Chapter 11: Am I Avoiding His Edge?
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After reading, Cao Yu felt little emotion. It was common for a girl just awakening to love to be briefly involved with a charming but morally flawed guy. One was attracted to appearance, the other to the body—he had no comment on such matters. His attention focused entirely on the “Matchmaking Buddha Mother” mentioned at the diary's end.
Could there really be a deity in this scenario?
Cao Yu recalled his system’s store, where the top ten superpowers all carried warnings about their uniqueness and the fatal consequences of unauthorized purchase. He wondered if the “deity” in those warnings was related to this one here.
“Hm… probably not. From the description, this god doesn’t seem that formidable—likely just a title,” he reasoned, quickly restraining his wandering thoughts.
He resumed logical deduction.
The Buddha Mother’s statue sticker was affixed to the back, a death chant was recited backward, and a method of death was chosen… In the end, Xia He must have done this. She wished to “try and then pass away,” dying in a car accident.
But was that car accident her chosen method of death or merely a coincidence?
After all, there were many painless ways to die; no need to pick a painful one.
Just as Cao Yu was about to close the diary, suddenly—
On the blank page, blood-red words appeared out of nowhere.
It was as if an invisible presence stood beside him, pen in hand, writing with ink of mixed hues.
Cao Yu fought the impulse to drop the diary and stared at the crimson script…
“June 24, Rain.”
“I succeeded.”
“I think I’ve become a ghost?”
…
“July 1, Overcast.”
“I finally returned to school, and when Song Shian saw me, he was so frightened he knelt and begged for mercy. Fool, how could I hurt you?”
“I took Song Shian’s soul.”
“Now we can be together forever.”
…
“July 3, Clear.”
“Bored, I thought of Chen Shanshan, who still keeps a cat in her dorm. When she left, I found her. She begged for mercy and admitted her wrongs. Hmph, isn’t it too late? I killed her outright.”
“Hehe, I made you raise a cat in the dorm!”
…
“July 5, Rain.”
“Something ominous is happening—I’m growing red hair all over, and my consciousness is becoming muddled. What’s wrong with me?”
…
“July 19, Clear.”
“Today is Ghost Festival. My consciousness cleared at night.”
“Did I kill someone while dazed? How did six people become ghosts? Are they really ghosts? Compared to me, they’re weak.”
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“They all want to resurrect? Ha, six fools—if they resurrect, they’ll just be ordinary people. Being ghosts is better.”
“I wonder if I’ll kill more during my dazed state?”
“No matter! Others lose only life; if I don’t act, I lose love.”
“Song Shian seems dazed.”
“Hehe, my silly husband is still cute. We will be together forever and ever.”
…
“July 19, Clear.”
“The Ghost Festival is here again, and I regained clear consciousness at night.”
“I found two little mice peeking at my diary and learning my secret.”
“Human curiosity is disgusting, like cockroaches!”
“I found them and punished them, killing them cruelly.”
“Hehe…”
At this point, the blood-red words ceased.
Cao Yu’s player interface popped up automatically, updating information while a prompt sounded in his mind.
[You have completed Side Quest One.]
Anne beside him also received the notification.
Yet neither showed joy.
Because the feeling of being watched by an unknown force grew stronger.
The whispering in their ears, once faint as the buzz of mosquitoes, now sounded as if someone stood close, shouting loudly into their ears.
Anne tried biting her tongue to suppress fear and break free from the hallucination but failed.
This illusion was inescapable!
“Was that last diary an act of precognition?” Anne frowned. “Is it predicting that Xia He will kill us?”
“From another angle, it’s an intelligence hint—she’ll come for us tonight,” Cao Yu said calmly, glancing at his interface. “It’s now 1:30 p.m. Local night falls around 7:30 p.m., so we have about six hours left.”
He closed the diary and looked at Chen Ran and the others.
They had finished reading the data he’d given them earlier.
Seeing his movement, Chen Ran quickly asked, “So? Is the diary dangerous?”
“Yes. Reading it marks you for death by Xia He at night,” Cao Yu nodded. “You don’t have to read it; I can tell you what it says.”
“Isn’t that exploiting a bug?” Zhou Fan asked. “Does it work?”
“Let’s try—it won’t hurt,” Cao Yu said. “The puzzle is complete; I know the real way to pass, which is safe.”
With that, the three resolved immediately.
…
Five minutes later,
Hallucinations whispered into Chen Ran’s ears.
Cao Yu opened the diary and found the last “precognition diary” updated: the “two little mice” had become “five little mice.”
It even updated automatically…
Clearly, their bug exploit failed.
Knowing this fact marks you—just as the warning says, “He who gazes into the abyss is gazed back upon.”
“Xia He is the ‘Puppet Grudge’!”
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Zhou Fan concluded:
“After death, she’s cursed and dazed, moving according to supernatural laws. At this time, she’s the ‘Puppet Grudge,’ and won’t attack those under the safe house’s protection.
“When Ghost Festival arrives, her consciousness clears at night. Then she is Xia He.
“Xia He no longer follows supernatural rules. From her diary, she kills whoever she wants.”
Everyone agreed.
Zhou Zheng’s expression grew solemn.
“One Puppet Grudge can control dozens, maybe countless people with illusions. As the source, her power is underestimated at our peril.
“When her illusions activate, no fear medium is needed, and no target discrimination occurs. Even if we seek the Songtancheng army’s help to fight her, we’d likely be slaughtered.”
He paused, then proposed:
“We’ve completed Side Quest One. Side Quest Two need not be forced. Perhaps we should avoid the spotlight?”
“Avoid her?” Chen Ran puffed his chest and said boldly.
“Oh?” Cao Yu was surprised. “So brave?”
“Isn’t there you?” Chen Ran chuckled. “You just said you have a way to clear—what is it?”
Cao Yu didn’t answer immediately but looked at Zhou Zheng.
“You proposed avoidance, so you must have a plan?”
“I do,” Zhou Zheng nodded.
“Xia He mentioned in her diary she’s allergic to cat hair. She hated Chen Shanshan, who kept a cat in the dorm.
“After becoming a ghost, Xia He killed Chen Shanshan while she was away.
“It’s obvious she inherited her aversion to cats—otherwise, with her reckless ghost nature, she’d have killed Chen Shanshan outright in the dorm, not waited patiently.
“So…”
He concluded:
“We might find a cat café and hide there until 11 p.m. Of course, this is just speculation—I can’t say for sure.”
Zhou Zheng felt that Cao Yu had likely thought of this already and wanted to hear his thoughts.
“This method works.”
Surprisingly, Anne was the first to affirm.
She had just finished a call by the window and returned to the group.
“I called Chen Shanshan’s family. They took the cat from the dorm and are still caring for it. It’s alive.”
As the smart one in the group, Anne naturally seized on the detail of Xia He’s cat allergy.
After reading the diary, she immediately contacted the police. The station was chaotic, but she managed to persuade a colleague to help her find Chen Shanshan’s family phone number and inquire about the cat.
“I see… Given Xia He’s nature, having killed Chen Shanshan, she wouldn’t spare the cat,” Chen Ran speculated. “So she really avoids cats—even as a ghost. Hiding in a cat café is viable!”
“Indeed,” Cao Yu agreed, shaking his head. “But that’s an avoidance tactic, not my true clearing method.”
He straightened up, his tone serious:
“Everyone, it’s time to choose—fight or retreat. No pressure; choose as you wish. After all, the true way to clear requires us… to die once.”