After Jiang Xiuxiu blurted out that sentence, she and the boss stared at each other, and the room instantly
fell into an awkward silence.
Outside, Teacher Wang was still pounding on the door with great effort, the rhythmic bangs echoing: bang,
bang, bang.
Jiang Xiuxiu could swear on her life that since she entered the game, this was the first time she had seen
such a complex expression on Xu Bai's face.
Surprise, confusion, puzzlement, and a hint of unfathomable interest.
"You really surprise me."
After a while, Xu Bai said slowly.
He looked at Jiang Xiuxiu thoughtfully, as if seeing her for the first time.
"Thank you for the compliment," Jiang Xiuxiu replied.
She decided to take Xu Bai's words as a compliment.
After speaking, Jiang Xiuxiu could no longer stand the mysterious atmosphere and got up from the ground.
She had been lying down, hoping Teacher Wang would give her a quick end, but since boss Xu Bai offered to
help her, she thought she might have a chance to save herself.
After all, the longer she lived, the more she could earn.
Just after they finished talking, the classroom office door, battered by Teacher Wang’s relentless pounding,
finally shattered.
Holding an axe, Teacher Wang stepped over the wooden debris and walked in.
Jiang Xiuxiu looked over and saw his terrifying expression. His eyes were filled with whites, with crimson
blood vessels twisted like worms, almost bulging out of their sockets.
Earlier in the classroom office, though his expression was strange, at least he still seemed rational.
But now, looking at his ferocious face, Jiang Xiuxiu could no longer tell if he was human or a ghost.
How did he become like this, in just one night?
"It's the Blood Jade," Xu Bai suddenly said.
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu's confusion, he lowered his eyes and smiled gently at her.
"He has Blood Jade in his hand," he said. "That jade is an evil object nourished by sinister energy,
possessing a maddening ability. Anyone who touches it will be influenced, mistaking everyone around them for
demons and monsters. Over time, they become a killing machine."
"It should have been buried in the academy grounds, sealed by the academy's array. Somehow, it was unearthed
again," he concluded with a sigh.
Jiang Xiuxiu, hearing this, looked at Teacher Wang in front of her and thought of the massacre case she had
investigated that morning.
What Xu Bai said matched her earlier suspicions.
But is it really so?
Speaking of "August 13," Jiang Xiuxiu first heard this date from Xu Bai.
Could it be that he was deliberately guiding her to discover the massacre case?
Having figured this out, Jiang Xiuxiu calmed down instantly.
She looked up at the young man behind her, her expression becoming serious.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
Two rescues in a row, intentional guidance, and revealing all this important information—Jiang Xiuxiu did
not believe the boss was doing this out of kindness.
She didn't know why he chose her, but he must have a purpose.
Now, he no longer concealed his intentions.
At this point, Teacher Wang, axe in hand, had walked up to them.
He stared at Jiang Xiuxiu with extreme excitement, his face twisted.
"Die, demon! Die! All of you, die!"
Teacher Wang roared, raising his axe high and swinging it down at them.
However, just as the axe was about to hit Jiang Xiuxiu, Xu Bai reached out his hand.
With a single finger, he effortlessly stopped the axe blade.
Seeing this, Teacher Wang became furious, withdrawing the axe to strike again.
In the next moment, Xu Bai's figure flickered and appeared behind Teacher Wang.
Compared to the furious and clumsy Teacher Wang, his posture was relaxed, as if strolling through the
classroom.
He didn't answer Jiang Xiuxiu's question directly but tilted his head and asked her, "Do you know the
details of the family on August 13?"
Jiang Xiuxiu took a few steps back, cautiously avoiding Teacher Wang's attack range.
Hearing the boss's question, she shook her head. "No, the news reports used pseudonyms to protect the
victims."
Xu Bai chuckled at her response.
"Then let me tell you," he said calmly. "The male head of that family was also named Xu."
With that, he moved swiftly, chopping at Teacher Wang's neck with a clean and sharp hand strike.
With a dull thud, Teacher Wang's body twitched and then fell straight to the ground.
The previously terrifying Teacher Wang was now so vulnerable before Xu Bai.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xiuxiu, hearing Xu Bai's reply, couldn't hide her shock.
The male head of the massacre family had the same surname as Xu Bai.
She didn't believe the boss said this casually.
He must have a close connection with that family.
So, he was a survivor of that case?
No, given Xu Bai's current state, he should already be dead, merely wandering the academy as a spirit.
Jiang Xiuxiu's mind raced, gradually forming a hypothesis.
If what Xu Bai said was true, his goal must be the Blood Jade.
Facing the Blood Jade that destroyed his family, he must want to reseal or destroy it.
But due to some limitation, he could only appear once a day for about five minutes, making it difficult to
act.
Thus, he needed a helper, a tool to complete everything for him.
Clearly, the person Xu Bai chose was her.
"Have you figured it out?" Xu Bai asked.
His eyes fixed on Jiang Xiuxiu, like a snake that had found its prey, motionless, not missing any of her
movements.
"There are two more Blood Jades in the school, one in the sealed classroom where we first met, and another
protected by the academy's ghosts and monsters."
Finally, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "And I have a way to completely destroy them."
Hearing this, Jiang Xiuxiu suddenly understood. So that was it.
His goal was indeed the Blood Jade in Teacher Wang's hand.
But why did she feel that something wasn't quite right?
She had just discovered the Blood Jade, and soon after, she encountered Teacher Wang holding it.
Immediately following this, Xu Bai told her about his situation.
Everything seemed to happen too quickly, too conveniently.
But the boss shouldn't be giving her false information, since she had painstakingly found all the details
herself.
Including the Blood Jade and its abilities, which she had witnessed firsthand.
As for whether that family really had the surname Xu, she could easily verify this with some older NPCs in
the academy. There was no reason for him to lie about that.
So, everything the boss said was true?
"Why did you choose me?"
After a few seconds, Jiang Xiuxiu slowly asked.
She thought back to her own performance since entering the game, feeling that she wasn't particularly
remarkable.
Why did he insist on choosing her? Clearly, Shu Xin and the others were stronger, weren't they?
Especially just now, when she was lying on the ground.
If she were Xu Bai, she wouldn't have chosen someone as lazy as herself.
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu ask this question, Xu Bai blinked in surprise.
He tilted his head, smiled at her, and said, "Because I find you interesting, of course."
"Hey!" Jiang Xiuxiu exclaimed.
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu's wide-eyed expression, Xu Bai stopped teasing her.
"Time is short," he said with a smile. "You don't need to reply immediately. I'll give you a day to think
about it."
"Of course, in return, while you're in the academy, I can offer you some protection," he said, staring
intently at Jiang Xiuxiu with those deep, dark eyes that were as clean as ever, without a hint of deceit. "I
can see that your teammates may not be as reliable as you think, so you might need this."
"In addition, I can promise you one condition—anything you want."
Anything?
Hearing this, Jiang Xiuxiu outwardly showed a grateful expression but thought inwardly that if she pulled
out the cat ears and cat tail panties from her pocket, Xu Bai would probably get angry immediately.
Xu Bai, seeing her not reply, wasn't annoyed. He laughed twice and then disappeared into thin air.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu wasted no time, quickly bypassed the fallen Teacher Wang, and hurried back to the
teacher's dormitory.
As she had mentioned before, Jiang Xiuxiu had a personality trait that was neither good nor bad knowing when
to adapt.
After confirming what boss Xu Bai wanted to do, she knew this was not something she could handle.
She had always been clear about her role.
She was just a worker, a newbie in the game working for Shu Xin.
The boss's promise was tempting, and the fifty million reward was even more so, but precisely because it was
too tempting, it felt unreal.
Not to mention, she would have to risk being affected by the Blood Jade, work hard, and then be wary of the
boss turning on her at the end.
She had always been a rational person. Compared to the elusive fifty million, she chose the easily
attainable ten thousand.
Based on Xu Bai's information, she could already grasp some secrets of Cihe Academy. Once she told Shu Xin
everything, she would definitely get a reward from her.
As for the boss, he could probably come out tomorrow. By then, Jiang Xiuxiu would have earned enough money
and could leave the game through Xu Bai.
Xu Bai's actions were too strange, and his laugh before disappearing made Jiang Xiuxiu wary.
Instead of guessing around, it was better to take the money and leave.
By now, it was getting late.
Thinking about her plan, Jiang Xiuxiu quickened her pace and ran towards the lounge.
"Shu Xin, guess what, I found out some big news today."
She couldn't wait to push open the door and claim credit from Shu Xin.
"Oh, it's you."
But to her surprise, Shu Xin looked at her with an indifferent expression when she returned.
No, not just indifferent. After hearing Jiang Xiuxiu's words, Shu Xin's face showed a look of disgust.
"Big news?" she sneered. "At this point, you're still trying to deceive me?"
Her cold gaze fixed on Jiang Xiuxiu, and she said word by word, "Jiang Xiuxiu, do you really think I'm that
stupid?"