"Ugh." Song Gua, in his haste to use his card to teleport, bumped headfirst into a bookshelf.
It was a dimly lit room. The room wasn't large, and it had a faint musty smell. A desk stood by the window, and next to it was a display bookcase—the same one Song Gua had bumped into.
Song Gua rubbed his aching forehead and glanced at the bookcase.
Inside were many folders labeled "2001 Records," "2002 Records," and so on—apparently the school's archives for the past decade or so.
He hadn't transmigrated to the wrong place; this was… the archives!
His heart pounded with secret joy. Song Gua quickly opened the cabinet door and took out all the archives from the past two years, eagerly flipping through them.
He needed to find out who his boss—the mole—was before the other players did!
Song Gua hurriedly flipped to the last page of the archives and finally found the school's list of demerits.
He read the list aloud, his finger sliding down the densely packed names.
Huh? Xie He has a demerit too?
He continued flipping through.
Huh?
Xie He again?
Song Gua frantically flipped through all the files from the past three years, his face completely darkening!
Only one player among all the players had ever received a demerit!
It's! Xie! He!
The mole is... Xie He!!
Song Gua instantly threw the file on the ground!
"Damn liar!!!" Remembering that night of dancing, shame and anger surged through him. Song Gua clenched his fists tightly, so angry he pushed over the entire bookshelf, scattering folders everywhere!
The comments section couldn't help but explode:
[Pfft, hahaha, isn't this the legendary face turning red and white in turns???]
[Oh my, oh my, I've finally found it! I've finally waited for this moment.]
[Hate level is maxed out, go for it, Guagua, I'm waiting for your revenge on Xie He!]
Song Gua felt like he was on fire; he smashed almost everything in the archives. He never expected that after all this time, the person he'd sided with was the one he wanted to kill most!
Song Gua gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred.
Suddenly.
He felt a cool breeze sweep around the back of his neck.
Then, his shoulder felt heavy.
It was an icy hand on his shoulder!
A deep chill pierced straight to his bones.
There was no one in the archives! How... how could a hand suddenly appear?!
Song Gua's heart skipped a beat, his shoulder tilted in fear towards the point of impact, and his legs began to involuntarily weaken!
He clutched the card in his pocket, his eyes wide with terror, swallowing hard.
The surrounding temperature seemed to drop suddenly, sending chills down his spine…
Although Song Gua was trembling, he was still a Gold-level player. He gritted his teeth and quickly swung the card behind him!
“Curse—!”
Countless talismans, like a giant net, attacked the “person” behind him.
The other person remained completely unmoved, seemingly unfazed.
Just as the net of talismans began to shrink, about to finish off the opponent, they all vanished into dust in an instant!
His hope was crushed in an instant; Song Gua felt as if he had fallen into the abyss.
At the same time, he saw who it was—
Standing before him was not the ghost girl, but a man.
The man had the same hairstyle as Song Gua and wore the exact same school uniform.
However, the man… had a completely flat face, devoid of features! He was... a ghost!
Song Gua's breath almost stopped. He had a guess, but he wasn't sure. He gripped the card tightly, his teeth trembling as he gritted his teeth and said, "Who...who are you?!"
"You already know the answer, don't you?" It was a voice identical to his, but much calmer than Song Gua's.
Song Gua's mind went blank for a moment, as if struck by lightning. Then, he keenly remembered the rules from when he entered the game—each player would correspond to a character in the instance.
When Song Gua joined the traitor's faction, correspondingly, a ghost would also correspond to him.
"!"
Before him was...the ghost "Song Gua."
The man looked at him and continued, "Let me help you deal with Xie He." His voice was ghostly.
"Really?"
The man nodded, certain, "Of course, I am you. I know what you're thinking. Your wish is my wish too."
Song Gua's fear dissipated considerably, and he was secretly overjoyed!
He was already a Gold-level player, more than capable of dealing with Xie He, but Xie He was a player, and players couldn't directly attack each other, which was why he had been stalling until now.
But now it was different. With a ghost several times stronger than him standing behind him, crushing Xie He would be as easy as crushing an ant…
As the two were talking, footsteps and the voices of two people suddenly came from the corridor outside.
“!”
Two players approached. They must have come in two to retrieve the files!
Oh no!
Hearing their voices, Song Gua quickly said, “Hide quickly! We're doomed if we get bumped into!”
“No need,” the man said, a strange smile playing on his lips. “They’ve come at the right time. I just need a face.”
The faint sunlight streaming in through the window slashed his featureless face, dividing it into two obliquely shades, making him look particularly terrifying.
“?” Song Gua looked puzzled.
"Tap. Tap. Tap."
The footsteps finally stopped at the door.
The sound of a door opening came from outside.
───
Inside the infirmary.
The incandescent light cast a dim glow.
Xie He groggily opened his eyes, his head throbbing, feeling like it was being gnawed by insects; he wanted to smash his skull.
Standing before him was a tall man, leaning forward, applying something to a wound on his cheek with a cotton swab. Still dizzy, the man's figure swayed in his vision.
Xie He's pupils darkened. He grabbed Sui Yuan by the collar and yanked him off, slamming him violently onto the bed! The bed creaked.
"You!" Sui Yuan's expression changed for a moment, a flicker of surprise crossing his beautiful eyes.
Xie He knelt on top of Sui Yuan, gripping his neck tightly.
Xie He leaned down, his pale lips close to Sui Yuan's earlobe, his voice low: "What kind of poison is it this time?"
His voice, like a thin mist, seeped into his eardrums.
Sui Yuan felt as if his throat was completely constricted. The boy before him had icy fingers, a pale and weak face, yet his strength was still immense, rendering him immobile.
For a moment, he felt as if Xie He was about to strangle him to death.
Sui Yuan was about to speak when Xie He covered his mouth.
Xie He's pupils grew even darker, and he said warily, "Wait... someone's eavesdropping."
Sui Yuan blinked to indicate he understood. After Xie He released his fingers from his mouth, he lowered his voice knowingly, "The cream on your face is a repair ointment, to prevent your corpse from having any flaws. You're going to die anyway..."
Xie He loosened his grip slightly and continued, "When the ghost girl was alive, did she often come to you because she was injured?"
"Yes," Sui Yuan said, "She was always prescribed a lot of medication, antidepressants, and medicine for injuries."
Xie He narrowed his eyes: "Was she always causing trouble, getting into fights? I feel like she had no will to live?"
Sui Yuan: "Maybe. She seemed unhappy every day. I don't know anything else."
Xie He pondered for a moment, his pupils darkening, and said languidly, "Redemption in a hopeless life. It's good."
As he spoke, he released Sui Yuan's hand.
"Cough cough cough..." Sui Yuan quickly gasped for breath, the oxygen clearing his mind somewhat. He felt something was off.
Just now, Xie He suspected it was poison, yet he didn't wipe it away immediately. That day, when the injection was poison, he tacitly allowed him to inject it…
It was probably the original owner's feelings that were influencing Xie He.
Xie He, however, seemed oblivious. He glanced at the door; through the crack at the bottom, there was darkness—several pairs of shoes. It seemed the eavesdropper couldn't hear anything and had pressed their ear completely against the door.
Sui Yuan also glanced in that direction.
Xie He immediately resumed his normal voice, feigning pain, "Ouch, ouch, ouch! Yuan Yuan, why did you bite my lip again..."
Sui Yuan: "..."
Xie He's dark eyes stared at him, as if asking why he wouldn't speak.
Sui Yuan said sullenly and stiffly, "Just bite me to death."
Xie He: "..." Okay, that's stiff enough.
Xie He listlessly got up, and as soon as he pushed open the door, he saw a large group of players standing outside.
It was already class time, but these "teachers" and "students" weren't in class; instead, they were all gathered outside his hospital room.
Zhang Langlang stood at the front, asking him with concern, "Xie He, I heard from Doctor Sui that you fainted due to low blood sugar? Are you alright?"
Someone else chimed in, "Are you not feeling well? Eat more."
Xie He simply smiled faintly, calmly looking down at the chattering crowd, "I'm fine."
He should have realized this earlier. Using his ambiguous relationship with the NPC as an excuse would indeed divert their attention and also provide a layer of protection—the players wanted him to extract information from the NPC, and would inevitably protect him, given his lower level, in dangerous situations.
But Xie He forgot one drawback, which he suddenly remembered when he woke up.
They would be monitoring him constantly.
In their eyes, Xie He was low-level but highly capable, and able to get so close to the NPC; who wouldn't be afraid he'd betray them?
Presumably, the players knew he was there when they rushed to the building near the broadcasting room today—
"Thump thump thump thump..."
Suddenly, someone came running up from the end of the corridor, panting heavily. He ran so fast he nearly tripped, cold sweat beading on his pale forehead, his expression terrified, as if a ghost were chasing him!
He almost fell over, but Zhang Langlang caught him.
Zhang Langlang asked worriedly, "What happened?! Didn't you go to get the files? Where's the other one?"
The newcomer was one of the players, a platinum-level player with curly hair named Cui Xu. That morning, Xie He had suddenly fainted, and Cui Xu had divided the tasks with the other players.
A group went to monitor Xie He, while Cui Xu and another girl went back to retrieve the files.
They were the two highest-level players in the team, but Cui Xu was now covered in injuries, his clothes tattered, and the other platinum-level girl was gone!
Cui Xu, pale and panting, cried out in terror, "Dead! They're all dead! We...we encountered the ghost girl! She...she killed that female player!!"
A hush fell over the room.
None of the remaining players had Platinum rank; even the strongest player… couldn't defeat this ghost…
It's over…
Cui Xu gasped, his face pale, “That was terrifying!! I… I barely escaped by using a card…”
Xie He, leaning against the wall, looked up at Cui Xu.
For some reason, he felt something was off about this player; his face was unnaturally pale.
Cui Xu glanced at Xie He several times, and the feeling of being secretly watched made Xie He very uncomfortable.
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