The overhead light didn't last long. As Gu Mian had surmised, it dimmed once more.

The corridor fell instantly silent.

Perhaps because he was in the midst of it, Gu Mian felt that the darkness lasted a bit long this time.

He even tried taking a step forward.

As soon as his foot landed, the electric lights came back on, and the previously pitch-dark corridor became Mingliang.

In the regained light, he saw the human-shaped figure he had expected to be at the other end of the hallway—stiff and motionless.

It stood like a human mannequin in the dark right after a supermarket's lights went out.

And it was closer now!

Almost to the midpoint of this corridor!

If this kept up, he suspected that it would only take three or four more cycles of the lights fading and brightening before it reached him.

Each time the lights dimmed, it would advance a considerable distance, filled with malice.

When the lights came on again, one would see that the thing was much closer.

Theoretically, a normal person would have panicked and run by this point, though there was no escape now.

But Gu Mian was not a normal person.

He picked up his electric saw, hiding it behind his back. Just a game of Red Light, Green Light, huh? I can play, too.

As he thought this, he switched off his now-useless flashlight, took a large step toward the figure in the darkness, then stopped abruptly, remaining motionless.

This would be a surprise.

The lights came on as expected.

Gu Mian remained rigid, looking ahead.

The clothes-rack figure was indeed closer to him. It had crossed the midpoint of the corridor and was now only about a classroom's length away from Gu Mian.

But this thing clearly hadn't expected Gu Mian to pull such an inhuman stunt.

The lights stayed on noticeably longer this time.

Gu Mian speculated that the figure might be briefly reevaluating its life choices.

Given their current distance, only two more rounds of the lights going out and on would bring them face to face.

The lights stayed on a little longer this time, but eventually, they went out again.

The instant the lights went out, Gu Mian again seized the opportunity to take several large steps forward, raising his saw.

Thus, when the lights came on again, the hallway gleamed with the dazzling reflection from his electric saw.

At the same time, Gu Mian saw that he was now very close to the figure—so close he could jab its backside with just a few more steps.

Indeed, the clothes-rack figure had crept a few more steps forward in the dark. However, it seemed to have sensed something amiss early on. The moment the electric saw flashed brilliantly, it had already spun around, presenting Gu Mian with only its backside, looking as if it had realized something was wrong.

Gu Mian opened his mouth to say something.

But before he could utter a word, all the lights in the corridor went out.

Gu Mian deliberately waited a while.

The lights did not return this time.

After more than ten seconds in the darkness, Gu Mian finally pulled out his flashlight and aimed it forward.

He could finally see the scene before him clearly again.

The clothes-rack figure that should have been face to face with him had vanished without a trace, gone who knows where.

Gu Mian walked a short distance in the direction the figure had disappeared. He then saw another door at the end of the corridor, similar to the one he had cut through earlier.

Gu Mian stroked his chin. "It disappeared over here..." he mused. "It seems this section of the corridor is a central point, with doors at both ends leading elsewhere."

Behind the door he had sawed at earlier, there were at least two people; Li Yibai was behind that door.

There should also be a considerable amount of space behind that door, as Gu Mian had heard footsteps from behind it running a long way before disappearing.

Gu Mian quickly approached the new door, pondering. There should be a lot of space behind this door too. The ghost vanished here... Did it go behind this door?

With that thought, Gu Mian abandoned the door he had sawed at earlier. Raising his saw, he turned his attention to the door in front of him. I absolutely have to find it today.

This door, too, proved to be flimsy. Within minutes, Gu Mian had cut a large opening in the lock, and the door creaked open reluctantly.

There was nobody coincidentally passing by behind this door.

So, even though Gu Mian's saw made a tremendous noise, no one from behind the door shouted "Run!" or anything similar.

Now that he had pushed the door open, Gu Mian could see the scene behind it.

It was a very spacious platform, though he couldn't figure out its purpose.

Gu Mian scanned the area with his flashlight.

The platform split into two paths, one to the left and one to the right, each leading to a different place.

Gu Mian quickly crossed the platform to the fork in the path and shone his flashlight to the left.

To the left was a pitch-black, narrow staircase that looked rather short.

To the right was a much broader corridor, quite similar to the one he had just come from.

Just as Gu Mian turned his gaze to the right corridor, he suddenly noticed what looked like a figure's back in the distance.

The flashlight beam didn't reach that far, but Gu Mian saw a hurried figure flash through the darkness and then disappear.

Gu Mian frowned at the distant, disappearing figure. That's... Xu Xingcheng?

Gu Mian's eyesight was excellent. Years of assassination missions had honed his vision to the point where he could, as the saying goes, "blow an enemy's head off from eight hundred miles away."

So, even though it was very dark, he could still clearly make out the fleeting figure.

How could he be here? Theoretically, he isn't one of the twelve people participating in this game... At that moment, Gu Mian recalled the exchange he had witnessed between Zhang Pingfan and Xu Xingcheng earlier that day.

Perhaps Xu Xingcheng has some connection to the game they're all involved in.

Just as Gu Mian was about to follow, he suddenly heard a rustling sound from behind.

Behind him was the narrow staircase; it was pitch-black inside, and he couldn't see a thing.

He immediately spun around.

But the narrow staircase, as if it had sensed him, fell silent the moment he turned.

Gu Mian looked at the dark staircase before him, considered for two seconds, then abandoned the idea of following Xu Xingcheng and headed into the darkened staircase instead.