Chapter 49

The senior classroom was utterly uninteresting. A sea of blue and white stretched out before them, and the students’ droning recitation of obscure knowledge points sounded like a monk chanting scriptures, making one drowsy. Even Jiang Liu couldn’t help but yawn, her gaze fixed on Yang Caisi’s handwriting on the lesson plan, lost in thought.

Beside her, Zhu Yan’s eyelids were about to close. He had to force himself to stay awake by thinking about last night’s events, his eyes glued to the Peach Wood Cross in Zhao Ziming’s hand.

“Brother Zhao, you still haven’t figured it out?” he asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the troubled Zhao Ziming.

Since this morning, Zhao Ziming had been muttering about finding the key to repelling the ghosts last night, but he had made no progress. He had been spinning the pendant in his hand for so long that Zhu Yan was tempted to reach out and touch it. Whether it worked or not, it looked like it had a nice feel to it and would probably be quite de-stressing to fiddle with.

At his words, Zhao Ziming looked up and clicked his tongue with a hint of complaint. “I’m thinking, what’s the rush?”

Last night, his mind was filled with images of the photos whenever he closed his eyes, and he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. If he couldn’t find a way to deal with them, they probably wouldn’t be able to enter the photo studio again. Zhu Yan, the target of his complaint, didn’t get angry. Instead, a look of embarrassment appeared on his youthful face as he apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Zhao Ziming pursed his lips. Seeing the boy’s sincere expression, his temper dissipated. Honestly, after spending so much time with a shameless guy like Zhang Xiaochen, he was a little unaccustomed to such innocent kids. With that thought, his train of thought was broken. He glanced in Jiang Liu’s direction and saw that she was busy writing and drawing on a piece of paper, so he decided not to disturb her and pulled his chair closer to Zhu Yan.

“How did you get an A-Rank with a timid personality like yours?”

Zhu Yan grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head like a simple-minded boy. “My grades are good, and my theoretical knowledge is solid. I just got lucky in the last instance.”

Zhao Ziming clicked his tongue in amazement, instantly understanding. Not all instances were terrifying and bizarre; some required reasoning, and for someone like Zhu Yan to stumble into a field he excelled in was incredibly rare and fortunate. But since he brought it up, he started to study Zhu Yan more closely. “Then give me your analysis. How can we deal with those Ghostly Shadows?”

Remembering the scene, Zhu Yan shrank back timidly but still ventured a guess. “There used to be a saying that cameras could perform ‘soul-capturing.’ After a photo is taken, a person’s soul would be trapped in it.”

This folk tale sounded incredible, but they had personally witnessed Zhang Xiaochen being pulled in. Now, they found themselves agreeing more with these old superstitious beliefs. Zhao Ziming had never really thought in this direction, and he looked at him with newfound curiosity.

At some point, Jiang Liu, who had been sitting quietly to the side, stopped writing and pulled Xu Meng over to join them. This made Zhu Yan nervous, and fearing she wouldn’t agree with his point of view, he quickly added, “Of course, this is all just my guess.”

Is this kid so afraid of me?

Jiang Liu put a hand to her forehead, wondering what kind of impression she had given him. She nodded. “I’ve heard similar stories. Before cameras became popular, people were indeed very wary of them.”

“I’ve read about this in some horror novels too,” Xu Meng raised her hand to contribute.

If they followed this line of thinking, then that Ghostly Shadow… might have been a person originally trapped inside. Jiang Liu rested her chin on one hand, her bright face deep in thought. When her usually relaxed expression turned serious, she exuded a strange, indescribable charm. Last night, those things indeed had no intention of harming them; they were just trying to bring people back into the photos.

Speaking of which, when the ghost that was pulling Zhu Yan was repelled last night, she seemed to have seen a flash of light.

Light?

Jiang Liu suddenly slapped her thigh, her eyes shining with excitement. “Give me the phone.”

Zhao Ziming was stunned for a moment, not understanding why she was suddenly so excited, but he did as she asked. She took the phone but didn’t do anything else with it. Instead, she went straight to the photo gallery. The most recent photo popped up.

It was a portrait, but the angle was very strange, as if someone had held the phone high up, making the young man in front of the lens look short and stout. He seemed to be making some kind of gesture with his hand, but it wasn’t fully captured. The photo was taken last night, sometime after two in the morning.

She raised an eyebrow slightly and showed the photo to Zhao Ziming, her tone strange. “Who is he?”

Zhao Ziming had glanced at it earlier and knew she had opened the photo gallery. He was a little speechless. “They’re all friends from the real world. Why are you asking about…”

His words trailed off, and then his eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost, unable to speak. The young man on the screen was sweating profusely, his expression anxious. He was not someone he knew at all!!!

“This… this angle…”

Zhao Ziming’s mouth hung open as he stared at it for a long time. He then looked up at Jiang Liu, seeking an answer, belatedly realizing what had happened. Last night, he had been pulling Zhu Yan, holding the phone connected to the pendant up to his chest. This was the exact angle! The tilted frame was because he hadn’t held the phone steady. So the person in this photo… could it be that Ghostly Shadow?

Jiang Liu tossed the phone to Zhao Ziming and stood up decisively. “Let’s go back to the photo studio.”

As long as they could confirm whether this young man’s photo was on the wall, they would have their answer. Xu Meng was surprised and pointed to the empty seats nearby. “Aren’t we going to wait for the other players?”

Jiang Liu shrugged. “Don’t worry about them.”

From what Zhang Xiaochen had said before, there was clearly something fishy between him and Jiang He. She had originally planned to use Zhang Xiaochen’s absence to pose as an NPC and probe him, but then Qiao Ke had to show up and throw a wrench in the works. Besides—her gaze swept over the empty seats—these five hadn’t come to class again.

Jiang Liu pondered for a moment, then walked past the rows of students and headed straight for Qiao Ke at the podium. He was sitting at his desk, grading test papers. The gold-rimmed glasses on his nose had been replaced with a pair of elegant, thin black frames, which added a touch of heroic spirit to his appearance. He sat with his back straight, his gaze focused, giving him the air of an old-school scholar.

Her slender fingers tapped on the desk, the crisp sound immediately catching Qiao Ke’s attention. He looked up and saw Jiang Liu, a hint of surprise in his eyes. “Teacher Jiang, is there something I can help you with?”

Jiang Liu’s lips curved into a playful smile, revealing two barely noticeable canine teeth. “It seems many students are absent from your class?”

She was used to having Yang Caisi guide her with mission clues. Since her acquaintance was now missing and no one else had appeared, she couldn’t be blamed for taking the initiative. “Oh, you mean that.” Qiao Ke paused for a moment, as if just remembering. He chuckled and tapped his head. “Look at me, I completely forgot. I thought Teacher Yang had already told you.”

Jiang Liu snorted softly, the smile on her face gradually fading, replaced by a slightly scrutinizing expression. Since Teacher Yang was Yang Caisi herself, could she reasonably suspect that the person in front of her was Qiao Ke? Did his appearance here mean he already knew about Yang Caisi’s current situation? A multitude of thoughts flooded her mind, but she showed no sign of it on her face. While still talking, her hands shot out towards the test papers on the desk, catching him completely off guard.

Qiao Ke hadn’t expected her move and failed to stop her in time. He frowned. “What are you doing?”

Jiang Liu raised her eyebrows triumphantly and slowly flipped through the papers before handing them to Zhao Ziming behind her. “I’m new here, so I need to get to know the students. I see you’re too busy to introduce them one by one, so I’ll just have a look myself.”

Qiao Ke took a deep breath, looking at the woman before him with a sense of speechlessness. For the first time, he found her so outrageous.

How has she become so audacious after all these years?

But student files were something she could eventually get her hands on if she was determined, so a little time wouldn’t make a difference. He composed himself and returned to his usual demeanor. “Since you’re willing to do it for me, that’s even better.”

Before he could finish, Jiang Liu had already turned around and swaggered off, tossing a sentence over her shoulder as she left. “Morning reading is about to end. I’m going to check on the other classes.”

Her movements were fluid and decisive. The others behind her quickened their pace, afraid of being left behind if they lost focus for even a second. It wasn’t until they were out of the academic building that Jiang Liu slowed down.

Zhao Ziming gave her a thumbs-up. “You’ve got guts. Being so aggressive with an NPC. Do you two have a grudge?”

Jiang Liu rolled her eyes lightly. It wasn’t Yang Caisi, so why should she be docile and gentle? The most important thing was to rescue the beauty as soon as possible. Who knew, maybe the rescued person would be so grateful that she would tell her everything she was curious about? She imagined the cool and aloof Yang Caisi following her around, chattering nonstop, and found the scene amusing. Her determination to clear the level grew even stronger.

It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet. Perhaps because Zhou Yuan was on vacation and didn’t want to wake up early, in any case—the photo studio wasn’t open yet. Looking from the street corner, they saw several figures squatting furtively at the entrance. Two of them were occasionally looking up and around, as if on lookout. It was the truant Jiang He and his four companions.

Zhao Ziming’s face darkened, and he strode over, shouting, “What are you doing?”

His reprimand was powerful and resonant. The group, already feeling guilty for doing this in broad daylight, was startled by his shout. The lock-picking tool in their hands slipped, and they stood up to block the door, glaring at Zhao Ziming. The leader was tall and thin, like a stick, with shrewd, triangular eyes. He stared at Zhao Ziming and yelled, “Who are you? Stop meddling in other people’s business!”

His tone was arrogant and unreasonable, and combined with his fierce glare, it might have scared off an ordinary person. But Zhao Ziming was no ordinary person. He spat, “This is my friend’s shop. Scram!”

The word “friend” made the skinny man tilt his head and size him up. “What’s your relationship with the owner? Where is he?” he asked suddenly.

In the time it took for them to exchange a few words, Jiang Liu and the others had caught up, just in time to hear this question. Her eyes darted around. This was a perfect opportunity to test the other group’s mission. Taking advantage of her mature attire today, she stepped forward to take his place. “I’m the owner. Is there something you need?”

The word “owner” made the faces of the group opposite them change. They all looked at her with suspicion and uncertainty. Before Jiang Liu could feel smug about having bluffed them, Jiang He, who was behind the skinny man, suddenly jumped out and pointed at her, shouting in disbelief—

“It’s you??!”