Forces of Temptation

Nan Zhou stared at the pattern on the stair floor, and thought of a shadowy figure with the residual apple fragrance on his fingertips.

He didn't have any female friends.

But there is a shadow in his heart.

That shadow belonged to a tall woman in a black and white dress.

There were rust-red rosettes on her waist and chest. Because of the large pannier, it was a bit difficult to squat down, so she knelt on one knee, revealing a beautiful calf wrapped in snow-white socks.

When Nan Zhou saw her for the first time, she was half-kneeling in the yard of her own house, with several handfuls of freshly dug mud in front of her, as if she was planting something.

He didn't know what she was busy with.

It's as if they don't know that this place is owned.

Nan Zhou lay by the window and watched the woman's back for a long time. He thought about all the people he had met in the town, and found that he really didn't recognize her.

After the girl was busy, Xu Shi felt that someone was staring at him, so he raised his head.

The black veil blocked her eyes.

Nan Zhou only saw her slightly pointed chin, her faint smile, and her burning lip color like a raging fire.

But he was sure the woman saw him.

Because the lips opened and closed slightly, the corners of the slightly raised mouth raised a perfect arc.

Nan Zhou was stunned for a long time.

When he turned around and went downstairs to find her, the woman had disappeared.

Nan Zhou thought that if he saw her again, he might be a little nervous.

Although we haven't reached the point of being friends yet, we still want to get to know each other.

But the first time he saw her was also the last time.

……

Nan Zhou stubbornly grasped the topic he found and did not let go: "...Xie Xiangyu."

Li Yinhang couldn't bear to look directly at him.

But Jiang Fang didn't hold on to it, and said softly, "Okay, tell me about Xie Xiangyu."

Nan Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

There are some things he doesn't want to say, and can't say.

Fortunately, Jiang Fang has a good personality, forgiving and kind, allowing him to have his own secrets.

He said: "It is possible that Xie Xiangyu knew about Zuo Jiaming's existence from the very beginning."

Li Yinhang originally thought that Nanzhou wanted to change the subject on purpose, but he didn't expect that he would throw a bombshell as soon as he opened his mouth.

Li Yinhang shut down for a long time before uttering a puzzled particle: "... huh?"

Nan Zhou said: "When I went to remove the nameplate, I found that the surface of the nameplate was clean. There was only a little dust deep in the groove on the side."

He added: "Sun Guojing's dormitory and Zuo Jiaming's dormitory are all like this."

"Besides, I observed before picking up the name tags. The gray lines on the sides of the transparent plastic slots used to insert name tags in the two dormitories are incoherent."

Normally speaking, dormitory arrangement is a big project for the school.

Once the dormitory allocation list is finalized, it is not easy to change the dormitory. It has to be reported layer by layer, waiting for approval.

In the end, the approval may not necessarily be successful.

Therefore, from the first year of enrollment, if the dormitory relationship is not really incompatible, the name plate at the door will not change.

After a long time, if no one moves, it will naturally fall to dust.

Now Nanzhou found that the nameplate was not only clean, but the original dust line also showed signs of being damaged...

After some intense brainstorming, student Li Yinhang immediately came to the spirit and inspiration.

She thinks she understands.

So she was eager to try and want to speak.

Nan Zhou looked at Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang nodded slightly.

After checking their eyes, the two looked at Li Yinhang together.

After Li Yinhang carefully organized his thoughts, he cleared his throat and spoke eloquently.

"In this way, Xie Xiangyu should have checked the nameplate a long time ago. So the information we know now, he knew one step earlier than us."

"But he didn't tell anyone, which is weird."

"The reason he's like that, I think, is because the character he's playing is inherently problematic."

"The original 'Xie Xiangyu' is very likely to be the culprit of everything."

"'Xie Xiangyu' is the only one in the entire network who has a clear hatred for the four boys in the sports dormitory."

"He hated the people who caught him peeping, and wanted to stay away from them, but he had the handle in their hands, so he had to obey."

"In the end, not only did he have to run errands for the four physical education departments, but he also had to be a younger brother before and after running, and his roommate Zuo Jiaming probably knew about his spying on the girls' dormitory—after all, Zuo Jiaming is Hu Li's friend— —So he lived in fear in the dormitory..."

"If he wants to harm someone, his motive is the best."

"...So, the 'rustle' sound is likely to be caused by him. It's for the purpose of revenge."

Nanzhou said "hmm" in a very light tone, not sure if he expressed his agreement.

Encouraged, Li Yinhang immediately summoned up more courage, and continued to speak while sorting out his thoughts.

"That night, after 'Xie Xiangyu' found out where they were meeting, he managed to summon that force and dragged us and himself in."

"...He did this because he might have been weary of the world. After all, he has been threatened and bullied like this all the time. He doesn't know when it will be the end. We might as well die together."

"After the player Xie Xiangyu used this body, he quickly discovered the incongruity in the dormitory."

"...he found that there were 'should' be four people in his dormitory, but his perception was 'only three'."

"So, after checking the nameplates in front of his dormitory, he found Sun Guojing and the others, checked their nameplates, and confirmed his thoughts."

"He said he would cooperate with them, live with them, and at the same time conceal that he knew the clues of this matter, in order to seek protection and ensure that he had the key clues to get the most points."

"Of course, he is also worried that once he reveals that he is the culprit, Sun Guojing and the others will be overwhelmed for a while. If they think that solving the source of the culprit can solve the dungeon, and if they want to take him into action, the loss outweighs the gain."

After Li Yinhang finished speaking, he secretly replayed it himself.

The logic is silky smooth and there is nothing wrong with it.

She looked at Jiangnan and the two, waiting for a positive approval.

As a result, Nan Zhou and Jiang Fang looked at each other again.

Nan Zhou: "You ask first?"

Jiang Fang smiled: "Teacher Nan please first."

Li Yinhang: "..." She had the feeling that she answered the questions confidently in class, but the teacher stared at her and sighed faintly.

Nan Zhou asked first.

He asked: "If you are Xie Xiangyu who wants revenge, how do you recruit that power?"

"This……"

Li Yinhang was at a loss for words for a while: "Usually, I would use methods such as Zhaobixian and Diexian..."

Nan Zhou: "I'm not asking this."

Nan Zhou: "I'm asking, how could Xie Xiangyu know the existence of 'this power'?"

This unknown force is a paradox.

When you don't know it, it exists but no one knows it.

When you know it, it's already with you.

A mere question turned Li Yinhang's originally clear thinking into a mess.

...Yes.

In the campus legends passed down by word of mouth, there is no such power.

If Xie Xiangyu hated the three of them to the core, he should take the most classic measures such as the Curse of the Pen Fairy, which is available in the tutorial school post bar.

Where did he get the ability to know the existence of that power in advance?

Since you don't know, how can you talk about using power?

Seeing that the basis of his deduction was in jeopardy and the building was about to collapse, Li Yinhang tried to find a reason to explain this contradiction: "Then...he may have come into contact with that kind of power once and guessed how powerful it is, so he wants to drag other people along with him. Go into the water..."

Nanzhou shattered Li Yinhang's reluctantly established reason with a question: "Who organized the party?"

... Ah, yes.

The party was organized by the athletic quartet and the location was determined by them.

As the younger brother, Xie Xiangyu was completely temporarily dragged out to run errands and pay the bill.

He has no dominance at all.

Unless that power can be driven by him at will, at any time.

Then Xie Xiangyu can be renamed Xie Banxian, and the balance of the game will become a joke.

Li Yinhang: "..."

After Nanzhou's questioning, she understood one thing.

... I understand loneliness.

Noticing Li Yinhang's frustrated expression, Jiang Fang said gently, "Then should I still ask?"

Li Yinhang's heart was ashamed: "You tell me. Let me give up my heart more thoroughly."

Jiang Fang couldn't hold it back, put his hand to his lips and coughed weakly, covering the corner of his mouth with a smile: "According to your thinking, why is it necessary for Xie Xiangyu to seek cooperation from Sun Guojing and the others?"

Li Yinhang: "..." That's right.

Sun Guojing's three muscles have grown into his brain, what benefits can it bring to Xie Xiangyu who already has the first-hand advantage?

If you have found the clue of Zuo Jiaming by yourself, if you want to verify your judgment and find out who Hu Li is, but you don't want to reveal the key clue to other players and monopolize the points, you just need to sneak over in the middle of the night, why bother? Want to establish a cooperative relationship with these three people with strong limbs and simple minds?

……and many more.

midnight……

Li Yinhang blinked his eyes.

According to Sun Guojing and the others, Xie Xiangyu came to him on the night when he encountered a ghost for the first time.

They only cared about being led by the clues brought by Xie Xiangyu, but completely forgot the most important question:

In the middle of the night, what did he come to the sports department for?

The dormitory building has to lock the door after the lights are turned off at night.

He, a member of the foreign department, wanted to come in, so he had to hide in the public restroom before the lights were turned off.

If you want to seek cooperation, or want to live together, why not come earlier?

A relatively possible explanation is that Xie Xiangyu came to the dormitory of the Department of Physical Education in the middle of the night, but in fact he wanted to check the nameplate at the door in the middle of the night.

He's also doing it with great success.

The trio couldn't even hear the slight sound of the door plate being removed.

But after he finished dismantling and confirmed what he thought in his heart, not only did he not leave, but he also knocked on the door of the dormitory of the three of them and proposed cooperation.

Not only proposed cooperation, but also concealed the most critical information.

Not only did he conceal the key information, but he also used a little clue as a favor to trick the three of them into obeying him, and went to classroom 403, where that power might be lurking, to investigate the situation, while he behaved like an ordinary student. Go to class with peace of mind...

Faced with such unnatural and contradictory details, Li Yinhang sent out a soul torture: "...What is he planning?"

Nan Zhou and Jiang Fang said at the same time, "I don't know."

Every team has different interests.

Like in the first dungeon, Li Yinhang also hid clues.

At that time, her interest appeal was very clear: to find more clues and give her team more points.

But at that time, she didn't know whether her efforts were useful, so she could only count her personal attempts and speculations.

If it is really such a definite clue that must be shared that is critical to the life and death of other players, anyone with a little normal thinking will not hide it.

What is Xie Xiangyu's purpose of ignoring clues?

and also……

Until now, they have not been able to find out the order and regularity in which everyone is affected by the "rustling" sound.

So far, excluding Xie Xiangyu and Hu Li and Zuo Jiaming who are no longer there, among the nine people who have been to classroom 9, Sun Guojing has heard the rustling the most times, a total of five times.

Nan Zhou and Li Yinhang tied for second place, both heard it four times.

Luo Ge and Qi Tianyun heard it twice and three times respectively.

Jiang Fang only heard it once.

Li Yinhang said without any hope: "Since that power is completely unknown, the order in which we were selected should also be unreasonable and have no likes or dislikes."

In other words, it all depends on the mood of that power, and their luck.

"Not necessarily." Nanzhou said, "This is a dungeon, and the dungeon has its gameplay logic."

He asked the two of them: "Do you still remember the setting of the exploration degree system?"

Of course Li Yinhang remembered.

In the last world, their Dungeon Exploration Score was S.

After returning home, Nan Zhou still couldn't forget it for a long time.

In that small hotel, when Li Yinhang was about to fall asleep, he heard Nan Zhou asking Jiang Fang in a low voice and persistently:

- "Why 98.7%? What is that 1.3%?"

Jiang Fang's answer was to pull the quilt over his head: "Don't think about it, let's sleep."

Nanzhou said: "The exploration system should be adjusted according to the different attributes of each copy."

"In the last dungeon, because the location and scope of exploration were fixed, the test was to collect and organize various scattered clues in Xiao Ming's house."

"But the judging criteria for this dungeon must be different from the first one."

"If the assessment is still based on the scope of exploration, the campus area is so large, it is impossible to explore it from a physical level."

"So, the points of the degree of exploration must be concentrated on the interpersonal relationship and the puzzle of the instance."

"The order and regularity in which we were selected should be one of the important indicators of exploration."

... Li Yinhang hesitated to speak.

She thought Nan Zhou would say that if we find the rules, we can find a way to get rid of the influence of power and survive smoothly.

After all, once Sun Guojing is completely wiped out, it will be the two of them's turn, and the rustling can take them away at any time.

It can be described as a seamless connection.

As a result, people are focused on making indicators.

The attitude is as relaxed and freehand as the teacher's end-of-term betting questions.

It was the fourth time he heard that scalp-numbing rustling sound, and Li Yinhang was very flustered.

But looking at Nan Zhou's way of setting the key points for them as steadily as Mount Tai, she felt that if she acted too flustered, it would be really unnecessary.

"What are we going to do next?" she asked.

Nan Zhou talked a little too much, and planned to stop to rest his throat and take a plate of Nanjixing.

He glanced at Jiang Fang.

...meaning "Ask Brother Fang".

Jiang Fang was kind, and took the words: "Tonight, at the time of last week's gathering, we will make another trip to 403."

Nan Zhou stepped on the edge of the stairs with both feet, silently agreeing to the proposal.

At the same time, he plans to go to the supermarket for a while and buy some more apples.

The thought of apples made him feel better.

But he couldn't help but think of that beautiful woman.

——Because what the woman dug and planted downstairs in his house was an apple tree.

Not long after, the green treetops grew all the way to the window of his bedroom on the second floor, bringing him the fruity fragrance of the first room.

That's when Nan Zhou fell in love with eating apples.

Thinking about the past like this, Nan Zhou casually turned his head, and his peripheral vision happened to fall on Jiang Fang who was holding a piece of post-it note with something written on it.

He was startled slightly.

Just now, the smile on the corner of the woman's mouth in his memory and Jiang Fang's natural smile corresponded perfectly.

The professional habits developed by working in the casino for a long time made Jiang Fang smile even in a relaxed state.

Sensing Nan Zhou's gaze, Jiang Fang turned over the post-it note with the words "Nan Zhou's Girlfriend", pressed it on his knee, and turned his face.

The curvature of the corners of his mouth was even higher, and under the bright daylight, it was so pleasing to the eye that people couldn't take their eyes off it.

He asked, "What's wrong?"

Nan Zhou looked away, holding Nan Jixing who was holding his fingers and smelling the fruity fragrance.

"……nothing."

The author has something to say:

Nanzhou: ...it's nothing.

Nanzhou: I was thinking about how you look in women's clothing.