In that moment, Gu Ming's dim eyes became extremely bright, as if dusty jewels had been wiped, bursting forth with dazzling light. He tightly held Tang Ning's hand, just as he had done before when running with Tang Ning on the dormitory stairs, pulling him away from Qi Yun.
Qi Yun did not stop them, or perhaps, at this moment, Qi Yun was too preoccupied. He clutched his head in agony, veins protruding on his forehead, resembling slender pythons moving beneath the skin.
The wind swept through the spacious academic building, emitting a mournful sound, as if an invisible monster was howling.
Footsteps, the rustling of paper, the mournful wind—amidst all the chaotic noises distorted by flames, a set of footsteps different from the three emerged behind them, banging forcefully. The rapid and intense sounds seemed inhuman, evoking thoughts of bouncing marbles in a confined space, and the oppressive feeling surged amid this dense and continuous noise.
Zhou Chuan ran at the forefront, turning back first. In the next moment, Zhou Chuan's eyes widened, as if he had seen something shocking, a impact so great that he forgot to flee.
Gu Ming also turned his head, and though Tang Ning couldn't see Gu Ming's face, he could feel Gu Ming gripping his hand with intense force, as if trying to crush Tang Ning's hand bones.
What's happening?
Just as Tang Ning was about to turn around, a suppressed scream came from behind: "Don't look back!"
Tang Ning froze in place.
The rapid footsteps drew closer, and Gu Ming suddenly released Tang Ning's hand. "Zhou Chuan! Take him away—" Before he could finish, Gu Ming let out a tragic scream, as if struck forcefully in the abdomen by some unseen presence!
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Gu Ming emitted a heart-wrenching cry.
Simultaneously, Qi Yun, like a trapped beast, let out a low roar of pain.
Those two equally agonizing sounds continued behind Tang Ning, freezing his brain entirely.
What's happening?
Zhou Chuan rushed to Tang Ning, but instead of immediately taking him away as Gu Ming instructed, he locked his sharp gaze on something behind Tang Ning. "Gu Ming is dying."
Zhou Chuan told Tang Ning, "If we don't go save him now, he'll be beaten to death."
"Can you save him?" Tang Ning asked, trembling.
"The one who can save him isn't me," Zhou Chuan turned his head, casting a peculiar look at Tang Ning. "It's you."
What?
Me?
How could I possibly save Gu Ming?
Tang Ning stared blankly at Zhou Chuan. He saw Zhou Chuan's expression becoming increasingly strange, every inch of his face trembling subtly. The grip on Tang Ning's hand tightened and shook. Tang Ning heard Zhou Chuan say with a breathy voice, "Actually, since the first time I tracked you, I noticed something remarkable."
That day, the three of them had set their individual action plans in the classroom. Tang Ning followed Qi Yun, and Zhou Chuan followed Tang Ning. Zhou Chuan successfully persuaded Gu Ming to give up for two reasons.
First, Qi Yun harbored hostility towards Gu Ming, and Gu Ming trailing them meant walking into a death trap.
Second, Zhou Chuan possessed a card called the Hunter Card.
【Hunter Card Setting 1: You are an excellent hunter, and your senses and physical abilities are significantly enhanced.】
【Hunter Card Setting 2: In the jungle game, the roles of hunter and prey can switch at any time.】
This card was suitable for tracking and detecting crises.
At the beginning, Zhou Chuan's entire attention was focused on Qi Yun until, while messaging Tang Ning, his gaze unintentionally fell on Tang Ning's back—
"Tang Ning, you don't have a shadow."
Tang Ning's mind went blank. The information contained in that sentence made it almost impossible for him to think at this moment, and his frozen brain automatically recalled those nightmarish memories—
Suddenly, he recalled the moment in the dormitory restroom when he first saw himself in the mirror without any water droplets, and the second time, when he turned around to find the mirror devoid of any reflection.
He also remembered last night when he turned off his phone, seeing his silhouette on the phone screen.
Normally, when someone faces their phone, they only see their own frontal face. If a sudden profile appears on the phone screen, it's indeed strange. But even stranger is, where did the original frontal face go?
"Have you ever played Werewolf?" Zhou Chuan stared at Tang Ning, seemingly harmless, "I heard there's a rare card in card games where the person who gets it plays a role similar to the werewolf. Such a card is too cheaty throughout the entire game."
"Therefore, the person who gets this card won't realize that their rules are different from everyone else's."
The man's strong hand cruelly and decisively turned Tang Ning's head backward.
"Tang Ning, neither Gu Ming nor I have any rule against facing monsters directly."
His beautiful eyes widened to the maximum.
Tang Ning could see exceptionally clearly—
Gu Ming was being stepped on by someone who looked exactly like him.
It was a person with the same appearance as Tang Ning, but with an expression so indifferent, lips tainted with a deep and intense red, red enough to exude an evil aura.
From head to toe, it exuded a cold and powerful aura, like a blood-soaked rose.
At the moment Tang Ning stared at the "Tang Ning," the "Tang Ning" stopped the slaughter, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Zhou Chuan's voice carried an uncontrollable excitement, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew C-level difficulty couldn't be this difficult!!!"
Zhou Chuan released Tang Ning's restrained hand, laughing maniacally as he ran down the stairs. At this moment, the smile on his face vaguely resembled the bizarre NPCs in the game, but he had yet to notice.
Tang Ning stared blankly at this monster with his identical appearance.
Something strange happened. Upon seeing the other for the first time, he inexplicably felt—
This was his shadow.
A completely different existence from him.
He, a person, was cowardly, weak, and timid.
His shadow was cold, powerful, and ruthless.
The rules say, your intuition tells you not to directly face the monster.
If you see the shadow, will you be killed?
But his shadow stood still. If it weren't for Gu Ming, who was being stepped on by the shadow, continuously bleeding from the corner of his mouth, Tang Ning would have suspected that the scene before him was frozen.
After seeing the motionless shadow, Qi Yun knelt on the ground. There was a huge shadow swaying beneath Qi Yun, as large as a lake. The shadow spread, and the raging flames extinguished with it. The shadow grew larger and larger—
Large enough to envelop the entire campus, extending beyond the campus, where the outside world became blurry, an unfinished game world.
Tang Ning's shadow kept trembling, as if facing something extremely terrifying.
—"Initially, we thought the rule of death violated the school rules, but just violating the school rules wouldn't cause so many deaths."
His shadow was in fear.
Why would the shadow be afraid?
—"Zhou Chuan and I think the monsters might have hidden rules for killing."
For Tang Ning, Qi Yun always seemed like a massive iceberg floating on the sea's surface. Even if only a small part was visible, it instilled fear.
And now, the seawater covering the iceberg was gradually receding.
Behind Qi Yun, a massive shadow surged, and a "Qi Yun" entirely constructed of shadows emerged from the darkness.
This "Qi Yun" was vastly different from the real Qi Yun. The real Qi Yun rarely smiled, icy like an iceberg. But the lips of this "Qi Yun" had a bizarre smile, identical to all the NPCs in this instance, or rather, those NPCs were replicating his smile.
—"This rule might be related to the deaths of Song Linsu, Li Cheng'an, and Du Fei."
What commonality do Song Linsu, Li Cheng'an, and Du Fei share?
Tang Ning questioned himself, then answered:
They were all seen by me.
They all evoked fear in me.
Not just them, but also the NPCs who blocked me from leaving the dormitory in the morning, disappeared at noon. The NPCs who restrained me from leaving the cafeteria also vanished in the afternoon.
—"My intuition tells me the real danger lies in this hidden rule."
The smiling "Qi Yun" approached "Tang Ning" gracefully like a refined gentleman. At this moment, the ice-cold and powerful "Tang Ning" revealed a vulnerable expression, almost childlike.
It desperately moved backward, attempting to avoid the gradually approaching "Qi Yun."
My rule is not to face monsters directly.
This direct gaze shouldn't be hindered by any medium, like through a mirror or a phone reflection. Instead, it's genuinely looking at it. I can't directly face my shadow.
Because the moment I see it and feel fear towards it.
A larger monster will appear.
"Qi Yun" gracefully bent down, long palms enveloping the trembling fingertips of "Tang Ning."
I think the monster's killing rule is—
Kill everything that scares me and is seen by me.
At the moment of being touched, "Tang Ning" split into countless fragments, which turned into small black particles dissolving into the air.
An unprecedented clarity made Tang Ning understand everything.
So that's how it is.
After realizing this, he heard Zhou Chuan's miserable scream from the end of the corridor.
Yes.
At that very moment, he also felt fear towards Zhou Chuan.
Although Zhou Chuan guessed so much, he didn't guess the killing condition of the other monster.
But that was already quite impressive.
Unfortunately, it was just a little short.
Just a little short—
Tang Ning watched as the monster belonging to Qi Yun tore apart his shadow. A tremendous pain spread from his chest, and Tang Ning's soul seemed to shatter inch by inch.
What a pity.
He slowly tilted backward, pain blurring his vision. In the dimming sight, he saw Gu Ming curled up in a corner, trembling. Gu Ming was covered in blood, but it didn't matter; once out of the game, all wounds would heal.
The monster that killed the rule-violating monsters was already dead. Gu Ming just needed to endure the next four days, and he could return to reality.
Even though he couldn't meet Gu Ming in reality, this time, he should be a qualified idol, right?
He protected his fans.
His eyelids became incredibly heavy, his beautiful eyes slightly closed. Tang Ning continuously fell backward, and just as his body was about to hit the ground, something cold supported him. Tang Ning felt like he was sinking into a cold sea.
In the gradually blurred vision, Tang Ning saw the handsome face belonging to Qi Yun, with deep brows and a playful smile exaggeratedly curled at the lips, frozen in a clown-like bizarre grin.
This was the shadow of Qi Yun—
It lowered its head and kissed Tang Ning.
Afterward, this shadow petrified in this moment.
In the last moment of losing consciousness, Tang Ning couldn't help but apologize in his heart—
Sorry, my courage is still too small. Although I guessed you were protecting me, seeing you still made me afraid.
So, is it because you triggered the rule that scares me, causing you to lose your ability to move?
I'm really sorry.
Darkness engulfed everything within sight. Tang Ning closed his eyes, his long eyelashes like butterflies with folded wings, the bloodless lips giving off a faint pink. Slipping from the embrace of the shadow, he fell slantingly on the dusty stairs, like an art piece not properly placed, at risk of falling at any moment.
Gu Ming struggled to crawl towards Tang Ning, his one hand severed, only the other capable of exerting force. His hand, stained with blood, painstakingly groped the ground, fingertips desperately trying to touch the hem of that person's clothes—
Qi Yun lifted his foot, mercilessly stepping on Gu Ming's palm without a hint of hesitation. He passed by Gu Ming and approached Tang Ning.
Bending down slowly, he reached out, encircling the slender waist. His hands extended to both sides, one holding the fragile shoulders, the other cradling the soft knees. Qi Yun gently lifted Tang Ning.
He cradled him with such care, as if handling something fragile. The pale skin of the person in his arms displayed various shades of red, indicating traces of breakage. Qi Yun brought his lips close to the snow-white ear, his expression as if awakening from a dream, "Xiao Ning, I remember now."
"The reason why I stayed in this lonely world."
"Because initially, I lay in that coffin."
He whispered, "I'm sorry; why did it take me so long to remember?"
The person in his embrace couldn't respond, drifting weightlessly, seemingly weightless. Qi Yun tightened his hold on Tang Ning, preparing to leave. Suddenly, a trembling hand stopped his departing steps.
Turning with Tang Ning in his arms, Qi Yun lowered his gaze to Gu Ming, who tightly grasped his pant leg. Qi Yun, with an indifferent expression, spoke like bestowing a favor, "Kindness, but weakness, can't protect him."
"If he goes with me, I won't let him get hurt."
Gu Ming seemed to suddenly lose all strength, his hand dropping to the ground.
Without looking at Gu Ming again, Qi Yun carried Tang Ning down the stairs. The motionless "Qi Yun" fell to the ground like flowing water, transforming back into a shadow and following behind Qi Yun.
However, this shadow was quite different from an ordinary one. It occasionally leaped from the ground, like ripples breaking the calm surface of water. The splashing droplets attempted to touch Tang Ning's descending arm.
Qi Yun stepped out of the silent building. A breeze lifted the strands of hair on his forehead. Qi Yun lowered his head, gazing at Tang Ning's peacefully sleeping face. His gaze was calm and gentle.
【You actually remembered.】 A cold male voice echoed in Qi Yun's mind.
This voice had appeared when he lay in the coffin, claiming to be the system of a card game, speaking to him in the darkness:
"You are a player lost in a copy. You've forgotten why you exist in this copy; the only thing you remember is your love for someone.
You're like a cursed beast. Only when you receive the true love's kiss from the beauty, can you truly be liberated."
Qi Yun, or Mo Yunchu lying in the coffin, heard the icy voice say word by word, "It's fascinating. I originally thought he would prefer Lu Yingxing."
"But all of this is just the beginning. The temporary win or loss doesn't matter. Let's proceed to the next round of the card game—"
"Please draw your card."
"Congratulations, you got the 'Beast Card.'"
"Beast Card Setting 1: You are a monster living rooted in corpses."
"Beast Card Setting 2: Your reflection is your weapon."
(You set the reflection killing rule for Tang Ning: Anyone who makes Tang Ning afraid and is seen by Tang Ning will die.)
(You chose to split the reflection.)
(You gave Tang Ning's reflection the killing rule: Anyone violating school rules will die.)
So, he entered a new world.
At this moment, that voice still resonated in his mind: 【I'm curious. Why does he have a fondness for Gu Ming, but this fondness has nothing to do with love?】
Qi Yun didn't answer. Silently, he walked with his loved one through the campus, passing every corner they had walked together. All memories in this world were solitary and painful, with only the memories related to Tang Ning radiating sweetness.
The buildings behind him kept trembling and collapsing.
The process of the "world's" collapse came again. Every time a player left, this world would reshuffle, returning to the beginning.
It was an eternally lonely world.
"Xiao Ning." Qi Yun looked at the sleeping lover and softly said, "Wake up quickly."
Then, he lowered his head, gently kissed Tang Ning, transferring all the power of the reflection through this kiss to the person in his arms.
When the reflection is missing, the original body falls into a pseudo-death state. In such a situation, only regaining the reflection can bring about a rebirth.
The shadow belonging to Qi Yun disappeared from behind him again. He tightly held the person enveloped in white light. Leaving the lonely world—
【Ding—Reflection has been sealed, the game ends prematurely!】
【Congratulations, player, on successfully clearing the copy "Ghost School"!】