After Weng Yang vanished, the Lake-Center Pavilion remained silent for a long time.
Tan Moli sat on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees, looking extremely insecure.
Zhao Weilai and Deng Ziwen huddled close, supporting each other and trying to draw warmth from one another.
Ding Feifan stared at the candle on the table, lost in thought.
“Watch out for the candle.”
Although they hadn't spent much time together, he could tell that Weng Yang was both cautious and bold.
So there was definitely a secret behind the candle.
But for the moment, he couldn't figure out what it was.
Just as he was thinking, he heard Fu Qinqin let out a low cry. He turned his head to see Tan Moli lying pale in her arms, her lips bloodless and her face turning blue.
“Her blood sugar is low! Someone in my family has this... Quick, give her something to eat!”
Zhao Weilai recognized it at a glance. “We should have gone back to the dorms to find some food before coming here.”
Although the rules said they had to follow the Student Handbook, taking things from their own dorm rooms shouldn't violate the rules, right?
But none of them had dared to try.
Because they were all terrified of seeing another version of themselves in the dorms.
“I have some! I have some!”
Fu Qinqin quickly pulled a half-eaten chocolate bar from her coat pocket, broke off a piece, and fed it to Tan Moli. Sensing everyone's eyes on her, she explained in a low voice:
“When I was in school, I used to get hungry easily, so I always kept some chocolate and nuts in my pockets or bag. ...Don't ask me, I don't know how I was able to bring outside items in here either.”
Despite how starved they all were, no one demanded that Fu Qinqin share her food.
Ding Feifan forced himself to look away, while Zhao Weilai knelt down to help pinch the philtrum of Tan Moli's upper lip.
After a moment, Tan Moli's dazed state began to improve.
“I'm sorry. I... I have diabetes.”
The first thing Tan Moli did upon waking was apologize. “I didn't dare tell you guys because I was afraid... afraid you'd think I was a burden...”
She knew she lacked stamina and was sick. Just as Zhou Shengsheng had said, she was a ‘burden’ to everyone else.
So even though she was on the verge of fainting, Tan Moli had kept quiet.
“Then you should have told us sooner.”
Ding Feifan's expression grew serious. “Don't you know that low blood sugar can be fatal?”
“Last week, a girl in our grade insisted on doing her campus run despite having low blood sugar and being on her period. She ended up with a ruptured corpus luteum and had to go to the hospital. You students... you really don't take care of your bodies.”
He was clearly thinking of the students in his own class, and his voice softened slightly.
Ding Feifan pondered for a moment. As if having made up his mind, he turned to Zhao Weilai and Deng Ziwen:
“You've seen it yourselves. Tan Moli is in poor health, and if this drags on, her life might be in danger. I can't ask you to give up the last check-in slot for this Ghost Story, so I will forfeit my turn.”
“Ziwen and I will forfeit too, right?”
Zhao Weilai glanced at her boyfriend. After receiving an encouraging nod, she quickly replied:
“With only one check-in slot left, I'd definitely want him to go first, and he'd definitely want me to go first. Instead of arguing, we might as well look for the next check-in location together.”
Fu Qinqin didn't say anything, simply knitting her brows in silence.
The ever-burning candle on the stone table flickered, its green halo of light expanding to illuminate a space about two feet wide.
The shadows of the few remaining people were cast onto the pavilion's pillars, distorted and crooked.
A gust of wind swept across the lake, carrying a heavy, rotten stench that made everyone's chests tighten.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for Fu Qinqin to voice her thoughts, but she clearly had no intention of giving up this opportunity.
Tan Moli originally wanted to say something, but she knew everyone was acting in her best interest. If she spoke up now, she would offend someone no matter what she said.
So she simply lowered her head and nervously picked at her fingers.
...
Thirty-seven minutes later, Liu Guilan's figure appeared outside the pavilion.
Deng Ziwen was the first to hear the sound.
He had been staring into the thick fog, his palms slick with sweat.
At first, it was just a faint squelching sound, like a duck stepping through wet mud.
Then came the footsteps—hurried, chaotic, and stumbling with panic.
“Someone's coming.” He suddenly stood up straight, tightening his grip on the mop handle. “It sounds like Auntie Liu.”
The others immediately crowded toward the entrance of the pavilion, peering in the direction of the noise.
A faint green glow first pierced through the thick fog.
The tiny, pea-sized flame flickered violently, like a spark drifting in the wind.
Right after, a figure came stumbling forward.
It was Liu Guilan. The blue uniform she wore was mostly soaked, her pant legs rolled up to her knees, and her shins covered in black mud.
She had lost one of her shoes and was running with one bare foot on the freezing stone path. Her hair was completely disheveled.
She looked far more disheveled and battered than Weng Yang had.
As she ran, she made sure to resist the urge to look back, but her face was filled with sheer terror, as if some invisible entity were chasing right behind her.
“Auntie! Hurry! Hurry!”
Just as Zhao Weilai shouted, Liu Guilan stumbled into the pavilion.
She was running so fast that she nearly tripped over a stone stool. Fortunately, Zhao Weilai reached out to support her, helping her regain her balance.
“Get out of here quickly...”
Liu Guilan collapsed into Zhao Weilai's arms, her pupils dilated and her lips trembling uncontrollably. “Get out of here quickly!”
She pointed toward the fog, her finger shaking violently—
In the next second, the ink-wash characters materialized before them:
【Player Liu Guilan has completed the check-in for the Ghost Story: The Water Ghost in the Lake.】
【Player Liu Guilan has left the Instance 《Campus Ghost Stories》.】
The moment the characters flashed, Liu Guilan's figure turned translucent at a visible rate.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more.
—Such as “there are faces in the water,” “there is more than one of them,” or “the candle must not go out.”
But no matter how she gestured, no sound would come out.
In the end, she only had time to toss something into Zhao Weilai's arms before vanishing into thin air.
...
...
There was now one less person in the Lake-Center Pavilion.
On the stone table, only half an ever-burning candle—nearly burnt down to its base—and a single white candle for the check-in remained.
The air felt as heavy as lead.
Ding Feifan squatted down, staring at the fresh set of wet footprints outside the pavilion, a chill running down his spine.
There was another set of footprints!
And this time, they were even closer.
It was as if something invisible was circling the pavilion, round and round.
With every lap it made, it drew a little closer to them.
“Weng Yang took thirty minutes to complete the mission, but Auntie took seventeen minutes longer than her.”
Ding Feifan stared at the footprints, his voice heavy. “Her walking slowly is one thing, but it's highly likely... she ran into far more trouble along the way than Weng Yang did.”
Deng Ziwen instinctively pulled Zhao Weilai closer, his gaze falling upon the last intact white candle.
Only one left.
Weng Yang was gone.
Liu Guilan was gone.
Out of the remaining five people, only one could take the candle to complete the check-in and leave this wretched place immediately.
Everyone knew that those who stayed behind would face even greater danger.
This wasn't a simple matter of who went first.
They were gambling with their lives.
—Donating to mountain regions, returning lost money, respecting the elderly, and loving the young; these were the traits of a good person in the eyes of society.
But good people died too.
When faced with actual, life-threatening danger, who could truly give up their chance of survival to someone else without a shred of resentment?
Deng Ziwen's Adam's apple bobbed. He actually wanted to say that both he and Zhao Weilai were only children.
But when the words reached his lips, he looked at Tan Moli.
The girl's face was translucently pale, her lips chapped and peeling, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
—It had been nearly a dozen hours since they entered the Instance, and she hadn't had anything to eat or drink. Her diabetes simply couldn't hold out much longer.
“Let's give the last candle to Moli.”
Zhao Weilai spoke first.
At her words, everyone froze for a moment.
—Under normal circumstances, she might not have given up a chance to survive.
Humans were selfish. She wanted to get out alive too, to graduate with Deng Ziwen, and to build a life together in Jiangcheng.
But Tan Moli looked as if a gust of wind could knock her over.
If they left her here, she probably wouldn't even have the strength to resist.
By then, she would truly become a burden to everyone.
This wasn't out of mockery or sarcasm; it was a cold, objective assessment.
“Yes, you should go first,” Ding Feifan agreed. “Once you're safe, we'll be at ease too.”
Tan Moli looked at them, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
She bit her lip, wanting to say thank you, but felt those words were far too light.
“But... I'm afraid to go alone.”
She murmured, “Seeing Auntie Liu like that just now... I'm afraid I'll... I'll faint halfway through...”
She didn't say the rest, but everyone present understood.
Walking alone in the fog with a water ghost tailing you—just the thought of it made one's legs go weak.
Much less for the frail Tan Moli.
“I'll go with you.”
From the corner, Fu Qinqin, who had barely spoken, suddenly stood up:
“The rules only say ‘walk around the lake once while holding a candle.’ They didn't say two people aren't allowed to walk together.”
She looked at the group, then swept her gaze across the thick fog outside the pavilion. “At worst, we fail the mission. It's still better than you going out to die alone. Besides...”
She paused, keeping the second half of her sentence to herself.
—And staying in the pavilion meant waiting around for death.
This was Fu Qinqin's selfish motive.
She didn't want to die here.
She had studied relentlessly for three years in high school, passed the CET-4 and CET-6, passed the national judicial exam, and reviewed for an entire year for her postgraduate entrance exams.
The postgraduate exams were only half a year away. She absolutely could not die here.
—With Zhao Weilai and Deng Ziwen sticking together, and Ding Feifan clearly favoring Tan Moli...
The final slot would never fall to her, no matter what.
She might as well take the initiative to accompany Tan Moli, carving out a path to survival for herself.
...
...
“Qinqin... you're so good to me!”
Tan Moli looked at her with tearful eyes, deeply moved. “Will I drag you down? What if we violate the rules...”
“It's fine.” Fu Qinqin shook her head, offering a faint smile. “At least with two people, we can look out for each other. If anything happens, we can help pull each other out.”
“True. The rules don't state that we must walk the lake alone. Perhaps your line of thinking is correct.”
Ding Feifan pondered for a moment. “It's worth a try. It's better than letting Moli go alone. Remember, you must protect the candle. If your lives are in danger, run back immediately. Don't worry about completing the mission; survival is the top priority.”
“Okay.” Fu Qinqin nodded and reached out to pick up the last white candle.
She brought it close to the ever-burning candle, lighting it with extreme care.
The flame flickered once, and then the green light burned steadily.
“We're leaving.”
Holding the candle, Fu Qinqin walked side-by-side with Tan Moli, who clutched her arm tightly, as they stepped out of the halo of light.
In the pavilion, only three people remained.
Deng Ziwen, Zhao Weilai, and Ding Feifan.
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