Professor Zhang continued to present her view. “The same goes for Jiangcheng University this time.”
She pushed up her glasses. “Among the three pending confirmation, Fang Wei once bullied his classmates, and Luo Yiming has a record of arson when he was a minor.
“As for Zhou Shengsheng, we checked his social media accounts and discovered that he abused cats in private.
“The survivors, on the other hand, are all ordinary students, faculty members, and migrant workers with no major moral flaws.
“So, can we understand it this way? The difficulty of the Instance is the same, but there is a certain ‘moral bias’:
“The Instance selects players randomly, and the probability of death is the same. However, under the same difficulty, the actual difficulty for those with moral flaws might be higher.”
The meeting room erupted into an uproar.
“Professor Zhang, are you saying... the Instance adjusts its difficulty based on the person?” someone asked in disbelief. “Then what does this count as?”
A judgment of hell?
The one who pushed a young child to his death was shattered to pieces in the Instance.
The one who forced his underage girlfriend to have an abortion grew an umbilical cord on his neck.
The one who abused cats in reality was skinned alive.
Although it was a bit of a stretch, upon closer inspection, it felt strangely grotesque and terrifying.
The Instance couldn't possibly be alive, right?!
It was too bizarre.
...
Just then, Academician Zhou from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shook his head.
He was a leading authority in condensed matter physics in the country and was among the first group of scholars invited to study the spiritual energy magnetic field.
“Correlation does not equal causation. The current sample size is only twenty-eight people, with a confidence level of less than thirty percent. It cannot be used to draw a conclusion.”
“Our hypothesis is that the Instance is essentially a ‘spiritual energy-mediated spatial fold’.
“Spiritual energy is an unknown energy that has not yet been incorporated into the Standard Model.
“When it accumulates to a threshold in a local area, it triggers a metastable distortion of the spatial structure, forming a subspace independent of conventional space.
“This subspace has its own rules of operation, which are the ‘Instance rules’ we observe.”
“As for ‘selecting people,’ the Instance does not actively choose individuals. Instead, when the spatial fold expands, it happens to envelop the living organisms within its range. Whoever is within that range gets pulled in, regardless of their moral character.”
“The high mortality rate of those with moral flaws is more reasonably explained by differences in behavioral patterns:
“These people are generally more impulsive, more selfish, and more inclined to break rules to take risks. Their rate of making decision errors is higher, so they naturally trigger dead ends more easily.
“On the other hand, those of upright character are mostly cautious, law-abiding, and emotionally stable. Their probability of violating rules is low, so their survival rate is naturally high.
“This is a behavioral issue, not a moral judgment.”
Professor Zhang frowned and wanted to argue further, but Zhou Mingyuan added:
“Of course, I don't deny that the Instance rules might exploit a person's guilt to create hallucinations and amplify fear, indirectly increasing the mortality rate.
“But this is a psychological effect, not the Instance actively conducting a moral judgment. There is a fundamental difference between the two.”
As the two held their respective views, a low, continuous murmur of discussion rippled through the meeting room.
...
“We can keep both hypotheses for now.”
The military leader tapped the table. “Let me ask a practical question. Can the Instances be artificially destroyed? For example, with missiles or high explosives?”
The military's approach to solving problems remained simple and crude.
No matter what it was, fire a few missiles at it first and see what happens.
“Currently, we cannot do that,” Academician Zhou said bluntly. “We have already conducted a blasting experiment. The shockwaves from conventional explosives are absorbed by the Instance barrier, making it impossible to destroy the spatial structure.
“We have tried strong magnetic fields and high-energy rays, but they can only cause minor interference and cannot dismantle it. And there is bad news—”
He paused, his tone turning heavy.
“The spiritual energy concentration is not static; it is continuously rising.
“Currently, the rate of increase in spiritual energy concentration around Jiangcheng University is visibly accelerating. If we project based on the current growth slope—
“In three months at the earliest, a medium-sized Instance covering over ten thousand people could appear in Jiangcheng.
“Within half a year, there is a high probability that Instance events will crop up one after another in key cities across the nation.”
These words were like a massive boulder, plunging the meeting room into dead silence.
An Instance of ten thousand people.
And if it appeared in a bustling downtown area, the consequences would undoubtedly be unimaginable.
...
“Of course, the moral bias of the Instance is just an inference,” Professor Zhang said unhurriedly. “With so few samples at present, we cannot draw a definitive conclusion.
“But from a statistical perspective, the correlation is very high.”
“Then couldn't we just find national moral role models to enter the Instances?”
“No, moral bias is only a possibility. In reality, the difficulty of the Instance remains the same. If you fail to complete the quest, you will still be obliterated... but this inference is indeed very interesting.”
In other words, once you enter an Instance, it doesn't matter if you are a saint radiating a halo or a heinous murderer.
If you can't complete the quest, you will die just the same.
...
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Lin Zhenghong tapped the table, and the meeting room fell silent.
“Take note of this inference first. It can serve as a key research direction,” he said in a deep voice. “When we encounter Instances in the future, we will focus on gathering background information on both the survivors and the deceased. Once we have more samples, things will naturally become clear.
“Professor Zhang, how is the database setup going on your folklore team's side?”
Professor Zhang nodded. “It is already underway. The Taiping Cemetery and Jiangcheng University Instances are highly likely based on real-world supernatural stories and legends.
“Across the country, as long as there are written records of ghost stories, legends, folklore taboos, as well as supernatural settings in novels, films, and folk tales, they are all being compiled into the database.
“We have already entered over thirty thousand entries, and we are currently classifying and labeling them. We want to map out the scope of the Instance's ‘Material library’ as soon as possible.”
“We speculate that the ghosts and rules within the Instances are, in all probability, derived from local folklore.
“As long as we find all the sources, we can make predictions in advance and formulate countermeasures.”
Lin Zhenghong gave an approving grunt, then looked toward the Special Task Force. “Equipment development needs to speed up. Whether you need personnel or funding, just let me know, and I will approve it.
“We need fast progress, but we can't rush blindly. We must take steady and solid steps.”
He paused, his tone growing serious. “Next, I will announce several deployments that will be officially implemented starting today.”
Everyone in the meeting room sat up straight, picking up their pens to take notes.
“First, joint military-police defense.
“An additional 127 security posts will be set up across Jiangcheng, with key areas manned twenty-four hours a day.
“The garrison will deploy two companies to assist the SWAT detachment with night patrols.
“The number of aerial patrol helicopters will be increased to three, cruising around the clock. Any anomalies must be reported immediately.”
“Second, accelerate the urban lighting project as quickly as possible.
“All old residential communities, back alleys, and remote road sections must have streetlights installed within a week to achieve blind-spot-free illumination at night.
“To the public, this will be done under the guise of ‘Safe City Construction.’ No explanations, no discussions—just get it implemented.”
“Third, strengthen grassroots publicity.
“In collaboration with communities, subdistricts, schools, and enterprises, we will carry out campaigns on ‘safe production, disaster prevention, and mitigation.’ We will popularize precautions for night travel, and teach everyone how to avoid danger and call the police when encountering anomalies.
“However, care must be taken to minimize panic while simultaneously raising public vigilance.”
“Fourth, construct emergency shelters.
“Twenty-three large venues will be designated as emergency shelters citywide, equipped with medical and daily supplies. In the event of a large-scale Instance incident, the public will be evacuated to the nearest shelter immediately.”
“Fifth, recruit special talents.
“We will recruit individuals with a history of supernatural contact or special abilities from across society. They will be offered excellent benefits and integrated into the Special Service Department reserve.
“Folk Daoists, masters... including players, as long as they have real abilities, can be invited to serve as consultants.”
No one spoke; only the rustling of pen nibs gliding across paper could be heard.
Everyone understood what that pause represented.
Lin Zhenghong waited for everyone to finish writing before speaking again. “One last thing. Regarding Comrade Chen Xi's application to lead a team into the Instance, the higher-ups have approved it.”
Every gaze in the meeting room turned toward Chen Xi.
This person was the first eyewitness to make contact with the living corpse incident, the first criminal police officer to personally pursue the Route 404 Ghost Bus, and the first player within the system to awaken a class.
Her future was so bright it was blinding.
With so many firsts, commendations like today's would only become a common occurrence for her in the future.
Chen Xi stood up immediately, her posture ramrod straight.
“Comrade Chen Xi,” Lin Zhenghong looked at her, his tone solemn. “The organization has decided that you will lead nine selected special operations soldiers into the Jiangcheng University Instance.
“You have three missions. First, confirm the status of the three missing individuals on the presumed dead list. Second, map out the internal rules of the Instance as much as possible and bring back detailed intelligence. Third, test the actual effectiveness of our existing equipment against ghosts.”
“I guarantee the completion of the mission!”
Chen Xi saluted with a standard military salute, her voice powerful and resonant.
...
Late at night, outside the west gate of Jiangcheng University, three layers of police tape remained cordoned off.
The outermost layer consisted of local police officers, responsible for dispersing bystanders.
The middle layer consisted of armed police, heavily armed and on high alert.
The innermost layer consisted of people from the special investigation team—no, with central approval, their official title was now the Special Incident Investigation Department.
The appraisal department monitored energy fluctuations with instruments, the waveforms on the screen jumping erratically.
Ten people stood in a single file on the open ground within the artificial lake's cordon.
Chen Xi stood on the far left, wearing her training uniform and combat boots, with an urgently modified pistol strapped to her waist.
A peach wood dagger was strapped to her leg, and her backpack contained glutinous rice, cinnabar, talisman paper, along with emergency food and medical kits.
It was still uncertain whether these items could be brought into the Instance.
Once again, there was a low hum, followed by the familiar ink-wash text:
【Player Chen Xi's squad detected. Applying to enter Instance 《Campus Ghost Stories》.】
【Current number of players inside the Instance: 0.】
Chen Xi whipped her head back. The technician from the technical department had an expression of twisted excitement:
“Captain Chen! The energy levels are skyrocketing! It's recorded!”
Just as the words left his mouth, the ink-wash text drifted and floated within the vision of the ten-person squad:
【Players Chen Xi, Ashima, Zheng Wenxuan... detected. Meeting entry conditions.】
【Current vacant slots in the Instance: 10/10. Met.】
【Queue ended. Preparing to teleport into Instance 《Campus Ghost Stories》.】
【Countdown: 3... 2... 1...】
The text had appeared without any warning.
Even though they had mentally prepared themselves beforehand, seeing the surreal text appear in their field of vision still made someone wave their hand in front of them in disbelief.
Supernatural forces really did exist.
“Close in, back-to-back!” Chen Xi ordered sharply. “Hold your weapons tight and maintain formation!”
The nine others reacted instantly, quickly closing in to form a circle with their muzzles pointing outward.
In the next second, wisps of mist suddenly seeped up from the ground.
A white light suddenly burst forth.
The ten people vanished from the spot.
...
In just a brief instant, the feeling of weightlessness vanished.
The white mist surrounding them grew denser. Chen Xi opened her eyes, and before her was a familiar yet unfamiliar scene—
Mist swirled, the lake water was pitch black, and the sky overhead glowed with an unnatural gray.
As for the equipment on their bodies, all of it was gone, leaving only their personal food and water.
“Sound off!”
Chen Xi did not panic. Instead, she spoke in a deep, extremely low voice.
“One!”
“Two!”
“...”
“Ten!”
“Eleven.”
There was one extra.
Chen Xi's heart jolted.
Rate on N.U.
