章 10: Intruder
"Could you tell us how you discovered the body?"
"While I was walking back from the bathroom, I noticed something red on the floor. It was seeping from out under the door, when I got closer, I realized that it was blood. I was afraid, I thought that someone was heavily injured. So when I opened the exit doors...I don't know what happened. Everything went dark, that's all."
"As you just heard, that was the voice of the witness, Kang Ou-Yang. The victim was identified to be a 12-year-old girl, by the name of Jiang Sai Mu, her death was predicted to be around 12:42. The police have issued a warning for everyone to travel in pairs and to be home before dark. I will be back after this break."
Inside a dimly lit room, a figure sat still, repeating to words of the poor student in his head.
"I LOVE YOU," she screamed, "I loved since the first time I laid my eyes on you! Please accept my love!"
"I'm sorry, but there is only one person worthy of my love. But I wouldn't mind a little fun." A sneer grew on his face.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"Hhahhahaha!"
A smile was visible on his face as he thought about the horrified look on the girl's face. He remembered the way she tasted and how beautiful she looked as his knives carved illustrations into her skin.
Then the face of his beloved popped up in his head, her pearl white skin, round dark eyes and perfectly shaped lips. Even back then, he was already fantasizing about her. He fantasized about the cute things like cuddling her, kissing her and going on dates with her. He dreamt of a future together with her, getting married, having dozens of children, and spending the rest of his life with her.
If only he hadn't left. But that wasn't a problem, not for him at least.
"Don't worry darling, I'll make sure that we stay together forever."
"Young sir, your sister is calling for you."
"It's about time,"
_________________________________
"Anything new yet?"
"It had been three days since the incident at school. During these three days, everyone was required to stay in the dormitories. The classes were taught online using a video conference app that was quickly put together by the fifth and fourth years. The app allowed the teacher to interact with students as if they were in a real class, students could voice out questions and speak to the teacher from their dorms.
There were constant upgrades regarding the new app which had resulted in late students. Everything was practically normal except for the fact that students were to do their own cleaning and cooking, attend class online, and not have to get dressed in the mornings.
The cybersecurity was greatly improved as well as the security around the students had tripled. Any form of human contact was either made between roommates or online. Several couples were already caught outside of their respective dorms and were immediately sent back.
The school forum was exploding with theories and explanations about the death of blacklisted Jiang Sai Mu's death and what might happen to Mu Jian Nu.
Everybody was on edge about who the victim may be. Of course, there was the occasional questioning about when the students would be able to attend classes again.
"Nope,"
Both Yaorui and Sheng Rong were sweaty and exhausted, their faces were flushed red. The two had just finished a sparring session in martial arts, Yaorui had come out the winner to nobody's surprise. Of course, Sheng Rong was still able to leave a few cuts and bruises on her.
"Are you absolutely sure, Gebao?"
"Yes, Yaorui. I am absolutely sure," She rolled her eyes at her anxious friend.
Today was a Saturday, and the girls had just finished their assignments an hour ago.
"Now, can we go? I'm starving. Plus, it reeks of sweat in here." Gebao said, squeezing her nose and rubbing her belly, at the same time.
"Yeah, let's go." Sheng Rong stood up.
Over the course of three days, the school had turned part of the top floor into a gym to make sure that students were still getting at least some exercises. Everyone was sent the newest Fitbit with a hologram feature and a hidden GPS chip inside to track students.
The girls' dorm had four suites, a kitchen, living room and dining space. The dorm was technically an apartment. When you enter, there is a kitchen to the right with a dining table right behind that. To the left there is a cozy area with lots of shelves and soft, plush seating, at the back was another seating area that the girls' mainly used for hanging around and movie nights, the large floor to ceiling windows provided a great view. There was a hallway that led to two of the master suites just beyond the dining table and another hallway right across from it on the left.
The extra bedroom was converted into a study room where they would take their classes in.
"Lunch is served!" Gebao called.
"What is it?" Sheng Rong asked.
"Ramen noodles with braised pork and some herbs."
"Yum,"
Halfway through lunch, the TV screen lit up to reveal a Facetime call coming in.
"Who is it?"
"Angli, Jiexu and Mu Jian Nu," Everybody's face darken seeing the third caller.
"Little Panda, answer all calls," Yaorui ordered.
Little Panda was the name of the AI system that was built in by Gebao.
"Hey!"
"Hi!"
"Yo,"
Three consecutive male voices were heard the minute the calls were connected.
"Hi," The girls' greeting was followed by slurping sounds.
"Umm...Yaorui? Where are you?"
"We're eating lunch right now. Why'd you guys call."
"We found something related to the Jiang girl's death!" This time it was Jiexu who spoke. "Here, I just sent a picture to all of you girls'."
"Stupid! They're eating, we have to wait for them to finish eating otherwise they might choke!" Hu Angli scolded his friend. "We'll wait for guys to finish eating first, don't eat too fast," he said dotingly.
"No need, we're done. What did you find?" In front of the TV screen sat three girls with their laptops sitting comfortably on their laps. They all looked at the three guys curiously.
"Freaking hell! We looked away for like a second!" Mu Jian Nu exclaimed.
"That didn't answer our question," Sheng Rong spoke.
"Anyway~, Angli?"
"We found a code, it was etched onto the body. If you zoom into the coordinates 1,24 on the image, you'll see some random lines right?"
"But if you look closer, they're actually Roman numerals!" Jiexu continued Angli's sentence.
"He's right, there's a sequence of numerals right here." Gebao pointed at her screen. "19, 1, 13, 21, 5, 12, 1, 14."
"Did you guys figure out what the numbers mean?" Sheng Rong asked.
"No, but we checked the other victims' bodies and found that the same exact numbers were carved into them as well."
"Than they were likely all killed by the same person or some international organization."
"Exactly,"
"Uh, guys?" Jian Nu spoke up. "I think I found something else?"
"What is it?" Yaorui questioned.
"It's in the photos of the crime scene. In the corner."
"I see it!" said Sheng Rong. "It's written in blood on the dumpster. A0AA."
"Just what we needed! Another code to crack." Gebao rolled her eyes.
"Give me a minute someone's calling me." Jian Nu stood up and walked away only to return a few minutes later. "Can I connect this guy to the conference? He says he's got a theory on the code."
Yaorui looked at her friends, silently asking whether it was okay."
Getting the go-ahead sign, she allowed for this mysterious friend to be connected.
"Hello! I'm Chen Hao-"
"Just cut to the chase." Hu Angli was displeased to see another potential love rival.
"Right, I think that the code on the dumpster is simpler than we think. While I was reading a book about galaxies, I remembered the code, A0AA, and I realized tha- WHO ARE YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! HEL-"
All of a sudden Hao was ripped away from their sights by the intruder. The screen went fuzzy then blacked out.
The last thing they remembered was the horrified screams of Hao before his voice ceased to exist.
Then everything went dark.
_________________________
A tall figure walked into the room. The only source of lights came from the glowing TV screens and the night sky outside. Three figures laid still and silent, their breaths soft and even. They laid strewn out on the floor, their laptops had longed switched off.
The footsteps of the mysterious intruder were barely audible. He walked towards the farthest figure, the glow of the night sky seemed to reflect off of her, making her look like a small goddess. Her dark hair shone in the moonlight, her lips slightly parted.
He reached out his hand, hesitating to touch her, afraid to wake her from her peaceful slumber. He felt her soft skin as his fingertips grazed her cheek.
"I'm back, I'm sorry I took so long. But don't worry, someday, you'll have your own kingdom to rule. After all, what's a king without his queen?"
A chilling smile spread across his face as he pictured the girl underneath him.
"I just have to get rid of a couple obstacles first, then, and only then, can we rule side by side."
His chilling smile grew as another picture entered his mind. The thought of his enemy begging him for his life while watching his beloved wrapped in his own arms.
"Sweet dreams, my love."
クリエイターの想い 
Iris_Lee_
Iris_Lee_ Any idea about what the codes?
週次パワーステータス
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