Luo Yu repeated to the players the information Liu Shuang had told her last night, adding details about Liu Shuang and the other two roommates’ strange behavior.
Finally, she summarized, “So I think all the teachers at the school are connected to the monsters. They use some method to alter students’ perceptions, turning them into puppets under their control.”
Many players nodded in agreement with Luo Yu’s theory.
“You’re right, I’ve long suspected something was wrong with those teachers.”
“The atmosphere in this school is definitely weird. Those students act like robots. Now it seems very likely they are being controlled.”
Sun Heng nodded approvingly. “Good, you’ve given us very useful information.”
Then he added pointedly, “But last night, your situation was very dangerous. That Liu Shuang clearly tried to gain your trust before harming you. Honestly, you were very lucky to survive. Next time something like this happens, you should seek help from others.”
The implication was that she could seek help from “him.” As for the cost, Sun Heng looked at Luo Yu with a warm, suggestive gaze.
Luo Yu glanced away and nodded neutrally, “Thanks for your concern.”
Yang Tian was displeased and picked a fight. “But if Liu Shuang wanted to harm you, doesn’t that mean we can’t completely trust what she said?”
“But we also can’t dismiss it entirely,” Sun Heng responded. “NPC information is important. At least for now, nothing Liu Shuang said contradicts itself.”
“Fine.” Yang Tian rolled her eyes and sulked, turning her head away.
“But why don’t the monsters directly attack students? Why go through the trouble of brainwashing them into puppets? What’s their ultimate goal, taking over the school?”
“Perhaps the monsters are limited in some way. The same goes for players. At the beginning of the survival game, monster actions are restricted, so players are relatively safe. Later, monsters become less restricted, and players are in more danger,” Sun Heng explained.
His gaze swept over the player team. “So besides Luo Yu, did anyone else face danger last night?”
The players exchanged glances, then shook their heads.
“No.” “Not me either.”
“Seems this survival game isn’t very dangerous,” someone said.
As they spoke, some players began to feel hesitant.
Then Luo Yu spoke again, “There’s another possibility.”
“What?” All the players turned to her.
“The previous question was good, what is the monsters’ ultimate goal? If it really is to take over the school, then what would they do after taking control?” Luo Yu posed the topic while observing everyone’s reactions.
Some remained calm, some became anxious, and some were clearly stunned.
“Uh, use the students to enter politics and then take over the world?”
This guess was somewhat ridiculous.
Another player said, “I don’t think monsters have such grand ambitions. If it’s in the survival game, when I think of monsters, I think of eating people.”
He scratched his head. “I’m just guessing, not necessarily.”
Luo Yu nodded firmly. “Yes, eating people.”
“Suppose the monsters occupy the school to eat people freely. Then the question is, why take such a roundabout approach instead of attacking students directly?”
The question circled back. Yang Tian laughed loudly, “Little Luo Yu, are you even listening? Didn’t Brother Sun just say the monsters are likely limited?”
“For example, even though they are monsters, the large number of students could pose a threat. If they control fewer students than the number of normal students, they wouldn’t dare harm anyone and expose themselves,” Yang Tian said, flicking her nails for emphasis.
Beside her, Sun Heng’s expression was dark.
He seemed to already understand what Luo Yu was trying to say.
“If,” Sun Heng said grimly, “the monsters didn’t control the students but directly ate them, then to cover it up, they transformed into the appearance of the devoured students, taking the victims’ place and continuing to attend school.”
The player team fell silent for a moment.
When someone realized what Sun Heng meant, a shout went up, “Oh my god, that means we’re in the middle of monsters right now.”
They recalled the atmosphere in their classes, their faces quickly turning as pale and grim as Sun Heng’s.
“How many normal students are left in this school?”
It seemed that almost every student they came into contact with could be a monster.
“It’s probably not that bad,” Sun Heng stepped forward to calm the team. “First, students tend to follow the crowd. If the overall school atmosphere is oppressive, even normal students will disguise themselves to fit in. Second, it’s only the third day of the game. It wouldn’t start as a death trap immediately.”
“But if there are already so many monsters around us, why hasn’t any player had an accident yet?” someone asked.
“No, there may already be victims among the players, we just haven’t noticed,” Luo Yu said.
The player immediately widened their eyes at her. “Y-you mean?”
“Yes.” Luo Yu nodded. “Monsters kill players, then transform into the players’ appearances and blend into our team.”
“Holy crap.” Upon hearing this, some couldn’t hold back.
The players began watching each other warily, fearing the person next to them could be a monster in disguise.
Seeing this, Luo Yu sighed.
She had agonized over whether to bring it up, knowing it would inevitably create suspicion among the players.
That would be very bad for team cooperation.
But she also couldn’t allow monsters to mix freely with players.
“Everyone, calm down,” Luo Yu said. “It’s the third day. Even if the monsters have targeted us, the number of victims won’t be too high.”
“Please think carefully, has anyone nearby suddenly changed in personality? If so, they are very likely monsters in disguise.”
Her words helped calm the players slightly.
They tried to recall, soon identifying a few suspects, including the fat player Luo Yu had long suspected.
“But what do we do with them?” someone asked Sun Heng. “We can’t be certain they are all monsters.”
“Players cannot attack each other,” Sun Heng rubbed his temples, slightly annoyed. “Attacking the wrong target will result in game penalties.”
“But we can’t just let them go.”
“What should we do?”
“Just tie them up here?”
“Are you stupid? If they are monsters, leaving them here lets them escape. If they’re players, being late is against school rules.”
“At least this way, we can figure out who is a monster and who is a player.”
“Let’s do it.”
Sacrificing others’ lives casually, when it comes to their own interests, this group of players was more ruthless than anyone.
Luo Yu sighed inwardly at the chaos.
“Wait, you’re saying players have been replaced by monsters, but that’s just your theory, right?” Yang Tian spoke up.
Of course, she trusted the information she had gotten from the dorm supervisor more than Luo Yu’s words.
“In my opinion, you’re the one more likely siding with the monsters, deliberately spreading fear to cause infighting.”
Yang Tian smiled smugly. “Who knows if you’ve been manipulated by monsters? Also, I noticed you were already close with an NPC on the first day of the game.”
“How so?” Yang Tian drawled maliciously, “Pulling and tugging, seems kind of ambiguous.”