Players, Please Board the Train

The two of them were on one side, Wan Yunrong and Miao Yu were with Wu Xiaonan on another side, while Xu Huo and Chu Yuan were responsible for checking the corridors, because there were simply too many rooms in the laboratory, and Zhu Rumin could hide in any one of them.

Chu Yuan used his item, chewing gum, to stick a light to the ceiling of the corridor. ”This way, if someone passes by, they might be exposed by their own shadow.”

Xu Huo neither agreed nor disagreed, simply cooperating with his actions.

”How do you think Gan Qing saw that Zhu Rumin was the ghost?” Chu Yuan said. ”The five of us were together and couldn’t tell.”

”It might be because of the glass window,” Xu Huo said. Last night, both he and Chu Yuan saw the ghostly figure through a window, and when Gan Qing chased Chang Chengyong out, he was standing right behind the door, separated by just a pane of glass.

”What kind of principle is that?” Chu Yuan found it hard to believe. ”You can only see the ghost through a glass window? You couldn’t see it even with your glasses on?”

Xu Huo glanced at him. The fact was, when the players were together, they simply couldn’t see it.

”Then tell me, was what I saw yesterday actually Chang Chengyong?” Chu Yuan couldn’t help but say. ”No, I have to go ask Gan Qing what the ghost he saw looked like.”

Before they could go find Gan Qing, Gan Qing found them first. ”Did you catch Zhu Rumin?”

”If we had caught her, we wouldn’t be here,” Chu Yuan said. ”What about your side?””Chang Chengyong ran too fast. I followed him around for two laps and finally saw an elevator going down to the third underground floor. I was afraid of a trap and didn’t go down. When I turned back, Qiu Xiangdong was gone too.” Gan Qing asked about the remaining people and shook his head upon learning they had split up to search. ”Finding one person here is too difficult, especially at night. Everywhere looks the same at a glance.”

”What did the ghost you saw look like?” Xu Huo asked.

”A faceless shadow,” Gan Qing said. ”It was right in front of Zhu Rumin... It’s really strange. I could see Zhu Rumin but couldn’t see Chang Chengyong. And he only suddenly made a move after Wan Yunrong suggested everyone take turns submitting the task.”

This was interesting. Judging from Chang Chengyong’s behavior, he knew he was the ”ghost” from the very beginning, which is why he ran away guiltily. Yet Zhu Rumin, who was also a ”ghost,” was caught completely off guard by Wu Xiaonan. Even if she hadn’t been recognized by Gan Qing, returning to the room meant she would still have to try to see if she could complete the task as previously discussed. She couldn’t have escaped.

There are two possible reasons why she didn’t seize the chance to escape but came back instead. First, she didn’t know she was the ”ghost.” Second, she was confident that the trial method wouldn’t reveal the ”ghost’s” identity and wouldn’t lead to clearing the stage.

If it’s the second case, then she could be certain that catching the ”ghost” in the game wouldn’t lead to clearing it. Although Xu Huo had his suspicions, they hadn’t been confirmed yet.

The first case also has two possibilities. One, a player randomly selected as the ”ghost” doesn’t know they are the ”ghost.” Two, she was deliberately selected.

His gaze lingered on Gan Qing’s face for a few seconds. He pulled open the door beside him and looked at the two people outside through the glass, but didn’t see any so-called ghostly figure.

There were still too few ”ghosts.” If there were more ghosts today, it would be easy to test whether one needs to look through glass to see the ”ghost.”

Ge Pan and the others returned, having failed to find Zhu Rumin.

”I have some bad news,” Gan Qing said. ”Qiu Xiangdong is missing.”

The players didn’t share any deep bonds of affection, but having someone disappear right under their noses was unsettling.

”How did you see through Zhu Rumin’s identity?” Ge Pan asked the same question.

Gan Qing explained again and added, ”I don’t understand the reason either.”

Ge Pan thought for a moment and said, ”It might be the glass.”

”In some movies and TV shows, ghosts and monsters invisible to the naked eye can be seen with a camera. Perhaps this game operates on the same principle.”

It sounded absurd, but it was currently the most plausible explanation.

”Chang Chengyong and Zhu Rumin ran away, so the rest of us just have to wait until tomorrow and use glass to find the two new people who turn into ghosts,” Wan Yunrong said.

”Hopefully, no one will just run away this time,” Wu Xiaonan said.

”We were caught off guard just now,” Ge Pan coughed and said. ”It won’t happen tomorrow.”

The group didn’t return to the previous room but chose a nearby room instead, staying awake with their eyes open until the lights came on.

”The lights came on later than usual too,” Xu Huo said, checking his watch.

”The lights here are probably smart-controlled. In theory, there shouldn’t be a delay. It’s possible the laboratory itself had a special schedule last night,” Gan Qing said.

The others didn’t say much more and left the room to search for the three missing people.

Two people stood at either end of adjacent horizontal corridors, observing the common area, while the others entered rooms in the same row one by one to check.

They conducted a carpet search. They didn’t flush out Zhu Rumin or find Qiu Xiangdong’s body, but they did find the dead Chang Chengyong in a restroom.

Chang Chengyong had also died from suffocation.

Seeing his corpse, the players’ expressions varied.

Chang Chengyong was probably the one who drew the ghost lot on the first day.

”He ran, which means he didn’t kill He Chunsheng. Otherwise, he should have regained his human status and wouldn’t have needed to run today,” Miao Yu said. ”So the player who killed He Chunsheng was someone else. I didn’t expect Chang Chengyong to also die from suffocation.”

Chu Yuan looked around at everyone. ”Then was it Zhu Rumin who killed Chang Chengyong?”

”Not necessarily. Aren’t there other people?” Ge Pan said.

”You mean Qiu Xiangdong?” Wan Yunrong was puzzled. ”If it was him, why would he hide after killing Chang Chengyong?”

Killing a ”ghost” should be considered a justified action in the game.

”It might not be him,” Mao Wei said. ”Last night, someone said Chang Chengyong went to the third underground floor.”

Everyone looked at Gan Qing. Gan Qing said angrily, ”I only said I saw the elevator go to the third underground floor. I’m not sure if Chang Chengyong went down. And even if he did go down, couldn’t he come back up?”

”Besides, if I killed Chang Chengyong, why would I hide it? He was a ghost anyway!”

”Maybe you’re the ghost,” Wu Xiaonan said. ”Wouldn’t killing Chang Chengyong allow you to turn back into a human?”

Gan Qing clenched his fist but relaxed the next second, putting his hands behind his back.

”It wasn’t him,” Wan Yunrong said at this point. ”He wasn’t out for long last night. The timing doesn’t match Chang Chengyong’s time of death.”

”You can tell that with the naked eye?” Wu Xiaonan raised an eyebrow.

Normally, determining the exact time of death requires more detailed examination.

”That’s my characteristic,” Wan Yunrong said.

The two faced off in silence. After a moment, Ge Pan said, ”Then it’s still Qiu Xiangdong and Zhu Rumin. If one of them is a ’human’ and the other is a ’ghost,’ neither would have a problem killing Chang Chengyong, who drew the ghost lot, yet they’re hiding and not coming out.”

”After all, they killed someone. Coming back, the others would be even more wary of them. If they randomly become ghosts again, they’d probably become the target of everyone’s attacks.”

This could be considered a reason. It’s also possible both were injured. In that case, returning would only make them the primary targets for the players who become ”ghosts” next.

Continuing from where they left off, they searched the first floor and then the second floor. Surprisingly, they really didn’t find the two missing people.

”It seems they went to the third underground floor. Should we still go down?” Xu Huo timely reminded everyone.

”Go down my ass!” Chu Yuan said angrily. ”If they don’t want to come up, then let them stay down there! I’ll seal the elevator doors and see how they kill anyone!”

”It would be fun if Qiu Xiangdong randomly becomes a ghost today,” Wu Xiaonan said with a laugh.