Chapter 67

In the distance, the sandy beach merged with the azure sea, and the sea shimmered brilliantly against the colorful sunset.
Though the scenery was beautiful, Gu Yi'an couldn't muster much enthusiasm for it.
She withdrew her gaze and glanced at her phone again.
The newbie male player had already hung up.
Gu Yi'an logged into the webpage to check the current situation online.
The overwhelming publicity campaign she had Lu Zize and the people in that chat room orchestrate in the afternoon was beginning to show results.
Some old news about that hotel had also been exposed.
It wasn't her side that had done it, other forces, seeing the hotel on the verge of collapse, no longer held back the suppressed information.
Whether it was because the people behind the hotel hadn't had time to intervene this time or not, in any case, the information Gu Yi'an and the others had released so far hadn't been suppressed at all. On the contrary, it was gaining momentum, successfully drawing more parties into the fray.
Just like a single spark can start a prairie fire.
They had successfully ignited the heat of the internet.
But in the age of the internet, people's memories are too short-lived.
A momentary surge of attention isn't enough; the news needs to continue fermenting.
Gu Yi'an sent the next tasks to the people in the chat room.
Their attitude had shifted from the caution of noon to outright admiration for Gu Yi'an.
Without any hesitation, they addressed her as "Sister Gu" and asked if she was on vacation with their boss.
They had heard that Sister Gu promised the boss that if the news could achieve full internet virality, he wouldn't have to work.
Gu Yi'an avoided the question and didn't answer.
Because she had indeed said that.
And then, she had suddenly teleported from her original location to this seaside.
Lu Zize and the Hanged Ghost, one human and one ghost, had gone out surfing.
She and the little girl, one human and one ghost, stayed in the restaurant to enjoy the view.
The little girl said, "An'an, let's go surfing tomorrow too."
Gu Yi'an replied, "Let's wait a few more days."
She still needed to keep an eye on the online situation.
The little girl nodded and continued eating her ice cream.
The sky gradually darkened.
Lu Zize and the Hanged Ghost, wearing sunglasses, returned.
The hanged ghost had the build of an adult male, and as long as he didn’t deliberately stretch his neck, he generally wouldn’t attract attention.
The two of them returned carrying surfboards, drawing quite a few looks along the way.
"An’n."
Lu Zize probably knew he had angered Gu Yi’an, so he tentatively took a seat beside her.
Gu Yi’an didn’t really want to see Lu Zize right now because when she said "no work," she only meant that he didn’t have to work, but this guy had dragged her out with him.
Gu Yi’an just glanced at the two of them, the human and the ghost, then looked at Lu Zize’s spot. Without saying a word, she lowered her head and continued reading the reports from others.
The hanged ghost took off his sunglasses, his pale eyes darting back and forth between Gu Yi’an and Lu Zize.
Lu Zize shot him a cold glare.
The hanged ghost understood, it was time for him to make his entrance. He immediately raised his voice cheerfully and said, "Your Highness, you have no idea. When Lord Lu and I dove underwater, we came across a shipwreck this big."
The hanged ghost gestured with his hands, outlining an enormous sunken ship.
"There were a few ghosts inside the wreck who were quite interesting, they refused to let us touch their treasure. I hadn’t planned on taking anything, but since they wouldn’t let us, I ended up eating them. Later, we found a treasure chest those ghosts had hidden, and the gold coins inside were still brand new."
While the hanged ghost was speaking, Gu Yi’an set down her phone and listened as her loyal subordinate described the underwater shipwreck.
The hanged ghost added, "It’s a shame, though. All the gold coins I brought back fell into the sea while we were surfing later. I can’t show them to you, Your Highness."
As he said this, a gold coin appeared before Gu Yi’an’s eyes.
Even in the dim light, its golden hue was visible, gleaming with the metallic sheen unique to gold.
The coin lay in someone’s palm.
Having fulfilled his role, the hanged ghost fell silent.
Gu Yi’an looked at Lu Zize.
Lu Zize set the gold coin down and smiled. "I thought you might want to see it, so I brought it for you."
Without saying more, he left to order food.
After he was gone, Gu Yi’an reached out and touched the gold coin.
It was cold.
Because Lu Zize was not among the living.
Night had fallen.
In the hotel, the female player Xiao Yu sat on her bed with the lights on, covered by a blanket, staring at her phone.
She couldn’t sleep, and she was afraid to.
Because the veteran players had warned her to be careful of the ghosts around her.
She had wanted to share a double room with Uncle Wu, but he refused and suggested she room with another female player instead.
Xiao Yu placed a Buddhist sutra under her pillow, hoping it would keep the ghosts away.
She stared at a text message from another female player, Xiao Ling, on her phone.
Xiao Ling said she was on her way and would be there soon to stay with her.
Seeing this message eased Xiao Yu’s anxiety.
She didn’t dare sleep alone, but with a companion, they could take turns keeping watch, one for the first half of the night, the other for the second.
A few minutes later.
A new message arrived from Xiao Ling.
"I’m here, open the door."
The moment Xiao Yu read this, her mood lightened instantly.
She scrambled off the bed and walked briskly to open the door.
"Xiao Ling, what took you so…"
Xiao Yu’s eyes widened in shock.
Because standing outside the door wasn’t Xiao Ling, it was a bloody, mangled figure.
Only then did Xiao Yu suddenly realize all the oddities.
The person outside hadn’t even knocked.
Xiao Ling stared at the text message on her phone, puzzled.
Xiao Yu had asked if she wanted to come over and stay with her.
But she just wouldn't say where she was.
Xiao Ling asked several times, but she got no answer.
Could something have gone wrong?
Just as she was thinking this, Xiao Yu replied to her.
Xiao Yu asked where she was now.
Xiao Ling was about to answer, but then she remembered Senior Gu's words, warning her to be careful of the ghosts around her.
Xiao Ling hesitated for a moment.
She told Xiao Yu the room number of Dai Qi that she knew.
If Xiao Yu was human, then finding Dai Qi shouldn't be a problem.
If Xiao Yu wasn't human, Dai Qi was an experienced player and should be able to handle it.
After sending the message, Xiao Ling laughed at herself mockingly, she might have already lost any sense of conscience.
A few more minutes passed.
Xiao Ling received a text message from Xiao Yu.
"You lied to me. I'm going to kill you."
Xiao Ling was startled. She immediately clutched the Buddhist scriptures tightly and warily scanned her surroundings.
She saw nothing, not even on the floor.
It was above her!
Xiao Ling abruptly looked up.
A bloody, upside-down face appeared right in front of her.
The person was hanging from the ceiling, staring at her with murderous intent.
It couldn't get close to her.
The Buddhist scriptures were effective.
Realizing this, Xiao Ling hugged the scriptures even tighter.
Dai Qi watched as a hand stretched out from under the bed.
He smiled, crouched down, and placed the Buddhist scriptures in his hand onto that outstretched hand.
"Ahhhh!"
He heard the ghost's agonized scream.
Uncle Wu tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
He thought regretfully that he shouldn't have refused the female player Xiao Yu's offer to share a room with him.
Life is short; it's good to have a little fun.
Uncle Wu lay for a while longer when suddenly he felt a chill rising from his calf.
He felt the blanket in that area being pushed upward.
Uncle Wu had a bad feeling.
He turned on the light.
Sure enough, his blanket was bulging.
That meant there was something extra under the blanket.
Slowly, the chill reached Uncle Wu's stomach.
The bulge in the blanket gradually moved upward.
It was coming out.
A ghostly face dripping with blood appeared before Uncle Wu's eyes.
The novice male player sat in the internet cafe, having already been online for seven or eight hours straight.
At first, he had been arguing with others online as instructed by Senior Gu. Later, when Senior Gu no longer needed him, he started playing games casually in the internet cafe.
The novice male player heard someone sighing beside him.
"Sigh."
"Sigh."
The novice male player ignored it.
An hour later, the person's sighs still hadn't stopped.
The novice male player put on his headphones.
But the sighing became even clearer through the headphones, as if it was coming directly from them.
"Sigh."
The novice male player almost felt like sighing along.
Who in the world comes to an internet cafe just to be this gloomy?
The novice male player couldn't be bothered to meddle. After a moment's thought, he immersed himself in his game again.
He fought alongside his teammates in the game until dawn.
Suddenly, the voice that had been sighing all along spoke a complete sentence.
"Sigh, is it really this hard to find a replacement ghost now?"
The sighing stopped.
The novice male player suddenly realized.
It seemed like he was the only one in the entire internet cafe who could hear that voice.
It was a ghost!
The next day.
Gu Yi'an was woken up early in the morning by a call from the novice male player.
The novice male player tearfully recounted his experience to Gu Yi'an.
Gu Yi'an listened patiently and said, "You're lucky. If you had sighed along, you would have become that ghost's replacement by now."
The novice male player didn't want this kind of luck, he just wanted to avoid encountering ghosts altogether.
Gu Yi'an said, "At this rate, it'll take at most five days for the authorities to deal with those people. Endure five more days, and keep carrying the Buddhist scriptures with you."
Hearing this answer, the novice male player immediately cheered up and thanked her profusely before happily hanging up.
Right after, Gu Yi'an received a call from Dai Qi.
Dai Qi said, "Xiao Yu is dead. Uncle Wu is in the ICU, he narrowly escaped."
Gu Yi'an wasn't quite sure why Dai Qi was calling to tell her this.
Dai Qi didn't expect a response from her either. He continued, "We need to hurry. They've started indiscriminate retaliation."
He paused before adding, "There's an old player who started a family in this world, but yesterday, his child was killed by people from that hotel."
Gu Yi'an asked, "Do the hotel people know all the players' information?"
Dai Qi replied, "Only silence keeps you alive."
Gu Yi'an understood.
The people from that hotel indeed knew all the players' information. As long as the players remained silent, the hotel wouldn't bother killing them.
But now, due to Gu Yi'an and others' extensive exposés, the hotel people saw the overwhelming public opinion online. Unable to pinpoint specific individuals, they had begun indiscriminate, frenzied retaliation, killing anyone who might expose them.
Dai Qi hung up.
Gu Yi'an looked at her disconnected phone.
She knew what she was doing wasn't wrong.
She was exposing an organization that wantonly persecuted people.
None of them were wrong.
Everyone was just trying to survive.
If they gave up now because of the hotel's retaliation, they might give up again for the same reason next time.
They couldn't back down this time.
Gu Yi'an's resolve solidified once more.
She got up and glanced beside her pillow.
She saw a notebook that shouldn't have been there.
"Lu Zize?"
The notebook opened on its own, revealing a sentence: "Good morning."
Gu Yi'an looked at the notebook, then averted her gaze.
She had no time to deal with the notebook right now.
She had things to do.
Gu Yi'an logged into the chatroom and instructed the people inside to release new evidence as planned.
The notebook slowly inched closer to Gu Yi'an. Just as it was about to touch her, she turned around.
The notebook immediately opened on its own, revealing a large word written on it.
"Boo-hoo."
Gu Yi'an's expression remained unchanged as she closed the notebook and casually placed it on the pillow.
"Stay here. Don't move."
She continued with her tasks.
The notebook realized Gu Yi'an had no intention of confronting it.
The entire notebook instantly became dejected.
It was not happy at all.
In a mourning hall.
Two men were talking.
"You're a player. You chose to remain silent before, chose to marry and have children in this world. But look at the result of your silence now. Your child is dead."
The other man's voice sounded defeated.
"What could I do? I have a family in this world. Should I just abandon them?"
"Your child is already dead. If you keep going like this, your wife will divorce you too. By then, staying in this world will be meaningless. Think about it again. Whether we players can return depends on this moment. This time, the movement is massive. Many forces have been dragged into it. Have you seen what's circulating online? It's not just us who encountered it, even the natives of this world have faced it too."
The man continued to persuade, "At this point, it's no longer just us players fighting alone. The people of this world are upholding justice. I can tell you this, the downfall of that hotel is inevitable. When they succeed, all the players stranded in this world might be judged by the god. The god won't let us continue to survive like this. If you don't join us now and contribute while you can, you might even be punished by the god, denied even death."
"Let me think about it a little more."
"Stop thinking. The game's hint is 'The Silent Ones.' Because none of us can stay silent, we must speak up! We have mouths, we are not mute!"
The person trying to persuade him gave up. "I only said all this because I saw your child had died. No matter what, you must avenge your child."
"...I'll join you." The voice, once despondent, now carried a bone-chilling hatred.
This was just a small glimpse.
In the days that followed, new people continued to join, not only veteran players but also the inhabitants of this world.
The players' actions were merely the spark; what truly ignited the explosion was the behavior of this world's people.
Online messages infiltrated daily life: TV news, subway ads, flyers... Countless individuals joined this fervent wave of exposure.
One day passed.
Then two...
By the seventh day of Gu Yi'an and her fellow players' arrival in this world, the authorities had dispatched personnel to arrest the forces behind the hotel.