Chapter 338: Careful of the Rabbit (12) No Peace for the Dead

The bullet chat in the livestream room was discussing heatedly.

“Lu Ming is already dead, so what is the player playing as? A ghost? This is the first time I’ve seen an instance where the player plays as a ghost…”

“I’ve cleared it with an NE before, and the plot has returned to a territory I’m familiar with. I remember the result of the puzzle I solved back then was that Lu Ming used his own death to create a major news story, drawing the media to dig deep into the darkness of Hope Middle School. Unfortunately, the news was suppressed in the end.”

“I have a guess. The player might not necessarily be playing a ghost, or even necessarily possessing Lu Ming. There is only one Lu Ming, the designer of the ‘Escape from Rabbit God Town’ game. The player seems more like a puppet created by Lu Ming to reenact what happened in the past.”

“I understand a bit now. Lu Ming’s goal from start to finish has been to save Reiko. Since the news route didn’t work, he simulated the scenario to let the players find a feasible path. Is that how it is?”

Qi Si memorized all the clues in Li Fang’s desk before returning the written materials one by one and closing the drawer.

It was 6:10, twenty minutes before the wake-up bell at 6:30.

But the sky was already fully bright. Pale yellow sunlight spilled into the school, burrowing into every dark corner like tentacles, dispersing the mist and ghost shadows.

Qi Si hurried toward the dormitory building. Behind the wide-open door, the female dorm supervisor was not in the duty room. He wondered if she was still on the second floor catching the girls who ran around at night.

Qi Si lowered his footsteps, crossed the first-floor corridor, reached the stairwell, and silently stepped up the stairs to the fourth floor.

Probably because it was already light, his passing did not trigger the sensor lights; the hallway and stairwell were a uniform pale gray.

The entire dormitory building was quiet and peaceful. Through the door panels, he could hear the serene snoring of some boys. The abnormalities of last night seemed like a mere illusion; everything before him was no different from a typical boarding middle school dormitory.

Qi Si returned to Dormitory 0415. His three roommates were no longer the skeletons seen at night; they all had rosy complexions and fresh limbs, lying steadily in bed at this moment, their chest movements visible through the quilts.

Qi Si did not disturb anyone. He silently lay back on his bed and closed his eyes to pretend to sleep, while reviewing the newly acquired information in his mind.

Originally, he thought the abnormalities at Hope Middle School were caused by the Rabbit God, but now, Lu Ming’s suspicion could not be ruled out.

Only one day after Lu Ming died, the entire Hope Middle School fell into a seven-day cycle. The timing was too coincidental, much like a newly deceased vengeful ghost using resentment to construct a ghost domain.

The clue texts of Hope Middle School were too tedious, and the NPCs’ actions were filled with a theatrical grandiosity, which inevitably made Qi Si think of text-based games and subsequently discover similarities in design to ‘Escape from Rabbit God Town.’

Since Lu Ming could design ‘Escape from Rabbit God Town,’ it wasn’t impossible for him to conveniently turn Hope Middle School into a game.

Moreover, he had every motive to do so.

Reiko only had one life, but the method to save her was uncertain. Thus, he simulated a fictional world, starting a recurring cycle of reincarnation until a feasible plan was found and put into practice.

Unfortunately, the system prompt had said that Reiko’s ending was already written, and no one could change her fate.

Everyone had failed, or simply didn’t intend to save her, so Lu Ming could only keep repeating the seven-day cycle.

The Eerie Game clearly did not agree with Lu Ming’s approach. By throwing players into the world of Hope Middle School and setting the main quest to find all of Reiko’s body parts, it was practically telling Lu Ming to give up.

But Lu Ming never gave up, stubbornly persisting on his own… Qi Si felt he could glimpse something from the relationship between Lu Ming and the Eerie Game.

During the Frog Hospital instance, he knew that the game’s control over certain instances was not high. Was this instance also in such a situation?

He just didn’t know what role the Rabbit God played in this instance.

It was known that the Rabbit God needed to consume its own soul to grant wishes. From Qi Si’s perspective, if he were the Rabbit God, he would most likely not be willing to pay attention to believers, nor would he plan to use too much of his divine power.

So, what kind of thoughts did the Rabbit God have to get involved in this mess?

Was it an active intervention with another purpose, or was it involuntary and deeply mired?

At 6:30, the piercing wake-up bell rang out from all directions, followed immediately by a commotion of getting up that was almost like an earthquake.

The connected bed boards shook violently. Someone twisted on the bed like a maggot, yawning reluctantly; someone else sat up straight like a reanimated corpse.

Qi Si slowly opened his eyes and sat up. Since he hadn’t changed into pajamas and slept in his clothes, he was the first in the dormitory to step onto the floor.

He quickly folded his quilt and smoothed the bedsheet before looking at the Dormitory Head in bed number 1: “Which dormitories am I responsible for cleaning today?”

The Dormitory Head was still deeply stuck in morning grumpiness. Thinking of Qi Si’s behavior last night, he said crossly, “We find everywhere you’ve touched disgusting. Forget cleaning; don’t make it dirtier by trying to clean it…”

“Then I’ll leave the hard work to you guys. Thanks.” Qi Si nodded in deep agreement and walked straight out the door.

Behind him, the boy in bed number 2 realized and asked, “Then who’s going to do the cleaning Lu Ming was responsible for? I don’t want to wash the toilets…”

The Dormitory Head also remembered this, but was embarrassed to take back his words, so he could only pretend to be serious: “I’ll do it. It just so happens I’ve never cleaned this area before. I’ll get some exercise and understand the situation.”

Qi Si went down to the first floor and saw the female dorm supervisor holding the roll-call book in her left hand and a megaphone in her right, patrolling the first-floor corridor.

While patrolling, she shouted at the top of her lungs: “Don’t stay in bed! Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy! Do your chores well!”

She also seemed not to remember what happened last night. Her movements were no different from a living person, and her face showed none of the anger from catching a large number of undisciplined students.

Seeing Qi Si, she walked over and asked with a frown, “Is the room tidied up? Going downstairs so early, did you wake up ahead of time?”

“Good morning, Teacher Qian!” Qi Si greeted her with a smile.

Everyone likes polite children, and the female dorm supervisor’s expression softened.

Qi Si continued to lie through his teeth without changing his expression: “I had a sudden bout of acute gastroenteritis yesterday. Although I feel much better waking up this morning, I still don’t have much strength. The Dormitory Head took the initiative to suggest I go to the cafeteria first, and he’ll do the cleaning for me.”

“Classmates should know how to help each other. You’re Teacher Li’s students, right? The children she teaches are all good kids.” The female dorm supervisor’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she expressed concern, “Is your gastroenteritis okay? Studying is important, but you must also take care of your health.”

“It’s no longer a big deal. Thank you, Teacher Qian!”

Qi Si walked out of the dormitory building but didn’t go to the cafeteria. He didn’t want to eat any of that messy stuff in the cafeteria at all.

Moreover, as a ghost who died on July 31st, he presumably wouldn’t starve to death without eating.

Morning self-study wouldn’t start until 7:30. There was still an hour, enough time to explore many places.

Qi Si walked toward the Natural Lake in his memory.

The campus in the early morning was sparsely populated, the roads clean and lonely. He didn’t meet a single person along the way; even the early-arriving teachers and cleaning staff never appeared.

Rounding the edge of the playground, the lake’s surface, as smooth as a mirror, could be seen shimmering with ripples from afar. Mist rose up, and the air was filled with a damp scent. Even the sunlight was diluted into something thin and cold, as if the day hadn’t broken and it was still the early hours of the morning.

Qi Si walked forward step by step. Suddenly, a crooked sign appeared before his eyes, with handwriting like a primary school student’s:

【Lake ahead, beware of drowning】

At the corner of the sign, a piece of A4 paper with half its side missing was taped with a strip of transparent tape. In cold printed font, it read: 【Number of drownings: 239】.

Beside it was a black-and-white photo of a recent drowning victim: delicate features, innocent eyes, shoulder-length short hair—it was Reiko again.

Qi Si was already used to seeing Reiko’s dead face in various corners of Hope Middle School.

This instance world strove to pronounce Reiko’s death using the most simple and crude repetitive methods, like earnest persuasion or blustering threats.

But there was always such a living Reiko existing. Whether it was because of Lu Ming’s obsession or the Rabbit God’s methods, she didn’t know about her own death and was actively participating in the instance as an important NPC.

The Natural Lake was a full ten meters away from the sign, but the moment he walked past the sign, Qi Si felt a piercing yin energy, even producing the illusion that the lake’s expanse was vast and extended to his feet.

He took a step forward. In an instant, a grim coldness enveloped him. The mist suddenly became thick, and his vision was blurred by water vapor, making it almost impossible to see the road ahead.

The school uniform on his body quickly absorbed ample moisture, clinging wetly to him as if he had accidentally fallen into the bottom of the lake and been fished out.

In his previously empty field of vision, shadowy figures suddenly crowded in. Qi Si heard the naive voices and whispers belonging to students.

“I heard from my mom that because the lake water doesn’t circulate with the outside, the water inside is dead. The older the lake, the heavier the yin energy, and gradually it will form demons that lure people into the bottom of the lake to drown.”

“Did you know? Many people have died in our school’s lake; the students’ bodies are all buried at the bottom. Let’s go quickly. If we don’t, the ghosts of those who died wrongfully will know we’re here and come out to take our lives.”

“The story I heard is different from yours. They didn’t drown by falling into the lake; they were murdered and then their bodies were thrown into the lake to sacrifice to the deity at the bottom. Otherwise, why would the school take in so many orphans?”

“Deity? How could there be a deity at the bottom of the lake? Shouldn’t a deity be enshrined in a shrine? How could one be at the bottom of a lake?”

“Of course, it’s because that deity is an evil god who killed many people. Two hundred years ago, He killed an entire village of people at a Fireworks Festival, so He was struck by divine punishment and sank to the bottom of the lake along with the entire village.”

“Since He’s an evil god, why sacrifice to Him?”

“To grant wishes. Only an evil god would satisfy those greedy and wicked wishes. The most painful thing for a person living in this world is to have delusions but not know the exact outcome.”

“The evil god descended and told people that they only needed to sacrifice living beings to grant their wishes. What a wonderful thing.”

“I did hear that some strange things were discovered when the school was under construction. I suppose it’s the evil god you’re talking about. Did the Eternal Life Technology Company know about the evil god’s existence before investing in the school?”

“Even if they didn’t know, so what? Human desire is eternal; everyone has unrealistic delusions. Human nature itself is greedy. Who could see an evil god and not have evil desires?”

“So, the evil god lured them? It sounds a bit like a religious parable.”

“Who knows? Let’s go quickly, the evil god is about to come out…”

The voices gradually faded, but Qi Si felt as if he were surrounded by people, as damp as if they had just been fished out of the water like him.

He found that he had stood in the water at some point; the water level had reached his waist. Pale, bloated, wrinkled faces floated on the water like oil slicks, their slimy and soft skin brushing against his arms.

Those faces—or rather, human heads—revolved around Qi Si, opening their mouths in unison and eerily singing a strange nursery rhyme.

“Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage, when, oh when will it fly away?”

“In the evening of the dawn, the crane and turtle slipped. Who is the one behind you now?”

Qi Si remembered this was a game called ‘kagome kagome,’ originating from the traditional sacrificial activities of Sakura Prefecture, intended to pray for divine protection and dispel disasters.

The specific rules were to choose one person to be the ‘oni,’ who would crouch in the middle with eyes covered, while others held hands in a circle around them, singing while revolving.

After the song ended, the ‘oni’ had to guess who the person behind them was. If they guessed correctly, the person guessed would replace them as the ‘oni’; if they guessed incorrectly, the ‘oni’ remained in the middle.

Countless slippery, rotten hands hung on Qi Si like ribbons, gently but inescapably pulling him toward the center of the lake.

A person seemed to be sitting there. Looking closely, he found that the person was leaning back, floating, a pale and beautiful face exposed above the water, with jet-black hair scattering in the current like ink.

Reiko’s drowned corpse bobbed powerlessly, but her eyes were wide open. As if sensing Qi Si’s arrival, they slowly turned to meet his gaze across time and distance.

Scenes flashed before his eyes. A group of girls with blurred faces dragged the unconscious Reiko, whose eyes were tightly shut, step by step toward the Natural Lake, talking among themselves.

“How unlucky. We just played kagome kagome for a bit and made her the ‘oni,’ and she’s like this. She’s really good at playing dead.”

“Yeah, we haven’t even had time to do anything to her yet. She’s scaring us, right? Throw her into the water to sober her up, and maybe she’ll wake up.”

“But… she doesn’t seem to be breathing…”

“Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Since she’s dead, we might as well sacrifice her to the Rabbit God and test that rumor.”

“Hurry up. Just throw her into the lake. No one will find out, and even if they do, they won’t care…”

Qi Si saw the girls throw Reiko’s body into the lake and turn to leave.

The perspective suddenly shifted. He abruptly turned the direction he was facing and stared intently at the backs of those girls with resentment and unwillingness.

In that instant, he had actually reached the center of the lake and possessed Reiko’s corpse once again… 【main quest Progress Updated】

【main quest: Find all of Reiko’s body parts (5/7)】

Two lines of silver-white text refreshed. He was very close to completing the main quest.

Qi Si knew this was another necessary part of completing the plot, so he gave up the intention of using the Pocket Watch of Fate and let his limbs hang naturally.

He began to sink slowly. The pitch-black pond water enveloped him, extremely gentle yet unyielding.

His eyes, which he tried his best to keep open, felt uncomfortable due to the water, and the pond water also poured into his nasal cavity, irritating the mucous membranes.

But in the blink of an eye, all discomfort vanished. Qi Si felt as if he had turned into a fish, able to breathe freely underwater.

This was not hard to understand. After all, he was now the deceased Lu Ming, and dead people do not drown.

A faint shimmer lit up in the darkness. Countless golden vines stretched and grew from the bottom of the pond, wrapping around Qi Si’s body from all directions, conveying a sense of comfort.

Qi Si calmed down, led by those vines to a certain spot at the bottom of the pond. They slowly positioned him vertically to the bottom and released their hold.

He stood upright and looked up. Before him was an Idol with a black robe and a rabbit mask, silent for ages at the bottom of the pond.

The Rabbit God!