Chapter 54: Review

Qiong Cang had gone viral.

The Sanyao Forum was flooded with discussions about this autumn escape instance. Threads on the homepage were updating at a breakneck pace, and the most frequently mentioned ID among them was Qiong Cang.

The attention generated by the participation of so many well-known players far exceeded that of the previous instances, allowing her to quickly emerge as a dark horse among the new players and carve out a path for herself.

But Qiong Cang herself had nothing to do with being a newbie; her very existence defied logic.

Netizens posted screenshots of Qiong Cang in the game everywhere, asking about her identity and wanting to know where this genius who had appeared out of nowhere came from.

“Who is she? A capability score of 96, how could someone like that be completely unknown? If she’s in the industry, could she do an interview so I can admire her?”

“I’m totally sold on this girl’s acting skills. Even as a viewer, I was fooled by her at times. She’s a real talent!”

“In the first two instances, some netizens claimed to recognize her. Based on the information they provided, the big boss is likely a teacher who used to teach at A University. She taught there for several years with a good reputation and solid skills, but recently resigned for some unknown reason.”

“Teaching at A University for several years? She must be at least in her thirties or forties, then. Maybe even older.”

“Someone in her thirties or forties can still be a pretty lady! 【Roar】”

“…Wait, is it resignation or retirement? There is a huge difference. Are you guys so desperate for a pretty girl that you’ve lost your minds? If she’s an industry giant or a senior expert, wouldn’t this kind of speculation be very rude?”

“The big boss gets along pretty well with Brother Q. In the previous instances, she even made flirtatious jokes with him. If she were a senior expert, she probably wouldn’t do that, right? 【Cautious】 I think the netizens might have the wrong person.”

The discussion went on for a while. Since no students from A University came forward to confirm Qiong Cang’s identity, and Qiong Cang herself had shown no interest in becoming an internet celebrity, the topic gradually faded, and they turned to discussing today’s instance instead.

Some netizens had already compiled the escape statistics from each Live Stream Room into spreadsheets, while the fully edited video was still in production and should be released soon.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect that more than one person would successfully escape from the instances opened today. After all, the one-to-one-hundred numerical advantage for the other side is still very obvious.”

“They probably can’t cause public panic during the holidays. To summarize, it was a case of too many people plus enemies being too cunning. Several veteran players knew exactly how to exploit the crowd size to lead everyone on a wild goose chase. It cracked me up.”

“Then do you know about Professor Yan in the other room? Because he spent so much time fishing in troubled waters over such a wide area, and kept causing trouble along the way, his bounty kept rising. In the end, he dragged the faction ratio from 1:100 to 1:150. I suspect he was farming the bounty. 【I have proof】”

“That’s nothing. The clever guy in Live Stream Room 206 hijacked a police car and blended right into the convoy. He fooled all kinds of rookie players along the way and was just about to enter the headquarters when the guard at the Department of Public Security recognized him, causing him to crash and burn on the spot. 【Hahaha】 Oh my god, that scene was absolutely spectacular!”

“One player left by train, taking advantage of the crowd to skip buying a ticket. It just goes to show that there are still loopholes in grassroots security checks.”

“The fastest to clear the game was still the big boss, QC. Actually, she had already shaken off the pursuit by 2:30 in-game time, but walking and waiting for the bus took her an extra half hour.”

“How was the Pursuer lineup in her instance? The Pursuers in the other instances were pretty stacked, which is why those players got delayed for so long.”

“Her side was stacked too! Zhang Wuping was the commander-in-chief, and there were over a dozen players with individual ratings around 80. Sanyao balances capabilities when assigning instances, so there’s no bias. Let’s not start that kind of debate.”

“The players in the other instances were all keeping a low profile and disguising themselves just to survive, while this 96-point big boss paraded around in broad daylight the entire time. Can you believe it?”

“Cosplay’s reputation has taken a real hit. In the future, when the police screen suspects, they might actually make them remove their makeup on the spot.”

“If I had even half of this big boss’s mental fortitude, I would have reached the peak of my life by now. 【Vowing solemnly】”

“I really learned a lot of useless knowledge from this instance. I just have one question: why do all these geniuses know survival skills from the underworld? 【It’s not that simple】”

.

He Jueyun was chatting with Qiong Cang, but his phone kept buzzing incessantly, preventing him from even eating in peace.

He Jueyun wanted to ignore it, but the constant vibration in his pocket felt a bit awkward, especially since Qiong Cang kept glancing toward his pants pocket at the sound. Left with no choice, He Jueyun pulled it out and unlocked it.

Sure enough, it was one of his employees spamming him with messages.

The kid was practically taking his frustration out on the world, spamming him with all kinds of images. One moment it was netizens’ comments on Qiong Cang, the next it was calls for her to do an interview, then it was character profiles netizens had compiled based on her performance in the instance, all interspersed with invitations from major MCN agencies hoping to sign her.

If the kid could direct even a fraction of the attention he paid to Qiong Cang toward figuring out his boss’s mindset, he would have been promoted with a raise by now.

Suppressing the urge to block the guy, He Jueyun relayed the message to Qiong Cang. “A lot of agencies want to sign you. A few of them have good reputations that we at Sanyao know a bit about, and the contracts they’re offering are pretty fair.”

Qiong Cang replied flatly, “Not interested. Thanks.”

As he typed out a reply, He Jueyun muttered, “You’re making me look like your manager.”

Qiong Cang smiled. “Have some confidence. How can you be called a manager if you aren’t getting paid?”

He Jueyun: “…”

The reluctance on his face was practically overflowing, which Qiong Cang found highly amusing.

She raised her wrist to check the time, only to realize with a start that she had been sitting here for an hour and a half, doing nothing but chatting with He Jueyun.

Qiong Cang looked twice to confirm her watch wasn’t wrong, her eyelids twitching slightly in surprise.

Spending time so idly felt incredibly extravagant, yet it wasn’t a bad feeling. Listening to He Jueyun warning the person on the other end, saying things like “stop sending me this stuff,” Qiong Cang lowered her hand and stood up. “I should head back.”

He Jueyun cut himself off mid-sentence and asked, “Should I give you a ride?”

Qiong Cang smiled and asked, “The Instance just ended. Don’t you all have work to do?”

He Jueyun thought of the pile of reports he still owed, and a flash of loathing crossed his face.

He was slacking off! But that was the boss’s prerogative.

Qiong Cang stood there without moving. After a moment, she added, “Thank you.”

“Thank me for what?” He Jueyun’s train of thought was just as erratic. “Just paying me is enough.”

“I mean, thank you for saving Jiang Ling,” Qiong Cang said.

He Jueyun’s eyes flickered. Looking away, he said, “That was just a game anyway.”

Qiong Cang’s black hair fell against her pale face. She blinked, a faint haze clouding her dark eyes. “It’s enough. At least now everyone knows that Jiang Ling’s death wasn’t Fan Huai’s fault. It was something that could have been avoided in the first place.”

What a crushing weight of guilt that would have been. When ninety-nine out of a hundred people claimed Fan Huai had killed his own mother, coupled with his own self-reproach, Jiang Ling’s death would have become a crime he had to bear for the rest of his life, one he could never escape.

But Sanyao’s game had proved that it wasn’t any single person’s fault.

For the netizens, this realization might only prompt a brief, superficial moment of reflection, but for Fan Huai, it was nothing short of redemption.

“I know you wanted to help him,” Qiong Cang said. “You are the first influential entertainment company willing to step forward and clear his name.”

“We are just respecting the facts,” He Jueyun said.

“So thank you for your respect,” Qiong Cang replied.

“It’s nothing,” He Jueyun said.

“I’ll be going now,” Qiong Cang said. “Goodbye.”

“Wait,”

Qiong Cang turned back.

He Jueyun had called out to stop her, but he hadn’t thought through what to say. He rubbed his ear and finally said, “Take care of yourself. Eat well.”

Qiong Cang gave a soft laugh and nodded.

·

At eight in the evening, most of the escape Instances for the day had concluded. Many Players, such as Zhang Wuping and Qiong Cang, had actually already gathered the key clues in the Instance and deduced the cause of death for the two victims. However, due to time constraints, they hadn’t explained their findings. Some viewers couldn’t keep up with their train of thought and were making wild guesses in the forum threads.

Therefore, in the official Instance review thread, Sanyao directly posted the crime scene reconstruction that had been skipped in this 【Case Analysis】. The title read: #The Death of Ning Tingting#.

The video was presented as an animation. The first victim, a female, was represented by a red figure. The second victim, a male, was represented by a blue figure.

The footprints and bloodstains on the floor were also marked in corresponding red and blue to make it clearer for the audience.

The entire short clip was reconstructed using official data, including blood spatter patterns, footprints, and the angles of the stab wounds. Every trace left at the scene was a final message written by the victims with their lives; the forensic technicians had translated them to piece together the complete scene.

The camera shot from a high angle, looking down at a roofless model of the house.

As the video began, the two figures clashed in the bedroom. The blue figure launched a one-sided assault on the red figure, striking her head with a desk lamp from the room. The lightbulb shattered, sending shards and blood flying in all directions.

The red figure retreated to the wall, leaving irregular red bloodstains against the surface. She grabbed a shoe within reach, threw it at her attacker, and screamed as she fled the bedroom.

Stumbling to the entryway, the red figure opened the front door. Once again, she left bloodstains on the door and the handle.

Unfortunately, she never made it past the heavy iron door. The blue figure caught up from behind, grabbing her by the clothes and dragging her back.

A long drag mark was left on the floor as the red figure struggled weakly.

The two struggled over to the living room coffee table. The red figure was pinned against the glass tabletop, her head forced to the side as immense pressure was applied to her neck. She desperately reached for a kitchen knife on the fruit platter and stabbed backward.

Clutching his wound, the blue figure retreated in panic. The red figure erupted with a sudden surge of strength, lunging forward in a frenzied counterattack.

The tables had turned.

The red figure stabbed the other repeatedly until she struck a vital organ.

Watching her husband stop moving, she collapsed to the floor in sheer exhaustion, pushing herself backward with her feet. When she backed up against the sofa, she finally seemed to come to her senses. She raised the knife, plunged it into her own chest, and ended her life.

Fan Huai must have arrived after this.

After watching the clip, the netizens were shocked into silence.

This silent, simple animation was filled with suffocating despair. Watching Ning Tingting flee and resist so hopelessly, the viewers felt a crushing sense of helplessness.

They couldn’t help but wonder: if they were in her shoes, would they choose to be beaten to death by their spouse, or would they, like Ning Tingting, grab the knife within reach and make one final, desperate struggle like a moth to a flame?

Most of them would probably choose the latter.

No one was born to endure pain. The will to survive was an instinct written into their very blood. It was natural, and it was right.

Ironically, when the murder first occurred, countless netizens who didn’t know the truth had joined in mourning this domestic abuser, sympathizing with him for being dragged down by a notorious killer through marriage. Little did they know that the one who had truly lost his humanity was this seemingly respectable man. He had not only ruined himself, but had also destroyed three other lives.

The entire affair was steeped in endless, tragic absurdity. For a moment, the public did not know how to react.

“If only… if only the neighbors in the building had come to check a bit sooner when they heard Ning Tingting’s cries for help, maybe this tragedy wouldn’t have happened. She screamed so loudly. The news said people three floors above and below could hear her, but what did they do?”

“Not only is history a little girl who can be dressed up at will^[1], but good and evil are as well.”

“Fan Huai could practically change his name to Dou E^[2]. Fortunately, he finally has a chance to clear his name. Sanyao, please follow up on his other cases.”

“How can a person just vanish without a trace? Especially a wanted criminal as famous as him. Could he have already fled the country?”

“Fleeing the country illegally isn’t that far-fetched. The situation was just too grim for him during those first few months.”

“Then who killed the first three witnesses? That still hasn’t been settled, right? I don’t think we can clear him of his previous suspicion just because of this one case. Making a blanket judgment either way is wrong.”

“Fan Huai must care a lot about the truth. After all, his mother and sister are still here. I don’t think he would leave.”

“Since the authorities agreed to let Sanyao make this instance, does it mean that subconsciously, they also lean toward Fan Huai being innocent? It’s just that his sudden disappearance forced him to carry the label of a suspect. If Fan Huai were to show up, would the situation improve?”

“Logically speaking, yes. But from Fan Huai’s perspective, do you really think he would still trust the police?”

“I think he would. Several players crossed red lines to varying degrees during the game, showing that doing so is an effective way to draw the police’s attention and help them escape. Yet, Fan Huai never did. I think he’s a person with principles.”

Just as netizens were beginning to branch out into deeper discussions on the matter, a post with a jarringly different tone suddenly appeared. It was quickly bumped up, becoming a hot thread pinned to the homepage.

The poster of this thread used an ID that was quite familiar to everyone. They were highly active on the Sanyao Forum. Because their posts were highly credible, netizens had long assumed the account belonged to an insider at some company, and they frequently followed it for leaked internal information.

This time, the poster only wrote a few short sentences, but every word was sharp as a knife, aimed directly at Qiong Cang.

“How naive. You’ve all been fooled. Do you know who that QC1361 you’re discussing actually is? She’s Fan Huai’s teacher. She only joined this game to clear Fan Huai’s name.”

“【Image】Her real name is Qiong Cang. You can look her up on A University’s database. She lives near the campus and was recently fired by the university due to issues with her personal conduct.”

“Fan Huai isn’t the first student of hers to get into trouble. She’s absolutely notorious at A University. Just think about it. What kind of decent person deliberately recruits a murderer as a student? She had bad intentions from the start. The students at A University practically threw a party when she left.”