With their wishes fulfilled, the students of Class Twelve all looked at peace.
Jiang Yao waved goodbye to Ji Xun and quietly took Deng Wen's hand. "Don't be afraid. I'll keep protecting you wherever the road leads."
Ever since they were children, Jiang Yao had been like an older brother to him.
Even at the end of his life, when the Administrator had stabbed his hand to shreds, Jiang Yao hadn't let go of Deng Wen.
Deng Wen smiled and nodded gently at him, then said to Ji Xun, "Sorry to trouble you with the rest."
Ji Xun agreed and watched them gradually disappear.
The Red-Dress Ghost also held Baby's hand as they said goodbye to Ji Xun. Hei Hei poked a little head out of his pocket and raised a paw to a former sewer companion.
The Failing Student Ghost hesitated, then worked up the courage to ask Ji Xun, "Could I ask you a favor?"
He leaned close to Ji Xun's ear and sheepishly whispered a few words. When Ji Xun nodded, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you so much."
The vengeful spirits faded away, and peace returned to the campus.
[Main quest: Collect and verify four Campus Ghost Stories (4/4)]
It turned out that the school itself was one of the Ghost Stories.
Relief flashed across Su Rang's face. Presumably, he had completed his main quest too.
"Ji Xun!"
Ji Xun heard someone calling his name and looked toward the voice. It was Chen He, running so hard he could barely catch his breath.
He looked frantic. As soon as he reached Ji Xun and Su Rang, he reached for Ji Xun's arm. "Wang Peng and Zhang Haoran are surrounded by Proxy Ghosts. Please, will you help me save them?"
Ji Xun shifted slightly to the side, avoiding his hand.
An almost imperceptible flicker of anger crossed Chen He's face before he quickly suppressed it.
Su Rang frowned. "Where were you earlier?"
They had caused such a commotion hunting down the Proxy Ghosts around the school that there was no way those three hadn't heard them. Why were they only showing up now?
Chen He's expression stiffened. "We were hiding in the dorm."
Ji Xun checked the social channel. All three of their avatars were still lit up, proving that they were indeed alive.
But-
A weapon sliced through the air, skimming past Ji Xun's cheek and flying straight toward Chen He opposite him!
Ji Xun didn't move. He merely closed his eyes.
Something warm and wet splashed onto his face. As the liquid trickled down his cheek, Ji Xun raised a hand to wipe it away, only for another hand to clamp tightly around his wrist.
He slowly opened his eyes. Chen He lay on the ground, his eyes wide with terror, already dead.
A heavy sword was embedded in his forehead, nearly piercing all the way through his face.
Yuan Ci's expression was icy as he wiped the blood from Ji Xun's face with his sleeve, stroke by stroke.
Su Rang was clearly frightened too, but he trusted Yuan Ci completely and asked nothing.
The school gates had opened when the main quest completion notification appeared. Wei Lin stood at the entrance, looking across the distance at Ji Xun and the others, then left the school.
"You go ahead." Yuan Ci glanced at Su Rang, who immediately understood and left the campus with Hao Wei and Si Qi.
The sleeve of Yuan Ci's white shirt was almost entirely stained red, yet he continued mechanically wiping Ji Xun's face.
Ji Xun finally lost patience and pushed his hand away. "That's enough."
He glanced at Chen He's corpse. He hadn't looked closely before, but now he noticed scraps of flesh lingering in Chen He's mouth. Who knew what kind of meat they were?
Ji Xun's frown deepened. Seeing it, Yuan Ci assumed he disapproved of him killing Chen He.
Yuan Ci suddenly asked, "Ji Xun, do you know about the Humanity Covenant?"
Ji Xun shook his head.
"Article seven of the Humanity Covenant: Every person has a duty to eliminate players corrupted by an instance."
Ji Xun froze. "Eliminate?"
Yuan Ci's voice was devoid of sorrow or joy. "Every merciless rule is a lesson paid for in countless tears and blood."
There had once been a player whose mind was corrupted by a monster in an instance. After leaving, he evaded the inspection by the NPC guarding the Headquarters Base, then went berserk one night.
By the time the City Guard arrived, he had reportedly all but hollowed out his next-door neighbor's belly. After that, people took it upon themselves to draw up the Humanity Covenant.
No matter who it was or what the circumstances were, anyone who discovered a player corrupted by an instance had to eliminate them without mercy.
"Chen He, Wang Peng, Zhang Haoran. All three of them were corrupted." Yuan Ci gave a derisive chuckle. "Except he ate the other two."
Ji Xun asked, "How many people like Chen He have you encountered?"
Yuan Ci paused, then shook his head. "I've lost count."
As Yuan Ci had said, Ji Xun seemed born for the game. But many more players might never even make it out of the Newbie Village.
Even veteran players on the Top 100 Ranking couldn't guarantee that their resolve would hold through every game they survived.
Ji Xun wondered whether he would have believed Chen He's plea for help if he were an ordinary player, if Doctor Zhai hadn't warned him beforehand.
A teammate helping you clear the game one moment could stab you in the back the next. Perhaps that was true terror.
The fire showed no signs of dying down, so the two of them simply sat on the ground.
Ji Xun suddenly asked, "What did you find in the Principal's Office?"
Yuan Ci said, "My next instance is in an abandoned factory. That's where the Principal manufactured drugs. I entered the Experimental Middle School instance for two reasons: to kill the Principal and to obtain a map of the factory's interior."
He suddenly lowered his head with a smile and let out a forceful breath. "In instances above S-rank, death waits at every turn. Even I could die if I let my guard slip."
Ji Xun was puzzled. "If it's that dangerous, why go?"
One ordinary instance bought ten days at the Headquarters Base. Three low-level instances would let someone stay for a month.
Yuan Ci's gaze shifted slightly. "Ji Xun, other people can choose not to take risks, but I can't. Countless members of Dawn depend on me. Do you understand?"
"No." Ji Xun's face was expressionless. "But I think you're pulling my leg."
Yuan Ci pressed a fist against his mouth, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "All right, all right. I'll stop teasing you."
He stood, brushed off his trousers, and said to Ji Xun, "Let's go too."
Ji Xun didn't get up. He looked up at him and said, "You go ahead. I'll sit here and enjoy the fire."
Yuan Ci shrugged and turned to leave, making sure to add, "I'll come find you once we're back at the Headquarters Base."
Only after he disappeared through the school gates did Doctor Zhai sneak out. "Tsk, tsk. That man is no simple character."
When Ji Xun ignored him, Doctor Zhai continued, "I saw everything from upstairs. The Administrator could barely fight back against him, yet he acts so harmless around you. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Why haven't you left yet?" Ji Xun interrupted him. "The gates are open."
Doctor Zhai spread his hands. "I've decided. I'm coming with you."
"No." Ji Xun rejected him flatly. "What can you do besides streak?"
Doctor Zhai's face flushed bright red. "I told you I wasn't streaking!"
But faced with Doctor Zhai's relentless pestering, Ji Xun reluctantly agreed to let him come along, though he would get the same treatment as Hei Hei.
An adorably vacant-looking little skeleton appeared in his inventory, and Ji Xun sighed.
Even an expanding household couldn't hide the fact that he was flat broke.
Being poor himself was bad enough. Now he had two freeloaders to feed.
As dawn approached, the dark clouds that seemed to shroud Experimental Middle School dispersed, and police sirens rang out one after another beyond the campus.
People crowded around the school gates, pointing at the teaching building that had been burned black.
At Ji Xun's instruction, Doctor Zhai took human form again and reported the series of horrific crimes at the school to the police.
On the day of the game's final deadline, the police finally recovered human remains from the wall of the first-floor lobby. Forensic examination identified them as students who had gone missing two years earlier.
Several grief-stricken parents stood at the school gates, supporting one another. They held large framed black-and-white photographs.
They were Jiang Yao and Deng Wen.
Not only that, the police also found a large quantity of unburned physical evidence in the Principal's Office, enough to prove the Principal's many crimes.
Experimental Middle School was shut down for good, and at that moment, all the wronged souls finally found rest.
Before you continue