Low-Level Mistake

"43 staff members, minus the one Ji Li shot, with six dead, five taken, and three missing.

Right now, on site, we only have 28 people!"

Tong Guan frowned as he looked at the staff list recorded on the hotel phone.

He glanced at Yu Guo and Fang Shenyan beside him, then at Chang Nian, who was always behind him, and checked the time.

"It's been two hours and forty minutes since the mission started. Ji Li has been gone too long with no word. Since he hasn't contacted us, it means he still has control of the situation there.

We've tried the isolation theory several times already, but there have been no changes."

Tong Guan was still in a fog about this mission. During the previous period, he had also been verifying the guess Ji Li had proposed, but it had no effect.

First, he separated five people, and no one was harmed. Then he took out three more to test, and no one died.

Tong Guan even hid with a staff member, avoiding the main group, and waited for half an hour, but still no ghosts appeared.

This situation made it difficult for Tong Guan to understand.

It could be said that from the start of the mission until now, apart from the first five minutes when people died around him, there had been no other casualties.

Such extreme calmness made him even more uneasy.

This also made him repeatedly question the possibility of the isolation theory. For him, the problem was no longer about finding a way to survive.

It was about finding the dead end.

After all, only by knowing the dead end could one then confirm the way to survive.

With no one dying and everything being calm, he worried that the situation would drag on until the last moment and then suddenly erupt.

At that point, he would have no room to fight back.

It wasn't until the power was restored that he gathered Fang Shenyan and the others, preparing to try a different approach to test for the dead end.

He looked at Yu Guo, who was bored beside him, and asked softly:

"Can you simulate that suicide behavior you tried before again?"

Yu Guo had already lost some patience during the nearly three-hour long wait. Hearing that there was something to do, he immediately perked up.

"Sure, I know how to break it anyway."

Yu Guo was not one to hesitate. As soon as Tong Guan spoke, he reached for his own head.

As expected, his limbs became stiff and numb with the movement of his body, only his eyes still held a spark of life.

Fang Shenyan saw this for the first time and was inevitably a little surprised. At the same time, he looked at Tong Guan, puzzled.

Seeing that Yu Guo could indeed fall into that strange simulated death state, Tong Guan nodded slightly and extended his hand to lay Yu Guo's body flat on the ground.

Not long after, Yu Guo stood up again, as lively as ever.

"What are you doing all this for?"

Tong Guan also brought his hands near his head. As expected, he felt that same stiffness. After a brief attempt, he gave up.

"It seems that here among our staff, imitating death causes that strange situation."

Tong Guan looked through the list on his phone, his gaze fixed on a certain man's name. He tapped the name with his fingertip, marking it.

Then, he looked at the man and waved his hand, saying:

"Guan Ping? I need your help with something."

As he spoke, he began to walk into the crowd, explaining to those who followed him:

"Don't you guys think Yu Guo's simulated death method earlier was very strange?"

Yu Guo exchanged a look with Fang Shenyan. Fang Shenyan adjusted his glasses and said:

"I just heard about this, but I feel something is off.

The mission information was very specific. Since the hotel said they would only attack us after all the staff were dead, then even if we tried to kill ourselves, we wouldn't be attacked by ghosts."

Yu Guo hesitated after hearing this and explained:

"But the mission was actually quite vague on this point. The part about killing the staff first and then us was just a deduction."

Chang Nian took out the hotel phone and looked at it, then said softly:

"No, it said that if the protection mission wasn't completed within six hours, they would kill everyone without exception.

That actually clearly defined the mission parameters. They would only kill us if the protection mission failed. How can we protect ourselves if we're being attacked at this stage...

Huh?"

But she stopped as she said this. Both Yu Guo and Fang Shenyan realized something was wrong.

Tong Guan slowly turned around and looked at the people whose faces all held doubt, saying in a deep voice:

"You all felt it too, didn't you?"

Fang Shenyan's face darkened, and he nodded:

"Yes, the information for this mission is full of loopholes, it can't even explain itself!"

Tong Guan continued, "Hotels do give some vague information, but that's limited to time, location, and completion conditions.

I've never seen a mission where the overall task itself is ambiguous.

And the most important point is, its mission information actually contains the word 'I'!"

Chang Nian felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She immediately flipped through the emails on her phone.

At the bottom of the mission details, the information clearly stated:

"Within six hours, if the protection mission is not completed, I will release the ghost's restrictions, and everyone will be killed without a solution!"

"Who has ever seen a hotel mission use the word 'I'? It's the most direct, subjective word.

Hotels never use it like that; at least, I've never seen it."

Tong Guan spoke with conviction. Without looking at his phone, he recited the mission information from memory.

Sweat broke out on Fang Shenyan's forehead. Trembling slightly, he took out his cigarette case and lit one.

A terrifying guess surfaced in his mind, but it was too incredible, too impossible, to dare to confirm.

Yu Guo, however, was not hesitant. He said casually, "You mean, the mission information we received might be wrong?"

Tong Guan didn't turn around, but he had already walked over to the staff member named Guan Ping.

"Drawing conclusions solely from the mission information seems too weak.

Perhaps the hotel deliberately released it this way, which is why we need to give it a try."

"How do we try?"

Hearing the question, Tong Guan didn't answer. He placed his phone in Chang Nian's hand and walked towards the nervously trembling Guan Ping.

A gentle smile appeared on his face, and he lightly patted Guan Ping's shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, I'm not very familiar with the person who fired earlier.

We've already made many attempts, and now I need you to do me a favor."

Tong Guan's attitude was surprisingly good. This wasn't an act; he was being sincere. Although the people in front of him were just programmed characters arranged by the hotel, they also possessed life. He might not forcefully save anyone, but he wouldn't intentionally harm them.

Guan Ping, this person, Tong Guan had communicated with him before.

At that time, Guan Ping was in a bad mood and tried to resist, but Tong Guan patiently communicated with him and calmed his emotions.

They had come to understand each other somewhat. Furthermore, most people here were newcomers who had all seen the strange corpse at the first-floor staircase.

Although they hadn't seen a ghost kill anyone yet, they were beginning to believe Tong Guan's talk of vengeful spirits.

Guan Ping gritted his teeth, clearly reluctant, but still asked, "What do you need me to do?"

He thought the so-called favor would be like Tong Guan's previous actions, taking him to a secluded place.

But this time, what Tong Guan said sent shivers down his spine.

"I want you to press your left hand against your right temple and hold your chin with your right hand, then slowly twist.

Just like the corpse at the staircase, start trying!

And I will maintain the same posture as you, simulating death at the same time!"

He ignored Guan Ping's surprised gaze and turned to Fang Shenyan, saying softly, "For the living to simulate death is to actively invite the ghost to possess them.

The fact that it hasn't appeared yet forces me to resort to this desperate measure.

But by acting simultaneously, Guan Ping and I can, in turn, verify the ambiguity of the mission's content.

If the mission content is correct, then I won't be able to succeed in the simulation; at the very least, I'll be stopped by an invisible force at the last step.

Because no matter how you interpret it, the mission states that the staff will die before us.

In the first scenario, Guan Ping will unconsciously break his neck, and I will survive.

Then, the mission content is accurate, and we must find a new direction to break through.

In the second scenario, Guan Ping and I will die together.

Then, the mission content is completely wrong, and it completely contradicts the literal meaning.

We will need to define this mission from a different perspective."

Chang Nian frowned. She felt Tong Guan's method was too radical. Although they now knew a way to break through, which was to tackle someone, this method of actively inviting a ghost to possess them was too risky. If anything went wrong, it would mean death.

However, Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo exchanged a glance. While looking at Tong Guan with newfound respect, they secretly nodded.

They believed the plan was feasible.

Tong Guan took a deep breath and looked at Guan Ping, who was facing him.

"Whether you're willing or not, you must participate in this action."

You can actively terminate at the last moment you feel danger, but only at that final moment."

Tong Guan's plan, on the surface, was indeed a way to break the stalemate and could confirm the suspicions in his heart.

But it made a huge, even the most basic, mistake.

Insufficient intelligence!

This stemmed from his personal dislike of Ji Li and his underestimation of a One-Star level mission, which led him to never call Ji Li to understand the situation on his end.

Therefore, he had no idea that once possessed by a Ghost, there was no solution other than death!