Vol. 1 Chapter 13 – Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus. (13)

Although the fire hadn’t spread to the first and second floors, the staircase was already filled with choking smoke and stifling heat. Just stepping inside made your skin sting with a burning pain.

Yin Liuming soaked his jacket in the restroom on the first floor, covered his mouth and nose with it, and headed upstairs without hesitation.

The higher he climbed, the clearer the faint cries for help became.

When he reached the second floor, Yin Liuming scanned the corridor and narrowed his eyes slightly.

There was no one around, and he didn’t see Ding Pei’an either.

Additionally, Yin Liuming noticed a small detail: flowers were everywhere in the school, except in the office building.

If this fire was part of the scripted plot, then any flowers in the office building would have been burned away. That might explain why there weren’t any here at all.

The smoke on the second floor was already heavy, only a step away from the third floor, where the fire had actually started.

He didn’t pause after reaching the second floor—he kept going up.

“Do you have a death wish?”

Suddenly, someone yanked his collar, nearly making him fall down the stairs.

Yin Liuming frowned and turned his head, meeting Shen Lou’s rather unfriendly gaze.

Yin Liuming, rubbing the back of his neck from the pull, suddenly raised his foot and kicked the cabinet next to Shen Lou.

The heavy metal cabinet let out a grating creak, wobbled a few times, then came crashing down. The spot where Yin Liuming had kicked the cabinet was marked by a distinct footprint.

Shen Lou: “……”

Shen Lou: “Are you threatening me?”

“Stop bothering me.”

Yin Liuming kept it short, then continued upstairs.

Shen Lou stared blankly for a while. The corners of his lips curved into a slight smirk, and his pale blue eyes slowly narrowed. “If your body gets burned, you’ll be worthless to me.”

Shen Lou suddenly floated upward, drifting behind Yin Liuming with a look of entertained anticipation. He had already decided—unless Yin Liuming begged him in tears, he wouldn’t lift a finger to help.

Although Yin Liuming was moving fast, he still noticed the dust on the stairs.

According to Chi Xi’s investigation, the third floor of the office building mostly housed storage and archive rooms, and people rarely went up there. That explained the thick layer of dust on the staircase.

But now, there was a faint trail through the ashes, winding its way upward from the lower floors.

It looked like something—or someone—had been dragged up to the third floor.

Yin Liuming noted it but didn’t have time to think further. He had just reached the third floor when several pale-faced boys came running toward him in panic. “Help!”

The one in front had bleached yellow hair, with chaotic designs all over his clothes—it was Yan Hang.

Behind them, Yin Liuming saw a surreal sight.

Countless orange flames had formed into palm-sized orbs, each scattering sparks from within like ball lightning. The flames rolled and blossomed, like roses in constant bloom, layer upon layer of petals—strangely beautiful.

Each flame flower was delicate and mesmerizing—and there were countless of them.

One student, slower than the others, was touched by a drifting flame flower. It sank into his back like ink seeping into water, vanishing instantly into his body.

His expression twisted with fear, and then he froze.

He opened his mouth—before he could speak, a blast of fire burst out.

His entire body was suddenly engulfed in flames, igniting like a human torch.

He was still alive as he burned, screaming in agony and flailing weakly—completely unable to escape death.

In two or three seconds, he was reduced to a charred corpse and collapsed into a pile of black ash.

From within the ashes, the flame flower reformed, more vivid and vibrant than before, then floated forward once again.

The scream of their fallen companion terrified the others. Driven by panic, they pushed their bodies to the limit to escape.

However, the flame flowers, while appearing light and gentle, were actually incredibly swift. By the time Yin Liuming had climbed and stopped to look, three or four students had already been consumed.

Only Yan Hang and one other student remained.

The flame flowers kept picking up speed. The one in front was already inches from Yan Hang’s back, about to pierce through and turn him into cinders.

Yan Hang glanced over his shoulder, a flash of cruelty in his eyes, then suddenly thrust his elbow sideways.

The boy next to him was caught completely off guard, stumbled, and fell backward.

“Yan Hang!”

The boy stared in disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe Yan Hang would sacrifice him like that to save himself.

But he only had time to scream once before the flame flower caught up and devoured him in an instant, devouring him in flames.

From this distance, Yin Liuming could clearly smell the scent of roasted flesh—so tempting it made him want to throw up.

Yan Hang rushed toward Yin Liuming, using the moment of his companion’s incineration to buy time.

Yin Liuming watched him coldly. Having seen him trade a friend’s life for a chance to escape, a flicker of anger crossed his eyes.

As Yan Hang ran past, Yin Liuming casually lifted a leg and swept it sideways—

Pa!

Yan Hang was knocked aside by the kick.

He flew in just the right direction to hit the stairs and tumbled down with a thud, dazed and disoriented.

As he tried to get up, he felt his feet leave the ground before he could even open his eyes.

“I f*cking—”

He glared and was about to curse, but when he met Yin Liuming’s cold, unfeeling gaze, the words stuck in his throat.

Yin Liuming gripped him, ready to say something, but then glanced behind him.

The flame had floated up to the third-floor landing, its petal-like tendrils swaying with eerie intelligence, as if searching for something.

Then, it suddenly stopped.

Yin Liuming’s eyes darkened. He grabbed Yan Hang and ran downstairs.

The flame let out a high-pitched scream, like a cat, and lunged after them.

Shen Lou, looking like a jellyfish, flew surprisingly fast and hovered only half a meter behind Yin Liuming. “Told you not to be reckless. I could’ve helped you…”

“Shut up.”

Yin Liuming snapped, cutting him off without hesitation.

Shen Lou: “……”

Fine. Let’s see how long Yin Liuming can keep up that attitude.

Carrying a high schooler, Yin Liuming didn’t slow down—he leapt down the stairs two at a time and dashed for the restroom beside the staircase.

The flame flowers chased after him and rushed in.

Turning the corner, they spotted their prey half-dead by the sink, groaning faintly in pain. The reckless player from earlier stood by the faucet, face blank, turning the tap to full blast before jamming two fingers into the spout.

A stream of water burst out suddenly.

Caught off guard, the flame flower took a faceful of water and let out a cloud of white smoke, screeching like a drenched cat.

“Noisy.”

Yin Liuming frowned coldly and gave a light scolding, using his fingers to redirect the stream and douse the flame flower.

The water gradually extinguished the vivid petals layer by layer, the flames withering like a dying rose.

Before it could retreat, a square thing slammed down over its head.

…

Putting away the illustration book, Yin Liuming shook water from his hands, walked back to the sink, and yanked Yan Hang up again.

Shen Lou grumbled, “Next time, don’t touch the illustration book with wet hands.”

Yin Liuming gave him a glance and ignored him.

Seriously, did he expect him to dry his hands on a flame flower before sealing it?

“There’s still a ton of fire outside. Planning to sit here until sunrise?”

Yin Liuming’s expression darkened. “Of course not. I’m going back to sleep.”

Shen Lou scoffed. “Never met someone with insomnia who loves sleep this much.”

Don’t people with inadequate sleep usually stay up all night?

Yin Liuming led Yan Hang to the restroom window, climbed onto the sink, and kicked open the aluminum-framed glass pane.

Yan Hang looked out and his pupils shrank. Memories of being strung up on the third-floor clothesline came rushing back. “No way! You’re crazy!”

Yin Liuming almost punched him right then and there.

The flame flowers outside, drawn by the sound, let out an even sharper screech.

Sensing more flames closing in, Yin Liuming bent down and jumped right out of the second-floor window.

Yan Hang’s scream echoed through the night.

Just before landing, Yin Liuming flung Yan Hang to the side and curled into a roll to cushion the impact.

He had estimated the height earlier—about four meters. The ground below was a muddy flowerbed, not concrete. Given his physical abilities, he would not experience a hard fall, and if he landed correctly, he would avoid even a twisted ankle.

However, just before hitting the ground, he felt a tight pull around his neck, and the force of the fall eased. He landed gently without a scratch.

Yin Liuming tugged at his collar and looked up at Shen Lou floating midair.

Shen Lou tilted his chin, his meaning clear in his eyes.

Yin Liuming stared at him for a moment and said grudgingly, “Thanks.”

Only then did Shen Lou let out a satisfied hum.

Yin Liuming stepped out of the flowerbed and walked over to Yan Hang.

The delinquent had been slammed to the ground three or four times that night, his face bruised and swollen. He lay there holding his face, groaning in pain.

Yin Liuming had no sympathy. “Get up.”

Yan Hang peeked through his fingers at Yin Liuming’s icy face and shivered, then got up without protest.

Yin Liuming didn’t waste time. “How did the fire start?”

Yan Hang tensed, his eyes darting. “Zhao Liang was smoking and lit the curtain by accident…”

“What were you doing in the office building in the middle of the night?”

“We couldn’t sleep, so we wandered around. Never really explored the office before, so we figured we’d check it out while the teachers were gone.”

Shen Lou laughed dryly.

Anyone with half a brain could tell he was lying.

Yan Hang, still dizzy from nearly dying and being thrown around, hadn’t even noticed Shen Lou’s presence until now.

Then he saw the pale blue phantom hovering near Yin Liuming and trembled. “There’s a ghost!”

Shen Lou: “……”

His face darkened. “Who are you calling a ghost?”

Yin Liuming watched coldly. Noticing the real panic on Yan Hang’s face, he narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Isn’t it only the two of us? Who are you talking to?”

Yan Hang’s face turned ghostly white, his eyes nearly popping out.

Shen Lou instantly understood what Yin Liuming was trying to do. Is he using him to scare Yan Hang?

It might not work on Nightmare Game players, since they assumed monsters were dream constructs. But for intelligent NPCs trapped in the dream without realizing it, the fear level could spike fast.

Yan Hang’s legs gave out again, and he nearly collapsed.

Yin Liuming wasn’t done. “According to folklore, people who’ve caused deaths will encounter soul collectors at midnight. They come in all shapes—Ox-Head, Horse-Face, the Black and White Impermanence, and even blue-robed ghosts who punish the wicked.”

Blue-robed ghost…

Shen Lou nearly burst out laughing in disbelief. He shifted position, prepared to scold Yin Liuming, only to see Yan Hang’s eyes roll back as he instantly fainted.

Yin Liuming frowned and looked up at Shen Lou. “You look too scary.”

Shen Lou: “……”