Fatty froze. Before him, Chu Changge stood with an expressionless face, lips opening and closing as he uttered chilling words: "Don't trust anyone."

Gu Mian was deeply considering Xu Xingcheng's situation when he heard Chu Changge beside him begin his lecture.

Looking at Fatty, who was already trembling from Chu Changge's icy tone, Gu Mian put an arm around him reassuringly. "Don't worry. Based on our relationship, even if I were a ghost..."

"Even if you were a ghost, you wouldn't have the heart to kill me, right?" Fatty swallowed nervously.

Gu Mian paused for a moment, then corrected himself, "Even if I were a ghost, I wouldn't let you die too painfully."

Fatty was speechless.

After three seconds of contemplation, Fatty finally spoke again. "Our main mission is to eliminate the ghost, which means we're civilians, right? Besides, the person playing the ghost in this instance should have been replaced by a real ghost. Logically, the instance wouldn't allow players to be replaced by ghosts, so player identities can't be ghosts."

The paths on campus were growing more crowded. Under the dim lights, people quickened their pace, flocking towards the academic building.

The sky had completely darkened, taking on a peculiar hue—a deep cyan mixed with an unblendable black that slowly painted the entire sky.

Chu Changge shook his head slightly. "That's not necessarily the case. In games like 'Close Your Eyes,' there are usually multiple ghosts. It's possible that among these multiple ghosts, only one person playing a ghost was replaced by a real ghost."

"Also, the instance can definitely change the mission content. Gu Mian experienced this firsthand when he first entered an instance. Just as he was about to complete his task, the instance changed the mission content, forcing him to stay. Therefore, it's possible that in this current instance, the mission will be altered after players have entered."

"Because the tasks for ghosts and civilians are undoubtedly different. When teaming up to enter an instance, players unfamiliar with this game or its rules are highly likely to discuss mission completion strategies with others right at the start. This could easily lead to them revealing their identities. To prevent this, I suspect the mission will only change after the game rules are known... This is the most plausible scenario I can envision."

Gu Mian continued to stroke his chin, pondering. Since this is a real-life version of 'Close Your Eyes,' why doesn't the instance announce the game rules at the beginning? Why make players discover them within the instance? Is it purely to increase the difficulty?

By this time, the stairs were already crowded with students returning from dinner, ready for evening self-study.

Of course, Gu Mian had no intention of sticking around for some troublesome evening self-study session.

I need to find the other three players first and see if they have any clues.

He quickly returned to the classroom and picked up his guitar case, which was propped against his desk. His guitar had also been transported into this instance. A high school student carrying a large guitar is quite incongruous...

His deskmate, Xu Xingcheng, looked up at him. "Are you planning to cut class?"

Without hesitation, Gu Mian responded with a simple "Mmm."

An 'I wish I could cut class too' expression flashed briefly on Xu Xingcheng's face before quickly fading. He said, "Then be careful. And also…"

Seeing Xu Xingcheng hesitate as if wanting to say more, Gu Mian pressed, "What's the matter?"

Xu Xingcheng looked up slightly at Gu Mian. "Have you seen Zhang Pingfan recently?"

Who is Zhang Pingfan? Gu Mian had no idea, but of course, he couldn't admit his ignorance outright. He shook his head. "No, I haven't."

Though, judging by the name, he sounds pretty ordinary.

"Oh," Xu Xingcheng slumped back onto the desk. "Then it's nothing."

Gu Mian frowned slightly. This deskmate is really suspicious.

By now, Chu Changge was already standing by the back door. Fatty cowered behind him, peeking out fearfully like a thief.

Seeing this, Gu Mian slung his guitar over his shoulder and quickly walked to the back door. Teachers were usually on duty during evening self-study, and it would be difficult to slip away once they arrived.

Based on his years of experience, teachers were most active at the very beginning of self-study. He planned to avoid this period by hiding for a while in the green belt beneath the academic building.

Once things settled down, he planned to sneak back into the academic building and check each classroom for anyone who could access player information.

At this point, students had mostly returned to their classrooms and settled in their seats, preparing for the night's self-study.

Consequently, the hallways and stairwells were nearly empty. Gu Mian's group of three made their way to the first floor unimpeded. Just as the three of them stepped out of the academic building's main entrance, they ran head-on into someone.

Even from five meters away, Gu Mian immediately recognized this person as a player.

Really delivered right to my doorstep...

As for why he could recognize her as a player from five meters away... well, it was because he had teamed up with her before!

And his impression of this player was exceedingly profound; the moment he saw her face, he recalled the image of a flayed arm.

007 also hadn't expected to run into three familiar faces.

After the Fairy Tale City instance, 007 had developed strong suspicions about this global game. She suspected it wasn't merely data but a massive conspiracy.

Of course, what pained her most was that the Fairy Tale City instance offered no completion rewards at the end—something utterly unheard of, which had cost her a significant amount of money.

So much so that seeing these three again instantly reminded 007 of that instance which, despite being cleared, yielded no reward.

After the Fairy Tale City instance, she had developed some psychological scars, terrified that she might inexplicably die in an instance one day.

Although terrified, she still had to enter instances. Entering instances could mean death, but in the current environment, not entering them meant she wouldn't survive for long.

Thus, 007 had been treading through instances with trepidation, never expecting to be so unlucky as to encounter this death trio again.

Although she felt that meeting these three boded ill, communication among teammates within an instance was still necessary. Steeling herself, 007 clutched the item in her hand and moved towards them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.