Someone suggested, "Could they have been killed by a ghost right at the start?"
"Very possible." Mo Nan waved a hand. "It's happened before-people angering a ghost at the start and getting killed."
"Killed? You mean we can die?" Yang Fan's face went pale.
"Of course," Mo Nan said matter-of-factly.
Yin Chao stood on the outer edge of the group, taking in everyone's expressions. Apart from Yang Fan, who had asked the question, everyone seemed accustomed to the subject of death.
As though it were the most trivial thing in the world.
Perhaps this was a game of death, a battle royale where they had to keep escaping death to survive.
"I... can I still go back, then?" Yang Fan stammered.
They had already wasted quite a bit of time, and Xu Zhou was visibly growing impatient.
Fang Tang was especially good at reading Xu Zhou's moods. She hurried forward and patted Yang Fan's hunched shoulder. "Let's talk as we walk. If we fail to complete the system's task within the time limit, we'll be erased outright."
The moment she finished speaking, a map showing the way to the village chief's house appeared in everyone's mind.
Pretty smart, Yin Chao thought.
He looked at Yang Fan, who was walking beside Fang Tang behind Xu Zhou, and strode after them.
Yin Chao had originally wanted to avoid getting too involved with this master-and-servant pair, but he knew nothing about even the game's basic mechanics.
For now, he could only pretend to be harmless and make friendly overtures.
"Um, I'm new too. Could I listen along?" The corners of Yin Chao's mouth lifted slightly, his eyes narrowing a little, while his tone carried a shy, apologetic note.
His acting was utterly natural.
Fang Tang covered her mouth in surprise, then said delightedly, "You're new too? I couldn't tell at all!"
It wasn't just Fang Tang. The others were all surprised to varying degrees.
The most obvious reactions came from the girl whose name Yin Chao hadn't remembered and his fellow newcomer, Yang Fan.
Yang Fan probably felt embarrassed by his earlier behavior compared with Yin Chao's composure. He lowered his head without a word.
The girl, on the other hand, showered him with praise.
Fang Tang smiled and added, "Very few newcomers are this calm. You're quite special, Yin Chao."
Special?
Yin Chao smiled shyly, but his gaze grew colder as he looked at Fang Tang.
The way this woman called him special was like someone teasing a pet with an unusual temperament.
Perhaps beneath that sugar coating lay not sweetness, but poison.
She was dangerous.
That was Yin Chao's instinctive impression.
After his excellent acting carried him through that little interlude, Fang Tang began explaining the game's rules to the newcomers, Yin Chao and Yang Fan.
1. Dying in the game meant dying in reality. Death in reality meant disappearing completely and becoming a missing person.
2. Completing a task granted a safe period. During that period, players returned to the real world. The higher the game's rank, the longer the safe period.
3. Games were divided into ranks S, A, B, C, and D.
S-rank instances were the highest, with a three-month safe period. D-rank instances were the lowest, with only five days. A-rank granted one month, B-rank fifteen days, and C-rank ten days.
4. Items could be obtained within instances, and their properties varied wildly. They were likewise divided into ranks S, A, B, C, and D. It mostly came down to individual luck.
"That's all for now. If there's anything else you don't understand, you can ask me anytime," Fang Tang said.
Yin Chao and Yang Fan nodded.
"We're here."
Xu Zhou, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Everyone looked ahead and saw a house with bright red lanterns hanging at its courtyard entrance.
The red lanterns swayed in the wind on that chilly, deserted night, bathing the small patch of ground before the gate in crimson.
The sky gradually darkened, and the wind blew harder and harder.
Mo Nan wrapped his thin jacket around himself and shivered. "Let's get inside. There's something really wrong with this wind."
But when they reached the tightly shut gate, they faced another dilemma.
Should they knock or not? And who would do it?
Everyone understood that the less they did, the fewer mistakes they could make. Naturally, no one wanted to be the one to knock.
But the system hadn't announced that the task was complete, which meant they had to go inside to finish it.
Yin Chao narrowed his eyes and caught Mo Nan exchanging glances with several others whose names he hadn't remembered.
It wasn't particularly obvious, but he also noticed that Mo Nan had been consistently deferential toward the girl with blunt bangs whose name he hadn't remembered.
Aside from the renowned Fang Tang and Xu Zhou, as well as the utterly inexperienced newcomers Yang Fan and himself, everyone else seemed to attach great importance to Mo Nan's instructions, whether openly or otherwise.
It was as though the girl with blunt bangs were their employer, and Mo Nan's group were hired muscle.
That meant the cannon fodder sent to knock would be chosen from the two unlucky newcomers, Yang Fan and himself. They might use force, or they might resort to deception.
Tsk. What a pain.
Yin Chao looked up at the dark courtyard wall. There seemed to be a large, densely leafy tree growing inside.
The gale whipped the branches stretching beyond the wall, their wavering shadows like a horde of wildly dancing ghosts.
Then I'll play along.
Yin Chao lowered his head. When he raised it again, he wore a smile that was innocent yet unmistakably foolish. While everyone remained silent, he slapped the gate.
Not content with that, he shouted as well.
"Village chief! Village chief! Are you home? Please open the gate!"
The other eight stared, dumbfounded. They looked as shocked as students watching someone raise their hand during their homeroom teacher's lesson, stand up, and ask the teacher for a light.
With a complicated expression, Fang Tang reached out to tug at the hem of Yin Chao's clothes.
Before she could touch him, the courtyard gate burst open with a bang.
Before you continue