Chapter 50: The Watermelon Burst with Juice
“Peerless Benevolent Liang Dan, failed to identify the player, you are dead!”
As Liang Dan had predicted, that player was not a janitor.
She didn’t know where the woman had gotten such an outfit, wearing it ostentatiously to mislead the other players.
Liang Dan spoke into the microphone, “Attention all players, please note: the janitor is not a player. Please do not be misled by individual players.”
After saying this, Liang Dan put down the microphone and began rifling through the dean’s office drawers.
The desk in the dean’s office had been split in half, but since the drawers were divided into smaller sections, some remained intact.
Liang Dan pulled open one of the drawers and sure enough, found a large bunch of keys lying quietly inside.
She picked up the keys, which immediately became stained with fresh blood. Muttering to herself, she said, “I must find the key to the main door, open it, and let everyone escape. There are too many killers in this building; no one can stay here forever.”
With that, Liang Dan carefully stepped out of the dean’s office holding the keys. Standing in the corridor, she exhaled deeply.
Success.
It seemed that as long as it was to help others, even theft was justified.
Turning around, she saw that the deputy dean’s office door was now closed, and Zhang Xiaoli’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
“Zhang Xiaoli?” Liang Dan called cautiously, but there was no response.
Clutching her whip in one hand, she opened the door in front of her.
Zhang Xiaoli lay on the floor, a dagger plunged into her back; a young man was crouched behind her, the dagger still in his hand.
Liang Dan’s eyes reddened as she charged wildly forward, whipping the air with her weapon at a furious pace. The young man couldn’t dodge in time and was knocked down, the spikes on the whip piercing his flesh.
With a strong pull, Liang Dan yanked the whip, causing blood to stream down the young man’s back. He let out a painful scream, “Ah!”
Ignoring him, Liang Dan rushed to check on Zhang Xiaoli. She carefully rolled her over and saw her chest rising and falling violently.
She was still alive.
Zhang Xiaoli raised her hand, gripping a blood-stained key. “Bar three… I found the key you wanted.”
Tears fell from Liang Dan’s eyes onto her, her hands trembling violently.
The young man stood up and shouted, “Don’t you know what first come, first served means? She’s the one I’m supposed to identify! If you want to identify someone else, go find someone else!”
Liang Dan whipped her head around, vision blurring. “You’re committing murder.”
The man chuckled. “How novel. I’ve never met an old player who hasn’t killed someone. Have you never killed anyone?”
He approached. “If you’re not going to kill, then move aside quickly. I haven’t even pulled out the dagger yet.”
Liang Dan’s breathing grew heavier, her mind screaming in turmoil.
The man crouched down and reached for the dagger embedded in Zhang Xiaoli’s back.
---
Using all her strength, Liang Dan kicked him hard in the stomach. The man staggered back several steps.
“What a lunatic!”
Liang Dan took a step forward. “You think killing is no big deal, don’t you?”
The man’s eyes widened. “That’s just the rule. If you think it’s wrong, go question the rules!”
Liang Dan almost shouted, “There are clearly other ways! There are other ways to identify players!”
The man took a step back. “I don’t have time to chat with a lunatic like you. I have to find other play—”
Liang Dan cracked her whip on his right shoulder. The man screamed loudly.
“Peerless Benevolent Liang Dan, intentionally harming others, you are dead!”
---
“I still have to find other—”
Liang Dan swung her whip again, smashing it heavily on the man’s head. His skull burst like a watermelon, brain matter splattering everywhere, some landing on Liang Dan’s face.
The strange taste in her mouth instantly sobered her.
“Peerless Benevolent Liang Dan!!! Intentional killing!!! You are dead!!!”
---
The man shouted, “I still have to find other players!”
“How exciting,” Liang Dan said.
It seemed that killing was the system’s bottom line.
“I’m excited?” the man yelled. “You came over and hit me for no reason, and you say I’m the one who’s excited?”
Liang Dan said, “So you can kill others for no reason, but I can’t hit you for no reason?”
The man frowned, clearly annoyed. “She’s not dead yet. That one stab wasn’t fatal. I haven’t even followed up with a second.”
Liang Dan’s expression darkened as she raised her whip.
The man hurried to add, “Do you really have to be this pedantic? Whether she’s a player or an NPC isn’t even certain. Why are you so worked up?”
Liang Dan looked back at Zhang Xiaoli lying on the ground.
She was still breathing faintly, a sign that life still lingered.
Liang Dan’s mind calmed.
Something was wrong.
Zhang Xiaoli was so badly injured. She confronted that man here, yet the system had not judged her as abandoning someone to die.
Why?
---
Did the system think Zhang Xiaoli’s wounds were beyond cure?
Or did it believe she could not find a way to save herself?
But even if she couldn’t find a way to save Zhang Xiaoli, the system should have encouraged her to try, not stand by and do nothing.
Unless the way to save Zhang Xiaoli was right in front of her.
The man turned and ran, but Liang Dan stood frozen in place.
“Peerless Benevolent Liang Dan, abandoning someone to die, you are dead!”
---
The man shouted, “I’m excited?”
Liang Dan cut off his next words. “You, go save her.”
The man looked baffled. “Are you insane?”
Liang Dan raised her whip. “Go save her.”
The man shouted and protested, “She’s so badly hurt, how am I supposed to save her? There’s no bandages, no iodine!”
Liang Dan’s tone was calm. “But you have healing skills.”
The man’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Liang Dan said, “She lives, you live. She dies, you die.”
The man took a deep breath, eyeing the whip in Liang Dan’s hand. Then, with a heavy sigh, he muttered, “I guess I’m unlucky to encounter a crazy player like you.”
With that, he strode over to Zhang Xiaoli and slowly crouched down. Liang Dan squatted opposite her, whip in hand.
The man reached out and gently touched Zhang Xiaoli’s wound. The next moment, the deep knife wound healed before Liang Dan’s eyes. The fruit knife that had been lodged in her back was forced out and dropped to the floor.
The man muttered as he picked up the knife, “Satisfied now? Can I go?”
Liang Dan smiled faintly. “Go.”
The man stepped over Zhang Xiaoli lying on the ground and headed for the door. Liang Dan inspected Zhang Xiaoli’s wounds with her left hand.
“I’m okay now?” Zhang Xiaoli got up and looked at Liang Dan. Suddenly, her expression changed and she shouted, “Watch out!”
Liang Dan whipped her head around. The man gripped the dagger tightly, a sinister smile on his face as he prepared to stab her heart.
Liang Dan raised her right hand and swung her whip with force, striking the man’s head.
Liang Dan smiled. “Watermelon exploded.”