CHAPTER 106: CHAPTER 106: MIDDLE SCHOOL

This time’s script task...

A faint sourness tingled Li Ang’s teeth, and he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

The more peculiar and baffling the task prompts were, the more difficult the task would be.

He glanced at his two silent companions and asked, "How should I address you?"

The man in the blue and white checked shirt pushed up his glasses, got straight to the point, and revealed his player ID:

[Grey Pigeon·Black Trojan][Lv8]

Li Ang glanced at Black Trojan’s title and his standard programmer attire, offering no comment.

The one dressed as a plague doctor also showed his ID:

[Miracle Healer·Plague Doctor][Lv8]

Well, well, an acquaintance.

Li Ang smiled and displayed his own player title:

[Frenzied Ripper·Li Rising][Lv8]

The three Level 8 players looked at each other, feeling the pressure mount. They detested these high-difficulty team tasks where everyone was of an equal level.

Li Ang met Plague Doctor’s gaze and said, "You’ve both likely heard this task’s prompts. Any thoughts?"

"Hmm...." Mu Ma scratched his forehead and said, "Normally, we players judge a task’s difficulty by its rewards, time limit, and failure penalties. However, as far as I know, no one on the forums has ever encountered a task where the completion reward is a Life Potion."

Li Ang nodded. "Due to the rarity and value of Miniature Life Potions, it’s difficult to determine this task’s specific difficulty. By the way, what were the task prompts you heard just now?"

Plague Doctor glanced at Li Ang almost imperceptibly. Of course, he knew why Li Ang was asking.

The last time, at Longheng Mall, a Ghost disguised as a player had nearly caused a team wipe. It was crucial to first determine if there were any hidden Monsters among the team members before they could relax.

Moreover, this kind of probing could also identify traps within System tasks—what if the three players had received different task prompts?

Hearing Li Ang’s question, Mu Ma raised an eyebrow and said, "The first task prompt I heard was a middle-aged man saying, ’Save me.’"

He then closed his mouth and looked at Plague Doctor.

As an experienced programmer, Black Trojan’s intelligence was above average. A moment’s thought was all it took for him to understand Li Ang’s intention.

Probing, naturally, had to be mutual.

Plague Doctor met Black Trojan’s gaze and said coolly, "The second task prompt I heard was an ethereal female voice saying, ’Where are you?’"

The three quickly cross-referenced all task information. Finding no anomalies, they collectively sighed in relief—unfortunately, such was the deceptive nature of player interactions.

"We heard seven different voices earlier," Plague Doctor said. "Since the System’s completion goal is ’Resolving seven supernatural incidents,’ and not ’Dealing with seven Fierce Ghosts,’ we can assume that using force isn’t strictly necessary. We might be able to resolve these incidents by solving puzzles, analyzing causes of death, cremating remains, or fulfilling the Ghosts’ wishes."

"That’s correct." Black Trojan nodded and said, "Additionally, the System specified ’none’ for the task’s time limit, which could very well be a trap. There might be some hidden conditions behind it, such as ’The Ghosts will be released at night,’ or ’The task’s difficulty will increase over time until it becomes utterly impossible for players to complete.’"

Li Ang continued, "Viewed this way, the ’none’ for the failure penalty isn’t necessarily a good thing either. If we can’t complete the task, players will die, perhaps even be trapped in this place forever, keeping Ghosts for company. That would naturally eliminate the need for any additional failure penalty."

This round of analysis left the three of them feeling that a bleak path lay ahead.

"Huh...." Plague Doctor sighed and looked at the sky. "The pressing matter is to first figure out where we are."

"That’s easy." Li Ang retrieved a newly purchased Da Jiang drone from his inventory and connected it to its dedicated remote control.

Under his control, the drone ascended at a deceptively swift pace. Plague Doctor and Black Trojan gathered around, watching the screen in Li Ang’s hand.

The drone’s perspective widened, and the three figures on the sports field below shrank until they resembled ants.

The campus was vast, featuring basketball courts, tennis courts, a swimming hall, and a total of fourteen buildings, a mix of old and new.

The entire school was laid out in a square, with a perimeter wall lined by a row of green coniferous trees.

No matter how Li Ang adjusted the Da Jiang drone’s camera, it was impossible to see beyond the treeline—a dense, grayish-white mist enveloped everything further out.

Li Ang piloted the drone higher, reaching an altitude of over two thousand meters, yet still, nothing but the thick fog was visible.

The school felt like an isolated island, perpetually cut off from the world.

Silently, Li Ang piloted the drone to descend slowly and approach the school gate.

Beside the flowerbed at the school entrance stood two steel signboards. One displayed various school information, while the other showed a map of the entire campus.

Li Ang glanced at the signboards, which were entirely in Japanese, and said, "This school is called Ibaraki Middle School. It combines junior and senior high departments, has a considerably long history, and is renowned for cultivating many outstanding talents."

"Ibaraki?" Mu Ma frowned. "Are we in Japan?"

"Not necessarily." Li Ang let out a cold laugh. "There have been plenty of instances on the forums where scripted tasks seemed almost entirely consistent with the modern world, but upon closer inspection, they turned out to be set in highly similar parallel universes. Moreover, given the gray fog outside the school, we can’t even be sure we’re still in the world of the living."

Plague Doctor shook his head and said gravely, "In any case, don’t bring any preconceived notions here. We must be Carefully Cautious about any whisper of movement."

Li Ang controlled the drone, focusing the camera on the map.

Ibaraki Middle School had fourteen buildings in total. Three were teaching buildings: Building 1 for the International Department (3 stories), Building 2 for the Junior High Department (4 stories), and Building 3 for the Senior High Department (5 stories).

There was a three-story cafeteria: the first floor served the junior high department; the second, the senior high and international departments; and the third, the faculty. Additionally, there were two dormitories and an administrative building housing offices for the principal, directors, and key teachers. A comprehensive building contained a library, reading room, computer labs, and an information center. There was also a lecture hall that could accommodate over three hundred people. A three-story sports building included an indoor basketball court, a rock-climbing wall, and a table tennis room. An arts building featured a dance studio, a painting studio, and a Qin room. Finally, the Innovation Laboratory Building was equipped with chemistry, biology, and physics laboratories, an observatory, and rooftop solar panels.

The two remaining old structures were the school infirmary and a club activities building.

Fourteen buildings, seven supernatural events.

Li Ang had the drone fly back slowly. After storing it in its case, he asked his two companions, "Where do you want to start searching?"