In less than half an hour, three classes of students—143 in total—were gathered in the cafeteria, all staring at Hugh Thompson, who was standing on a table.
"Students, those of you who know what the Red Roulette is, please stay and assist the police with the investigation. If you don't know, you may leave now."
Suddenly, I saw that none of the students wanted to stay; instead, they all surged toward the cafeteria doors.
The vice principal sneered disdainfully.
"Come back here, wait!" Hugh Thompson grew anxious. It seemed that if any student spoke up, they might really be expelled.
Chief Stone smiled and stood up.
"Looks like we've hit their weak spot. No one wants to get expelled. All right, reporter friend, you can come out now."
Suddenly, I saw a reporter in the cafeteria kitchen, holding a microphone, followed by several cameramen. Instantly, the vice principal cried out in surprise.
"Who let you in here, you..."
And then, a barrage of questions followed one after another.
After the students left, the forensic team arrived and began investigating the scene.
"The key now is to find the roulette," I said. Hugh Thompson and Chief Stone both nodded.
"The actual number of missing students is fifteen. That means, four people play, and in the end, the survivor must find the other three and continue the game. It never stops."
Hugh Thompson's explanation made everyone suddenly realize the truth.
"Who exactly is holding that roulette?"
We had no leads. So we went to the McDonald's across from the school for breakfast.
"Even at the fastest, it'll take ten days to identify the owner of the corpse. And with so many students, finding out who has the roulette will be extremely difficult."
Hugh Thompson spoke, and I nodded.
"It's true. It won't be easy to find out. But what is that red stuff on the body?"
We all fell into deep thought. Feeling the urge, I went outside—there was no restroom here, so I had to use the public toilet.
Returning to the school was too far, so I headed to the right side, where I'd heard there was a restroom.
After finishing in the public toilet, I stepped out and suddenly froze. A student from the school, carrying a large backpack, was walking toward me.
I almost cried out in shock—it was Lily Qian.
I rushed over to her.
"Lily! Lily! Where have you been?"
"Get lost." Lily Qian shoved me aside with surprising force. I tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
I scrambled to my feet and chased after her, quickly pulling out my phone to alert Hugh Thompson and the others.
Immediately, the members of the Ghost Burial Squad burst out of McDonald's and surrounded Lily Qian.
"Let me go! Move, move! Let me go, I need to get back to school, I have to go back!"
Lily Qian screamed wildly, her face twisted, a large dark patch beneath her eyes.
"Hold her down!" Hugh Thompson shouted. We rushed at Lily Qian, but a tremendous force threw us all back. Without hesitation, she dashed into the school. The security guard tried to stop her, but she knocked him aside and kept running.
"It doesn't look like she's possessed by a ghost. What's going on?" Hugh Thompson muttered.
We chased her inside. Along the way, students stared in shock at the group of adults running after a young girl.
Lily Qian sprinted up to the classroom building, moving so fast that even our group of grown men struggled to keep up, panting as screams echoed from upstairs.
When we arrived, Lily had one hand gripping the collars of three students from her class—as easily as picking up chicks. She dragged them, crying and terrified, two girls and one boy, toward the exit.
We tried to rush her again, but a mysterious, overwhelming force stopped us. With a bang, we were all thrown back, cries of pain filling the air. My back slammed into the wall—pain shot through me.
"Officer, Lily Qian's gone mad! Do something!" Their homeroom teacher stepped out, pleading.
"After her!" Chief Stone shouted. We all chased Lily Qian as she dragged the three students out of the school, heading right. We jumped in our cars and followed slowly down the road.
"What is happening?" We were all utterly confused.
"Let me try." A member of the Ghost Burial Squad pulled out a yellow talisman and approached Lily Qian, sticking it on her. Nothing happened. When he tried to grab her, Lily suddenly turned and glared at him. Instantly, he was thrown back toward the cars.
With a screech, Hugh Thompson slammed on the brakes. The Ghost Burial Squad member lay on the ground, howling in pain.
Things were getting stranger by the minute. Around thirty of us kept following.
Lily Qian walked for two hours straight, finally stopping in a deserted, abandoned residential area. It was just past eleven.
We watched Lily Qian enter a building slated for demolition. We hurried after her.
The sound of squeaking echoed as I reached the second floor. In a room with a broken wall, everyone was stunned. In a metal cage, a swarm of rats writhed. Lily Qian grabbed one and shoved it into her mouth. Blood splattered—she devoured the rat in seconds. My stomach churned and I vomited.
The three high schoolers, petrified with fear, broke down in tears.
"It'll start soon, heh heh, it'll start any minute now."
Lily Qian stared blankly, grinning idiotically, as if we didn't exist.
Hugh Thompson seemed unfazed and walked over. Chief Stone looked like he was about to vomit, and the others were equally disturbed.
"Young lady." Hugh Thompson stood about two or three meters from Lily Qian, not daring to get closer. She only glared at him, doing nothing.
"How about this, young lady—let's switch. See, the three you grabbed can barely stand. Let us adults play with you instead. What do you say?"
Suddenly, as Hugh Thompson spoke, Lily Qian looked at her three classmates, then at us.
She still didn't respond. Hugh Thompson kept persuading her for hours, until finally, Lily Qian released the three students.
"Who will play with me?"
"Count me in. And..." Hugh Thompson turned to me. Without hesitation, I stepped forward.
"Still one short, still one short..." Lily Qian shrieked. The other Ghost Burial Squad members seemed afraid. Chief Stone scratched his head.
"I'll..."
"Officer Stone, let me join. Our odds will be better."
Suddenly, Rachel Lan's voice rang out. She smiled and stepped forward.
Lily Qian burst into laughter.
"Perfect, perfect. Two men, two women. Heh heh."
She came over and grabbed me and Hugh Thompson, then walked toward Rachel Lan.
"We won't run. You can play as long as you want."
Rachel Lan suddenly spoke. Lily Qian glanced at her and let go.
We waited quietly. Chief Stone sent for more team members to bring lighting equipment. After lunch, night fell.
We ate our fill.
"Miss Lan, are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Ethan. It's nothing."
Time ticked by. Everyone looked grim. Lily Qian never took her eyes off us. I turned my back to her to eat—she ate rats while we ate food. I was nearly losing my mind.
At 11:30, Lily Qian began to giggle.
"All right, the Red Roulette begins. Come here, participants."
Lily Qian pulled a large, wooden red roulette from her bag. There was nothing written on it, just a spinning lever.