Chapter 7: The Final Day
Click! Click—!
A biting cold wind swept through the corridor, instantly freezing Teacher Wang, who was sprinting, into an ice sculpture. His giraffe-like neck stiffened mid-air, hanging straight before Feng Yinyin.
Feng Yinyin exhaled deeply, then turned and dashed toward the upper floors of the teaching building.
“I must hurry. It’s already the third day. I need to get the information on the last bully before dawn.”
“As long as I catch them and recreate the bullying scene, I can dispel the grudges.”
“I’ve already used the Soul-Calling Incense; I hope that Wind and Freedom’s side can complete their task smoothly.”
Amid these swirling thoughts, a lingering doubt remained in Feng Yinyin’s heart.
Where had Bai Xiaozhi gone?
As the core of grudges in this dungeon, the very foundation supporting it, why had she not appeared until now?
Had some crucial information been missed, making it impossible to locate her?
Or was it that this core of resentment would only manifest when the grudges were finally resolved?
Feng Yinyin quickly reviewed the clues she had gathered.
Rules one, two, and three’s time restrictions stemmed from Bai Xiaozhi being bullied outside those periods; thus, she wished the bullies to keep to the schedule, avoiding solitary places to spare her from harm.
Rule four’s demand for tidy attire and polite manners arose because Bai Xiaozhi was often left filthy, so she hoped the bullies would show some mercy.
Rules five and six were similar—she wished for teachers to intervene and classmates to be kind, preventing further abuse.
Rule seven was even more extreme: students should study, not bully others.
All these rules were born from Bai Xiaozhi’s wishes.
Yet, as grudges do, even wishes could cause harm.
Then, regarding…
Thud—
The pitch-black staircase resembled the gaping maw of an abyss, swallowing the emergency light’s glow.
A blurry figure stood on the stairwell landing, like a pool of congealed ink, or a hanged corpse swaying slightly.
Feng Yinyin’s hair stood on end as she ran upward. Without hesitation, she grabbed the cold handrail and leapt, flipping through the stair gap to descend.
In the past, she would never have managed such a move.
But now, as a level 3 player with 3 points in willpower, she could spend willpower to temporarily boost all other attributes by 3.
Even if her strength was originally weak, the +3 made her physical ability far beyond ordinary.
Moreover, as a chosen participant in the Twilight Game, her base stats already surpassed normal humans—her current strength was 11, agility 13.
At this moment, with 14 strength and 16 agility, plus her naturally light weight, this stair jump was effortless.
As for killing the ghosts?
Impossible.
Feng Yinyin couldn’t defeat these “teachers” in combat; a solo fight was hopeless.
In fact, no single player stood a chance against the ghosts.
They were not only powerful but immortal.
Even if players combined forces to slay one, it would soon revive.
Because of this, the prevailing strategy in the Twilight Game was no longer brute force but control, escape, defense, and survival.
Those who insisted on head-on confrontations?
Their death rate was staggering.
Much lower than the mainstream survival rate.
Damn!
There was another one below!
Just as Feng Yinyin’s fingers touched the rusty iron railing, ready to leap again, the darkness at the stair corner suddenly writhed.
That shadow was denser than night itself, slowly swelling like molten asphalt with eerie ripples on its surface.
Most frighteningly, it kept its head tilted back, its wide-open mouth dripping with slime, as if it had been waiting there for ages.
From her impressions of the past two days’ classes, Feng Yinyin recognized it by its distinctive hairstyle.
“Teacher, sorry, I don’t want to study biology today!”
Before she finished speaking, a cold gust rose. She instantly activated her skill, freezing the biology teacher in place.
Damn it!
Teachers were increasing in number. Wind and Freedom, why haven’t you signaled yet?
I’m barely holding on!
Walkie-talkies couldn’t be used inside the dungeon, but the shop offered substitutes.
Feng Yinyin and Wind and Freedom had agreed: once the last bully’s information was found, fireworks would signal success.
To be safe, they even planned to act at 6:30 a.m., or at worst, hold out until 7:00 a.m.
That was the time the rules allowed safe entry into the teaching building.
Yet Feng Yinyin now suspected she wouldn’t even make it to 7:00.
The information on the last bully was clearly no simple matter; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so difficult!
Should she give up?
No! Quitting meant failure.
Feng Yinyin gritted her teeth. Since she was already downstairs, she might as well head straight to the first floor. If all else failed, she could strategically retreat—after all, the time limit was seventy-two hours, and the third day still had some time left.
***
To be honest, if the teaching building’s windows weren’t sealed and robust at night, it wouldn’t be impossible for Feng Yinyin, with her current physical prowess and skills, to jump from the third floor.
Otherwise, there’d be no need to escape through the first floor.
Thud! Thud! Thud—!
Cold moonlight seeped through the window at the corridor’s end. As Feng Yinyin and three teachers circled into the second-floor hallway, two figures emerged from the darkness.
Their faces were pale and sallow, eyes cloudy like swollen dead fish, mouths forcibly pulled into unnaturally neat, eerie smiles by invisible threads.
No!
I can’t hold on anymore. Wind and Freedom, take care of yourselves. As the user of the Soul-Calling Incense, I’ve done all I can. The remaining ghosts should be survivable for you.
Feng Yinyin rushed toward the first floor but encountered the sixth and seventh teachers along the way.
She played her last card, her willpower nearly drained, her body covered in wounds.
But the exit was just ahead!
Just as Feng Yinyin approached the main door, a creaking sound came from above.
On the ceiling, a ghastly pale figure clung to the peeling wall in an unnatural posture. Its limbs sprawled like a spider’s, joints twisted at impossible angles, neck twisted 180 degrees, with its inverted face staring fixedly at her.
Ha, there really was an ambush.
Feng Yinyin coldly sneered and reached for her last card—but her pupils suddenly contracted.
Outside the wide-open teaching building door, two shadows were approaching!
Impossible!
The rules stated that ghosts could not be active outside the campus buildings!
No... rules cannot be fully trusted!
Or rather, players’ discovered rules cannot be fully trusted!
Damn it!
One would be bad enough, but two at once—my life is over!
No!
I cannot give up!
As long as I leave before those two ghosts block the door, I’ll be fine.
But before Feng Yinyin could move—
The two shadows outside suddenly accelerated, slipping inside the door, joining the teacher on the ceiling and seven more pursuing teachers, surrounding Feng Yinyin completely.