Fear in the Bloodline

In the dead of night, swarms of rats scurried through the dormitory building, leaving a terrifying trail of noise wherever they went.

There are so many land mammals, and many live in groups, yet humans are so afraid of mice, not only because mice are adept at relying on humans for survival, but also because of their squeaking.

Humans seem to have an innate fear of the sound of mice.

Just like last night, the female dorm supervisor pushed open the door to the dormitories of the deducers, lingered quietly in front of each person's bed for a while, but found nothing, and finally left the dormitory.

Lights out, the entire dormitory building was pitch black. After the female dorm supervisor finished her room check and came downstairs, Yu Xing sat up and yawned, just in time to hear the sound of a door opening in the corridor outside.

"Someone left the dorm across the hall?" He raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued.

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice responded from the darkness. Zhao Mou got out of bed and said, "Actually, it happened before. Since the toilet is outside, if I couldn't hold it in anymore, I would still make the shameful decision to go to the toilet."

"Indeed, I have a conscience, so I also chose to go to the restroom outside." Wen Qinghuai chuckled. "But after completely figuring out the origins of the ghost today, I realized that nightmares related to Oliver seem to have a very high priority at school among the five tasks."

The dormitory building is safe during the day; the only fatal flaw is that you have to be careful not to trigger the female dorm supervisor's murderous intent.

And when the dormitory lights go out, in addition to the dormitory room, other places are also invaded by nightmares, with ghostly shadows everywhere, just like the teaching building.

Whatever the reason, after lights out, it seemed like Nightmare and the female dorm supervisor had reached some kind of agreement. The female dorm supervisor allowed Nightmare to occupy the dormitory building, and Nightmare cooperated with the female dorm supervisor in conducting room checks. But overall, Nightmare was more advantageous and encroached on the female dorm supervisor's territory.

"I have some ideas about this." Zhao Mou had already walked to the table in the common area, turned on the small desk lamp, and the dim light immediately illuminated a small area.

Zhao Yijiu had silently appeared by the door at some point, using paper to block all possible gaps in the door from which someone might peek inside.

Wen Qinghuai walked over slowly, yawned, and then sat down on a chair, his curly hair looking very messy.

Zhao Mou said to the last bed that was still still, "Yu Xing, get out of bed and come over to make a new plan."

"Here you are." Yu Xing rubbed her eyes and lifted the curtain. "Can you feel it? This time, after lights out, I only lay in bed for a short while, and I'm already this sleepy. Has the dorm supervisor become more capable?"

"I'm fine, I don't feel anything." Zhao Mou glanced at Yu Xing again upon hearing this, then turned to Zhao Yijiu and asked, "A Jiu, are you sleepy?"

Zhao Yijiu shook her head and said calmly, "Not sleepy."

"I'm actually fine. As a lazy person in real life, it's normal for me to be reluctant to get up for a while every time I wake up. But Yu Xing, you look really sleepy." Wen Qinghuai started fixing his hair. He noticed Yu Xing's mental state and a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, am I the only one who's getting sleepy...?" Yu Xing squinted, feeling much more awake after seeing the light.

After returning to their dorms from evening self-study, they tidied up and lay down on their beds to wait for the room check to pass. Yu Xing fell asleep in just a short while, and his sense of danger woke him up when the female dorm supervisor came in.

Yu Xing felt a bit tired after lying down on the bed. At first, he thought it was some kind of gradually strengthening rule in the dormitory building, but now that he realized this only applied to him, he naturally thought of the power of the Ghost Tree.

Since he could influence the judgment of the ghosts under the control of Ghost Tree in the school instance, it proves that the power within him and the power of Ghost Tree have something in common.

Therefore, it's quite reasonable for Ghost Tree to influence him in turn.

Yu Xing didn't tell anyone about this idea, as explaining it would be a huge undertaking and it wasn't suitable to discuss such things in a dungeon.

He then made an excuse. "It's probably because of my constitution that I'm more susceptible to these negative effects."

As he settled into his chair, he noticed Zhao Yijiu staring at him intently. Yu Xing smiled and said, "It's alright, the drowsiness only lasted for a while, it's over now."

"Speak up immediately if you notice anything amiss." Half of Zhao Yijiu's body was in shadow, but her face, illuminated by the light, held a hint of worry.

"Of course." Yu Xing crossed her legs casually. "Then let's begin. Didn't Zhao Mou just say he had some ideas about nightmares?"

Zhao Mou, who also wanted to offer some words of concern, sensed Yu Xing's intention to change the subject. He immediately abandoned what he was about to say and went along with Yu Xing's suggestion, "That's right, there are quite a few new ideas. There's a lot of information today, and I think it's enough to clearly analyze the structure of this instance."

The lamp on the table was too dim, and the four of them were in a dim, shadowy atmosphere, which actually gave the feeling of an underground cult holding a secret meeting.

"Ghosts are everywhere, or rather, I've discovered that the pattern of their appearance is that they follow students. It's not the school buildings that are the most dangerous, but rather wherever the living gather after nightfall—that's where the most dangerous place is." Zhao Mou used this topic as a starting point, incidentally mentioning the school clinic, "What actually occupies the school buildings is the school clinic, which is the teachers' side."

"I discovered this from the locations of the five missions and their corresponding mini-bosses. These five missions can actually be seen as five factions, some strong and some weak, with a relationship of suppression and cooperation between them."

"After examining the details to determine their relationship, I discovered a very interesting phenomenon."

Zhao Mou sat very upright when he spoke, neither as unladylike as he was at home when he was alone with Zhao Yijiu, nor as elite as he was when interacting with strangers. He held a pen in his hand, but there was no paper in front of him, as if he was just exercising his fingers.

"Actually, we've discussed this issue before, such as the supply relationship between the library's waste disposal and the cafeteria's bird-catching window. In that case, the library and the cafeteria are cooperating."

"Many foods provided in the cafeteria can gradually contaminate people. The school clinic and Psychology Teacher that Yu Xing mentioned are also sources of contamination. One destroys the body, and the other destroys the mind. Together, they are the tools for creating students wearing red armbands. Therefore, the cafeteria and the school clinic... that is, the teachers, are also cooperating."

"When the librarian found out a book was missing, she asked Gene to help her find the thief. Gene is the Dean of Students, so he can be considered to represent the teachers. The library and the school clinic also cooperate."

"In summary, the school clinic, library, and cafeteria—three tasks, three locations, and three forces—are all in a united front, closely connected by supply and demand."

Wen Qinghuai nodded in agreement. "Indeed, the remaining nightmares are a separate collaboration between the dormitory supervisor and the teachers. The teachers are very wary of the ghostly figures in the nightmares, and the dormitory supervisors are treated very harshly. The dormitory supervisors' rooms are among the worst in terms of age and condition compared to the rest of the school."

"It can be understood that after Nightmare and the Dormitory Manager teamed up, they were actually hostile to the other three forces," Zhao Mou began twirling his pen. "But the strength of these two opposing forces is still balanced. In my opinion, the Dormitory Manager is probably the weakest of the five forces, while Nightmare is the strongest."

Zhao Yijiu clearly followed the train of thought this time. He didn't show any confusion and listened silently.

Wen Qinghuai pondered for a moment, "Although the vessel for this nightmare is Oliver, it's targeting all living people. The nightmare has long been beyond Oliver's control. Compared to the other missions, the nightmare's scope is probably the widest. The other missions occupy buildings, while the nightmare occupies people, but..."

"He will still be somewhat restrained, or rather, treated as an equal, by the school clinic, because they can't do anything to the teachers and will generally avoid wearing red armbands."

Yu Xing laughed and said, "After all, the nightmare originated from Class 4 of the third year. They only integrated into St. Johnis Middle School later. Isn't it normal for outsiders to be at a disadvantage against locals?"

"But these only raise a new question: cooperation is understandable, but what causes hostility?" Zhao Mou said. "Yu Xing just mentioned the answer, and I also believe it's the conflict between outsiders and the locals."

"You mean the dormitory building is also inhabited by outsiders?" Wen Qinghuai was a little surprised, as he hadn't expected this. "How did you figure that out? Because the presence of rats here is quite unusual; there are no animal elements anywhere else on campus?"

"That's one reason, but my thoughts go back to the strength of the Nightmare faction. Both are missions, but why is the Nightmare faction, with its human characters, stronger than the female dorm supervisor? The teachers in the school clinic can basically control the entire campus, while the chefs in the cafeteria and the librarians in the library have such low visibility." Zhao Mou's advantage suddenly became apparent after the information gathering was complete; his information extraction and associative abilities were terrifying.

"I suspect their strength is related to the compatibility between the quest boss and St. Johnis Middle School."

This was the first concept mentioned in this instance. Zhao Yijiu blinked. "Compatibility?"

"That's right, let's first look at what these bosses were originally, setting aside the mission location." Zhao Mou simply guided Zhao Yijiu's thinking, "Don't look at anything else, just look at their original appearance."

"Teacher, Oliver's nightmares: rats, clones, women in high heels," Zhao Yijiu described succinctly, his order of description being the school clinic, the nightmares, the dormitory, the cafeteria, and finally the library.

"The following description... well, it'll do." Zhao Mou's expression was complicated; he felt despair at his brother's ability to summarize. He paused for a moment before continuing, "The teaching profession encompasses various positions, including grade-level directors, homeroom teacher, subject teachers, school Psychology Teacher, and school doctors, basically forming the entire structure of the teaching staff."

"Oliver's nightmare is based on the bullying Oliver experienced, which extended from his original Class 3-4 to the entire school campus."

"These two forces are almost a perfect fit for St. Johnis Middle School itself, because teachers and students are the two most fundamental groups in a school, and they are the strongest. There are more students, and Nightmare is stronger in terms of strength, but teachers have a natural professional advantage over students, so Nightmare is unable to do anything to the teachers."

"Looking at the rest, the cafeteria chef is a ghost that can split into many and whose flesh and blood have an extremely strong ability to pollute. The librarian is a ghost with a strange gait and a strong connection to sound. Neither of them has anything to do with the word 'school' and they have a low compatibility. They only became chefs and library managers because they are suitable for each other. Their threat to students is limited."

The other three understood Zhao Mou's meaning and, upon reflection, it was indeed true. However, the underlying pattern had been well hidden before, and Zhao Mou's ability to extract the pattern so quickly showed his remarkable audacity.

"But both of these ghosts are humanoid, so perhaps we can still find some clues about their existence. For example, being forbidden to make noise in class is like a librarian using sound as a coordinate when looking for someone; teenagers become curious about that kind of thing, and some people try it too early without understanding safety and responsibility, just like a chef whose clothing and behavior contain some sexual innuendo, yet flesh and blood are so dangerous."

Wen Qinghuai chuckled and said, "That works too? It does seem to make sense; you can barely find traces of their native origin."

"I'm not sure about these two symbolic things either, but at least they leave room for imagination." Zhao Mou pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a dim light in the low light. "The dormitory supervisor is related to rats and babies, that's certain, but it doesn't match up with the school."

"So you think the dorm supervisor, like Class 4 of Grade 3, is an outsider?" Yu Xing's lips curled slightly. "You've gone this far, so you're just trying to talk about the plague, aren't you?"

"... That's right, the plague," Zhao Mou said. "Since it's from abroad, it must itself symbolize an event in order to bring its own rules and integrate into St. Johnis Middle School."

Plague is a source of fear for humankind.

Plague has broken out in many places, but the most famous plague outbreak in the world occurred in medieval Europe.

The plague was so severe that rats piled up into mountains, eating anyone they saw. The rats were like the Grim Reaper, bringing bloodshed, suffering, and hunger to the people of that time.

The squeaks of rats can echo throughout the night. They march past human houses like an army, and often, hearing the squeaks of rats approaching is tantamount to approaching death.

Therefore, humans' fear of rats is not without reason, but rather traceable. Repeated outbreaks of plague throughout history have etched the fear of rats into people's blood and DNA, which is a survival instinct.

Once the female dorm supervisor is positioned as an outsider ghost, her strangeness can be perfectly matched with the plague. At that time, the plague plunged many cities into chaos, and there were also rumors that many newborns were stillborn with rat-like characteristics.

When the female dorm supervisor made wool felt, the baby's whole body became hairy. Later, the wooden baby was deformed, its body shrunken like a rat.

She insisted that the baby was her husband, but it was more like the memory of "woman" and "rat" fused together, symbolized by the female dorm supervisor. The woman had lost her husband and child in the plague and was also afraid of giving birth to a deformed child.