I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"It was just good luck. Anyway, I need to find the location of the remains now."

"Oh, okay, then we'll go with you?"

"no problem."

As we walked side by side toward the banquet hall, there were hardly any people to be seen, probably because many people were looking for places to sit down and work on the puzzle.

Zhou Han first complained about the inhumane food she had been eating these past few days, then changed the subject, "By the way, were you alright with Shen Xi in that basement yesterday?"

"So you're the ones who closed the door?" Cheng Fei asked curiously.

"It wasn't us!" Zhou Han shook his head instantly, his hair standing on end.

"Then how did you know that Shen Xi and I were inside?" The boy stared at her.

"Uh, well, there was a little accident. Anyway, we didn't mean to, so please don't blame us!" The petite girl's eyes darted around, and she waved her hands frantically, looking like she was drenched in sweat.

Ruan Jingyi, who was standing next to him, went from being completely silent to disappearing altogether.

"I didn't mean to blame you," the boy said casually, looking away.

"You guys weren't hurt inside, were you?" Zhou Han asked with concern.

"No." The boy shook his head without hesitation.

"That's good. So... did anything happen between you two?" Zhou Han's eyes darted around.

What happened?

"Was Shen Xi frightened or something?"

"No, she's quite bold."

"Not at all? Didn't she grab your hand and throw herself into your arms?" Zhou Han was stunned.

"No, how could that be?" The boy shook his head firmly.

"She's too amazing. If it were me, I probably would have been unable to resist hugging your arm..." Zhou Han muttered.

The boy looked at her.

"Of course, don't misunderstand. I'm just trying to put myself in your shoes. I'm a bit timid, but it doesn't mean I have any feelings for you!" Zhou Han hurriedly looked up.

"Okay." The boy nodded.

"So, so, you really didn't have any physical contact down there? Did she say anything to you? Don't worry, we'll keep it a secret." Zhou Han asked cautiously.

The boy met her gaze, then glanced at Ruan Jingyi who was silently watching from the side, and suddenly said, "Why do I have a feeling that you two hope something will happen between me and her?"

“Yeah, we’re just… we’re friends with Shen Xi, you know. She’s usually pretty aloof, so we were just curious if she might have a vulnerable side when she gets scared. Yes, that’s right, so we just asked around. Don’t overthink it.” Zhou Han nodded vigorously, as if she was convincing herself.

"You won't tell Lin Xuanqi about this, will you?" the boy asked worriedly.

"No, no! Don't worry, even if you and Shen Xi cheated on each other, we will never think you're a scumbag or anything like that," Zhou Han quickly said.

"Huh? Why?" the boy asked suspiciously.

“Because we’re friends, of course I’ll support your choice.” Zhou Han’s forehead was sweating. “You agree, right, Ruan Jingyi?”

“Mmm,” her best friend responded softly.

"Shen Xi didn't ask you for anything, did she?" The boy rubbed his chin, becoming quite interested.

"You asked us?" Zhou Han was stunned for a moment, then nodded blankly. "Oh right, it's okay to tell you. Actually, Shen Xi really wants to get along with you, but she's not good with words and is shy, so she asked us to do it for her in private."

Ruan Jingyi tilted her head to look at her and blinked.

"Is that so?" the boy exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right, so Cheng Fei, you have to treat her well. Shen Xi is very cute. Don’t bully her with Lin Xuanqi, understand?” Zhou Han’s tone was flat, and her round eyes widened.

"No problem." The boy nodded seriously.

The three people, who were having a meaningless conversation, arrived at the banquet hall, where some students had turned it into a party venue and were racking their brains to solve a puzzle at the long dining table.

Cheng Fei walked to the center of the hall, looked down and examined the painted floor tiles under his feet. Through the obstruction of the tables and chairs, he could see that there was a certain pattern on the floor of the hall.

"Cheng Fei, what are you looking at?" Zhou Han peeked out.

"Don't you think the pattern on the ground looks familiar?" the boy asked, hands in his pockets.

"Familiar? Are you familiar with me?" Zhou Han's eyes were blank.

“Okay, most people aren’t familiar with this. It’s a world map centered on the North Pole.” The boy scanned the seemingly randomly distributed patchwork patterns on the ground.

"Yes, really?" Zhou Han's face showed a hint of awe. "So?"

"The final puzzle is related to the celestial coordinate system. By collecting all the clues and performing calculations, we can obtain the coordinates of Polaris," the boy said slowly.

"Oh, and then?" Zhou Han asked blankly.

“From Earth, the position of Polaris is almost fixed, right above the North Pole.” Cheng Fei pointed his index finger to the ground, then raised it high, pointing it towards the dome of the banquet hall, his tone casual yet decisive, “So the location of the remains is… directly above the pattern, right above our heads.”

Zhou Han and Ruan Jingyi turned their heads as the boy pointed, looking up at the sky.

The banquet hall's soaring dome was adorned with magnificent crystal chandeliers that shone brilliantly.

"Yes, right?" Zhou Han looked like she was questioning her life.

“There’s something up there,” Ruan Jingyi said softly.

Because the downward-facing chandelier was too dazzling, the space behind it appeared unusually dark. Zhou Han observed carefully and saw something hanging quietly and motionless on the thick beam.

A blood-red dress was faintly visible...

“…My God!” Zhou Han shuddered, exclaimed, and covered her mouth with her small hand.

The surrounding students noticed the three people's unusual behavior, and, completely bewildered, they all looked up.

When Shen Xi and Nagasaki Asuna arrived at the banquet hall, they saw a group of people looking up at the dome.

547. Cheng Fei paid the price.

When the knight NPC went to the beam on the dome and took down the hanging prop, the students rushed to the banquet hall.

"Who discovered it because it was so well hidden?"

"I heard it's Cheng Fei."

"His eyesight is amazing."

"What kind of eyesight do you have? He deduced it."

"Cheng Fei is really amazing!"

The boy, hands in his pockets, looked at the aloof girl beside him, a hint of smugness in his eyes. "Teacher Shen, how would you rate my solving the puzzle faster than you?"

"Cheng Feiyu knows perfectly well what methods he used, yet he still has the nerve to come and show off in front of me. His shamelessness is beyond comprehension." Shen Xi crossed her arms and sneered.

"These are all the rules of the game, how can you call it despicable? Teacher Shen, please acknowledge the fact that I am exceptionally capable."

"It means I have to admit that your ability to cheat and sly is unmatched." The girl sneered.

"Such a stubborn one." The boy shook his head and sighed.

At this moment, the knight NPC retrieved the item and, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, took an unsharpened dagger from her red dress and handed it to Cheng Fei.

"So the Countess, unable to bear the Count's infidelity any longer, killed three people before hanging herself. Then, the people in the castle fought amongst themselves for the treasure—that's the truth behind the whole tragedy." The boy examined the dagger and smacked his lips.

In response, Shen Xi let out a cold laugh that was cryptic.

Miriam, who received the news a little late, arrived belatedly. When she saw Cheng Fei holding a dagger, her eyes lit up. "Junior, you're so fast! Faster than everyone who's ever been here!"

"Senior, although I understand what you mean, please take it back, thank you." The boy hesitated before speaking.

Soon, Miriam gathered everyone together and announced that the game was over.

"Hmph, now I announce the recipients of all the tokens!" Miriam solemnly held up a parchment and a megaphone, "The first one is Shen Xi, she obtained the witch doctor's snake key."

The aloof girl with long, dark hair remained expressionless, radiating her usual chilling aura that kept others at bay, making the students afraid to look directly at her.

"The second one is Ye Shuang, she obtained the Earl's star chart."

Facing curious gazes, the girl with pigtails stood gracefully, revealing a warm smile befitting a well-bred young lady, which was pleasing to the eye.

"The third one is Cheng Fei. Junior got the laundry maid's amulet and the countess's dagger, so... junior is the winner of the game!"

The students were stunned when he finished speaking.

"Oh no, he can just pick anyone and get a one-day usage right now!"

"It shouldn't be me, right? Although it's not impossible, hehe..."

"She's not pretty, but she has a lot of beautiful ideas."

"How did this kid do that?!" Chen Hao grabbed his hair, dumbfounded, then gritted his teeth. "Damn it, didn't he just get away with it again? I can't accept this!"

"You can only say he's really smart. Just accept your loss. It's good enough that he's not causing you any trouble." Du Xinhua clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"As expected, with Cheng Fei being so smart, we have no way to deal with him." Zhou Han sighed softly, tilting her head to rest on Ruan Jingyi's shoulder.

Facing all sorts of gazes, Cheng Fei put his hands in his pockets, smiled and gave a slight bow, "Thank you all for your support. As for who will have the right to use the service for one day, I will decide that privately and won't talk about it here. I hope some people will cooperate consciously and not try to cheat."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xi's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she lowered her eyes.

Ye Shuang turned her face away nonchalantly, her eyes flickering.

"Cheng Fei, you actually won?" Lin Xuanqi paused in her yawning, covering her mouth beside him, clearly surprised.

"What do you mean 'actually'? Xuanqi, don't forget what we agreed on." The boy leaned close to her ear and whispered.

"What did we agree on? What did we agree on? I don't understand, I forgot." Lin Xuanqi rolled her eyes.

"Forgot again, huh? You just wait, I promise I'll cure your amnesia." The boy hugged her slender waist tightly.

Lin Xuanqi's gaze became unfocused, and a barely perceptible blush appeared on her naturally beautiful face.

"Senior, I actually have another question!" a student raised their hand.

“Please speak!” Miriam said, holding up a megaphone.

"What's going on with the menu? Is it part of the game's plot or is someone playing a trick? Can't we reveal it now?"

"Yeah, what exactly happened?"

"If someone is playing tricks, that would be absolutely despicable!"

"Exactly! This must be thoroughly investigated!"

The sounds rose and fell in waves.

The smile on the face of the victorious boy suddenly froze.

Miriam thought for a moment, "This can indeed be made public! I just asked, and since everyone wants to know—actually, someone bribed the kitchen NPCs to tamper with the menu, and that person is... Cheng Fei!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the banquet hall fell silent for a moment, before the excited shouts of the crowd drowned out everything.

"what?!"

"How could it be him?!"

"Damn it, that insidious bastard!"

"Capture Cheng Fei alive! Make him pay the price!"

When everyone turned around, they realized that the boy who was supposed to be standing there had vanished without a trace.

Lin Xuanqi glanced sideways at the empty space beside her, then quietly moved a few steps to stand next to Ye Shuang.

……

The details of how the boy went from being a game winner to being transformed into a rat or cockroach, hunted and chased by everyone in the castle, and forced to flee for his life, will be left aside for now.

For dinner, the students, who had been tormented for three days, were treated to a sumptuous meal.

"Is this heaven...?"

"Fish and chips are so delicious, gazing at the stars is so delicious too..."

"I've never eaten anything so delicious in my life..."

At the far end of the long table, the boy was surrounded by boys and girls who were eager to fight and had ill intentions.