Chapter 30

Gu Yi’an remained silent, but the line of black text stubbornly hovered in mid-air.
She hesitated for a moment. The last time God heard her say she liked Xiao Ze, He let her go.
Maybe this time she should just say she likes Xiao Ze again?
In this round of the game, Gu Yi’an had noticed that Lu Zize’s name contained the character “Ze,” and since he was a major character in the game, she suspected he might very well be God’s alternate identity.
But Lu Zize himself had never claimed to be God.
The Divine Eye System seemed more like the mischievous God’s alternate identity.
Now that she had left the game, she had no way of knowing the real truth.
Gu Yi’an said, “I like Xiao Ze.”
The black text seemed to tremble slightly, then instantly transformed into another sentence.
[Why?]
God was actually pressing further.
Gu Yi’an thought for a moment and replied, “Xiao Ze was once kind.”
Xiao Ze had been kind once, not consistently kind.
Compared to God, whose personality was malicious and whose thoughts were completely unfathomable, Xiao Ze would help an elderly person who had fallen. He had shown kindness.
Gu Yi’an couldn’t be entirely kind herself, but she liked kind people.
The black text in mid-air disappeared.
A notebook that Gu Yi’an recognized floated into her hands.
If she remembered correctly, this seemed to be Lu Zize’s diary.
As soon as she thought this, several lines of black text appeared in mid-air, introducing the diary.
[Item: Lu Zize’s Diary. It has only one special trait: anyone whose name is written in it dies. If you have enemies, why not write their names in it? Perhaps they’ll die someday.]
Why did this description sound like a death note, where writing a name would kill someone?
Gu Yi’an recalled the contents she had browsed earlier in the notebook, it was Lu Zize’s records of the personalities and preferences of the people he encountered.
She belatedly realized that Lu Zize’s purpose in writing the diary was to specifically note down the characteristics of his targets, using them to carry out premeditated murders disguised as accidents.
The notebook had already landed in Gu Yi’an’s hands, so she casually opened it to take a look.
Upon doing so, she discovered that the contents she had seen in the game world had vanished. The pages were now filled with nothing but rows of horizontal lines, with no written text.
Gu Yi’an was puzzled for a moment when suddenly, on the second line of the notebook’s inner page, a line of black text appeared, written in what looked like a fluid, cursive script.
“I never wrote your name.”
Gu Yi’an: “…”
Was this space haunted even in the pure white realm?
Gu Yi’an fell silent and, without hesitation, closed the notebook.
Then, freeing one hand, she reached into her pocket intending to take out her Sage card to calm herself down but unexpectedly touched another object.
It was spherical in shape, with an uneven surface and a matte texture.
Gu Yi’an had a guess. She took the object out and held it up to her eyes.
Sure enough, it was a piece of candy Tang Jiu had given her.
Could the candy be brought back because it had some special quality?
Gu Yi'an looked up and saw the item description in mid-air had changed.
[Item: Candy (One-time Communication Tool). Have a dream, in dreams, anything is possible.]
Gu Yi'an stared at the black text and, after a moment's thought, understood how to use the candy.
Eat the candy, then meet the person you want to see in a dream.
Gu Yi'an put the candy back into her pocket and then took out her Sage Card.
When she had picked up the candy earlier, she had felt something strange, her Sage Card seemed to have shrunk, and its texture felt odd.
But at that time, her attention was on the candy, so she hadn't thought much about the card.
Now, as she took it out for a closer look, she realized, this wasn't her Sage Card at all. It was clearly Lu Zize's bank card!
Gu Yi'an checked her other pocket.
Still nothing.
Her card had vanished without a trace.
Stay calm.
Gu Yi'an tried to recall how long it had been since she last touched the card.
She remembered, it seemed she hadn't handled it since Tang Jiu's death.
When had Tang Jiu taken her card?
After Tang Jiu died, Gu Yi'an hadn't searched her for any items.
She guessed that if Tang Jiu were still alive, the Sage Card would be with her. If Tang Jiu were dead, the card might have ended up somewhere else, perhaps picked up by another player someday.
Gu Yi'an felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
That Tang Jiu, kind enough to give her advice, but then swiping the reward right from under her nose.
Oh well. She hoped Tang Jiu was still alive so they could meet again someday.
Gu Yi'an didn't dwell too much on the Sage Card. Lost was lost, holding onto it would only make her unhappy.
Besides, relying too much on external help would only weaken her own abilities.
If one day that external help suddenly disappeared, she might be left with no choice but to wait for death.
Gu Yi'an had a positive mindset. At that moment, her gaze swept through the air and landed on the black text that had changed once again.
The black text was an introduction to the card in her hand.
[Item: Lu Zize's Bank Card. It's just a bank card. Apart from withdrawing money, it serves no other purpose.]
Gu Yi'an tucked the card back into her pocket.
At that moment, the black text before her eyes dissipated like smoke, and simultaneously, the pure white space in front of her suddenly split apart from the center.
Gu Yi'an had returned to her own world.
And this time, she hadn't lost her memories of the game world. Because the god hadn't granted her the privilege of ten peaceful days.
Before Gu Yi'an entered the game world this time, she was in her rented apartment.
She rented a single room with a bedroom and a bathroom. Besides the sleeping area, there was also a set of a desk and a chair.
Gu Yi'an stood in the open space of the room, walked over to the desk, pulled out the chair, sat down, and placed the notebook in her hand on the desktop.
She looked at the notebook and asked, "Lu Zize?"
The notebook seemed to react for a moment before slowly opening its inner pages on its own.
On the second line of the blank inner page, a line of text silently appeared.
"Yi'an guessed it was me. I'm so happy."
It even included a smiling emoji at the end of the text.
It was indeed Lu Zize.
Gu Yi'an's impression of Lu Zize was that he was a true psychopath.
Unpredictable and unfathomable.
Lu Zize never spoke a single truthful word, every word and action of his had an ulterior motive.
Out of a hundred sentences he spoke, ninety-nine were lies, and the remaining one was meant to deceive you into believing his lies.
Gu Yi'an treated him as a formidable enemy.
"Why are you in the notebook?" Gu Yi'an asked.
A new line of text appeared on the paper.
"Because I'm dead."
Gu Yi'an looked at these words and didn't believe them at all.
How could Lu Zize, who managed to evade the pursuit of the law enforcement team, die so easily?
Besides, there were no ghosts in the previous world.
What was the deal with this notebook containing Lu Zize's ghost?
Perhaps only God knew.
Gu Yi'an stopped paying attention to the notebook and Lu Zize inside it.
Since he had deliberately followed her into this world, it was unlikely that he intended to kill her.
He had plenty of opportunities to kill her in the game world, so why wait until this world to do it?
But then again, with someone as unpredictable as Lu Zize, it was entirely possible that he really did come to this world just to kill her.
This completely contradictory possibility made Gu Yi'an even less inclined to bother with the notebook.
Gu Yi'an took out all the items from her clothes and placed them on the desktop.
Her clothes had already changed from the investigator's uniform to her own attire, and the small coffin had transformed into a tiny accessory hanging from her phone.
Two days had passed in the game world, and Gu Yi'an planned to take a good shower and change into fresh clothes.
As Gu Yi'an's figure disappeared behind the bathroom door, the sound of running water could be heard from inside.
The lid of the small coffin on the phone suddenly opened on its own, revealing a doll of a little girl lying inside, no more than two centimeters tall.
The doll was extremely small but exquisitely detailed, from the delicate features of the little girl's face to her beautiful little dress, and even the strands of her hair were finely crafted from black threads.
The little girl nimbly flipped out of the small coffin and approached the notebook. She spoke with great reverence, "God."
The black text that had just appeared to Gu Yi'an on the inner pages of the notebook vanished.
The notebook stood upright, and lines of black text flashed across its pages.
The little girl looked up at the text on the notebook.
After a moment, the little girl spoke again with reverence, "Yes. At your command, God, "
The sound of running water masked her voice.
The little girl quickly corrected herself, "At your command, Lord Lu."
The notebook remained aloof. It paid no further attention to the little girl and lay back down, returning to its original state.
The little girl took her leave, climbing back into her small coffin and pulling the lid shut herself, reverting to a coffin-shaped pendant.
After Gu Yi'an finished her bath and passed by the desk, she glanced at the surface.
Everything remained as it was.
The notebook lay open.
Her scattered items and tools were just as she had left them.
Good. Lu Zize hadn’t caused any trouble.
As long as he didn’t stir up trouble, her life would remain peaceful.
Gu Yi’an suddenly realized she was quite concerned about Lu Zize’s presence.
Even in his current state as a notebook, she still worried he might cause a scene.
Gu Yi’an retrieved the hairdryer and sat down at the desk, using the makeup mirror on the table to dry her hair.
The hum of the hairdryer was soft, but its power was undeniable. Water droplets turned to mist and rose into the air, carrying the fragrance of her shampoo.
Gu Yi’an inadvertently glanced at the notebook on the desk.
The text on its pages had changed again.
"Smells nice."
What?
Gu Yi’an instinctively raised an eyebrow.
The notebook seemed to notice her expression.
It offered an explanation.
"You smell nice."
Gu Yi’an felt her face grow warm from the hairdryer’s heat.
Not only that, her mind felt a bit feverish too.
She turned off the hairdryer and set it aside.
Her swift movements were a stark contrast to her usual calm demeanor.
A new line of text appeared on the notebook’s page.
"You seem a bit upset? Why?"
Without hesitation, Gu Yi’an snapped the notebook shut firmly. Then, she piled several thick textbooks on top of it.
From now on, she didn’t want to see a single word from this notebook!
Why else?
Of course, because his words were far too ambiguous.
After forcibly suppressing Lu Zize in his notebook form, Gu Yi’an finally felt composed enough to attend to her own matters.
She checked today’s class schedule, it matched her memory, with only afternoon classes.
Gu Yi’an then opened her phone.
There was one missed call and an unread text message, both from her brother in this life, Gu Tianjing.
In this lifetime, Gu Yi’an had few familial ties. Her mother had given birth to her hoping to teach her older brother, Gu Tianjing, how to care for and be tolerant of others. But how could the unruly Gu Tianjing ever be willing to learn such things?
He was six years older than Gu Yi'an. As a child, he would throw tantrums every day, insisting that Gu Yi'an be stuffed back into their mother’s womb, he didn’t like this doll-like sibling at all.
Most of the elders in the Gu family favored boys over girls, revolving around Gu Tianjing. Gu Yi'an, being obedient and well-behaved, rarely caused trouble, so they paid little attention to her.
By the time Gu Yi'an graduated from high school, an incident occurred where her entire class perished. From then on, Gu’s mother regarded Gu Yi'an as an ill omen and couldn’t bear to see her daughter, who seemed tainted by something sinister. She believed Gu Yi'an had been too clever and perceptive from a young age, convinced that she must have been possessed by a ghost as a child.
Gu’s mother’s beliefs influenced most of the Gu family. They thought that if even the child’s own mother felt there was something wrong with her, then there must indeed be a problem.
However, Gu Tianjing, her older brother, was an exception.
When Gu Tianjing first heard that everyone in Gu Yi'an’s class had died, he was extremely curious and rushed to her hospital room to ask for details, while also teasing her about how someone as disciplined as her had stayed up late binge-watching dramas.
In truth, he wasn’t much better himself. At twenty-four, he still had the mindset of a boy and was deeply fascinated by such events.
Normally, Gu Yi'an would calmly brush off such matters, but that day, she broke down completely. The true friends she had made in this lifetime were all gone.
That day, Gu Yi'an said nothing, silently shedding tears for a long, long time.
Gu Tianjing was taken aback by her reaction.
Gu Yi'an rarely cried. No matter how much he had bullied her in the past, she had always remained composed and deflected his provocations effortlessly.
But this time, Gu Yi'an was crying.
Gu Tianjing grew irritated watching her. "So what if your friends died? You can always make new ones."
Gu Yi'an shook her head. "I have nothing left."
At that moment, she truly felt there was nothing left in the world for her. Her family didn’t love her, and her friends had all left her on the same day.
Gu Tianjing was baffled. "Don’t you have us? Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma…"
Gu Yi'an shook her head again. "They don’t want to see me."
The family only cared about Gu Tianjing, and after discovering Gu Yi'an’s eerie tendencies, they became even more wary of her.
Gu Tianjing himself was well aware that he was the cause of this situation.
Gu Yi'an’s silent weeping made Gu Tianjing increasingly agitated.
He snapped, "I want to see you! Stop crying! I’m your brother. As long as I’m here, why do you care about them?"
From that day on, Gu Tianjing truly became an older brother who took care of his sister.
While Gu Yi'an was still studying, her parents paid her no mind, so Gu Tianjing took it upon himself to send her a monthly allowance. Even when Gu Yi'an insisted that she had part-time jobs, scholarships, and enough to live on, Gu Tianjing never missed a month’s payment.
Gu Yi'an glanced at the text message Gu Tianjing had sent her.
The message said he had already transferred her monthly allowance and mentioned that he had heard about the incidents she had encountered at school. Coincidentally, he would be visiting her city soon to discuss a project and wanted to take some time to see her at the university.
Gu Yi'an didn’t need to guess what he had heard, it was undoubtedly the incident where her roommate and the girl next door had died while playing with a Ouija board.
That incident had happened nearly two months ago, and several versions of the story had already spread online.
Gu Yi'an hadn't expected Gu Tianjing to know about her situation despite how busy he was now.
Without much hesitation, she edited a text message and sent it back.
Right after she sent the message, Gu Tianjing called.
As soon as Gu Yi'an answered, Gu Tianjing fired off a rapid series of questions.
"Are you living on campus or off campus now?"
"Have you encountered anything strange recently?"
"Has your school administration questioned you about your situation?"
"Do you want to take a leave of absence and come home?"
Gu Yi'an was momentarily stunned by Gu Tianjing's barrage of questions.
Soon, she grasped the implication behind his words, "Has something else happened at our school? Similar to what happened with my roommates?"
Gu Tianjing habitually teased Gu Yi'an, saying, "Gu Yi'an, how come you're even less informed than I am?"
Gu Yi'an remained silent.
Now that she was being avoided like the plague at school, how could she possibly be well-informed?
If others wanted to steer clear of her, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to approach them either.
After a pause, Gu Tianjing's voice came through the phone again, "I asked your school administration. Someone went to your former dorm to play with a Ouija board and also died. This happened two days ago. It seems your school administration is doing a good job keeping it under wraps."
"Your former roommates might have turned into vengeful spirits. In my opinion, they're probably fixated on you. You might have an accident one of these days."
This was concern from a family member.
Listening to this, Gu Yi'an glanced at the items on her phone and said, "I haven't encountered anything particularly strange around me."
The strangest thing she had experienced was entering The Game of the Gods; she hadn't encountered the ghosts of her roommates.
"Not at all?" Gu Tianjing sounded skeptical.
"None," Gu Yi'an confirmed that she hadn't encountered any other strange occurrences.
During the past two days when she couldn't remember The Game of the Gods, every day had been calm and peaceful.
On the other end of the line, Gu Tianjing seemed to think he had overreacted, making his earlier behavior seem embarrassing in front of Gu Yi'an. He brushed it off vaguely, "Anyway, be careful. I should be able to come to your side by the end of the month. Will you have time?"
"Yes."
University classes usually don't last the entire day, so Gu Yi'an could say she had time every day.
"Alright then, I'll notify you of the specific time later."
Gu Tianjing hung up.
After the call with Gu Tianjing ended, Gu Yi'an went out to have lunch nearby and returned for a nap.
However, before her nap, she opened the candy Tang Jiu had given her.
The candy itself was white and looked perfectly round.
If Tang Jiu were alive, she should be able to see her, right?
Gu Yi'an thought about wanting to see Tang Jiu again and ate the candy.
Soon, Gu Yi'an fell into a deep sleep.
She began to dream.
In her dream, she was walking down a street surrounded by people with blurred faces.
Everyone was minding their own business, not interfering with one another.
She felt puzzled, why was she here?
Suddenly, someone who looked no different from the others, also with a blurred face, stopped in front of her and held out their hand.
It was a piece of candy.
Wrapped in candy paper, the round candy sat in their palm.
Gu Yi'an picked it up.
The moment she took the candy, the many figures around her vanished, and the person in front of her revealed their true appearance.
It was Tang Jiu.
Tang Jiu, as enthusiastic as ever, casually slung an arm around Gu Yi'an's shoulder without any hint of unfamiliarity.
She grinned, "I knew you could make it out."
If Gu Yi'an could find her using her candy, she must have reached the Pure White Space and learned the clues.
Gu Yi'an looked at her and asked, "What about you?"
Tang Jiu coughed awkwardly, not as spirited as before.
"I failed. Even though an item saved my life, I died in the game. The god found me an eyesore and tossed me into the next game. Luckily, I’ve already cleared the new one."
Gu Yi'an smiled faintly. "That’s good."
Staying alive was a wonderful thing.
Tang Jiu glanced at Gu Yi'an, a hint of guilt suddenly flashing in her eyes.
Gu Yi'an found it amusing.
"Did you take my Sage card?"
There was no blame in her tone.
Tang Jiu picked up on that.
With a flip of her hand, a brightly colored card appeared in her palm.
Tang Jiu said, as if seeking praise, "This is the card I exchanged for you."
Gu Yi'an looked at Tang Jiu, completely trusting, and immediately took the card.
The style of this card was the complete opposite of the Sage card.
The Sage card was pure black with golden characters.
This card, however, had a background of tiny, multicolored checkered patterns, with a strangely smiling figure in the center, a person with painted face and dressed like a clown.
Below the figure was a description.
[Gambler: I bet it’ll be you who dies.]
Tang Jiu said, "A friend of mine has seen card-type items before, and I felt the Gambler suits you well."
Gu Yi'an nodded. "I also think it suits me better than the Sage."
A gambler relies half on luck, half on skill.
Sometimes, luck is part of one’s strength.
She had gambled many times.
Perhaps because of the god, luck had always been on her side.
She had won every bet.
Gu Yi'an usually avoided gambling, she never participated in money-related bets. But in the game, the stakes were life itself, so she had no choice but to gamble to survive.
"Thank you."
Gu Yi'an expressed her gratitude sincerely.
In truth, she felt Tang Jiu was being almost excessively kind to her.
Since she already considered Tang Jiu a friend, she spoke frankly, "You treat me so well as a friend that it makes me a bit unsure how to respond."
Tang Jiu was equally straightforward. "It’s nothing. Among my friends, you’re the best-looking. When it comes to getting along with people, it’s all about the vibe. I’m pretty good at judging character, and you’re the type who makes a good friend. Being friends with someone good-looking is just so pleasing to the eye."
Gu Yi'an was speechless.
She considered Tang Jiu a friend because of who Tang Jiu was.
But Tang Jiu wanted to be friends with her because of her face.
Tang Jiu was actually so shallow!
Gu Yi'an reminded her, "You can’t just judge friends by their looks."
There are plenty of good-looking people who are also skilled at deception.
For example, Lu Zize is one of them.
Tang Jiu said nonchalantly, "You're good-looking and make a great friend."
After saying this, under Gu Yi'an's prolonged gaze, Tang Jiu seemed to recall something, and her expression turned peculiar.
She suddenly said, "Do you know what I thought the first time I saw you?"
"What?" Gu Yi'an played along.
Tang Jiu replied, "Somehow, I felt right then that since you're good-looking, whatever you say must be right."
Gu Yi'an fell silent.
She had seen this phrase before.
The item description for the Sage Card was exactly that sentence.
The source of Tang Jiu's kindness toward her had been found, the influence of the card item.
Gu Yi'an said, "Have you ever considered that you might be influenced by the card, which is why you're unusually kind to me?"
Tang Jiu shook her head and said, "Impossible. My actions are all in line with my personality. I wanted to be friends with you because you reminded us to leave our spots at the very start of the game. Being friends with you means I don't have to worry about being betrayed."
If making friends with her was Tang Jiu's original intention, Gu Yi'an thought for a moment and asked, "Then why did you want to take my Sage Card?"
Tang Jiu looked at Gu Yi'an and said, "I get it now. I almost got tricked by that card. No wonder I suddenly took your card. After that, I decided to go along with it and swapped it for a Gambler Card to apologize and make sure you wouldn't hold it against me for taking your item."
Gu Yi'an laughed and said, "A troublesome item like that would only cause trouble if it stayed with me. Thanks for helping me out."
Tang Jiu gave Gu Yi'an a big hug and said, "I'm just glad you're not mad at me."
Seeing how upset Tang Jiu was about being tricked by the card, Gu Yi'an comforted her for a while.
Tang Jiu was very clever, in the previous game, she had figured out Lu Zize's intentions before Gu Yi'an did. Gu Yi'an, on the other hand, had been too preoccupied with suspecting that Lu Zize was a god to think deeply about why he was being kind to her.
The two of them chatted for a while longer, discussing the game involving the Divine Eye.
Then, Gu Yi'an heard the sound of an alarm clock ringing from the sky.
Tang Jiu heard it too and quickly said, "Keep that candy I gave you. Let's meet again next time and try to join the same game together when we have the chance! I'm so done with useless teammates!"
As soon as the words fell, her face instantly blurred.
Darkness swallowed everything before Gu Yi'an's eyes.
She woke up.
Freshly awakened, her mind was somewhat hazy, but she soon sensed something in her hand.
It was a colorful gambler card and a candy wrapped exactly like the one before.
The scenes from the dream were a bit fuzzy in Gu Yi'an's memory, but she remembered that Tang Jiu was still alive and had made a promise with her to enter the same game together when they had time.
After her nap, Gu Yi'an packed her backpack.
Once all the textbooks for her major courses were in, Gu Yi'an glanced at the notebook buried at the very bottom.
She pulled out the notebook and placed it in her backpack as well.
She couldn't shake the feeling that leaving Lu Zize's notebook here alone might lead to unforeseen trouble, even if he was now truly just a notebook.
Perhaps due to the information provided by her brother Gu Tianjing, Gu Yi'an noticed during her class that someone was secretly watching her.
Such prying eyes were common on ordinary days, after all, Gu Yi'an's reputation as the "bereaved" was too conspicuous.
But this time, Gu Yi'an felt there were even more people watching her.
They seemed to have learned something shocking and were quietly suspicious of Gu Yi'an.
Gu Yi'an didn't like these stares, nor did she appreciate being in the dark about her current situation.
So, as soon as class ended, she walked to the back of the classroom and looked at a girl sitting in the middle of a row.
"Sorry, could you come out and talk? Why were you staring at me during class?"
This class was held in a lecture hall, with several majors combined, totaling over two hundred students.
Gu Yi'an didn't recognize this girl.
The girl had been watching Gu Yi'an nervously as she approached.
When she heard Gu Yi'an's question, she grew even more flustered.
"I-I wasn't looking at you. I was watching the teacher."
Gu Yi'an listened, her tone not harsh but calmly retorted, "Was the teacher always on the right?"
The podium was on the left, where the teacher usually stood.
Gu Yi'an's seat was on the right side of the classroom.
The girl's excuse was clearly a lie.
Gu Yi'an turned to the person sitting in the same row as the girl and said, "Classmate, could you make some room, please?"
The person sitting in the same row seemed aware of Gu Yi'an's reputation and was afraid of her. Upon hearing her request, they immediately moved away to another seat.
Thus, Gu Yi'an smoothly made her way to the girl's side.
As Gu Yi'an approached, the girl nearly pressed herself into the person sitting next to her.
The person next to her was a girl, but that girl was sitting beside a male classmate who was engrossed in playing a game on his phone, completely ignoring the commotion. She couldn't easily shift away.
Gu Yi'an said, "I'm just curious about why you were looking at me. You must know something, something related to death?"
At this point, the girl was on the verge of tears and immediately spilled everything she knew.
"My friend summoned a pen spirit, and she died. Before she died, she told me that the pen spirit was a classmate you killed."
The pen spirit was killed by her?
Gu Yi'an focused on the latter part of the girl's statement.
She had never killed anyone, and the only classmates who had died around her were her roommates who perished during the pen spirit game.
Could it be that her deceased roommate had become the new pen spirit? And was pinning their deaths on her?
The idea sounded absurd and ridiculous.
Gu Yi'an furrowed her brow slightly and asked, "If I were a murderer, would I still be sitting here? I would have been taken away by ghosts long ago. Can you trust what ghosts say?"
"I don't know."
The girl was trembling all over, muttering to herself, "Are there really ghosts? There really are ghosts! What should I do?"
Gu Yi'an glanced at her; the girl was already crying from fear.
She comforted her, "Don't play with the spirit pen. As long as you haven't touched it, you should be fine."
Gu Yi'an's former roommate had died after playing with the spirit pen, but Gu Yi'an hadn't participated, so she was unharmed.
Sometimes curiosity kills the cat, it's best to avoid meddling with things you shouldn't.
Hearing Gu Yi'an's words, the fear in the girl's eyes lessened a little.
If someone else had said it, it would have been hard to be sure. But this was Gu Yi'an speaking, her roommate had died, yet she was still alive. That was the best proof.
After the day's classes ended, Gu Yi'an returned to her residence.
Before going to bed, she thought about it: her deceased roommates had become spirit pen ghosts, and they might actually come for revenge.
If a ghost truly wanted to retaliate against someone, no amount of hiding would help.
Gu Yi'an placed the props by her pillow and also set Lu Zize's notebook beside them.
Gu Yi'an was open-minded and fell asleep quickly.
She sank into a deep slumber.
Time passed gradually and the night grew late.
Moonlight filtered through the thin curtains, casting a faint light into the room.
A shadowy figure slowly emerged from the corner of the wall, crept along the ceiling, and gradually positioned itself directly above Gu Yi'an.
Suddenly, the shadow dropped from the ceiling, its dark strands of hair about to brush against Gu Yi'an's face when the lid of the small coffin was abruptly flung open.
A two-centimeter-tall doll of a little girl, her expression grim, leaped out.
Noticing this, the shadowy figure shrank back with practiced ease.
The entire mass of shadow instantly merged into the ceiling and fled.
Clearly, this was not the first time it had done such a thing.
Once the shadow was gone, the grim-faced little girl trudged heavily over to where she had thrown the coffin lid, picked it up, and slowly made her way back to her small coffin, step by step.
For Gu Yi'an, ten ordinary and peaceful days passed quickly.
On this particular day, she deliberately skipped the library and stayed in her rented room.
She waited for the arrival of the pure white space.
She waited for a long time, but the pure white space never came. Instead, the black characters that always floated in mid-air appeared once again.
[Welcome to the Game of the Gods.]
[This is your fourth game. You need no further guidance. Wishing you an enjoyable game.]
The black text vanished in the blink of an eye, yet Gu Yi'an remained in her room.
What did this mean? Was this game set in her original world?
Gu Yi'an suddenly recalled Brother Zhang, whom she had encountered in her first game.
Back then, he had been overjoyed to find a jar of bibimbap sauce with a production label.
So, the worlds they entered in the games were all real worlds, just like the one she lived in?
As Gu Yi'an pondered in her rented apartment, six players abruptly materialized in a sealed-off girls' dormitory.
There were three men and three women, six players in total.
At that moment, they were staring at the text floating mid-air.
[Shh! The God is watching you.]
While the others were still gazing at the disappearing black text, a calm-faced man subtly observed the expressions of the other players.
He quickly assessed the situation, cleared his throat, and spoke, "You must be the newcomers for this round, right? I'm your guide. You can call me Brother Zhang. This is the Game of the Gods. We need to survive seven days in the game to clear it."
Brother Zhang swiftly scanned their surroundings.
It was a dormitory room that appeared long abandoned, with natural light from the window as the only source of illumination.
Half-burnt candles on the floor, partially charred papers, and scattered pens made the place look as if some ritual had taken place.
The supernatural entity in this round might be tough to deal with.
Brother Zhang's eyes flickered before he steadied himself. He looked at the group and said, "I don't care what you're thinking right now. For now, we must leave this place."
The others looked panicked. As first-timers in the game, they were disoriented and, after seeing the scene, largely agreed with Brother Zhang's decision. Instinctively, they began to follow the lead of the only experienced player present.
While trying the door, Brother Zhang casually remarked, "What were your beginner prompts? Let's compare and see if we can piece together any clues."
The novice players watched as Brother Zhang effortlessly opened the door and didn't think too much about it.
"Malice."
"Mine was malice too."
"Same here."
Hearing this, Brother Zhang said, "Seems they're all the same."
The six of them stepped out of the dormitory into the hallway, glancing left and right. They realized they were likely in an abandoned dormitory building.
The corridor was empty, with no clothes hanging out to dry.
The group stood in the hallway, peering into the distance, and spotted some students.
Brother Zhang led them downstairs, but at the main entrance, someone was already waiting for them.
It was the dormitory supervisor.
The supervisor immediately scolded Brother Zhang and the others, "Are you here again trying to play with the Ouija board? Is it fun to court death all the time?"
Brother Zhang and his group had no idea what was happening. Before they could even think of escaping, security guards summoned by the supervisor escorted them away to the school's security office.
The security personnel told them, "Don't even think about playing with the Ouija board. This is for your own good. What's more important, your life or some game? Since your intention wasn't theft, I won't report this to the police. You'd better behave yourselves."
Brother Zhang and the others, still dazed, were chased away by the security personnel.
As they walked through the campus, the five novice players listened to Brother Zhang’s analysis.
Brother Zhang said, "We need to survive for seven days, but the first place we appeared in was that dormitory where the spirit-summoning game was played. We’ve definitely provoked the spirit. Don’t be skeptical, if something goes wrong, it’ll be too late to believe me then. Alright, our first step is to find out what exactly happened in that girls’ dormitory we came out of."
The five novice players had no clue about the rules of this divine game. Dazed and confused, they were in desperate need of a leader. In this unfamiliar world, they had no choice but to trust those around them.
Next, they followed Brother Zhang and stopped passing students to ask about the rumors of the spirit-summoning game.
They stopped over a dozen people before finally finding a university student who knew something about the spirit-summoning incident.
The student said, "I’ve heard of the spirit-summoning game. Two dorm rooms of girls all died, and only one girl survived. That girl is really eerie. Everyone actually suspects she’s not human, but she’s incredibly beautiful."
"You’re asking for her name? Go search for it on the forum. What, you don’t have phones?"
The student was shocked, it was the first time he’d encountered six people at once without phones.
At the earnest request of the six players, and since the student happened to have nothing better to do, he casually looked it up for them.
"Her name is Gu Yi’an. She’s most often seen in the library, she’s the most beautiful one in any crowd. Here, take a look at this photo."
The student showed Brother Zhang and the others a photo someone had taken of Gu Yi’an.
The five novice players’ eyes lit up.
It was a candid shot. The girl in the photo had an aloof aura and delicate features. She had turned her head unintentionally, and the captivating charm frozen in that glance was enough to make one’s heart flutter.
In stark contrast to the reactions of the five novice players was Brother Zhang.
A beauty always leaves a deep impression.
Brother Zhang, no longer as composed as before, stared wide-eyed, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
This… this… wasn’t this Little Gu, the one he’d encountered in a previous game?