In truth, as long as you figured out the areas where the ghosts of Shengying High School were active and understood the game’s rules, the dangers weren’t too significant. Players could even avoid the threats entirely.
However, clearing the game successfully and earning more points wasn’t as simple.
Gu Jiu understood this, as did the other players. But unlike Gu Jiu and Chai Yingying, who wanted to use the ghosts of Shengying High School to nurture spiritual entities, the others aimed to clear the game quickly, leave, and rack up as many points as possible.
At 4 a.m., after the late-night supper ended, the players left the dormitory staff’s quarters.
Gu Jiu and her group decided to return to their dormitory to rest. Although there were only two hours left until dawn, it was better than nothing.
Once again, they encountered the wandering dormitory supervisor in the dormitory area. She was clutching a broom and dustpan, muttering incessantly to herself. When she saw the three of them, she darted into the small forest behind the dormitory with astonishing speed and refused to come out no matter what.
Chai Yingying was pleased with her discernment and generously forgave the dorm supervisor’s ghostly expression upon seeing them.
“Who’s the real ghost here?” Pei Yongyong muttered. “Sister Chai, what did you do to her last night?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just gave her a beating,” Chai Yingying replied nonchalantly.
The players present could guess the beating must have been quite severe. Otherwise, the dorm supervisor, who was notorious for her harshness towards students, wouldn’t have reacted so dramatically.
Was this a case of “even ghosts fear bullies”?
At the stairwell, the group parted ways. Pei Yongyong deliberately called out to Chai Yingying, asking her to accompany her to the back mountain tomorrow. Chai Yingying agreed with a cheerful smile.
Back in the dormitory, Gu Jiu asked, “Since when are you so close with Pei Yongyong?”
Pei Yongyong, an experienced B-level player, had advanced earlier than them. Before entering the reincarnation campus, Chai Yingying and Pei Yongyong hadn’t known each other due to their different player levels. While Chai Yingying was sociable, she wasn’t the type to immediately become friends with every girl she met.
“We’re not close,” Chai Yingying replied. “But I think she’s a bit odd.”
“What do you mean by odd?” Gu Jiu asked. “Are you talking about how she secretly observes other players?”
Chai Yingying wasn’t surprised Gu Jiu had noticed and nodded. “I realized it on the first day. She’s been subtly observing all the players, as if looking for someone, but she’s doing it in a way that she clearly doesn’t want anyone to notice. I’m quite interested in the person she’s trying to find.”
As a game hunter, Chai Yingying not only completed tasks but also enjoyed gathering all kinds of information, which she sometimes sold to other players for points.
She had a hunch that Pei Yongyong had some information worth collecting.
“Once I gather enough info from her, if it’s useful and you want it, I’ll give you a 12% discount. That’s a friendship price—no one else gets that deal.”
Gu Jiu rolled her eyes. “Your ‘friendship’ sure is expensive.”
“What can I do? Life’s tough. Even with friends, I have to grit my teeth and charge. Besides, I don’t have a boyfriend to support me,” Chai Yingying replied, feigning a heavy heart.
Gu Jiu ignored her and dragged Lu Ji into the bathroom to shower.
Seeing their intimacy, Chai Yingying worried she might accidentally witness something unsuitable for single people. She quickly retreated to her room, deciding to avoid the situation entirely.
—
A day passed quickly, and evening arrived.
Today, Gu Jiu and her group went to the cafeteria earlier than usual. The food counters hadn’t opened yet, but the students had already lined up obediently, waiting for the counters to open at 6 p.m. so they could collect their meals.
As Gu Jiu and her group entered the cafeteria, a student suddenly glanced in their direction.
The expressions on the students’ faces remained indifferent, but unlike before, they didn’t seem entirely indifferent to their surroundings. Their gazes fell on Gu Jiu and her group, as if silently observing or perhaps scrutinizing them.
The players pretended not to notice but couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
The players had never paid much attention to the boarding students. These students seemed like quails under the strict control of the stern dean—completely devoid of the courage or ability to resist. Even when bullied maliciously by the cafeteria staff, they silently endured it. They followed the school’s rigid schedule of study and rest like puppets with no will of their own.
With the dean dominating as the “big boss,” the students had such little presence they felt like mere background characters—not worth any real attention.
Ji Linfan had been observing this group of students closely. His gaze eventually shifted to Gu Jiu and her companions.
It was obvious to him that the students were focused on Gu Jiu.
He thought back to two nights ago, during dinnertime, when Gu Jiu had deliberately spilled her tray of food onto one of the cafeteria staff, provoking the dean and then walking away unscathed. Since then, there seemed to have been a subtle change in the students, though it was so faint most people wouldn’t have noticed.
Ji Linfan’s partner asked curiously, “Brother Fan, what are you looking at?”
“The students. Look at their eyes.”
The partner glanced around and confidently concluded, “They’re all staring at Gu Jiu.”
Ji Linfan nodded. “Exactly. Think about it—over the past few days in this game world, have these students interacted with anyone?”
Initially, some players had tried to approach the students for clues, but their attempts had been met with silence. The students ignored them entirely. Frustrated, the players eventually gave up on trying to communicate with them.
Ji Linfan pondered that perhaps they could attempt communication again.
However, if they wanted to engage with the students successfully, they would need to do something to earn their recognition. Otherwise, their efforts would still be futile.
—
At precisely 6 p.m., Shengying High School was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere.
The cafeteria windows opened, and the staff began serving food to the students.
Today’s dishes were still quite lavish, steaming hot and fragrant, enough to lift spirits even amidst the impending night.
Shortly after, the dean arrived punctually to supervise the students’ meals.
The click of her high heels echoed as she walked past the players. When she reached their group, her steps briefly paused, and her gaze fell on a male player.
The male player maintained a calm demeanor as he ate, but his legs trembled slightly.
When the dean finally moved on, he discreetly wiped away his sweat and gestured to the other players that everything was fine.
After dinner ended and the dean and students had left, the players swarmed around the male player.
“Why did the dean suddenly focus on you? Did you do something?” someone asked.
The male player grimaced. “Last night, I ran into her… I think she saw my face.”
He looked deeply shaken as he recounted how, while exploring the campus at night in search of ghosts, he had unexpectedly bumped into the dean just outside the teaching building. He’d barely managed to escape by taking advantage of the building’s complex terrain and using some tools.
The ghosts in the reincarnation campus retained their memories, even if their lives were reset. Especially the dean, as a major boss character—if you encountered her, it was best not to let her see your face directly. Who knew if she would mete out punishment the following evening?
Chai Yingying mused, “But she didn’t punish you. Could this mean that violations of school rules won’t result in punishment the next day? Is this a ‘what happens today ends today’ kind of rule?”
Ji Linfan speculated, “It’s likely related to the rules of the reincarnation school.”
“What rule?”
“Probably the reincarnation rule.”
The players discussed it for a while but couldn’t come to any conclusions, so they soon dispersed.
Today, instead of heading to the lake, Gu Jiu and her group wandered the campus. With half an hour until 7 p.m., they didn’t need to rush to the classroom and strolled leisurely in the twilight-lit school.
“Eldest Miss, do you think there are any rules in this school we haven’t discovered yet?” Chai Yingying asked.
Gu Jiu replied, “The rules we know so far are pretty much it. The only unknowns… are probably those students.”
Chai Yingying paused, recalling the students’ strange behavior earlier. She nodded in agreement. “You’re right. The reincarnation school wouldn’t just create these beings that are human by day and ghosts by night for no reason. There must be something we haven’t uncovered—probably a rule we’ve missed.”
This sparked an idea in Chai Yingying: they needed to find a way to communicate with the students.
“But from how the students reacted, we’ll need to do something that provokes a response from them first,” Chai Yingying said, casually slinging her arm around Gu Jiu’s shoulder. “Eldest Miss, why don’t we take the initiative? What do you say?”
“You mean deliberately breaking the rules and landing ourselves in detention?” Gu Jiu said with a smile. “Aren’t you afraid the dean will rip you apart first?”
“Any other time, maybe. But during study hall, it’s different,” Chai Yingying said with a confident grin. “We break the rules right in front of the students during study hall and earn ourselves a trip to detention.”
“That works!” Gu Jiu clapped her hands, smiling brightly. “Once you’re in there, we’ll back you up from outside.”
Lu Ji added, “Great idea. All yours.”
Chai Yingying: “….” Are you two devils?
—
At 7 p.m., all the students and players gathered in the classroom for study hall.
However, unlike before, the players didn’t pretend to be model students this time. Instead, they unanimously began talking loudly, laughing, and fooling around, drawing a lot of attention from the students.
The players noticed that the students, who were usually buried in their studies, couldn’t help but glance over at them. This realization filled them with excitement.
“This is working,” Ji Linfan’s partner said. “Brother Fan, see? We’re breaking the rules, and they can’t ignore it.”
Ji Linfan, however, remained calm and unbothered. “Be careful not to go too far.”
Chai Yingying whispered to Gu Jiu and the others, “Looks like we’re on the right track. These students must be hoping for someone to break the rules. You’re the first ones trying to disrupt the order, so they’re paying attention.”
Gu Jiu nodded, listening intently to the sounds outside. She suddenly warned everyone, “The dean is coming.”