Chapter 236 Score

Chapter 236 Score

The rain poured down in torrents.

Thick black fog spread from the small house at the center of the construction site, quickly engulfing the entire area above the site.

Zhou Yong's face, contorted with rage, was also obscured by the fog and disappeared from Qin Fei's sight.

"Let's go," Qin Fei blinked and said softly.

Mi Yang looked into the distance thoughtfully: "The barrier surrounding the department store seems to have vanished."

Since they entered the strange tale, they could only see the department store, the construction site, and the small stretch of road between them.

The rest was all blocked by a gray barrier.

Now, although it was raining heavily, the players' vision was much clearer than before, even allowing them to see the buildings behind the department store.

"Does the disappearance of the barrier mean that the female ghost's territory has expanded?" Cui Wenxuan asked.

It seemed that neither the department store board members hiding nor the people who fled from the third floor would be able to escape the female ghost's revenge.

From the construction site behind them came faint, heart-wrenching screams, and a trace of blood scent drifted over with the wind.

The players inside were enduring some unimaginable torment.

Qi Xiu glanced back and said solemnly, "Forget about this for now, let's head back to the dormitory."

...

The East and South Teams rested in the dormitory until midnight.

Nothing happened during this time.

The players first took a nap, and when they got bored, they started playing cards.

The cards were brought by Lu Cheng and Mi Yang from a nearby shop.

The lights on the first floor of the department store had gone out completely; the ghost shopkeepers had probably been devoured by the red-clothed female ghost, leaving no trace behind.

The Sinar Mas Department Store had turned into an ordinary abandoned building, free from vengeful spirits and scheming living beings.

At exactly midnight.

Thin wisps of fog seeped into the dormitory through the window cracks.

By then, most players were already sprawled out, as Qin Fei had won dozens of rounds in the past five hours. Everyone except him and the pollution source had their faces covered with strips of paper, and Lu Cheng's eyelids were even plastered shut.

Seeing the thick fog approaching, Lu Cheng excitedly stood up, rubbing off the paper on his face: "Quick! Quick, quick, the strange tale is ending!"

Damn it, he would never play cards with Xiao Qin again in his life!!

...

"Congratulations to the players for successfully escaping the strange tale—Huaishu Road Construction Site Strange Tale!"

"System detects that this strange tale is triggered for the first time within the instance. You will receive a reward of 5 points. Please continue your efforts!"

When the fog cleared, what appeared before everyone was the small hall where they had gathered on the night they entered the strange tale.

The once crowded meeting hall was now empty; of the forty players in the strange tale, only half managed to pass successfully.

The East Team remained unscathed, while the South Team lost one NPC and one Dark Fire player.

As for the Northwest Teams.

Only three people survived and left alive.

Zhou Yong and Chen Hao supported each other, both covered in wounds, their clothes torn into rags, and their bloody faces made it hard to discern any expression.

Qu Yuanzhou of the Butterfly Guild and Tang Ji, a player from Chen Hao's guild, did not survive the final half-day.

They were left forever in the strange tale.

Qin Fei remained indifferent; Zhou Yong and Chen Hao probably wished to tear him apart at that moment, but Qin Fei was unmoved.

It was the strange tale that forced the players into two opposing camps. The female ghost side was clearly more dangerous in the early stages but offered greater rewards later, which was only natural.

The chasm of fate formed the moment Qin Fei and his group stepped onto the sixth floor.

Even if the construction site ghosts were not saved, the Northwest Teams would still not have escaped the female ghost's pursuit on Mid-Autumn Night.

Therefore, Qin Fei did not believe that the tragic fate of the Northwest Teams was caused by them; at most, they just made their already tragic end even more thorough.

Moreover, if the chosen ones to ally with the female ghost were those two teams, Qin Fei doubted they would be morally superior enough to sacrifice easy points and rewards for the safety of strangers.

However, it was mutual.

"Shall we go?" Lu Cheng came forward and draped his arm around Qin Fei's shoulder. Just as he spoke two words, he suddenly felt a burning gaze on his back.

He turned around and met the pollution source's eyes.

Lu Cheng: "..."

What was that guilty feeling? It was like touching something he shouldn't have.

Xiao Lu silently withdrew his hand and smiled wryly: "The vice president called us on the channel. Shall we go now?"

Qin Fei nodded and turned to leave the meeting hall.

...

The group took the elevator to the 14th floor, arriving at the familiar meeting room A102.

"Over here!"

The door to the meeting room opened, and a short-haired male player named Xie Jingtian poked half of his body out, waving his hand.

This time, Cen San Ya and the other guild members were also present. Including Qin Fei and the three others who had just escaped from the strange tale, all the Black Feather players had gathered in the hotel.

The three from Black Feather entered the meeting room one after another. After Qin Fei stepped inside, Xie Jingtian moved forward half a step, blocking the person behind him.

"Sorry, this meeting room is rented by the Black Feather Guild today. Unrelated people cannot enter or leave for now," said Xie Jingtian.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng and Mi Yang turned around in surprise.

Was there someone behind them?

They hadn't sensed anyone following them earlier.

Once they saw who it was, both felt a sense of "as expected."

"What's the relationship between this guy and Xiao Qin?" Lu Cheng whispered to Mi Yang.

This NPC had been sticking close to Xiao Qin even when they were in the strange tale. For days, he barely spoke but always revolved around Xiao Qin.

As for Qin Fei himself, although he always seemed very gentle with a smile on his face, he was actually not easy to approach.

Lu Cheng always felt that this NPC must have known Xiao Qin for a long time.

Mi Yang didn't answer but stared at the pollution source with a look as if watching a pig eyeing his family's cabbage.

At the entrance of the meeting room.

Xie Jingtian needed to tilt his head slightly to meet the eyes of the person in front of him.

He remembered this person, an NPC. At the beginning of the guild competition, he was chased by many players, and many believed he was part of a strange tale.

Unexpectedly, after disappearing for a few days, he had ended up with their guild members.

Xie Jingtian curiously observed the pollution source.

The pollution source remained still and silent, standing like a statue, his gaze passing over Xie Jingtian to focus on Qin Fei's back.

Qin Fei turned around and said, "Hmm, it's fine, let him in."

"He's not a player, he's my—"

What exactly?

Suddenly, the young man pursed his lips innocently, a bit stuck.

His usually calm and peaceful eyes, whether talking to ghosts or negotiating with players, now seemed somewhat evasive, glancing at the wall beside him.

On the wall was a notice, black background with white letters, clearly visible, inadvertently catching Qin Fei's eye.

"Meeting rooms are cleared and closed after 10 PM. Please carry valuable and personal items with you."

"Personal item," Qin Fei said calmly.

Xie Jingtian: ?

The player hesitated for a moment, doubting his ears.

Your personal item?

Do you want to hear what nonsense you're spouting?

The man behind him heard Qin Fei say this, his expression unchanged, but a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes.

Xie Jingtian suddenly felt a toothache coming on.

"Let him in," Vice President Gala gave a brief instruction.

Without asking any more questions, Xie Jingtian glanced at the pollution source and stepped aside.

Everyone took their seats, and the pollution source naturally sat next to Qin Fei.

Cen San Ya was discussing something in low tones with Gala. With nothing else to do, Xie Jingtian started chatting with the NPC: "Hey, buddy, what's your name?"

The pollution source answered every question, using the same name he used in the strange tale: "You can call me W."

"W?" Xie Jingtian paused upon hearing this name.

It sounded familiar.

He thought for a moment and then realized, "Isn't that the nickname of our former vice president?"

"And our former president was Q, which coincidentally matches the first letter of Xiao Qin's surname." Xie Jingtian found this coincidence amusing and chuckled for a while. But when he came back to his senses, he suddenly noticed the silence in the meeting room.

Vice President Gala's eyes were slightly lowered, Captain Cen looked at him without expression, and Lu Cheng wore a look of exasperation.

Xie Jingtian's laughter abruptly stopped, making a quacking sound like a duck.

...??

Did he say something wrong?

The player, completely unaware of his mistake, suddenly shut his mouth and made a zipping motion with his fingers.

The eerie atmosphere didn't last long; in just a moment, everything returned to normal.

Everyone gathered around Gala's table and began checking the current scores of the competition.

The highest-ranked guild was still Black Feathers. Qin Fei, Lu Cheng, and Mi Yang successfully cleared the instance, earning 15 points. Adding Cen San Ya and several other players, they increased their score from the previous 25 points to an additional 37 points.

Similarly, after emerging from the construction site weird tale, Starlight earned 20 points, while Dark Fire, having lost one member, only managed to secure 10 points.

"Current rankings"

1. Black Feathers: 62 points

2. Starlight: 50 points

3. Dark Fire: 39 points

"The gap in scores isn't too large. A single or two mistakes in a weird tale could easily change the rankings," Cen San Ya commented.

At this critical juncture, what the players from each guild should be doing is accelerating their progress to boost their scores. However, strangely enough, the leading guilds seemed to have halted their efforts.

"In less than three days, it will be the tenth day since the start of the guild competition," Gala said.

The tenth day.

It is the clue-providing day and also the first review day for The Association for Weird Tale Investigation meeting.

If a player fails the review, they cannot continue participating in subsequent weird tales but also cannot withdraw from the competition voluntarily; they would merely waste a competition slot.

Therefore, during these two and a half days, the higher-ranked guilds will see smaller changes in their scores.

"For the next few days, everyone should avoid going out unnecessarily. Try not to travel alone and rest well in your rooms," Gala advised.

Then, he announced a somewhat surprising piece of news.

"After the review day, we need to participate in a collective weird tale."

Gala paused before continuing:

"This weird tale is very important and may be related to the core source of contamination in the background world of the entire guild competition. If we can solve that weird tale, players might have a chance to end the competition early."