"Brother Long, that woman was right. They have more people. Why not stick with them? Why go solo?"
No sooner had they walked a short distance than one of the participants in the second group showed a puzzled expression. But upon hearing his words, Pan Long burst into laughter. "What do you know? I deliberately let those guys go ahead and take the fall. Why would we follow them?"
"Brother Long, what do you mean by that? I don't get it," said the speaker, Zheng Zihao, a bespectacled, bookish young man. Though not a complete novice, he had only completed one official mission of his own.
When Zheng Zihao spoke up, another member of the group also looked confused, but being more reserved, he didn't voice his doubts as quickly.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Pan Long laughed again, then suddenly his face darkened. "What do you take this mission for? A friendly game where everyone plays nice?"
"This is a supernatural world from a horror story. This mission is a team task. Since it's a team task, it's about ranking and competition. Being so naive and defenseless—how will you even know when someone's set you up to die?"
"But then again... heh heh!"
Zheng Zihao's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Brother Long, what are you laughing at?"
The third person chimed in at just the right moment. "I bet Brother Long has already found a clue the others missed, which is why he's having our second group act alone, letting those guys waste their efforts!"
"Song Ze, you're a real clever one!" Pan Long slapped the skinny young man beside him on the shoulder, a smug look spreading across his face. "Take a look at this."
The white paper in front of them was clearly torn from somewhere, but that wasn't the point. What mattered was the content written on it.
Shizhu Middle School Entry and Exit Management Regulations (Part 3)
Student Card Usage Instructions: Use the student card at the check-in machine to obtain temporary entry and exit permissions. For safety reasons, students are prohibited from entering or exiting alone during lock-up hours. Each person who checks in will receive a password digit. After checking in, use the student card to enter the principal's office. Use the four-digit password to open the drawer of the principal's desk to obtain the spare key.
Note: The check-in machine is located in the lobby of the main building.
"This is... page three of the regulations!"
In other words, the third hint for this team mission!
After reading the content on the white paper, Zheng Zihao, Song Ze, and the others were stunned, especially Zheng Zihao, who felt a deep shock. He never imagined that beneath Pan Long's seemingly rough exterior lay such a calculating mind. Not only had he discovered this crucial clue first, but he had also hidden it from the other participants, concealing this vital hint!
Connecting the three pages of regulations, the true requirements of the mission became clear—participants must first use their student cards at the check-in machine to get password digits. Once all four had obtained their digits, they would use the checked-in student cards to enter the principal's office, then use the password to open the desk drawer and retrieve the spare key that could unlock the gate.
In other words, the seemingly simple "leave school" mission actually required a series of complex steps, each likely fraught with deadly dangers.
Without this page of hints, the other participants wouldn't know that the principal's office could only be opened with a checked-in student card. Using an unchecked card to go there might instead trigger the mission's lethal traps.
Weren't they... indirectly harming the others?
Zheng Zihao's heart pounded erratically. Not long ago, he was just a top student with normal values, full of hope and confidence for the future. Now, trapped in this bizarre world, he was already scheming to survive at others' expense. This realization filled him with immense dismay.
"Is this... what they call a team mission?"
Though the mission didn't state it explicitly, there was likely only one spare key in the principal's office. That meant among the four groups, only the fastest one would have a chance to leave early, while the others would have to stay in this notoriously haunted school for a full twelve hours!
Surviving those twelve hours would be incredibly difficult.
So this horror story essentially forced the four groups to compete for the sole chance to leave early.
Thinking this, Zheng Zihao felt a sudden chill and completely abandoned any sympathy he had. After all, no one's life mattered more than his own!
No wonder his team leader had hidden the crucial third page—only by doing so could they gain the upper hand!
"Right, the student card..."
Zheng Zihao's brow twitched as he reached into his pocket. Sure enough, he felt a thin card. Pulling it out, he saw it was a student card with his name on it.
And the true first step of this mission was to take this card to the main building and check in!
Not just Zheng Zihao, but at that moment, Song Ze and Zhou Chuhan—the only silent member of the second group—also found their own student cards in their pockets.
Of course, these cards, placed in their pockets from the start of the mission, would eventually be discovered by the other participants, but that was a story for later.
Using the last glimmer of twilight, the group oriented themselves and then hurried toward another building.
---
Meanwhile, Dai Minghan, reaching into his pocket, let out a soft "Huh." Habitually trying to pull out a cigarette, he instead found something else—a thin card.
"Is this... a student card?"
"Speaking of which, I have one too," Lin Tianheng said with a grin, making the card appear and disappear in his hand like a magic trick.
Chen Mo glanced at Su Mu, who nodded back at him.
So everyone had a student card on them. Pan Long and his group, who had just left, must have noticed this too.
Chen Mo took out his own "student card" and flipped it over. There was a magnetic strip on the back, clearly meant to be swiped somewhere.
This student card wasn't just a reminder of their student roles—it was likely an important mission item.