Congratulations on Your Successful Escape

Chapter 49

Mo Yi sat in the jolting car and closed his eyes to rest.

The faint smell of leather permeated the enclosed compartment, laying somewhere between sharp and warm. It was not at all unpleasant. All that could be heard was the whistling wind hitting the windows and the low, muffled roar of the vehicle’s smoothly running engine.

As early as the end of the first copy, he had already roughly sorted out the material from the police and media statements on the case, accompanied by some specious gossip and some private insider information. All of it had been dug up by him without exception.

The trajectory of Zhao Qiulan’s life also revealed a clear path.

Whether it was her mother who killed her father in jealousy and madness and then afterwards tried to break into the school to kill Zhao Qiulan and then committed suicide, or the repeated bullying in the later stages as well as the large-scale construction of the school after her sudden disappearance.

The rate of similarity with the first copy he went through was astonishing.

It was impossible not to connect the two.

And according to the information he found, after Zhao Qiulan’s death, a number of unforeseen “accidents” frequently arose in the old teaching building. There had also been talk going around about it being haunted. It had never been taken seriously until someone fell there and broke their neck. The building was completely abandoned after the person died. It had then been used as a warehouse.

As for the culprit who murdered Zhao Qiulan, he was still at large and soon left City A. Twelve years after Zhao Qiulan’s death, he died in a car accident.

The reason why Zhao Qiulan’s remains were discovered was because the school decided to renovate it once more, so the abandoned building was torn down. The construction team found a skeleton in the foundation of the building, and the identity of the skeleton was confirmed by DNA analysis.

— It was Zhao Qiulan who had been missing for twenty-two years.

The body of the vehicle suddenly jolted and then slowly came to a stop. Mo Yi’s body leaned forward with inertia.

The respectful tone of the driver in the front immediately rang out, “Mr. Zhao, the school is here.”

Mo Yi lightly sighed, eyes opening.

He reached out and nudged the rimless glasses pressed up against the bridge of his nose and showed a gentle impeccable smile. “Thank you.”

After that, Mo Yi straightened the tie around his neck, opened the door, and stepped down.

The school’s information system and the police’s database were full of loopholes. For him, finding all the information on the case was as easy as snatching candy from a child.

And those clichéd, “private insider secrets” were nothing but meaningless iterations.

— He needed something more concrete.

Only, it was a pity. Maybe it was because this case was connected to the previous school administration and had also implicated the upper echelons of City A, this matter had basically become an “unspeakable” case.

And the belongings in the former teaching building were also deeply locked up.

Mo Yi’s eyes lowered. A faint trace of an arrogant smile flashed across the corner of his lips.

Therefore, as early as the end of the last copy, after Mo Yi had discovered the connection between the game and reality, he had begun to prepare for today’s meeting with a calm expression, including creating a fake identity for himself and spreading some “rumours.”

Seeing the car door opening, several people approached and instantly greeted him. It was lead by a bald middle-aged man who hurriedly stepped forward, hand extended. “Hello Mr. Zhao. Welcome, welcome. Excuse me, may I ask what I can do to help you?”

He had heard the distinguished name of this Mr. Zhao before. He had recently been in the limelight in City A, having a vision for charity, and had donated a lot of financial resources to many schools. He was a hard to come by gold master.

Thinking of this, the smile on the principle’s face couldn’t help but brighten again.

Mo Yi nudged the glasses on the bridge of his nose, a routine smile on his face, and stretched out his arm and gave him a gentle handshake. “To tell you the truth, Zhao Qiulan, who was found here some time ago, was my cousin. I came here this time to pay tribute.”

The smile on the principle’s face froze.

Excavating the remains from campus caused a huge loss in reputation for the school, and the rumours were too strong to be continuously suppressed.

And Zhao Qiulan was from the same family as this gold master … that was even worse.

Although the cause of death had not yet been announced, there were a lot of rumours circulating the city, possibly true and possibly false. Moreover, regardless of what version it was, it had an indelible damage to the reputation of the school.

Mo Yi’s eyes narrowed, taking measure of the principle’s reaction through the glasses on the bridge of his nose. There were no ripples in that calm dark gaze. He paused meaningfully and continued, “Of course, the case itself will be handled by the police. As a relative, I’m very relieved to see that the injustice has been cleared up. This time, I mainly came to collect her belongings to give comfort to the elders in the family. And naturally, while we’re at it, there can be a chat with the school about making a contribution to the education of the next generation.”

The principle’s face, which had just collapsed, suddenly became excited again, but it collapsed again the next second.

Mo Yi looked at his rapidly changing facial expression with interest, and suddenly felt as if his fingers were being softly tickled.

He composed his brows and eyes, facial expression instantly fading, eyes imperceptibly hanging low.

His line of sight drifted downwards.

The well-tailored cuffs of a high-end suit revealed slender wrist bones that hung quietly to the side. The five fingers were unmoving and naturally tucked in, appearing not in the least bit peculiar.

In the next second, Mo Yi felt his palm being slightly scratched.

Mo Yi’s heart jumped, lips pursing, and without batting an eyelid, quietly folded his fingertips.

He had a general idea about whose ghost was messing with him at this time.

At this moment, the principle’s voice sounded again. He appeared somewhat embarrassed, as if holding back from saying something. “That … I’m very sorry. There is nothing left of Zhao Qiulan’s belongings.”

In the next second, as if afraid that Mo Yi would turn around and leave, the speed of his talking accelerated a bit, “However, we still have the property of the previous building. That, otherwise, you …?

The principle’s words were slightly softened due to uncertainty, so much so that he even had a guilty conscious in the end.

Mo Yi slightly smiled from the bottom of his heart.

If he had directly asked to see the property of the teaching building, the principle would definitely think that he had some scheme, thus many misgivings would come to mind. Yet, when he believed that he was the one who proposed the idea, he would become unguarded.

Mo Yi hesitated for a few seconds, and eventually agreed with some reluctance. Afterwards, they were greeted with joy by the principle who welcomed them into the campus.

After the principal turned his back, he let out a long breath and carefully wiped off the sweat from his forehead.

Obviously, the other party was only a young man, but for some reason, under the gaze of those dark eyes, it constantly gave him the feeling that he had nowhere to hide.

It was currently the time to attend class. Everyone passed through the deserted corridor. The sounds of lectures came from the classrooms beside the corridor, echoes arising from their steps on the floor.

Gazing at this strange and familiar corridor, Mo Yi’s mind couldn’t help but tremble, instantly producing a strange illusion where magic intertwined with reality.

Through the clear and clean windows, an open space not far from the campus that was under construction could be seen. The half-excavated foundation was exposed. It was obvious that construction had already been suspended.

This was why the school had been so short of money recently which was why he was so eager to grab the olive branch he extended.

Mo Yi withdrew his gaze and followed the person in front of him, passing through the two connected corridors, and finally arrived at a locked warehouse behind the teaching building.

The principle took out a key. The sound of the cold key colliding with the lock sounded rather hollow. With a harsh “clang,” the iron gate opened wide. It was pitch-black.

Mo Yi nodded politely at the principle and said, “For cooperation, you can talk to my assistant first. I want to go in and have a look by myself and fondly recall memories of the deceased.”

The principle expressed his understanding.

Mo Yi finally smiled at him, turned around, and stepped into the warehouse.

The large warehouse was cold, gloomy, and humid, saturating the air with a strong scent of dust, boring oddly into one’s nasal cavity, causing Mo Yi to involuntarily cough a few times.

Taking advantage of the not so bright light and scant sunshine penetrating through the gray windows on top, Mo Yi stopped in the middle of the warehouse and looked around the whole warehouse.

The warehouse’s ceiling was very high. The space inside was abnormally wide, and it was piled up with an accumulation of dusty old chairs, tables, and junk.

The chairs with missing arms and legs had fallen to the ground in despair, piled up in a small mountain with the others. There were many yellowed books buried in the dust, the writing on it blurred.

The whole warehouse was extremely quiet. Only the sound of a few early summer cicadas could be heard outside the open door of the warehouse.

Mo Yi took a deep breath and walked around the warehouse.

At this moment, he felt the corners of his clothes slightly lower.

Maybe it was hooked on something.

Mo Yi ignored it, and instead bent down and brushed the dust off a table, eyes narrowed to carefully examine it.

In the next second, the corners of his clothes were once again tugged.

Mo Yi was taken aback, looking along the side of his body, and happened to catch a glimpse of a thin line of mist that had not yet dissipated at the corner of his clothes.

Mo Yi took out his cell phone, turned on the screen and placed it on the desk, asking in a low voice, “What’s the matter?”

The keyboard on the cell phone screen began to automatically input characters: “Follow me.”

Immediately afterwards, a small gentle force wrapped around Mo Yi’s little finger, leading him to a certain direction.

Mo Yi’s countenance grew solemn, and he reached out to pick up the cell phone that was placed on the side of the table, and followed the force that pulled him toward the depths of the warehouse.

After passing by several broken blackboards and large piles of shabby discarded tables and chairs, the force that had been entwining his fingers disappeared.

New characters appeared on the cell phone screen: “Below.”

Mo Yi patted the dust on his clothes, followed the directions, and looked under the incomplete wooden chair in front him — His bright eyes were slightly stunned.

A scorched and warped photo frame lay in the dust, as if it had been burned by a fire. Only from a few corners could the original traces of the silvery white colour be made out.

It was missing a corner.

— As if to remind him that what had happened in the copy had actually happened.

Translator’s Note: Hi everyone. Sorry I disappeared and stopped updating for months with no notice. Life, work, and honestly just being burnt out translating got to me. Regular weekly uploads are back on schedule!