Chapter 141: The Parasitic Specter, Final Supernatural School

Chapter 141: The Parasitic Specter, Final Supernatural School

Dense crimson threads crawled up Ji Yan's arm, causing his eyelids to twitch. Before he could react, his arm moved uncontrollably, scrawling four twisted, bloody words on the nearby wall:

"Unlucky... Beware..."

Once the words were written, his arm dropped limply, control returning to Ji Yan.

Compared to Ji Yan's shock, Liu Congming seemed unfazed.

He chuckled, "Don’t panic. It’s just a specter that’s taken up residence inside you. No big deal..."

"You call this no big deal?!"

Ji Yan stared at his right hand as the crimson threads faded. He opened his status panel and found that his [Specter Power] had increased by a staggering 400 points.

He had a rough guess.

It was likely due to the specter blood from [Spade Class One] seeping into his body.

But he never expected an entire specter to take up residence inside him!

"In this instance, every Player ends up hosting at least one or two specters. If your body doesn’t harbor a specter, you can’t even progress the instance’s plot!"

"For example, I’ve had a specter inside me for two days now."

Liu Congming raised his hand, revealing horrifying [Corpse Spots] spreading across his arm.

"The core mission of this school instance is to collect [Playing Cards]. The more cards you have, the greater your advantage, and the easier it becomes to advance through the instance!"

"Since you’ve passed the first exam, you’ve essentially been admitted by the [Spade Supernatural Instructor]. The instance introduction panel must have activated by now. Open it and take a look—it’ll all make sense!"

Ji Yan opened the game panel and clicked on the instance homepage.

Information about the instance flooded his vision in an instant.

"Instance Name: [Final Supernatural School]."

"Difficulty Level: Third Tier Instance."

"Instance Introduction: This is a school sealed away by the abyss, ruled and operated by the principal [Red King] and vice-principal [Black King]. Classes are strictly divided by [Playing Cards], and Players enter the instance as students, completing exams, assignments, and courses assigned by [Supernatural Instructors] to earn academic points and advance their studies."

"The instance is divided into three stages. Completing all stages allows Players to clear the instance:

Stage One: [Ordinary Class], led by [Spade, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds] Supernatural Instructors.

Stage Two: [Advanced Class], led by the [JQK Kings].

Stage Three: [Experimental Class], led by the [Red and Black Kings]."

"Side Plot: Currently, the Player is in Stage One—[Ordinary Class], assigned to the [Spade Supernatural Instructor]."

"Main Plot: Not yet activated."

"So, the exam I completed in [Spade Class One] was essentially an entrance exam, and I’ve been admitted by the [Spade Supernatural Instructor]."

Ji Yan closed the panel, his expression pensive.

Though [Final Supernatural School], like [Undead Hospital], had a three-stage plot, its setting was far more intricate in terms of details.

The biggest difference so far was that the hospital instance pitted Players against each other in a life-or-death competition, while this supernatural school involved competition between teams.

Forcing Players to host specters to progress the instance’s plot… That was downright inhumane.

"Even though you passed the first exam… [Spade 1] is actually pretty useless."

"If I remember correctly, the last player who got this playing card didn't survive more than two days before kicking the bucket!" Liu Congming sighed, feeling that Ji Yan was both lucky and unlucky.

"How useless is it?" Ji Yan raised his hand, clearly seeing the veins under his skin squirming like iron wire parasites—utterly horrifying.

"Your supernatural entity is not just weak, but also socially anxious!"

"Other playing card supernatural entities can help players fight and strategize through the main plot, practically acting as fire support. But this 'Spade 1' supernatural entity? The moment danger shows up, it chickens out faster than the player!"

"Its only use is writing a few words in supernatural blood to warn you about dangers in advance so you don’t die."

"Once the player dies, the parasitic supernatural entity returns to that classroom, waiting for the next unlucky player..."

"You saw it in the classroom—even the invigilator supernatural entities could bully and bite 'Spade 1.' Basically, any supernatural entity in this instance can take a bite out of her!"

Liu Congming rambled on at length, proving himself right about being a chatterbox. In his words, the 'Spade 1' in Ji Yan’s hand seemed utterly worthless. No wonder the 'Spade Supernatural Instructor' looked down on him so much. In its eyes, Ji Yan was probably the yellow-haired slacker at the back of the class, relegated to guarding the water dispenser...

"You know all this so clearly?" Ji Yan asked.

"Too clearly. My last roommate had 'Spade 1,' but the moment he got another playing card, he ditched it immediately."

"You can just discard it?"

"Of course. Players can collect playing cards indefinitely. Every time you get a new one, you can choose to keep or discard any card you already have."

"My roommate was a total pro. In just three days, he got a second playing card. After ditching the useless 'Spade 1,' he completed the first phase of the plot in two weeks and got promoted from the 'Ordinary Class' to the 'Advanced Class.'"

"I couldn’t even see his taillights..." Liu Congming’s eyes were full of envy.

Ji Yan didn’t care about any of that. He was thinking—if the 'Spade 1' Blood Gu Supernatural Entity warns players about danger, then what did the words "unlucky" and "be careful" written on the wall refer to?

Lost in thought, he casually asked, "Then what kind of ghost is the 'Spade 2' in your hand?"

Hearing this, Liu Congming smiled slightly unnaturally. "Mine is definitely a little better than yours."

"After all, no matter what, 2 is greater than 1, right?"

Ji Yan naturally picked up on that hint of discomfort. Influenced by the last instance, he was especially sensitive to the scent of lies—but he didn’t call it out.

"It’s getting dark. We need to hurry back to the dormitory." Liu Congming glanced at the horizon and pulled Ji Yan to quicken their pace.

"Which eye of yours sees that it’s getting dark?" Ji Yan glanced at the clear, boundless sky.

Liu Congming responded in a tone laced with lingering fear. "In this instance, you can’t trust many things."

"And the least trustworthy of all is the environment!"

"This sky is actually..."

He seemed about to say something but choked back his words, as if afraid.

Gesturing with his hands, he said, "I don’t know if you’ll understand this analogy..."

"We're actually on a stage, where the Players are the actors, and They are the audience. The beautiful scenes the actors see are all just constructed sets."

"When the performance nears its end, these pretty scenes will fade away, revealing the original foul and chaotic grounds..."

"See, do you get what I mean now?"

Ji Yan chuckled. "Your metaphor isn’t exactly subtle. Why not just say it outright?"

"Unspeakable, unspeakable!" Liu Congming hastily cut him off.

"Look at everything on campus—those trees, those birds—so full of life, right? Come nightfall, you’ll see what they truly look like."

"Anyway, hurry back to the dormitory."

Liu Congming quickened his pace, tapping the skeleton mechanical watch on his wrist. "The sky may lie, but my watch won’t. Trust me, it’s almost dark!"

Hearing this, Ji Yan also sped up.

When he glanced back at the vibrant campus, for a fleeting moment, every blade of grass, every tree, every bird and stone seemed to grow eyes, all fixed intently on his back...