"No, it's not over. The system hasn't confirmed that the task was completed." Theodon squinted into the screen.
Mrs. Smith emerged from the female locker room. With an unsettling amount of confidence, she trudged forward with deliberate, heavy steps towards the male locker room.
The two had already evacuated the pool area as a whole, so Mrs. Smith would enter an empty locker room. Nonetheless, her footsteps were so steady and calculated that it seemed she knew exactly where they were.
She stepped right where the two had previously hidden, then followed the exact path the two took, out of the locker room, then through the two doors.
"Other players have tried this before, but it's a dead route; Mrs. Smith can track them," Theodon remarked.
"How?" Eleanor frowned.
"Well," Sean smugly turned to Eleanor, "the smell bomb is supposedly extra effective against apparitions."
Then his wry smirk turned to harass Theodon. "That means apparitions have a strong sense of smell. She's tracking them by their scent."
Theodon only rolled his eyes, while Eleanor poked Sean in the head. Not in a playful way, but in a near life-threatening way. "You win this time."
"Hehehehehehehe..." Sean was finally the one with the correct answer.
———
Chen Mo and Amelia dashed through the dark hallways, lit only by moonlight barely spilling through the windows. Their shared dufflebag was slung on Chen Mo's back, dangling turbulently.
The door behind them creaked open as they turned the corner.
"Oh shit..." Amelia muttered very lightly; she was aware of Mrs. Smith, just not the fact that Mrs. Smith was a cannibalistic apparition.
The two pressed their backs against the wall, as Chen Mo peeked an eye into the previous hallway.
Mrs. Smith had just entered; her eyes and her flashlight were pointed straight, and her feet paced deliberately. It was apparent that she was following their exact trail, but not many would assume it was the scent she was tracking.
Chen Mo knew that it was; the smell bomb being effective was a giveaway. Nonetheless, he wanted to try something out.
"I guess running away from Mrs. Smith brings back old memories?" Amelia shrugged with a faint grin.
"I guess so." Chen Mo nodded, then took her by her wrist, dragging her and bolting away from Mrs. Smith.
In Chen Mo's eyes, it was life or death. In Amelia's NPC eyes, this was more romantic than she could ever ask for; it brought back all those memories of the two running away from being caught smoking by Mrs. Smith.
Those memories, of course, don't exist; they're just the minigame's lore.
Chen Mo led the way. They would soon stumble upon a crossroads; left or right. It was just what Chen Mo was looking for.
He'd lead Amelia to the right first, then stop when they're only a couple of footsteps in. Amelia would continue running, unaware of his plan, until his grip on her wrist halted her. "Why are we stopping?"
Chen Mo didn't answer; he immediately turned back and sprinted the other direction, into the hallway on the left.
They'd turn a corner, then come to a stop again.
"What are you doing? Stopping out of nowhere? We've got a chemistry teacher to escape!" Amelia wondered.
"Shh." Chen Mo didn't bother answering; he'd shush Amelia with an index finger to her lips instead.
Then he'd watch around the corner with only one eye.
Mrs. Smith had just arrived at the same crossroads, presented with the choice of left or right. Left would bring her straight to Chen Mo, but she turned right.
After only a couple of footsteps, she'd stop.
This helped Chen Mo understand her NPC pathing mechanics; she tracks their movements perfectly, even the useless turns.
Mrs. Smith turned back. The flashlight's beam reached faster than her eyes.
It illuminated not just Chen Mo, but Jack too. It was a brief moment, but Chen Mo saw it. Jack was a scrawny kid with black clothes and overgrown hair — the stereotypical quiet kid. He was invisible the entire time, yet somehow, the flashlight revealed him.
Chen Mo ducked, and Jack evaded along with his friend into the darkness and away from the beam.
Nonetheless, Mrs. Smith caught a shoe. Her mouth, which was a gap of crimson, widened upwards, as the blood inside it flowed with more fluidity, almost as if she were salivating. "Hehehehehehe..." she'd chuckle.
Instead of her usual deliberate steps, she scampered, almost power-walking, each step landing not with a thump but with a wet squelch, leaving behind bloodied footprints.
"Shit." Chen Mo grabbed ahold of Amelia again and yanked her along without care.
"WOAHH!!" Amelia yelped as her feet paced without her intentions.
Chen Mo bolted through hallway after hallway, but the wet, rapid squelching behind them still never ceased. Every time he turned back for a glance, he'd find the beam of the flashlight about to turn a corner.
The two ran and ran, but Mrs. Smith always knew where they went; she'd follow the path they took exactly, each footstep identical.
"How does she know where we're going?" Amelia commented light-heartedly during their sprint, even with a faint titter.
Sweat slid from their cheeks, and the cardio increased the weight of their breathing.
Found it! Chen Mo's eyes widened in hope.
The restrooms. Out of instinct, Chen Mo chose the male restroom, and Amelia followed in without a question; they were running away from something after all.
The restroom's layout was typical. Sinks on the right, stalls on the left.
Chen Mo ignored everything and dashed straight to the last stall, entering it and squeezing Amelia in with him.
"Crawl through." Chen Mo pointed at the gap between the floor and the stall's partition.
"What?!" Amelia was confused, but Chen Mo wasn't asking.
He'd lower her to the floor by pressing her on the shoulders. His insistence eventually pressured Amelia to comply and begin crawling. Chen Mo would follow suit, dragging his own body and their dufflebag across the filthy restroom floor. "Crawl to the end."
"Urghh..." Amelia hated every moment. She was still in her bikini, so all kinds of mysterious stains from the floors were dirtying her. The sensation was slippery and disgusting; it was as far from pleasant as it could get.
Nonetheless, she followed Chen Mo's instructions and crawled all the way to the first stall. As she stood up, the entrance to the restroom burst open; Mrs. Smith was here.
Following the trail of scent, she travelled all the way to the last stall, while Chen Mo reunited with Amelia in the first.
"Shh..." Chen Mo urged silence yet again, as he pushed open the stall's door deliberately, carefully making sure it didn't creak.
Mrs. Smith entered the last stall. Chen Mo and Amelia left the first stall, then the restroom altogether.
Their trail of scent told Mrs. Smith that they had gone through the bathroom stall's partitions. Easy deduction led to Mrs. Smith figuring out that they'd crawled through the gap beneath, but understanding that wasn't enough.
Mrs. Smith was pregnant; the 10-inch gap wouldn't fit her.
Nonetheless, as a B rank monster, plastic walls wouldn't stop her from following the scent perfectly.
"ARGHHHHHHH!!!" She screeched.
BANG!
Then she jabbed the partition with all her strength, cracking it with just one punch.
CRACK! THUMP! THUD!
By the fourth punch, the first partition was already collapsing.
She still had five more to go; Chen Mo bought enough time for him and Amelia to think up a plan.
The noises of Mrs. Smith ravaging the walls echoed through the dark hallways where the two now stood.
"Where's the chemistry lab again? I forgot," Chen Mo questioned.
Amelia tapped on her left temple. "Block C? I think?"
"Take me there," Chen Mo said with great urgency, prompting Amelia to waste no time leading the way.
As they headed for the chemistry lab, Chen Mo's live chat was active again:
[sixteenth upvoted your stream!]
[sixteenth donated 5 Sapphire!]
[Luftwaffles upvoted your stream!]
[...]
[Total within last minute: 17 upvotes, 3 downvotes (Current balance: 15 upvotes), 9 Sapphires donated.]
———
The cinema hall of Chen Mo's stream was more lively now. All seats had been taken, and several had purchased popcorn from Store to enjoy the stream optimally.
Some watched Chen Mo's strategy with awe, while others watched with jealousy. Unless one wanted to be a public menace, it was basic etiquette to not rewind or fast forward the footage.
"It's a clever maneuver, but it's still not over." Theodon's fingers drummed on his cheek, contemplating. "XiaoBai bought time by finding out, then messing with her pathing mechanic, but Mrs. Smith is still suspicious of them."
"She'll continue pursuing." Sean was even more tense as he trembled at the edge of his seat. "Stalling her doesn't count as getting her off his tail."
"Mm." Theodon nodded, then propped his curious head atop both palms, leaning forward. "This is still a dead route... Why are you going to the chemistry lab, XiaoBai?"
The screen suddenly turned black; the hall was engulfed in darkness in the blink of an eye, but no one jolted, no one flinched.
The system began typing on the screen in neon lime: [XiaoBai's stream has reached fifteen upvotes! Stream can now be found in Rising Stars, Hall 31.]
"Urghh..." The crowd collectively sighed, as they all lazily got off their seats to move.
"Who the fuck upvoted this guy?!" A male voice echoed and elicited laughter within the hall.
———
Another message popped up on the bottom left of Chen Mo's field of vision:
[Congratulations! Your stream has now moved to the Hall of Rising Stars!]