For Your Grand Plan of Revenge

Yang Zhanbai pulled Chen Zhaoxing and Xu Tongguang aside, whispering "Stay safe" to them.

Back in the dormitory, Qi Yinming stared solemnly at his phone, the blue screen light casting a faint glow on the sweat beading his forehead.

When he saw Yang Zhanbai return, he quickly looked up from his phone.

"I got in touch with Zhu Zeyu. He doesn't seem to be in a position to text much right now."

"Right," Yang Zhanbai agreed.

He detailed the situation and the contents of Zhu Zeyu's message, then cracked his habitual half-smile.

"Brother Qi, what if we head out?"

Qin Yang raised his hand, hesitating for a rare moment. "Uh, can Yuan Chen and I object to this?"

He swallowed hard, his voice strained.

"We don't really know Zhu Zeyu that well, but something about this feels off. Under such danger, human nature is unpredictable. What if he's just planning to sacrifice us?"

"Oh," Yang Zhanbai shrugged.

"If we go out, we'll have to leave the dorm door ajar. If you're against it, you'll just have to stay behind."

Zhu Zeyu had spelled everything out pretty clearly.

Qi Yinming thought it over for a moment, then shook his head.

"Qin Yang, you don't need to doubt him." He flashed a helpless smile. "You can talk about human nature all you want, but this is a matter of IQ. You don't need to question Zhu Zeyu's intelligence."

"Sacrificing teammates to save his own skin—that's an absolutely idiotic move, and he's known that from the start."

"So..."

He placed his hand on the door handle. Behind his thin glasses, a pair of gentle eyes swept across everyone in the room.

"I think we should go out."

Chen Zhaoxing excitedly straightened up from his slouch.

Qin Yang wanted to say something more, but Chen Zhaoxing shot him a glare sharp enough to shut him up.

"Shut up! If you keep blabbing and get hurt out there, I won't bother to save you."

Chen Zhaoxing's gaze fixed intently on Qi Yinming's still-immobilized hand. "Come on, Boss, when are we heading out?"

Qi Yinming cautiously checked the mirror to make sure no one was around, then slowly turned the lock.

"Yang Zhanbai, lead the way. Find a spot far from Dorm 508."

Qi Yinming frowned. "Ideally, another dorm could take us in. It's still too risky to stay out in the hallway."

Yang Zhanbai paused for a moment.

"Actually, I've got a good idea..."

...

Inside Dorm 508.

Yang Zhanbai's new message popped up: "We're out. Zhu Zeyu, are you in 508?"

"What's the deal with the Fog?"

Zhu Yan replied: "It's possessed two bodies. Try to keep your distance."

He silently summoned the broadcast in his mind, and soon enough, the female voice appeared.

"Hello, player!" it greeted cheerfully. "Please state your command."

Zhu Yan recited mentally.

"I'd like to activate the broadcast permission, now."

"Alright."

The female voice answered brightly, and Zhu Yan weirdly pictured a little girl sitting in front of a TV, munching on potato chips.

"What would you like to broadcast? One sentence only!"

Zhu Yan thought carefully, mulling over his wording.

"Broadcast the following to the Fog."

"For the sake of your revenge plan, please follow the instructions of the Skin Tailor. Avoid all players within ten minutes and relocate entirely to Dorm 303."

The female voice chuckled softly.

It was a complex, long sentence.

It seemed to chew over the phrasing before giving a positive response.

"Got it. Please wait a moment."

Then, he saw the expressions of the two puppets across from him change.

Zhu Yan couldn't hear the broadcast meant exclusively for the Fog.

But the puppets' lowered brows visibly relaxed, their expressions shifting from stiff dissatisfaction to smiles.

About fifteen seconds later, it flashed a grin at Zhu Yan.

"Alright, Skin Tailor, I'm listening."

Its dull gray pupils fixed on him.

"I just caught the broadcast. It's about you and me."

"You heard it too, right?"

Zhu Yan hadn't heard it, but he knew exactly what it said.

He replied: "The broadcast told me to head to Dorm 303 and stand by to help you kill the Hunter."

"But it says we need to avoid all players first."

"And all of you need to get into 303."

Zhu Yan stressed every important point.

"Might as well wait until all of you have gone in first. More secure that way."

Yes, more secure for killing the Fog.

The Fog muttered, both puppets shifting restlessly.

"Don't rush me. I'm already on the move. Climbing stairs takes time, doesn't it?"

"How strange. Why would the broadcast tell us to avoid all players?"

Because if Yang Zhanbai realized that 'Zhu Zeyu' hadn't come out with the Skin Tailor, Zhu Yan's identity might be exposed.

But Zhu Yan wisely kept that to himself and made up a random excuse.

"To avoid raising the Hunter's suspicion, so he can safely return to 303."

"Don't forget, the Hunter is also a player."

...

In the hallway.

Yang Zhanbai led the others, tiptoeing forward as they edged closer to the remembered Dorm 508.

For some reason, the temperature in the corridor seemed to have dropped noticeably.

A damp chill seeped into their bones, making Xu Tongguang shudder, recalling the unpleasant time he'd had upstairs.

"It feels like—like the Fog is really here."

He whispered.

"Remember that sensation..."

Chen Zhaoxing shoved a pink cockroach into his mouth.

"Shut up," he said firmly. "The Fog definitely is here. Look behind you. You can see a bit of it."

Not just Xu Tongguang——the others couldn't help glancing back either.

Sure enough.

At the corner of the circular hallway, there was a faint trace of rolling, grayish-white substance, dense and unpleasant like phlegm.

Thankfully, this murky stuff formed some kind of strange barrier, carefully shrinking its area rather than trying to overrun the whole corridor.

"Interesting," Qi Yinming said, pushing up his glasses. "Shouldn't something like this be greedily seeking more human puppets?"

Yang Zhanbai stopped.

About ten meters ahead, the same thick, rolling barrier appeared.

"We'll stop here," he said quietly. "Zhu Zeyu said that thing wants to get into 303 to kill the Hunter."

"He must have really fooled the Fog."

Yang Zhanbai didn't elaborate, because he couldn't imagine what Zhu Zeyu had said.

What could possibly make the Fog give up the easy prey right in front of it and hold back from spreading?

...

On the other side.

The thick fog surged violently into Dorm 303, condensing into heavy water vapor.

The calico cat looked up from the bed, annoyed, flicking its tail restlessly.

Zhu Yan received a message from Yang Zhanbai. It simply said: "Hiding safe."

He perked up his ears for a moment, then pushed open the door of Dorm 508.

“Let’s go.” Zhu Yan smiled at the two puppets of Fog. “For the sake of your great revenge.”