Chapter 426: Two Ghosts
The majority had decided, and anyone who opposed would appear suspicious. So the group returned to the room on the first underground floor where the topic boards were placed to wait.
The waiting process was too tedious, and Wan Yunrong couldn't help but strike up a conversation with Wu Xiaonan. "Do you think there's some special mark for becoming a ghost in the game?"
Wu Xiaonan was helping Zhu Rumin wipe the powder off her face. Her face was already clean, and she said, "If there is, that would be best, so we don't accidentally hurt others."
Wan Yunrong sighed. "If only someone would just step forward and admit it."
"Could it be that the person chosen to be the ghost doesn't even know they're a ghost?" Chu Yuan suddenly had a whimsical thought.
"How is that possible?" Gan Qing said. "If that were the case, what's the point of playing this game?"
Participating in the game and winning were clear bonus points. Reasoning backward, if the "ghost" themselves didn't even know their identity, how could the game proceed? The game would lose its meaning.
That day, aside from going to the restroom, the players didn't move around casually. Soon it was the time when the lights had gone out the previous night, but the lights remained on.
"What's going on? Isn't the lights-out time consistent?" Ge Pan looked at the bright lights outside in confusion.
"It doesn't seem like it was ever said that the lights-out time would be consistent," Miao Yu said.
The players sized each other up, but finding nothing unusual about anyone else, they could only brace themselves and wait. However, even by one in the morning, the lights in the laboratory were still on.
"I want to go to the restroom," Wu Xiaonan stood up and said.
"Wait, you can't go now. What if the lights go out after you leave?" Wan Yunrong stopped her.
Wu Xiaonan shifted her legs uncomfortably. "It should be fine if I go alone. You're all here, so it's not like the ghost can run out."
Chu Yuan rolled his eyes. "Who's worried about you being killed by the ghost? We're worried that you are the ghost."
Wu Xiaonan's face stiffened. "Even if I were a ghost, where could I hide? The lab is only this big. You don't expect me to take care of it right here, do you!"
"Please."
"You...!" Wu Xiaonan was furious. Zhu Rumin beside her tried to mediate. "Everyone is also worried about your safety. No one can guarantee there aren't other dangers in the lab."
Wu Xiaonan sneered. "Then how about a few of you come with me? Two ghosts don't even take up half the slots."
"I'll go too." Miao Yu stretched her arms. "If the lights don't go out all night, are we supposed to suffocate here?"
"Anyone else want to come? Anyway, the restroom has partitions, so men and women shouldn't mind."
"I'll pass." Wan Yunrong waved her hand.
"I'll go with you. I'll just wait outside. Safety in numbers." Xu Huo nudged Chu Yuan's arm, hinting that he must keep an eye on Wu Xiaonan.
Chu Yuan nodded.
In the end, only the five of them went out, while Ge Pan, Mao Wei, and the other six stayed in the room.
The three women entered the restroom, and Xu Huo and Chu Yuan waited outside. Chu Yuan complained, "Either come early or drink less water. Haven't you seen movies? Usually, in situations like this, something goes wrong..."
Before he could finish, the lights in the corridor went out.
Voices came from the restroom. Xu Huo calmly glanced at Chu Yuan. "Haven't you seen movies? Your situation is called a jinx."
Chu Yuan quickly turned on a flashlight. Given the strange ghostly figure they had seen last night, he nervously looked around. "There doesn't seem to be any movement over there."
Miao Yu and the other two came out of the restroom. The two groups met, sized each other up for a few seconds, and then unanimously quickened their pace toward the room—the ghost wasn't among them, and falling behind might mean missing the opportunity.
Just as they reached the door of the room, a figure suddenly kicked the door open and rushed out, running headlong toward the other end without looking back, followed by several other players.
"Chang Chengyong ran! He's the ghost..." Gan Qing rushed out right after but stopped at the doorway, staring in shock at Xu Huo and the other four. "Zhu Rumin..."
Zhu Rumin's face changed instantly, but the next second, Wu Xiaonan, who was closest to her, clapped her hands together. "Double Peaks Striking Ears!"
Though it was called Double Peaks Striking Ears, two transparent boards appeared out of thin air, clamping Zhu Rumin tightly between them. Her body was slightly compressed, but her head twisted to the side, and she said to Wu Xiaonan, "With that much strength, are you even a woman?"
Wu Xiaonan's expression froze for a moment, and the "Double Peaks Striking Ears" loosened.
"She's going to run!" Chu Yuan pulled out a crossbow and aimed at the woman squeezing out of the boards, but her metal arm guard blocked the shot.
The crossbow bolt, trailing a steel wire, was deflected toward Wu Xiaonan, forcing her back and helping Zhu Rumin instead.
"Zhu Rumin, look here!" Xu Huo shouted at that moment, tossing a black ball from his hand!
Zhu Rumin reflexively looked up, but the black ball hit her face at an awkward angle, sending her falling backward. Miao Yu, who was right next to her, crossed her hands, drew twin blades from under her coat, and slashed at her waist!
However, the blade didn't wound Zhu Rumin. She pressed one hand on Miao Yu's arm, used the leverage to rise, and kicked toward her head.
Miao Yu quickly raised her arm, holding the blade horizontally to protect her head. Though she was kicked back a few steps, Zhu Rumin's leg was also injured from the impact.
This brief exchange was enough for Ge Pan and the other players to react. After giving the warning, Gan Qing had gone with Qiu Xiangdong to chase Chang Chengyong, leaving only three people in the room.
Mao Wei was the first to throw something shaped like a grenade forward, but when it exploded, it turned into cotton candy-like clumps, sealing Zhu Rumin and the corridor together.
Miao Yu and Wu Xiaonan, who were nearby, were also affected. They tore off the sticky substance clinging to them, switched to long blades and swords, and thrust and slashed at Zhu Rumin's position.
No sound could be heard through the clumps, but when Wu Xiaonan pulled out her sword, there was blood on it.
By the time the players completely tore apart the clumps, Zhu Rumin had vanished.
"There's blood on the ground. We can catch her." Wu Xiaonan was the first to follow.
The other players weren't far behind. Except for Qiu Xiangdong and Gan Qing, who were chasing Chang Chengyong, everyone else headed in Zhu Rumin's direction.
Following the trail of blood drops, they arrived at the elevator. Wan Yunrong instinctively stepped in, but Miao Yu stopped her. "If she used the elevator, it wouldn't be sitting here."
The time they had taken to follow wasn't long enough for the elevator to make a round trip.
"So she's hiding in a room?" Wu Xiaonan turned around and started searching room by room.
"Women are terrifying." Chu Yuan couldn't help but comment at her behavior. "Just a moment ago, they were like sisters from different parents, going to the bathroom together. Now they turn on each other and start stabbing. Impressive."
"If Zhu Rumin is the ghost, then getting close to Wu Xiaonan was to kill her," Xu Huo said. How could she not turn hostile?
"There are too many rooms in the lab. Let's search separately," Mao Wei suggested.
"Alright, I'll go with him." Ge Pan responded.
(End of Chapter)