Xiao Jin didn't move an inch from beginning to end. She sat on a high tree branch, her gaze fixed on the figure slumped under the tree, as if drawn by invisible threads.
Looking at the farce below, or perhaps a replay of the scene.
Xiao Jin frowned, and without realizing it, her hands gripped the tree trunk tightly, leaving deep marks on it.
What is this? School bullying? Emotional entanglement?
Are kids these days so precocious? Is it because they don't have enough homework, or is it because the food in the cafeteria is so easy to grab?
From their conversation, Xiao Jin could guess that Zhou Lin was probably the girl in the lead's heart. He had fallen for this girl named Yu Ling, which was why they came to cause trouble for Yu Ling.
There was also an interesting side story, which seemed to involve a teacher surnamed Yang.
Yu Ling was probably bullied by him. As for whether these girls were involved, judging from their arrogant and mocking manner towards Yu Ling just now, they definitely can't escape responsibility.
A teacher sexually assaulting a student, especially a minor, is a crime under the law, regardless of the girl's consent. Mr. Yang wouldn't be so careless as to tell several young girls about something that could ruin his life.
Therefore, these people must have been involved in this matter, and may even have maliciously witnessed the entire incident.
Just as Xiao Jin was feeling a mix of emotions and displeasure, she suddenly realized that the air around her seemed to have been frozen by an invisible force, and an indescribable chill crept in, penetrating her skin like fine needles and reaching her very bones.
The surrounding forest fell eerily silent in that instant. The swaying shadows of the trees seemed frozen in time, every leaf motionless. And Yu Ling, who had been lying on the ground, had now stood up.
Yu Ling's movements were stiff and slow, each muscle twitch accompanied by fine sand slipping from her feet. Her disheveled hair obscured most of her face, and in her eyes hidden within, a dark resentment almost materialized.
Seeing this, Xiao Jin finally remembered why she had been so familiar with the school uniforms worn by the girls.
In the toilet on the fourth floor of the men's dormitory, Xiao Jin once fought with a female ghost covered in blood. In the end, she broke the mirror, forcing the ghost to escape with serious injuries.
Looking at it now, Yu Ling looks exactly like the female ghost I saw in the men's dormitory bathroom, both in terms of clothes and figure.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Ling slowly raised her head, and the human and the ghost stared at each other.
The next second, a slightly eerie yet familiar notification sound suddenly rang out:
[Ding—Congratulations, player, you have triggered the side quest: Crimson Altar]
Task Description: Players are required to find the altar hidden inside Linhai High School and replenish the offerings. Completing the task will reward players with 2000 points and a bronze treasure chest.
Quest Progress: Altar (0/1), Offering (1/6)
Tsk~ another side quest.
Xiao Jin blinked.
Good news: her idea to investigate the school was correct. Bad news: the side quest rewards are incredibly high, which means it's also very difficult.
The altar and offerings look unusual!
However, Xiao Jin was very curious about what was happening in the school. It was just a side quest, just finding the altar, no problem!
As the notification sound faded, Xiao Jin noticed that Yu Ling, who was standing under the tree, suddenly raised her arm and pointed forward. Then, her figure flickered twice and disappeared into thin air.
The moment Yu Ling disappeared, it was as if time in the forest began to move again. The sounds of the wind, the rustling of leaves, and the chirping of insects instantly made Xiao Jin realize that she had returned to reality.
Sure enough, what had just happened was something that had already occurred before. Yu Ling had deliberately reenacted it for herself, probably for the sake of the altar in that side quest.
Xiao Jin stroked her chin, then lightly leaped down from the treetop. But instead of leaving, she recalled the direction Yu Ling was pointing and came to a large tree.
She paused for a moment, her eyes flashing, and then, a fragment of a weapon appeared in Xiao Jin's hand—a purple-grade weapon—which she used as a shovel.
Xiao Jin began digging along the base of the tree. As the soil above was gradually leveled, a long, narrow object tightly wrapped in black cloth soon appeared at the bottom of the pit.
This thing is no ordinary object; it has two yellowed talismans pasted on it. When Xiao Jin's fingers touched the two talismans, a system notification sounded in her mind.
Exorcism Talisman
Grade: Blue
Type: Supernatural
Number of uses: once
Note: Can suppress vengeful spirits and resentment.
Xiao Jin hadn't expected to gain such a valuable supernatural item, so she naturally didn't hesitate to take it.
Then, Xiao Jin slowly lifted the black cloth underneath, revealing a section of arm covered in bluish-purple marks.
The arm resembled a withered branch peeking out from an ancient tree, surrounded by a deep and heavy black aura. The moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and the air became eerily ghostly.
[Ding—Side quest progress updated, sacrificial offering discovered—left arm]
Xiao Jin raised an eyebrow, not expecting that Yu Ling had pointed out the location where the sacrificial offering was hidden, and that the offering was actually a corpse. Could it be Yu Ling's corpse?
Xiao Jin had some guesses.
Something even more serious must have happened afterward, leading to Yu Ling's murder, dismemberment, and her body being sealed and hidden by talismans. Thus, her resentment transformed her into a vengeful ghost.
Perhaps in the process of collecting these dismembered remains, she will gradually be able to piece together the whole story.
Xiao Jin put her left arm into her spatial storage and then strode away from the forest. After she left, the black cloth that had fallen to the ground swayed slightly, and a gust of wind blew it up and carried it into the distance.
…………
For the next week, Xiao Jin spent all her free time wandering around the campus, practically turning Linhai High School upside down. Unfortunately, she encountered quite a few ghosts, but the remaining body parts remained elusive.
Meanwhile, the other players gradually got used to the rhythm of Linhai High School. Apart from the poor food, they were all quite relaxed after realizing that there was no danger to their lives.
In their eyes, they had already persevered halfway, so the remaining time was no problem at all. If they ran out of money, they would just keep buying items; they gritted their teeth and, in order not to starve to death, they had to make do with their only weapon.
However, the problem of players mysteriously disappearing has not disappeared. Basically, one person is missing every day. Everyone is on edge every day, afraid that they will be the next one if they are not careful. After all, according to the group chat, all those who disappeared are dead.
It's funny, everyone in the other boys' dormitory of Class 3 has gone missing, and there's only one person left in the girls' dormitory, but Xiao Jin's room 414 is completely untouched.
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