Lucky billion players, you've never seen one before / I can accumulate my own luck

"To paint yourself black and hide from 'it'..."

Jinna thought for a moment and then reminded her, "This method seems to overlap with the function of wild cats?"

"No, they are not redundant; their application scenarios may be different."

Fan Xiao explained, “We’re heading to the Inner World, which is ‘its’ territory, and ‘it’ hates cats, so there probably aren’t any stray cats there.”

"Although we can avoid danger in the Otherworld through swimming pools and student IDs, what if there are problems that these two methods can't solve?"

"At that time, we can try to hide by painting ourselves black."

"Is this so..."

Jinna exclaimed, "No wonder you collected paint before and even went to look for it. You didn't think of that back then, did you?"

Do you think I can predict the future?

Fan Xiao shook his head and said, "I collected paint just in case. Things from the dungeon might come in handy in the dungeon—that was pretty much my mindset at the time."

"What foresight!" Mercury exclaimed. "I never imagined it would actually come in handy."

"Let's hurry up and look for it."

Fan Xiao said, "Remember, it has to be a completely dark room."

The group nodded and began their search.

As for why they didn't create a dark environment themselves using readily available materials—no one asked that question.

Everyone understands the principle of "protesting too much here."

While searching for a room, a black and white man reappeared mysteriously.

However, having gained experience, the four of them handled the situation with ease this time.

Fan Xiao even had the energy to observe the other party carefully.

He was young, with delicate features and a scholarly air... It's likely that he was a student before he became a black-and-white person.

Now both the teachers and students appeared.

His earlier guess was correct—the entire school's teachers and students... really had all turned into black and white ghosts.

Just to be on the safe side, Fan Xiao and the other three went back to Black Cat's place.

Common sense among Black and White people is definitely biased towards "it," and being afraid of cats is inevitable.

After using the black cat to dispel any potential dangers, the four returned to the experimental building area and began their search again.

Before 11 o'clock, they found four dark rooms without any light.

Fan Xiao took out the paint and smeared it all over his face, hands, pants, and shoes, then put on the black clothes that bore the bloodstains.

His entire body was immediately covered in black.

Mercury put on another black outfit and followed suit.

Jinna's nun's habit was black by itself, so there was no need to paint it.

Fan Xiao smeared her hat, face, and hands black, while she tied her golden hair up in a bun and covered it with her hat.

Like Jin Na, Luo Hao was dressed entirely in black, with his hair also being black, making it easier to disguise himself.

The four quickly completed their "disguise" and chose a dark room to hide inside.

11 o'clock will arrive soon.

Fan Xiao suppressed his breathing to a minimum, without making a sound.

The four of them began to wait patiently.

No one knows how long it will stay in the world of the surface.

So, just to be on the safe side, you should at least stay in a dark room until after midnight.

Fan Xiao and his three companions had a very well-thought-out plan.

But plans... can never keep up with changes.

Ten minutes later, the accident still happened.

"whee……"

"whee……"

The familiar laughter of children rang in the ears of Fan Xiao and the other three.

My consciousness began to waver intermittently.

The four men's expressions changed instantly, and they tensed up immediately.

Fan Xiao quickly activated "Dustless Shield," and with his three teammates, they crashed through the side wall and flew out. Guided by Luo Hao, they arrived at the location of the black cat as quickly as possible and landed.

The laughter immediately disappeared after I landed safely.

My consciousness also cleared up.

On the other side, the black cat with its fur standing on end on the ground let out a soft hiss, its voice a mixture of unease and intimidation.

After waiting for about twenty seconds and finding no further movement, Fan Xiao and the other two relaxed slightly.

"Paint is useless, or rather, blackening oneself is useless."

Mercury frowned and was the first to break the silence, saying, "We guessed wrong."

"Perhaps it's not a mistake."

Jinna made a rare, insightful remark: "Perhaps this method doesn't work in the outer world, but only in the inner world?"

At this moment, Fan Xiao stared at a "big black face" and said, "The outer world and the inner world are just different environments, but 'it' itself remains unchanged."

"There's no reason why a safety precaution that doesn't work outside should work inside. The answer is definitely not that simple."

"Difference—what do you think is the difference between the real world and the inner world?"

"The other world has black and white people and monsters... no, it shouldn't be related to this."

Mercury thought for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "It's the student ID! After going to the Otherworld, we need to find a student ID to hold in our hands to survive. Could it be related to this?"

Fan Xiao nodded: "That's my answer too."

Having a student ID provides an extra layer of security in the Otherworld—that's the rule of the instance.

but……

why?

Or rather, on what basis?

Fan Xiao guessed that "it" was probably not very intelligent and could not distinguish human characteristics.

In its eyes, all humans may look the same.

Therefore, the basis for "it" to identify its allies is very likely the student ID.

It is equivalent to an identification ID.

Only those who hold student IDs are not violating "its" common sense and will not actively attract "its" attention.

Not having a student ID is like having a rat dropping in a pot of rice – it's very conspicuous, and "it" will notice you no matter what, so hiding won't help.

This may be the true essence of this rule.

"Clean the paint off your face and hands. This paint is special and easy to remove."

Fan Xiao reminded his three companions, "My first condition has been verified, and we can set off for the Inner World. Let's meet up with the others first."

Chapter 172 Inhumane Gang Beating

At the school gate, the three teams reunited.

Fan Xiao observed that both opposing teams still had seven players, with no one missing.

Perhaps because they had already figured out the dangers and were prepared, the players gradually became more adept at dealing with this dungeon.

The five players who disappeared earlier lost because they lacked information.

The most typical example is Yan Jun, who, unaware that black and white people could appear and disappear unpredictably, was so frightened that he reflexively attacked the other party and thus fell into their trap.

Fan Xiao noticed that three of the seven players opposite him had minor injuries, so he asked, "Did you encounter a monster that 'it' had modified?"

"I encountered two of them, and they attacked me."

The refined man nodded: "This confirms the information you provided. It seems you weren't lying to us. There are indeed monsters besides the black and white people who can use all sorts of strange abilities."

Unlike the black and white people, the monsters pose a direct threat to the players.

In some ways, their threat is even greater than "it".

Because it takes 10 minutes for "it" to unleash its attack, it gives players ample time to react.

But the black and white monsters will attack immediately, each move deadly.

The key players are still unable to retaliate.

Being forced to take the beating is incredibly frustrating.

"Speaking of which..." the sword-wielding player asked, "Are the monsters really modified from D-rank players? The two we encountered were completely unrecognizable as human."

"There are also humanoid monsters, but they are all stretched and widened. You can observe and confirm this for yourselves after you go to the inner world."

Fan Xiao said, "Let's talk about something else first. Besides the monsters, have you encountered any black and white people?"

"I met one, she was a young girl..."

The refined man described the other person's appearance, temperament, and physique in detail.

Based on these descriptions, Fan Xiao determined that the other party should be a female student.

As for the possibility of other people... according to the background information of the dungeon, before and after the incident at Hope Middle School, there were only three types of people present: students, teachers, and investigators.

We might need to add some security guards and logistics staff, but that won't have a significant impact.

Basically, you can tell what kind of people someone belongs to just by their age.

This is a clue provided by the instance; it couldn't have been given randomly.

"It seems my initial guess was correct. Students and teachers at Hope Middle School have indeed been influenced and transformed into black and white people by 'it'."

Fan Xiao nodded: "The details fit our guesses, so we can set off. So... have you made up your minds?"

"I don't really agree with this proposal."

"Going to the Otherworld is too dangerous."

Immediately, two players voiced their objections.

They came from teams of refined gentlemen and swordsmen, respectively.

The two of them came out on their own and stood together.

One of them said, "We've decided to stay. The dangers of this instance have all surfaced, but with a little care, we can get through them. The Inner World is still too dangerous, so we won't go."

Are you sure you don't want to go?

Jinna, standing next to Fan Xiao, reminded the two of them, "Based on our guess, it's only a matter of time before the players fall into the other world."

"You said it yourself, it's just a guess," the player shrugged. "Since it's a guess, there's a possibility it's wrong. We're not going to accompany you on your way to dangerous places!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiao stopped Jin Na, who was about to say something, and laughed, "If you don't want to go, then you don't have to go. It was based on the principle of voluntariness anyway."

He turned his head to look at the refined man and asked, "Have the remaining five of you made a decision?"

“It’s decided. Fortune favors the bold.” The refined man said, “I basically agree with your guesses, but we still need to keep the initiative in our own hands.”

"That's right. Being in a passive, unknown situation means anything could happen."

The swordsman chimed in, "Who knows if the restrictions on monsters in the inner world will decrease as time goes on, and more of them will descend into the outer world? Eventually, the whole school will be full of monsters running around, and we won't be able to hide from them even if we want to."

These words made the faces of the two players who had raised objections darken.

However, neither of them said anything and stuck to their own opinions.

Have you chosen the right approach from the past?

After asking Fan Xiao a question, the refined man continued without waiting for Fan Xiao's reply, "Based on your guess, I have summarized three methods to reach the Inner World."