The Teleological View
Looking at Lin Shu, who seemed like a transfer student who had arrived three days late, Feng Xue silently overturned her previous assumptions.
Or rather, at least part of it was overturned.
He initially thought these students and teachers were merely Supernatural Tale Derivative, a kind of villagers that could be created and refreshed at will, similar to the Gu Poison Body he could conjure up at will.
But now, with Lin Shu, who should have been "discarded" for cheating, returning to the class, everything is different.
According to the school's operating rules, being expelled for cheating on an exam is essentially an instant death sentence, as evidenced by the fact that none of the students in the class remembered the name Lin Shu afterward.
Logically speaking, even to uphold this rule, those who were expelled should not be added back, or at least their names should be changed.
The problem is that this guy is now openly appearing in the classroom, not only with no change in appearance, but also with the same name and persona as the original Lin Shu.
If there's anything different, it's that the people in the class seem to genuinely not remember that there was a Lin Shu in the class just two days ago.
"In other words, the teachers and classmates in the class are not so-called derivatives, but rather serve a special function. Or perhaps this Supernatural Tale Itself does not possess the technology to create derivatives, and when it encounters 'one of its own' violating the rules, it can only be recycled by erasing the relevant memories."
Feng Xue tried to talk to the newcomer Lin Shu and found that he seemed to have completely lost his previous memories, but apart from his memories of going to school, his other memories—or rather, his character traits—were very clear.
He had initially thought that the Long Neck Ghost or some other wandering monster was the most unique existence in this Ghost School, but now it seemed that even if his guess wasn't entirely wrong, it had at least missed some crucial information.
Then, he suddenly realized another possibility—
Perhaps, this Lin Shu is actually a completely different person?
The only thing that remains unchanged is the persona!
This thought sent a chill down Feng Xue's spine, but at the same time, he had to take this sudden idea seriously.
While it might seem a bit far-fetched to imagine someone taking on the identity of another ghost in a Ghost School, it makes sense when you consider that it's a process that applies to both students and players.
If a player violates the rules here, they will be erased by some kind of instant-death ability (or imprisonment, banishment), and then some kind of derivative or Fake Human will assume the player's persona.
But here's the question: what's the point of this kind of role-playing?
In a team competition, it would make sense for Fake Human players to impersonate other players and trick more players, but in this level, although there are many players, there is no grouping up, and the players who were eliminated earlier have not come looking for them.
If someone were to disguise themselves as a player who has completed the game and infiltrate the player group, that would be even more impractical. After all, no matter how inhuman a player may seem, they are essentially just living beings who raise ghosts or Insect Raising. In contrast, the students and teachers in this instance are all materialized spirits. No matter how lifelike their appearance may be, the players wouldn't be so foolish as not to notice.
"We must have missed some crucial information!" Feng Xue took a deep breath. Regardless of the guess, he felt stuck halfway through, which made him very uncomfortable with the current situation.
"Relax, don't rush, first list out the known conditions."
Feng Xue sat back down in her seat, holding her notebook, her mind already listing out everything that would happen after entering this level—
1. The levels are similar to a variation of the Rule Weird Tale, with the basic rules being school School Rules and public customs.
2. Most of the "ghosts" in the Ghost School exist as NPC-like entities, looking no different from ordinary people. However, under certain circumstances (being attacked, triggering the killing rules), they will show ghostly characteristics, but will return to normal after the event ends.
3. There are a very small number of wandering spirits within the Ghost School. They maintain a ghostly appearance for a long time, are not very strong, and possess independent thought processes.
4. The rules within the Ghost School apply equally to everyone, affecting both players and NPCs.
5. Phantom Object will naturally appear in the Ghost School. Although the effects are relatively awkward, they are usually closely related to the environment and have a specific destruction mechanism.
6. Each NPC has a fixed character setting. Even if a character violates the rules and is removed, its character setting can still be reused (or inherited).
Feng Xue pondered the clues repeatedly, highlighting the key words "wandering spirit" and "persona".
Why are there wandering spirits in Ghost School?
Have these wandering spirits "not yet acquired a persona" or "lost their persona"?
The reason he thought so much wasn't because the level was difficult—let alone a level, if he wanted, he could even summon Star Destroyer Cannon to wipe out the entire world in this strange world without the "Heavenly Emperor" Weird Tale.
But the problem is, it's meaningless.
Feng Xue is a "teleological" believer. He believes that any behavior of an intellectual being must have a purpose, even if it is distorted, crazy, impractical, or even incomprehensible to humans. It should ultimately have such a purpose. Even the most elusive entertainer has the purpose of "watching for fun".
Therefore, when the Ghost School presented itself in a manner that was close to the rules yet defied common sense, Feng Xue's first reaction was that there must be some kind of purpose hidden within it.
Although Feng Xue's journey of Weird Tale has been particularly smooth thanks to the information age, he is ultimately a humble person and doesn't think he's superior or that other Weird Tale are stupid. The sublimation of the Aoyagi Lantern and the secrets of the upper levels of the Tower of Babylon further convinced him that the Tower of Babylon must have some kind of purpose.
If we think this way, then sending these "potential" Weird Tale to various Supernatural Tale World must have been for a purpose.
"If I wanted the hero to defeat the Demon King, I certainly wouldn't send the novice hero directly to the Demon King's castle. Instead, I would select specific trials based on the Demon King's characteristics, then send the hero to level up and master various skills that could counter the Demon King before challenging him."
"If the purpose of the Infinite City is to let us 'heroes' challenge the 'Demon King' at the top of the Tower of Babylon, then this progressively challenging traversal mechanism may very well contain the essential items needed to defeat the Demon King."
Thinking of this, Feng Xue suppressed his impatience. He felt like a player who had completed the normal difficulty of a game and wanted to advance to a higher level.
What needs to be done now is no longer simply to use a set of formulaic strategies to speedrun the game, nor is it to directly join the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect to experience the unrestrained pleasure, but rather to exercise self-discipline.
Five gates and four locks, the self-imposed ninja sect—all sorts of restrictions weren't meant to prove how great they were, but rather to truly advance technology.