Song Mo organized the skills she currently had on hand.
Aside from the Red-Clothed Twin Ghost Children and the Bus Ghost, she also had 【Rooster Crow Phantom】 and 【High-Rise from Flat Ground】.
Neither of these two skills possessed much offensive power. At best, the temporary shelter generated by 【High-Rise from Flat Ground】 could barely count as a low-grade defensive item—and a single-use one at that.
This was why she had been so delighted to see Liu Guilan awaken a Talent Class.
“Clay Sculptor... Su Ya awakened her class because she obtained a special item within an Instance, while Chen Xi did so because her real-world profession is a criminal investigator.”
Song Mo stroked her chin. “Zhao Weilai, Deng Ziwen, and Fu Qinqin can be observed a bit more. As for Ding Feifan, I don't see anything special about him yet.
Tan Moli is cowardly, but she's very meticulous. On the other hand, this Weng Yang... is much calmer than the others.”
She planned to use the two cards, 【Physician】 and 【Butcher】, in this Instance to see if she could randomly draw skill rewards from these two classes.
But she still had to carefully select the candidates.
After all, she couldn't have the owners of the cards die in the Instance right after she used them.
...
...
The distance from the Great Auditorium to the artificial lake was only five hundred meters.
Usually, students would arrive there after just a short stroll.
But today, it took the seven of them nearly twenty minutes to walk those five hundred meters.
The fog was too thick.
Visibility was less than three meters, making it hard to even see the path beneath their feet.
Leading the way, Weng Yang could only rely on her memory, slowly guiding them forward along the camphor trees lining the road.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with only the sounds of their footsteps and breathing.
As the wind blew across the lake, the fishy stench of dead fish grew stronger and stronger, to the point of being almost suffocating.
“We're almost there,” Weng Yang said in a low voice. “The artificial lake is just ahead. Everyone, be careful and don't get too close to the edge.”
Everyone held their breath and took a few more steps forward. Finally, the complete outline of the lake appeared in their field of vision:
The pitch-black lake loomed indistinctly in the thick fog.
The moment they stepped into the lakeside area, the ink-wash characters materialized once again:
【First Ghost Story Location: Artificial Lake · The Water Ghost Seeking a Scapegoat】
【Check-In Mission: Retrieve a candle from the Lake-Center Pavilion, and walk around the lake while holding it. Return to the Lake-Center Pavilion before the candle burns out and place it back in its original spot to successfully check in.】
【Mission Hint: It will follow behind you. Shh, do not turn around. Be careful, be careful of the candle in your hand.】
After reading the mission details, everyone felt a wave of unease.
The mission hint was clear enough: walk around the lake holding a lit candle, during which you must not turn around, and the candle must not go out.
No one wanted to think about what would happen if they turned around.
“The Lake-Center Pavilion... I remember it being in this direction?”
Zhao Weilai pointed toward the center of the lake. “There's a pavilion over there. Usually, many seniors studying for the postgraduate entrance exams recite their notes there.”
In the thick fog, the faint outline of a pavilion in the center of the lake was barely visible.
The pavilion was connected by a Nine-Bend Bridge. The wooden bridge planks creaked loudly underfoot, and underneath lay a vast stretch of rotting lotus leaves, looking exceptionally desolate.
“Let's go over and take a look,” Ding Feifan took the lead, walking along the lakeside path toward the Lake-Center Pavilion.
The bridge railings were covered in moss, making them slick to the touch.
A place they could normally navigate with their eyes closed now felt terrifyingly foreign, shrouded in the heavy fog.
The group carefully stepped onto the bridge, practically shuffling their way into the pavilion step by step.
The pavilion was not large, with upturned eaves on its four corners, and a stone table and stone benches set inside.
However, unlike in reality, four white candles were arranged right in the middle of the stone table.
Three of them were unlit, standing in a neat row.
Only the one in the very center was lit, emitting an eerie green glow.
The pea-sized flame flickered and swayed in the wind, looking as if it might go out at any moment.
“Four candles?”
Deng Ziwen frowned. “One lit, three unlit... What does this mean?”
“The one in the middle is probably meant to light the others.”
Weng Yang walked over and examined them closely. “The three on the sides are the mission candles for walking around the lake. In other words... there are only three check-in slots?”
As soon as she said this, the atmosphere instantly froze.
...
Three slots.
But there were seven of them.
Yet there were only three candles here, which meant only three people could complete the check-in?
“How could this be...” Tan Moli whispered, her eyes turning slightly red. “Then what about the rest of us?”
“Could it be that three candles refresh every day?” Zhao Weilai speculated with a glimmer of hope. “Three today, and another three tomorrow?”
“I don't think it's that simple,” Ding Feifan sighed. “Even though the prompt says checking in successfully at any of the ghost story locations counts as completing the mission, don't forget that there are three ghost story locations in the school in total. But what if they don't refresh? What if these three are the only slots available?”
No one spoke.
No one dared to gamble.
If they lost the gamble, they would die here.
The air instantly became delicate.
Everyone exchanged glances, seeing hesitation and selfishness in each other's eyes.
Everyone wanted to check in first, complete a mission, and gain an extra layer of security.
Yet no one dared to easily make the attempt.
The unknown was the most terrifying part. The thought of a water ghost wandering around the lake in the thick fog sent shivers down everyone's spines.
“How about I go first?”
Weng Yang was the first to break the silence.
She took a step forward, looking at the candles on the stone table, her tone calm:
“I'm a bit braver, so I'll test the waters first to see what's actually out there. I'll tell you guys when I get back, and if it's safe, you can go next.”
“Weng Yang...” Tan Moli tugged at her arm, looking worried. “Are you really going?”
“It's fine, I'm just scouting the way.”
Weng Yang patted her hand. “The mission requirements are that I can't turn around and the candle can't go out. At worst, I'll just be extremely careful.”
With that, she picked up an unlit candle, brought it to the one in the center, and lit it carefully.
The green candle flame flared up, casting its light on the fog surrounding her, reflecting an eerie green glow onto her face.
“Wait for me here.”
Clasping the candle, Weng Yang turned and walked out of the pavilion.
Her figure quickly dissolved into the thick fog, leaving only a tiny, faint green light slowly moving through the mist.
Everyone in the pavilion held their breath, staring intently at that speck of candlelight.
Only Liu Guilan had picked up a clump of mud at some point and was busy kneading it.
...
...
Weng Yang walked very slowly.
The candle in her hand was light, yet she held it as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
She carefully shielded the flame, trying her best to keep the wind from blowing it out.
The path along the lakeside was very narrow, with the pitch-black lake water on one side and willow trees that were an almost eerily vibrant green on the other.
The fishy stench in the air grew stronger and stronger—like the smell of rotting water plants that had been baking under the summer sun for hours.
The pea-sized green light remained steady in Weng Yang's hands. She walked for about ten minutes, and everything seemed normal.
Aside from the sound of the wind and her footsteps, there was nothing.
Weng Yang breathed a small sigh of relief.
Was the mission really just to walk around the lake once?
The very moment she let her guard down slightly, an extremely sharp splash of water echoed from behind her.
It sounded as if something had emerged from the water.
Weng Yang's heart suddenly tightened, and her footsteps faltered.
Immediately after, she heard heavy, ragged breathing behind her.
“Huff... Huff...”
“Pant... Pant...”
The sound was very close, originating just a few steps behind her.
A damp moisture carrying the fishy stench wafted over, causing the green candlelight to flicker eerily.
Something was following her.
In an instant, Weng Yang's palms were drenched in sweat, her heart hammering wildly.
Rate on N.U.
