Just as the chill struck him, Chen Mo abruptly turned his head. Not far ahead, the flashlight ghost stood silently before them, with a dark forest behind it. Pale moonlight filtered through the sparse trees, casting a long, darker shadow in front of the ghostly figure.
Looking around, Chen Mo’s heart sank again. The moment the flashlight ghost reappeared, their surroundings had shifted in an instant. They had clearly been on the playground just moments ago, yet now a strange small forest surrounded them.
This ghost actually possessed the ability to teleport!
Even more terrifying was that the red-dressed female ghost, radiating intense resentment, had her neck twisted right before their eyes, her spirit instantly dissipating into black mist.
Ghosts were immortal and indestructible. Though the red-dressed female ghost couldn’t be killed, her spirit would take time to recover after being dispersed. Even she couldn’t stand against this ghost—its怨力 (resentful power) was far too overwhelming.
So-called unsolvable ghosts were truly unbeatable existences!
“Forget it! Run!”
Chen Mo shouted, turning and bolting without hesitation. The others snapped out of it and fled as well.
With no way to fight this ghost, their only option was to run.
Leaving this haunted school wouldn’t be easy. The ghost’s teleportation ability was utterly inescapable. Even if they got close to the exit, the moment it appeared, it could instantly relocate them elsewhere.
And this forest… this forest…
Looking ahead, the sparse trees layered endlessly, stretching beyond sight. He vaguely recalled that there was indeed a small forest in front of the student dormitory. The ghost’s teleportation must have brought them here. But he clearly remembered this forest wasn’t large—they shouldn’t have run this long without seeing an exit.
No doubt, the ghost was meddling. Chen Mo looked up again. A crescent moon hung above the treetops, casting silver light. If not for their life-or-death situation, it would have been a beautiful scene. But now, a terrifying ghost clung to them like a relentless bone-gnawing maggot!
As time passed, Chen Mo felt a burning pain in his chest. Running like this wasn’t a solution. If they couldn’t break the ghost’s ability to warp space, this sparse forest would become everyone’s grave.
They had already obtained the key—only one step away from leaving!
But the ghost’s power made it impossible to reach the final escape. Had they missed some step before this?
Turning back to check, Dai Minghan suddenly gasped. The flashlight ghost, which had been chasing them relentlessly, had vanished again.
Pausing, a thought flashed through Dai Minghan’s mind: Did this ghost still follow the pattern of disappearing for a while each time?
No—the story’s hint had clearly said all restrictions were lifted…
Just as he thought this, Chen Mo’s shout rang out: “Watch out!”
A dim yellow light pierced through the trees. The vanished ghost had abruptly appeared before him. At close range, a face shrouded in black mist loomed into view. In its hand was a blood-stained pen, thrusting straight for his left eye.
The sudden change happened too fast. Dai Minghan froze, unable to move. Lin Tianheng roared, pulling out a spirit-banishing dagger to strike, but it was too late…
In that instant, neither Su Mu’s red-dressed female ghost nor Chen Mo’s skin-masked possession could save Dai Minghan!
As for Dai Minghan, in this life-or-death moment, he felt no fear. Staring at the ghost’s face, so close yet hidden by black mist, a strange thought crossed his mind.
Why won’t this ghost show its true face?
They had fully uncovered the story behind this mission. The flashlight ghost had no reason to hide its appearance.
Even in the moment of killing me, it refuses to reveal its true face—unless…
Unless it’s not Chen Mingyuan’s ghost?
And once its true face is seen, the participants would immediately know how to defeat it!
This realization shocked Dai Minghan to his core. But he had no time to dwell on it, nor could he share this guess with the others.
Eyes wide, Dai Minghan let out a silent roar as he watched the sharp pen tip hurtling toward him. Though just a pen, in the ghost’s hand, it was a deadly weapon.
Yet in that instant, the ghost’s movement suddenly froze! The face wreathed in black mist seemed to show a flicker of confusion.
As if it didn’t know what it was doing!
What was happening?
Not just Dai Minghan, but Lin Tianheng, Chen Mo, and Su Mu were all stunned. Then, from deep in the forest, footsteps sounded, and two figures emerged.
“Jiang Rou? Pan Long?”
Shrouded in faint mist, Jiang Rou’s face carried an air of mystery. Seeing the two emerge from the trees, Su Mu’s brow furrowed deeply, her tone icy.
“What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Jiang Rou blinked, her face showing a hurt expression. “Su Mu, you’re still so cold. If you keep this up, I won’t save you next time.”
“What do you mean?”
Jiang Rou blinked again, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. “Su Mu, you got the key, didn’t you? I knew as soon as I got the hint. I don’t know how you found the principal’s office, but you missed something important.”
“What you missed, we figured out. Want to know what it is?”
Su Mo seemed impatient: “Say it if you’re going to. No need for theatrics.”
“She doesn’t need to say it—I just figured it out myself,” Chen Mo suddenly spoke.
Jiang Rou paused: “What did you figure out?”
“The student cards restrict the ghost students and the participants. According to the story’s balance, there should be something that restricts the ghost teachers. We didn’t find it before entering the principal’s office and taking the key.”
“Let me guess—this school must have a staff room. Inside, there should be an item that can still restrict the ghost teachers even after the story’s limits are lifted. Otherwise, this mission would be unsolvable!”
For the first time, Jiang Rou’s calm expression flickered with surprise: “You actually guessed it.”
“That’s right. We gathered all four password numbers but couldn’t find the principal’s office. Instead, we found… the staff room! In there, we discovered an item that should also be a key prop for this mission.”