The prompt sound ended, and the app's test interface was finally updated.
[Autumn is the season of harvest!]
Below the season indicator, there were two more rows of circular light spots. Counting from top to bottom, there were exactly twelve of them.
Tang Xinjue noticed that among these 12 light spots, 11 were flashing green and the remaining one was gray.
The exam rules say there are twelve "reapers" in the autumn. It seems each dot of light corresponds to one of them.
Touch the light spot and more detailed explanations pop up one by one:
[Green: The Reaper is farther away]
[Yellow: Reapers approaching]
[Red: The Reaper has come to you]
[Gray: The Reaper has left]
Tang Xinjue heard Guo Guoru's sigh of relief at being pardoned.
——Based on the current color of the light, a harvester has already been here and left with their "harvest." The other harvesters haven't arrived yet, so they're temporarily safe.
After confirming it was safe, Tang Xinjue immediately knocked on the closet door and said, "Let's get out first."
The four of them came out gasping for air. They were all suffocating, not just because of the cramped space in the closet, but also because they forgot to breathe during the intense stress. Guo Guo was the worst—she nearly fainted from suffocating.
The rest of the people were in slightly less severe condition, but their hands and feet also felt weak and they were sweating coldly.
The past few minutes had been like a silent walk on the line between life and death. Although they couldn't see the "reaper" outside the closet, they could clearly feel the alarm bells ringing from the creatures' instincts: it was an existence that was dangerous beyond their imagination, far more terrifying than NPCs, dark creatures, ordinary ghosts, etc.!
While others were adjusting their states, Tang Xinjue pulled out a piece of paper and quickly drew a pattern on it with a few strokes.
After the painting was finished, the others finally paid attention and looked at it. They were all confused: "What is this?"
The pattern drawn by the strokes on the white paper looked like a torn rag, and there seemed to be something wrapped in the rag, appearing to be flying like a masked cloak.
After drawing what was in his mind, Tang Xinjue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and replied simply: "Reaper."
The rest of the people: “!!!”
Does the reaper look... so strange?
But the sigh was only for a moment. After all, since it was a monster, it was not surprising that it looked like anything.
Putting away the pen, Tang Xinjue frowned imperceptibly.
Because her senses of the game's creatures were so acute, she was almost entirely passively aware of their presence and status. This was also the reason for her rapidly declining sanity value.
"If I'm feeling right, this Reaper's patrol should only use this part..." She drew a circle on the bottom strip of cloth, "...to simply sweep through all the dormitories and check them all out."
That's why it didn't notice the four people hiding in the closet.
While feeling relieved, a new question also emerged. Tang Xinjue's expression was solemn: "This is just the first one."
And there are twelve reapers in total.
Each one may be different.
They couldn't predict what form the next reaper would take when patrolling, and whether hiding in the closet would still be useful then.
But within the dormitory, there was no better hiding place except the enclosed closet.
Zhang You was horrified: "So, there's no plan that's guaranteed to work..."
Tang Xin Jue confirmed: "That's right. At least with our current capabilities, we can't find a systematic countermeasure that can deal with all the Reapers at the same time."
This time, they may only be able to rely on their endurance and luck.
Two minutes after the last reaper left, Tang Xinjue quickly decided that everyone should change into thick winter clothing and put on masks. Simultaneously, he stripped the bedding from the beds and stuffed it all around the sides of the wardrobe, leaving only the middle space for hiding.
"The possessed ghost once said that they rely on the smell of people to identify the dormitory, and they will float over when they smell the human scent."
"Assuming that the Reapers will also use this to identify humans when searching for them, then what we need to do is to minimize the leakage of our presence."
Tang Xinjue filled a basin with cold water from the faucet and poured it on the glass window.
Since they came out of the closet again, the vegetation outside the window has disappeared without a trace, perhaps it has been "harvested" in accordance with the season.
Others also poured cold water on the dormitory floor, including the tables, chairs, doors, etc., to remove any traces of their activities.
Finally, one person made a three-foot-freezing talisman, which reduced the temperature in the dormitory by dozens of degrees. It was as if they had returned to the winter dungeon. Everyone was wearing thick clothes, and it seemed as if even the blood circulation was frozen and slowed down.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute."
Guo Guo took out a cloth bag and stuffed self-defense tools and a bunch of spare parts into it. These were the warning props that Guo Guo and Zhang You had reluctantly dismantled before they entered the closet for the first time, in order to prevent the alarm from attracting the monster's attention.
“The color changed!”
Zhang You cried out briefly, his voice anxious.
On the app's exam interface, at the bottom of the 12 light dots, one of them suddenly turned yellow.
This means that a reaper is approaching them!
Without hesitation, several people immediately picked up all their belongings and quickly got into the closet.
The cabinet door closed, darkness came over me, and my sense of security actually increased.
Guo Guo clasped his hands together and silently prayed: Don't come over, don't come over, don't come over...
The light symbolizing the reaper changes from yellow to red.
"Bang!"
The balcony window seemed to be hit by a heavy object, and the sound of glass breaking was clear and sharp!
Guo Guo was so frightened that she almost cried out. She desperately covered her mouth and silently muttered:
Don’t find out, don’t find out, don’t find out…
It seemed like something was crawling on the ground, from the balcony to the dormitory door, and the rustling sound was getting closer and closer to the wardrobe.
This time's reaper is obviously much more meticulous than the previous one.
Guo Guo grabbed Tang Xinjue's hand desperately.
Tang Xinjue was not feeling well either.
She could feel that the monster did not actually enter the dormitory, but only used part of its body, or a clone, but even so, she could not help but sense more.
Cold...dark yellow...thunderbolt...huge pupils...
[Untouchable Object (Level 3): Your sanity value is severely damaged, and your health value is -55]
Your sanity is overwhelmed.
[Stop, or go crazy, it's just a matter of thought.]
Tang Xinjue closed his eyes, bit his lower lip tightly, and dug his nails into his palms, trying to use the pain to reduce the sensation, but it was of no use.
No, we can't just sit there and wait for death.
Then there would be a second, and a third monster of the same level. Would she have to endure a mental blow every time? At this rate, she wouldn't even wait halfway. Even if her health bar wasn't completely depleted, she would go crazy because her sanity value was depleted.
Tang Xin Jue's thoughts were running wildly.
There must be a solution, she will definitely find a solution... Just like how she survived countless nightmares, she can control her thoughts, consciousness, and reactions, and thus she can also control her perception.
What did she do in her nightmare?
A flash of enlightenment arose in Tang Xinjue's mind.
To some extent, reality blocked her control over her brain, reduced her strength, and magnified her weaknesses.
But if this was a nightmare, she could do it.
——Then just treat it as if you are in a dream.
Deciding immediately, Tang Xin Jue gathered his attention, brought his thoughts back to normal, and endured the mental attack, sinking deeper and deeper into the vast sea of consciousness.
Found it.
In the darkness, Tang Xinjue opened her eyes, but if there was light at this time, someone would see that her eyes lost focus for a moment, and then became empty and indifferent.
Only Tang Xinjue herself knew that she no longer felt any danger.
The rapidly declining sanity value suddenly stopped, and the negative states began to disappear one after another.
[Perception Blockade: This is a buff created by the mind, and its specific function is not yet clear. Of course, no one knows better than you, right?]
…
After an unknown amount of time, Guo Guo poked her tremblingly - there was no sound outside.
In the test interface, the second light spot lost its brightness and turned gray.
The second reaper also left!
Seeing this tip, Guo Guo was so moved that she almost cried on the spot. She sniffed and was about to say something to Tang Xinjue next to her when the girl next to her suddenly stumbled, knocked open the cabinet door, and fell to the ground.
"Heart Secret!!"
Following Guo Guo's scream, the other two quickly opened the cabinet door and came out, horrified at the scene before them.
Tang Xinjue's face was pale, his eyes were tightly closed, his facial features wrinkled in pain, his hands were clenched into fists and pressed on his temples, he curled up into a small ball, looking extremely painful.
"Heart Sutra! What's wrong with you?"
Without caring about anything else, several people quickly helped her up. Unaware of the situation, they dared not move easily. They could only gently press on her shoulders and temples, trying to make Tang Xinjue feel better.
Fortunately, after a few minutes, the girl's body, which was stretched like a bowstring, relaxed and she opened her eyes. There was nothing unusual except a few more bloodshot eyes.
"I'm fine." Tang Xinjue spoke in a hoarse voice.
She drank a sip of the water Zhang You handed her, her complexion slightly improved, and she smiled apologetically: "I just tried a new technique, and I didn't control it well when I retracted it. I didn't expect the sequelae of my first breakthrough to be so strong."
But at the same time, it is not without gain.
"Xin Jue, your health value?!!" Guo Guo suddenly blurted out with his eyes wide open.
From what she saw, under [Dormitory Member Status], the health bar behind Tang Xinjue's name had returned to green in the blink of an eye, having been on the verge of the red line ten minutes ago.
A teardrop was about to form and hung at the corner of Guo Guo's eye. She didn't know whether she should let it fall or not. She was dumbfounded.
Holy shit, my health is only a hundred points, and Tang Xin Jue recovered dozens of points in one go?
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