyone mention it?

Time always passed quickly when I was deep in thought. After I got home, I quickly had a full meal, poured a glass of water, told my mother that I was going to review my lessons, then locked the door of my room and turned on the computer.

Since our school didn't have a long history, there wasn't much information available, mostly news about school leaders.

When I searched for keywords, I found a piece of news about our county. It was said that in a small village in our county, more than sixty people had died in a row. The village was filled with blood, and only livestock and one survivor were left. The survivor was sent to a mental hospital on the same day. The case was classified as a red - level case by the state and still hadn't been solved.

This news was like a public notice, with no pictures or real - person information, and even the name of the village wasn't reported.

I specifically looked up the definition of a red - level case. Most so - called red - level cases were, to put it bluntly, supernatural events. They were cases that couldn't be solved by humans and were thus marked in red.

It would have been better if I hadn't seen this. As soon as I thought of the word "supernatural", I shuddered all over, and instantly felt that the temperature around me had dropped significantly.

The appearance of the Little Devil had already led to the deaths of two people in our class, and the ways they died were exactly the same as what the Little Devil had specified. This couldn't be just a simple coincidence. In other words, if the Little Devil was a ghost, then we were almost like lambs waiting to be toyed with until we died.

I shook my head. The more I thought about it, the more terrifying it became, so I quickly closed the web page.

Just then, my phone received a message from Su Chunxiao. She sent an emoji of a crying Aodamai and said,

"Xiang Nan, what are you doing?"

I secretly smiled and replied with a mischievous emoji, saying,

"Nothing. Just thinking about you, hehe..."

Su Chunxiao sent an emoji of rolling her eyes at me and then said,

"Seriously, what do you think Ye Jin and Zhao Lili should do? I'm so scared that when we come back on Monday, they'll receive the punishment."

Su Chunxiao's question really stumped me. I also really wanted to know how to save them, because if it was them this time, it could very well be me or Su Chunxiao next time. But there really was no solution at the moment. I could only try to comfort her by saying,

"Don't worry. There's always a way to solve things. Jin Xiaofeng is so rich. Maybe he'll find someone to help."

"Yeah, but I'm still really scared. I'm afraid it'll be my turn next. I don't even dare to open the WeChat group now."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you!"

...

Su Chunxiao and I chatted casually. When I said I would protect her, I actually didn't have much confidence. I could only do my best. Sometimes I really felt that I was incredibly insignificant.

The vacation was only one day. We had to make up classes on Sunday, so we went to school early in the morning.

As soon as I reached the school gate, I received a message from the Little Devil:

"Ye Jin and Zhao Lili have completed the task. The red - envelope amount has been upgraded to 500."

Fuck!

Did they really do it?

The people in the group were as shocked as I was and were all shouting and exclaiming in the group, as if they had completely forgotten the previous punishments that had led to death.

I noticed that Jin Xiaofeng didn't say a word throughout. This was totally unlike him. I knew this was the calm before the storm.

I turned off my phone and quickly ran towards the classroom.

When I ran into the classroom, I found that many people had already arrived. Ye Jin was surrounded by several boys who were bombarding him with questions. He was lowering his head, looking embarrassed and answering casually.

Zhao Lili was sitting alone in her seat, looking a bit uneasy.

Where was Jin Xiaofeng?

Just as I was thinking this, suddenly a person rushed in from the door with a watermelon knife, which startled me.

"Fuck you!"

Jin Xiaofeng rushed in, aimed straight at Ye Jin's position, and kept cursing. He mercilessly slashed at Ye Jin with the knife in his hand.

Fortunately, Ye Jin was quick - witted and dodged quickly. Otherwise, half of his face would have been gone for sure.

"You have the guts to sleep with someone but not the guts to be hacked by me? You won't leave here alive today!"

Jin Xiaofeng was chasing Ye Jin like a rabid dog. It was obvious that he cared a great deal about Zhao Lili. Everyone just tried to get out of the way and no one stepped in to help.

If this continued, something bad was bound to happen sooner or later. I had originally thought that both Ye Jin and Zhao Lili were doomed. Now the outcome seemed not too bad, but if Ye Jin was hacked to death by Jin Xiaofeng, it would be a great pity.

Ye Jin was so scared that he could only run around the desks. But he accidentally tripped over a chair and fell right in front of me, looking extremely panicked.

Seeing Jin Xiaofeng running past me, I summoned up my courage and grabbed his hand holding the knife from behind. If I let him pounce on Ye Jin, Ye Jin might be killed.

"Let go of me, you idiot!"

I alone couldn't subdue the frenzied Jin Xiaofeng. Seeing that everyone was just numbly watching the show, I shouted loudly,

"Are you all blind? Do you still want more people to die? Come and help hold him down!"

When several boys around me heard me shout, they finally reacted and helped hold Jin Xiaofeng down. But Jin Xiaofeng's other hand was still gripping Ye Jin tightly.

Ye Jin couldn't break free. Probably scared by Jin Xiaofeng's blood - red eyes, he trembled and said,

"I didn't approach her on my own initiative..."

Although his voice was soft, this sentence stunned Jin Xiaofeng completely. The knife in his hand dropped to the ground, and we also let go of our hands.

Jin Xiaofeng looked back at Zhao Lili in disbelief.

Zhao Lili couldn't bear the gazes of the whole class. Her emotions instantly broke down, and she cried out,

"Yes, yes, yes! It's me! Who made me so unlucky to be assigned this game..."

"Yes, I took the initiative to contact him and made an appointment to open a room..."

"Xiaofeng, you only care about your own face. Have you ever thought that if he and I didn't do it, it would be us who died, not you!"

I was the closest to Jin Xiaofeng. I could see that the muscles at the corners of his mouth were twitching with anger. He turned his head and spat on the ground, then viciously cursed at Zhao Lili,

"Bitch! I was really blind!"