The cover of the book looked very plain, an old, dull yellow-brown color, with corners slightly curled from frequent use.
Jiang Xiuxiu pulled it out and quickly flipped through it, seeing that on the first page, someone had written two words in bright red ink:
Sacrifice.
Jiang Xiuxiu paused for a moment, then continued flipping through the book, skimming its contents.
As she had expected, this book wasn't one of those with particularly high informational value but rather an ordinary collection of strange and peculiar stories.
Thinking about it, it made sense. It would have been extremely difficult for the ghost boy to pull off a grand deception right under Xu Bai's nose.
Within its capabilities, the best it could do was to push the boundaries as much as possible in places Xu Bai couldn't see, subtly passing on a bit of obscure information.
However, since Jiang Xiuxiu had already pieced together most of the family's story in the old mansion, this tiny hint from the ghost boy turned out to be the finishing touch.
Sacrifice, commonly speaking, is an act of offering something valuable in hopes of receiving a blessing from the gods.
Jiang Xiuxiu's first thought upon seeing the book's title was that the couple in the old mansion prayed to an evil deity for information about their child.
The sacrifice they attempted was the life of a little girl.
After the little girl's death, Xu Bai was successfully summoned.
Though after Xu Bai appeared, he, for some reason, used fire to kill the couple as well.
But undeniably, using human life as a sacrifice was not wrong.
What interested Jiang Xiuxiu was not the means or the offerings of the sacrifice, but rather that Xu Bai's appearance was based on this act of sacrifice.
So, could his power be related to sacrifices?
Last night, when Jiang Xiuxiu was escaping, she had considered that the game's rules would inevitably impose some limitations on the boss for balance.
Just like in the first level, in Cihe Academy, Xu Bai's appearances were rare, and the Blood Jade could completely seal his abilities.
So, in the current game, the restrictions on Xu Bai should be similar.
If handled properly, she could completely seal Xu Bai's energy as she did in the first world.
But similarly, if not promptly curtailed, Xu Bai would become uncontrollably powerful.
Thus, one crucial question emerged:
Can the act of sacrificing living people replenish Xu Bai's energy?
Jiang Xiuxiu recalled the first day they arrived at the old mansion, where the boss barely showed up or killed anyone.
Faced with the cute maid outfit, she even once thought the boss might be a cute girl.
On the second day, Xu Bai still did not appear.
But his fire burned the basement completely.
By last night, Xu Bai not only appeared but also burned four people in one go.
As the number of players behind the white ghost shadow increased, his energy indeed seemed to be growing.
Jiang Xiuxiu squinted at the book.
Past events flashed before her eyes, and a conclusion surfaced in her mind.
If all the information she currently had was correct, then Xu Bai's energy source in this game were the players themselves.
With each player's death, his power would increase.
Understanding this, Jiang Xiuxiu's heart sank slightly.
Her life and death were entirely in Xu Bai's hands now.
She wasn't used to being passive, nor did she like being controlled.
Since the source of Xu Bai's energy was clear, she had to find a breakthrough before tonight.
The longer she dragged it out, the more people would die, and the stronger Xu Bai would become.
After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Xiuxiu closed the book.
She put the book into her backpack, then turned and left the study.
She went to the storage room, rummaged for a while, and took out a few sticks that could be used as weapons.
She tested each one in her hands, then chose the one she felt most comfortable with and held it.
After checking the time, she slung the stick over her back and quietly walked to the second floor.
Earlier, Zhang Wei and the others had broken most of the locks on the rooms on the first floor while fighting over food.
As a result, most players had moved to the second floor for safety, choosing rooms with intact locks to rest.
It was right after lunch, and many players were still relaxing in their rooms.
This was the perfect time for Jiang Xiuxiu to find someone.
"Hey, it's you."
As Jiang Xiuxiu reached the second floor, a player passing by the hallway noticed her.
Jiang Xiuxiu turned around at the sound, seeing a long-haired female player standing in front of her.
The long-haired female player looked at Jiang Xiuxiu and casually asked, "Did you go out to gather information again? Have you found anything?"
Just this morning, a desperate Jiang Xiuxiu had approached her, exchanging her information for a newspaper the long-haired female player had.
They at least knew each other, so the long-haired female player greeted Jiang Xiuxiu now that she saw her.
After hearing the female player's question, Jiang Xiuxiu looked at her.
Her eyes flashed slightly, and she stopped.
"It's you," Jiang Xiuxiu said. "What a coincidence, I was just about to ask you something."
"What is it?" the long-haired female player asked curiously.
Jiang Xiuxiu calmly said, "I want to know, is it really impossible for players to harm each other?"
"Of course."
The long-haired female player immediately refuted without thinking, "The game rules clearly state that attacking other players results in an electric shock punishment."
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiuxiu fixed her gaze on her.
"If someone entered the game as a player at first but later died in the game, technically losing their player status, do they still count as a player?" she asked slowly.
Hearing this, the long-haired female player finally sensed something was wrong.
She looked at Jiang Xiuxiu suspiciously, "What are you trying to say?"
Jiang Xiuxiu responded with a gentle smile.
Her smile seemed ordinary, even somewhat pure and cute.
But what she said made the female player's heart skip a beat.
"I just want to see if people like you can be attacked by me."
The moment her words fell, Jiang Xiuxiu moved.
She swung the wooden stick behind her, striking fiercely at the long-haired female player in front of her.
"Are you crazy? Why are you hitting me?"
Caught off guard by the attack, the long-haired female player screamed and cursed at Jiang Xiuxiu.
She stepped back a few paces, trying to dodge, but she was standing in a hallway with only a wall behind her.
She wanted to escape, but Jiang Xiuxiu's stick was long, and Jiang Xiuxiu's movements were very fast. In the blink of an eye, the stick was forcefully coming down on her face.
Despairing, the long-haired female player ducked her head, instinctively raising her arm to block.
However, accompanied by a dull thud, the stick didn't hit her but instead struck the wall behind her.
"What are you trying to do?"
When the anticipated pain didn't come, the long-haired female player opened her eyes in bewilderment and started to curse Jiang Xiuxiu.
But when she lifted her head, she saw that the stick, which should have hit her, had gone straight through her body.
Even though her body seemed solid, and she cast a shadow, the stick had effortlessly passed through her arm and shoulder.
"Is this... me?"
The long-haired female player stared blankly at this scene, forgetting the words she wanted to say.
After a while, she seemed to remember something and muttered to herself, "I... I was already dead."
Yes, she recalled that earlier, when she was in the bathroom, she had heard someone call her name.
She had responded inadvertently, then everything went black, and she remembered nothing after that.
She had fallen for the ghost's trick, she had already been eliminated from the game.
Jiang Xiuxiu looked intently at the long-haired female player before her. She clearly remembered that this was one of the six players taken by the white ghost last night.
At that time, this long-haired female player appeared in spirit form.
In this escape game, there was a special rule: a person could only have one opportunity to enter the game.
If they failed to clear the game, their slot would be reclaimed by the game company and passed on to the next person.
These six players were trapped in the game in a special form, but they had already been eliminated and should no longer be considered "players."
So, Jiang Xiuxiu should be able to attack them directly.
Since Jiang Xiuxiu knew that these six players were Xu Bai's "sacrifices," she had been trying to find a way to wake them up or send them away.
After thinking it over, she concluded that directly confronting them would be most effective.
Although they appeared like normal people, they were already dead, leaving only their intangible souls behind.
A single blow would make anyone realize this.
Under Jiang Xiuxiu's gaze, the long-haired female player, remembering everything, trembled, holding her head and slowly squatting down.
A few seconds later, she vanished into thin air, as if she had never existed.
Obviously, after being awakened by Jiang Xiuxiu, the long-haired female player chose to leave the game.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu dragged her stick and proceeded to the next player's room.
Five more people needed her "awakening."
Jiang Xiuxiu always acted swiftly.
It didn't take long for the six players from last night to recall their erased memories under her brutal attacks.
Jiang Xiuxiu's actions soon drew the attention of the other normal players.
Curious and frightened, they followed Jiang Xiuxiu, watching in astonishment as she attacked one person after another.
Wasn't it against the rules to fight in the game? What was going on with this person?
Someone tried to attack Jiang Xiuxiu but was paralyzed by the game's electric shock, unable to move.
Finally, after Jiang Xiuxiu sent off the sixth player, she turned her gaze to the others.
The onlookers swallowed nervously and took a few steps back as she looked at them.
Jiang Xiuxiu said, "Don't be afraid, I won't hit you."
Hearing this, the other players quickly nodded, their wariness almost palpable.
Two players even darted their eyes around, clearly looking for escape routes.
Jiang Xiuxiu said, "Remember these three things: don't listen, don't respond, and don't look back when you encounter ghosts. We can't afford to lose more people."
She never expected that one day, someone as weak as her would become a "school bully" in others' eyes.
With no other option, Jiang Xiuxiu briefly explained the situation.
After speaking, without looking at the other players' reactions, she picked up her stick and went back to her room to sleep.
She had gathered all the information she could, and any further delay would be futile.
Xu Bai's weak point was clearly tied to "sacrifice." Rather than wait, it was better for her to take the initiative.
The remaining players had survived for three days, so aside from luck, they likely had some experience dealing with ghosts.
As long as they didn't die, Xu Bai, who had lost six sacrifices, would need a new energy source.
Without venturing into the tiger's den, how could one get the tiger's cub? If Xu Bai didn't kill her, she would take the initiative and see the "sacrifice" process firsthand.
At night, after a good sleep, Jiang Xiuxiu opened her eyes.
She stared intently at the clock in the room until the hands pointed to 12.
Sss sss sss sss
The light footsteps of the white ghost resounded outside the door again.