After entering the dormitory, Tao Changyi and the other two seemed to relax as if they had breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Gu Xinghe saw Xiao Ruiming take out a pocket watch-shaped object from his pocket.

After glancing at the pocket watch in his hand, he nodded to the other two.

Seeing this, the other two also completely relaxed.

"This is?"

Looking at the scene before him, Gu Xinghe asked in confusion.

"It's okay, go change into your school uniform first. The dorm is pretty safe. We'll explain to you later..."

After relaxing, Tao Changyi lay down on the lower bed in a starfish position.

He looked languid, propping his arm up on the bed and waving at Gu Xinghe, as if he was about to fall asleep.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xinghe nodded and walked alone into the small bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He placed the school uniform in his hand to one side.

He took out a knife from the mirror space and slashed it cleanly across his left forearm.

However, the blood flowing from the wound was a normal, bright red color, and the wound quickly healed and congealed.

Despite the comprehensive enhancements he received from the medicine, his injuries were not healing as quickly as they should have been.

Moreover, my arm used to look like it was covered by black veins.

The blood flowing from his arm now appears perfectly normal.

As if she had thought of something—

The black lines on Tao Changyi and the others' hands remained hidden until they ate another piece of meat.

Then, Gu Xinghe took out a bottle of Type III medicine from the mirror space.

Although it can no longer enhance physical fitness.

However, it can now also play its role as a marvel against pollution.

After drinking the potion, as if sensing a natural enemy, black lines emerged from Gu Xinghe's arm.

The two sides seemed to be locked in an invisible tug-of-war.

However, the slightly stronger liquid was slowly pushing the black lines back, and the effect was much more obvious than when taking the recovery candy.

He hadn't felt any pain when the black lines had taken root and grown on his arm.

But now, as it fades away, I feel extremely intense pain, as if rotten flesh is being forcibly torn off my body.

The appearance of the black lines at this moment was more like an instinctive reaction to a threat, which manifested on its arm.

However, judging from the way the wound has healed just now—

While infecting human bodies, the black lines also seem to grant them superior physical attributes.

Perhaps, humanity's degradation by pollution can be described as a form of "evolution"?

But Gu Xinghe did not continue thinking about it at this moment.

Without hesitation, he cleanly cut into the black veins that had become visible on his arm.

Then, he put away the knife in his hand and took out three test tubes to collect the black "juice" on them.

With that amount of blood loss, an ordinary person would definitely feel dizzy.

However, Gu Xinghe himself did not feel any discomfort.

On a deeper level, although the black lines reside in his body, the black solution he is currently experiencing is not his blood at all.

After Gu Xinghe took a dose of the medicine, he discovered that the black lines that had covered his entire forearm had receded back to the middle.

Ignore the black lines that have now slowly disappeared under my skin.

Gu Xinghe put away the empty medicine bottle and the three tubes of viscous black solution he had collected, and then changed into his uniform.

A white short-sleeved shirt, a blue striped tie, a black belt, and brown leather shoes.

Wearing a school uniform, Gu Xinghe was not as thin and frail as one might expect from a student.

His arms had smooth muscle lines, and he looked energetic and sunny in his uniform.

At this moment, Gu Xinghe noticed that there was also a mirror in the bathroom.

Although Tao Changyi and the others said it was safe when they entered the dormitory.

But considering that mirrors are often an important part of school ghost stories.

The power of the Magic Mirror fragments will also decrease significantly after leaving the Tavern of Misfortune.

Gu Xinghe then simply gave up on the idea of ​​trying to control the mirror to obtain relevant information.

...

"Hey! Brother Gu, you're all changed and ready to come out!"

Upon seeing Gu Xinghe emerge, Tao Changyi greeted him warmly.

It seems he had taken a good rest before entering the restroom.

"Speaking of which, what was that pocket watch just now?"

Sitting on the other side of the bed where no one else was sitting, Gu Xinghe continued the conversation from before.

"It's a reward Amin got after completing a dungeon. Let me tell you, Amin is really amazing!"

As he spoke, Tao Changyi enthusiastically hooked his arm around Xiao Ruiming's neck, as if he wanted to boast about the other's deeds.

"Shut up."

"Okay!"

However, seemingly annoyed by Tao Changyi's incessant chatter, Xiao Ruiming pushed away the other's head that was leaning closer.

However, judging from their rather familiar movements, this kind of conversation has probably happened many times before.

Perhaps because he relaxed, Tao Changyi's enthusiastic personality was fully revealed at this moment.

Gu Xinghe was silently speculating about the relationship between the two of them.

They appear to be teammates who have played the game together more than twice.

Perhaps after completing the beginner dungeon together, the two were assigned to live in the same area.

And then, quite coincidentally, they were all assigned to enter the current instance at the same time.

"Could I see that pocket watch?"

Regardless of their relationship, Gu Xinghe was more interested in the pocket watch in Xiao Ruiming's hand.

"Yes, this pocket watch is a kind of auxiliary tool. It can monitor the concentration of [pollution] in the vicinity."

Compared to Tao Changyi, Xiao Ruiming seemed to be much more sparing with his words.

After taking the pocket watch handed to him, Gu Xinghe noticed that the minute hand was stationary.

The hour hand, meanwhile, was gently swaying around the quarter mark of the pocket watch.

While both are monitoring tools, this pocket watch is much more exquisite.

Gu Xinghe could even see the intricate gear parts inside through the dial.

It seems much better than his Type I detector that keeps ringing.

However, he seems to have an inspiration to improve his mental disability detector.

It would be even better if we could take this thing apart and see its internal structure.

Gu Xinghe was considering whether he could make a deal with Xiao Ruiming later.

However, he handed the pocket watch back to the other person and then asked the three people in front of him.

"Speaking of which, how did you all pass Carol's test to get into the school?"