The sky was overcast, and the room seemed several degrees colder.
All the players present fell silent, then hurriedly stood up and fled to keep their distance from the others.
Bang!
Someone smashed a vase, brandishing shards of porcelain, his composure on the verge of collapse: "You...who's the ghost? Don't...don't come any closer!"
The blond-haired guy had already retreated to a corner, his face blank, clutching his head helplessly, "Brother Liao...what happened?"
Liao Mingze's eyes darkened completely, and he said in a deep voice, "Players killed by ghosts die, and players killed by humans become ghosts. In our midst, a player killed another player—in this situation, the killed player becomes a ghost."
The killed player became a ghost.
It was yesterday's clue that ruined everything.
Some player must have started to suspect their teammate was a ghost and seized the opportunity to kill them during the chaos!
Silence fell upon them.
Someone sighed again, asking helplessly, "Then how do we know who the ghost is?"
Liao Mingze smiled bitterly, "There's no way to know. Even the dead players don't know they've become ghosts."
"But when the instance ends, only the surviving players can leave; the dead players are truly dead."
Everyone: "..."
Originally, they were worried about others becoming ghosts.
But now, what frightens them even more is whether they themselves have already become ghosts?
Currently, there are still 8 players, but only 3 are alive.
That means it's very likely they are already dead!
Some players have already crouched on the ground in fear, crying bitterly.
"Everyone, calm down," Liao Mingze said soothingly. "Right now, everyone has a 1/2 chance of surviving. We'd better not suspect each other. Everyone could be alive, right? But if you're alive and happen to kill other living players, that player will also become a ghost, and that would be ruining your own life. It's not worth it..."
The scene became increasingly eerily quiet.
Liao Mingze's palms were sweating with tension, and his heart pounded.
There was actually another rule he hadn't mentioned.
The players who were killed didn't know they were dead in the short term, but they would gradually forget their memories of their original world. Then, at some point, they would realize they were gone and begin seeking revenge on other players.
They were like time bombs within the team, ready to strike at any moment.
***
After reading the message, Xie He put his phone away.
Yu You was still looking at the system message, utterly shocked. "No way? That old player's side is all dead?"
Xie He smiled faintly, noncommittal. "They didn't really die, they became ghosts. Did you forget that clue from before? There are definitely more than just the three of us who can run and jump now; most of them are already ghosts."
He spoke calmly, his gaze sweeping over Yu You and Xia Gu:
"Even among us, there might be ghosts. It could be you, it could be you, it could be me."
His nonchalant manner sent chills down everyone's spines. Yu You, trembling, said, "Brother, don't scare us. Xia Gu and I have always been together, we know each other inside and out, we'll be fine. We believe you."
Xie He smiled, not continuing the topic, but changing the subject, "Go check the door, don't let anyone else near, I have something to do."
Although curious and scared, the two obediently went to the door.
After they left, Xie He found a chair.
He placed the peach wood cross on the ground, smashed it with the chair, and ground it into a fine powder.
Then he stuffed the powder into the woman's wound, carefully smoothing it out.
Comments: [Why not continue using the cross to summon the baby ghost??]
[Hahaha, I don't understand.]
[I think I understand this step, the cross suppresses ghosts, is this to prevent the corpse from rising from the dead...?]
As Xie He finished doing all this and came out of the room, the system sent a new notification.
System: [It's lunch break now. All players, please return to your rooms to rest.]
"No lunch? Just a quick lunch break?" Yu You looked at his phone, a bad feeling creeping over him. He said pitifully, "What? The mistress's dead? We don't even have food anymore? The last meal wasn't great either, but at least we had some soup."
Xie He said calmly, "Those servants should be dead by now. Their souls are under the mistress's control. Without her request, they won't serve us anymore."
The three of them walked towards their rooms as they talked.
At the end of the corridor, they encountered other players. The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and a light drizzle began to fall.
The group stood at the end of the corridor, backlit, their shadows cast obliquely, looking sinister.
Their gazes were cold and piercing, like torches and knives.
Remembering the game's notification, Yu You felt a chill run down his spine. He whispered to Xie He, "What do we do now? I suspect they're all ghosts. What if they suddenly pounce on us..."
"What are you afraid of?" Xie He chuckled softly, appearing completely unfazed. "Relax. The fact that they haven't pounced on us means they don't know if they're human or ghost."
"Do you believe they're afraid of us too? Imagine you're a ghost now, and they're all your food."
Yu You's legs trembled. "I'm still scared. I can't bear to hear the word 'ghost.'"
Xie He's dark pupils stared at the group, his expression languid. "You have two mountains of gold in your house now. They're all slaves working for you. If anyone dares to glare at you, gouge their eyes out."
"!"
Yu You and Xia Gu suddenly felt confident, as if they were walking behind Xie He carrying a mountain of gold.
Then they realized that the group, watching them walk by, unconsciously backed away.
Ah, is this what they call overwhelming presence? Confidence is everything.
So satisfying.
After entering the room, Xie He locked the door and told them about the possible presence of another evil ghost.
Then he said, "Let's sleep first. Tonight we'll face not only evil ghosts, but also those players who have died and become ghosts; it might be troublesome."
He spoke casually, yawning as he finished, and then lay down on the bed.
Truly a master.
Even at a time like this, his mind was clear, he was fearless, and dared to sleep as usual.
Yu You and Xia Gu were no longer afraid, feeling that Xie He had a solution. They also took off their coats and lay down on the bed.
Outside, the wind and rain continued, but being with Xie He made them feel inexplicably at ease, and they quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The rain came. It pattered outside the dormitory.
Xie He lay on the bed, listening to the rain outside, slowly arching his body, his arm loosely wrapped around his abdomen, pressing against his stomach. A metallic taste rose in his throat, and his skin grew increasingly pale.
Actually, for those who had eaten the severed finger, the game didn't give them much time. The moment they ate the severed finger, it had already shredded their internal organs. They would bleed to death within hours… at most a day.
Like the last one, Mingzhu, who died, he was always easily startled, standing paranoid in the group.
The same was true of the bespectacled man who, despite being timid and cowardly, suddenly dared to approach the mistress.
They all had a premonition of their impending death, which was why they were afraid and prone to extreme reactions.
If the dungeon didn't close today, Xie He would die here too.
He didn't think he would die; it just hurt so much, so much…
In other people's eyes.
He was someone who could always stand alone against the storm, someone who was forever immortal.
When he saw the maid had no feet, Yu You only dared to tug at Xia Gu's clothes, whispering to Xia Gu that no one dared to ride his coattails.
How boring, no one dared to really get close to him.
No one played with him.
Just as he was thinking this, the system suddenly sent a message: [100 points deducted.] [System: Pain Relief.]
The excruciating pain vanished instantly.
Xie He: !!!
Xie He: Waaaaah, give it to me!!!
But the next second, Xie He looked at his 0-point page: "..."
All the points he had painstakingly accumulated had been wasted by the little system.
But he was still somewhat happy and began to look forward to the moment the little system would call him.
Gradually, he drifted into a deep sleep.
In his half-awake state, Xie He saw his clothes on the bedside table moving, seemingly due to the gentle breeze from the window.
But he knew the wind had stopped; someone had come.
That person must have climbed in through the window.
Xie He couldn't see him… it was an invisibility card!
He instantly thought of Zhang Che, but Zhang Che was dead…
This time, it was actually Liao Mingze, wasn't it?
It was Liao Mingze who had attached the death trigger to their clothes.
***
"Ahhhhhh!!"
A moment later, the sound of arguing came from outside, followed by horrifying screams!
Something had happened!
Yu You and Xia Gu quickly got out of bed, and Xie He also got up. Before he even opened the door, he saw blood gushing in through the crack! The stench of blood filled the room, and the blood on the floor was a glaring red.
"Stop!" This time it was Liao Mingze's voice, muffled from outside the door.
Yu You was still anxiously trying to unlock the door, but Xie He kicked it open with a swift, powerful motion!
Bang!
The door opened.
The remaining five players stood in the corridor.
One player had a slashed arm, and another had a bloody hole in his abdomen from a dagger.
In front of them, a player with a ferocious expression, brandishing a dagger, was being held down tightly by Liao Mingze, the snake-bone whip tightening around his body.
Liao Mingze: "Behave yourself!!"
It seemed one player had stabbed another, and incidentally injured the one trying to break up the fight.
The stabbed player pressed his hand tightly to his wound, blood soaking his clothes and seeping through his fingers.
He pleaded, "Help...help me...I don't want to die..."
As he spoke, he slid down the wall, and Yu You quickly rushed forward to catch him. The man continued to mutter, his voice growing weaker and weaker: "Save me, save me..."
The other players stood trembling to the side, their eyes filled with fear.
Yu You and Xia Gu quickly tore off the curtains, shredded them into strips, and used them to roughly bandage his wounds. The man slumped into a corner, panting heavily.
Xie He walked over, tore off a strip of curtain, and bound him up, his hands behind his back.
The man immediately looked up, his eyes bloodshot: "What are you doing?!"
"Players killed by other players become ghosts, you know that, right?" Xie He said casually.
The man's heart sank. He wanted to say something but remained silent.
***
The sky had completely darkened, and moonlight streamed in through the window. The players realized it was already past 11pm.
The sudden acceleration of time last night had kept them awake.
This afternoon nap, all the players overslept, sleeping soundly until night. Several others, injured from being chased by the evil ghosts during the day, now had high fevers and looked utterly listless.
After the mistress's death, her servants had also disappeared.
The players had neither lunch nor dinner, and were all starving.
They rushed to the dining room, searching high and low, only to find nothing to eat…
The mistress was dead; even the meager soup made with the severed fingers was gone. They slumped listlessly in a corner, sighing.
Just as everyone was struggling to survive, Xie He sat down at the table, silently took out his meal card, tapped the table with his fingertip, and said casually, "Little meal card, conjure up some food."
As soon as he finished speaking, the card flashed with an arc of light.
The maids and cooks arrived, magically producing a dazzling array of food. Lights came on, and crisp red wine was poured into goblets. Although there were only a few people, they brought out a ton of food.
"Mr. Xie, this is foie gras prepared by a top French chef. Please try it and see if it suits your taste."
"Mr. Xie, this is my treasured Pétrus Merlot, which I've kept for many years. Please do me the honor of tasting it."
"Mr. Xie, please take a look at my pan-fried cod with black truffles."
"Mr. Xie..."
The others were stunned by the sudden abundance of good food.
Xie He smiled at them while eating dinner, the beauty mark at the corner of his eye slightly upturned, and the silver stud in his earlobe gleaming: "Thank you, my darlings, the food is super delicious."
The online comments were also stunned:
[Ah, help! I'm now experiencing the magic of the meal card.]
[Waaaa, I'm getting hungry just watching this.]
[I thought that smile was so beautiful. *slurp*]
The others' eyes lit up, swallowing hard at the sight of the delicious food on the table, their eyes filled with longing.
Xie He looked down at them: "You can eat together, but whoever dares to make the first move will get nothing. Understand?"
Although he knew that most of the people here were already ghosts, the kind that couldn't be tamed no matter what.
But he still had some things he needed to test.
Looking at the table full of delicacies, the others nodded and sat down around the table.
The meal didn't last long.
Xie He looked down at his phone, but out of the corner of his eye, he was secretly observing the people at the table.
Gradually, he noticed that the people in front of him were becoming strange. They were swallowing faster and faster, no longer satisfied with using chopsticks, but instead grabbing raw meat with their hands and stuffing it into their mouths. Fine black lines had already crept up their necks.
Xie He also noticed that Liao Mingze was secretly stuffing the biscuits on the table into his pocket.
Hiding food signifies a willingness to fight to the death; Liao Mingze is planning for his next few days. It also means Liao Mingze is about to turn against him.
Liao Mingze is still lucid, meaning he's alive, but he'll definitely find a way to kill him.
Similarly.
Liao Mingze's survival means either Yu You or Xia Gu is dead.
Xia Gu turned his head, lowering his voice, "Brother, what happened to them? Should we run?"
As he spoke, Xie He vaguely saw fine black lines spreading across his neck.
Just as the players were finishing the raw meat.
Now—
"Run!!"
Xie He kicked over a table, the flying object knocking several people down. Cries of pain filled the air, and a thin layer of dust rose from the ground.
He quickly led Yu You and Xia Gu, running as fast as he could towards the second floor!
The "players" behind them made strange noises, swallowed hard, and chased after them faster and faster!
"Hah. Hah..." The strange noises grew closer, their footsteps sounding like heavy packages dragging on the ground.
Closer and closer—
"Hah. Hah..." The heavy, sticky breathing reached their eardrums! They could even hear the gurgling of saliva in their throats.
Right behind them!!
In a moment of crisis, Xie He kicked over a vase in the stairwell. The vase fell and smashed into them.
The vase rolled down, knocking over several "players"!
Then, Xie He changed direction and headed straight for the blind box room.
His mind was becoming clearer and clearer.
He thought, he knew who the evil little boy was!
"Brother, brother, they're catching up!!!" Yu You shouted, sweating profusely as he chased after them.
Xie He ran into the blind box room, slamming the door open and diving inside. Liao Mingze went in second, followed by Yu You.
Liao Mingze turned his head and saw Xia Gu, his neck covered in black markings, chasing after them. He immediately realized, "Close the door! Xia Gu is a ghost!"
Xie He ignored him, suddenly stopping and looking at Yu You beside him, thoughtfully saying, "Yesterday, when the blind box dolls emitted ghostly energy, you weren't hurt, were you? Because I saved you."
Yu You froze. "Brother, what are you talking about?"
Xie He grew even calmer, smiling softly, but the smile didn't reflect his true feelings. "But actually, it's not like that. Even if I hadn't intervened, the blind box dolls couldn't have hurt you. You even deliberately protected Xia Gu in secret, ensuring he wasn't injured, confusing me... It shattered my illusions."
"Yu You's identity was flawless from beginning to end. He had a background, a player's phone, and no signs of turning into a ghost. He was enthusiastic, outgoing, and always on my side. You always emphasized that you believed me, but actually, you wanted me to believe you, you wanted me to follow your lead. But in reality, the more flawless you are, the more flawed you are."
Xie He stared intently at Yu You, his expression languid yet impeccable.
"Right, little ghost boy?"
Yu You's eyes turned completely cold: "Brother..."
Xie He opened the door, rushed out, and slammed the door shut behind him in the blind box room.
Liao Mingze, still inside the room: "!!!"
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