Chapter 25: What to do if you encounter a ghost? Run it over!

"Hey, Fatty, let's chat. Don't be so scared. Come over here and I'll give you some candy."

Li Yang's mouth twitched slightly.

He watched as Wu Wang coaxed the little chubby kid toward a deserted area, looking much like a fraudster luring a child.

The most surreal part was when the kid actually fished a piece of candy out of his pocket.

Although the little kid mumbled something like, "Sister Chen said you're dangerous," the drool nearly spilling from the corners of his mouth didn't lie.

He was genuinely craving it.

After all, one couldn't expect to find a convenience store in a place like the Arts Building.

In fact, the people here were unconsciously forgetting the dissonance of the fact that they hadn't eaten in a very long time.

The dead do not feel hunger.

"See? That's more like it. I'm not some creepy stranger; I just just got here and wanted to ask you a few questions." Seeing the grin on Wu Wang's face as the kid approached made Li Yang want to call the police.

"Wh-what do you wanna know?" The kid's speech was a bit muffled with the candy in his mouth.

Wu Wang asked casually, "Oh, I just wanted to know if there are any places in this Arts Building that are off-limits? I'm afraid if I wander around aimlessly, I'll make Chen Nan angry."

At those words, the little kid froze.

His eyes darted away as he mumbled, "No... no, Sister Chen won't restrict your freedom."

It was obvious he wasn't very good at lying.

To Wu Wang, who had studied *An Actor Prepares* and *Micro-expression Psychology*, this anomaly was easy to capture.

He narrowed his eyes and said, word by word, "Is that place on the first floor?"

The kid remained unmoved.

"The second floor?"

"The third floor?"

When he mentioned the third floor, although the kid's expression didn't change, a sentence surfaced above his head—

【He is so afraid he wants to run away】

Bingo!

It had to be said, the skill of the red vertical pupils to see through one's heart was quite unstoppable.

"Oh~ If Chen Nan doesn't mind, then I'll go take a stroll on the third floor~" Wu Wang deliberately dragged out his voice, making it long and slow.

*Thud—*

As soon as the words left his mouth, the kid lunged forward and grabbed his collar.

With a panicked expression, he said, "No! You can't go to the third floor! That place... anyway, you just can't go!"

"Why? Didn't you say Chen Nan wouldn't restrict my freedom?" Wu Wang narrowed his eyes like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.

The kid didn't answer immediately.

The two of them remained in a standoff for about three minutes.

Then, the chubby body slumped down like a deflated balloon. The kid sighed and said, "Sister Chen doesn't know how dangerous the third floor is. No one knows, except me."

As expected, this little kid was not simple.

Why was it that at the entrance of the Arts Building, Li Yang saw the kid but saw no one else?

Even beings like Chen Nan only became visible after he spoke to them.

One had to remember that he was under the influence of the red vertical pupils at that time!

From that moment on, Wu Wang felt something was wrong with the kid, he just hadn't found concrete evidence.

Until now.

He couldn't keep up the act anymore.

*Rumble—*

Before they could continue their conversation, a massive sound erupted from the entire building.

This was followed by a violent shaking, akin to an earthquake, that sent Li Yang and the little kid crashing to the floor.

About a minute later, the shaking stopped.

Only then did Wu Wang frown and ask, "Setting aside whether this building is a shoddy construction, are all the other people here Spider-Men?"

He noticed that the other students nearby were still playing, fooling around, or graffitiing the walls.

They seemed completely unaffected by the tremor, remaining motionless. Eerily, even the water basins on the tables didn't show a single ripple.

This earthquake seemed to be targeting only them.

"We're on a different layer than them, aren't we?" Wu Wang couldn't hold it in anymore.

Realizing that Wu Wang and Li Yang could also feel the earthquake, the kid finally explained, "Do you get it now? They can't feel the existence of danger at all. The thing causing this tremor lives in the broadcasting room on the third floor."

Now Wu Wang understood why the kid was so timid.

Not only did the kid have to endure the effects of these "earthquakes" while everyone else lived in peace, but he also had to live in constant fear of some terrifying entity on the third floor. He probably even feared accidents happening in his dreams at night.

Because he was the only one capable of perceiving the danger.

To everyone else, it just looked like the kid was frequently and inexplicably scaring himself into hiding.

"You mean you've seen that person?" Wu Wang caught the blind spot.

As if recalling something, the kid's flushed face instantly turned deathly pale.

He said tremblingly, "That's not a person! It's a monster as bloated as a mountain! It wears many strange rings on its hands, and every time it turns a ring, it triggers an earthquake!"

A bloated physique, strange rings.

These two keywords made Wu Wang's expression turn strange.

He felt like he had heard this description somewhere before.

"Damn it! Is that bastard Principal Wang in the third-floor broadcasting room!?"

No wonder Old Man Yao said he wouldn't be in his office after midnight.

He was in the Arts Building!

The earthquake just now meant Principal Wang was using the powerful ability of his rings.

According to Baili Dao's description, the rings possessed abilities such as pausing time, confirming information, and spatial transfer.

What was he doing alone on the third floor using those abilities?

"If he's alone, he's most likely using the spatial transfer ability to leave the Arts Building." Wu Wang's mind raced.

Was there something so important that Principal Wang would even use the ring's ability to transfer away?

Wait, hold on.

There actually might be...

————

"Damn it! Didn't you say you could knock them out for half an hour! There are only ten minutes left before we're eaten by dogs!"

"..."

Facing Tu Xingsun's cursing, Shi Gandang did not respond.

Because this was indeed his miscalculation.

He hadn't expected those ghost security guards to be so eerie.

In ordinary dungeons, that item could knock out any target except the Boss. As long as no one touched them or made a sound, anyone would sleep for half an hour.

But these ghost security guards only slept for twenty minutes!

They woke up just as they were preparing to leave.

"Fine, we got the item anyway. Now there are two choices," Baili Dao analyzed calmly. "Either we go to the Arts Building right now, or we head back to the dorms to hide for the night. We haven't been fully exposed yet."

The three of them were currently fleeing frantically, using all sorts of bizarre skills.

They had managed to put some distance between themselves and the ghost security guards.

This gave them enough time to discuss their next move.

The former was high risk.

After all, the mission was to catch the "Runaway Scholar." Once they entered the Arts Building, they would have to slowly search for clues and find the person. If the ghost security guards cornered them in the building, they would be finished.

The latter seemed to be the best choice.

The ghost security guards hadn't seen their faces.

As long as they returned to their dorms and went to sleep, Baili Dao didn't believe they could be caught among the thousands of students on campus.

They could just take the pigment box and enter the Arts Building to investigate slowly tomorrow night.

"I choose to go back to the dorm."

"Me too. Sorry."

Tu Xingsun and Shi Gandang lowered their heads and made their choice.

Hearing this, Baili Dao's clenched fists tightened even further.

While the latter was indeed the best choice, there were more than just the three of them!

The Widow was still waiting in the Black Room to rendezvous with them!

The ghost security guards had been alerted, and the enemy didn't even know that danger was gradually approaching.

If they went back to the dorms now, they would be completely selling out the Widow.

"Brother Baili, if he gets caught, he can even act as a scapegoat. It'll make the school think they've caught the real culprit, which will make them let their guard down, making it easier for us to act tomorrow," Tu Xingsun said, trying to persuade him.

"What are you talking about!" Baili Dao questioned fiercely. "He's the one who found the clues, he's the one who scouted the Black Room, and we're the ones who triggered the danger, and now you want to sell a newcomer to take the fall for us?"

But Shi Gandang stepped in front of Tu Xingsun.

He said quietly to Baili Dao, "Sorry, free players aren't as loyal as you imagine. Profit is the only truth. I can make a concession: you can take an extra share of the rewards after the dungeon ends. After all, it was my mistake first."

That's right...

In essence, they were just a group of strangers who had come together to start a dungeon.

Aside from profit, they had no connection to each other.

As long as they could make money, it was fine.

But...

He damn well couldn't do it!

Baili Dao crossed his eyes and cursed, "Who cares about your measly loot! Now, immediately, get out of my sight!"

The other two looked at each other.

"Then you plan to..."

Before they could finish, Baili Dao interrupted, "I'm going to the Black Room to save the Widow! At worst, we'll all end up lying there together! You two get lost back to the dorms! Cowards!"

Tu Xingsun frowned. "What if you run into a ghost halfway? You won't sell us out, will you?"

"Heh, you think everyone is like you?" Baili Dao said disdainfully. "What if I run into a ghost? I'll just run straight into it and kill it!"

*Thud—*

As soon as he finished speaking, dust suddenly rose in front of the three.

A figure as towering as a mountain appeared within the dust, chilling the soul.

Principal Wang's slightly angry voice drifted out—

"Who exactly are you planning to run into?"

(End of Chapter)