Hearing the sudden voice, Zuo Lin'an was startled.
He was currently in his living body, which was essentially that of an ordinary person. If a player who was a martial artist quietly approached him, he indeed would not be able to perceive them.
But this familiar voice...
Ming Ruofeng!
He really was in the dream!
To think he had actually managed to hide all this time without being discovered by the principal or any other specters. Even Xuan Jingyuan's group hadn't found him during their search.
And now, he was right behind him.
Zuo Lin'an heard faint footsteps behind him.
Ming Ruofeng was slowly drawing closer.
For a martial artist of the Houtian Rank, making enough noise to be noticed by an ordinary person meant he was doing it on purpose.
Just as Zuo Lin'an was at a loss for what to do, his specter body was rushing toward this location at breakneck speed.
But no matter how fast it was, it couldn't change the fact that Ming Ruofeng was simply too close to him!
Zuo Lin'an's expression darkened.
He had no idea what to do right now, but at that exact moment, he suddenly saw a familiar figure climbing up the outer wall of the dormitory building.
It was the principal!
To his surprise, the principal was here too!
But on second thought, it made sense. As the dungeon boss, the principal could perceive everything happening within the dungeon.
When Ming Ruofeng was hiding before, the principal didn't know where he was.
But now that he had shown himself, the principal naturally knew what was happening here.
Upon seeing the principal's rather terrifying figure, Ming Ruofeng also stopped in his tracks and even began to slowly back away.
“Don't be nervous. I mean no harm.”
The principal slowly moved his limbs forward a few steps, shielding Zuo Lin'an, who still had his back turned to Ming Ruofeng.
Ming Ruofeng explained in a calm tone.
“I just felt...”
“Since my final Scarlet Dream is about to end, it didn't feel right to do absolutely nothing. So, I came over to say hello to Classmate Zuo... no, to Brother An.”
“After all, I've only just joined this little group, so I should build a good relationship with Brother An.”
By now, Zuo Lin'an's specter body had arrived.
Although he was in a rush, he didn't forget to conceal his figure and suppress his aura. The moment he arrived, the two bodies immediately initiated their fusion.
Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness... Thank goodness the principal had stepped in to shield him just now.
However, once Zuo Lin'an relaxed slightly, another thought occurred to him.
The cooldown for Ming Ruofeng's talent, 【Demon-Slaying Sword】, should have already ended. When the principal appeared just now, he could have easily used it to repel the principal.
Yet, he hadn't made a move.
This was highly unusual.
He wanted to ask, but since his current identity was a specter, it wasn't convenient for him to speak normally.
Besides, he still had no idea what Ming Ruofeng's true objective was.
When Ming Ruofeng didn't receive a response, he didn't seem disappointed either.
“Brother An, see you in the morning.”
Countdown: three... two... one!
Time's up.
Zuo Lin'an felt his vision plunge into pitch darkness as his body suddenly sank. By the time he regained consciousness, he was already back in his dorm bed.
The dream had ended.
He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The Scarlet Dream had utterly exhausted him, so he decided to get some proper rest first.
Whatever needed to be dealt with could wait until daylight.
He just wondered if Xuan Jingyuan would completely blow a fuse tomorrow morning.
After all, the first time, he had killed Xuan Yi right in front of him. The second time, he had killed Xuan Er in front of him, and as an added bonus, he had also killed Xu Youyou, and slaughtered one of the Emperor's sons right before his eyes.
He figured that even an emperor with the best temper would probably be unable to hold back his fury.
With these thoughts in mind, Zuo Lin'an silently drifted off to sleep.
This time, perhaps because he was on guard against Xuan Jingyuan suddenly making a move, he didn't sleep in. He woke up very early, around five in the morning.
At this moment, Xuan Jingyuan and Gu Hedao had just gotten up.
Zuo Lin'an didn't open his eyes, maintaining his previous sleeping posture and keeping his breathing rhythm completely unchanged.
However, Xu Youyou, who was sleeping on the other side, was genuinely asleep. Zuo Lin'an could even clearly hear him snoring.
Next, he sensed Xuan Jingyuan and Gu Hedao climbing down from their upper bunks and slowly walking around below.
It might have been anger, or perhaps resentment and hatred.
Instead of heading to the back to wash up, the two remained by the bedside for a long time.
They were probably staring at them.
Before long, he felt a gaze laced with murderous intent fall upon him.
Only after several minutes did Zuo Lin'an feel the two of them head to the back to wash up. By the time they stepped out, many people were already waiting outside.
After confirming that their auras had drifted far from the dormitory area, Zuo Lin'an finally opened his eyes.
He slowly sat up and scanned the entire dorm room.
Four of the beds were empty. The players who had just been brought in as replacements yesterday were already dead today.
Zuo Lin'an immediately packed the gold hairpin and the card into his schoolbag, quickly tidied himself up, and left the dorm.
After walking out of the dormitory entrance, he hurried toward the school gate.
It was still quite early, so there weren't many players outside. Even if some saw Zuo Lin'an, a native, they didn't pay him much attention.
By now, most of the surviving players had already made it through three Scarlet Dreams.
There was no longer any need to interact with the natives.
Zuo Lin'an arrived at the school gate. Just as the principal had said, a security guard was waiting there.
He handed his gold hairpin over to him.
“Where will you keep my gold hairpin?”
The security guard didn't say a word.
After receiving the gold hairpin, he turned and walked out of the school gate, crossing the wide road in front of the school. Without stopping, he headed straight through the gates of the residential area on the opposite side.
Zuo Lin'an blinked.
So it was hidden in the residential area across the street?
Just then, an NPC who was also dressed in a security guard uniform sitting inside the guardhouse spoke up.
“Student, he will stay there until the exam is over.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
This security guard was a normal NPC, quite elderly, whose only job was to watch the gate.
“Uncle, what happened to those students who were kicked out of the school earlier?”
He still remembered those players.
If they were still alive, they might try to snatch the gold hairpin. Wouldn't that ruin everything?
Even though they had been expelled from the school, they were still players.
“Those kids? Naturally, they were taken back by their parents.”
Parents?
Zuo Lin'an frowned. This was a specter dungeon; where would players get parents from? They must have been killed. There was no way they'd be allowed to wander around Lingyang City.
“Are they still breathing?”
The security guard chuckled.
“What do you think?”
Zuo Lin'an understood.
He slowly nodded, then turned and walked toward the administrative building, sensing the surrounding aura as he went.
After checking, he was somewhat surprised to find that there was absolutely no living aura here today.
But on second thought, it made sense.
Most players wouldn't be entering the Scarlet Dream anymore, so there was no longer any need to keep watch on the principal.
Zuo Lin'an walked straight up to the second floor and found the principal, who was still in his office.
“Principal!”
Rate on N.U.
