After receiving the text message in the morning, Ruan Qing did not panic.
All that had happened recently must be related to that man; all the strangeness was because of him.
And he didn’t understand the man, not even knowing his name.
Upon seeing the message, Ruan Qing agreed without hesitation, stating that he would wait for him below the music classroom after his class.
He wanted to figure out what the other party’s purpose was and how to break through the current false situation.
Ruan Qing was also a student in the music department; his classroom was not far from the music classroom, just in the nearby teaching building.
So, not even five minutes after class, he was waiting below the music classroom.
However, not even a minute passed, and Ruan Qing’s pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes widening, because his memory returned.
Ruan Qing instantly realized something; the pen spirit had already died.
Without hesitation, he quickly ran up to the third floor. Other players were already on the third-floor corridor, all focused on the scene inside the classroom, with fear and astonishment in their eyes.
They didn’t even notice when Ruan Qing arrived.
Perhaps they did notice, but didn’t have time to care.
The scenes he imagined in his mind never matched the impact and reality of witnessing them with his own eyes.
However, they were just bystanders, completely unable to prevent this terrible thing from happening.
Because it had already happened in the past.
Just because of a misunderstanding, an innocent person was killed. How terrible it was.
But did these people really not discover the truth?
No, several of them knew, knew the innocence of the pen spirit, knew who the real murderer was, but they still conspired to kill the pen spirit.
Cruelly dismembering the pen spirit as well.
Perhaps it was solely due to the dark envy that dwelled in their hearts.
More terrifying than a devil was the human heart.
Ruan Qing looked at the cruel scene in the classroom, finally pursed his thin lips and casually averted his gaze.
Ruan Qing had always had strong willpower; most conspiracies against his mind have a little effect on him.
Even when he lost his memory, he could still sense when things were amiss, let alone now that his memories have returned. So Ruan Qing immediately noticed that there were fewer players present.
Fewer... Qi Muran?
Coincidence?
Or was there something wrong?
The players didn’t notice Ruan Qing’s confusion; they thought that as long as the pen spirit died, the illusion would end.
But unexpectedly, it continued.
The players were a bit panicked.
These days have been extremely difficult for them. Since they noticed the absence of two people, they realized the horror of this illusion.
This illusion would blur people’s rationality and thinking, assimilating them into this world.
That meant it would gradually make people forget their own identity, forget their purpose, and even gradually transition from being an observer to becoming a participant.
In the illusion, props were of no use at all; they could only rely on their own efforts to remember everything.
People with strong willpower were somewhat better off, but those with weak willpower found it even more difficult to resist.
Needless to say, everyone also knew that this was definitely not a good thing. If the illusion truly assimilated them, then they would never be able to leave the instance.
When the players were somewhat in panic, one of them widened their eyes, pupils shrinking, trembling as they pointed at the four people dismembering a body in the classroom.
More precisely, they were pointing behind those four.
Behind them, a phantom red shadow loomed.
As the four people dismembered the body, the red shadow split into four.
Terrifying, eerie, and horrifying.
However, the four individuals remained oblivious. After dividing the body, they were discussing how to handle their respective parts.
Perhaps due to a lack of trust, each person dealt with their part separately.
The players immediately split into four teams to track each individual.
The guy from bed one buried the body near the outside restroom, the same one Ruan Qing had visited earlier.
The guy from bed two, daringly, circled around, returned to the music classroom, opened the piano, and concealed the body parts inside.
The guys from beds three and four buried their bodies in a small grove near Half Moon Lake at the First University.
The burial spots were only a few meters apart.
While burying the body parts, none of them noticed a dreadful shadow constantly floating behind them.
Perhaps because the music classroom was the death site of the pen spirit, the shadow there was the most solid, and it gave off the most frightening vibe.
It even seemed to retain some awareness.
When Ruan Qing looked over, the shadow eerily gazed in Ruan Qing’s direction.
If Ruan Qing hadn’t dodged fast enough, that shadow might have seen him.
Probably because the bones were hidden in the piano, the shadow in the music classroom didn’t follow the guy from bed two when he left. It just stood by the window, looking at the other three leaving with ‘his’ remains, its expression hollow.
Watching the three depart and the shadow in the music classroom observing the others leaving, Ruan Qing had a bad feeling deep down.
The pen spirit seemed to know where ‘his’ bones were buried, and it seemed aware that ‘his’ soul was fragmented due to being dismembered.
But why didn’t ‘he’ go retrieve the bones?
Perhaps, having just died, ‘he’ didn’t have much power and couldn’t harm the person who killed ‘him’.
It was normal not to retrieve the bones.
Probably, after a while, when someone summoned the pen spirit in the room 404 of Building A, the pen spirit would fully regain consciousness and possess complete revenge capabilities.
The one who could become the ‘Ghost King,’ why didn’t ‘he’ retrieve his body parts?
Was it because of a lapse in current memory? Or did ‘he’ have other motives?
Ruan Qing made an effort to recall everything that had happened, reflecting on the recent events.
In the next moment, he suddenly stopped.
In order to facilitate the removal of the pen spirit’s body, the murderers dismembered the body into small pieces.
But when dismembering the body, it seemed that the pen spirit... was missing a heart?
Where did ‘his’ heart go?
Before Ruan Qing could think further, his world instantly shattered like a mirror being broken.
The illusion ended.
However, before Ruan Qing could gather himself, he was forcefully pulled away from his original position.
Ruan Qing, somewhat dazed, looked up, and the person holding him was none other than the long-unseen Qiao Nuo, who had just pulled him away from a blood-red figure.
It was the pen spirit.
Qiao Nuo was currently in a miserable state, with most of his clothes stained red with blood. There was a hint of blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating he was injured.
Before Ruan Qing could react, Qiao Nuo, having just stabilized himself, directly pushed Ruan Qing away.
Due to Qiao Nuo’s strength, Ruan Qing was thrown harshly to the ground.
The pain’s sharpness made tears well up in Ruan Qing’s eyes, and his delicate face showed signs of agony, with his brain almost ceasing to think.
“Ugh...” Ruan Qing, clutching his elbow, curled up on the ground, trembling slightly. Both his elbows and knees were somewhat bruised.
But Ruan Qing had no time to pay attention because the pen spirit attacked again.
After receiving the text message in the morning, Ruan Qing did not panic.
All that had happened recently must be related to that man; all the strangeness was because of him.
And he didn’t understand the man, not even knowing his name.
Upon seeing the message, Ruan Qing agreed without hesitation, stating that he would wait for him below the music classroom after his class.
He wanted to figure out what the other party’s purpose was and how to break through the current false situation.
Ruan Qing was also a student in the music department; his classroom was not far from the music classroom, just in the nearby teaching building.
So, not even five minutes after class, he was waiting below the music classroom.
However, not even a minute passed, and Ruan Qing’s pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes widening, because his memory returned.
Ruan Qing instantly realized something; the pen spirit had already died.
Without hesitation, he quickly ran up to the third floor. Other players were already on the third-floor corridor, all focused on the scene inside the classroom, with fear and astonishment in their eyes.
They didn’t even notice when Ruan Qing arrived.
Perhaps they did notice, but didn’t have time to care.
The scenes he imagined in his mind never matched the impact and reality of witnessing them with his own eyes.
However, they were just bystanders, completely unable to prevent this terrible thing from happening.
Because it had already happened in the past.
Just because of a misunderstanding, an innocent person was killed. How terrible it was.
But did these people really not discover the truth?
No, several of them knew, knew the innocence of the pen spirit, knew who the real murderer was, but they still conspired to kill the pen spirit.
Cruelly dismembering the pen spirit as well.
Perhaps it was solely due to the dark envy that dwelled in their hearts.
More terrifying than a devil was the human heart.
Ruan Qing looked at the cruel scene in the classroom, finally pursed his thin lips and casually averted his gaze.
Ruan Qing had always had strong willpower; most conspiracies against his mind have a little effect on him.
Even when he lost his memory, he could still sense when things were amiss, let alone now that his memories have returned. So Ruan Qing immediately noticed that there were fewer players present.
Fewer... Qi Muran?
Coincidence?
Or was there something wrong?
The players didn’t notice Ruan Qing’s confusion; they thought that as long as the pen spirit died, the illusion would end.
But unexpectedly, it continued.
The players were a bit panicked.
These days have been extremely difficult for them. Since they noticed the absence of two people, they realized the horror of this illusion.
This illusion would blur people’s rationality and thinking, assimilating them into this world.
That meant it would gradually make people forget their own identity, forget their purpose, and even gradually transition from being an observer to becoming a participant.
In the illusion, props were of no use at all; they could only rely on their own efforts to remember everything.
People with strong willpower were somewhat better off, but those with weak willpower found it even more difficult to resist.
Needless to say, everyone also knew that this was definitely not a good thing. If the illusion truly assimilated them, then they would never be able to leave the instance.
When the players were somewhat in panic, one of them widened their eyes, pupils shrinking, trembling as they pointed at the four people dismembering a body in the classroom.
More precisely, they were pointing behind those four.
Behind them, a phantom red shadow loomed.
As the four people dismembered the body, the red shadow split into four.
Terrifying, eerie, and horrifying.
However, the four individuals remained oblivious. After dividing the body, they were discussing how to handle their respective parts.
Perhaps due to a lack of trust, each person dealt with their part separately.
The players immediately split into four teams to track each individual.
The guy from bed one buried the body near the outside restroom, the same one Ruan Qing had visited earlier.
The guy from bed two, daringly, circled around, returned to the music classroom, opened the piano, and concealed the body parts inside.
The guys from beds three and four buried their bodies in a small grove near Half Moon Lake at the First University.
The burial spots were only a few meters apart.
While burying the body parts, none of them noticed a dreadful shadow constantly floating behind them.
Perhaps because the music classroom was the death site of the pen spirit, the shadow there was the most solid, and it gave off the most frightening vibe.
It even seemed to retain some awareness.
When Ruan Qing looked over, the shadow eerily gazed in Ruan Qing’s direction.
If Ruan Qing hadn’t dodged fast enough, that shadow might have seen him.
Probably because the bones were hidden in the piano, the shadow in the music classroom didn’t follow the guy from bed two when he left. It just stood by the window, looking at the other three leaving with ‘his’ remains, its expression hollow.
Watching the three depart and the shadow in the music classroom observing the others leaving, Ruan Qing had a bad feeling deep down.
The pen spirit seemed to know where ‘his’ bones were buried, and it seemed aware that ‘his’ soul was fragmented due to being dismembered.
But why didn’t ‘he’ go retrieve the bones?
Perhaps, having just died, ‘he’ didn’t have much power and couldn’t harm the person who killed ‘him’.
It was normal not to retrieve the bones.
Probably, after a while, when someone summoned the pen spirit in the room 404 of Building A, the pen spirit would fully regain consciousness and possess complete revenge capabilities.
The one who could become the ‘Ghost King,’ why didn’t ‘he’ retrieve his body parts?
Was it because of a lapse in current memory? Or did ‘he’ have other motives?
Ruan Qing made an effort to recall everything that had happened, reflecting on the recent events.
In the next moment, he suddenly stopped.
In order to facilitate the removal of the pen spirit’s body, the murderers dismembered the body into small pieces.
But when dismembering the body, it seemed that the pen spirit... was missing a heart?
Where did ‘his’ heart go?
Before Ruan Qing could think further, his world instantly shattered like a mirror being broken.
The illusion ended.
However, before Ruan Qing could gather himself, he was forcefully pulled away from his original position.
Ruan Qing, somewhat dazed, looked up, and the person holding him was none other than the long-unseen Qiao Nuo, who had just pulled him away from a blood-red figure.
It was the pen spirit.
Qiao Nuo was currently in a miserable state, with most of his clothes stained red with blood. There was a hint of blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating he was injured.
Before Ruan Qing could react, Qiao Nuo, having just stabilized himself, directly pushed Ruan Qing away.
Due to Qiao Nuo’s strength, Ruan Qing was thrown harshly to the ground.
The pain’s sharpness made tears well up in Ruan Qing’s eyes, and his delicate face showed signs of agony, with his brain almost ceasing to think.
“Ugh...” Ruan Qing, clutching his elbow, curled up on the ground, trembling slightly. Both his elbows and knees were somewhat bruised.
But Ruan Qing had no time to pay attention because the pen spirit attacked again.
