Zuo Lin'an's eyes widened slightly at the sight. However, he knew he couldn't waste the opportunity his good brother had won for him, so he lunged straight toward Xuan Er.
Xuan Er snapped back to his senses!
His talent was useless against Zuo Lin'an, so there was no point in triggering it. He could only frantically circulate his true qi to delay Zuo Lin'an's advance.
But what he didn't know was...
Zuo Lin'an's target wasn't Xuan Jingyuan at all.
It was... him!
Xuan Er watched as Zuo Lin'an lunged forward and slashed downward. The blade completely ignored his protective true qi, severing one of his arms.
Immediately after, the blade plunged into his eye socket, the tip piercing straight through his head.
In that instant, Xuan Er lost control of his body, with only a lingering thread of consciousness remaining.
He realized his body had been grabbed by Zuo Lin'an. In the next instant, the scene before his eyes shifted—he was outside!
And in the final second before his consciousness faded completely...
...he realized that the specter Zuo Lin'an's target might have been him from the very beginning.
Or rather... the card on his person!
At this moment, he felt incredibly fortunate that he had previously asked His Majesty for the card.
Otherwise, the one who died tonight would definitely have been His Majesty.
Although he still felt a trace of unwillingness about his own death...
...it was a worthy death, and he had no regrets.
Xuan Er sighed inwardly as his final thread of consciousness dissolved completely.
Zuo Lin'an looked down at the corpse he had tossed to the ground and quickly retrieved the card from it.
“Perfect!”
Leaving behind those words, he quickly headed into the distance. However, before leaving the administrative building, he planned to take out Tang Zhen, who was outside managing the overall situation.
Taking a step forward, Zuo Lin'an instantly materialized behind a frantic Tang Zhen. The boning knife he had just used to kill Xuan Er plunged straight into Tang Zhen's neck.
With a slight thrust, the sharp, cold tip sliced through flesh and bone, severing his neck.
This scene was witnessed by the surrounding players and the few remaining specters.
For the players, it naturally brought shock and panic.
But for the specters, it meant something else entirely.
All the specters stopped what they were doing at the same time, concealed their figures, withdrew their auras, and turned to leave with Zuo Lin'an.
Only after the specters departed did the administrative building finally quiet down.
A few Tianlong Guards slowly approached and stared for a moment at Tang Zhen, who lay dead on the ground with his neck mostly severed.
“What do we do now?”
“What else can we do? We have to report it.”
“True!”
Tang Zhen, the Commander and highest-ranking officer of the Tianlong Guard, was dead, but there were still others below him who could take charge.
Though far lower in status, there was at least a Chiliarch.
“Lord Chiliarch?”
They all turned to look at a Chiliarch who had been missing in action until just now.
The man's gaze was slightly evasive.
He had actually been the first to run earlier. Fortunately, he had kept a close eye on the situation and returned just in time, so none of them realized he had fled.
“First, tidy up the first floor of the administrative building. Move all the corpses out and tally the casualties. I will go upstairs to report this matter.”
“Yes, Lord Chiliarch.”
Second floor, principal's office.
Xuan Jingyuan stared blankly at the decapitated body lying on the floor.
This was his son.
He wasn't the Crown Prince, but he was the Empress's second child, the Second Prince. He had been obedient and well-behaved since childhood, very close to his father.
The Crown Prince was outstanding and capable of bearing great responsibilities.
His second son was lively, sensible, and reasonably capable, occasionally assisting his older brother.
To be honest, he was extremely pleased with both brothers.
But now...
...his second son had died right before his eyes.
Minutes ticked by. For several minutes, no one in the entire office dared to breathe too loudly.
Eventually, the corpses of all the deceased players vanished completely, along with their horrific deaths, the severed limbs scattered around, the pools of blood, and the thick, metallic scent of blood in the air.
Everything cleared away without a trace.
Gu Hedao's figure suddenly materialized at the doorway.
“Your Majesty.”
Xuan Jingyuan took a deep breath, rubbed his face hard, and forced himself to calm down.
“Elder Gu?”
Gu Hedao walked in.
“Those below have tallied the numbers. We only have one hundred and twenty-one people left.”
When they first entered this Scarlet Dream, they had about two hundred and thirty people. By the time Xuan Jingyuan led them to the principal's office, about one hundred and sixty remained.
Now, only one hundred and twenty-one were left.
The wave of specters just now had claimed thirty-nine lives.
Among them were the Second Prince and Xuan Er.
At this point, Xuan Yi and Xuan Er, the two strongest members of the Dark Dragon Guard by Xuan Jingyuan's side, were both dead.
Even the strongest of the Tianlong Guard, who had been holding the line outside, Commander Tang Zhen, had lost his life.
Gu Hedao had glanced at the body on his way back. The wound looked very familiar; it was definitely Zuo Lin'an's handiwork.
To his knowledge, among all the specters in this dream, only the specter Zuo Lin'an carried a blade. He had likely killed Tang Zhen on his way out.
However, what surprised him slightly was that Zuo Lin'an had taken Xuan Er's body with him after killing him.
He recalled that when Zuo Lin'an killed Xuan Yi earlier, he had also carried the corpse away.
Could it... really be because of the cards?
Thinking of the card in his own possession, and recalling how Zuo Lin'an had frantically targeted him and nearly killed him earlier, Gu Hedao frowned slightly.
So, the specter Zuo Lin'an's target in coming to the principal's office this time...
...wasn't His Majesty Xuan Jingyuan, but rather himself and Xuan Er!
Had Zuo Lin'an targeted Xuan Er simply because Gu Hedao had triggered his talent to escape at the critical moment?
Meanwhile, Zuo Lin'an stood atop the distant gymnasium, gazing toward the administrative building from afar.
Since leaving the administrative building, he had been keeping watch from here.
Just in case.
If Xuan Jingyuan sent people out to search again, he would need to launch another attack on the players to buy more time and protect his living body.
Fortunately, after observing for a while, he confirmed that the players had no intention of venturing out to search anymore.
Zuo Lin'an let out a soft sigh of relief.
Not much time was left before midnight.
A specter's vision was excellent. From his vantage point, he could see the guardhouse near the main gate and, through its window, the clock hanging on the wall.
“Two minutes left...?”
Zuo Lin'an turned, preparing to leave the gymnasium.
He still held a card in his hand. He had to deliver it to his living body before time ran out.
But at that exact moment, he whipped his head around and looked toward the dormitory area.
“Not good!”
Taking a step forward, his figure instantly vanished!
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a certain building in the dormitory area...
...Zuo Lin'an's living body was waiting.
He stood at the edge of the rooftop, his gaze fixed on the distance, in the direction of the administrative building.
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind him.
“Good evening, Student Zuo.”
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