Yue Nu was alone in the pitch-black corridor.

After ascertaining that Gu Mian and his companion had followed, she cautiously emerged from her hiding place behind the door. "I almost ran into them; that was too close. Luckily, I managed to shake them off."

Looking at the deserted corridor before her, Yue Nu frowned again. My puppet just died...

She was well aware that her actions during the day had been conspicuous enough to draw the ghost's attention. The one to die tonight could very well be her.

But Yue Nu wasn't planning to be eliminated just yet. After all, as a player, it would be embarrassing to enter an instance without a few special items in her possession.

To survive until tomorrow, she had used one such item.

[Lover's Puppet (Disposable)]

[Description: A puppet crafted by a madwoman to keep her beloved by her side forever; the perfect tool for a stand-in.]

Setting aside its eerie description, the function itself was quite practical.

[Function: Perfectly duplicates the user's external characteristics, including height, weight, appearance, and voice. It is an absolutely convincing replica, to the point where even its death can perfectly mimic that of a real corpse. The puppet can perform simple actions under the user's command.]

When eight o'clock arrived tonight, Yue Nu had placed it in the classroom where they had hidden earlier, making it take her form. This way, any ghost bearing ill will toward her would be fooled by the puppet. She herself had hidden until she bumped into Gu Mian and his companions a short while ago.

It was right when I ran into Gu Mian and the others... my puppet died... Yue Nu recalled. The puppet was killed in the classroom. At that time, Gu Mian and the others were right in front of me, so the ghost who killed the puppet wasn't one of them... I need to go and see for myself...

Yue Nu was still preoccupied with the cell phone she had hidden in the classroom. Since the puppet was killed in the classroom, the hidden cell phone must have recorded everything. The ghost wouldn't linger at the murder scene to avoid revealing its identity, so going to that classroom now was the safest option.

Yue Nu frowned at the thought. If I want to get out of this haunted place... I've used far too many special items in this instance...

「At this moment, Gu Mian and Guo Jimei were searching the dark hallway for the fleeing figure.」

Unexpectedly, before they had taken more than a few steps, they heard Li Yibai's voice.

His head popped out from a nearby door. After recognizing the two, he ran out excitedly. "I'm so relieved to see living people!"

Guo Jimei looked suspiciously at Li Yibai. "Was that you running just now?"

"What?" Li Yibai looked somewhat confused.

The two had argued earlier in the day, so the atmosphere was now tense.

Seeing his clueless expression, Guo Jimei changed tack. "Were you brought here too?"

Li Yibai leaned toward Gu Mian and nodded. "As soon as eight o'clock struck, I was suddenly here... At first, I was with Lin Qi. But after we'd wandered this spooky place for a short while, we saw a chainsaw coming through a nearby door!"

"A chainsaw?" Guo Jimei was clearly stunned. She probably hadn't expected ghosts to use weapons.

(Though a chainsaw wasn't exactly standard ghost equipment...)

Li Yibai nodded. "We turned and ran. While we were running, the lights overhead began flickering. After a few flashes, we got separated... Afterward, I encountered Xu Keke, but we got separated too. Actually, Guo Jimei, when I got separated from Xu Keke, I think I heard your voice somewhere."

Guo Jimei was momentarily speechless. "I had run into Gu Mian then. We both startled each other."

Gu Mian glanced at Guo Jimei. What do you mean, 'we both startled each other'?

Li Yibai nodded. "So that's what happened. Have either of you seen Lin Qi?"

It seems all this young man can think about is Lin Qi, Gu Mian mused.

Guo Jimei shook her head directly.

"Speaking of which," Gu Mian suddenly spoke up, "Li Yibai, you were initially with Lin Qi, right?"

Li Yibai nodded. "We only lost each other after the lights overhead flickered a few times."

If that's the case, then neither Li Yibai nor Lin Qi could be the ghost I saw in the corridor. They also couldn't be the mysterious figure Guo Jimei saw heading towards the elevator. Gu Mian felt a headache coming on. The clues are too fragmented right now; finding the ghost will be very difficult. I myself encountered the ghost in the hallway. After chasing it, I saw the enigmatic Xu Xingcheng. I also ran into Guo Jimei, who was playing tricks in a corner, and then Chu Changge, who was sneaking around in front of a room door where I found an old photograph that seemed meaningless. And now, I've run into Li Yibai. According to his account...

"Oh, right!" Li Yibai suddenly interjected. "Between separating from Lin Qi and meeting Xu Keke, I saw Meiren Chu!"

Chu Changge was known as Meiren Chu in this instance.

Truth be told, I find it hard to associate that name with Chu Changge, Gu Mian thought.

Guo Jimei frowned. "What did you see?"

Li Yibai was frowning too. "I saw him sneaking around in front of a few doors... Well, not exactly sneaking. It was more like he was searching for something, but it didn't seem like he was searching for anything specific..."

Gu Mian rubbed his forehead. What's the difference between what you just said and saying nothing at all?

Then Li Yibai added, "That's it! It was like he was searching for a room. He seemed to be looking for a suitable room because after opening a door, he would just stand in the doorway looking in. He wasn't looking for anything specific; it was more like he was inspecting the room."

"Looking for a room?" Guo Jimei asked, confused. "Does he plan on spending the night here? Wait..."

At that point, she turned to Gu Mian. "When we ran into Meiren Chu earlier, he was acting that way too. He seemed to be searching for something, yet he only stood in the doorway, looking in."

Now that she thought about it, he really did seem to be inspecting the rooms.

Why was he... looking for a room?

Li Yibai turned to Gu Mian and Guo Jimei. "You two ran into him too? Where's Meiren Chu now?"

As he spoke, he looked behind them, but there was nothing there.

Guo Jimei hesitated. "We... we lost sight of him."