"Let's go."
Jiang Xiuxiu saw the ghostly figure move and made a quick decision to follow.
She turned back to see the newcomer standing still and reached out to pull him. "Don't just stand there, come with me."
To repay his life-saving favor, Jiang Xiuxiu decided to take him along tonight.
Besides, she could share some basic game knowledge with him so he wouldn't be completely clueless.
"Follow you?" The newcomer blinked and asked.
He stood firm and didn't move when Jiang Xiuxiu tried to pull him.
He just tilted his head in confusion, seemingly unsure of what she was trying to do.
"Of course, follow me. How else can we gather information?"
Jiang Xiuxiu thought this guy was a bit clueless at times, not understanding what to do.
Seeing him still standing there, she added, "The more you know, the better your chances of completing the game."
"Complete the game?"
The newcomer repeated the term slowly.
He stared at Jiang Xiuxiu for two seconds, his deep black eyes contemplative, his puzzled expression making him look quite intriguing.
Jiang Xiuxiu found his question baffling. "Yeah, if you don't complete the game, what are you doing here?"
Everyone entered the game for the prize money or the gaming experience, right?
This newcomer seemed too naive, like he didn't even understand survival horror games.
While Jiang Xiuxiu was pondering his hesitation, he suddenly smiled and walked towards her. "Alright, let's go."
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu stopped overthinking.
This newcomer had appeared before entering the dungeon, joining her and the other players in the game. At first, he even asked to team up, and he spoke so smoothly he had to be a player, no doubt.
NPCs, no matter how smart, were just strings of data and couldn't be this flexible.
Maybe he lived in a remote place and hadn't been exposed to holographic online games much.
Thinking this, Jiang Xiuxiu grabbed his wrist and led him towards where the white ghostly figure had gone.
Luckily, the ghostly figure moved slowly, dragging two smaller figures. Even with a two-minute delay, they could still catch up.
Along the way, the newcomer didn't struggle and cooperated by hiding with her, showing quite a bit of enthusiasm.
Moreover, he asked her about the game.
Jiang Xiuxiu didn't hold back and explained the basic characteristics of ghosts, bosses, NPCs, and players.
"That ghostly figure ahead belongs to the ghost category," she whispered. "Ghosts have to follow certain rules to harm players, but bosses are different."
She noticed that once the ghost moved far away, it seemed completely unaware of their presence.
Initially, she mouthed her words, but later she began speaking aloud.
"Bosses?" The newcomer squinted.
"Yes," Jiang Xiuxiu said. "I'm following them now to see if I can find the boss. By the way, what's your name? Mine is Jiang Xiuxiu, you can call me Xiuxiu."
Halfway through her sentence, she realized they weren't strangers anymore.
It had been quite a while, and she didn't even know his name.
"My name is Ye Ming," the newcomer said.
Ye Ming, a simple name.
Jiang Xiuxiu remembered it.
By this time, they had been following the ghost for a while.
While chatting, Jiang Xiuxiu noticed the white ghost leading two players straight to the back door of an old house, into the yard.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu quickened her pace and followed quietly.
She watched as the white ghost and the two players walked into the dense grass and shrubs of the yard.
Surprisingly, their pace remained unchanged.
They moved just as quickly, their bodies not swaying at all, as if walking on flat ground.
The dense bushes didn't hinder them.
The white ghost was understandable—it wasn't a physical entity. But what about the two players?
Jiang Xiuxiu wanted to see more clearly, but the yard was too dark. The grass covered their legs, hiding them completely.
Under Jiang Xiuxiu's gaze, they slowly moved to a corner of the yard and then disappeared.
Just like that?
Jiang Xiuxiu was curious, but she realized that the spot where the ghost and the players disappeared must be significant.
Considering it was already late, she decided to investigate tomorrow in daylight.
Going now in the dark wouldn't be safe. If they alerted the white ghost, it would be a loss.
"Let's go back," she said to Ye Ming. "We'll check it out tomorrow."
She paused, then added, "You can stay in my room. We'll team up."
Ye Ming's teammate issues were too severe. She suspected Ye Ming came out tonight because his teammate's actions woke him up.
This person might not know much, but he seems capable, and he's brave, not hesitant in his actions. Jiang Xiuxiu was quite satisfied with him.
Of course, the key point was that she found Ye Ming harmless and kind. Teaming up with him meant she didn’t have to fear betrayal.
To know, in that recent situation, even she wouldn’t risk being discovered to help a stranger who had refused her.
After listening to her, Ye Ming nodded.
Without further words, they turned and went back to the room.
Jiang Xiuxiu, fully aware of her role as the stronger player, took the only bed without hesitation and pointed the sofa to Ye Ming.
Ye Ming didn’t get upset, he obediently took the blanket and slept on the sofa.
They turned off the lights, and without much more interaction, quickly fell asleep.
With no disturbances, Jiang Xiuxiu slept deeply this time.
No dreams all night.
Early the next morning, they were awakened by the chime from the hall.
Jiang Xiuxiu didn’t stay in bed, immediately getting up to wash.
After that, she and Ye Ming headed to the canteen for breakfast.
Because there were no NPCs in the old mansion and no one had been there for a long time, all they could find were instant noodles and biscuits.
Jiang Xiuxiu let Ye Ming search for food in the kitchen while she crouched outside, quietly observing the players coming and going.
She noticed right away that this morning seemed unusually peaceful.
No screams, no tired or panicked faces—most people had slept well, almost like they weren't in a survival game.
Which meant, besides her and Ye Ming, few had noticed anything unusual last night.
Of course, it was also possible that some had encountered something strange but had "forgotten" about it, like that male player and the long-haired female player.
Reflecting on this, Jiang Xiuxiu’s eyes flickered as she counted the players passing by.
Excluding her and Ye Ming, there were exactly 14 players, no more, no less.
The male player and long-haired female player who had disappeared with the white ghost were still in the mansion, looking normal and eating.
Seeing this gave Jiang Xiuxiu a headache.
She realized that if this continued, she might completely lose the ability to distinguish between players.
Who had been in trouble and who hadn’t?
There was no way to tell from appearances.
Moreover, what was the purpose of these players, taken by ghosts, still being in the mansion?
Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't figure it out.
Compared to the first level at the Cihe Academy, this old mansion dungeon was full of mysteries.
Allies among players were unreliable, ghosts appeared and vanished without a trace, and even the boss hadn’t shown up.
Ye Ming quickly came out and tossed a bag of bread to Jiang Xiuxiu.
Jiang Xiuxiu caught it and started eating, worried.
“We should check the yard.”
After finishing the bread, Jiang Xiuxiu made a final decision and told Ye Ming, “The place where the ghost disappeared yesterday must hold some clues.”
With limited information, she had to remain calm.
The more she explored and the more she knew, the less confused she would be.
Ye Ming didn’t reply. He just looked down at the bread in his hand, then at the cupboard holding the food.
“Aren’t you going to store some food?” he suddenly asked.
“Store some food?” Jiang Xiuxiu was puzzled.
“Yes,” Ye Ming nodded calmly. “I just checked the kitchen and found that the food is decreasing.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiuxiu quickly checked the cupboard.
One look, and her expression changed slightly.
Ye Ming was right—the food in the cupboard was indeed decreasing.
Yesterday, it was completely full, with no gaps.
But this morning, although there was still a lot, a closer look revealed that the amount had indeed lessened.
In this game, unlike the first one, the food supply wasn’t endless.
Realizing this, Jiang Xiuxiu’s eyes flickered.
The decreasing food wasn’t a big deal, considering the game had a time limit, and players couldn’t stay in the game forever.
Especially with this level setting, if played safely, players could potentially survive in the mansion for ten days to half a month just by staying hidden.
Jiang Xiuxiu speculated that the game used a fixed food supply to push players to complete the game faster.
What worried her was whether other players would fight for resources after realizing this.
This could lead to teams hoarding food and significant conflicts among players.
It was impressive that Ye Ming, despite being a newcomer, noticed such details.
Satisfied with her choice of teammate, Jiang Xiuxiu didn’t hesitate.
While other players weren’t paying attention, she pulled Ye Ming into the kitchen.
She estimated and took about three to four days' worth of food.
Considering the room wasn’t safe, they packed everything into their backpacks to carry with them.
After preparing, they followed the route from last night and quickly reached the back door of the mansion and the yard.
Last night, because the ghost and players moved easily and the yard was too dark to see the plants clearly, Jiang Xiuxiu didn’t realize how cluttered and crowded the yard was.
In the daylight, she saw the yard was full of plants, some shrubs growing so high they reached her abdomen.
Squinting, she saw no footprints or signs of trampled plants.
It looked like no one had been there.
Unfooled by the illusion, Jiang Xiuxiu recalled where the ghost and players disappeared last night and walked into the yard.
Ye Ming silently followed closely behind.
After much effort, they reached the corner where the figures had disappeared.
Jiang Xiuxiu squinted and searched the area but found nothing.
She had an idea and stomped her foot hard.
Then, she listened carefully and felt something.
It didn’t feel right.
The texture was too hard, not like stepping on the ground.
“There’s something under here,” she blurted out.