The blue flame screeched through the padlock's arm. Chen Mo didn't wait for it to be completely molten; he waited for the metal to become thin enough. Then, he'd shield his fingers with a wet towel from the swimming session earlier, and snap the padlock open.
CRACK!
"Yes!" Amelia cheered as she pushed the door open excitedly.
The two reached the rooftop. Aside from the balustrade a meter tall, there was nothing in place to prevent a student from jumping off. The rooftop was vast, almost even more spacious than the swimming pool area. It housed water tanks, vents, and pipes, but still lacked proper lighting.
The only thing challenging the moonlight above was the weak, green emergency light, right on top of the entrance where the two had come from.
The moonlight defeated it easily, rendering the green useless and leaving the rooftop illuminated in pale white.
"You said there's fireworks?" Amelia paced towards the edge of the rooftop with enthusiastic steps.
"Mm." Chen Mo nodded as he followed behind her.
They paced until they were right next to the balustrade, and more than two basketball courts away from the initial entrance.
"Is that the festival?" Amelia pointed into the distance, where, amidst the dark night, a row of bright, colourful lights stood out vividly.
"Mmhmm." Chen Mo nodded.
"Aww, that's quite far away, the view won't be that great." Amelia rested her elbows on the balustrade, then subsequently her chin in her palms.
"Nope. We'll get the best view." Chen Mo grinned faintly as he explained, "I've analysed the map from the poster earlier. The festival is there, but people don't go to a festival to shoot fireworks, they're there to watch it."
"Soooo..." Amelia asked, "Where would they shoot the fireworks from?"
Chen Mo joined her by taking the spot on her left. The view beneath them was enchanting, as Theater High School was constructed atop a hill; Chen Mo knew this from the map in the poster.
Their position was taller than the entire rest of the town of Theater, giving them a clear sight of every building, every street, and every flicker of life.
Chen Mo would simply point downwards. "Right at the foot of this hill. That means we are the ones who would get the best view."
"That's so near!" Amelia covered her mouth, stunned. "We might even get burnt by it!"
"Mm... Maybe," Chen Mo agreed, "But dying next to you after such an amazing night would leave me with no regrets anyway."
His brown eyes met her azure ones. Their distance closed without their conscious decision. Their thoughts aligned without a word of communication.
"Hehe..." Amelia chuckled, "Seriously, I do not remember you being so smooth with words, Xiao Bai."
"I'm just honest." Chen Mo was actually honest. Never in his twenty years of living did he think that the most romantic night he would have would be spent next to a video game NPC in a horror game, where his life was actively threatened at all times, including right now.
Maybe it was his loneliness talking, but Chen Mo really did feel something for Amelia.
"When the fireworks are up, don't forget to make a wish." Amelia grinned.
"Just a minute left now, if I counted correctly." Chen Mo knew exactly what wish he would make; he'd wish Amelia Cunningham was real, and not just an NPC.
He barely knew who she was. He barely even talked to her tonight. But she reminded him of someone, someone so dear to him yet unreachable, someone who also calls him Xiao Bai.
"You're gonna count down?" Amelia suggested.
Chen Mo thought it wasn't a bad idea. "41... 40... 39... 38..."
"Okay, you're boring me, stop." Amelia shut him up with her index finger pressed gently against his lips.
The two shared eye contact again, until their ears received disturbing news.
The wet squelches were echoing through the entrance.
They turned to look, and the beam of the flashlight had already reached the top of the stairs.
"Oh no, Mrs. Smith is coming—" Amelia tried to scamper, but Chen Mo held her close.
"Wait." He'd embrace her with one palm behind her ear and another on her bare waist; they were still in their swimsuits. "There's no way to run anyway, that's the only exit."
"Hmph..." Amelia tried to think, before surrendering with a chuckle. "Hehehe... I guess getting caught making out is also very reminiscent."
Chen Mo's inner clock was still ticking.
3... 2... 1...
The first blast of flame roared through the sky behind them, just as their faces leaned closer.
Their lips pressed as—
BOOM!
The red flower blooming in the night sky was far brighter than anything else, so bright that the two became mere silhouettes.
Mrs. Smith and her wet footsteps arrived to this sight.
The fireworks were unrelenting.
CRACKLE! POP! BANG!
Mrs. Smith had her flashlight pointed towards them, but due to the distance and the sheer brightness of the spectacle behind them, the two remained silhouettes, kissing underneath the blazing lights.
———
In a new cinema hall, with a better screen, better chairs, and a more spacious interior in comparison to the last.
"What the fuck?!" Sean now had the front seats, but leapt up in shock. "He's dead!" he commented, watching as Mrs. Smith, the B-rank apparition, found his streamer.
Eleanor shared a similar conclusion, but a different reaction. Rather than shock, it was despair in the form of denial. "I'm not watching, I'm not watching, I'm not watching." she'd mutter, with her sleeves shielding her face.
Theodon, on the other hand, said, "Wait..."
"Hm?" Sean turned to Theodon for a second, before Mrs. Smith's voice from the screen brought his attention back to the stream.
"Ughhh..." Mrs. Smith didn't sound like the monster she looked like. Even with a gaping mouth bleeding red, she simply spoke like your average middle-aged chemistry teacher. "Mr. Xiao! Ms. Cunningham!"
The two lovers parted their lips, but not their gazes.
"Unacceptable!" Mrs. Smith continued scolding. "You should know lewd acts are forbidden on school grounds!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Smith." Chen Mo apologised rather casually, not even making eye contact. "We won't do it again!"
"Put some clothes on." Mrs. Smith shook her head. "Tch... Tch... Tch..." Then... she left.
"HARRRGHHH?!!" Sean scratched his head hard.
"The fireworks." Theodon mumbled, as his eyes were completely drawn to the fireworks show on the screen, still ongoing even after Mrs. Smith's departure. "They're brighter."
"I'm still not watching, I'm still not watching, I'm still not watching."
"Shut up, Eleanor." Sean shushed, then turned to face Theodon with a frown. "W-what do you mean they're brighter?"
"Mrs. Smith can only see Jack through her flashlight." The bespectacled, in-game Wikipedia author analysed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Earlier, Mrs. Smith revealed only a part of Jack with the flashlight, but she never knew whether it was Jack. She was only suspicious of whoever was roaming the school..."
"Oh wait, oh..." Sean suddenly realised something, but Eleanor stole the moment before he could begin his analysis.
Eleanor peeked only one eye through her sleeves. "So... the fireworks were used to blind Mrs. Smith, by shining brighter than her flashlight, rendering it useless?"
"Yes." Theodon nodded. "And—"
"Since Mrs. Smith's target was always Jack, and not Xiao Bai or his NPC." Sean cut Theodon off curtly, but neither seemed to mind. "If she couldn't see Jack..."
"She has no reason to attack at all." Theodon concluded. "She only eats bullies and murderers; the system made that fact clear. Xiao Bai and the NPC never killed or exorcised any apparitions. It was always only Jack who was in danger, and the fireworks made him invisible."
"No, he's already invisible." Eleanor corrected. "The fireworks just prevented Mrs. Smith's flashlight from revealing him."
"That's what I meant, dumbass number two. And since they're kissing, which is against the school rules, that dissolves Mrs. Smith's suspicions of them. It's like hiding a fake diary above the real one; they reported a fake crime. This is..." Theodon shook his head, gritted his teeth, with disgust and with envy, but most of all, with fascination.
Sean finished Theodon's sentence, "...genius."
The hall was filled to the brim with people, and even more were entering since Theodon had been posting articles about it.
The crowd was equally in disbelief, staring at the enchanting sight of two silhouettes kissing under the colourful fireworks.
Then, one man started, "FUCKING AMAZING!!!"
"WOOOOO!!"
"XIAO BAI THAT WAS COOL AS HELL!!!"
———
Chen Mo received a barrage of messages in his live chat:
[Third Task Completed!]
[Reward: 40 Sapphires]
[Final task: Escape the school!]
[d3rlord: FIREEEEEEE!!]
[Fanny_0w0: Crazy beautiful, holy.]
[fglazer: HOLY SHIT!]
[...]
[hiimtanya donated 5 Sapphires.]
[sean_069 donated 50 Sapphires.]
[EleanorLmAo upvoted your stream.]
[...]
[Total within last minute: 317 upvotes, 11 downvotes (Current balance: 321 upvotes), 179 Sapphires donated.]
[Congratulations! Your stream has now moved to the Hall of Potential Pros!]
[Glass Queen downvoted your stream.]
[LmLmLpp: Glass Queen?!?!?!]
[wh1ter0se: Why'd Glass Queen downvote?]
[rthino: XiaoBai's a fraud, the Queen herself has spoken.]
[...]
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[Total within last minute: 320 upvotes, 378 downvotes (Current balance: 44 downvotes), 179 Sapphires donated.]
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