Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 33

In Li Hua’s grand plan, when he pretended to step down the staircase, the two girls would surely follow him closely, their attention focused on scanning their surroundings.

At that exact moment, he would strike, shoving their unsuspecting selves down the stairs in one swift motion.

However, reality proved him wrong.

The instant he moved, two hands firmly clamped down on his wrists.

Those hands belonged to Liu Yuling and Wen Qian. The former’s face was as cold as frost, while the latter’s was filled with disappointment.

“So, you finally show your true colors, huh?”

Though Liu Yuling wasn’t a military academy student specializing in combat, the martial culture of the interstellar era and significant advancements in physical fitness meant she could easily overpower a university student from ancient Earth who lacked training.

With just a slight increase in pressure from her fingers, Li Hua let out a pig-like squeal.

【Yes! That’s how you do it!】
【Wait, am I the only one completely lost here? Why did things suddenly turn into a brawl? And why did Qiu Zi have to hide? She hasn’t shown up this whole time—I just want to see the pretty Qiu Zi!】
【Looks like someone upstairs has officially given up on thinking. Analysis complete.】

“Exposing so many flaws, did you think we’re idiots? If you know what’s good for you, start talking! What’s your connection to all this? And what exactly were you planning to do to us?”

Wen Qian slightly turned her head away, unwilling to admit that she once had a favorable impression of someone like him. If she had been alone, she might have overlooked all his flaws—because people fear loneliness. If she had been the only one, she might have clung to this sole companion like a lifeline, even if he had countless red flags.

Li Hua clearly hadn’t anticipated this turn of events and was utterly flustered.

Trying to steady himself, he forced a calm tone. 

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I was just trying to play a little prank on you…”

“Or should I ask you instead?” Liu Yuling, no longer interested in his excuses, cut him off sharply. Her piercing gaze locked onto every subtle change in his expression, missing no detail. 

“What sort of deal did you make with that Director Xu Yi?”

Hearing this, Li Hua’s pupils constricted. He reflexively blurted out, 

“Did you see the things Old Liu hid…”

He stopped mid-sentence, but none of the three present were fools.

Liu Yuling’s mind raced as fragmented memories from the archive room flashed by. Old Liu—he must be referring to Liu Chun, the archive room’s manager! However, they hadn’t seen this person when they were there.

As for the things hidden away…

Maintaining a calm expression, Liu Yuling bluffed with half-truths. 

“Yes, we saw those receipts. That stuff didn’t go through official channels, did it? Was Xu Yi using you to cover up something shady?”

Li Hua’s face turned ashen, realizing he had no way out.

“Damn it! That old geezer Liu took the money and swore he’d destroy those things!”

Seeing him stuck in his own world of regret and unwilling to cooperate, Wen Qian pressed her lips together and delivered the final blow.

“After all the heinous things you’ve done, aren’t you afraid of retribution?!”

Liu Yuling’s eyes flickered at the mention of those words.

Heinous? Retribution? What was that? Something like interstellar law?

With the level of technological advancement in her world, paired with the cultural emphasis on might, interstellar citizens had long abandoned the belief in karmic justice or divine retribution. At most, they treated interstellar law as the foundation for maintaining societal order. As for morality, that was entirely up to personal discretion.

However, Li Hua, a 20-year-old college student with a mindset designed to mirror that of ancient Earth humans, clearly harbored significant fear of such concepts.

Recalling the ghostly woman he had encountered only once—an encounter that nearly scared him out of his wits—Li Hua’s face turned deathly pale. He dreaded that the classmates he’d deceived might throw him to the ghost in anger. Finally, he broke down.

“I… I didn’t want to do this! It was Director Xu who forced me!”

Li Hua confessed everything he knew, though it wasn’t much and left them sorely disappointed.

In simple terms, one day, Xu Yi privately approached Li Hua with an offer of 5,000 yuan to secretly encourage his group of friends to play a spirit summoning ritual game at May Bridge.

Xu Yi had assured Li Hua that he would be safe as long as he ensured his three female and one male companions were all gathered at May Bridge after midnight.

The promise of safety for Li Hua implicitly suggested that the others might not be as lucky. But Li Hua desperately needed the money.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, he had missed out on his scholarship that year, leaving him with a significant financial gap for his next year’s tuition and living expenses.

Liu Yuling wasn’t interested in his motives and cut him off. 

“You’re sure you don’t know anything else?”

Li Hua lowered his head in shame.

“I swear, this was my first time dealing with Director Xu. I have no idea why he wanted this done…”

Liu Yuling interrupted again, her tone sharp: 

“But didn’t you start dealing with Xu Yi back in May? He transferred the money to you in May.”

Li Hua’s face turned even darker.

“The plan was originally for May. But after we finally got everything approved, a major pandemic happened. Everyone went home, so the event couldn’t proceed. Later, just before the semester started, Director Xu contacted me again and said there was no more time to wait. So I had no choice but to…”

“So that’s why you went out of your way to push for this damned ghost-themed courage test as a welcome event, right?”

Wen Qian’s eyes were blazing with anger. “Do you people even value human lives at all?!”

“What else could I do?” Li Hua muttered, his voice laced with bitterness. 

“I was unlucky enough to be cursed with this.”

A deep, unfamiliar male voice interrupted from a short distance away.

Liu Yuling froze and quickly turned around.

The man standing there…

【Wait, isn’t this the guy from the promo video?】
【Yes, yes! He’s the one who showed up at the end like an Easter egg. Scared me half to death! So, he’s the mastermind behind all this?】

At that moment, Liu Yuling understood everything. The man who had orchestrated all of this… it could only be Xu Yi, the director of logistics at May University.

Danger. Extreme danger. The moment Liu Yuling saw him, every instinct in her body screamed alarm.

Xu Yi didn’t seem intent on getting too close. He stopped about five meters away.

He casually stroked a black cord in his hand, his demeanor relaxed, showing none of the malice one would expect from a villain.

“Though I imagine my reputation in your minds is already irredeemable, I must still defend myself. If I could avoid it, of course, I wouldn’t want to harm the students of this school. If you must blame someone, blame that ghostly woman. She’s the root of all this.”

A glint of malice flashed through Xu Yi’s eyes.

Perhaps this secret had been weighing on him for far too long, or maybe it was the typical NPC compulsion to reveal critical information to players. Either way, he finally divulged the truth behind everything—