Yu Huijun was a seemingly gentle girl, wearing a floral sundress with a white cardigan over it, her long hair flowing down her shoulders. She became nervous and very uneasy upon seeing the two policemen.
The policewoman and her assistant exchanged a glance, both feeling that this girl was suspicious and might be the key to their breakthrough.
These college students from the ivory tower are not seasoned veterans; if they have a guilty conscience, they can easily leave traces with the police.
The police station, the police officers, and the interrogation room—these three elements combined create immense pressure. Yu Huijun's mental fortitude wasn't strong enough, and she was beginning to feel the strain.
"Don't be nervous, drink some water."
"Thank you." Yu Huijun sat down, her eyes darting away.
"We have found evidence that you placed those wood carvings."
Suddenly, the policewoman said something that made Yu Huijun look up sharply: "What? No, no, you've misunderstood, haven't you?"
She quickly put down her water glass and said urgently, "It wasn't me. I happen to have a clue."
"Hmm?" The policewoman quickly raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
However, Yu Huijun quickly produced her 'evidence,' which was a short video. The video contained many people, but she deliberately paused when a girl appeared.
Judging from the paused footage, the girl in it is indeed putting something under someone's pillow.
"Who is this girl?" The policewoman looked at the girl on the screen. She was a very pretty girl with a neat short haircut and ripped jeans. One of her hands seemed to be helping to straighten the wrinkles in the pillow, but half of her palm was under the pillow.
"Yu Xueming, her name is Yu Xueming."
"Huh?" Ren Yifei, standing on the policewoman's shoulder, was a little surprised. When he was checking Yu Xueming's information on the official website, she had long black hair in her one-inch photo and looked like a girl from a good family, but she looked rather cool in the picture.
Her demeanor had completely changed. And Ren Yifei felt she looked familiar. He thought back carefully: she was at the first gathering at the bubble tea shop, and…
Ren Yifei remembered. He had seen her in the gray passageway, a shadow so pained that she couldn't even shed a tear.
If Zhao Rui's negative emotions were fear, then they must have been pain.
This was strange, because he remembered that 'Yu Xueming' was defined as a third type of person, that is, a non-susceptible group.
After Yu Huijun left, Yu Xueming arrived. Just like in the video, she was a neat young woman with short hair. As usual, the policewoman brought her a glass of water: "We already have evidence to show that you placed those wood carvings."
The disposable water cup in her hand was crushed, and water splashed out.
"What...what did you say?" Yu Xueming's smile was forced.
"When your classmate was taking pictures, one of them happened to capture you," the policewoman said, blurring the key point to make it sound like: she filmed you committing the crime.
Yu Xueming understood it the same way. She opened her eyes wide and stared at the policewoman, who just looked at her sternly.
"Look," the assistant officer showed her the screenshot, "we have other photos as well."
The photo was right in front of her, and Yu Xueming's fingers trembled slightly.
"I hope you can cooperate with us; it's for your own good. You're still studying, and your parents and family don't want to see you make an unforgivable mistake."
Yu Xueming remained silent, seemingly acquiescing, yet also refusing to cooperate.
"After you arrived, three of your classmates died, and several others are still in critical condition. They should have had brighter futures. They were students, just like you, and they would eventually enter society. They also had parents, relatives, friends, and favorite TV shows and celebrities. You even bumped into each other on the street and probably nodded to each other as a greeting..."
"That's enough, I did it." Yu Xueming raised her head, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
"Why? Who gave you these wood carvings?"
Yu Xueming chuckled: "Would you mind taking a moment to listen to a story I tell?"
The policewoman nodded.
"I have a friend, let's call her Xiaoxue."
Xiaoxue has a seemingly perfect family: a dignified father, a beautiful mother, a villa, luxury cars, and a private tutor.
But beneath this glamorous facade lies a father who is rarely home, a mother who uses alcohol to numb herself, and, oh, a teacher who molests students.
"After meeting him, Xiaoxue's world became bright. With his encouragement, Xiaoxue, who had been required to be a lady since childhood, cut her long hair, mustered up the courage to leave her dirty home, worked to earn money, managed her own life, and did what she wanted to do. After meeting him, she realized what it meant to be alive."
Yu Xueming calmly recounted the story of 'a friend.' But everyone knew that she was that friend.
He was Xiaoxue's pillar of support, so one day, Xiaoxue confessed her feelings to him. But he rejected her.
Xiaoxue didn't understand and was unwilling to accept it, so she confessed her feelings twice more over the next six months. Only then did he reveal the truth: he identified as female. He felt that if he stayed with her like this, he would be deceiving her.
"Have some water." The policewoman brought over a new water glass.
"Thank you." Yu Xueming took the water glass, but didn't drink it. She wanted to tell the whole story. "It took Xiaoxue half a year to accept this. She started researching gender reassignment surgery, including preparation, cost, and post-operative care... But one day, he came over and said there was a better way—ritual."
Those present and those absent instantly perked up; this was a mention of the main plot.
"People die during rituals, Xiaoxue knew that long ago. What in this world can you get something without paying a price? But she didn't know that the ritual might also fail and send her lover somewhere unknown, leaving a wandering ghost to possess his body."
Ren Yifei: ...Saman?
Yu Xueming finally smiled: "You asked who gave me these wood carvings? Of course, I made them myself. There is the will of God in those wood carvings. I felt the presence of the gods, and they guided me to do the right thing."
"He'll come back once there are enough offerings, right?"
The policewoman was stunned. No one spoke. It turned out that a devil had already taken over her human body.
In this massacre known as the 'Sacrifice,' a very small number of people were able to grow and evolve an even more terrifying artistic talent amidst life and death. Yu Xueming seems to be one of them.
If she hadn't gone astray, her future would have been bright. But if she hadn't gone astray, how could she have created such terrible works of art?
Ren Yifei preferred to call those wood carvings works of art, not the descent of divine will, but rather the venting of Yu Xueming's personal emotions.
Those who were unconscious in the hospital were already a highly sensitive group to art, and upon seeing this monstrous wooden carving, they immediately detonated the bomb they had planted earlier.
Ren Yifei has severed their connection. If it weren't for the stimulation of the wood carving, these people could have survived. What a pity.
Yu Xueming went in empty-handed, but came out handcuffed and being escorted by a policeman. The students waiting outside watched this scene in astonishment; they never expected it to be her.
"It was you?"
But Yu Xueming showed no panic or regret. She calmly looked at these people and said, "Congratulations, you've escaped a disaster."
She also passed by Yu Huijun, who lowered her head and turned her face away to avoid eye contact.
Yu Xueming chuckled and walked past the students.
Suddenly, she stopped: "The sound of the sea... oh!"
Strange sounds were heard in the noisy police station, but they weren't the sound of the sea. Instead, it was as if someone had plucked a steel wire, creating rings of sound.
"Let's go." The policewoman urged Yu Xueming, who was standing still, but Yu Xueming stared wide-eyed straight ahead.
"It came to take me away." A blood-red line appeared on Yu Xueming's neck, from which blood gushed out, and blood also gushed from her mouth.
The policewoman realized what had just happened and exclaimed in shock, "Call an ambulance! Quickly!"
It was too late. Yu Xueming collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from her neck. She turned her eyes to where her classmates were standing: "I have no regrets. If I never see you again, good morning, good afternoon, good evening..."
Before she could finish uttering the last word, she closed her eyes and stopped breathing forever.
If I don't see you again, good morning, good afternoon, and good night.
This is a line from *The Truman Show*, and perhaps it exists in this world as well. It represents the protagonist facing a fabricated, predetermined fate with the utmost optimism. It's just unclear what Yu Xueming's intention was in saying this line.
The little mosquito on the policewoman's shoulder fluttered its wings, flew to Yu Xueming's neck, and then remained still.
His neck was cut open by something like a steel wire. This was a homicide, not caused by some mysterious force, nor by a 'ghost,' but by a player.
"Wouldn't killing her make a difference?"
Amidst the panicked crowd, a faint voice rang out. Ren Yifei looked over and saw Chen Shen and Wen Li standing at the back of the crowd, chatting quietly. Because the scene was too chaotic, no one paid attention to them.
"It seems the ritual was successful not because of the hair," Wenli said.
The two women remained silent after that, simply observing the chaotic scene with indifference.
The murder of a suspect in a police station may seem like a minor or major event, but it will undoubtedly have an impact on the entire incident.
Ren Yifei then connected Yu Xueming's short hair with the vice president's wig, which means that other players suspect that the vice president used the wig, or rather, used the wig to access Yu Xueming's power, in order to successfully complete the sacrifice.
If we follow this line of thought, do the players believe that killing the 'real priest' Yu Xueming will stop the ritual?
Ren Yifei's heart tightened.
He was very clear about one thing: no matter who the priest was before, whether it was the vice president or Yu Xueming, the one who now bears the entire curse and exists as a priest is Saman.
If the players discover this, will they take action against Saman?
The mosquito had just flapped its wings when a white knitted cardigan landed on it and Yu Xueming's corpse; someone had covered her face. Ren Yifei immediately severed his connection with the paper puppet.
His face turned pale, and he had exhausted some of his strength by twice deliberately severing the paper puppet. But Ren Yifei didn't have time to pay attention to that. He stood up, hurriedly packed his schoolbag, and walked out.
Leaving the library, the sun was shining brightly outside, but Ren Yifei still felt the chill of the library's air conditioning; he didn't feel warm, but rather a bit cold.
A new white butterfly rested on his fingertip. The butterfly fluttered its wings and flew towards the dormitory building.
The dormitory building and the dormitory itself, as I remember them, still look the same as they did when they were damaged.
On Saman's desk was a cell phone charging, the computer keyboard was lit up, and the CPU cooler was spinning, but there was no one inside.
A white butterfly flew towards the computer, and a shadow vaguely appeared on the black screen. Before you could see it clearly, the white butterfly was sliced in two by something sharp.
Ren Yifei tripped and fell to the ground on the road.