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Chapter 283 Strange Spirits
The instance is divided into two factions.

One side is the "hunter," and the other is the "survivor."

And for some reason, this instance gave both sides a cell phone that they could use to communicate with each other... Although it's only one-on-one, if the two sides actually talk, they can get a lot of benefits.

Of course, only the "hunter" benefits, because as long as the call is connected, the most extreme outcome is that the hunter can find the location of the survivor he is talking to through the slightest clues and then capture him on the spot.

This is clearly not the outcome the survivors wanted.

Therefore, survivors are unlikely to answer the phone, let alone call back.

Of course, Jiuming cannot condemn the player "一生平安658" for not answering the phone.

He stared at the screen for a moment, then put the phone back in his pocket.

The mobile phone is an item given in the dungeon and can only be used in this dungeon, so it cannot be put into the inventory.

He took out the flashlight he had prepared beforehand, turned the brightness down to the lowest setting, and illuminated the first floor of the teaching building.

It was pitch black inside; the streetlights outside the school couldn't reach it, so players had to rely on flashlights for illumination.

Everyone already knows that the game's dungeon environments are mostly pitch black, so flashlights have become an essential item for players.

Nine Lives lifted his foot and slowly walked on the first level.

The teaching building has two staircases, one at each end; the toilets are right next to the staircases, which is a place where paranormal events are frequently reported.

Entering the women's restroom is not something a decent person would do, let alone a school's women's restroom.

But Jiu Ming didn't want to maintain his gentlemanly image at this moment. He peeked around the toilet door like a sleazy hooligan, even squatting down and staring at the gap under the partition for a long time before confirming that there was no one hiding inside.

He could only stand at the door and look.

He had experienced many such "door-closing kills," most of the time it was when he entered a room and the door behind him was slammed shut.

Then, a ghost that had been plotting for who knows how many years suddenly jumped out from some corner, raised its face as if it had been rolled in a flour jar, and let out a howl, scaring countless players so much that they wet themselves in fear.

Although this description may sound somewhat comical, if one were to actually behold a pale face opening its blood-red maw in the dark, any sense of amusement would instantly vanish, replaced by immense terror.

Nine Lives would rather not catch anyone than see such a terrifying face in the darkness.

The first layer was searched quickly.

After confirming that there was no one else on this floor besides himself, Nine Lives then stretched out his leg and stepped onto one of the two staircases.

The school was eerily quiet; even the wind had ceased. The slightest sound would be amplified dozens of times in the corridor. Soft footsteps echoed on the dark stairs. The tranquil environment was both unsettling and reassuring.

At least he knew that there was nothing else here that could make a sound except himself.

When he reached the corner of the stairs, Jiu Ming cautiously peeked up at the top. Seeing nothing unusual, he continued up the stairs.

Although he is on the hunter's side and doesn't need to worry about being caught by other players, there are bound to be terrifying spirits in this instance, so he has to be ready to run away at any time.

Of course, if you encounter players from the opposing team, you have to bravely pounce on them and grab them.

It is very difficult to distinguish whether a human-shaped object is a person or a spirit in the dark.

Fortunately, Nine Lives' glasses have a high prescription, so with a little careful observation, he can clearly see whether distant objects are people or ghosts.

Even in a dungeon, someone with a prescription of 1000 degrees will still have 1000 degrees of vision, so glasses are an essential item in dungeons.

Just as Nine Lives was slowly climbing the stairs wearing his glasses with a prescription of 1,000 degrees, he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from above.

It was the sound of someone dragging a stool across the floor, lasting only a second before disappearing, as if the person making the sound was a thief, not wanting to be discovered. Nine Lives had already reached the second floor, and he could hear it clearly; the sound was coming from the third floor above him.

Is someone hiding on the third floor of this building?
Nine Lives stopped and thought for a moment. He looked at the window next to him. The ground outside was still empty, and no one had entered the school yet.

Without hesitating for long, he continued upwards, skipping the second floor.

Since the game was introduced and the dungeon rating system was implemented, waves of players have been eagerly courting disaster, because if you are not active enough in the dungeon, you will end up with a low rating and very few rewards, which is practically the same as not entering the dungeon at all.

Nine Lives is one of the players who is keen on achieving high scores.

"They're being so secretive. If it were an alien spirit up there, they wouldn't be this careful. It's very likely that they're players from the survivor faction..." Nine Lives thought to himself as he sped up, quickly reaching the third floor while trying not to make too much noise.

Immediately, the corridor on the third floor appeared before his eyes.

In order not to disturb the people on this floor, Jiuming deliberately turned off the light in his hand.

The light from the streetlights shone through the windows, making it barely possible to see.

There are six classes on the first floor.

Nine Lives came up the stairs from the east end, and the sound he heard earlier must have come from around here.

He tiptoed and first looked at the men's and women's restrooms next to him.

There was no one in the cubicle—at least no feet were standing under the door.

After inspecting the toilets, he straightened up again.

The third floor remained completely silent, as if the sound from before had never occurred, but Nine Lives was quite certain that he had heard that extraordinary sound.

If you manage to capture just one person, your final dungeon score will skyrocket, and the rewards will become much greater.

As Jiuming pondered this, he began walking towards the nearest classroom.

He worked quickly and finished searching both classrooms in no time.

Actually, it doesn't take much effort. The classroom is exceptionally clean; you can tell whether someone is hiding inside just by standing at the door and giving a casual glance.

Immediately afterwards, he found a huddled black shadow under the last desk in the third classroom.

It was not only shrinking, but also trembling.

The shaking was so regular that even the table shook along with it.

It can be confirmed that the other party is definitely not a supernatural being.

There shouldn't be any supernatural beings in the world that are so terrified by players.

Nine Lives frowned. The person hiding here must be mentally challenged. Why is he trembling so violently, as if afraid no one will see him?

With the only doorway blocked, the people inside couldn't escape much, so Jiuming took out his flashlight and shone it inside.

At this moment, Gu Mian had arrived at the foot of the teaching building where a figure was standing on the roof.

He looked up at the roof of the building again, only to find that the figures on it had disappeared.

Please remember, from now on, use "异灵" (yìlíng) instead of "鬼" (guǐ).

There's just too much to change. At least three chapters need to be rewritten—and rewritten means completely new, with no connection to the previous content. Plus, all the ghosts in the story need to be changed to "otherworldly spirits." There's just so much to change. Previously, it would take the author at least a week to write one chapter, so now they have to update and revise simultaneously. [Exasperated]

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(End of this chapter)