It was the fourth day of the game, early morning.
At the breakfast window, that person’s figure was absent.
Though she did not have high expectations, Luo Yu still went to the player team’s meeting point after breakfast.
To her surprise, someone was already waiting when she arrived.
Only one person—Sun Heng.
When they saw each other, both were surprised and relieved, with a hint of awkwardness as well.
They were the only two survivors.
The game still had four days left. From a safety perspective, no matter how many disagreements they had earlier, now they should forgive each other and stick together for survival.
But before they could do that…
Sun Heng happily approached Luo Yu, walking a few steps before abruptly stopping. Luo Yu cautiously stepped back a little.
They were both facing the same problem:
How to confirm that the person in front of them was really the other player and not a monster in disguise.
Sun Heng fumbled for a moment, then pulled a small spray from his pocket. “This is an invisibility spray, only effective on players.”
He sprayed it on his hand. It immediately became transparent, then reappeared a few seconds later.
“The effect lasts five seconds, pretty useless, so I rarely use it,” Sun Heng explained.
He randomly grabbed a student from the playground and sprayed them. The student sneezed several times, but no invisibility effect occurred.
It only works on players, not NPCs. This proved his identity.
“Crazy!” the student muttered, glaring at him before walking away.
Now it was Luo Yu’s turn.
She didn’t hold back and took the bone whistle from her chest. “This is an important clue I obtained. It’s related to the wolf pack in the back mountains.”
“I’ve basically understood the story’s background. Since the mission is to uncover Qinggang High School’s secrets, why hasn’t it prompted the game to end yet?”
Sun Heng glanced at the whistle but didn’t respond.
He clearly still didn’t trust her, and Luo Yu knew that just those two sentences weren’t convincing.
That was a problem. As a new player, she didn’t have any items that could prove her identity…
Wait? Sun Heng said the spray only works on players?
“Why didn’t you spray me?” Luo Yu glared at him.
“Oh… oh right, right.”
Sun Heng suddenly understood, raising the spray and pressing it against her arm twice.
Her arm disappeared and reappeared. Luo Yu could almost hear Sun Heng’s relieved sigh.
“Because the conditions to clear the game aren’t met yet,” he explained, answering her earlier question. “Just knowing the secret isn’t enough. Players need to take some action based on the information they’ve learned.”
“Sometimes it’s finding an escape route, sometimes defeating the boss behind the scenes. Depending on the game’s context, players’ requirements vary… Sorry, can you tell me what information you’ve obtained? Then I might be able to infer…”
Sun Heng spoke with genuine shame.
As a veteran player, he hadn’t accomplished anything and had led the team to total defeat.
He despised himself. “I really apologize for not believing you earlier, and for acting so frivolous.”
At first, his attention had been drawn purely by Luo Yu’s beauty. Only now did he finally regard her as an equal—or even above him.
Luo Yu nodded.
She had already roughly guessed why the game hadn’t allowed her to clear it yet. Asking Sun Heng was just to confirm.
She had come to him because she needed his strength.
“All the teachers at the school are monsters. The wolf pack is the original faculty,” Luo Yu said concisely.
The previous evening, she had seen the back mountain wolves transform into human forms. The alpha wolf leading her there was, in fact, the principal of Qinggang High School.
The principal explained that Qinggang High School had once been an open and tolerant school. But wanting to improve the graduation rate, he had imposed stricter rules.
“And that’s how it became like this,” the old principal sighed. “The school’s atmosphere deteriorated, students suffered, and the unclean things in the back mountains took advantage, replacing all our teachers.”
“They became more ruthless, harming the students.”
“Yang energy suppresses yin. The filthy things avoid direct conflict with students, so they quietly kill and replace them.”
“If their numbers surpass the surviving students, it’ll be impossible to stop them.”
The old principal calculated: “I used to teach math. At this rate, in three days, the number of students will fall below the safety line.”
Three days later. Exactly the last day of the game.
Everything Sun Heng said was true. If players, misled by the mission’s description, chose to do nothing and just survive at Qinggang High for seven days… on the seventh day, the monsters would be unrestricted, and all players would die.
After all the explanation, the old principal finally gave useful information: “There’s a Taoist exorcist statue in my office. A wandering Taoist gave it to me when the school was built. It can play a key role in a critical moment.”
“I want you to retrieve the statue to help us return to human form. If possible, get the students’…”
Luo Yu summarized the principal’s words briefly: “That’s it. The teachers can only briefly regain human form in the back mountain. You need to sneak into the principal’s office and steal the statue.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You can handle it, right, Sun Heng?”
No longer calling him Brother Sun.
“Don’t worry, leave it to me.” Sun Heng patted his chest confidently.
Partly because he had the ability, and partly because he didn’t want to appear cowardly in front of Luo Yu.
“But…” Sun Heng hesitated, “if I go steal the statue, what will you do?”
She wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing, right?
Luo Yu remained silent for a while.
“I… I want to help the students here if possible,” she shrugged. “Call it compassion. Their world shouldn’t be like this.”
Oppressed by monsters, collectively kidnapped. Unable to cry or laugh, once-lively humans now numb and indistinguishable from the disguised monsters.
Sun Heng scratched his head.
He had gone through exams before, though many years ago, yet the repressed emotions, fear, anxiety, and suffocation could still haunt him in nightmares.
“Is it possible?” He looked at the classrooms, full of students, seeing their numb expressions, and doubted.
“Don’t underestimate students this age,” Luo Yu said. “If they unite, their potential is enormous.”
That evening, the school’s electricity was sabotaged. Evening classes were canceled.
Sun Heng used the chaos to sneak into the principal’s office and easily stole the exorcist statue. Monsters avoided it, making his task much easier.
At the same time, in the girls’ dormitory, Luo Yu found the girl who had cried to her at noon.
“Want to help your fellow students?”
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll be with you.”