Infinite Flow: Becoming a God in a Nightmare Game

Lu Xue listened quietly as Lin Wanchu described the scene from last night and Jiang Qi's whereabouts, and a smile appeared on her face.

Lu Xue felt that she had recovered quite well, so she decided to get up and go help Lin Wanchu.

Seeing this, Lin Wanchu quickly stopped Lu Xue, saying, "We don't think we can help much if we go over now, and the most important thing for you right now is to rest."

Lu Xue thought about it. Jiang Qi was so capable; it would be good enough if they didn't hold him back. She decided to wait for them to come back.

Hopefully nothing unexpected will happen. Lin Wanchu and Lu Xue thought to themselves.

Jiang Qi rubbed his temples after reviewing Chu Qidie's and the principal's files. He was surprised to find that their files were completely normal, and he couldn't find any useful clues in them.

He could only glean some basic information from it, but Jiang Qi hadn't held out much hope anyway, so he put the file back into the list of documents he had already read.

The files that Lu Zhi looked at didn't contain any useful information. Apart from Teacher Liu's file, they were all information about some unimportant people.

However, Jiang Qi thought of room 404 again. At first, he thought that the only clue was the photo, but he didn't expect that Chu Qidie was in this room. It seems that he has to go to room 404 again.

But it's been five days already, will Chu Qidie be able to resist showing herself?

Although the boss doesn't appear easily, and even if it does, players can't do anything about it.

There are two more ghost stories left. Once you find these two ghost stories and reach 100% exploration progress, you can leave the instance.

Jiang Qi tapped his head, then thought of Teacher Liu from the fifth ghost story. Among them, not only was she herself involved with Chu Qidie, but also her son.

Connecting this with the clues obtained earlier, it seems that either Teacher Liu condoned her son's bullying of Chu Qidie, or Teacher Liu herself participated in the bullying of Chu Qidie.

According to the timeline, all the changes occurred after Chu Qidie's death.

Let's assume that after Chu Qidie's death, Teacher Liu and her son became mentally ill from the fear of the ghost.

After seeing his wife and son become like this, Ms. Liu's husband could no longer tolerate them and gradually became irritable and impatient.

After Ms. Liu realized this, she felt that her husband didn't love her, so she killed him.

Perhaps a mother is hallucinating and mistaking her son for Chu Qidie, thus killing him by mistake?

This is the most accurate account of what happened in Jiang Qi's mind, although some parts have not yet been verified.

It doesn't matter if the guess is wrong, Jiang Qi didn't lose anything anyway.

Not long after, the system's voice sounded as expected.

[Congratulations to player Jiang Qi for his successful deduction! The exploration progress of Strange Tales V has reached 100%, and he has been awarded 100 points.]

Lu Zhi also heard the voice, looked up at Jiang Qi, and instinctively felt that his brother was really smart, worthy of being his brother.

Jiang Qi successfully obtained another 100 points, and he no longer had to worry about not being able to buy the items he wanted.

The school is too big; Jiang Qi and Lu Zhi haven't explored all the buildings yet. There are bound to be other strange tales about it, but so far, the only places they haven't visited are the gymnasium and the swimming pool.

After Jiang Qi finalized the plan, he turned and picked up Lu Zhi, saying, "Let's go check on Lin Wanchu and the others first."

Besides visiting Lin Wanchu and Lu Xue, it's also a good opportunity to explore dormitory 404. Dormitories are much safer during the day than at night.

Jiang Qi was already quite familiar with leading Lu Zhi into the girls' dormitory building. He stopped at room 403 and knocked on the door three times.

This was the secret signal Jiang Qi gave Lin Wanchu before he left, to prevent anything else from taking advantage of the situation.

There was a noise behind the door, and the door opened. Lin Wanchu stood behind them, looking at Jiang Qi and Lu Zhi with delight in her eyes.

"Boss Jiang, you're here. Come in quickly, Lu Xue is already awake."

Jiang Qi nodded and stepped inside, with Lu Zhi obediently following behind.

After Jiang Qi explained the information he had obtained to them in detail, he also told them about his plan.

After leaving Lu Zhi in the dormitory and asking Lin Wanchu and the others to keep an eye on him, Jiang Qi went to room 404 to check for other clues.

The door remained ajar as before, and Jiang Qi gently pushed it open from the inside.

The same dormitory layout, still covered in dust.

Jiang Qi saw the toy car that hadn't been taken out yet on the floor, with a few drops of blood on it, the source of which was unknown.

Jiang Qi squatted down, picked up the toy car, and continued to explore inside. There was no hanging corpse or anything else unusual behind the door of dormitory 404 during the day.

The blankets on the bed were still in the same way they were when he came in last time, so Jiang Qi turned over the other side of the blankets but found no clues.

Jiang Qi then looked at the cabinet in the distance. The cabinet door was tightly closed. He pulled it open and found that there were clothes inside.

It seemed to have been abandoned here because they didn't have time to move it. Jiang Qi touched the dusty clothes and found a square and very hard object underneath the soft fabric.

Jiang Qi quickly lifted the piece and found a small iron box with a four-digit combination lock on it.

I don't know if this kind of combination lock can be broken by force, so let's take it out first.

Jiang Qi first checked if he could find any more information about the combination lock, then reached deeper inside, only to find nothing else.

Jiang Qi brushed the dust off the cabinet with a tissue, and a name appeared. It was indeed Chu Qidie's cabinet from before her death.

After all, Jiang Qi couldn't think of anyone else whose clothes would be damaged and still in the closet. Chu Qidie was bullied by her roommates, so her personal clothing naturally couldn't escape the fate of being damaged.

Jiang Qi then turned and opened the desk drawer. Inside were a small mirror, a comb, a small hair tie, and a notebook that had been chewed to pieces by mice.

Jiang Qi finally found a intact piece of paper in a pile of shredded paper. Another drawer contained a variety of jewelry, including necklaces and bracelets—this drawer undoubtedly belonged to a rich girl.

Further inside were the dormitory toilets and washbasins. The mirrors hanging on the walls were covered in dust, and when Jiang Qi passed by, the mirrors only showed a blurry, indistinct image.

When the toilet door was opened, an unpleasant smell immediately wafted out.

Jiang Qi looked into the corner of the toilet and found a dead, rotting rat. Since he didn't find the clues he was looking for in the toilet, he simply left.

I've searched almost the entire dorm room; it's time to go out.

Jiang Qi returned safely to room 403, closed the door, and placed the combination lock box on the table.

Lu Zhi and the other two stared curiously at the combination lock box, and Lin Wanchu even fiddled with it with her fingers.

Jiang Qi then pulled out the piece of paper he hadn't had a chance to read in the dormitory from his pocket. It turned out to be a handwritten letter.

The recipient's name was Xu Yan. I don't know if showing her Chu Qidie's photo and this letter would make her remember who Chu Qidie is.

However, it's too early to show it to Xu Yan now. The letter was written by Chu Qidie before she committed suicide, but for some reason, it never reached Xu Yan and could only be kept in a drawer and slowly disappear over time.

The letter contained a farewell to Xu Yan and also included Chu Qidie's counterattack against the bullies, making the reasons for the deaths behind these strange tales increasingly clear.

The reason behind these strange tales is that Chu Qidie launched a campaign of resistance and revenge. However, to Jiang Qi's surprise, the doctor was not one of the strange tales.

Jiang Qi looked at the iron box. Generally speaking, when people set passwords, they would use their own birthday or other easily remembered or important people's birthdays.

Four numbers. The file I reviewed today contained Chu Qidie's birthdate: June 4th. Jiang Qi dialed the combination lock to 0605, but the combination lock didn't respond.

Oops, I entered her birth year again, but the password box still didn't respond. It seems her own information wasn't password protected. Looks like I'll have to find out more about Xu Yan.

As soon as they started fiddling around, darkness fell outside, and night descended once again.

Jiang Qi looked out the window at the sky and thought that the dark and windy night was the perfect time to go out and look for clues.

Jiang Qi was still worried about letting Lin Wanchu and the other person go out to look for clues on their own, so he had no choice but to let them come down with him.

Jiang Qi led Lu Zhi by the hand, while Lin Wanchu and Lu Xue followed closely behind, glancing around from time to time, ready to protect Jiang Qi first should any danger arise.

Following the route to his middle school, Jiang Qi finally saw the swimming pool building at another corner.

The swimming pool stood quietly in the darkness, the moonlight reflecting off the windows of the building.

Jiang Qi then noticed the moon hanging in the sky. He hadn't seen the moon for the past few days, but it had appeared today, and its edges were emitting a faint red glow. Something was wrong.

Jiang Qi told the two people behind him to keep an eye out, then quickly walked towards the entrance of the swimming pool.

Once again, the lock was pried open, and the glass doors were pushed open, revealing everything inside the swimming pool under the moonlight.

The group held their breath and looked into the swimming pool. The school's swimming pool was designed to be both simple and modern, with glass curtain walls all around.

In the very center was a spacious swimming pool with crystal-clear water, and everyone stayed far away from it.

After all, no one knows when a ghost might emerge from the water and drag them in; there are lockers spaced a few meters apart in the swimming pool.

Shoes were scattered haphazardly beneath the lockers. Jiang Qi continued walking forward when a locker next to him suddenly made a noise, which was particularly jarring in the quiet swimming pool at night.

Jiang Qi turned his head and found that he was now the only person left in the huge swimming pool.

Oh no, they've been separated again. I wonder if they can escape this illusion safely.

Since this is an illusion, he has no choice but to open the cabinet.

Jiang Qi didn't know whether the noise inside was from a person or a ghost, so he could only close his eyes and yank the cabinet door open.

Inside, a thin girl was curled up, and you could hear her soft sobbing.

Jiang Qi knew it wasn't a ghost or monster, so he opened his eyes. When he saw the situation clearly, he spoke up.

"Hey kid, are you alright? Do you need any help?"

The girl didn't speak, but buried her head tightly in her knees. Seeing this, Jiang Qi didn't linger and continued walking forward.

Just when the girl thought the young man had finally left, a coat gently landed on her back the instant she looked up.

Jiang Qi didn't speak. He saw the girl's face clearly. Although her face was scratched, he still recognized her as Chu Qidie.

Was this ghost story actually something Chu Qidie experienced herself?

It's unclear whether this Chu Qidie is the boss in disguise or a version of herself from a past memory, but none of this should make Jiang Qi lower his guard.

Jiang Qi extended his fair hand, a perfectly timed smile on his face, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Chu Qidie stared intently at the hands in front of her; these were the most beautiful hands she had ever seen in her life.

The young man's fingers were long and strong, with distinct joints, resembling a fine work of art.

His palms were broad, his skin smooth as jade, and under his fair skin, one could faintly see blue veins.

Just as Jiang Qi was about to violently pull Chu Qidie up, Chu Qidie moved. She simply grabbed one of Jiang Qi's index fingers and used it to stand up.

Because she hadn't eaten yet due to being tricked today, Chu Qidie felt dizzy the moment she stood up. Just when Chu Qidie thought she was about to fall flat on her face in front of the young man, she fell into a warm embrace.

This warmth is like the feeling of sunlight on the skin, making people feel cozy and at ease, with a faint scent of cedar mixed in.

Jiang Qi redeemed a five-point lollipop from the system shop and stuffed it into Chu Qidie's arms.

Although he knew that Chu Qidie in front of him was the mastermind behind the dungeon, after being betrayed by his friend in his previous life, Jiang Qi felt that ghosts and monsters were much better than humans, and that human hearts were unpredictable.

Jiang Qi inevitably recalled many people and events from his previous life, and he couldn't help but lament how foolish he had been in that life.

Perhaps being reborn was God's pity on him, but Jiang Qi quickly pulled himself out of this low mood and looked down at Chu Qidie.

To be honest, if Chu Qidie hadn't experienced school bullying, would her ending have been as wonderful as she imagined?

With enviable academic achievements, close friends, and the care and concern of many, her life shouldn't have ended in suicide.

As he pondered these thoughts, Chu Qidie's voice pulled him back to reality. "Thank you for the lollipop."

Jiang Qi couldn't help but feel annoyed that his emotions had been so easily affected; it seemed that this illusion was not simple at all.

Jiang Qi shook his head, trying to keep his mind clear. "You're welcome. Are you feeling better?"

Chu Qidie gave a soft "hmm," and then struggled to leave Jiang Qi's embrace.

Jiang Qi looked at Chu Qidie with a puzzled expression, then put her down and helped her until she was steady before letting go of her hand.

When Chu Qidie stood firm, she simply asked Jiang Qi to follow her. Jiang Qi followed slowly behind Chu Qidie, looking at her thin back and wondering what she was going to do next.

As Jiang Qi pondered how to break free from this illusion, Chu Qidie in front of him stopped. Jiang Qi felt as if Chu Qidie's movements had been slowed down, but he himself was unable to move.

She pushed herself into the swimming pool, and in the final scene, Jiang Qi saw Chu Qidie's lips moving: "I'm sorry, thank you."

Water quickly filled Jiang Qi's mouth, nose, and throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Jiang Qi struggled in the water, but couldn't get out of the pool. As his consciousness gradually faded, Jiang Qi felt that he could breathe again.

Jiang Qi suddenly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and realized that he was standing on the edge of the swimming pool. If he took another step, he would fall directly into the water.

Jiang Qi finally saw Lin Wanchu and the others. They were being manipulated like puppets as they walked into the swimming pool. Jiang Qi quickly grabbed Lin Wanchu and Lu Xue's shoulders and pulled them back.

Lu Zhi was not actually trapped in this illusion; it was rather rudimentary for him, and he immediately snapped out of it.

Realizing that Jiang Qi was showing signs of waking up, he pretended to be controlled and walked towards the pool.

After Jiang Qi dealt with Lin Wanchu and the other person, he rushed towards Lu Zhi and patted him hard on the shoulder. Lu Zhi pretended to have just woken up and slowly opened his eyes, looking at Jiang Qi with a blank expression.

Jiang Qi and Lu Zhi squatted down to watch Lin Wanchu and Lu Xue, who had finally come to their senses.

As soon as they woke up, Jiang Qi spoke up, "This illusion was mainly a mental attack. I didn't expect I would almost be led by the nose. It's good that you're awake. We need to be more careful from now on."