"Seasonal tips..." Guo Guo, who was pondering, suddenly slapped his head and blurted out: "Seasonal tips will tell us the characteristics of each season!"
At the same time, this characteristic is usually the level and danger of the season.
Winter and summer are characterized by extreme temperatures, which seems obvious at a glance, but the characteristics of spring and autumn are a little more difficult to distinguish.
The characteristic given to spring by the exam is [revival of all things]. Its core and rules are that all living things "revive" and become dangerous to humans.
It is precisely because of knowing the characteristics of the seasons that Tang Xinjue can guess the dangers from plants and insects and make preparations in advance.
If Tang Xin Jue's speculation is true, it undoubtedly represents a very bad fact:
How can they fight the dangers of autumn when they know nothing about the seasons?
"We may not be completely ignorant." Tang Xinjue shook his head, "We still have common sense."
"If the game really wants to hide even the changing seasons, it means that the characteristics of autumn must be widely known... They're afraid we'll guess it."
"The characteristics of autumn... the crisp, clear air? The autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves?" Zheng Wanqing covered her head with a headache. "I'm really not suited to thinking about this. Help, give me a little ghost to chop down."
“There are two most well-known images of autumn: one is withering, and the other is harvest.”
Zhang You managed to maintain his composure and followed Tang Xin Jue's line of thought. "If I have to choose one, I guess it's a good harvest."
Guo Guo shook his head like a rattle and retorted, "No, no, no, I think it's withering."
She gave her reasoning: "What do you think the purpose of a dungeon is? It's to kill us! So the dungeon's characteristics must be negative. Everything withers in autumn, and it looks particularly dangerous."
Zhang You: "But if that's the case, then the image of spring is one of rebirth, and the positive characteristics of the season may also contain more dangerous content."
Guo Guo: ...It seems to make sense?
Unable to reach a conclusion, the two looked at Tang Xinjue at the same time.
Tang Xinjue's gaze was fixed on the outside of the balcony, as if he was looking at something through the vines.
The window was still surrounded by dense vines, completely blocking the view from the outside.
But there was an indescribable wave, as if outside the vines, slowly and invisibly covering it...
[Untouchable Objects: Your sanity value is slightly damaged, and your health value is -5]
[Mental Shake (Negative Buff): Your sanity value is continuously decreasing, and the environment is becoming more dangerous to you.]
[Shh, some things can't be easily perceived—at least not now.]
Seeing the change in Tang Xin Jue's status information, the others were stunned for a moment.
This was Tang Xin Jue! He could even hit a female ghost in the face with a toilet plunger, and his sanity level was like a werewolf with a lock. Now, just by looking out, his sanity level dropped?
But no matter how hard they stretched their necks, they couldn't see what kind of monster was outside the window. Tang Xinjue, however, withdrew his gaze and said calmly, as if nothing had happened, "I'm more inclined to agree with Zhang You's opinion."
"If recovery corresponds to withering, then the first thing to wither is the vegetation outside the window."
Clearly, they showed no sign of withering. A closer look revealed fist-sized growths where the leaves once were, as if eager to bear fruit.
Wait...the result?
Guo Guo almost broke down, "When plants mature and bear fruit, it's a symbol of harvest! Zhang You, you're right, autumn really is a season of harvest!"
But she calmed down in an instant, "Now I know the seasonal clues, but what does it have to do with the current situation?"
Harvest, harvest... This image is even more vague than recovery. It makes people feel confused.
As time ticked by, Guo Guo suddenly had an idea: "I understand! Spring is when ghosts revive, and autumn is when they mature! The ringing of the bell is a sign that the ghosts have matured. If the autumn bell rings 12 times, it means that 12 ghosts have matured..."
The further she spoke, the lower her voice became, and she secretly glanced at the expressions of others.
Tang Xinjue encouraged gently: "That makes sense."
Just as Guo Guo was about to feel happy, he heard Tang Xin Jue say, "But—when one side matures, another side must reap the harvest. If the ones that mature are ghosts, then who is responsible for the harvest?"
Students are responsible for the harvest? That requires them to be capable. Based on the comparison of strength, they look like they are being...
Guo Guo's face suddenly turned pale, he opened his mouth and looked at Tang Xinjue.
Tang Xinjue raised his eyes and looked back, his emotions hidden beneath the calm waves: "Indeed, according to this logic, we are the ones being harvested."
"In other words, facing the powerful awakened ghosts, all weak creatures are targets for harvest."
“Autumn is the harvest season. When the bells ring, they come to harvest.”
rustle……
The vines with lush branches and leaves that were entangled on the glass windows had stopped growing wildly at some point.
The budding fruits broke through the skin of the branches and grew larger at a speed visible to the naked eye.
However, the members of dormitory 315 had no intention of appreciating this wonderful sight.
They were fighting against several mutated plants. One of the flower stems, of unknown species, was as tall as two people and wrapped around the neck of one of the members, causing her face to turn blue and her body to struggle.
The two were trying to rescue her - a few meters away at the dormitory door, a member was lying on the ground, his life or death unknown, covered with a layer of coldness that had not yet dissipated.
Attacked from both sides, the situation was critical. Just when they were almost in despair, the plant that was wrapped around the roommate's neck suddenly loosened, the branches shook twice, and it quickly shrank into the corner as if it sensed a natural enemy.
Several people were ecstatic: Survived?
"Is this, is this a clearance?" One of them opened his phone with shaking hands, but did not see any new notifications.
rustle……
There was a rustling sound coming from outside the balcony window. It was the branches of the vines shaking, slapping against the glass windows.
The few people didn't understand what this meant and looked at each other in confusion. The girl who had just been entangled by the vines coughed for a while and raised her head with difficulty: "Do you feel that the room seems to have become darker?"
"Dim? Is the light broken?"
Several people looked up quickly and found that the light tube on the top seemed to be a little dimmer, and seemed to be slowly losing its light at a uniform rate.
It doesn't look like damage, it looks more like...
"It's like something has sucked the light away."
A girl murmured involuntarily.
The rustling of vines outside the window disappeared at some point.
Only their breathing and heartbeats spread in the silence of the house.
It was as if something was gripping their hearts, and a feeling of tightness and goose bumps flooded over their heads like a tide. Several people's breathing stagnated slightly and they slowly turned their heads.
There was no vine left outside the glass window.
A huge, fishy yellow eye covered the entire glass window, and its slit pupil turned and fell on them.
The next moment, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, the lights went out.
…
When autumn comes and the sickle is about to fall, what should the fruits do to avoid being harvested?
In the cramped darkness, Tang Xinjue slowed her breathing. Feeling the girl beside her trembling, she gripped her hand tightly. Perhaps drawing strength from her calmness, her roommate's body gradually calmed down, and she, too, followed her example of holding her breath.
—Hide, out of the sight of the harvesters, until the autumn harvest is over.
Fortunately, the dormitory's environment and structure provided them with just the right hiding space - the two wardrobes at the door could just accommodate four girls.
Guo Guo was timid and easily frightened, requiring Tang Xin Jue to calm him down. Zheng Wanqing was impulsive and easily reckless, but was easily suppressed by the cautious Zhang You. The four of them split into two teams and hid in two wardrobes, using them as cover.
That way, even if their guesses are wrong, there's a protective barrier.
Initially, they were worried about being attacked by dark creatures upon entering the closet. However, up to this moment, there were no signs of dark creatures appearing, and everything seemed incredibly quiet.
This further confirmed Tang Xinjue's suspicions—the harvest was coming, and the ghosts retreated. A more terrifying being had awakened.
Maybe it’s one, or maybe it’s... many!
In the darkness, sight lost its function, but hearing became even more acute. Outside the dormitory balcony, the swaying and swaying of vines could be heard faintly. Tang Xinjue noticed that at a certain point, the sound suddenly grew louder, like a rapid tap against the glass window, a reminder, yet also a struggle.
Then, the sound of the vines disappeared completely, and there was no trace of it in the ears.
In the silence, her sensory nerves awakened little by little, and like countless nightmares, they sent a strong and trembling danger warning to her body.
[Untouchable Object (Level 2): Your sanity is moderately damaged, and your health is -15.]
[Your sanity value is decreasing rapidly, and the environment is very dangerous for you.]
[Perception is a double-edged sword. Its effect depends on which side you point the sword at.]
After locking the screen, Tang Xinjue signaled Guo Guo to turn off his phone as well, letting the last bit of light disappear in the cramped space.
rustle……
It was as if something was flowing into the house, like a rising tide, submerging the bedroom bit by bit.
It seems to be searching for something.
Behind the cabinet door, the most important senses are blocked, and everything in the outside world becomes strange and unknown symbols in the mind. As danger approaches, panic grows.
Even though they didn't hear any sound, the four people in the closet had an inexplicable feeling - a pair of eyes were watching the dormitory.
It was getting closer to the closet.
rustle……
After a moment, there was a sudden sound, like falling sand, stinging the nerves in the brain.
Tang Xinjue frowned and closed her eyes. She felt Guo Guo start to tremble again, and she tried hard not to make any sound.
After an unknown amount of time, my mind went blank and the voice disappeared.
The sense of danger dissipated like the receding tide until it completely disappeared from the dormitory.
Opening her eyes, Tang Xinjue could smell the fishy smell in her mouth. She had just bitten the inside corner of her mouth. A layer of cold sweat oozed from her back, but it also made her more awake.
Patting Guo Guo's head, she said softly, "We are safe for now."
[Autumn is coming, autumn is coming, coming with the expectation of a good harvest——]
The belated system prompt sounded, accompanied by a strange humming sound, and appeared in my ears:
[Ding Dong! Autumn has quietly arrived. My roommates, have you felt the joy of the harvest?]
[The final level of the exam: Autumn Dungeon has been opened! The Reapers have awakened. Please survive their patrol. Each Reaper will only harvest once. When it harvests nothing, it will unleash its wrath. This time, there are a total of...]
[Twelve!]
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