The comment section exploded:
[Hahahaha, this is so weird, let me take another look.]
[I bet this round is a total wipeout, hehe.]
[Let me think, if I flushed the ashes down the drain, sent them to a wastewater treatment plant for filtration, and then discharged them into rivers, lakes, and seas to travel the world… emmm, that doesn’t seem feasible either, ten minutes isn’t enough time.]
The basement was chilly.
Then a second note fell.
It was caught by a female player who looked like a student.
[Wish 2: I want a flower lantern (complete within ten minutes)]
The two notes were placed in front of everyone, the crooked handwriting on them illuminated by the cold light, and everyone’s face darkened.
Another wish had arrived.
What the hell are these two wishes for?!
“How is that even possible? The school is still under lockdown. What kind of flower lantern are we going to get? And that note of yours, how can you possibly travel around the world in ten minutes?!” The female student player anxiously covered her face and whispered, “There’s no plane in this basement. What are we going to do?”
“Using a plane to send the urn of ashes won’t work either. We need a rocket to get there in time. The problem is, even with a rocket, we’d be dead. The school’s under lockdown. If the rocket flew out, it would be shot down!” Old Zhang said.
Old Zhang was covered in sweat.
He was afraid of Sui Yuan. Although he couldn’t help but say a few more words, he stood behind Xie He, anxiously wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, his voice hurried and deliberately low.
School under lockdown?
Xie He suddenly raised his eyelashes.
“Let’s see if there’s anything useful. The system won’t lead us to a dead end,” Zhang Langlang said helplessly. “The more urgent the situation, the more advantageous it is, which means anything we can use must be right in front of us.”
After she finished speaking, she casually tied up her long, wavy hair and began searching efficiently.
The other two players weren’t idle either, following behind and looking around.
Xie He had the same plan; he looked around.
The room wasn’t large, and the light bulbs on the ceiling were old, casting a dim, yellowish light. The largest items in the room were a hospital bed and several shelves against the wall.
The hospital bed was in the center of the room, where his own corpse lay. Around it, besides shelves holding biological specimens, old books, various CDs, and a recliner, there were some fruits, New Year’s goods, fireworks, and old boxes piled up in the corner.
There were many items, but they were neatly organized.
Xie He glanced at it casually, recalling the small jars Sui Yuan repeatedly washed, neatly stored knives and eyeballs.
This person really is sentimental, with a strange collecting obsession.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sui himself was lounging lazily in a recliner nearby, his fingers propping up his chin as he took a leisurely nap.
The light shone down, revealing a small patch of his chest and cool collarbone through his slightly open collarbone. A small bandage was taped to the side of his neck.
He didn't speak, but even lying there, he exuded a deep sense of oppression; the players would carefully avoid him when searching for items.
Xie He looked away and asked Principal Zhang, "What does that flower lantern look like?"
Old Zhang, hearing this, exclaimed incredulously, "No way, you're really going to look for the lantern?" He glanced at the clock on the wall and said anxiously, "It's almost midnight! We're doomed! The ghost girl is coming!!"
Xie He didn't answer, turning his gaze to Principal Zhang.
Principal Zhang pondered for a moment, then said earnestly, "He...he seemed to have mentioned that flower lantern. He saw it in an animated film when he was little. It looked like a potted plant with several flowers inside, but the flowers glowed, looking like fireflies."
Xie He nodded.
Then he took out a card and used the [Beer Bottle Cap Card] to conjure a bunch of bottle caps.
The other players were dumbfounded. This was the first time they'd seen an R-card—a bizarre item card whose only function was to conjure bottle caps?!
Xie He picked up glue and bottle caps and gave them to the principal: "Glue them together to look like flower petals."
"W-This works?" Principal Zhang understood the implication, looked up, and stammered.
Xie He: "What he wanted most was the flower lantern you gave him. Whether it's pretty or ugly doesn't matter. Even if it's rubbish, he'll treasure it because you made it yourself." The implication was that the sentiment was most important.
“Okay…okay!…” Principal Zhang swallowed hard, his fingers trembling as he began to glue the flower-shaped lantern together.
“Tick-tock, tick-tock—”
The basement was chillingly cold, and an unknown corpse lay on the hospital bed. Principal Zhang’s hands trembled with tension.
He glued each pair of bottle caps together, opening to opening, making one petal. Then, using one bottle cap as the center, he surrounded the other six petals, forming a circle.
That made a flower.
He shakily glued the bottle caps together, the glue bulging out in many places, which he could only haphazardly wipe away with his fingers.
“Tick-tock, tick-tock—” The wall clock relentlessly ticked away, the time dwindling.
As Principal Zhang’s heart clenched as he worked on the flower, the sound of the clock in the room felt like the approaching footsteps of death.
[It's a flower lantern, like a potted plant...]
Remembering Principal Zhang's words about flowers, Xie He took a jar from Sui Yuan and dismantled a light bulb from another room.
Using the jar as a flowerpot, he stuffed the light bulb inside, then cut a piece of paper into a circle and placed it over the jar's opening to cover the bulb.
Xie He handed the items to Principal Zhang: "Just stick the flowers in it after you're done."
Principal Zhang nodded hesitantly.
Comments: [I'm going to throw up! Don't work so hard anymore, there are only four minutes left, and you're still making such a meticulous effort, and there's still a wish for you, bro!!!]
[Hilarious, is he planning to only get half the points and force it? Ghost, come quick!]
[Rubbing hands, waiting +1]
[+1]
───
While half-asleep, Sui Yuan rested his chin on his hand, lazily watching all this. He seemed to enjoy smoking; when he woke up, a cigarette was already between his long, slender fingers.
Xie He walked over: "Dr. Sui, can I borrow your fireworks?"
Sui Yuan looked at him with light-colored eyes through his thin glasses: "Sure."
The boy seemed very polite, and his eyes were quite beautiful when he smiled.
But Sui Yuan had fallen into a light sleep, and Xie He and the other players had taken down one of the light bulbs in the room. Could he still guard the fireworks?
Xie He carried the fireworks out of the basement.
Outside the basement was an empty playground. It was late at night, and the wind was strong and the air was cold. In the distance, basketball hoops and soccer hoops were faintly visible in the darkness. Closer by, only Xie He and Sui Yuan, who had come out with him to watch the fun, were present.
Xie He set up the fireworks.
He poked a few small holes in the surface of the fireworks and stuffed some things inside. Then he stood up and casually dusted off his hands.
Sui Yuan understood and promptly tossed the lighter to Xie He, who caught it deftly.
A few sparks flickered in the night. After lighting the fireworks, Xie He stepped back.
A firework burst forth, streaking straight into the air with a long, meteor-like tail—
With a "BOOM!" in the evening breeze, the firework exploded, bursting into brilliant colors, the falling fragments like colorful, beautiful pieces of gold.
Gradually, more and more fireworks rose into the sky, creating a dazzling rain of blossoms.
The night was as bright as day.
Comments: [???]
[Didn't you say you were going to travel the world? Is setting off fireworks to celebrate dying at midnight??]
[Hahaha, not impossible.]
All players' phones received a new message: [Congratulations to all players, you have fulfilled the ghost's wish 1.] [Congratulations to all players for fulfilling the Ghost's Wish 2. All players' points +20.]
[Due to Xie He's outstanding performance, he is awarded an extra 25 points. Please keep up the good work!]
The audience stared at their phone screens in astonishment, increasingly confused:
[Wait...? Could it be that what he just put into the fireworks box was actually a ghost's ashes??]
[To be honest, I think it's quite romantic. The little boy should like these things.]
[But wait, isn't he supposed to be traveling the world? The school isn't that big...]
[!! Upstairs! You've enlightened me!!]
[???]
Xie He gazed at the low-hanging night sky.
Amidst the roar of fireworks shooting into the sky, clusters of fireworks burst forth brilliantly, scattering sparks across the night. The vibrant colors were imprinted on his eyes.
Just now, he had placed the little boy's ashes into the fireworks box and lit the fireworks.
Amidst the scattered sparks of fireworks, the little boy's ashes were already filling the air.
This was a fireworks funeral.
It involved stuffing the ashes into a fireworks box, letting them blaze brilliantly in the night, disappearing into the evening breeze.
As Old Zhang said, the school was locked down; everything here was cut off from the outside world.
For the ghost, his entire world consisted only of this small world within the instance—the closed school, his confinement—the little boy had long realized he couldn't escape; everyone was trapped inside.
The little boy longed to be cared for, he wanted to go out and play, and he loved beautiful and romantic things. The players could only do their best to fulfill his dreams.
Death always evokes a sense of somber sorrow, but fireworks can also bring happiness and beauty. Death is as brilliant as fireworks.
The ashes scattered in the evening breeze; the little boy would be omnipresent in his own world, carried by the night wind to every corner of the world—the lawn, the school building, the playground… he had already toured this romantic night.
He traveled his own world.
Comments: [Waaaaah, the fireworks are so romantic. The little boy suffered so much in life, and he died looking like a ghost. This must be the gentlest he's ever been treated.]
[Yeah, yeah, he must be a pretty little boy. He'll like these fireworks, right?]
[Can't resist following.]
[Haha, don't try to guess what's on a ghost's mind. Don't get all emotional. It only matters if he thinks it's okay.]
The entire night sky was suddenly illuminated. The fireworks reflected a hazy blue-purple halo in Xie He's dark eyes.
The fireworks continued to bloom and bloom.
Xie He felt the temperature drop coldly behind him.
When he turned around, he saw the little boy in the skirt already standing behind him.
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