Chapter 12 Which Way to Search

“Which way should we search?”

The plague doctor surveyed the silent, lifeless campus and said, “Let’s start with the school history museum. It’s the most likely place to find clues.”

The hints from those seven voices were too vague and lacked any relevant clues. Analyzing them now would be pointless.

It would be better to search a few more locations while the sun was still up (if this place even has day and night).

Muma and Li Ang didn’t object. The three of them walked side-by-side toward the administration building.

Everything was uneventful along the way.

But when they stepped inside the administration building, they were all pushed back outside by an invisible, intangible force.

[Only one player can enter a building at a time.]

The system notification rang in their ears, and the three players couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

“What do we do?”

Muma looked gloomily at the entrance of the administration building and said, “In horror movies, whoever gets separated usually runs into a ghost and gets a game over.

With this system setting, our advantage in numbers is completely gone.”

The plague doctor took a deep breath and took out two walkie-talkies from his backpack, handing one to Li Ang.

“Since I suggested it, I’ll search the administration building. You guys wait downstairs. I’ll contact you immediately if anything happens.”

Li Ang took the walkie-talkie and thought for a moment, stopping the plague doctor who was about to enter the administration building. “Wait, let me do a test first.”

“Hmm?”

The plague doctor stopped and watched Li Ang take out a silenced handgun, firing it into the open doorway.

*Da da da.*

The bullets passed through the invisible, intangible wall and hit the walls inside the administration building, leaving holes.

He put down the handgun and, after looking around, picked up a small stone from the lawn outside the door.

He skipped the stone into the administration building’s lobby, just like skipping stones on water—it wasn’t deflected either.

“Players can’t enter, but projectiles can…”

Li Ang muttered to himself, plucking a hair and placing it on his finger.

With a “whoosh,” he blew it through the doorway. Then, he bit off a fingernail and threw it into the administration building.

Muma’s expression was a bit strange. “Li-xiong, what are you doing?”

“Testing this so-called restriction.”

Li Ang bent down, picked up the hair and fingernail that had fallen inside, and put them into the chest pocket of his S.W.A.T. uniform.

“The source of the air wall has at least three possibilities: one, the system set it up to increase the difficulty of the task or to protect players;

two, it’s an inherent ‘rule’ of this place;

and three, it comes from the abilities of certain ghosts.

Figuring out the source of the air wall is extremely important for us to safely complete the mission.”

“Uh…” Muma scratched his cheek and said, “Do you have an answer now?”

Li Ang smiled confidently. “Not at all.”

*Then what were you doing just now?*

Muma thought to himself.

But then he heard Li Ang say, “There’s no way. We don’t have enough information to make an effective judgment.

But we at least know now that inanimate objects, including bullets, and parts of organs that fall from a player’s body,

can pass through this invisible restriction.

As long as we run to the lobby on the first floor, we can stand outside the door and provide assistance.

And…”

Li Ang took out a drone, controlled it to fly into the administration building, hovered in the lobby, adjusted the camera angle, and looked at the three people outside the door.

Li Ang said to the plague doctor, “My helicopter can scout ahead, so at least you’ll have some time to evade or prepare to fight when you encounter a ghost.”

That was good news.

The plague doctor nodded and followed the drone into the administration building.

The building was deathly silent. The setting sun shone through the glass windows, illuminating the corridor and dyeing the floor a mix of red and orange.

The plague doctor with the bird-beak mask strode forward, his wooden staff gently tapping the ground.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Each time the staff struck the step, the outline of the entire building became clearer in the plague doctor’s mind.

[Skill Name: Echo Location]

[Type: Psionic]

[Effect: After the player actively makes a sound, they can use the echo to detect the terrain and landforms of the surrounding environment. Can detect psionic reactions.]

[Consumption: Consumes 1% of total psionic power per minute]

[Learning conditions: Perception attribute greater than or equal to 9 points]

[Note: Do not use in the bath! Violators will be treated as peeping toms!]

Despite the somewhat humorous note, this skill was actually quite powerful.

Not only could it form a completely transparent map of the terrain in his mind, like having a see-through cheat, but it could also detect ghosts and allow him to avoid them in advance.

The drone flew in front, and the plague doctor followed behind, safely reaching the school history museum.

The museum contained various items, such as modern and contemporary cultural relics of historical value, student award trophies, school banners, and books recording the history of the school.

The plague doctor roughly browsed for a while but didn’t find any useful clues.

As he thought, if anything terrible had really happened at this middle school, it would never be recorded in the school history.

“There’s nothing of value here. I’m going upstairs to take a look,”

The disappointed plague doctor said into the walkie-talkie and walked out of the school history museum, heading up the stairs.

He searched the library, the computer room, and even the administration building’s rooftop, but still found no trace of any ghosts.

“I’m going downstairs.”

The plague doctor walked down the stairs with the Echo Location skill activated when he suddenly heard a commotion from below.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

It sounded like something heavy was slamming into the steps.

The plague doctor took a deep breath, turned, and hid beside the wall at the corner of the staircase, exchanging a glance with the drone hovering in the air.

Here it comes.

Outside the administration building, Li Ang narrowed his eyes and whispered into the walkie-talkie, “Stay where you are. I’ll fly down and take a look.”

With that, Li Ang controlled the drone to descend, flying down the staircase.

The black-haired Muma leaned over, nervously watching the screen of the remote control.

*Thump! Thump!*

The sound of the heavy object falling grew louder and closer. As it turned a corner, Li Ang finally saw what was making the noise.

It was a person standing upside down on the stairs.

He was supporting himself with his hands on the ground, his waist resting against the railing, his legs straight up in the air.

Since he was facing away from the drone’s camera, his face couldn’t be seen.

But judging from the school uniform he was wearing and his thin figure, he was probably still a student.

“This is…” the black-haired Muma gasped.

He saw the upside-down schoolboy leaning on the railing, slowly pushing himself up with his hands.

His arms made cracking sounds, as if bones were breaking, supporting him with great difficulty as he climbed the last step, reaching the platform between the two floors.

After reaching the platform, his trembling arms could no longer support his weight, and his head slammed onto the stone step with a “thump.”

Blood flowed down the stairs, merging with the long, winding path of bloodstains below.

As if realizing something, the upside-down boy on the platform supported himself

with his arms, twisting around.

Having been repeatedly smashed during his “thump, thump, thump” journey, his head was badly injured. The top of his head was shattered, half of his head caved in.

Through the blood-soaked, messy hair, one could see fragments of pale skull, as well as indescribable clumps of red and white matter inside the skull.

The upside-down boy looked silently at the drone hovering in the air with his fish-like bulging eyes.

Deathly silence.

He was probably the boy in the system’s hint who said, “My head hurts.”

Li Ang took a deep breath, placed his hands on the controller, and slowly retreated the drone.

However, the upside-down boy moved.

His arms suddenly tensed, showing no signs of sluggishness or clumsiness. Like two legs running as fast as the wind, they supported him as he rushed toward the drone.