Chapter 11: Why is my mission different from yours?

Is it a human or a ghost?

Wu Wang narrowed his eyes and quietly slipped behind a stone pillar on the side of the school gate to hide. Even though he was weighed down by bags and bundles, he didn't make a single sound, moving as silently as a phantom.

He was all too familiar with this environment.

"Isn't this a five-person instance? Where did the last person go? Is there some idiot who would pass up an opportunity like this?" one of the tall guys wearing a school uniform grumbled.

Standing next to him was a girl whose face was obscured by a mask, but her elegant, long, straight black hair and voice—clear as silver bells—gave her away. She said with disdain, "It doesn't matter. A reality-oriented instance can be triggered as long as the minimum player requirement is met."

"Hehe, it's better with one less person. We might get a bigger share of the good loot," replied a short guy, who looked to be about 1.6 meters tall, as he circled the flower bed at the school gate with a gloating expression.

He was the one who had been making the pacing sounds earlier.

There was also a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard standing to the side without a word. Clouds of smoke billowed from the cigarette dangling from his mouth, and combined with the scar on his cheek, his school uniform looked incredibly out of place.

*The hell? These are students?!*

Wu Wang’s expression turned slightly strange.

When he heard the words "reality-oriented instance," he guessed that these people were likely players too, rather than ghosts from the Gaoshan Middle School instance manifesting in reality.

But why did they come here?

Wu Wang could understand that there was more than one school uniform—after all, the last tutorial had fifty murderers playing hide-and-seek together.

But the equipment description for the uniform didn't specify which school to go to!

What were the odds that everyone would end up at this abandoned Hope Middle School?

Wu Wang didn't believe in such coincidences.

Before he could figure it out, a prompt sound, reminiscent of Sadako from the toilet, echoed in the minds of the four people on campus—

【Conditions for the reality-oriented instance have been met.】

【Welcome to Gaoshan Middle School.】

【Instance Name: Truant Dragon】

【Instance Brief: This is a legendary top-tier academy with a 98% advancement rate. Parents from all over the country would fight tooth and nail for a single enrollment spot. Graduate successfully from here, and your future will be bright!】

【Main Team Task: Prevent any truancy at Gaoshan Middle School within five days. For every truant caught, the reward value increases by one point.】

【Side Task 1: Uncover the secrets of the principal and the homeroom teachers (I have a little secret~ a little secret).】

【Side Task 2: Uncover the truth behind the urban legends of the "Small Black Room" and the Art Building (It is watching you, watching you without blinking~).】

【Clearance Reward: A base reward of one random common-grade piece of equipment. Specific rewards will be calculated based on the number of truants caught (the prize pool is still accumulating!).】

【Hidden Reward: Conditions unknown.】

【May you all find your own death.】

At the same time.

The surrounding environment shifted from the desolate, dilapidated abandoned school to something clean and tidy.

The ivy and moss on the buildings vanished, replaced by a large banner

"If you aren't studying yourself to death! Then study until you die!"

The pitch-black night sky turned into a bright, sunny day. The group realized they were no longer at the flower bed by the entrance of the abandoned Hope Middle School.

They were now inside a dormitory.

But the awkward part was...

There were five people in the dormitory.

Lying on a bed in the corner was a guy who looked like a military enthusiast, covered in various strange talismans, observing the four of them through the gaps in the bed railing.

"Yo, hello everyone. You must be the new roommates moving in. I’m a senior in the third year. Please take care of me," Wu Wang said with a grin, acting completely natural.

He didn't blush or skip a beat.

His lie was flawless thanks to his superb acting skills, but inside, he was cursing up a storm.

*Does this goddamn system have to group all the players together? I was planning on hiding and doing something big!*

He strongly suspected the system was retaliating for him doing naked calisthenics last night.

The four people under the bunk looked at each other.

They weren't sure if this guy was an NPC or a player.

That was until the scarred man silently pressed his finger against his own school uniform.

Then, with a thought.

The next second, Wu Wang saw the equipment description appear next to his uniform—

【Gaoshan Middle School Uniform: If three or more holders of this uniform gather and stay at the ruins of Hope Middle School in the suburbs of Mingyang City for one hour before midnight, a non-lethal reality-oriented instance can be triggered.】

"?"

A giant question mark appeared in Wu Wang's mind.

How come this uniform was different from his?

Not to mention his own 【Blood-Stained Uniform】, which had been twisted by that red-eyed Cthulhu-like entity—even the original version he started with wasn't like this!

Could it be that his uniform was special from the very beginning?

And the blood-red pupil on the inside of his wrist just made it even more twisted?

At the same time, a line of text appeared above the scarred man's head—

【Eagle-Eye Blade】【Lv6】

"Brother, stop pretending. You can see the player panel, right?" The scarred man stubbed out his cigarette on the table.

*Damn, I got played.*

Wu Wang immediately realized this guy had been watching his eyes the whole time. If his gaze shifted upward, it proved he could see player IDs, which meant he couldn't be an NPC.

This guy was a veteran!

Before Wu Wang could reply, the scarred man said calmly, "I am an agent from the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs. My ID is Baili Dao. You can verify its authenticity yourself."

"This reality-oriented instance is a team-based one. There's no need for us to fight each other. I hope everyone can be honest. There's no need for probing or attacking. Sincere cooperation for mutual benefit is the way to go!"

The Bureau of Anomalous Affairs, or BAA for short.

An agency independent of the police and military, specifically responsible for handling extraordinary individuals and supernatural events related to the 【Spirit Disaster Game】.

Except for when the game completely erases traces of events—like when the starter accounts were issued—most supernatural events caused by players leave a trail.

The BAA was established to prevent extraordinary individuals and events from affecting the lives of normal people.

In short, it was a government department.

The tall guy and the masked woman exchanged glances.

Then, both of them revealed their IDs.

【Shi Gan Dang】【Lv5】

【Qing He Yi Kan】【Lv5】

Seeing that everyone chose to cooperate, the short guy shrugged and revealed his ID as well.

【Tu Xing Sun】【Lv5】

Immediately, everyone turned their gaze toward Wu Wang, their eyes filled with confusion.

*This kid isn't still trying to play the NPC card, is he?*

Little did they know, Wu Wang was facing a different problem—how the hell was he supposed to reveal his player ID!?

He fumbled for a long time before finding the trick.

With a thought, his shocking player ID was displayed before everyone.

【Widower】【Lv1】

The expressions of the four people opposite him turned strange, as the implications of this cross-dresser's ID were just too much.

Tu Xing Sun couldn't hold it in: "Brother, XP is a pretty private matter. No need to show off your tastes to everyone, right?"

Before Wu Wang could reply, Baili Dao discovered another blind spot—this kid was only Level 1!

He frowned and asked Wu Wang, "You... haven't you been through an instance since becoming a player?"

*I’d love to have the time to go through more instances! The problem is I only became this damn player last night!*

Wu Wang said with a faint smile, "Well, I’m a bit timid, and I’m afraid of pain, so I haven't actively entered any instances. This time was an accident."

"Sigh... I didn't expect to have to carry a newbie. Fine, let me explain the tasks and the instance type to you." Baili Dao sighed, rubbing his forehead.

He really hated newbies.

Not to mention that most newbies were arrogant, he was more afraid that they would provoke something that would lead to a total party wipe.

Fortunately, the BAA had provided them with training on how to explain things to newbies.

The department hoped to win the favor of "wild" players this way. They didn't expect them all to join, but they didn't want them working against the government either.

Baili Dao proceeded to explain the priority of their current main task and the two side tasks to Wu Wang, hoping the guy wouldn't cause problems for the main task by forcing the side tasks.

But the more Wu Wang listened, the stranger his expression became.

Because what he heard before entering the instance...

The side tasks were no different, but the main task seemed a bit... different?

He was worried he had misheard, so he glanced at the information on his own panel to confirm—

【Main Task: Escape Gaoshan Middle School within five days. The more living students you take with you, the more generous the reward (Who should decide our lives anyway?)】

*Oh, crap!*

So the "team instance" meant he was one person fighting against an entire team of other players!

Does this game have a bias against him?