The moment the sun rose, a middle-aged man in a student uniform appeared in the dormitory lobby.
Realizing he had survived, he dropped to his knees, overwhelmed with joy. He had been certain he was doomed—after all, his luck was terrible, and the Hunter they’d faced was the infamous Slasher. Yet, against all odds, he’d made it out alive!
The other survivors quickly gathered around, eager for details.
“So? Which Hunter did you face last night?”
“Was it the Headless Woman, the Conjoined Twins, or the Old Gardener?”
“Are you the only one who survived?”
The middle-aged man took a long moment to collect himself before answering, “We faced the Slasher.”
Everyone froze.
“That can’t be right. If you really faced the Slasher, how are you still alive?”
Of course, the man couldn’t admit he’d pushed someone else into the Slasher’s path to save himself. Instead, he wiped his tears, stood up, and put on a smug expression. “Simple—I’m just that good. Even the Slasher was no match for me. I led him around like a dog.”
Just then, the group noticed another person entering the lobby. Their eyes locked onto the newcomer, murmurs breaking out.
“A newbie?”
“Never seen her before.”
“She’s pretty striking. No way I’d forget a face like that.”
The middle-aged man turned to look—and his eyes widened in shock.
Xia Miao spotted him too. Without hesitation, she strode forward and delivered a sharp kick between his legs. The man gasped, doubling over in agony as he clutched his crotch. The other male survivors winced at the sickening sound, their own discomfort palpable.
“Consider that payback for shoving me into the Slasher’s path,” Xia Miao declared, looking down at the writhing man with undisguised arrogance. Without another word, she flipped her hair and headed upstairs, ignoring the stunned onlookers.
In her pocket, she now carried a key with the number 404—likely her dorm room on the fourth floor.
The others watched the groaning man with barely concealed scorn. In this place, everyone did whatever it took to survive, and that wasn’t shameful. What was shameful was how he’d bragged about outsmarting the Slasher, only to be humiliated moments later.
“Led the Slasher around like a dog, huh?”
“More like he ran like a dog and sacrificed someone else to save his own skin.”
“And claiming it was the Slasher? Everyone knows the Slasher never leaves survivors. If they made it through last night, he’s obviously lying.”
The man had no way to prove his story. But what baffled him even more was—how had Xia Miao survived?
He’d pushed her straight into the Slasher’s grasp. How was she still alive?!
Meanwhile, in the Hunters’ dormitory…
The Old Gardener, wearing a straw hat, carefully trimmed the lush greenery outside with oversized shears. Under his meticulous care, the plants thrived, their vibrant vitality a soothing sight.
But hidden among the foliage, the Headless Woman in a white dress crouched, digging through the soil with her hands. One by one, she unearthed rotting heads, feeling each before tossing them aside in disappointment.
The Old Gardener chuckled warmly. “Your head isn’t here. Maybe try looking somewhere else?”
Nearby, an angry voice erupted.
“That woman! Her ‘feelings’ for me were obviously a lie!”
The Old Gardener glanced over.
The Bandaged Boy squatted by the water’s edge, his dead-fish eyes burning with rage as he ranted. “She was trying to—what’s it called—that scheme—”
A hairless, desiccated figure beside him chimed in, its chest split open to reveal a smaller, identical creature nestled inside—only half-formed, a grotesque sight.
“The honey trap,” the conjoined twin’s older half supplied.
The younger half echoed, “Honey trap.”
“Right, the honey trap!” The Bandaged Boy, not the brightest, smacked his fist into his palm. “That woman came up with such a vile trick to mess with my head! She’s even more cunning than we are! Damn it, I’ll kill her! I’ll cut off her hair—black as satin! Gouge out her eyes—shining like black gems! Rip apart her lips—redder than roses! And peel off her skin—white as snow! Let’s see her try deceiving anyone after that!”
The conjoined twins exchanged a glance. No wonder their colleagues called the boy an idiot behind his back.
The Bandaged Boy stood, pacing in circles as he gnawed on his thumbnail, his pale eyes gleaming with what he believed was brilliance. “Good thing I’m smart. I didn’t fall for it.”
The older twin deadpanned, “If you didn’t fall for it, why didn’t you kill her last night?”
The younger twin parroted, “Yeah, why didn’t you?”
The boy glared. “I was playing along! Letting her think I fell for it, when really, I didn’t! The moment she lets her guard down—slice! I’ll slit her throat. The despair on her face will make her heart taste even sweeter!”
The twins drew out a long, unimpressed “Ohhh.”
The more the boy thought about his “master plan,” the more excited he became. Gripping his knife, he sprinted off, completely disregarding the rule that Hunters and survivors weren’t supposed to interact during the day.
The twins spoke in unison: “Is he an idiot?”
Xia Miao hadn’t expected the role-playing here to be so immersive. By day, she had to attend classes according to a schedule—and to her annoyance, Lin Gaoshan was in the same class. Only now did she learn his name.
Lin Gaoshan looked far older than his peers, but the NPC students didn’t bat an eye at having a classmate who could pass for their uncle.
His eyes kept darting toward Xia Miao, still puzzling over how she’d survived an encounter with the Slasher.
When lunchtime finally arrived, the students rushed to the cafeteria. Xia Miao followed the crowd, but as she stepped out of the building, she froze. Beneath her, a pair of dead-fish eyes stared up from the sewer grate.
A shadowy figure lurked in the damp darkness, his gaze fixed on her.
Slowly, his eyes narrowed into a predatory slit.
“Hey. I’ve seen through your tricks. You think you can fool me—”
Before he could finish, a shrill scream cut him off.
“YOU PERVERT! YOU’RE PEEPING ON ME!!”
Xia Miao clutched her skirt and scrambled backward several steps in a flurry of movement.
He stood there dumbfounded. "No, I don’t have a peeping habit."
But her emotions were too frazzled to listen. "The first person I ever liked turns out to be a creep—I don’t want to date you anymore!"
She turned and fled, taking her shattered teenage heart with her.
The boy lurking in the shadows wore a look of utter bewilderment.
How strange.
Had he just been dumped?
Wait… something about this didn’t add up!
