Things suddenly became somewhat difficult.

If they weren't careful, both of them could end up dying here.

"Logically speaking, we should opt for a safer choice," Fatty began, panting heavily from the exhaustion of the run. "But first, I need to see if things are as we imagine."

Zi Liang raised his head in confusion. "What?"

Inside the game, a ghost woman was chasing the characters representing them—Fatty and Zi Liang. In reality, a strange THUD THUD sound had appeared.

Yet, neither of them had so much as glimpsed a ghost, and the strange sound had only lasted a few seconds before it disappeared.

But it was obvious that there was something wrong with this experimental building. If there was no ghost behind them and this noise was merely a trick to lure them to the second floor, they would be at a significant disadvantage.

Fatty felt like he finally had a brilliant idea.

At this moment, Zi Liang looked at Fatty. "Hey Fatty, the entrance to the stairs is right ahead. Should we go straight up, or should we head towards the main entrance?"

Due to the excessive exertion, beads of sweat had formed on Zi Liang's forehead. Suddenly, Fatty pulled out an object. Zi Liang noticed it was a camera.

Holding the [Strange Camera], Fatty turned around, eager to try it. "This thing can capture invisible ghosts in photos. One shot will tell us if there's a ghost behind us."

As he spoke, he quickly turned around and slammed down on the shutter, aiming at the corridor behind them.

Zi Liang only saw a sudden, intense flash. He felt like his eyes were about to go blind.

Even so, through his nearly blinded eyes, he saw Fatty's expression change drastically.

Since Fatty had paused for a moment, Zi Liang had by then run ahead of him. From this angle, he could only see his profile.

In the dimly lit corridor, Fatty's face shifted from red to pale, and then seemed to be turning green.

Zi Liang, however, never got to see Fatty's green face. Before it could fully turn green, he was violently yanked and dragged by Fatty like a dead pig towards the nearby staircase.

"Run!" Zi Liang heard Fatty utter the same words as their game characters.

What on earth did he see…

「Meanwhile, Hao Laoshi had run to the school cafeteria in terror.」

It wasn't because he was hungry; he simply ran towards any crowd he saw. Lunchtime had just ended, and students were gradually dispersing.

Standing at the cafeteria entrance, watching students come and go, Hao Laoshi began to feel a little more at ease.

While glancing at the passing students, he decided to stand in a bright, open space. He then sneakily checked his phone.

He saw his in-game character, [Honest Person], following him without any sign of acting independently. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as class ended and he was preparing to leave the classroom, he noticed his registered character had unexpectedly stopped following him and was even muttering to itself.

"'Going out will mean death'—he clearly remembered this dialogue box popping up above [Honest Person]'s head."

Combined with what his classmates had told him about this horror game and the stories of numerous seniors disappearing because of it, Hao Laoshi became even more hesitant to act rashly.

He stayed in the classroom. About ten minutes later, he found his character was responsive to his commands again.

He cautiously tried to go out into the corridor, but as soon as he stepped out, he encountered something terrifying…

While reminiscing with lingering fear and staring at his phone screen, he suddenly noticed an additional female character in the game. She was not far from him, apparently having just come out of the cafeteria.

How is there an extra character!

Hao Laoshi was so scared he immediately looked up from his phone towards the cafeteria. He saw a girl standing at the entrance, seemingly contemplating where to go next.

Sharp-eyed Hao Laoshi also noticed something above the female character's head, like a nickname—[Little Dumpling].

Surely, a ghost wouldn't allow such a cute thing on its head.

Is she a player? Hao Laoshi took a few steps forward. In this game, can we see the characters of other players?

Player information was only visible within three meters. Hao Laoshi had no choice but to take a few more steps forward until he was within range. He found that he could indeed open the girl's player information.

Little Peach Dumpling had noticed someone stealthily approaching her and was a bit panicked.

This person, though dressed like a student, acted and looked like a suspicious middle-aged man. Fortunately, she hadn't turned and fled. Instead, after Hao Laoshi moved closer, she tried clicking on the player panel.

Two wary players, cautiously probing, finally met.

Upon seeing Little Peach Dumpling, Hao Laoshi sighed in relief, as if he had found a long-lost relative. Finally, I've met a normal person…

Hao Laoshi was also the first person Little Peach Dumpling had encountered in this instance, so the two of them naturally had a lot to talk about.

Students were coming out of the cafeteria nearby, so the area was still quite populated. Moreover, the sun overhead seemed potent enough to make ghosts disintegrate, so they weren't overly afraid.

Little Peach Dumpling asked, puzzled, "Have you met other players before? Why didn't you stick together?" She had been moving alone precisely because she hadn't found anyone else.

Little Peach Dumpling had originally wanted to try her luck in the cafeteria to see if she could find other players. She hadn't expected to actually find one—a suspicious-looking young man who seemed more like an uncle.

You couldn't blame Hao Laoshi for looking like an uncle. He actually was from an older generation, complete with a beer belly. It was just that the instance had altered his age to fit the student image. After all, a man in his forties attending sophomore year of high school would be too bizarre.

Hearing the phrase "other players," Hao Laoshi visibly shivered.

He quickly waved his hands, somewhat agitated. "Don't even mention it! I'm just so unlucky. The people I run into always seem to be full of bad intentions…"

Hao Laoshi's gestures were a bit exaggerated at this point, attracting curious glances from students seeking refuge from the sun in the shade of the trees.

While others sought to escape the sun on this hot summer day, these two were standing in a spot baked by the harsh sunlight, without a shred of shade. They were undoubtedly conspicuous.

Hao Laoshi toned down his movements, but continued, "Listen, there's a maniac, a complete nutcase, in this instance!"

He paused, catching his breath, then added, "Oh, right, and there's also one who…"

But just then, Hao Laoshi suddenly heard a female voice from behind him, "A maniac? What kind of maniac?"

He paused, then whipped his head around.

He saw a long-haired girl standing behind him, a smile on her face. Hao Laoshi realized he could open her player panel—[Liu Ruyan].

He subconsciously glanced down at his phone screen and saw that a third character, representing Liu Ruyan, had indeed appeared. Hao Laoshi felt a bit strange.

He found Liu Ruyan in front of him rather odd. He felt that she was like him; he knew that even though he had become younger and was wearing a school uniform, there was a strong sense of incongruity. No matter how one looked at it, his disposition was that of a sleazy middle-aged uncle. Liu Ruyan was the same. She was a beautiful girl in a school uniform, but she didn't give off the impression of a student. Nor did she seem like a delinquent from the outside world who had merely slipped into a school uniform.

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