The class rep's imaginative explanation

In the Hotel corridor, the decorative lights on either side lay shattered. Broken fragments, mangled remains, and monster slime littered the floor.

No. 9 explained as he walked, "We fought the monsters inside the Hotel and killed as many as we could. The Police Squad went in one team at a time. Only after one team was wiped out would another enter, buying as much time as possible..."

In other words, several teams of officers had already died inside the Hotel before his team went in.

Sending too many people into the Hotel building at once to fight the monsters would only lead to more deaths.

That was why the police had adopted these guerrilla tactics, successfully holding out until reinforcements arrived.

Throughout the walk, Xiao Hao remained silent, quietly listening as Officer No. 9 explained their various tactics.

Xiao Hao had considered asking his name, but the officer told him that here, they had no names, only numbers.

Those were the numbers of a suicide squad.

Their names were saved for their gravestones.

The elevator doors slowly opened. A Police Squad dressed in clothes as ragged as beggars' was already waiting, and they all gave a military salute.

Xiao Hao hesitated briefly, then returned the salute.

His face was still shrouded in shadow. Although Police Chief No. 1 could not make out his features, he still said warmly, "First Player, thank you for your hard work!"

Xiao Hao was not in the habit of exchanging pleasantries. "It's fine. Tell me where else you need support."

Although he seemed cold, the First Player's easygoing manner put the Police Chief at ease. "Please follow me."

The Hotel building did not consist entirely of guest rooms. It also had a manager's office, a surveillance room, and other facilities.

No. 1 led Xiao Hao into the surveillance room. Most of the feeds showed corridors on the various floors. Many screens were black; clearly, the cameras had been damaged during the chases.

The Police Chief brought Xiao Hao over to the rightmost monitor and said gravely, "With the Communications Base Station damaged, people can't call us for help when they're in danger. We can only use the Hotel building to attract those monsters and reduce attacks on civilians as much as possible."

This screen was not showing footage from inside the Hotel, but surveillance footage of the perimeter of the Communications Base Station.

The Dragon Kingdom led other countries in communications technology. A city needed only one Communications Base Station to provide coverage for the entire city.

Moreover, the communications service provider was a Dragon Kingdom State-Owned Enterprise. Even with a monopoly, it would not exploit the people.

As a result, once the Communications Base Station was occupied, the entire city's network would go down.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Communications Base Station malfunctioned, there would be backup equipment, so there was no need to worry about communications.

The problem now was that the Communications Base Station was damaged, and there were no staff inside to repair it or activate the backup equipment.

The Police Chief continued, "We've sent out plenty of repair workers and police officers, but every time they approach the base station, they die for no apparent reason."

"We suspect it's some kind of ghost-type monster. The strange thing is, no matter how we try to lure it away, it never takes the bait."

As he spoke, the Police Chief pointed out the different sections of the Communications Base Station to Xiao Hao. "This large room is the equipment room. That one is the office..."

After the Police Chief's explanation, Xiao Hao had a rough idea of the base station's layout.

Their final obstacle was this Communications Base Station. The Police Chief asked worriedly, "We don't know how many monsters are inside. These ghost-type monsters seem to possess intelligence, too. Can you deal with them?"

Xiao Hao made no guarantees. He lowered his head in thought.

Ghosts.

Intelligence.

Could these be Ghosts formed from dead players again?

"Have any players died in Blue Dragon City?"

The seemingly unrelated question puzzled the Police Chief, but he still replied, "Three players died during the battle against the Giant Tree."

"How did those three players die? Let me see their files."

Without wasting words, the Police Chief ordered his subordinates over the radio to bring the files.

While they waited, the Police Chief voiced his own question. "Could the ones occupying the base station be players who died?"

Seeing the Police Chief's worried expression, Xiao Hao gave him an affirmative answer. "Players can turn into Ghosts after they die. You said it possesses intelligence, so a player could be behind this."

The moment he finished speaking, viewer comments suddenly popped up on the Game Panel.

[Weird. How does the streamer know players can turn into Ghosts after they die?]

[He's been dealing with Ghosts all this time. He probably guessed, right?]

[That's one hell of an accurate guess...]

This information was crucial. The Police Chief had to confirm its accuracy.

"Do players really turn into Ghosts after they die? How do you know?"

Xiao Hao had to provide an explanation. The Police Chief's suspicions were not important; the suspicions of the viewers from another world were.

"You know we players have a Game Panel, right?"

The Police Chief nodded. He could not see the panel floating in the air, but he did know it existed.

"I encountered a Ghost in the survival game and tested it. It knew about the players' Game Panel, and it seemed very familiar with it. It possessed intelligence, too."

With an air of "I worked out the answer myself," Xiao Hao said, "So I concluded that some Ghosts might be formed from players after they die."

The Police Chief fell silent for a moment. Xiao Hao immediately looked at the comments, hoping the viewers from another world would believe his explanation.

There was no helping it. The fact that players could turn into Ghosts was too important. Even if it meant taking a risk, Xiao Hao had to give the authorities this information so they could take precautions.

[Holy crap! When did the streamer test the Ghost?]

[Can a class rep give us a recap?]

[I'm guessing he figured it out when the Ghost first had its attack reflected and played dead outside the door.]

[How so?]

[The Ghost playing dead proved it was intelligent. The streamer told it he'd uploaded its behavior to the forum. If the Ghost didn't know about the forum, it wouldn't have flown into a rage. But it did know about the forum, and it attacked the Coral Shell Room in fury. That was probably when the streamer deduced that the Ghost was most likely a former player.]

[Holy shit! The streamer is incredible!]

[Now I truly understand how amazing it is to see the big picture from the smallest clues!]

[Why doesn't our race have anyone this talented? We always have to suffer huge losses before we can figure out a pattern!]

[That's my idol for you! The streamer will definitely clear the game! I'm getting his autograph when he does!]

They believed it.

Xiao Hao breathed a sigh of relief and silently thanked the class rep.

It just went to show how important it was to have a fan with a talent for filling in the blanks!

The Police Chief came back to his senses and said gratefully, "This information is incredibly important. We'll be sure to take precautions!"

As he spoke, one of his subordinates brought over three files.

Xiao Hao took them and examined their contents.

Huo Donglan, female, Floating Island Survival player. Guardians: Poison Needle Bee, Vulture Harpy.

Chang Zhiqian, male, Cavern Survival player. Guardians: Rift-Mouth Insect, Regenerating Earthworm.

Qiu Chengnan, male, Nightmare Survival player. Guardian: Ghost Banner.

The first two players' files were unremarkable. Their families were harmonious, and their lives were happy.

Xiao Hao's attention settled on the third player.

Qiu Chengnan, Qiu Yanan's older brother.

For some reason, ever since returning to the real world, Xiao Hao kept finding himself inexplicably connected to Qiu Yanan.

Oh, no. It was an ill-fated connection.

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