Chapter 145: Midnight Harassment, Basketball Exam
Zzzzt.
The light bulb flickered twice before extinguishing. As all the lights in the dormitory building went out, darkness completely swallowed the entire Supernatural School.
Within the campus, the vibrant flowers, plants, and trees that had been full of life during the day suddenly emitted eerie sounds. Thick tree trunks twisted and swayed under the hazy moonlight.
From the lush green lawn, roots burrowed out, pushing aside the damp soil and crawling across the ground like grotesque, elongated limbs...
Sparrows perched on telephone poles and trees suddenly underwent a horrifying expansion of flesh and blood, splattering crimson into the night sky.
Inside the dormitory, Ji Yan, lying on his bed, heard these disturbances.
But he paid them little mind.
Lights out meant sleep. No matter what chaos unfolded outside, he would sleep soundly—it was definitely safe here!
Before drifting off, he opened the game panel and clicked on the Purple Treasure Chest left behind from the previous [Undead Hospital] instance.
He’d been so busy lately that he’d nearly forgotten to open this blind box.
Ding! Congratulations, Player, for opening the "Purple Treasure Chest" and drawing rewards. You have obtained three Supernatural Artifacts in total, one of which is [Collector's Grade], and two are [Rare].
Comment: Smells like luck to me~
"Only one [Collector's Grade]? That’s considered lucky?" Ji Yan muttered inwardly as he opened the Toolbar to inspect the three artifacts.
"Recovery Thermos (Rare)—When your status drops below 20%, using this artifact will restore all numerical states for a short duration. Recovery speed is proportional to the amount consumed. Total capacity: 500 milliliters."
"Little Genius Watch (Rare)—Mark any location on the instance map, and it will provide the optimal route to reach it."
"Memory Brush [Collector's Grade]—..."
Just as Ji Yan was examining the artifacts, he suddenly heard the sound of a doorknob turning.
With a creak, the door opened.
Something had entered!
But the sound wasn’t footsteps—it was more like something crawling, its body scraping against the floor...
Ji Yan closed his eyes.
His heart pounded with suspicion. Wasn’t the dorm supposed to be safe once the door was closed?
The dormitory was supposed to be an absolute safe zone for Players. How could a Supernatural Entity barge in so brazenly?
Not only had the door been opened, but even the latched window was effortlessly pushed aside. The eerie thing outside seemed to have many "limbs," its rustling, scraping sounds unceasing.
The next moment, Ji Yan distinctly felt the thing brush past his pillow—like the tentacles of an octopus, a sticky sensation creeping over his hands and feet...
His heartbeat quickened, but he didn’t dare move.
He pretended to be asleep.
Liu Congming must have noticed it too. The fact that this veteran Player remained unfazed suggested this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened...
The sticky limbs of the Supernatural Entity roamed over Ji Yan’s body, as if searching for something, its movements unsettlingly invasive.
Then, a stiff, awkward voice whispered in his ear:
"Delicious... Hungry..."
"??"
Ji Yan was puzzled. The voice sounded like an infant struggling to speak—clumsy, imprecise, and thick with a nasal tone.
Finally, the sticky presence retreated, and the rustling noises gradually faded.
The Supernatural Entity had left.
Ji Yan wanted to open his eyes and assess the situation, but in the end, he dismissed the thought.
After midnight, Players must sleep.
Who knows—opening your eyes might land you in a Danger Zone.
Once silence fell, an overwhelming drowsiness invaded his mind.
Ji Yan drifted into a deep slumber just like that...
...
He had no idea how long he slept.
What surprised him even more was that he could sleep so soundly despite lying next to a [Misfortune Supernatural Entity] and being "harassed" by a Supernatural Entity that barged in during the night.
He was woken up by Liu Congming.
"Damn, your nerves are something else. First day in the Instance, and you sleep like a log."
"If I hadn’t woken you, you’d have been late on day one."
"That [Spade Supernatural Instructor] loves plucking out students’ kidneys as punishment for tardiness. Good thing I saved yours!"
Ji Yan sat up, rubbing his groggy head.
"What was that thing last night?" he asked.
"What thing?"
"The one that came in from outside."
Liu Congming chuckled and waved a hand dismissively.
"You must’ve been dreaming."
"After lights out, the dorm is an absolute safe zone."
"If a Supernatural Entity could just waltz in, we’d both be dead already!"
Ji Yan: "..."
"Enough talk, we’re running out of time. Let’s move!" Liu Congming urged, checking the time.
As he stepped out, Ji Yan glanced at the window and door—no scratches, no traces of mucus.
Could last night really have been an illusion?
Even so, he didn’t believe it.
This Instance was far more mysterious than it seemed...
Just outside the door, a breeze lifted his hair, and the [Blood-Stained Paper Figure] slipped out from the strands, landing on his shoulder. It gestured at him twice before fluttering away with the wind.
"Ji, what the hell was that?" Liu Congming asked through a mouthful of steamed bun, eyes wide.
Ji Yan watched as the Blood-Stained Paper Figure drifted off among the fallen leaves.
"A Supernatural Artifact."
"Damn, that’s a special one. It can move on its own—must be high-grade, huh?"
"By the way, what was it trying to say?"
"Tiny little thing, kinda cute."
"It said it’s off to ‘poetry and the distance’ and told me not to follow."
Ji Yan studied Liu Congming’s expression and added, "As for ‘cute’..."
"If you knew this ‘little thing’ has a habit of casually decapitating Supernatural Entities, you wouldn’t think so."
Liu Congming’s smile vanished. He silently resumed chewing his bun as they walked.
The Blood-Stained Paper Figure leaving could only mean one thing—it was searching for Xu Xin.
The question was, what role would Xu Xin play in this Supernatural School Instance?
Ji Yan was impatient to find out. After all, she held the answers to the many mysteries piling up.
Soon, they arrived at today’s Mission location—an indoor basketball court.
Something had clearly happened here. The floor was splattered with bloodstains, yet strangely, there were no bodies—not even a scrap of skin.
"This was last night’s exam—a [Privilege] for the [Advanced Class] Players. Doesn’t concern us."
"Still, judging by the mess, a lot of Players got eliminated last night!" Liu Congming remarked, eyeing the bloodstains with a click of his tongue.
The moment Ji Yan stepped inside, a sharp pain shot through his right palm.
The skin split open, and blood seeped out.
Four words appeared: "Curse... Beware... Eyes..."
Ji Yan raised an eyebrow. The Blood Gu Supernatural Entity was hinting at today's mission.
But this Cunning Little Girl, much like his Talent, was stingy with words, preferring to drop cryptic clues for Ji Yan to decipher.
"Last night, I slept so deeply—thanks to you, right?"
The sudden, overwhelming drowsiness that had struck him the previous night was beyond his control. It had to be the Blood Gu Supernatural Entity's doing.
The Blood Gu Supernatural Entity's reply was another four words: "Sleeping... is... a blessing..."
What a way to say "sleeping is a blessing."
Ji Yan pressed further, "That thing that barged into the dorm last night and groped around on me—you knew about it too, didn’t you?"
The bloody words dissolved into threads of blood, retreating back into his palm.
It was feigning death again...
At the same time, Movement echoed from the basketball court as new Players arrived.
Their uniforms varied—these were Players from other factions.
Eight in total, two from each faction.
As all Players entered, Ji Yan wondered why the Supernatural Teacher hadn’t shown up yet—when suddenly, a [Diamonds 9] badge materialized on his student ID.
Then, Liu Congming’s excited voice rang out: "Holy shit! There’s a Playing Card hidden in today’s exam! Ji, we’ve gotta stay sharp!"
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