Rules of the Weird World

(A tattered piece of clothing: Do not throw it away, it can bring you good luck.)

Li Ran: "???"

The blue garment on the surface of the lake had caught his attention. He had initially assumed it was just trash in the water, but his Golden Finger had provided a prompt.

This thing can bring good luck? Li Ran was skeptical, but he still found a tree branch and fished the tattered clothing out of the water.

Afterward, Li Ran circled the lake once, but he did not find any other valuable quest items.

"I should go complete a quest first to improve my strength."

Aimless searching was time-consuming and exhausting; before he knew it, the entire morning had passed.

"I'll head to the Security Room to find Grandpa Ge first."

Li Ran had already mapped out a route in his mind.

When he dropped Li Ziyang off at home yesterday, he had noticed a supermarket at the entrance of the residential complex, so he could go there to buy some groceries in the evening.

Furthermore, the Fortune Teller was also near the entrance, which would save him a lot of unnecessary walking.

As for the ID card and the tattered clothing, he would have to see how things played out.

Thinking of this, Li Ran immediately set off toward the entrance of the complex.

He hadn't walked long before five people approached him from the opposite direction.

"Li Ran."

The other party recognized Li Ran.

However, Li Ran did not recognize them; he had a vague impression, but not much more.

Therefore, he offered a polite greeting: "What a coincidence, running into you all here."

"Great, the team has grown larger now."

The one speaking was a man in black-rimmed glasses who looked refined and scholarly. He wore a suit, his hair was combed back in the style of an elite professional, and he was carrying a laptop bag.

"It's me, Xiao Yi," he said, pointing at himself as he introduced himself, clearly not fooled by Li Ran's generic greeting.

Only then did Li Ran recall hearing this person's name frequently at school.

Yulan Academy, Student Union Vice President, Xiao Yi.

He was rumored to be a guy who knew how to handle affairs and was highly capable, deeply favored by teachers and school administrators.

The other four also introduced themselves.

Qiu Zhongji, whose face was greasy and covered in acne.

Deng Zhiwei, who had a gaunt face, dark circles under his eyes, and a wandering gaze.

Chen Jiabin, a "ghost fire" youth with yellow hair, a tight-fitting shirt, and leather pants.

Song Linjia, who wore a floral dress and had her wrists covered in various beaded bracelets.

As for why everyone knew Li Ran, the reason was simple: who wouldn't recognize the person who occupied the bottom of the class rankings year after year?

Xiao Yi, the one with glasses, took a small notebook out of his laptop bag and said, "Out of twenty-five people, I've only found you few. The others are likely in grave danger; forget it, I won't look for them anymore."

"I believe that after experiencing yesterday, none of you still think the Weird World is a prank, right?"

The group nodded one after another, their expressions solemn.

Xiao Yi scanned the group and continued, "Very well. Since everyone has come to this realization, I will keep it brief. In the instances of the Weird World, it is best not to play the hero. One person's strength is limited; I believe you have all seen that footage."

"Yes, it was too terrifying. After twelve midnight, the complex was crawling with monsters," Song Linjia said, her face full of lingering fear.

Li Ran had slept like a log last night and knew nothing about the situation outside in the middle of the night.

He had seen the footage too, and recalling it made his scalp tingle.

The others also looked terrified; it was likely that, aside from Li Ran, none of them had slept well. Especially Deng Zhiwei, who definitely hadn't slept at all and seemed to have experienced something truly horrific, his eyes darting around as if easily startled.

"I am willing to share the information I have gathered, and I hope you will share what you know as well. We can discuss it, tackle the challenges together, and grow stronger together."

"Agreed."

The others had no objections.

Only with enough information could they complete enough quests, earn more rewards, and survive until the end.

After one day, everyone had clearly grasped some of the rules of the Weird World.

"Then I'll go first."

Xiao Yi pushed up his gleaming glasses and pointed his pen toward the main entrance of the complex.

"I live in the building right at the entrance. This morning, when I went downstairs, I circled the Security Room and saw the old man there looking for something. He was so anxious he was throwing things and kicking the door."

"I didn't dare to go up to him, as you all know, one wrong move could cost you your life. If any of you have a clue or are bold enough, you might want to give it a try; it might just trigger a quest."

Chen Jiabin's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Looking for what?"

"If I knew, I would have done the quest already."

"Also, there is a Happiness Supermarket at the entrance of the complex where you can buy daily necessities using points."

Li Ran looked toward Xiao Yi, at the prompt panel of his Golden Finger.

(Prompt: Do not believe everything he says.)

Xiao Yi currently possessed 10 Mysterious Power, 100 points, and had two ongoing tasks.

This guy makes it sound like he knows everything, but in reality, the clues he provides are a mix of truth and lies, making them difficult to judge. If it weren't for the Golden Finger's prompt, I likely would have believed him too, Li Ran thought, keeping a wary eye on him.

Sharing was based on the principle of voluntariness; some were willing to share everything, while others held back. This was a matter of personal will that could not be forced.

As for the other four, Deng Zhiwei and Song Linjia had completed the introductory task, while Qiu Zhongji and Chen Jiabin had not.

After Xiao Yi finished speaking, his gaze shifted to Deng Zhiwei, who stood to the side.

Deng Zhiwei looked haggard, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes. As if recalling the events of last night, his eyes were bloodshot.

Xiao Yi patted Deng Zhiwei on the shoulder, offering comfort: "Don't be afraid, everyone will help you."

After a moment, Deng Zhiwei suddenly began to cry: "I... I, I'm sorry to Zhou Miaomiao. When she was taken away by a burly man this morning, she begged me for help, but I didn't... I was so scared..."

"And... and, I... I work as an apprentice at the Beauty Salon. Last night, I... I killed someone..."