The second and third floors are only separated by a dozen steps, but they are like a watershed, with the temperature being high and low.
Just as the little boy said, unless he personally leads people up there, the third floor is a forbidden area that no one can easily cross.
Ji Heng stood by the mirror, closing his eyes to rest.
As Suer descended, he witnessed this scene and marveled at the man's audacity. This mirror was the ghost king's lair, yet he dared to rest on it openly, unfazed by the sudden appearance of another ghost.
When he heard the footsteps, Ji Heng opened his eyes immediately.
The little boy's face was gloomy, and Suer's expression was complicated. This was beyond his expectation. The battle between humans and ghosts rarely ended in a draw. At least one side should have the upper hand.
But now it seems that no one has gained any advantage.
The little boy walked down the stairs without saying a word, and slowly merged into the mirror again, standing inside like a sculpture, coldly watching everything outside.
Ji Heng glanced at Su Er, who sighed, "I got a tool."
Before the long sigh had completely dissipated, he openly showed off the pocket watch he had obtained and explained its purpose.
"Forty-nine days, the game has been very kind to me."
Ji Heng was silent for a moment and asked, "Why not choose the second option?"
"At the time, the transaction was just about a mysterious item, and I wanted to take a gamble."
Unfortunately, the reality is that as long as he dares to gamble, the game will definitely make him lose.
If given another chance, Suer would rationally keep his score above 50 and below 80. Reducing the number of pages in the answer book by ten would be a real benefit.
After adjusting his mood, Su Er tapped the mirror lightly: "Let's talk."
The little boy pursed his lips, his gloomy temperament becoming more obvious, but privately he was secretly thinking about whether there were other ways to reap the life of the man in front of him.
"Where should I start?" Su Er asked himself and answered: "Why not start with the competition?"
The little boy was indifferent.
Su Er continued: "Normal people all want to talk. Come on, tell us your story."
"Three." This time the little boy responded: "Bring three people here, and I will tell you what happened at the school."
Su Er raised his eyebrows, turned around, shrugged, and said to Ji Heng: "The negotiations broke down."
Ji Heng was even more decisive than him: "Now that we have the props, there is no value in exploring this place any further."
Sur nodded and prepared to leave.
"Stupid!" A cold voice came from behind: "Someone else will come. If you don't do this, someone else will."
Sur admitted that he was right. Even if he ran outside and announced it now, ordinary players would not hide when they heard it. They might even think that there was some great opportunity hidden here and come over on their own initiative.
"I'm not a savior, but I'm not a devil either."
After saying this, he left the second floor completely.
"After the milk poisoning incident at school, the principal's wife, daughter, and father came to accuse him of being useless. In a rage, the principal killed his entire family and then committed suicide."
Sur revealed all the coherent clues he had obtained, and recalled the incident of calling out to the soul on the rooftop, and the resentful words the wife said when she grabbed her husband's face... The victim's family came to make trouble every day, it was all your fault.
At the time, they might have just been venting their emotional dissatisfaction, but unexpectedly, the taciturn man's final outburst ended in blood.
"As for the competition and the fox fairy..." Su Er frowned: "They can't be connected for the time being."
Ji Heng: "Everything has a cause, and perhaps the competition was the cause of the poisoning incident."
He didn't say it with too much certainty, but just suggested a possibility.
Sur fixed his eyes on the book of answers and silently recited questions related to the competition in his mind.
-It's a nice day today.
The answer I found was completely irrelevant.
Su Er was slightly disappointed. The scope of security issues had passed, and the next inquiry would definitely turn to the page with ghosts.
"Let me do it."
Having just overcome the difficulty of hide-and-seek, Ji Heng can now ask the seven safety questions again.
Unlike the previous smooth progress, the three questions resulted in invalid information.
When I looked at it again, even though I had broadened the scope of the problem, it was still useless.
Ji Heng shook his head: "I'm afraid the copy won't give any more clues."
The few existing words should be the limit of what it can provide. Once exceeded, players may be able to infer the background of the story without any effort.
After hearing this, Suer felt regretful, but not surprised.
He had such an experience once in a copy hosted by a little girl. At that time, he wanted to "force" the cleaner to tell the truth but was stopped by the host. It was a rare occasion for the naughty child to give him a stern warning.
"Don't give up on exploring the background storyline," Ji Heng said clearly for the first time since Su Er chose to explore the dungeon's storyline: "The appearance of the Ghost King means there will definitely be rare items."
The pocket watch is just a sex tool, there are more powerful ones that have not been discovered.
"good."
Su Er is also a person who will not release the eagle until he sees the rabbit. Once he catches a sheep, he must pluck the wool from it.
Now the clues were cut off at the Ghost King, and the Book of Answers could not provide any useful information. They looked at each other, fell silent, and began to think about where to start next.
Just as Su Er was about to start thinking, he was interrupted by a burst of messy footsteps.
He and Ji Heng quickly dodged and found a corner to hide. The girl who ran in was panting and sat on the ground with her back against the wall.
"Gao Rui?" After making sure that there was no ghost behind her, Suer walked out.
Gao Rui's eyes widened with astonishment at first and then with surprise: "You're still alive!"
I thought that the other party had helped lead the headless child away, and that he was in great danger. When I saw Ji Heng not far away, I was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but say my true thoughts: "Big brother, please take me."
Seeing her embarrassed face, Ji Heng asked: "What happened outside?"
"Unfortunately, I turned to the page about the Tortoise and the Hare." Gao Rui looked as if he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Fortunately, I won."
Sur subconsciously looked at her badge again and confirmed that her combat power value was as low as his own, and the other two values were very average. The fact that she was able to survive the battle with the ghost proved that she had other means.
Ji Heng hit the nail on the head: "You're not strong, yet you dare to flip through the book?"
Su Er did not interrupt and allowed Gao Rui to be questioned. This was indeed a doubt that could not be avoided.
"I didn't want to flip it over, it forced me to do it."
Gao Rui smiled bitterly and told what happened after they broke up.
Ever since she saw the headless child, she had become even more timid and wanted to follow Soul's lead and explore the school grounds to see if she could find anything else.
"Who knew that the book of answers on the road would suddenly emit a strong suction force, as if it wanted to pull me in," Gao Rui said with lingering fear: "I had no choice but to flip through the pages at random."
It was hard to judge based on one side of the story, after all, Su Er and Ji Heng had already read it many times before. But if she was telling the truth, it meant that she would have to read the book of answers every once in a while.
It was difficult to judge the time without a clock, so Gao Rui gave a rather uncertain estimate: "This is my first time flipping through a book, and it's been about two hours since I entered the dungeon."
Upon hearing this, Suer's expression became cold, and it was unknown what he was thinking about. Gao Rui didn't dare to disturb him.
After a long pause, he looked up and said to Ji Heng, "The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable to me."
Ji Heng nodded.
Sur had extremely bad luck in the game, and he became a sitting duck for ghosts every time. The pocket watch seemed to be tailor-made for him. If he really had to finally find the hiding place of his diploma, he would have to deal with at least two hundred ghosts before he could do so.
No matter how powerful a player is, there is no guarantee that he can escape from the clutches of evil spirits every time.
Suer sat down on the steps. "Regarding the Book of Answers, it is currently known that the ghosts in it will only target individuals."
This is no secret. Unless you actively call ghosts to play hide-and-seek like before, ghosts will ignore other players at any time and only deal with the people who summoned them.
"I have an idea..."
"I know..."
Two voices sounded at the same time.
They looked at each other, and Su Er hesitated: "It may not succeed, and it will be very dangerous even if it succeeds."
And this goes against their original idea of exploring the main storyline.
Ji Heng: "Just do it if you want to."
With his support, Suhr quickly made a decision.
Just in case, Gao Rui was reminded in advance: "You'd better change places."
Gao Rui was even more decisive: "Give me five minutes."
After saying that, he jumped out of the window and ran away from the back.
She had heard about Su Er's ability to stir up trouble. He was a tough, cunning, and manipulative person. She might be able to win by doing so, but there was always the risk of being killed.
After making sure the person had run a distance, Su Er placed his hand on the cover of the book and asked in his heart with an extremely pious attitude: "Book of Answers, please tell me how to set the ghost sealed in the book free."
Almost the moment the words fell, the book began to vibrate wildly, making a very loud noise.
The ghost king on the second floor couldn't help but walk out of the mirror to see what was going on.
Ji Heng was very close to Su Er, and had already taken out the prop that could make him invisible. When the frequency of the book's vibration slowed down, he nodded and said, "Almost there."
Sur tried to flip through it the first time, but failed. It seemed that there were different forces fighting against each other in the Book of Answers.
I can only continue to wait calmly.
His idea was so simple and crude that it was outrageous. Instead of colliding with different ghosts again and again and wasting time, it would be better to release all the ghosts at once.
The invisibility item can help them hold on for a while. After the ghosts come out, what remains are naturally the safe pages.
There is no need to be nervous. Just look through it casually when the time comes. Just find your diploma before the power of the prop disappears.
"I don't know if it will work." Sur looked at the violently shaking Book of Answers with a deep gaze.
Ghosts want freedom, and the Book of Answers is the container that seals them. There is a natural contradiction between the two.
From the perspective of the Book of Answers, it is definitely intended to provide an insignificant answer.
But the ghost would never allow it to do that.
Once the power of all the ghosts is combined into one, a stalemate is inevitable.
Ji Heng: "The possibility of success is very high."
"Um?"
"Players ask questions, and the Book of Answers responds. This is the basic rule for running a dungeon."
To put it bluntly, it's all about skirting the edge of the game, but the Book of Answers is in a passive state.
Su Er leaned his head on the table, watching the excitement without a care in the world, and cheered the ghost on: "Freedom or death, this is your only chance."
He believed that no player would ever ask this question to the Book of Answers again.
He cleared his throat and read out an 800-word essay on the spot, which was an argumentative essay. Suhr named it "Long Live Freedom."
The Book of Answers, which had originally been vibrating slowly, suddenly erupted into a new round of violent shaking. Faint banging sounds could be heard coming from inside, which automatically made Sur's mind emerge with the image of a coffin lid that could not be held down.
During the fierce confrontation, the Book of Answers suddenly flew out and hit the mirror on the wall.
After a loud bang, the mirror was unfortunately cracked into several pieces.
The little boy who came out to watch the fun was stunned for a few seconds, screamed a few times, and angrily grabbed the book and threw it heavily to the ground.
After being attacked by the Ghost King, the Book of Answers, which was at a disadvantage, completely lost its chance of winning.
Su Er stepped forward at the right time, flicked his fingers lightly, and turned to a page that was no longer a simple vocabulary.
-Please place the book of answers under the Fox Fairy, make a sincere wish, and ask the Fox Fairy to grant good fortune to all the ghosts inside.
"He even used the word 'please,'" Su Er sighed. "It really is the attitude of asking someone to do something for you."
Unfortunately, he believed that the moment the ghosts came out, they would immediately repay kindness with enmity and want to eat the people who gave them freedom.
Soul looked at the little boy and said, "We're going to the third floor."
The little boy began to stand still again, as if thinking.
Ji Heng suddenly said, "The more lively the better."
lively?
The little boy didn't know what kind of picture he imagined, but he was actually pleased by this statement and grinned and agreed happily.
Ghosts like to cause chaos and kill people; this is their nature, and it has been difficult to change their nature since ancient times.
This time, the little boy generously invited Ji Heng to come to the principal's office.
Because the Ghost King had revealed some information when he was doing the test earlier, Su Er easily found the key, opened the cabinet door and found the fox fairy.
Although no one has worshipped the statue for a long time, there is not a speck of dust on it.
The fox fairy was not beautiful, but had a plump body and a red dot between her eyebrows. She looked very dignified at first glance, but when Suer took a second look at her, he was in a trance and met a pair of charming eyes, which made him want to kneel down.
He suppressed this thought and placed the book of answers in front of the fox fairy with Ji Heng.
The two of them retreated to the door tacitly and began to pray according to the method given in the book.
This time his sincerity was not fake. Surben had the idea of releasing the ghost, which was considered very pious.
The surface of the Book of Answers was shining with gold. Ji Heng pulled him back a step. At the same time, several ghostly shadows appeared in front of him and sat in a row on the cover.
"Wonderful." The little boy watched coldly, admiring this almost suicidal scene.
As the shadows gradually increased until they were about to form a small hill, Ji Heng quickly stepped forward and took back the two books of answers, using the invisibility item without hesitation.
Seeing the man suddenly disappear, the little boy raised his eyebrows and wrinkled his nose, trying to smell the scent of prey.
The temperature in the principal's office dropped rapidly, and Suer felt as if his eyelashes were covered with a layer of frost.
"run!"
Ji Heng stuffed the book of answers belonging to Suer into his hands and pulled him out as fast as he could.
Even with the invisibility item, Ji Heng was so careful. It was obvious how dangerous it was at the moment.
Before rushing out, Sur couldn't help but look back, opened his mouth but couldn't utter a syllable.
Almost all of the children who ran out of the Book of Answers were ghosts. Some of them had no eyes, and maggots were coming out of their blood holes. Some of them kept pulling their tongues out, and some even had their intestines all over the floor. The scary thing was that their intestines were still wriggling and extending towards the door.
Ghosts can sense their presence but cannot accurately lock onto their targets.
The destructive power of children is beyond imagination. The food escaped from under their noses, making them very angry. Hundreds of ghosts began to move in the general direction they sensed, freezing many spiders that had made their homes in the corners to death along the way.
During the escape, Suer did not look back until his strength gradually ran out. When he was sure that he had run a long enough distance, he pinched Ji Heng's wrist and signaled him to stop for the time being.
Take advantage of the short break and prepare to look through the book of answers.
However, at this moment, a hand silently covered his shoulder.
Cold and thin.
The hand exerted a little force and the bones made a sound.
Su Er's whole body stiffened, and he turned his almost stiff neck to face a face that was pale under the moonlight.
The moment their eyes met, he went from nearly suffocating to feeling slightly relieved.
The person who appeared behind him was actually the host.
Mr. Dongfeng leaned in his wheelchair, quietly watching Suer and Ji Heng, his slightly wide sleeves rustling in the wind.
After a long time, Dongfeng Jushi finally spoke, but asked an unexpected question.
"What day does the dungeon start today?"
Su Er was stunned and said, "The first day."
"How long has this game been going on?"
Su Er was not too sure: "About... more than two hours."
As a Buddhist host, Dongfeng Jushi prefers to sleep and maintain his health, and usually does not interfere too much with the dungeons. Hearing this, he lowered his eyelids: "So I didn't oversleep..."
When he raised his eyes again, his vision had become extremely sharp. "Then could you please explain why the moment I closed my eyes and opened them, a hundred demons began to parade outside at night?"