Chapter 12

The little girl’s voice sounded again, this time very softly.
“I found you.”
Though her voice was soft, amidst the clamor of countless children, every player clearly heard her words.
It was like a whisper spoken directly into every player’s ear.
All sounds abruptly ceased.
Gu Yi’an glanced back at the players behind her.
Their expressions varied, some panicked, some calm.
“Did you all hear that too?” Gu Yi’an asked.
The players exchanged glances, each seeing the others’ faces.
Since there was no hiding it, everyone admitted it.
Gu Yi’an raised an eyebrow.
If only she had heard it, that would mean her death was imminent. But since everyone had heard it, did that mean the little girl and Mr. Demon were separate entities?
Interesting.
Gu Yi’an glanced toward the end of the hallway, there was a restroom, but beside it, before the restroom, was a staircase.
She headed straight for the staircase.
Some players vaguely realized what Gu Yi’an intended to do and followed her, while others wanted to stay put.
A player who remained in place shouted, “Aren’t you waiting for the demon to appear?”
“The demon said we’re free to move around. Where are you going?”
“Wait for me!”
Seeing everyone leave, this player, left alone, felt a creeping fear and eventually followed as well.
Gu Yi’an heard the commotion behind her.
More people made things easier, so she had no reason to stop them from following.
Some players tried to strike up a conversation with Gu Yi’an, but she was descending the stairs and didn’t respond.
At first, they chatted among themselves, but soon they realized that talking while quickly going down the stairs was exhausting, so they fell silent one by one.
As Gu Yi’an had expected, this building was originally a school.
The school building had four exits in total, front and back.
Gu Yi’an chose the exit closest to the butcher’s corpse.
Her intention was to take a look at the butcher’s condition and then leave, but several other players rushed to the butcher’s body ahead of her.
The man who had previously held the Sage card, with his sharp, cunning features, dashed out even faster than the others.
His hand casually swept over the butcher's corpse from top to bottom, but in an instant, he was clutching something in his grasp.
"Hey, you've got some nerve. Hiding something right in front of us."
A player, noticing that the looter's first instinct was to stuff whatever he'd found into his clothes, immediately called him out.
The sharp-faced, scrawny man realized he had drawn the group's ire and gave an awkward smile, opening his hand to reveal what he held.
"It's just a slip of paper."
The other players weren't buying it.
"We're all seasoned players here, cut the act. Only items obtained in the game can be carried into a new round."
"It really is just a slip of paper." The sharp-faced man's voice sounded genuinely aggrieved.
But the expressions on the players' faces said it all, they didn't believe him.
Gu Yi'an didn't believe him either.
After all, the coffin she had brought into this round of the game was still just a small trinket, lying in her clothes pocket.
Who knew? That slip of paper might be of great use.
With so many players eyeing it, it was unlikely to remain in the sharp-faced man's possession.
Gu Yi'an had no intention of lingering any longer and was about to leave.
But then a player read aloud the words on the slip.
"Please call me, 4444, at your service anytime."
That sounded like a call from beyond the grave.
Gu Yi'an turned and headed toward the bulletin board standing by the roadside.
Below the teaching building, bulletin boards usually displayed important notices.
Fortunately, this one had a transparent protective cover.
Gu Yi'an picked up some fallen leaves from the ground, wiped away the dust from the center of the cover, and successfully glimpsed a sheet of paper posted inside.
It was a notice from the school, cautioning the students.
"Do not fabricate rumors, do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors."
Reading this, Gu Yi'an knew that something must have happened at this school back in the day.
The challenge now was figuring out how to uncover the specifics of that incident.
Gu Yi'an took another look inside the bulletin board. The posted notice seemed to be affixed over a map of the school.
"Little Thief, should we take it apart?"
A voice came from behind Gu Yi'an.
She turned to see that all five of the other players were there.
The one who had spoken was the same player who had been talkative and active earlier.
Gu Yi'an thought for a moment and recalled that his card seemed to be the Swindler.
The Swindler was a rather enthusiastic male player, young, energetic, and decent-looking, making it easy for others to let their guard down.
He noticed Gu Yi'an's intention to look at the school map and directly asked if she wanted to dismantle the bulletin board.
Of course, Gu Yi'an agreed. The protective cover was so dirty that even wiping it with leaves couldn’t clean it.
The other players had no objections.
A minute later, the six players stood behind the bulletin board and opened it from the back.
Gu Yi'an tore off the notice and saw the full layout of the school.
The office building was to the right of the two teaching buildings.
Gu Yi'an glanced toward the right side of the teaching buildings.
At first glance, there was only an empty lawn, not a trace of the office building in sight.
Hesitating for a moment, Gu Yi'an still walked toward the spot where the office building should have been.
The other five players followed behind her, chatting casually.
The second night hadn’t arrived yet, so they weren’t in a hurry.
Everything would wait until the second night came, after Gu Yi'an died, and they could figure out the rules of this round of the game.
The conversation was initiated by the enthusiastic Swindler.
He was exceptionally candid, saying that he rarely encountered a game where all players were veterans, so he wanted to take this opportunity to exchange tips and experiences with everyone.
Since they had just searched the Butcher’s body together and now shared the small note item from the Butcher, the five players felt a sense of closeness.
From the small note incident, they could tell that each of them was a veteran who had experienced at least two rounds of the game.
It was rare to have a game where all players were veterans, so the secrets they usually had to hide in their own worlds could now be shared with equals.
As the saying goes, "Don’t hit a smiling face." The Swindler’s warm and sincere invitation to chat stirred the interest of the other players. After a brief hesitation, they agreed upon his second invitation.
Although Gu Yi'an was walking at the front of the group, she was curious about the other players’ gaming experiences. She didn’t deliberately slow her pace but still paid some attention to the conversation behind her.
Their discussion was actually quite interesting, easing some of the pressure Gu Yi'an felt about the approaching second night.
For example, they talked about the bizarre ways players cleared levels.
Some made a living through deception, they once encountered a veteran player who pretended to be a newbie, giving false hints and leading a group of players in circles.
Others took a creative approach by focusing on cooking, turning a terrifying survival game into a culinary adventure, to the point where even the ghosts enjoyed the food.
The world of the Game of the Gods was strange and unpredictable, so each round was randomized, with the difficulty depending entirely on luck.
Easy games might end in just an hour, while difficult ones might still have no survivors to this day.
The Game of the Gods was just that arbitrary.
Because the God was that capricious.
When in a good mood, the God would throw players into difficult games to train them.
When in a bad mood, the God would throw players into difficult games to torment them.
But no matter the difficulty, players still had to praise the God as fair, just, and merciful...
After hearing this, the Swindler concluded, "How can it be so shameless?"
His summary resonated with everyone.
However, due to the psychological scars left by past game experiences, the other players urged the Swindler not to speak that way.
Even though an unknown demon had appeared in this game to watch them, given God's pettiness... ahem, God's omniscience, He might have heard the Swindler's words.
If God had heard those words, it would be disastrous, He would never let the Swindler off easily.
The consequences of earning God's hatred were dire. He wouldn't let the player die; He would make them wish they were dead.
Death was God's most merciful punishment.
Upon hearing this, the Swindler first thanked everyone for their concern, then said dismissively, "That demon clearly isn't someone to be trifled with. No black text appeared in the sky this round. He dares to call himself God, but I doubt our God can even hear him."
At the Swindler's words, the players' expressions shifted. One player in particular wore a clear look of disapproval.
It was the player holding the Merchant card. He coughed lightly and said tactfully, "God enjoys interesting things and often engages in amusing activities."
"What kind of amusing activities?" the Swindler asked directly.
The Merchant seemed to have a favorable impression of the Swindler, so he answered frankly, "He might personally join the game to play with us."
"You mean the demon could be God?" the Swindler clarified.
The Merchant nodded. "It's likely a manifestation of God's will. God's true form cannot descend into our world. He exists in a higher dimension."
The Swindler understood.
He narrowed his eyes and gave the Merchant a meaningful look, saying ambiguously, "You're very well-informed."
This remark struck the Merchant as odd, but the next moment, the Swindler was all enthusiasm again, so the Merchant dismissed it as his own paranoia.
Meanwhile, Gu Yi'an, who was ahead of the other players, pondered thoughtfully.
According to the Merchant's words, was God a higher-dimensional being?
Gu Yi'an and her group had already arrived at the grassy area marked as the office building on the map. At a glance, the lawn was lush and green.
It looked perfectly normal.
The other players guessed that Gu Yi'an wanted to search the office building for information, but the current problem was that the office building couldn't be found.
Since they couldn't locate the office building, the other players grew lazy.
With their time of death still far off, most chose to adopt a detached attitude, coldly observing Gu Yi'an's actions.
Only the Swindler was actively trying to help Gu Yi'an.
On the death list, the Swindler was slated to die on the third night.
The other players weren't surprised by the Swindler's behavior, and Gu Yi'an didn't find it unusual either.
Gu Yi'an walked along the edge of the road, inspecting the lawn, with the Swindler following closely.
As they walked, the Swindler remarked, "I don't see it. Could it be hidden?"
Gu Yi’an ignored him, what he said was nonsense.
Everyone knew the office building was hidden.
The key was to find the entrance to the office building, and to find the entrance, they first needed to determine the building's location.
The general location had already been identified, it was within the lawn.
Gu Yi’an glanced at the withered leaves on the ground and an idea came to her.