Chapter 36 – Bloody Maple Leaf: End
Shortly after Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang cleared the secret room, they were transferred back to their personal space.
The clearance condition of the 3 of Hearts secret room was to find the person who poisoned Ying Xiaoya and the murderer who pushed her off the building. It didn’t require the players to completely analyze the plot, similar to the 2 of Hearts secret room. The hidden plot would be presented in the plot card.
The personal space of the two people was still in a merged state. The moment they entered the personal space, they saw a beautiful woman wearing a long red dress, looking at them with a smile from the sofa. “Long time no see.”
The keeper of Hearts always had a friendly, gentle ‘sister-like’ smile on her face.
Xiao Lou nodded at her. “Hello A of Hearts, we meet again.”
A of Hearts spoke with emotion. “3 of Hearts is a level higher than 2 of Hearts yet the two of you perfectly cleared it and refreshed the world record. I was really surprised.”
Xiao Lou asked curiously, “The C-grade secret rooms have no clue collection prompts. How is our score judged in the end?”
A of Hearts explained with a smile, “There are two ways to clear this secret room. The first one is to follow the police. The police will help the players find clues. As long as they use the restricted card (invisibility cloak) and pay attention to the progress of the police when interrogating the suspects, they can usually solve the case on the seventh day.”
Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly. “The police only solved the case on the seventh day. Is this because the key evidence of the shoes was disposed of?”
A of Hearts nodded. “After the storm the next day, the school’s garbage bin is full and the cleaners are ready to get rid of it. This is actually a reminder but many players weren’t aware of it. They didn’t go to the garbage bin and see the garbage bin leave the school, making them miss a key opportunity. Looking for these shoes at the landfill will naturally delay the time.
A of Hearts paused before continuing. “In most cases, the bones in the maple forest will appear on the fifth day. Your clues collection progress was so fast that the plot was triggered early and it appeared on the third day.”
It seemed that the secret room plot would be dynamically adjusted based on the player’s search progress. Yu Hanjiang nodded in understanding. “We found the shoes in advance and increased our clearance score?”
“It isn’t only the shoes. The chocolate, scarf, love letter, Count of Monte Cristo in Xie Xinghe’s bag and the ‘what should I do’ in Ying Xiaoya’s book are the first clues. The laboratory lock, the poison and the signature book are the second clues. The data room information on Si Han and the three missing people are the third clues. The fourth clues are in the office and the last clue is Zhang Qing’s human bone necklace.”
She looked at the two people with appreciation. “You found all the secret room’s clues and found it before the police. Therefore, every clue increased your clearance score.”
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang looked at each other with realization.
In other words, those who only wanted to live through the instance could act as a salted fish behind the police, relying on the police’s help. As long as they survived seven days without starving to death, they could also catch the murderer. However, those who wanted a perfect clearance must be a step ahead of the police, searching for evidence, finding clues and making guesses,
If it wasn’t for Yu Hanjiang’s unlocking skills, they might not have found the evidence in the office.
Yu Hanjiang asked, “What is the elimination rate of the 3 of Hearts secret room?”
The keeper replied, “60%.”
She shrugged regretfully. “Most of them were discovered by the security guards and thrown from the school. There are some people whose tacit understanding when using the invisibility cloak was too bad, resulting in them missing a lot of key information and making reasoning errors. Some were unreliable and overslept on the next day, so that they didn’t even discover the key role of the secret room was Ying Xiaoya. They ran around like headless flies looking for the protagonist and had their scores deducted.”
Xiao Lou, “…”
The others were understandable but oversleeping in the morning… it was hard to look straight at.
Xiao Lou looked at the keeper. “What are the rewards for this perfect clearance? Can you settle it now?”
“Of course, please check your card pack.”
Xiao Lou opened the card pack and indeed, there were three new cards.
[Equipment Card: Invisibility Cloak]
Rarity: A
Description: 3 of Hearts limited card. It is only after a perfect clearance that this limitation is lifted and it can be used in other secret rooms.
Effect: Enter the invisible state when used and become invisible for 30 minutes. It can only be used once every day, according to the secret room’s time flow rate.
[Tool Card: Universal/ Energy/ Key]
Rarity: B
Description: A fixed reward for clearing the 3 of Hearts secret room.
Effect: It can open any lock in the secret room world, including door locks, drawer locks, safe locks etc. However, it can’t be used in the Diamonds secret room. The key can be used 5 times and is damaged after 5 uses.
The Universal/ Energy/ Key was the reward card for clearing the instance. Yu Hanjiang had unlocking skills and this card was of little use. It could be considered for selling later. The invisibility cloak was from selecting option A after perfectly clearing the instance and it was successfully taken out of the secret room.
Although they didn’t choose B and lost one million coins, Xiao Lou’s mood was much better after seeing these two cards.
The third card was indeed the plot card.
[Plot Card: Bloody Maple Leaf]
Rarity: S
Description: A reward for perfectly clearing the 3 of Hearts secret room Bloody Maple Leaf.
Note: This plot card can be opened at any time and anywhere in order to view the complete story of the 3 of Hearts secret room.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang glanced at each other.
The 2 of Hearts plot card showed Zhao Sen killing two people and taking away his cousin’s body. Finally, he stood at the entrance and smiled at the camera, making Xiao Lou’s scalp numb. Although the murderer in that case was perverted, Xiao Lou had no contact with the deceased at all. Watching the plot was like watching a TV series… there were no deep feelings.
The 3 of Hearts secret room was different. He had seen Ying Xiaoya in person and stood outside the classroom listening to Zhang Qing teach. These people were vivid and were like real people around him. Xiao Lou couldn’t bear to watch Ying Xiaoya fall into that tragic situation.
Still, he quickly took a breath and adjusted his mindset. He wanted to find out Ying Xiaoya’s true cause of death.
Xiao Lou decisively opened the plot card. The card with the maple leaf spun in the air and quickly unfolded into a large screen on the wall. It started to play the complete story of the secret room.
Five years ago, Maple Forest High School.
The school had just been built and several nearby schools were merged. The scale was unprecedented and the leaders of the city personally came to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Si Han carried a schoolbag as she walked next to a classmate. The girl’s eyes were full of excitement and curiosity. She explored the school before going to the maple forest to look at the falling leaves, a shallow smile on her face.
Her companion said, “Si Han, our new school is so beautiful! There are your favourite maple trees!”
Si Han stood between the maple trees, picking up a maple leaf. “Yes, the school environment is good. I heard that the school spend hundreds of millions to repair this school. The desk and chairs in the classroom, the instruments in the laboratory and the computers in the network centre are all new.”
Her companion was very excited. “It is better than the dilapidated school we used to go to!”
Si Han stopped and looked at this red maple forest. “This place is really beautiful. I can come here after school.”
Her companion wondered, “Based on your achievements, you should have no problem testing in the top 10 of the year? I heard that after school starts, there will be a unified examination to place the classes. You will certainly be able to enter the key class.”
Si Han replied modestly, “Now three schools are merged and there are too many classmates. My grades might not necessarily be enough to enter the key class. Once the time comes, let’s do well and I hope we can be together.”
For the next two days, Maple Forest High School conducted a school-wide test. Si Han entered the liberal arts key class as fifth in the entire year. Her companion was ranked in the top 100 and failed to enter the same class as her. Even so, she comforted her friend. After all, they could study together and meet in the maple forest in the morning.
This maple forest was very popular with Si Han. Every morning, she would come to school very early to recite Chinese texts or English words. A serious girl held the book and moved lightly through the maple forest, looking like a beautiful elf.
Not long after, she was noticed by the language teacher.
The language teacher and also her class teacher had the surname Zhou and he was in his 40s. He was in good shape without the beer belly of middle-aged people. He was also very knowledgeable and well-written, making him popular among students.
He smiled at the girl in the maple forest and asked, “Si Han? Are you here again?”
Si Han politely bowed. “Hello, Teacher…”
Teacher Zhou encouraged her. “Continue to work hard and you will definitely pass the key points in the exam.”
Si Han smiled and nodded firmly. “Yes!”
He was her most respected class teacher. She listened to his words and her results were very stable.
Si Han was becoming more and more beautiful. She didn’t realize that the teacher’s care for her was excessive. She simply thought that as the representative of the language class, the class teacher would often talk to her.
One time, after school on Friday, Si Han went back very late because it was her duty day. She had just walked to the school gates when it started to rain. The girl couldn’t help being drenched.
The class teacher driving past saw that she was wet and took the initiative to open the door to her. “Si Han, didn’t you bring an umbrella? I will send you back since it is on the way.”
Si Han was very embarrassed. How could she let the teacher send her home?
However, the rain was becoming heavier and the teacher already opened the door to let her in. The place where the teacher lived and her residence was indeed close. She had to say thank you and carefully place her hands on her knees as she sat in the back seat.
She didn’t expect…
This decision became the beginning of her tragedy.
The car drove further away, deviating from the original route. This made Si Han panic. “Teacher, I arrived… Teacher…”
The driver in front just ignored her calls.
The 40 year old man drove the car to the desolate suburbs and locked the girl in his car, cruelly defiling her.
Si Han was so angry she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t think the person she had always respected was actually a beast under human skin!
The girl’s desperate cries made Xiao Lou’s expression crack and he wanted to beat this beast’s head with a punch!
After the heavy rain, Si Han returned home in the early hours of the morning and washed her body like crazy. She was still young and her personality relatively soft. She suddenly encountered such a thing and was confused. She didn’t know that she should first go to the police…
As a result, there was no evidence when she wanted to report it to the police.
The man personally apologized to her the next day, saying that he was drunk and lost his senses. He had always liked her which was why he would do such a thing and he hoped she forgave him. He even knelt in front of her and made an oath, asking her not to call the police or call others.
Si Han didn’t know what to do and didn’t dare tell anyone. She went back to school and was frequently distracted, causing her results to plummet.
Just as she was at her most helpless, Zhang Qing called her from abroad and asked softly, “Little Han, how are you? Are you still adapting to your new school?”
Si Han’s lips trembled and her eyes were full of tears. “Sister… you, are you busy?”
“I had an important exam recently which is why I haven’t contacted you for several days. Are you okay?”
Si Han bit her lips and hesitated for a moment. In the end, she gritted her teeth. “I-I am very good…”
First, she was too humiliated and didn’t know how to say it. Second, she didn’t want to affect her hard-working sister who was studying abroad. She thought it was just a nightmare and everything would be fine when she woke up from the dream.
She didn’t expect that the nightmare wasn’t over… it was just beginning.
Her most trusted psychological teacher was a young and gracious person. Her performance had dropped and she was unable to concentrate. She went to him to consult and adjust her mentality. Under the guidance of this teacher, she gradually came out from her daze.
However, she didn’t know that some people didn’t have a bottom line. Even if they knelt down and apologized, they would just useless words.
If there was a first time then there would be a second time.
In the gym’s dressing room on Friday night, she was once again bullied by the class teacher. She shouted for help and caught the attention of the school’s security guard.
She thought she was saved when the security guard came in. She didn’t expect this security guard to be inhuman and he actually joined in to abuse her.
The psychological teacher had accidentally fallen asleep in the office and woke up at 9 in the evening. He heard the movements in the gymnasium and saw her lying on the ground.
She cried and begged for him to call the police.
However, he walked away in a panic.
He had just graduated and was assigned to this school. The security guard was the vice-principal’s relative and Teacher Zhou was an excellent predecessor who had a tough background. Did he really want to offend these two people for an irrelevant student?
The usually polite and reasonable psychological teacher, in the key moment… he became a coward who didn’t want to cause trouble.
Si Han’s desperate tears as she looked at the back of her trusted psychological teacher made Xiao Lou’s heart hurt.
If he was Si Han’s sister then he would also want to kill these three beasts!
Si Han had been whispering that she wanted to report this to the police. The security guard and Teacher Zhou were afraid. After a discussion, they decided to use the gym’s bathroom to wash her clean and leave no evidence. Then Teacher Zhou forged a suicide note and the security guard deleted the monitoring. Then they pushed her down from the top of the building.
They knew it was Si Han’s 18th birthday.
The girl’s body fell from the roof like this and the time of the fall was very short. In her eyes, there was only the maple forest facing the office building. Countless maple leaves fell, like a blood-stained red carpet on the ground.
