Chapter 3: [Congratulations—Misidentification Failure]

Chapter 3: [Congratulations—Misidentification Failure]

The college student Wang Fei walked around the first floor and, finding nothing unusual, felt irritated remembering how Fu Changxun and others had overshadowed him, and spitefully spat.

"Bah, what's he good for aside from his looks?" he muttered angrily, kicking the corner of the wall, "With a face like that, he should just... just..."

Imagining Fu Changxun crying bitterly, he felt a sense of cruel satisfaction.

Lost in these vindictive thoughts, Wang Fei suddenly sensed movement behind him and whirled around to find Lu Qi.

"What are you doing! You scared me to death!"

Annoyed, he said, "Want to team up? Fine. That Dr. Fu is your ex-boyfriend? He seems pretty suspicious. Let's nominate him as the [ghost] today."

Lu Qi gave a sly smile and looked at the college student, "You said you've read a lot of novels, so you should have experience, right? Fine, I'll nominate him."

The two conspired for a while, both revealing an eager gleam in their eyes.

Crushing the blossoms on the branches into mud was also a way to satisfy some people's cruel pleasures.

**

Fu Changxun suddenly fainted, startling Dong Zi who quickly caught him.

Xu Zhengyi also panicked, "What's wrong with Dr. Fu?"

"Looks like he just fell asleep." Dong Zi carefully laid him on the sofa, cushioning him with his coat, and whispered gently, "Ah Xun? Can you hear me?"

The only response was the other's rapid breathing.

Dong Zi could only squat beside him, gripping his hand tightly, "Don't be afraid, I'm here watching over you."

Approaching midnight, the tense and exhausted group returned to the hall, gathering together, dozing off.

That's when the game's malice became apparent—surviving three days was a way to pass, but without food or water, enduring three days wouldn't be easy.

"Let's conserve our energy, try to talk and move as little as possible," Xu Zhengyi sighed.

Fu Changxun was still unconscious, his sleeping face softened the sharpness of his beauty, making him look delicate and vulnerable.

The girl from the couple caught a glimpse of him and couldn't help but gasp.

A sleeping beauty indeed...

Her boyfriend was equally stunned, taking a moment to regain his composure before awkwardly diverting the topic: "Aren't we missing someone? Where's the college student?"

Just then, a non-human-like scream erupted from the second floor: "Don't come near—get away! Ahh!!"

Fu Changxun suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up quickly: "Hurry, let's go, someone's in trouble!"

Everyone rushed to the second floor and burst into the room from where the screams had come.

But it was too late—the missing male college student lay in a pool of blood, his face slashed with countless cuts, lifelessly sprawled on the ground. His eyes were wide open in terror, almost bursting from their sockets, and he died with his eyes unshut after that scream.

The young couple, who were the first to rush in, turned pale and couldn't help but start vomiting uncontrollably.

The rest were no exception, nearly breaking down at the sight of such a gruesome scene.

In less than a day, there was already a death!

The shadow of the game weighed heavily on everyone's mind, with everyone thinking:

"Can we really survive three days?"

"I just had a dream about some scenes," Fu Changxun leaned against Dong Zi's chest, his face as white as paper, "There are many ghostly figures in this villa, and the [ghost] among us is their sworn enemy. They will kill everyone until the [ghost] is found."

Dong Zi frowned: "A prophetic dream? Did those ghostly figures do anything bad to you?"

Fu Changxun shook his head: "No, but this is clearly a warning. We either stick together and don't separate, surviving for three days, or identify the [ghost]."

The girl in the couple started to sob: "How can we choose? There are still seven people, with three chances..."

Except for the high school girl, who was the most suspicious, they all knew each other and had no idea who had been replaced by the [ghost].

Xu Zhengyi decisively said: "Let's choose her today, if it's not her, we'll choose someone else tomorrow."

After everyone calmed down, they unanimously agreed.

[Congratulations—Identification Failed.]

The game's voice, laced with schadenfreude, dealt a harsh blow to the hopeful crowd.

Fu Changxun, struck by a thought, quietly tiptoed to whisper in Dong Zi's ear, gently tugging at the hem of his clothes and nodding at him.

It was then Dong Zi spoke up: "Both the [ghost] and the ghostly figures are related to this villa. Let's bring out what we found in the safe room during those ten minutes, no more hiding things."

He led by example, taking out some scraps of paper and a bottle of glue.

Fu Changxun also produced some paper scraps and a small knife.

Dong Zi added, "Some might have received props, those need not be shared, but let's provide everything else we can."

With his encouragement, others also brought out their findings—more paper scraps, some ropes, pliers, candles, and the like. Compared to what they had, everyone's faces grew somber—the collection resembled torture instruments.

Were these ghostly figures seeking revenge because they were tortured to death by the [ghost]?

And now they were the targets of this revenge!

Though the paper scraps were torn and scattered, in a life-or-death situation, everyone managed to piece them together in order, forming several complete sheets.

[I'm so pissed off today, damn it.]

[Heh, beating someone up really does the trick, and it's free, unlike hitting a punching bag.]

[Dare to grab me? Little beast, you're asking for it!]

[...Something's at my bedside, it's 2 a.m., it must be them coming back!]

[Don't come looking for me, if you must blame someone, blame your own bad luck, it's not my fault!]

The last piece of paper was blank except for a bloody handprint, sending chills down everyone's spine.

Fu Changxun almost developed a psychological shadow over these diaries.

He sighed, "It seems this is the [ghost]'s diary. He tortured and killed someone, perhaps not just one. The victims are seeking revenge, yet he has blended among us, trying to evade the ghostly figures' retribution."

After speaking, he maintained his 'vase-like' persona, sticking close to Dong Zi and whispering to him again.

Xu Zhengyi exclaimed in anger, "How can someone be so heartless and vicious, taking their frustrations out on others?"

The live-streaming youth and his girlfriend were equally infuriated: "That's disgusting, he deserves the revenge!"

The high school girl and Lu Qi remained silent.

Dong Zi scanned the group and repeated what Fu Changxun had suggested: "We need to investigate further. Those people might have died here. Finding more clues will increase our chances of identifying the [ghost]."

Tall and dependable, Dong Zi's words resonated with the players, who began searching for information in groups—after a real death, no one dared to be alone.

The first floor was manageable, but many doors on the second floor were locked without keys and couldn't be opened.

Everyone pulled out their props—water bottles, purses, cell phones, and so on. The most bizarre was Dong Zi's steering wheel, though none were useful for unlocking doors.

"Maybe... let me give it a try?"

Everyone turned to see the beautiful doctor, who had been sticking close to the tall man all along, slowly pulling out a doorknob from his pocket.

The doorknob, upon contact with the door, merged into the existing one, and with a gentle twist, the door opened.

The players were amazed and couldn't believe their eyes.

But the beautiful doctor himself was also surprised: "Wow! It really worked, how lucky!"