Chapter 241: The Mirror Ghost (Part Four)

Chapter 241: The Mirror Ghost (Part Four)

Jie Fangcheng was truly annoyed.

Typically, he never was one for deep thinking. But now, with Zhang Daoan not around, he's left alone to puzzle through many matters.

Having been in this game for so long, he's yet to even glimpse his adversary. And now, unexpectedly, there's this Guan Yingying without any memory.

Everything points to him having to analyze the situation once again.

How bothersome!

And just when he was feeling so vexed, after entering the hotel where he intended to rest a bit, he had barely laid down when some ghost was hovering beside his bed muttering, "Are you pretending to sleep?" and another tampered with the remote, turning the TV back on.

The jarring BGM and bizarre tone made it impossible for Jie Fangcheng to ignore.

How could he not be infuriated?

These pesky little ghosts were overly eager to annoy him, but the moment he overturned a table and grabbed a table leg to confront them, they scattered, running faster than he could pursue.

So frustrating and infuriating!

What vexed Jie Fangcheng most was that he couldn't even catch up to them.

Clearly, the NPCs in the Level 3 sub-level had undergone a substantial speed upgrade. Jie Fangcheng wasn't in his primary form here, so speed was already his weakness. Plus, it seemed these ghosts could pass through walls; by the time he moved in the direction of their sounds, wielding his club, rooms were invariably empty.

He forcibly opened several doors, and these ghosts played a relentless game of hide-and-seek with him.

While uncertain about this sub-level's scenario, given the lack of other living NPCs in the vicinity and the city appearing like a ghost town devoid of humans, Jie Fangcheng grew bolder.

"Won't come out, will you?!"

Tucking away his club, Jie Fangcheng strode towards the hotel's exit.

Inside, the trembling ghosts were heaving sighs of relief when, moments later, it felt as if the entire hotel was shifting.

？？

Hummmm——Boom———!

It wasn’t just limited to the hotel; even Guan Yingying, a distance away, suddenly looked up.

At the moment, she was seated in a bar. After watching an advertisement on TV, she found a landline in the bar and hesitated over whether to dial that number.

Almost immediately, the previous notification echoed in her mind.

As she pondered what was happening, a sound resembling an explosion echoed nearby.

What's going on?

Guan Yingying hastily stepped out of the bar. Without deliberate searching, she could see plumes of smoke in the distance, as if a building was indeed collapsing.

What's the situation?

Since entering this game, Guan Yingying consistently played to her strengths — though not a strong fighter, she was observant and quick-witted.

Hence, in previous levels, there were instances where her limited strength put her at a disadvantage. When pushed out of the bus, she remained calm; one could even say she feigned weakness to disembark earlier on purpose.

Guan Yingying knew that if she stayed on the bus, she might not even secure the second spot to disembark. It was very likely she'd be the last to leave, which would be highly perilous.

The facts seemed to validate her suspicions.

He Mingguang, who had perished, was of low strength, presumably the last player to disembark.

While things appeared treacherous, they seemed to always fall within Guan Yingying's expectations...except for this unexpected explosion.

Judging by the direction, that seemed to be where the first player disembarked, right?

Was this commotion caused by that peculiar player?

In the past, Guan Yingying might have been inclined to rush over out of concern.

But not now.

She merely furrowed her brows, contemplating.

The system had just issued two notifications:

First, player He Mingguang has died within the mirror realm.

Within the mirror... the mirror ghost.

What was it hinting at? Guan Yingying couldn't deduce it for the moment.

But the meaning of the second notification was quite clear.

"Hotline 4444444 is now unmanned, rendering the activity inoperable."

With He Mingguang's death and the 4444444 hotline unattended, it suggests He Mingguang was the designated player to answer this line.

How did he come across this line?

Based on the timeline, He Mingguang was the last to disembark. It seems improbable that he would locate the phone line in such a brief span.

And even if he were incredibly efficient, finding the 4444444 line immediately after alighting, every player who reaches the third-level sub-game isn't naive. He wouldn't recklessly use such a pivotal phone.

It's plausible that He Mingguang stumbled upon a location and inadvertently connected to this line.

Where could that be?

As for the "activity" mentioned in the system notification, the only known activity to them currently is the "Test Sleeper" event.

Synthesizing these clues, the situation becomes clear to Guan Yingying.

The locale of phone line 4444444 must be manned by a player for the "Test Sleeper" event to continue.

And the rationale behind the "Test Sleeper" event, deducing from the advertisement, is that players might only have the chance to explore Xin Xin's residential area for clues when the event is active.

The location of the death phone seems perilous, and the condition inside Xin Xin's residential area remains uncertain.

Under these circumstances, players must decide who guards the phone and who ventures into the residential area — another challenge.

As previously mentioned by other players they've encountered, the risk in the ghost game escalates linearly.

Parsing all this information took mere seconds in Guan Yingying's mind. After her deductions, her gaze returned to the location of the recent explosion.

…Strangely, she thought she heard distant screams.

That shouldn't be possible, given the distance.

Though unclear on the specifics, Guan Yingying was the second stop. If there were issues at the first, her location would logically be next.

Time is of the essence; she couldn't sit idly by!

Without hesitation, Guan Yingying dashed towards the direction of the third stop.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, a figure emerged from the smoky aftermath of the explosion.

Jie Fangcheng didn't use a stick... mainly because all the usable ones were broken.

It seemed the ghosts couldn't leave the hotel, so when Jie Fangcheng knocked it down in two moves, it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

He attacked with precision, targeting only those whose eyes gleamed menacingly, looking to devour him. The rest, who trembled in fear, weren't even glanced at by Jie Fangcheng.

After all, the hotel was no longer inhabitable. Thinking further, this game level seemed perilous. He had entered without fully grasping the scenario and within less than an hour, a player had already died.

Even if Jie Fangcheng didn’t know the situation, Guan Yingying was, in a way, from his world. Knowing the risks of this level, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, could he?

So, Jie Fangcheng found his way using the map on the bus stop sign.

He wasn’t certain which stop Guan Yingying was at, but Jie's approach was simple.

If he wasn't sure about the stop, he'd just check them all!

"It doesn’t seem she's here." Upon reaching the second stop and scouting the vicinity, Jie Fangcheng quickly spotted a nearby bar.

He took a look inside the bar but found nothing, so he promptly headed towards the third stop.

Meanwhile, Guan Yingying was making good time and had already reached the third stop.

Glancing around the bus stop, she soon noticed a photography studio nearby.

Upon arriving at the studio, Guan Yingying joined the player at the third stop.

"You're saying there's an issue at the first stop?" The third player to disembark was named Ares, a Flameblood.

Players with this lineage had a fiery red appearance, with a horn-like protrusion on their forehead, reminiscent of a rhinoceros.

Ares' eyes burned like twin flames. As he gazed at Guan Yingying, the flickering fires in his eyes seemed to evaluate the credibility of her words.

Guan Yingying didn't need his trust; she just needed to rest at this stop for a while and find the right moment to search for clues at Xinxin's Home.

As for when would be the right moment... it depended on whether any of the other players took on the "leader" role, gathering the remaining players to discuss a strategy.

Her abilities were limited. Even with a sharp mind, these players would never be swayed by her.

If no one was willing to take the lead, she'd need to collaborate with a more powerful player.

One cannot complete this level by going solo.

Faced with Ares' skepticism, Guan Yingying simply nodded.

"Yes."

She offered no further explanation, just pointing towards the door.

"May I rest nearby for a while?"

Ares shrugged, "Of course."

"Thank you." Guan Yingying expressed her gratitude politely, then silently sat by the door, gazing quietly outside.

Ares observed her momentarily, realizing she genuinely seemed to just want a place to rest. Thus, he turned his attention to the phone within the studio.

Tentatively, he dialed the number 4444444, only to be met with a tone indicating "The person you're calling cannot be reached."

Ares tried a few variations, changing the last 4 to other numbers.

And it actually connected.

"So, 5 is the penultimate stop, and 6 is the one before that... Does it follow this pattern?"

A frown formed on Ares' face.

If that was the case, with eleven of them in total, which location didn’t have a phone?

Lost in thought, the phone in his hand suddenly rang.

4444449。

It was from the sixth stop, and the caller was the most powerful player in this level... What was her name again? Zhu Ping?

Ares picked up. Whatever was conveyed from the other end, he nodded in response.

"Understood."

Hanging up, he turned to Guan Yingying.

"Zhu Ping says she has a strategy to complete the level. She wants us to meet her at the sixth stop. Are you coming?"

Having a leader is far preferable to being a directionless group.

Guan Yingying rose to her feet.

"Let's go."

The two of them exited the studio, heading for the sixth stop.

Shortly after their departure, Jie Fangcheng scratched his head at the entrance of the studio.

"Where is everyone?"

He muttered, his interest waning as he glanced towards the third stop.

Had the other players already moved on to Xinxin Home?

The bus route wasn't a branch line, but formed an L-shape.

Xinxin Home was situated at the bend of this L.

Regardless, there were certainly clues at Xinxin Home. He could just go there and wait for the other players.

With that thought, Jie Fangcheng set out again.

His next destination: Xinxin Home!