“The system didn’t say that NPCs in the game would definitely turn into vengeful spirits after they die,” Lian Qinglin was genuinely a little worried that the ghost he had just stomped to dust was Xiang Min, but he could only console himself and his teammates like this. “Maybe when she’s dead, she’s just dead and hasn’t become a ghost.”
Li Zhi glanced in the direction of the administrative building.
In the dark night, the distant administrative building looked like a dormant behemoth, silent and still.
She didn’t continue on the topic. “Let’s return the desks to their original places first.”
Everyone started moving, putting the desks they had dragged back to their spots. As they were moving, Pink Hair suddenly exclaimed, “Why has Zhou Jianzhang’s score reached fifty-nine?!”
He happened to be moving Zhou Jianzhang’s desk, and in the top right corner of the name tag, the score that was still thirty-nine in the daytime had somehow become fifty-nine.
To pass the test, you only needed a score of sixty to clear the level. In the school, sixty points meant passing, and Zhou Jianzhang was now just one point away.
Everyone paused and quickly checked each other’s scores. Except for Zhou Jianzhang, the scores of their entire group had already increased to over fifty points.
The white-haired guy scratched his head. “Weren’t they going to play the dorm mirror game tonight? It’s normal that their scores went up, right?”
This time, before Lian Qinglin could scold him, Pink Hair already hit his muddleheaded companion’s head in frustration. “The dorm mirror game has gameplay restrictions! You have to wait until after midnight! It’s not even twelve o’clock yet!”
“They’re playing with time. They started by playing Pen Spirit first,” Li Zhi’s tone was rarely this serious. “You can only play one game per day, but after midnight, it becomes the next day. They’ve already completed three horror games, and once it strikes midnight, they’ll play the mirror game and pass the level.”
So Zhou Jianzhang had purposely told them that earlier during the day, just to mislead them.
Xu Yiran panicked, “Then let’s hurry back to the dorms and play the mirror game! We’ve already got forty points, and we scored full marks in the first two games. Maybe if we get full marks in the mirror game too, we can pass the level straight away!”
Li Zhi shook her head. “It’s too late.”
Her original plan was that if they could summon Xiang Min’s ghost by playing the Four Corners game in the classroom tonight, they might uncover the secrets of this school from her. If they could find out what was really in the principal’s office, they would have been better prepared to break in by force, increasing their chances of success.
Whatever was controlling Zhou Jianzhang’s group had come from the principal’s office. Its true form had to be in the office, and if they could destroy that, Zhou Jianzhang’s group would no longer pose a threat. Then they could safely return to the dorm and complete the mirror game, clearing the level.
But the first step of her plan had failed. Xiang Min hadn’t shown up, and without knowing the secrets of the principal’s office, Li Zhi didn’t dare to recklessly charge in with her teammates.
If they went straight back to the dorm to play the mirror game now, even if they managed to pass the level, the mystery of Xiang Min and the school’s secrets would remain unsolved. In Li Zhi’s view, that wouldn’t count as a successful clearance, and she likely wouldn’t get the MVP bonus multiplier either.
Besides, Zhou Jianzhang’s group had already set up the mirror game in the dorm ahead of time, and as soon as it struck midnight, they would be able to start playing. If Li Zhi led her group back to the dorm now, they would already be behind them in terms of timing. There were less than twenty minutes until midnight.
Most importantly…
“Do you really think they’ll be able to clear the level after completing all four games and passing the score threshold?”
Li Zhi’s calm tone brought everyone back to their senses.
Tan Man spoke in a somber voice, “They’re being controlled by something inside them, so they’re not even truly human anymore. Even if they complete the tasks, they won’t be able to clear the level, because they’ve already… died.”
Xu Yiran suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. “What do you think they’ll do when they find out they can’t clear the level after completing the tasks…?”
Li Zhi’s voice was firm. “They’ll come for us and try to kill us.”
Amid the ashen faces around her, she remained composed. “So we can’t go back to the dorm now. Once they realize they haven’t cleared the level after completing the game, they’ll come looking for us. If we’re trapped in the dormitory building, we’ll be sitting ducks.”
If their opponents were just human, she was confident they could handle it.
But it was clear that those eight players were no longer human. If the thing Bei Xuan vomited out in the hallway last night was really a bug, once the eight of them attacked the dormitory, the bugs crawling out of their bodies would probably flood in like a tide, leaving no place to hide.
Li Zhi made a swift decision: “Let’s get out of here. We’re not going back to the dorm tonight. We need to find somewhere to hide.”
They quickly returned the remaining desks to their original positions, turned off the classroom lights, and hurriedly left the teaching building.
The school at midnight was eerily quiet.
As they exited the building, the cold, damp night wind hit them, making everyone shiver. Seeing Li Zhi heading decisively in the direction opposite to the dorm, they quickly followed.
Pink Hair whispered, “Boss, where are we going to hide?”
The school wasn’t exactly small, but it wasn’t that big either. Other than the few main buildings, there weren’t really any good places to hide. Zhou Jianzhang and his group had the whole night to search the campus, and it wouldn’t take long for them to find them and finish them off.
Just imagining that scene made their hearts leap into their throats.
However, Li Zhi showed no hesitation, walking forward with a determined pace, which helped calm everyone down a little. They followed closely behind her.
At this point, the livestream viewers were itching to give the players spoilers:
[I know where Li Zhi is going!!!]
[I know too!!!]
[Hahaha, let’s see who still doesn’t know!]
[Finally, they’re really going to sleep together. Li’s going to be over the moon!]
[No, Li’s not thrilled because there are way too many third wheels tagging along!]
…
Ten minutes later, Li Zhi knocked on the door next to the infirmary.
A few days ago, when she came to this area, she had noticed that the row of single-story houses beside the infirmary were staff dormitories. Li Jianxi’s room was right next to the infirmary. That day, she had only stood outside and peeked through the window, where she could see obvious signs of someone living there.
As she knocked on the door, the others instinctively held their breath.
Soon, a faint light shone from behind the curtains. Someone inside had turned on the light. Footsteps approached the door, and with a soft click, the blue stainless steel door opened from the inside. Warm yellow light spilled out from behind Li Jianxi, who looked a little disheveled, with messy hair, dressed in casual clothes, and wearing a pair of slippers. He looked somewhat bewildered.
“Mr. Li,” Li Zhi blinked, putting on a pitiful expression. “We’re being chased.”
Li Jianxi: “………”
Lian Qinglin almost screamed.
It was him!!! The Yin-Yang Master whose looks could overshadow his own!!!
Damn it! How did they run into him again?
Damn it! He’s going to outshine me again!
Why is this NPC everywhere? The system sure knows how to recycle characters!
No one paid attention to Lian’s internal turmoil, because Li Jianxi had already stepped aside to let them in. “Come in.”
Though everyone was shocked that this NPC was willing to help them, now was not the time to be curious. They quickly filed into the small dorm room. Although it was just an NPC’s room, it was clean and tidy, far better than the filthy hiding spots they had been imagining just moments ago.
Li Jianxi closed the door and carefully checked the curtains to ensure no gaps were left for anyone to peek through. Only after confirming everything was secure did he turn back.
The dorm room had just one space, divided in the middle by a sky-blue curtain. The front area served as a living room, while the back was the bedroom. Feeling a bit awkward, the group sat on the sofa in the living room, confused at the unexpected hospitality.
They had assumed the NPC would at least ask what had happened or guide them through some plot progression, but instead, he said nothing. He simply pulled a few blankets out from a storage space under the bed, looking every bit like a kind-hearted host preparing to make them a cozy sleeping area on the floor!
Was this really a game NPC and not some undercover player pretending to be one?
The makeshift bedding was laid right next to the bed, behind the curtain, making it feel much safer, with layers of separation from the windows and door.
The clock on the wall now pointed to midnight.
Li Jianxi frowned as he glanced in the direction of the dorm building, then turned back to them.
“You all sleep inside, I’ll sleep outside,” he said, referring to the sofa.
With the bed and the floor space combined, they could just about fit seven people.
Not wanting to waste any time, they quickly thanked him and moved to the space behind the curtain. At this point, there was no concern about separating males and females. After they had all laid down, Li Jianxi turned off the dorm room light. The previous darkness had been tense and unsettling, but this darkness brought a sense of relief.
The darker it was, the better. The darker it was, the less likely Zhou Jianzhang would find them.