Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 60

The broadcast didn’t drag on with the usual ear-piercing static this time. A voice quickly followed:
“Congratulations to all guests for successfully escaping. The game has now leveled up, the Hunter Game begins.”

“Friendly reminder: Hunters will wear bells. Prey can use the sound to evade them.”

Yi Qian raised her flashlight, sweeping its beam down the empty hallway. The floor was spotless.

To her right was a teacher’s office, flanked by two classrooms, all doors tightly shut.

“Should we check the office or the classrooms first?” Yi Qian asked Ye Shuyi, who stood beside her, also observing their surroundings.

Ye Shuyi turned to her, mirroring her questioning tone. “Proximity rule?”

The corner of Yi Qian’s lips curled slightly at the other’s obedient demeanor. Her hand, hanging at her side, clenched into a fist. If this weren’t being live-streamed, she would’ve reached out to ruffle her hair.

But she didn’t. Instead, she gave a faint nod.

The two moved toward the office door. Seeing Ye Shuyi reach for the handle, Yi Qian covered her hand, voice softening. “Let me open it?”

Ye Shuyi didn’t reply, silently withdrawing her hand as if suddenly realizing something. She quietly stepped behind Yi Qian.

Pushing the door open slowly, Yi Qian swept the flashlight across the room. Inside, three office desks were arranged haphazardly, and against the wall stood a large four-door cabinet, its doors shut tight. There was no telling what might be hiding inside. The room was just as clean, no scraps of paper or anything frightening on the floor, and the documents on the desks were neatly arranged.

At a glance, the room seemed completely safe.

She pushed the door wide open and stood by the entrance, waiting for Ye Shuyi to step in before closing it behind them. She twisted the lock mechanism, only to find it broken.

Originally, she’d planned to lock the door, even if the hunters came, they wouldn’t be able to catch them. But now, it seemed the production team had anticipated her move.

Flashlight in hand, she walked further inside, scanning every corner where someone or something might be hiding. Eventually, she reached the cabinet at the far end. Turning around, she saw Ye Shuyi meticulously sifting through the documents on a desk. Yi Qian had meant to warn her not to come this way, but it seemed the other already knew what she was doing and what she would ask of her.

A faint smile touched Yi Qian’s eyes. They were growing more and more in sync, and the feeling was inexplicably satisfying.

This sense of being understood.

She opened each cabinet door one by one, finding no ghosts or terrifying objects, just folders and documents. Moving to the innermost desk, she rummaged through the drawers and soon found a phone tucked in the very back. She swiped up, and the screen unlocked instantly.

The phone had no password. Only one messaging app was installed, and inside it was a single chat labeled “Li Xiaoxiao’s Mom.”

Just then, another burst of static crackled from the ceiling, quickly echoing through the building:
“Time’s up, ten minutes have passed. Unfortunately, the previous hunters failed to capture any prey. Congratulations to Huang Xin and Cai Yunyoo, the new hunters!”

After the broadcast announcement concluded, Yi Qian said softly, “Agent Ye, come here. I think I’ve found Teacher Sun’s phone.”

Ye Shuyi heard this and placed the documents in her hands back to their original spot. She walked over to Yi Qian’s position and stood behind her, looking at the contents of the chat window.

The first conversation between Teacher Sun and Li Xiaoxiao’s mother occurred on the day Li Xiaoxiao returned to school after recovering from her illness.

Li Xiaoxiao’s mother: [Teacher Sun, could I trouble you with something? Since Xiaoxiao has just recovered and returned to school, could you please pay extra attention to her and keep an eye on her condition?]

Teacher Sun: [Don’t worry, Xiaoxiao’s mom. This is part of my duty as a homeroom teacher.]

For the following month, Li Xiaoxiao’s mother would send daily messages inquiring about Xiaoxiao’s situation at school, and Teacher Sun would report back truthfully.

A month later, around the time Li Xiaoxiao felt Teacher Sun suddenly began neglecting her, Li Xiaoxiao’s mother sent another message: [Thank you, Teacher Sun, for your patience and care during this period. Please don’t go out of your way to check on Xiaoxiao anymore just treat her like any other student. I’m afraid her condition might relapse.]

Teacher Sun merely replied with a polite “Okay.”

Another month passed, and Li Xiaoxiao’s mother messaged again: [Teacher Sun, I’m truly sorry, but I have to ask you for another favor. Xiaoxiao’s condition has relapsed because of you. Could you,  leave this school?]

Teacher Sun: [I’m sorry, Xiaoxiao’s mom, but I can’t agree to that. I love this school and all the students in my class.]

Teacher Sun: [If I may ask, what do you mean by Xiaoxiao’s condition relapsing because of me?]

Li Xiaoxiao’s mother: [You wouldn’t want to know. Just stay away from Xiaoxiao, don’t even look at her. I don’t want her condition to worsen.]

The timeline then jumped to December 11, 2024, the day Li Xiaoxiao wrote in her diary about seeing Teacher Sun lying in a pool of blood. That day, Li Xiaoxiao’s mother sent her final message: [Teacher Sun, I’m sorry.]

Teacher Sun, who had always responded before, never replied this time.

Yi Qian frowned deeply as she read. She tilted the flashlight upward, its beam forming a small circle of light on the ceiling, casting a faint glow in the pitch-black teacher’s office. Though the illuminated space was limited, it was enough for her to see the face of the person standing behind her. She looked up at Ye Shuyi and asked, “Both Li Xiaoxiao and her mother mentioned an illness. What kind of illness do you think it is? One that can relapse because of a person?”

Ye Shuyi gazed down at her. The reflection of the flashlight in Yi Qian’s eyes resembled countless stars scattered across the night sky, with her own face at the center of that celestial array.

Ye Shuyi averted her gaze, lifting her head slightly as she rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

Noticing her evasive gesture, Yi Qian couldn’t help but smirk. Yet she remained still, maintaining her posture as she watched the other woman, waiting for her response.

The teacher’s office was eerily silent, with only the dust particles dancing in the beam of the flashlight.

Just then, the distant sound of jingling bells broke the stillness.

Yi Qian immediately straightened up, turned off the flashlight on the table, and took the one from Ye Shuyi’s hand to switch it off as well.

Ye Shuyi glanced at the tightly shut door before crouching down and whispering, “Is it locked?”

Yi Qian shook her head, then realizing the other couldn’t see, replied softly, “No, the lock’s broken.”

Ye Shuyi: “Then what do we do?”

From what she could observe, there was nowhere to hide here. If the hunter came in, they would undoubtedly be caught.

On the other hand, though getting caught might be the quickest way out of this place, the story had reached this point, she didn’t want to give up halfway.

“Let’s go.” Yi Qian grabbed Ye Shuyi’s wrist and pulled her toward the wardrobe, opening the door and motioning for her to step in first.

Ye Shuyi frowned at the cramped space. “Will hiding here even work?”

Even if the hunter wasn’t searching for prey but just clues, they would surely check every cabinet one by one.

“What if it does?” Yi Qian remained optimistic, even a hint of amusement in her tone. “Every second we can hide counts.”

Ye Shuyi glanced at the door. The sound of the hunter’s bells was getting closer. Escaping now was unrealistic might as well take their chances.

She stepped into the wardrobe first and was about to pull the door shut when Yi Qian blocked it with her arm, quickly slipping in after her.

The moment Yi Qian squeezed in, the already tight space shrank drastically, forcing their bodies flush against each other, face to face.

“Don’t you think this is too cramped?” Ye Shuyi tried to lean back, but her back was already pressed against the wardrobe wall there was nowhere left to retreat.

“It is a bit tight.” Yi Qian reached behind herself to turn off her own microphone, then slid her other hand to Ye Shuyi’s waist, deftly switching off hers as well. She then lifted Ye Shuyi’s waist, pulling her closer until their bodies fit together seamlessly. Resting her chin on Ye Shuyi’s shoulder, her voice was a silken whisper, “Isn’t this better?”

Feeling the soft press of curves against her, Ye Shuyi stiffened, not daring to move. Yet her usually cool tone had already lost its composure, turning slightly breathless. “Can’t you go to another wardrobe?”

The warm breath against her neck sent shivers down her spine, spreading through her limbs, stirring waves of tingling heat.

Had Ye Shuyi been able to see, she would have noticed the dark, smoldering intensity in Yi Qian’s eyes, deepened by the shadows around them.

Yi Qian swallowed hard, her hand slipping beneath Ye Shuyi’s coat, trailing slowly from her abdomen to the small of her back before teasing the hem of her tucked-in shirt. Her body began to shift subtly, rubbing against Ye Shuyi in slow, deliberate motions.

A muffled whimper escaped Ye Shuyi’s lips as she grabbed the restless hand. “No!”

Yi Qian’s lips brushed her neck, her voice feather-light. “Be good, baby~ Just a little,  just a little.”

Under extreme tension, the senses sharpen so the moment Yi Qian’s whisper faded, Ye Shuyi heard the faintest twist of the doorknob.

The hunter had entered,  Ye Shuyi raised her hand to restrain the restless head before her, desperately trying to halt the other’s movements, but it was clearly futile. The warm breath of the person in front of her trailed down her neck to her ear as a whisper tickled her senses: “Don’t you think this makes it more exciting, darling? Don’t make a sound now, we can’t be discovered.”

As the words faded, Yi Qian lowered her head, planting kisses along the curve of her neck until her scorching lips finally found the purple grape at her chest. With a teasing flick of her tongue, she gently swirled around it, while the hand hidden beneath their clothes slowly crept upward, igniting trails of fire across every inch of skin it touched, eventually settling on its twin.

Ye Shuyi clamped a hand tightly over her own mouth and nose, her body reveling in the sensations while her mind remained hyper-alert to any movement outside.

“It looks like someone’s already searched this place. The clues must have been taken.”

That was Cai Yunyoo’s voice.

“Probably. We’re too late,” Huang Xin responded flatly.

Soon, a beam of light pierced through the gap in the cabinet door before vanishing just as quickly likely from someone sweeping a flashlight across the shelves. Cai Yunyoo’s voice rang out again, accompanied by the jingling of bells as she drew closer to the cabinet. “Xinxin-jie, we haven’t seen anyone along the way. Do you think,  they might still be hiding in here?”

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