In an instant, 007 felt like she had fallen into an ice den, vaguely feeling that a murderer could strike her down at any moment.

At this moment, Gu Mian's words pulled 007 back up, "Of course, that's not realistic. I've been with him the whole time after entering the instance. He had no time to hire a murderer."

007 laughed sarcastically, increasingly feeling that the three people in front of her were unreliable.

With them here, can this game really proceed smoothly to the end? 007 couldn't help but doubt.

The school bell had already rung. In the meantime, a few teachers passed by them, all with strange expressions, as if wondering why these students weren't going to class.

However, even within the instance, everyone upheld the fine human virtue of "if it doesn't concern me, I'll stay out of it."

Seeing students who were not from their class, the teachers hastily walked by.

By this time, Gu Mian and the others had moved to a secluded pavilion in the nearby landscaped woods. There were no lights in the woods, and 007 was a bit scared. But seeing there were three other people beside her, she boldly inquired, "What are you doing hiding here?"

In the darkness, Gu Mian spoke, "We plan to wait until the patrol is almost over, then search for other players one classroom at a time."

Upon hearing this, 007 suddenly wondered, "Didn't you meet Yue Nu in the school building?"

Gu Mian remembered that both 007 and Yue Nu were players assigned to Year Two, Class Twenty-Three. But why would they have run into Yue Nu?

Seemingly seeing through Gu Mian's thoughts, 007 then added, "After the last class in the afternoon, she and I went our separate ways to find other players. I searched near the cafeteria entrance, and she searched the deserted school building. You just came out of the school building; she should have run into you by now. How could she not have?"

Gu Mian shook his head. Sorry, but they really hadn't seen her.

007 was thrown into confusion.

Fatty suddenly spoke from the side, "Brother Chu analyzed that there might be someone among us six players who is the 'ghost.' Could it be that Yue Nu mysteriously disappeared to kill people alone?"

007's face hardened. "You mean there could be a 'ghost' among us?"

Chu Changge grunted in affirmation. "I suspect that there is a 'ghost' among the six players. But to protect their identity, everyone's task panel is the same at the beginning. After the 'ghost' figures out the game rules, the task panel will change to 'kill all civilians.' This means the task for one of the four of us might have already changed."

Fatty suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. "Well... my task hasn't changed… Ours should all be the same, right…"

It wasn't possible to bring up the task panel to prove one's innocence right now. Due to game protection, the task panel in this type of instance couldn't be seen by others.

Gu Mian chuckled. "My task has changed to killing all civilians."

Fatty joined in, revealing an awkward yet polite smile.

Chu Changge raised his arm to reveal a digital watch. "But it's only 7:00 PM now. The ghost still has an hour before they can start killing."

The ghost could only kill between 8:00 PM and 3:00 AM the next morning.

Fatty diverted his attention to Chu Changge's wrist. "Where did you get that watch?"

"Stole it from Xu Xingcheng."

"..."

Speaking of Xu Xingcheng, Gu Mian also recalled Zhang Pingfan, whom Xu Xingcheng had asked him about.

Gu Mian, while thinking, turned to 007. "Do you know Zhang Pingfan, one of the twelve people who joined the game?"

Just after Gu Mian spoke, 007 suddenly showed a strange expression.

She looked at Gu Mian with an enigmatic gaze, lowered her voice, and said, "I was just about to tell you all about that. Come with me…"

With that, 007 quickly exited the small pavilion. Gu Mian followed.

This Zhang Pingfan must be something special, judging by 007's and Xu Xingcheng's reactions.

Chu Changge and Fatty also followed.

Not many people were out and about on campus at night. 007 didn't lead them far. Instead, she brought them to a signpost standing under a streetlight. Under the light of the streetlight, Gu Mian could see the notice posted on the signpost.

**ANNOUNCEMENT**

Zhang Pingfan from Year Two, Class Nine, was reported missing on September 24th. Students who have seen Zhang Pingfan are urged to report to a teacher immediately.

Missing? One of the twelve players is missing?

Gu Mian furrowed his brows.

007 began, "I heard from Li Wentao and Pan Yue that Zhang Pingfan regularly skipped classes. He'd climb over the school wall and often disappear. His parents were used to it, so they didn't pay much mind. But this time, he's been missing for a rather long time. He usually returned after skipping only one or two classes."

Chu Changge's voice came from behind Gu Mian, "Today is September 25th. Zhang Pingfan has been missing for a day."

"Hmm," 007 nodded slightly. "Normally, I wouldn't care if this Zhang Pingfan disappeared for a few days. But isn't the timing a bit too coincidental now? We just played that game last week, and this week he's missing. Could he have already been killed by the ghost?"

Fatty interjected, "That's not necessarily true. We suspect a real ghost might have infiltrated this game. Zhang Pingfan might have died before we played the game last week and then participated in the game with the identity of a real ghost."

007 had also said the game was interrupted only after everyone's roles were confirmed. By that time, the ghost role had already been assigned.

The mysteriously missing Zhang Pingfan, the enigmatically elusive Yue Nu...

Among these twelve people... who was the ghost?

Gu Mian stared at the list in his hand.

Just then, he heard a rustling sound from behind.

It sounded like feet gently scraping against the ground. Chu Changge and the others heard it too.

They quickly turned to see a frightened-looking female student standing behind them in the dim light.

Gu Mian couldn't quite describe his feelings at that moment.

He didn't understand why he kept running into acquaintances in this instance. Was it because instances became more difficult the further one progressed, resulting in fewer suitable teammates? However, this girl in front of him didn't seem like a good match for him…

Upon seeing the unfamiliar girl, 007 instinctively tried to open the girl's player panel and was surprised when she actually succeeded.

The girl's game nickname was "Keke."

Before 007 could react, Keke, who was standing not far away, showed a somewhat pleased expression. "So, it's you!"

So, it's them? 007 instinctively took a step back, only then realizing Keke wasn't talking to her, but to the three men beside her.

Gu Mian remembered Keke as a player from the hide-and-seek instance. Speaking of the hide-and-seek instance, Gu Mian recalled Ji Bie Li, who had been mysteriously killed. The identity of Ji Bie Li's murderer remained an unsolved mystery to this day.

Seemingly aware that it wasn't the time for pleasantries, Keke, after her brief moment of happiness, got straight to the point. "I'm a student in Year Two, Class Nine. Four others from my class also played 'Close Your Eyes' with me. I managed to get the names of the others who played the game from them... Since I only knew their names and not what they looked like, I was afraid of exposing myself. So, I thought of checking the Wall of Fame downstairs for their photos. I didn't expect to run into you all as soon as I came down."

The Wall of Fame, true to its name, displayed photos of model students.

Displaying photos of model students in a glass display case, with their names and classes listed below, was a mark of honor.

It hadn't occurred to Gu Mian that Keke would think of identifying people this way.

Gu Mian's eyebrow twitched. He didn't dwell on the Wall of Fame, instead focusing on "Year Two, Class Nine."

"You're in the same class as Zhang Pingfan?" Gu Mian asked. The mysteriously missing Zhang Pingfan was indeed from Year Two, Class Nine.

Keke paused for a moment before replying, "Yes. The others in our class who participated in this game are Zhang Pingfan, Li Yibai, Yuan Qinghua, and Guo Jimei."

Year Two, Class Five: Gu Mian, Chu Changge, Fatty.

Year Two, Class Nine: Keke, Zhang Pingfan, Li Yibai, Guo Jimei, Yuan Qinghua.

Year Two, Class Twenty-Three: 007, Yue Nu, Li Wentao, Pan Yue.

All twelve individuals were accounted for.

These people were distributed among three classes. Could there be some pattern related to their identities?

As they silently mulled this over, Keke, standing in the dim light, suddenly whispered, "I've played this type of game before. Isn't the ghost usually played by one of the players? So, among us... there should be a ghost, right?"

Though her voice was innocent and harmless, her words sent a shiver down their spines.

Is there really a ghost... among us?

Chu Changge silently raised his wristwatch. "It's 7:40 now."

In twenty minutes, the real game would begin.

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