Zhang You was shocked: "You mean..."
If the red line didn't appear after everyone in the game turned into ghosts, then could it have appeared before that?
Tang Xin Jue: "A fake university that's solely for the purpose of scamming people out of money would kill all its students on campus, never changing its address, and still be able to admit new students year after year without being affected?"
Even if he deceived more students, how much money could he earn from their tuition fees? The money he defrauded from one student would have to cover the series of exposure and criminal risks that would follow after imprisoning and killing her. If he really had such omnipotent abilities, he wouldn't have needed to rely on running a fake university to make money.
Zhang You's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and he finally said in a horrified tone, "The background information the copy gave us is incomplete!"
"Most of the information we initially saw was from the students' perspective, so it was naturally incomplete. And once a mindset is formed, it's easy to overlook any inconsistencies."
Tang Xin Jue sneered, "The game has arrived. Why was this school chosen as a dungeon? What does it have in common with the dungeons we've seen before?"
Zhang You fell into deep thought. Just as Jiang and the others finished their share of the red line, her eyes lit up: "Even before it became a copy, this dormitory building was already haunted!"
They had been busy fighting the traps set by the Academic Affairs Office and had little time to think about the overall picture of this copy. They even overlooked one point: ghosts such as Jiang did not appear after the black fog swallowed the dormitory building and the copy was formed.
Judging from the memories of the former freshmen on the 9th floor, whether it was the "walking corpses" in dormitories 919 and 921 who they mistook for living people, or the mournful crying every night on the 8th floor, all proved that ghosts have existed for a long time...and does the school know this as well?
Zhang You felt that she had grasped a certain clue. Following her thoughts, she realized a hypothesis that she had never thought of before: What if the school’s purpose was not at all, or not just to defraud money, but to torture the students to death from the very beginning?
She used to be a staunch materialist, but who said the school's administration was necessarily the same?
Not only is it possible that they know everything, but perhaps the ultimate goal of this group of people is to catalyze the existence of ghosts!
That corpse and the red thread… Zhang You shuddered, trying to stop her thoughts from wandering further, lest she become emotionally disturbed. She took a deep breath and said, "The Death Record of Class 3-1, the Headless Ghost Story, and this dungeon—are there any similarities between them?"
Li Xiaoyu from Class 1, Grade 3, Wei Xian’s master in The Headless Ghost Story, and the school in this copy.
If the first two copies could be said to be mere coincidences, then this copy almost showed them the process and core of the game's arrival and even the formation of the copy. If she couldn't think of anything after receiving Tang Xin Jue's hint, she would have gone through so many exams in vain.
After receiving Tang Xin Jue's affirmative answer, Zhang You confirmed his guess: "...It's a sorcery."
If their guess is correct, then the origin and identity of the Academic Affairs Office are highly questionable. At the very least, they are by no means simple school operators, but more like a gang proficient in sorcery!
Similar to the miserable end of Jin Wen and the other three in the Headless Tales, the students of this "school" were forced to become victims of some kind of sacrifice or plan, and the entire dormitory building was even turned into a Gu breeding ground. However, the school authorities had made all kinds of calculations but never expected that the game would come.
Wherever the black fog spreads and devours, reality is pulled into a playground. The living become ghosts, ghosts awaken from the underground, those in power become rats fleeing in the gutter, and the exploited and harmed weak possess a higher power.
"So the Academic Affairs Office had no choice but to use the red lines and their original abilities to urgently set up a formation that could restrain the students' ghosts. This suppressed the red lines underground, and also suppressed the wronged spirits here."
Tang Xin Jue raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Does this operation seem familiar?"
"Isn't it a bit like those metaphysical or horror stories Guo Guo used to like reading, where people do something wrong and fear revenge from evil spirits, so they have to take preemptive action."
When Guo Guo heard his name, he immediately came over and asked cautiously, "What's wrong with me? What are you guys discussing?"
She poked her head over and looked at the two of them curiously, only to see Zhang You sighing with a serious expression: "We are praising you for your foresight."
Guo Guo: “…” I’d be crazy if I believed you!
She thought the two were just fooling her, curled her lips and turned to look at the door, only to see that Jiang and the others had swallowed the red thread but stood there motionless, neither taking any action immediately nor showing any other expression. Instead, they lowered their heads and could not see their expressions clearly, and she had no idea what had happened.
……This is?
Someone wanted to go over to check the situation, but was stopped by Tang Xinjue.
Tang Xinjue shook his head: "Wait a little longer."
After about three minutes, Jiang and the other two girls slowly raised their heads. However, their eyes were full of bloodshot, and the red color was extremely scary.
"I remember now."
Jiang spoke in a hoarse voice, which was rare without too many ups and downs in emotion, but it made people feel the calm before the storm.
Tang Xin Jue: "Do you remember everything?"
Jiang curled his lips and said, "Part of it. The power and memories in our souls are sealed together. The more we eat, the more we recover. If I want to recover everything, I'm afraid I'll have to eat myself to the point of exploding."
The cold air flowed back and forth above her head, as if to comfort her.
"It's okay. I'm very rational now and won't do anything to hurt myself." Jiang bared his white teeth. "Thanks to your reminder, I'm mentally prepared. If I had discovered the red thread and eaten it on my own, I might have been overwhelmed by the rage in my memory and would have exploded to regain full power and seek revenge on the Academic Affairs Office... But now, I don't want to do that."
She opened her arms and looked up into the air. "Besides me, there are many other girls here. Some died before me, some died after me. They never left here. Some of them even stopped thinking and have forgotten why they exist."
"They need strength and they need to leave this cage... Red Line can't give it to them, but I can."
After saying this, Jiang smiled brightly and looked at the figures invisible to ordinary people: "From now on, you can use my power at will. My ability is your ability, and my freedom is your freedom. Leave here and seek revenge!"
Some invisible power poured out from her fingertips, and her eyes quickly dimmed and weakened. At the same time, the cold air flow that already existed in the room became more and more obvious. The strong and cold wind blew even more fiercely than before, and a translucent figure seemed to appear faintly in the air.
The two girls attached to No. 5 and No. 6 also looked at each other and silently took Jiang's hand.
They were the first of the many ghosts to awaken, and they are also the most powerful, leading the charge. But they know that these seemingly dim souls aren't truly foolish or clumsy. It's the strength these companions gave them, while remaining in the dark corners, that has allowed them to persevere until now. Without the gathering and mutual influence of all the female ghosts, none of them would have awakened, and there would be no hope today.
They don't have to kill their enemies with their own hands, but all their companions must have the possibility of freedom and revenge, no one can be left behind!
With the joining of the two girls, more and more power was transformed and released from the red line, and the bustling shadows in the air turned into visible entities one after another.
Some of them were still in a state of death, some looked around in confusion, some wanted to rush over to stop Jiang and the other two, and some hugged each other, laughing out loud or crying silently.
When the last phantom was transformed, No. 10's body fell to the ground as if it had lost its support, and the same went for No. 5 and No. 6. Everyone rushed forward to support the three people, only to find that the ghosts attached to their bodies had disappeared.
Number 5 choked and opened his eyes, then asked weakly and confusedly, "What's going on?"
They also received some of the power bestowed by these ghosts, and their lives that were about to end were extended for a short time.
Guo Guo, who had witnessed the entire incident, opened his eyes wide, but no matter how hard he tried to use his Yin-Yang eyes, he couldn't see any trace of the three ghosts. "Could it be that Jiang and the others..."
Did it just disappear like that?
Tang Xin Jue seemed to have sensed something and raised his head, using his mental power to sense the surrounding environment. Although he didn't see any figure, he seemed to hear a girl's voice:
Don't worry, we're just at our weakest, so we can slack off. This place is about to get dangerous, so leave quickly.
The voice dissipated like the wind, and the female ghosts who had just obtained the power of real shadows and red lines had reached the exit and took the first step.
Successfully walked out.
The next moment, these figures flew into the corridor with shrieks, and the entire hallway began to tremble slightly, causing the space to hum and vibrate continuously. Tang Xinjue immediately turned around and grabbed his roommate, who also looked for each other at the same time. They followed the ghosts out of the girls' dormitory and back into the corridor. The others also reacted quickly and rushed out.
Jiang Lan and Ke Ke supported An Nian, No. 5 and the other two supported each other, No. 11 and No. 12 pulled No. 13 and No. 15 who had just woken up, and No. 7 ran in quickly and dragged Ou Ruofei... When the last person stepped out of the girls' dormitory, the wall that had already cracked a big hole made a loud noise and collapsed!
The broken cement and structure blocked the junction of the two spaces tightly. Without looking, one could guess that the dormitory inside had probably collapsed into ruins, and its fate was the same as that of the men's dormitory.
"Let's go quickly! The corridor is about to collapse!"
The person in front turned around to remind the people behind him, and his voice was intermittent in the whistling air flow.
For some unknown reason, as the girl's ghost emerged and moved, the originally solidified air almost turned into a sharp knife-like gale, blocking everyone's steps forward. Every step seemed to be walking on a cliff, resisting the airflow and speaking with difficulty.
"Ahem, I can't see the road. There's so much dust!" No. 5 covered her mouth. They only had extremely weak strength left, and in this environment, they quickly fell to the back of the team.
Just when the three of them were struggling to move forward, a powerful push suddenly appeared behind No. 5. She turned around in surprise and saw No. 7 who had retreated with Oruofei at some point.
Number 7 nodded briefly, his voice as cold as ever: "Go."
Although the girl wasn't good at speaking, No. 5 had already seen that she, like Keke, had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. If he hadn't been too exhausted to do anything else, he would have definitely rushed over and kissed her gratefully. Even so, he said excitedly, "Thank you! If, ahem, I can clear the level in the future, I'll definitely treat you to a meal when we meet again. White Rabbit and Golden Monkey candies are all you can eat..."
Number 7 exerted more force on his hands: "First, you guys get through safely! I don't want to..."
Number 5 didn't hear clearly: "Never think about anything again?"
Number 7 didn't answer. He pushed the three people with one hand and grabbed Oruofei with the other, saying in a barely audible voice:
"...I don't want to lose my companions again."
Tang Xinjue and his companions walked in the front.
The crazy airflow in the corridor was like the final counterattack of the Academic Affairs Office hiding in the dark. Sharp objects that could cause injuries were occasionally mixed in the strong wind, most of which were blocked by Tang Xinjue's hammer and Zhang You's dictionary. Zheng Wanqing was also eager to use her fists to fight the strong wind head-on, but she looked behind her and chose to use it to protect Guo Guo, who looked like he could be blown away at any time.
Guo Guo covered his wrist wound and hugged Zheng Wanqing's arm as he desperately moved forward, fearing that he would drag the team back. He walked for a long time with his head down when he heard Zheng Wanqing remind him, "Lift your head up a little."
Guo Guo shook his head frantically: "I won't lift it!"
If she didn't look at the road in front of her, she might be a little braver. But if she saw something scary, her legs would become physiologically weak and she would be even more unable to walk!
Zheng Wanqing was silent for a moment: "Are you really not going to lift it?"
"No! Unless you will die if you don't lift it!"
"It's not like he's going to die... well then."
After an unknown amount of time, Guo Guo felt that the airflow around him seemed to be smaller, and the shrill howling in the airflow was no longer so scary. His roommate's pace also slowed down, as if he saw something.
She then raised her head cautiously, and before she could see the scene clearly, she felt a chill on her head.
No, it's a bit too cold.
Guo Guo raised his hand and touched his head in confusion. He didn't feel the familiar hair, but it felt a little cold and slippery.
Guo Guo: “???”
She was bleached bald by the wind? ?
Facing Guo Guo's devastated gaze, Zheng Wanqing shrugged: "I won't die, but I'll go bald."
“…”
Tang Xinjue, who was at the front, suddenly stopped, interrupting the thoughts of everyone behind him.
The dust in the air gradually dissipated, revealing the scene ahead.
At the end of the corridor in front of them, there was an extra door.
A red-painted, locked iron door.
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