Hearing Zuo Lin'an's question, a hint of confusion flashed in the principal's eyes.
“Only one? That shouldn't be.”
“When the dream first started, I sensed them, and they definitely had one each.”
“But later, when the players from the academic building grouped up and charged at us, I stopped paying attention to them. It must have happened during that time.”
Zuo Lin'an was puzzled. “We could see the situation inside the cafeteria very clearly at the time.”
“There was no one else around the Lin sisters. In other words, no one knew they had the cards, and no one stole or snatched them.”
Xu Youyou said, “Then there's only one possibility.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded slowly. “I know. They must have voluntarily handed it over to someone.”
Xu Youyou stroked his chin. “And the only man who could get them to voluntarily hand over their cards would be Ming Ruofeng.”
“Since Ming Ruofeng is using a specter item to hide himself, everything he carries with him, including the card, would be completely hidden from our perception. Even the principal wouldn't be able to sense him.”
“So... he actually entered the Scarlet Dream today.”
Zuo Lin'an frowned deeply.
“Which means, if we can't kill him in this Scarlet Dream, we won't have another chance later!”
Xu Youyou's expression was equally grim.
“The Scarlet Dream lasts for two hours. I refuse to believe the specter item in his hand can maintain its special effect for that long!”
Zuo Lin'an looked at the principal.
“Principal, you've been a National War Dungeon boss for so long. Have you ever seen a specter item like this before? One that can maintain its special effect for a full two hours?”
The principal replied, “There are countless specter dungeons in our world, and all sorts of strange and bizarre specter items crop up constantly. To say that no such item exists would be unrealistic.”
“As far as I know, one has indeed appeared before.”
“It was a specter coffin.”
“As long as a player lies inside and doesn't come out, specters can never find him. They won't even be able to find the coffin, even if it's sitting right in front of them.”
Zuo Lin'an felt somewhat helpless.
“So, Ming Ruofeng might have been standing somewhere in the cafeteria just now, watching me kill Lin Taoyao and her sister.”
A trace of gravity crept into his voice.
“Principal, we're in big trouble!”
The principal sighed, at a loss for words.
Zuo Lin'an said, “Now, we can only pray that Ming Ruofeng fails the exam. That way, he won't get the other half of the card, and he won't be able to clear the dungeon.”
Xu Youyou asked, “What if he passes the exam and gets the reward?”
Zuo Lin'an pondered for a moment, a fierce glint flashing in his crimson slit-pupils.
“If his luck is really that good, then we'll let all the players who survive to the end know that the cards can be snatched!”
“I don't believe for a second that Xuan Jingyuan and his people wouldn't be tempted if Ming Ruofeng was holding a complete 【School Gate Pass】!”
“Keep in mind that for this National War Dungeon, the Emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty himself, along with his children, nearly ten civil and military officials, and most of the imperial guards have entered!”
“An extra card means one more person can clear the dungeon. They definitely won't pass up any opportunity.”
“Can Ming Ruofeng block so many people from the imperial court all by himself?”
“Not to mention, Xuan Jingyuan's death sworn will absolutely risk their lives to snatch the card from Ming Ruofeng's hands if they know they can't clear the dungeon themselves!”
Xu Youyou's eyes lit up.
“Right, let's do that.”
Now that they had a plan for Ming Ruofeng, they gradually relaxed.
The corner where the three of them were currently hiding was shielded by many trees, so the players certainly wouldn't find them easily.
The principal suddenly spoke up.
“They've gone to the dormitory area.”
Zuo Lin'an was startled by the news.
“Oh no, my living body is still in the dormitory area!”
His figure vanished instantly as he rushed frantically toward the dormitory area.
Fortunately, only a river separated the sports field and the dormitory area. It took him only two or three seconds to return to the dorm and find his living body.
After merging with his living body, Zuo Lin'an switched back to his specter body state. He quickly concealed his figure and vanished from the dormitory area, narrowly escaping just before Xuan Jingyuan and his people entered.
Xu Youyou looked at him holding the gold hairpin in one hand and the card in the other. “Are you really just going to carry them in your hands? Be careful not to let players with 【Spirit Vision】 see them.”
Zuo Lin'an slipped the items into his clothes.
“I was in a rush just now and didn't have time to hide them.”
The principal suddenly said, “I heard them talking.”
The two of them looked at him.
“They said they want to hunt down all the specters on campus first, then find me, lure me near the administrative building to repel me, and then have the Emperor trigger his talent inside my office.”
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat surprised. “What's going on?”
Xu Youyou's eyes widened. “Oh my god! Principal, the players are going to spawn-camp you!”
The principal pinched the bridge of his nose with his withered, dark gray fingers.
He felt rather exhausted.
“They know I can quickly respawn after being repelled, so they want to use me to help those players who haven't completed their Repel Specter quest finish it.”
“But they don't know that after five times, my respawn time will extend to five minutes, and from the eleventh time onward, it will extend to ten minutes.”
Zuo Lin'an asked, “So, what is His Majesty the Emperor's talent?”
The principal shook his head. “I don't know.”
“I'll only know once I'm attacked by his talent, but I'm certain it's definitely not a common talent.”
Xu Youyou said, “Principal, do you have any ideas? As a National War Dungeon boss, being spawn-camped and farmed by a bunch of players in your own office would be pretty embarrassing, wouldn't it?”
“If word of this gets out, a lot of the other old folks will definitely laugh at you.”
The principal stiffened. It was unclear what he was thinking, but the expressions on both faces of his two heads turned rather unsightly, filled with conflict and resentment.
“I don't have any good solutions either.”
“After all, I don't have a specter item like the gold hairpin, nor do I have any defensive means. Being able to respawn multiple times in each Scarlet Dream is already a privilege only a boss can have.”
At that moment, Xu Youyou suddenly added another remark.
“In that case, wouldn't it be extremely dangerous for us to stay with you, Principal?”
Zuo Lin'an pressed a hand to his forehead.
Is this guy serious?
Realizing that what he said might have sounded a bit insensitive, Xu Youyou quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Haha, I was just speaking off the cuff.”
“These players are like a swarm of locusts; they definitely won't spare a single specter in the dream. Even if we separate from the principal, they definitely won't let us off.”
“Especially once they realize the principal takes five or ten minutes to respawn later on, they'll definitely work even harder to sweep up the other specters in the dream.”
“Brother An and I probably won't escape either, so the three of us should stick together. We can help each other out if we run into players.”
“Hehehe.”
“Don't you agree, Principal?”
Rate on N.U.
