### Chapter 15: "Haunted School Horror" - A Letter

"Don't scare me, I'm easily frightened!"

Yang Linlin shot Zhao Yi a glance, but deep down, she was already starting to accept Zhao Yi's explanation.

Zhao Yi quickly skimmed through the information on the roster, then placed it back in its original position and opened the envelope.

Inside, apart from a thick stack of cash, there was a brief letter.

...

[Principal, I'm really sorry!]

[The (crossed out) incident has caused you trouble, I will definitely be more careful about such matters in the future!]

[Regarding (entire section crossed out)]

[I heard his mother is his only relative, and now that things have blown up like this, he probably won't let it go easily. Please communicate more with the mayor!]

[This money isn't much, just a small token of respect for you!]

...

Clearly, this letter hadn't been sent out yet.

There were many corrections, with a lot of ink marks crossed out, and it was evident that the crossed-out parts contained quite crucial information!

"This letter is meant for the principal..."

Zhao Yi's eyes lit up, and the next moment he said to Yang Linlin:

"Let's go to the principal's office."

He and Yang Linlin quickly tidied up the office, putting the items back in place. As they were leaving, Zhao Yi took some of the cash.

Yang Linlin asked curiously:

"Why are you taking the money?"

Zhao Yi replied meaningfully:

"Just in case."

Yang Linlin was puzzled. Although she had been with Zhao Yi the whole time and saw everything he saw, she had no idea what Zhao Yi was thinking!

It felt very much like when everyone watched Conan gather clues and have an epiphany, while they themselves understood nothing.

The only thing on Yang Linlin's mind now was that after the dungeon ended, she definitely needed to get an IQ test!

The two of them left the office, carefully closed the door, and continued upstairs.

A quick look at "paw𝑟ead.com" will leave you more fulfilled.

"Can you explain?"

"I still don't understand why you took that money!"

Zhao Yi asked in return:

"Why did I dare to go to the office to look for clues?"

"Because you're brave!"

"And why am I brave?"

"I... I don't know why you're brave!"

Zhao Yi raised an eyebrow:

"Because I knew no one was in the office."

"That's why I took you in."

"As I said, whether it's people or ghosts in this school, they're all following their own rules."

"Teachers are invigilating exams, and without special circumstances, they can't leave the classroom for long."

"But the principal is different."

"You need to understand, the principal isn't as busy as the teachers most of the time."

"If it's in the office, we need to find a way to lure it out!"

"Got it?"

Yang Linlin's eyes lit up.

"I got it!"

"But... what does this have to do with the money?"

Zhao Yi gestured for her to be quiet. They reached the top floor and walked along the dark corridor, keeping to the right, until they arrived at the spacious principal's office.

Carefully peeking through the window, they indeed saw a shadow inside!

Moreover, those unstable data points reappeared at this moment!

...

[Principal: High-level Danger!]

[Note: This is clearly not an entity you rookies can confront directly, but its mobility is greatly restricted, forcing it to run in a peculiar way.]

...

The data of the entity appeared before them.

The principal was indeed sitting in the office, and its actions revealed Zhao Yi's real intentions to Yang Linlin.

The principal of Rockridge High School was counting money at this moment.

Clearly, the entity was a complete money-grubber!

Zhao Yi intended to use money to lure the principal away!

"You stay here and keep an eye on it, I'll go lay out the money!"

Zhao Yi instructed in a low voice and began laying out the cash on the floor.

He planned to use the cash to draw the principal away, giving them time to investigate matters related to the past in the principal's office.

Zhao Yi moved quickly, returning in less than ten minutes.

Then they took off their shoes, knocked on the principal's office door, and quickly ran to the stairs leading to the rooftop!

Before long, the door opened, and a sinister shadow stood at the entrance.

Its head rotated 360 degrees.

Seeing no one, it seemed to detect a strange scent in the air... like a stray dog had urinated at its doorstep.

The shadow was puzzled and looked down.

A bright red bill appeared before it!

It paused for a moment, as if its DNA couldn't resist, and it picked up the money involuntarily.

Then, as it bent down, it saw a second bill not far away!

The principal was dumbfounded.

What the heck!

What's going on today?

Did I hit the jackpot?

Why is there so much cash on the ground?

Hmm, the urine smell is stronger here too.

Curious, the principal looked towards the stairs leading to the rooftop, but after thinking for a while, it chose to go downstairs to pick up the money.

Stray dogs aren't as important as money, right?

Once it was a bit further away, Zhao Yi and Yang Linlin reappeared at the entrance to the principal's office.

"Yang Linlin, I hope next time before we act, you can use the restroom."

Zhao Yi seriously advised, as they had almost been exposed earlier due to the smell of urine on Yang Linlin.

The darkness hid the burning blush on Yang Linlin's face, her toes gripping the floor, wishing she could dig a three-bedroom apartment at the principal's office door!

"Got it!"

The two wasted no time, knowing the principal wouldn't be gone for long, and quickly searched the office!

"The previous letter indicated that a student's mother had a conflict with the school, and the school caused her significant harm."

"Possibly even... killed the student's mother."

"So what we're looking for now is the records."

Yang Linlin, rummaging through the cabinets, was puzzled.

"If it's really as you suspect, such a scandalous event wouldn't be recorded in the school's files, would it?"

Zhao Yi, seriously examining a file record, replied casually:

"But a student's withdrawal would be."

"A major conflict between the school and a student's family doesn't have many motivations."

"Parents causing a scene at the school is usually about the child's safety, health, or academics."

"Rockridge High School is a military-style closed school, with students going home once a month. The school rules strictly prohibit fighting, and as the top-ranked school in City A, the chance of campus violence is almost zero!"

"So, the motivation for a major conflict, even a physical altercation, is likely related to a student's withdrawal!"

Yang Linlin's eyes lit up.

Right!

Why didn't she think of that?

Comments:

: I must say, I'm impressed by Zhao Yi!

: As a newcomer, he's really outstanding!

: I'm a rookie too, and I'd love to be matched with Zhao Yi so I can just ride to victory!

: I'm going to follow Zhao Yi, I feel like I can learn a lot from him!

...