Who Told You to Play Infinity Like This - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Li Qingyin’s smile froze for a second, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

Lin Qiu also fell silent for a long while. “…How do you have a picnic in the cafeteria?”

Chu Zhao’s tone was natural. “As long as you have a picnic in your heart, anywhere can be a picnic.”

A person could choose not to study, so going to the library wasn’t a necessity, but a person had to eat.

Even if she could go without eating, players who needed to maintain their roles had to go to the cafeteria.

It was a gathering hub for players and the best channel for gathering information.

She wasn’t sure if her roommates would agree, but she had to try.

Li Qingyin: “…Fine. If Qinghe wants to go, then let’s go.”

Zhu Qing’an: “…?”

Lin Qiu: “…?”

Chu Zhao shot a subtle glance at Li Qingyin and said, as per her usual routine, “Qingyin, you’re so nice~”

Li Qingyin seemed to hold a lot of authority in Room 612; both Lin Qiu and Zhu Qing’an listened to her.

Compared to Lin Qiu, the designated ‘best friend who shares everything,’ Li Qingyin seemed easier to talk to. And unlike the bland facial expressions of Lin Qiu and Zhu Qing’an, Li Qingyin’s expressions were quite nuanced, and she would even smile from time to time… Was there a hierarchy of strength among them?

Chu Zhao was lost in thought.

She picked up her book again and began to read.

Sunday was history class-*History of Nothingness*.

Driven by curiosity and a need for precaution, she read with great interest.

What kind of history book started its first chapter with the ‘Great Cataclysm’? What was even more interesting was that while every line seemed to be describing the disaster, the words themselves never explicitly mentioned what it was.

Chu Zhao was nearly halfway through the book, yet she still didn’t know what the so-called Great Cataclysm actually was. Did it have something to do with the Hunting Ground?

[At first, no one cared about this disaster.]

[It was just a rainstorm, an earthquake, the disappearance of a city, until…]

Chu Zhao was reading so intently that she didn’t notice her roommates exchanging glances.

Half an hour later, Chu Zhao shifted her attention away from the book. She felt that Lin Qiu’s irritability cooldown should be over and it was time to harass her again.

“Qiuqiu…”

That single word made Lin Qiu’s eyelid twitch.

Chu Zhao said, “I’m out of hot water. Can I go to the dorm across the hall to borrow some?”

Lin Qiu: “?”

Who gave you permission to borrow hot water from others?

She refused coldly, “No.”

Chu Zhao: “But I don’t have any hot water!”

Li Qingyin spoke up again. “I have some. Use mine.”

But as soon as she lifted her thermos, she paused.

Chu Zhao understood immediately. “Let’s go across the hall and borrow some.”

Li Qingyin, who had just realized her own thermos was empty: “…”

She suspected the room across the hall wouldn’t have any either.

Chu Zhao: “Qiuqiu…”

Li Qingyin turned and interrupted her. “Stop calling Lin Qiu. I’ll go with you to borrow water from across the hall.”

Though it had only been a few hours, she could already roughly predict what Chu Zhao was going to say.

Sure enough, Chu Zhao looked away from Lin Qiu and gave a particularly sincere smile. “Qingyin, you’re so nice.”

Li Qingyin: “…Heh.”

Escorted by her bodyguard, Chu Zhao opened the dormitory door and walked to the entrance of Room 611, pounding on the door.

“Open up! Borrowing hot water! Open the door, quick!”

Li Qingyin: “…”

Zhu Qing’an and Lin Qiu, separated only by a wall: “…”

The door across the hall opened, and a girl wearing a brand-new student shirt appeared.

She stared coldly at Chu Zhao, her gaze like she was looking at a dead fish.

Chu Zhao glanced at Li Qingyin out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that she was indeed staying close, Chu Zhao boldly pushed the door open, shoving the girl behind it aside in the process.

“I’m here to borrow hot water!”

The four people in Room 611: “?”

For a moment, a cloud of confusion hung over their heads.

What hot water? Who had hot water?

The layout of Room 611 was identical to Room 612. At the moment, two people were on their beds and two were below. The player in the white sun-protection jacket was also standing by her bed, staring in astonishment at Chu Zhao, who had just ‘broken’ into the room.

*You?*
The other three quickly ignored Chu Zhao and stared warily at Li Qingyin. Their expressions were cold, their voices sharp and urgent. “…Don’t come in!”

In particular, the girl who had just opened the door for Chu Zhao looked like she was about to lose her human shape from the stress.

Li Qingyin, however, maintained a natural composure. She placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and gently pushed her back. “Don’t overthink it. I just came to borrow some hot water.”

Chu Zhao was sharp-eyed and spotted an electric kettle in 611.

The players in 611 had also received the numbers Chu Zhao had secretly signaled. Following Chu Zhao’s blatant gaze, one of them looked toward a certain spot. “We don’t have hot water, but we do have a kettle…”

Chu Zhao picked up the electric kettle with practiced ease. “Thanks!”

The three in 611: “???”

They still ignored Chu Zhao, instead staring at Li Qingyin as if she were insane.

Are you out of your mind?

What do you need hot water for?

Seeing this, Li Qingyin stepped out of 611 as if nothing was wrong and closed the door behind them. “Thanks. We won’t disturb you further. Goodnight.”

She was actually quite polite…

She left the residents of 611 standing there, heads full of question marks.

Wait? Li Qingyin, are you ** out of your mind?!

Under the gaze of her roommates, Chu Zhao returned victorious. “I got it.”

Li Qingyin closed the door behind her and began rubbing her temples.

She couldn’t help but close her eyes, questioning her own intelligence.

Was she being affected by Corruption too?

What on earth was she doing?

Was she sick? Was she?

Lin Qiu remained silent for a long time before saying, “Lights out at nine. Go to sleep.”

Chu Zhao was already used to her non-sequitur answers. “Got it. I’m going to read for a bit longer.”

As she spoke, she took the beat-up kettle to the sink to wash it.

Even though it was just an excuse, since she’d taken it, not using it would be like slapping her roommates in the face.

Fortunately, the kettle was just heavily covered in dust; there was no grime that Chu Zhao found unacceptable.

After washing it and filling it with water to boil, Chu Zhao glanced at the time. It was already 6:17?

Time was passing quite quickly now.

The dormitory fell back into a deathly silence. Chu Zhao waited for the water to boil, then washed a thermos, officially becoming a high-end player who possessed hot water.

“Do any of you want some?” Chu Zhao asked as a friendly gesture.

Li Qingyin: “…Not thirsty.”

Lin Qiu had already climbed into bed. At this moment, she turned away, ignoring Chu Zhao entirely-the classic ‘read and ignored’ treatment.

Zhu Qing’an remained silent as usual.

Unexpectedly, Chu Zhao walked over to her bed and stared up at Zhu Qing’an. “An’an, do you want some hot water?”

She remembered that Zhu Qing’an’s character trait was being sensitive to the cold. People who were sensitive to the cold should drink more hot water.

With Chu Zhao right in her face, Zhu Qing’an was forced to give a cold refusal. “I’m not drinking any.”

Only then did Chu Zhao sit back down and play with her phone.

‘611’ has applied to join the group. Accept/Decline.

Chu Zhao let her into the group and introduced herself: [Hello, my name is Lin Qiu. And you?]

611: [Wang Zhuo.]

Chu Zhao: [How about we exchange information?]

Without waiting for an answer, she asked: [What did you encounter when you went downstairs?]

611: [Went to the cafeteria. Talking is forbidden in the cafeteria. You cannot waste food. Random windows will call your name. Players have dietary restrictions. Watch out for small animals.]

Though her answers were brief, they all sounded critical. Chu Zhao’s eyes flickered. [Your turn to ask.]

611: [Why won’t your roommates let you go downstairs?]

Chu Zhao: [They bring food back for me.]

611 pressed further: [Why do they bring it for you?]

Chu Zhao: [Because we have a good relationship.]

611: [?]

Chu Zhao speculated that the situation in each dormitory might be different.

For example, in Room 612, why wouldn’t her roommates let her go downstairs?

Since she was currently ‘Zhao Qinghe,’ then where was the original ‘Zhao Qinghe’?

If she hadn’t started that video call so quickly earlier, Zhu Qing’an would have likely killed her. Don’t be fooled by their current normal behavior; in reality, if she made one wrong move, her life would still be in danger.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t go out… Thinking of this, Chu Zhao frowned.

Based on the current ratio of players to roommates, the density of Wraiths outside was too high. Venturing out alone without a roommate’s company would likely result in being served up as a meal.

Chu Zhao: [Did you see the prompts?]
611: [Seven rules.]

Chu Zhao exchanged the hints she had seen with the other person.

She only made a few minor changes to the names-for example, in the rule about Lin Qiu and Zhao Qinghe, she swapped their names.

As for the third rule regarding Yun Shuang, she changed the name to Zhu Qing’an, but left everything else untouched.

Soon, 611 sent over the hints she had seen-

[Edict]

[1. Dorm 611 is a place of mutual respect; please do not pry into your roommates’ lives.

2. Wang Zhuo is a reserved and solitary person who does not get along well with her roommates.

3. Wang Zhuo is a law-abiding student who resolutely follows the teachers’ orders and obeys the school’s regulations.

4. Wang Zhuo dislikes PE class and never goes to the playground when she has no classes.

5. Wang Zhuo never goes to the cafeteria alone.

6. The stray animals in the school will not harm you; please feed them often.

7. There is nothing outside the window; the curtains must be drawn when sleeping.]

Chu Zhao skimmed through the text. The issue she noticed was: why was the subject of 611’s hints always “Wang Zhuo,” while starting from the third rule, her own hints used the subject “you”?

Why did her third rule say to believe Yun Shuang’s words implicitly, rather than to follow school regulations and listen to the teachers?

Did Yun Shuang stand above the school?

And then there was the sixth rule. Why was she forbidden from feeding stray animals, while 611 was told to feed them often?

Of course, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that 611 had also modified her own rules. Since this was the only copy she had access to, she couldn’t trust it entirely.

She needed to see the rules from other dorm rooms.

611: [Why can’t you feed stray animals, while I’m supposed to do it often?]

Chu Zhao: [I don’t know. If you get the chance, try to pull others into the group. I can’t go downstairs tomorrow.]

611: [You’re not going to the cafeteria?]

Chu Zhao tapped her wrist lightly. [Roommate won’t let me.]

611: [sympathy.jpg]

Ending the conversation, Chu Zhao continued to ponder the matter of the “Edict.”

She casually changed her nickname to “aaa Lin Xia” and set 611 as an administrator.

611 quickly changed her nickname as well, becoming “aaa Wang Tun.”

Chu Zhao picked up her book again for some last-minute cramming. By the time she snapped out of it, the sky was completely dark.

Ever since she woke up, the curtains had remained drawn. Being inside the dorm, she had no way of knowing what the world outside looked like.

Looking out from inside now, through the gap in the curtains, the night was as thick as spilled ink-deep, heavy, and profound.

Melodious music drifted in from outside the window. It was faint and ethereal, making one want to lean closer to hear it more clearly.

Chu Zhao instinctively began to listen. The moment she realized she had a subconscious urge to approach the curtains, she jolted awake.

She looked toward the window with renewed vigilance.

Through the gap in the curtains, she saw that the night outside had grown even denser. The darkness seemed to possess a life of its own, surging and flowing wantonly. A few wisps of ink-like blackness seeped into the room from outside, but they seemed to be blocked by something, scattering into faint, ink-wash-like shadows at the edges.

Chu Zhao quietly observed her roommates and found that everyone, including Li Qingyin, was already in bed.

There were no desk lamps in this dorm; there was only one main light, and the switch was by the door.

As if sensing her gaze, Li Qingyin nodded to her. “Qinghe, turn off the light.”

Chu Zhao replied, “Okay.”

Without hesitation, Chu Zhao tidied her desk, stood up to turn off the light, and immediately climbed into bed to lie down without delay.

Everything went smoothly enough. It wasn’t until she was lying flat on her bed that Chu Zhao finally let out a breath.

She felt a slight sense of displacement.

This morning, she had been alive and well, soaring over the City of Sin in her beloved maglev car. By the afternoon, she had entered the [Hunting Ground], struggling to survive.

This kind of fortune… she really wanted to share a portion with each of her enemies.

Oh, wait. All her enemies were dead. Never mind then.

As per her usual routine, Chu Zhao did a quick mental review before sleep. Confirming that she had no living enemies left, she closed her eyes in satisfaction.

Almost the moment Chu Zhao closed her eyes, frequent footsteps echoed in the hallway.

The Dorm Supervisor’s greedy and excited voice rang out, “Let me see who isn’t asleep yet!”