Xu Youyou said, somewhat uncertainly, “Maybe... these players think the normal-looking principal is a living NPC and don't dare to kill him.”
Zuo Lin'an found this explanation quite reasonable. “As the final boss of the National War Dungeon, the principal has probably opened the dungeon countless times. There's no need for us to worry about him at all.”
“If those players really won't make a move to kill the principal, I'll just pull a few strings.”
Xu Youyou's eyes lit up. “For example, writing a note saying that killing the principal rewards a 【Talent Advancement Stone】!”
Zuo Lin'an nodded. “You're quite clever.”
He had indeed been thinking along those lines.
Xu Youyou grew interested. “Then wait for me. I'll go kill a few players and come back, and then we can head over together?”
Zuo Lin'an swept his gaze across Academic Building No. 5, which was currently as heavily fortified as an iron barrel, and thought of the principal. He didn't refuse.
“Sure. I'll observe for a bit in the meantime. Go and come back quickly.”
After a few more brief words, Xu Youyou eagerly departed, ready to hunt down the isolated players.
Zuo Lin'an went to a classroom on the top floor of Academic Building No. 3.
From there, he continued to observe Building No. 5. Most of the players inside had entered the classrooms, with many crowding together to feel safer.
A few players still stood in the corridors, occasionally looking outside.
These were the ones with 【Spirit Vision】.
Of course, besides them, there were also several vigilant-looking individuals patrolling.
Zuo Lin'an's gaze fell upon the very top floor.
He saw many familiar faces. Among them, Xuan Jingyuan was the most conspicuous as His Majesty the Emperor, staying in Class Two in the middle, with Xuan Yi and Xuan Er flanking him to provide close protection.
Not far from him sat several men and women. From their appearance, they were likely princes and princesses, or perhaps members of the imperial clan.
In addition, several other people sat on either side. Judging solely by their posture and demeanor, they were likely civil officials and military generals of the imperial court.
As for the rest, they were mostly guards.
For instance, there were the Dark Dragon Guard, Tianlong Guard, and even the Imperial Palace Guards, as well as various officers, personal guards, and soldiers.
Every single one of them was solemn-faced, sharp-eyed, and stood tall.
Zuo Lin'an swept his gaze casually over them and knew they were not to be trifled with.
He couldn't help but frown. This was the downside of an ancient setting: once a leader of extremely high status emerged, everyone else would willingly cooperate.
At this moment, Gu Hedao flew up to the sixth floor and walked into Class Two.
Zuo Lin'an's gaze naturally fell upon him. Yet, at that very moment, Gu Hedao suddenly turned around without any warning and looked in his direction.
Startled, he instinctively darted away from the window, hiding behind the wall.
“How remarkable...”
Zuo Lin'an was both shocked and astounded.
He had clearly retracted all of his specter aura, concealed his figure, and merely swept his gaze lightly rather than staring.
Yet, despite this, he had still been noticed.
Of course, Gu Hedao was likely not entirely sure if a specter was truly staring at him; perhaps it was just an intuitive feeling.
Zuo Lin'an frowned slightly. He waited a moment, and once he confirmed that Gu Hedao was not coming over, he finally felt slightly relieved and poked his head out to look again.
Indeed, being in a dungeon that wasn't his own was highly inconvenient. If he were in his own dungeon, he could directly observe the players using his God's-eye view without all this trouble.
Zuo Lin'an grew even more cautious this time, only stealing a single glance each time.
But it was that single glance that allowed him to witness an important scene: Xuan Yi entered Class Two holding several cards and handed them over to Xuan Jingyuan.
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat surprised, but on second thought, he found it highly reasonable.
Xuan Jingyuan was the Emperor.
Moreover, he wasn't alone. With so many experts, officials, and guards by his side, gathering some cards was certainly within his capability. He just didn't know how many cards the Emperor currently held.
After all, not all players who obtained cards would be willing to hand them over, and players couldn't kill each other inside the dungeon.
Of course, unless they knew the players who obtained the cards and threatened them with their families or clans in the real world.
Furthermore, if the players holding the cards lacked sufficient combat power, the guards could simply rob them without killing them.
Carefully avoiding the surveillance of the players with 【Spirit Vision】, Zuo Lin'an stealthily observed Xuan Jingyuan. He saw the Emperor examine the cards closely for a long time before casually stuffing them into his pocket.
“I still can't see clearly...”
He couldn't tell how many cards there were.
But it didn't matter; any number would do.
In any case, Xuan Jingyuan was the Emperor, and he was clearly a domineering monarch possessing imperial aura, wielding absolute authority within the Great Xuan Dynasty.
His existence was equivalent to the anchor of the Great Xuan Dynasty. To accelerate the world assimilation progress, this Emperor would absolutely not be spared.
However, Zuo Lin'an was currently short on forces. Even with the special effects of his gold hairpin specter item protecting him, trying to kill the Emperor would be exceptionally difficult.
He was now faced with two choices.
Either he could take Xu Youyou or other specter NPCs that hadn't been repelled yet and slowly wear down these players bit by bit,
Or he could plot against the principal first, causing him to die at the hands of the players.
As long as the principal was killed, he would appear in his specter form in every subsequent Scarlet Dream, without any need for a second kill.
Lost in thought, Zuo Lin'an left the classroom and made his way to the first floor.
Originally, there had been two classes here, but now only the brutally slain corpses of players remained.
As for the specters on this floor, they had naturally been repelled as well.
By now, they had dissolved into blood mist and returned to the office to respawn. Since respawning took far longer than two hours, they would not appear again in tonight's Scarlet Dream.
Zuo Lin'an opened the office door, walked in, picked a random desk, and grabbed a pen and paper.
Just then, a figure quietly appeared at the doorway.
“Brother An?”
Without turning his head, Zuo Lin'an replied, “Yeah.”
Xu Youyou leaned in close, bringing with him a faint scent of blood.
“What are you writing?”
Instead of answering, Zuo Lin'an picked up the pen and wrote the words: 【Killing the principal rewards a Talent Advancement Stone】.
“How's this?”
Xu Youyou gave him a thumbs-up.
“Not bad! I think even if the players are skeptical when they see this, they'll definitely give it a try. After all, it's a 【Talent Advancement Stone】!”
“It's just as precious as a 【Rule Sublimation Stone】!”
Zuo Lin'an casually tossed the pen onto the desk.
“Let's go. We'll head over to the administrative building and take a look.”
Taking the note, he left Academic Building No. 3 with Xu Youyou. The two concealed their figures and rushed toward the administrative building.
Arriving outside the administrative building, they did not enter directly but hid nearby to quietly observe.
All players who entered the Scarlet Dream had triggered the Death Rule and were under a Death Lock, so all specters within the dream could sense the players' real-time locations.
Consequently, they could instantly tell exactly how many players were inside.
Rate on N.U.
