When Shen Yuqing arrived, he noticed a few scattered bloodstains on the ground. He looked up toward the storage room, pressed his lips together, and quickly walked over.
He reached out, gripping the door handle to open it, but the door was locked. There was no need to guess who had done it.
He raised his hand to knock, hoping Song Wangzhuo would come to open it, but the system stopped him after just one knock.
[Host, this is a side quest.]
Shen Yuqing clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said, [What kind of time is this to be worrying about that?]
The system hesitated. [Even though your relationship with the protagonist has improved a lot, it’s best not to let Song Wangzhuo know about this.]
Shen Yuqing forced himself to calm down, inhaling deeply. [Then tell me, how do I get in?]
[I just scanned the area. There’s a window on the left side, the two guys earlier came out through it.]
The door was locked, so if anyone inside wanted to leave, they’d have to find another way.
Shen Yuqing hurried to the left side and, sure enough, found a window. He pulled it open and immediately spotted Song Wangzhuo lying unconscious on a pile of discarded items.
His waist and abdomen were soaked in blood.
Shen Yuqing’s heart pounded. Not daring to waste another second, he climbed through the window.
As he approached Song Wangzhuo, his face twisted with worry. Up close, he realized Song Wangzhuo’s condition was even worse than he’d imagined.
Shen Yuqing gently patted his shoulder. “Song Wangzhuo… Song Wangzhuo?”
No response.
His face was drenched in sweat, his hand pressed against the wound, but blood had already saturated his clothes. It looked as though a single squeeze could wring out more blood.
Simply covering it like this was useless.
[Host, I’ve already called an ambulance and notified the school doctor,] the system said gravely. [The school doctor should arrive in about five minutes.]
At least the system was doing something useful for once.
Shen Yuqing didn’t dare move him recklessly. Carefully, he lifted the bloodied fabric and moved Song Wangzhuo’s hand aside. The wound was still bleeding.
[Scan him,] Shen Yuqing ordered, his brows furrowed. Song Wangzhuo looked far from stable.
[He’s lost a lot of blood, but no vital organs were hit. The doctors will be able to stop the bleeding when they arrive, though he’ll probably need time to recover.]
Shen Yuqing relaxed slightly.
[The doctor will be here in three minutes, host. We should go now.]
Shen Yuqing couldn’t risk being seen by others and had to leave first.
He exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat from Song Wangzhuo’s pale face before standing up. He unlocked the door and stepped outside.
But he didn’t go far, hiding nearby instead. Sure enough, moments after he concealed himself, several school doctors rushed over with medical supplies. From a distance, they could see a student lying inside, his clothes drenched in blood, a sight terrifying enough to make their faces pale.
Their footsteps quickened.
From his hiding spot, Shen Yuqing had a clear view of the storage room’s entrance. Though he couldn’t hear what was happening inside, the system provided live updates.
Song Wangzhuo’s bleeding had stopped, and the doctors were now checking for other injuries.
The system fumed, [Who the hell is behind this? How many times is this going to happen?!]
Last time Song Wangzhuo was locked in the auditorium dressing room, but this time they actually tried to kill him!
Shen Yuqing lowered his gaze. When he had checked Song Wangzhuo’s injuries earlier, his fingers had been stained with blood. Now the blood had dried, but the metallic scent still lingered.
When the system posed this question, Shen Yuqing had already thought of one person—Song Lejin.
On the first day of the sports meet, Song Lejin had clearly wanted to say something to him, but for some unknown reason, he ultimately didn’t speak up.
Yet Shen Yuqing knew whatever he wanted to say must be related to Song Wangzhuo.
Shen Yuqing instructed: [Check the surveillance footage of those two men. Trace who they met before coming here.]
It was obvious the two weren’t from their school. Normally, campus access required student ID cards, but during the sports meet, security had been more relaxed, allowing them to slip in with the crowd.
The system acknowledged and began tracking.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Yuqing remained hidden until he saw paramedics rushing in with a stretcher.
About five minutes later, they carried Song Wangzhuo out. He was safe now.
Shen Yuqing exhaled in relief, his eyes falling again on the dried blood on his hands. Why?
He desperately wanted to ask why. He was now certain Song Lejin was behind the previous incidents too, but those hadn’t been lethal attempts this was different.
Combined with what he’d overheard. The men saying their employer would be even happier if Song Wangzhuo died.
Shen Yuqing slowly emerged from hiding. The sun, previously obscured by clouds, now shone brightly upon him.
Yet Shen Yuqing felt no warmth. Despite the sweltering heat, an icy chill permeated his entire body.
For the first time, he realized this novel’s world wasn’t progressing as smoothly as he’d imagined.
He couldn’t remain passive any longer. If he didn’t take initiative now, who knew what might happen next?
Entering the restroom, Shen Yuqing washed away the bloodstains. As he finished, the system returned.
[They didn’t meet anyone after entering. The arrangements must have been made beforehand,] the system reported. [I checked the original plot, Song Wangzhuo wasn’t supposed to be injured this severely.]
Shen Yuqing merely hummed in acknowledgment. The system continued: [With such a major incident, his corruption value will probably spike uncontrollably now.]
It sounded distressed. All their efforts to reduce the corruption value would be undone by this.
[What can we do?] Shen Yuqing felt exhausted. [Let it burn.]
The system was startled by his words. [Host, don’t say that!] it whimpered.
[Then what should I say?] Shen Yuqing countered.
The system fell silent, recognizing Shen Yuqing’s anger. As both his system and golden finger, it had repeatedly failed to anticipate these emergencies.
For a moment, it wanted to cry too, shedding digital tears within Shen Yuqing’s consciousness.
Shen Yuqing asked: [Both Pei Yiyan and Song Wangzhuo’s corruption values have improved significantly from the beginning. Why is your energy pool still insufficient?]
Shen Yuqing wasn’t actually angry, just overwhelmed by a profound sense of helplessness.
If the system had acted a step earlier today, perhaps this situation could have been avoided.
The system said: [Host, our energy pool’s algorithm is actually quite complex. Especially since this world has been rewound several times, making the energy pool even more complicated.]
Shen Yuqing took a deep breath and exhaled heavily: [Forget it.]
There was no point dwelling on this now. He asked: [Have you tracked those two people?]
[Tracked them!] The system replied: [But strangely enough, they were arrested by the police shortly after leaving campus.]
Shen Yuqing hummed in acknowledgment: [Find a way to get their interrogation records. I’ll review them later.]
The system responded: [Mission guaranteed!]
As Shen Yuqing walked toward the school gate, the system asked: [Host, where are you going?]
Striding forward, Shen Yuqing answered: [To see someone.]
He still couldn’t stop worrying about Song Wangzhuo he had to go check on him again.
