Players, Please Board the Train

Since most people had decided, anyone left who opposed would appear guilty. Therefore, everyone returned to the room on the first basement floor where the topic board was placed to wait.

The waiting process was too dull. Wan Yunrong couldn’t help but strike up a conversation with Wu Xiaonan. ”Do you think becoming the ’ghost’ in the game will have some special marking?”

Wu Xiaonan was helping Zhu Rumin wipe the powder off her face. Her own face was already clean. ”If there is, that would be best, of course. It would avoid accidentally harming others.”

Wan Yunrong sighed. ”If only whoever was chosen could just step forward and admit it themselves.”

”Could it be that the person selected to be the ghost doesn’t even know they are the ghost?” Chu Yuan suddenly voiced a wild idea.

”How is that possible?” Gan Qing said. ”If that were the case, what would be the point of playing this game?”

Participating in the game and achieving victory was an obvious way to earn points. Reasoning backwards, if the ”ghost” themselves didn’t even know their own identity, how could they play? The game would lose its fundamental meaning.

For the rest of that day, except for going to the restroom, the players did not move around casually. It quickly reached the time from last night when the lights went out, but the lights stubbornly remained on.

”What’s going on? Is the lights-out time not fixed?” Ge Pan looked at the brightly lit lights outside in confusion.

”It seems it was never said the lights-out time would be fixed,” Miao Yu said.The players sized each other up. Not finding anything abnormal on anyone else, they could only brace themselves and wait. But until one in the morning, the lights in the laboratory still hadn’t gone out.

”I need to use the restroom,” Wu Xiaonan said, standing up.

”Wait, you can’t go now. What if the lights go out right after you leave?” Wan Yunrong tried to stop her.

Wu Xiaonan shifted her legs uncomfortably. ”It’s fine if I go out alone, right? You’re all here. It’s not like we’d let the ghost run out.”

Chu Yuan rolled his eyes. ”Who’s worried about you getting killed by the ghost? We’re worried you *are* the ghost.”

Wu Xiaonan’s face stiffened. ”Even if I am the ghost, where could I hide? The lab is only so big. You can’t possibly expect me to take care of it here!”

”Please.”

”You...!” Wu Xiaonan was furious. Zhu Rumin, beside her, tried to mediate. ”Everyone is just worried about your safety. No one can guarantee there aren’t other dangers in the lab.”

Wu Xiaonan sneered. ”Then why don’t a few of you come with me? Two ghosts still wouldn’t make up half the group.”

”I’ll go too,” Miao Yu said, flexing her arm. ”If the lights don’t go out all night, are we supposed to hold it in until we burst?”

”Anyone else want to go together? The restroom has stalls, so let’s not mind the gender separation.”

”I’ll pass,” Wan Yunrong said, waving her hand.

”I’ll accompany you. I’ll just wait outside. More people means more safety,” Xu Huo said, nudging Chu Yuan’s arm, hinting that he must keep an eye on Wu Xiaonan.

Chu Yuan nodded.

In the end, only the five of them went out. Ge Pan, Mao Wei, and the other six people remained in the room.

The three women entered the restroom. Xu Huo and Chu Yuan waited outside. Chu Yuan complained, ”Either go earlier or drink less water. Haven’t you seen movies? Usually in these situations, something is bound to happen...”

Before he could finish, the lights in the hallway went out.

Voices came from inside the restroom. Xu Huo glanced calmly at Chu Yuan. ”Haven’t you seen movies? Your situation is called being a jinx.”

Chu Yuan hurriedly turned on his flashlight. Given the strange ghostly figures he saw last night, he nervously looked around, front and back. ”Seems quiet over there too.”

Miao Yu and the other two came out of the restroom. The two groups sized each other up for a few seconds, then unanimously quickened their pace towards the room—the ghost wasn’t among them, and if they fell behind, they might miss their chance.

Just as they reached the outside of the room, a figure suddenly kicked the door open and rushed out, running headlong towards the other end without looking back, followed by several other players.

”Chang Chengyong ran! He’s the ghost...” Gan Qing rushed out right behind, but stopped at the doorway, staring in shock at Xu Huo’s group of five. ”Zhu Rumin...”

Zhu Rumin’s face changed drastically. But the next second, Wu Xiaonan, who was closest to her, clapped her hands together. ”Twin Peaks Penetrate the Ears!”

Though called ”Twin Peaks Penetrate the Ears,” two transparent plastic plates materialized out of thin air, clamping Zhu Rumin tightly between them. Her body was slightly flattened, but her head twisted to the side, facing Wu Xiaonan as she said, ”Aren’t you a woman? How can you be so strong?”

Wu Xiaonan’s expression froze for a moment, and the ”Twin Peaks Penetrate the Ears” grip loosened.

”She’s going to run!” Chu Yuan pulled out a crossbow, aiming at the woman squeezing out from between the plastic plates, but it was blocked by the other’s metal vambrace.

The crossbow bolt, trailing a steel wire, was deflected towards Wu Xiaonan, actually pushing her back and helping Zhu Rumin.

”Zhu Rumin, look here!” Xu Huo shouted at that moment, tossing out a black ball from his hand!

Zhu Rumin reflexively looked up but was struck in the face by the black ball at a tricky angle. Her whole body fell backwards. Miao Yu, right beside her, crossed her arms and drew twin knives from under her jacket, slashing at Zhu Rumin’s waist!

However, this slash didn’t injure Zhu Rumin. She pressed one hand against Miao Yu’s arm, using it as leverage to spring up, and launched a flying kick aimed at Miao Yu’s head.

Miao Yu quickly raised her arm, blocking with the knife held horizontally beside her head. Though she was kicked back a few steps, Zhu Rumin’s leg was also injured.

This brief exchange was enough for players like Ge Pan to react. After giving the warning, Gan Qing and Qiu Xiangdong had gone to chase Chang Chengyong, so three players remained in the room.

Mao Wei was the first to throw something shaped like a grenade forward. However, when it exploded, it released cotton candy-like fluff, directly sealing Zhu Rumin and the corridor together.

Miao Yu and Wu Xiaonan nearby were also affected. The two tore off the sticky stuff clinging to them, switching to a long knife and a long sword in their hands, stabbing and sweeping towards Zhu Rumin’s position.

No sound could be heard through the fluff, but when Wu Xiaonan pulled her sword out, there was blood on it.

By the time the players completely tore open the fluff, Zhu Rumin was already gone.

”There’s blood on the ground. We can catch up,” Wu Xiaonan said, taking the lead in pursuit.

The other players weren’t far behind. Except for Qiu Xiangdong and Gan Qing who went after Chang Chengyong, all the rest chased in Zhu Rumin’s direction.

Following the scattered drops of blood led them to the elevator. Wan Yunrong instinctively moved to enter, but Miao Yu beside her stopped her. ”If she used the elevator, it wouldn’t be parked nicely here.”

The gap since they followed wasn’t long enough for the elevator to make a full round trip.

”So she hid in a room?” Wu Xiaonan turned around and started searching room by room.

”Women are terrifying,” Chu Yuan couldn’t help but comment, watching her. ”Just a moment ago, those two were as close as sisters from different parents, even going to the bathroom together. The moment they come out, they turn on each other, and turning means stabbing with a knife. Impressive.”

”If Zhu Rumin is the ghost, then her getting close to Wu Xiaonan was to kill her,” Xu Huo said. How could they *not* turn on each other?

”There are too many rooms in the lab. Let’s split up to search,” Mao Wei suggested.

”Alright, I’ll go with him,” Ge Pan agreed.