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

After hearing this, everyone's fear intensified.

"Revenge, hell..."

Guan Yao looked at the chairs that were leaning over and crooked around the central table and said, "If the cursed game on the pages of the book is real, then the people who gathered here must have all gone to hell because of someone's hatred."

"Could it be that the person who cast the curse for revenge... is the boss of this instance?"

"That depends on the form of Hell... or rather, the 'Green Mountain Hell'."

Fan Xiao said, "The person who cast the curse will also fall into hell. If 'Green Mountain Prison' is similar to the hell we know, the person who falls there will suffer and be punished. How can they become a dungeon boss?"

"If this prison is not the same as that prison... well, your guess is quite plausible."

"Let's assume this guess is true... If only we could know the specific identity of the person who cast the curse."

Guan Yao sighed and said, "In this way, we might be able to play the emotional card at a crucial moment and reduce the danger."

"Unfortunately... the setting of this instance is fictional."

"The setting is fictional, and the story may not be fake; it might just be a change of place names."

Fan Xiao cautioned, "The backgrounds of the instances I've experienced are basically derived from the real-world stories of the respective regions, and this one is probably no exception."

After saying that, he looked at the female player with the katana.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the female player with the katana asked, frowning.

"Just browsing," Fan Xiao said with a smile.

"Hmph... doubt me? I'll say it again, I wasn't lying to you before, we really didn't find any relevant clues in reality."

The female player with the katana said coldly, "This is an independent instance. Before we came in, we didn't even know the names of Kashima City and Aoyama Academy."

"The only thing we know is 'Qingshan Prison' shown on the ticket. It's just a name. How much information can we find out about it?"

"Why are you explaining so much?" Fan Xiao shrugged. "I didn't say I suspected you, why are you getting so worked up?"

The female player with the katana: "..."

As a player who preys on others, Fan Xiao has to stick to his persona and take every opportunity to retaliate against the female katana player team that almost attacked them before.

This not only enriches the image of the cannibal player, but also gains more recognition and trust from "teammates".

As for whether doing this would attract hatred... he was very confident in his current strength, so what if he did? He wasn't afraid of anything.

"The background of this instance shouldn't have anything to do with the real-world 010 district, right?"

At this moment, the tattooed man standing next to Fan Xiao offered a rebuttal: "If what's written on the pages is true... what method in reality could send someone to hell?"

"Even if it exists, it will only appear after the Evolution Game arrives."

"Judging from the environment of this courtyard, it's clear that a long time has passed here. How long has the Evolution Game only been in Zone 010? The timeline doesn't match up."

"That's the magic of dungeons."

Fan Xiao said, "Think boldly, maybe we are in a space where a certain past history has materialized, so we are independent of the outside world."

"How dungeons are created and what kinds of dungeons will be created have always been unknown."

"It's normal for conclusions drawn from applying known information to the unknown to be unreasonable."

"Unknown... Well, the question of the origin of the instance has indeed always been unknown."

The tattooed man accepted Van Shaw's explanation.

Fan Xiao, however, thought of even more things.

"Qingshan Academy, Qingshan Prison, the spell to hell... Is the other world related to Qingshan Academy? Qingshan Academy has become hell? Then why is it said that the academy is the safest place?"

"And there's that photo album in the study, with group photos of graduates and teachers from several years. Judging from their appearance and age, the people in the photos should all be high school students."

"High school graduates held a gathering at their teacher's house, and were then cursed to hell by those who hated them... Could the teacher have done it? Did he deliberately lure them all in and wipe them out... What was his motive?"

"No, it wasn't necessarily the teacher who did it. Anyone can organize a gathering at the teacher's place with the teacher's permission. It could also have been done by a student."

"Finding out exactly what the hatred is should help in clearing the game."

As he sorted out his thoughts, Fan Xiao imagined the possible reasons behind his hatred.

Those related to students, teachers, and schools... seem to be only a few types.

Love triangles, teacher-student relationships, deception, betrayal, teachers' subtle manipulation... and school violence.

Which one could it be?

Fan Xiao seemed to be deep in thought.

Although he hadn't entered the inner world yet, he had already vaguely grasped some of the truth.

"It's pointless to discuss the connection between the game and reality now; unknown information won't just appear out of thin air."

The brown-haired male player spoke up: "Let's get down to business. Since everyone has different opinions, I suggest we split up."

"Those who are unwilling to take risks in unknown situations should stay in the villa and continue to gather more intelligence to ensure safety."

"If you're willing to take the risk, try the game on this page."

"That's fine, I have no objection."

The gloomy man nodded and said, "I plan to stay and continue gathering intelligence. There were still half the books in the study that I hadn't read, so there must be a lot of information I haven't gathered yet."

“I’ll stay too,” the brown-haired male player said. “I don’t want to take any risks right now.”

Immediately, after a moment's thought, the players present made their decisions one after another.

Perhaps it's because some people are disagreeing, and also because Fan Xiao's current identity is that of a cannibalistic player, making him less trustworthy.

Despite demonstrating his intelligence, he still failed to gain widespread support.

Of the 15 people, 5 chose to stay.

They are a trio of foreign players: a brown-haired male player, a black man named Bob, and a blonde woman, as well as a gloomy man and a woman with a high ponytail from the other player group.

The bald man pulled Fan Xiao and the tattooed man aside, created a quiet area using defensive items, and then asked Fan Xiao, "Brother, are you confident in your ability to venture into the inner world? Isn't this too risky?"

Everyone likes to stay in their comfort zone and be content with the status quo, as it makes them feel safest.

Fan Xiao knew this well, so he wasn't surprised by his "teammate's" question.

Although staying in the villa would result in being randomly swallowed up, as long as there were many people, it wouldn't necessarily happen to them—everyone held onto a glimmer of hope.

There was something I didn't say earlier.

Meeting the gazes of the bald man and the tattooed man, Fan Xiao said mysteriously, "The difference between actively entering the inner world and being passively entered, besides the probability of being targeted by the dungeon boss, is another difference."

Holding up a finger, he continued, "Location—active and passive entry methods—the landing locations are likely to be different."

"The dungeon background description mentions Kashigasaki City and Aoyama Academy, and Aoyama Academy is the safest place."

"You might be passively swallowed up, and the landing point could be somewhere else in Kagasaki City. The only safest place to go is Aoyama Academy. Do you understand?"

"Could the landing points be different...?"

The bald man thought for a moment, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! I'll do it! Fine, let's go."

“Brother, we’ll have to rely on you once we’re in the inner world.” The tattooed man also said to Fan Xiao, “After this dungeon is over, don’t go back to your own division. Stay in division 010 for a while, let me do my duty as a host and take you there… Hey, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied, eat your fill, play your fill. I still have plenty of ‘goods’ on hand.”

"Oh? Then let me look forward to it." Fan Xiao smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have some clues about the truth of this instance. You'll be safe with me."

"What did you find?"

The tattooed man asked curiously.

The bald man also looked over.

"It's hard to say right now; further verification is needed."

Fan Xiao shook his head and said, "The games on the pages of the book may not be useful. They might just be a simple fable... Anyway, let's wait until we're actually inside before we talk about it."

After saying that, he glanced at the surrounding light membrane and tried to get information out of the bald man: "You even brought a soundproof prop? That's a bit of a waste of a prop slot."

"It's not a soundproof item, it's a defensive item," the bald man said. "Unfortunately, it can only defend against physical attacks."

“I think it’s pretty good,” Fan Xiao said with a smile. “It also provides soundproofing, which is very convenient.”

After the discussion, the bald man removed the defensive equipment.

The three returned to the location of the other teams.

Those who decided to participate in the curse game have now stood together.

Seeing this, Fan Xiao took out a piece of white paper from his storage space.

“Wait,” the female player with the katana said, “I don’t trust you. I’ve already prepared the materials.”

"as you like."

Fan Xiao put the blank paper away.

The female player with the katana took out a piece of white paper and a pair of scissors for him, and cut out the outline of the "ghost" according to the pattern provided on the page—it looked roughly like a human shape.

Afterwards, everyone wrote their game nickname on a paper cutout.

Because the story in the book mentions that you can't use your real name and you have to choose a pseudonym, writing down your game nickname is just right.

This is a cursed game.

However, it has been repackaged and looks no different from ordinary blessing games.

Fan Xiao and nine others stood in a circle, each holding a corner of a paper doll.

Then, they began to silently pray, "Lord Ghost Spirit, Lord Ghost Spirit, please bless us so that we can be together forever."

The number of times you silently recite the mantra must correspond to the number of people participating in the game; you must recite it as many times as there are people.

If something goes wrong, something terrible will happen... I guess it means you'll be targeted by the dungeon boss.

Soon, he finished reciting 10 silently.

Tear—The group tore the paper figures apart, and each person received a piece of paper.

It looked as if a person had been forcibly dismembered.

Chapter 293 "Safety" at Aoyama Academy

"Okay, all done..."

After tearing the paper, Fan Xiao was about to speak when he suddenly noticed that his surroundings had changed.

The dusty courtyard is gone, replaced by a spacious classroom filled with students in uniforms.

It was during class time, and the morning light streamed in through the window, filling the room with vitality.

Fan Xiao found himself sitting in the second-to-last seat in the row by the window, the sunlight illuminating the math textbook on the desk in front of him.

He flipped through his textbook, then glanced to his right.

A vibrant high school girl came into his view; her slender, fair legs beneath her pleated skirt looked full of energy.

The girl was listening attentively.

Noticing Fan Xiao's gaze, the girl looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression.

Fan Xiao smiled at the girl, then looked away.

"The students here can see me and respond to my movements... I'm not sure if they're real or dummy, but for now, let's treat them as real."

"My clothes haven't changed, what has changed is my identity. I should be a high school student now."

"Now that we've been assigned identities, we must follow certain rules."

"This... should be Aoyama Academy."

While sorting through the thoughts that kept popping into his head, Fan Xiao observed the classroom environment.

It looked much like a normal student classroom, with the teacher explaining math and many students taking notes attentively.

Fan Xiao glanced at the teacher on the podium but couldn't discern anything unusual.

The students in the audience were not all the same "model students." Some were taking notes, some were playing on their phones under their desks, some were eating snacks, some were yawning... all sorts of types were there, which was perfectly normal.

At least on the surface, there are no obvious flaws.

Fan Xiao did not act rashly. Instead, he brought up the player panel and reviewed the game prompts again.

Aoyama Gakuin is the safest place;