Chapter 179
The faint starlight was obscured by the cold, clear moonlight.
Shen Baizhou, draped in a shimmering cloak of moonlight, stood silently on the balcony.
The living room was dark, but a warm, yellow light spilled from the study.
He could clearly hear Xing Nuo’s soft voice:
“Big Brother, please help Second Brother. That girl’s family is rich.”
“Yeah, and she’s kinda scary. You can scare her away!”
“Hee hee, thanks, Big Brother!”
Shen Baizhou smiled, his earlier tension easing, and entered the study, ruffling Xing Nuo’s hair.
“Finished with your homework?”
Xing Nuo, having just called Shen Yan, huffed, annoyed by his brother’s sudden appearance and casual touch.
Second Brother has no idea how much I’ve done for him!
“Almost. Big Brother, you go to bed.”
Shen Baizhou, instead of leaving, pulled up a chair and sat beside him, watching him work.
Xing Nuo, focused, quickly filled the page with complex formulas.
Shen Baizhou, looking at the familiar yet daunting equations, rubbed his forehead, his eyes closed.
After about half an hour, Xing Nuo stretched, having finished his homework.
“Done! Time for bed!”
Shen Baizhou, looking at Xing Nuo’s neatly organized desk and backpack, chuckled.
“Learned that from Shen Yan, huh? Mr. Organized.”
Xing Nuo, having been influenced by his eldest brother’s meticulous nature, always tidied up, unlike Shen Baizhou, whose room was always a mess.
Xing Nuo smiled, his eyes sparkling, and, leaving the study with his brother, said goodnight.
“Big Brother, wait for good news tomorrow!”
He had faith in Shen Yan.
That girl wouldn’t bother Second Brother anymore!
Shen Baizhou smiled, pinched Xing Nuo’s cheek playfully, and said, “I know.”
Xing Nuo protested, then went to his room and climbed into bed.
The sky was a clear, cloudless blue.
Xing Nuo, in a good mood, rode his scooter to school, smiling and greeting his classmates.
The sunlight streaming through the classroom door illuminated his golden curls.
A boy in the front row groaned.
“Not fair! Why does Xing Nuo get perfect lighting and airbrushing?!”
The girl next to him, admiring Xing Nuo, patted his shoulder and teased:
“You got something too. Dark circles and a receding hairline.”
The other students laughed.
Xing Nuo, surrounded by their youthful energy, smiled, his own spirits lifted.
His curls bounced, like a sunflower.
The students, their laughter subsiding, started gossiping.
“Did you see the trending news?”
“What happened?”
“That Jiansen princess, the murder case! So shocking!”
“Tell us! What happened?!”
Xing Nuo, hearing “Jiansen,” remembering the girl, looked up, his ears perked up.
“I heard that last night, the princess freaked out, screaming about monsters in her garden. The police found…her ex-boyfriend’s body buried there!”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in shock.
“She has a mental illness, very obsessive. She killed him and buried him in her garden.”
“I heard she’s obsessed with finding look-alikes, harassing several people.”
“Do you think she killed them too?”
Xing Nuo’s heart pounded, thinking of his brother, then he sighed in relief.
Good thing she’s been caught.
The students continued their excited discussion, pretending to study.
“She was still screaming about monsters when they arrested her!”
“Sometimes, humans are scarier than monsters.”
Xing Nuo, his relief tinged with sadness, seeing the teacher enter, focused on his studies.
He went home for lunch and found both his brothers there.
Shen Yan, wearing thin, gold-rimmed glasses and a black shirt, his teddy bear apron on, was serving lunch.
Xing Nuo sat down.
“Big Brother, you don’t have to worry anymore. That girl won’t bother Second Brother again.”
Shen Yan nodded, his glasses hiding his cold eyes, his voice gentle.
“Good. Don’t worry about her. Let’s eat.”
Shen Baizhou emerged from his room, grabbed a chicken leg, and started eating, seemingly unaffected by the news.
But as Xing Nuo was about to leave for school, he saw Qi Yao and a few police officers arrive, wanting to talk to Shen Baizhou.
Qi Yao, frowning, looked at Shen Baizhou, a suspicion forming in his mind.
“That girl kept talking about monsters. Do you know anything about that?”
Shen Baizhou shrugged, his monolid lifting lazily.
“Not really. We only interacted at school.”
Qi Yao and his team left, their faces grim.
Qi Yao, standing outside the building, smoking, looking up at the Shen family’s apartment, said to his teammate:
“I know this sounds heartless, but I’ve always found that family strange. Every time something weird happens, they’re somehow involved.”
His teammate sighed and patted his shoulder.
“Don’t overthink it. They have a top-ranked player in their family. It’s normal for them to be a bit…different.”
Compared to other players who caused trouble, the Shens were relatively harmless.
Qi Yao nodded, then asked:
“Any updates on that train station dungeon?”
With the upcoming monthly exams, the teachers often held extra classes after school.
Xing Nuo, exhausted, his face pale, packed his bag.
An Zimuo, his face blank, slumped onto Xing Nuo’s desk and groaned.
“I’m going to die! That extra class was torture!”
Xing Nuo was about to reply when a sharp beep echoed in his mind, making his head throb.
He sat down, waiting for the pain to subside, then, seeing the other students had left, picked up his backpack.
“It’s late. Let’s go.”
An Zimuo, following him, bumped into his back.
“Hey, why’d you stop?” he asked, puzzled.
Xing Nuo, frozen, his voice slow and deliberate, said:
“An Zimuo, we’re in a dungeon.”
An Zimuo looked up, confused, and saw that the dimly lit school hallway had become the aisle of an old train car.
His eyes widened in shock, and before he could speak, a voice echoed through the car:
“Passengers, please find your seats and remain quiet. This train has no final destination.”
As An Zimuo stared, stunned, Xing Nuo grabbed his arm and pulled him to a seat.
The car was filled with people, their faces grim, the floor covered in a thick, dark, foul-smelling liquid.
A young man clutched his mangled, bleeding arm, his face a mask of pain.
The train was old and dilapidated.
Xing Nuo, looking around, as An Zimuo was about to speak, pinched his arm, telling him to be quiet.
Two office workers, also new to the dungeon, their faces filled with confusion, were yelling and demanding to get off.
But the train had already started moving.
“This is kidnapping! What the hell is this?! I have to work tomorrow!”
“Is this a prank?! This isn’t funny! I’m going to sue you!”
They yelled, but the other passengers, their faces impassive, ignored them.
After a while, their anger subsided, replaced by unease.
No…this can’t be…
Are we in a horror movie?!
