The group searched the art classroom thoroughly, not leaving a single corner unchecked.
In the end, they found nothing.
Chai Yingying looked disappointed. She had assumed that the art classroom, like the music room, would leave behind something valuable, like the “music box,” if they managed to defeat the ghosts inside. However, after the girl in the painting was vanquished, all that remained were an empty easel and scattered plaster debris—nothing of particular interest or significance.
Gu Jiu, on the other hand, was calm and unbothered. “If there’s nothing, then forget it. Let’s go,” she said.
She pulled Lu Ji along as they left.
Lu Ji glanced back at the art classroom. His dark pupils reflected no light, as though no brightness in the world could ever illuminate them.
Unnoticed by anyone, the space within the classroom subtly distorted at the very moment he looked back.
The remaining three exchanged glances and hurriedly followed the two out of the art classroom.
As they descended from the fifth floor to the fourth, the oppressive sensation of being watched reappeared, all-encompassing and inescapable.
Every player present immediately tensed.
They thought it would be like before when, despite the pervasive sense of surveillance, nothing significant happened. Just as they prepared to head down to the third floor, the staircase leading there suddenly began to twist and distort, stretching infinitely.
The players standing on the staircase almost lost their footing and tumbled down as the staircase shifted.
They managed to grab onto the handrails in time to stabilize themselves, but the warped space gave them an unsettling feeling that both their bodies and minds were being distorted. Trembling, they struggled to climb upwards, desperate to escape the twisted staircase.
Even standing steadily became a challenge, as their legs shook uncontrollably, rendering movement nearly impossible.
Gu Jiu acted quickly, throwing a dagger that embedded itself into the fourth-floor corridor. Lu Ji then lashed out his Infernal Blood Whip, coiling it around the dagger.
Gripping the whip with one hand and holding onto Gu Jiu with the other, Lu Ji pulled with force, yanking both of them away from the warped staircase.
He then swung the Infernal Blood Whip again, one by one pulling up the disoriented players who were still trapped on the twisted stairs.
Chai Yingying was the first to be hauled up. She staggered and leaned against the wall, bending over and retching.
The warped staircase had twisted the surrounding space along with it. Standing within it felt like being sucked into a rapidly spinning vortex, leaving them dizzy and nauseated.
The other players also succumbed, vomiting endlessly. The sound of retching filled the hallway.
After a while, they finally recovered slightly. Looking back at the staircase to the third floor, it remained grotesquely stretched and distorted.
The omnipresent sense of being watched, combined with the twisted staircase, kept everyone on edge.
Since the staircase was impassable, jumping out of the building became their only other option. Although the height wasn’t an issue for B-ranked players with their enhanced physiques, they feared ending up like the ghost outside who had leapt to its death—a mangled corpse with its brain splattered everywhere.
Clearly, they were now trapped on the fourth floor.
Chai Yingying cursed under her breath. The earlier experience had been harrowing, fueling her anger toward the ghosts blocking their way. She pulled out a delicate-looking disc, which began spinning rapidly before finally coming to a stop.
This was the Nine Yin Compass, an artifact capable of detecting the approximate location of even the most well-hidden ghosts.
Without hesitation, a dagger flew swiftly toward the direction indicated by the compass.
The sharp dagger embedded itself into the wall with a thunk, sinking a full three inches deep.
Everyone turned their eyes toward the wall, only to see something resembling a giant eye where the dagger had struck. The eye, slightly larger than an adult’s fist, glared at them with a chilling gaze.
Chai Yingying cursed, “So this disgusting thing is what made us almost puke. Let’s destroy it!”
The players immediately unleashed their attack items, bombarding the eye.
Eventually, the massive eye peeled off the wall and fell to the ground. It bounced like a resilient rubber ball, evading their attacks as it sprang toward the fourth-floor hallway.
Just as it was about to escape, a long whip lashed out and coiled around it, yanking it back.
“Nice work, Lu Ji!” Chai Yingying laughed, rushing toward the eye.
Finally, the eye was trapped in a miniature birdcage.
The cage was a unique item, small enough to sit in the palm of a hand and even smaller than a palm in size. Gu Jiu had obtained it in a C-grade game. It was specifically designed to contain paranormal entities and was incredibly practical.
Though the eye was larger than the cage itself, the interior space of the cage seemed to defy logic, holding the eye without issue.
The group stared at the eye, which spun ceaselessly inside the cage. Its reduced size made it seem less terrifying than before.
“What is this thing? Was it spying on us just now?” Chai Yingying asked. Although she wanted to gouge the eye out, she held off since Gu Jiu had caged it.
“It’s likely the culprit,” Gu Jiu replied.
Once the eye was confined, the oppressive feeling of being watched finally vanished.
Gu Jiu tossed the birdcage to Chai Yingying. “You hold onto it.”
Chai Yingying grinned mischievously and blew her a kiss. “Thanks, Eldest Miss! Let me have a bit of fun with it.”
She eyed the captive eye maliciously. Sensing her sinister intent, the eye began spinning even faster, slamming itself against the birdcage in a frantic attempt to escape.
Chai Yingying hung the birdcage on her waist like a trinket. Surprisingly, it added a touch of artistic flair to her appearance.
When they made their way back to the staircase, the steps leading to the third floor were no longer distorted, allowing them to finally reach the ground floor without further incident.
Exiting the multimedia teaching building, they were greeted by the sight of another “Jumping Ghost” plummeting from above. The ghost’s pale, ghastly eyes fixated on them, its twisted body writhing on the ground as it dragged itself along, leaving a horrifying trail of blood.
The Jumping Ghost crawled toward them.
The players ignored it.
Only after they left did the ghost barely manage to drag itself ten meters further. It stared resentfully in the direction they had disappeared.
Once outside the multimedia building, the group split up to pursue their respective tasks.
By now, it was already past eleven o’clock. The campus was shrouded in an even deeper darkness, and only the dim glow of streetlights pierced the night. In the shadows beyond the streetlights’ reach, silhouettes shifted as if countless ghosts lurked, waiting to pounce and claim lives.
The trio walked along a cobblestone path, lined on both sides with blooming rose bushes. However, under the veil of night, the roses lost their usual beauty, instead adding a sinister and eerie touch to the atmosphere.
Suddenly, Gu Jiu stopped and reached out to grab Chai Yingying, who was walking ahead.
Chai Yingying immediately understood and, without resistance, allowed Gu Jiu to pull her into the shadows of the rose bushes, away from the faint light of the streetlamps.
The three of them crouched low, pressing themselves to the ground and holding their breath.
Not long after, a figure emerged from the far end of the cobblestone path.
Chai Yingying covered her mouth and nose, glancing upward slightly. She saw the school’s Dean approaching from the other end of the path. By now, she was accustomed to Gu Jiu’s uncanny ability to sense the dean’s presence in advance.
This young lady seemed to have the ears of a hawk and the nose of a hound—no subtle movement ever escaped her sharp perception. Following her felt like having a fortress of safety around them.
When the dean passed near their hiding spot, she suddenly stopped and peered into the rose bushes.
Chai Yingying’s heart leapt into her throat. She was certain they had been discovered. But after about ten agonizing seconds, the dean finally moved on.
Even then, they didn’t dare leave their hiding spot immediately.
A few minutes later, the dean reappeared, emerging soundlessly from behind a nearby obstruction. Her steps were ghostly light as she floated forward, her eyes scanning the area persistently, unwilling to let go of even the faintest suspicion.
Chai Yingying sighed inwardly, feeling helpless. Why is this woman so paranoid?
This happened three more times before the dean finally left for good.
Gu Jiu and her team crawled out of the bushes, brushing off the leaves and grass that clung to them. They quickly left the area.
They hadn’t gone far when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence. In the stillness of the night, it sounded unbearably sharp, sending chills down their spines. Their expressions hardened as they ran in the direction of the noise.
After a brief sprint, they arrived at the scene and quickly assessed the situation.
A group of players had encountered the dean.
Gu Jiu, Lu Ji, and Chai Yingying immediately ducked into a hiding spot, watching intently.
The dean might be a ghost, but at first glance, she only seemed like a strict teacher. She exhibited no outwardly paranormal traits—until she found students breaking the rules.
For her, any student wandering at night on campus was a delinquent.
“You naughty kids, why must you always break school rules? I’ll have to lock you all up in detention!”
Her voice was soft, even gentle, but her actions were anything but.
Ahead of them, several players were fleeing for their lives. The dean, in high heels, was chasing after them at an astonishing speed. Her slender legs moved unnaturally fast, becoming longer with each step. The more she ran, the faster and longer her legs grew, her strides covering impossible distances.
Her arms stretched as well, growing to grotesque lengths.
She pursued the players relentlessly, her elongated limbs making her resemble a nightmarish giant. Her long strides pounded through the school grounds as she chased down the students who had dared to break the rules.
Finally, one unfortunate player was caught.
With her unnaturally long hands, the dean grabbed the player and tore their body apart, splitting it cleanly in two. Blood and viscera splattered everywhere.
The other fleeing players, witnessing the horrific scene, were paralyzed with terror. But the overwhelming fear seemed to inject their exhausted legs with new strength, and they sprinted away even faster.
This was the first time Gu Jiu and her team witnessed the true strength of the dean.
As the highest authority managing the school’s dormitory students at night, the dean had the right to punish rule breakers. They had initially assumed that punishment would merely involve detention. Never in their worst nightmares had they imagined that she would skip detention entirely and directly tear night-wandering students in half.
It was brutal. Ruthless.
Yingying couldn’t help but feel fortunate that they had dodged in time and avoided a direct confrontation with her.
Although players had never truly gauged how powerful the Dean was, they adhered to the principle of avoiding trouble. So, whenever they encountered the Dean during their nighttime escapades, they would always steer clear.
As it turned out, this was the right choice.
The Dean was practically a walking cheat code. With her monstrous appearance, even the strongest players couldn’t outrun her. On top of that, players’ tools inflicted little to no harm or hindrance to her, making her the ultimate boss of the campus. It was no wonder she held the position of Dean, overseeing the students with such authority.
As the Dean closed in on the remaining players, Gu Jiu retrieved a slingshot and a white pill from her belongings.
Using the slingshot, Gu Jiu launched the white pill toward the Dean. It struck her unnaturally long legs, and with a loud bang, it exploded, releasing a cloud of gray smoke that quickly spread in all directions.
“Run!” Gu Jiu shouted to the players.
The gray smoke enveloped the entire area, reducing visibility to zero—both humans and ghosts were rendered blind.
The Dean could only watch helplessly as the players vanished into the thick fog. Letting out an enraged roar, she stumbled through the smoke, searching for them.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the players fled in different directions.
Gu Jiu and her two companions also made a swift escape from the scene.