Chapter 147: The Game Begins, Eyes on the Back

Chapter 147: The Game Begins, Eyes on the Back

"In this game of hide-and-seek, the rats have nowhere to hide..."

"Every hiding spot you choose, Its eyes will find you with pinpoint accuracy!"

Ji Yan frowned slightly, unsatisfied with the Hidden Information he had obtained.

This piece of Hidden Information didn’t provide a way to clear the Instance—it merely revealed some details about the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity.

"Why does it feel like the riddles are getting more and more convoluted?"

"It seems the higher the level of the Instance, the more severely the Talent [Omniscient Understanding] gets nerfed."

Ji Yan couldn’t help but complain.

Compared to [Omniscient Understanding] in the first Instance, the current version had almost become "Half-Known Half-Understood." Straightforward information was nonexistent, while the riddles grew increasingly cryptic.

The Hidden Information obtained through observation was practically useless.

If he had acquired it through touch, it might have held more value.

But the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity’s position was too awkward—perched atop a basketball hoop, swaying its eerie, smooth head as it leisurely counted down...

"210, 209, 208..."

"Bro, what are you still staring at? Hurry up and run!" Liu Congming tugged at Ji Yan, urging him.

Ji Yan glanced at the height and reluctantly abandoned the idea.

"Is the Misfortune Supernatural Entity inside you still asleep?" Ji Yan suddenly asked as they moved through the corridor.

"Yeah, still sleeping. Don’t worry."

"I’m keeping an eye on it—it won’t affect you!" Liu Congming assured him.

Once the Misfortune Supernatural Entity woke up, it would absorb the [Luck Value] of nearby players. Since they were currently in a game of hide-and-seek, if misfortune struck Ji Yan, Liu Congming might suffer as well.

Even a fool wouldn’t do something so self-destructive.

"Can you actively wake up the Misfortune Supernatural Entity inside you?" Ji Yan countered.

"I can. Why?" Liu Congming had a feeling Ji Yan was plotting something.

Ji Yan’s eyes gleamed. "You might need to wake it up later."

"In this game of hide-and-seek, we’re not just dealing with Supernatural Entities—there are people too."

After being tempered in the [Undead Hospital], Ji Yan had grown extremely sensitive to people’s gazes.

The two players from the Spades faction, especially the Man in Suit and Glasses, were staring at him with the same predatory look the Dragon Player once had...

It was the kind of greedy stare a monster would give the Tang Monk!

What did he have that made the suited man so covetous?

Quickening their pace, they dashed through the corridor. With the countdown nearly over and no particularly good hiding spots in sight, Ji Yan and Liu Congming had no choice but to take refuge in an equipment room.

The room was cluttered with scattered sports gear, but several wax and plaster statues stood out of place.

Ever since entering the hallway, Ji Yan had noticed that this experimental building was filled with human statues and murals, as if deliberately placed...

Even from a distance, the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity’s countdown echoed clearly in their ears.

Each number made the players’ Hearts skip a beat involuntarily.

Finally, the countdown reached zero.

In the basketball court, the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity slowly opened its eyes.

Along with them, the tattooed eyes on its head also awakened—embroidered onto its skin as though infused with Life, becoming a part of it.

The Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity slowly stood up and removed its shirt, revealing countless eerie and horrifying eyes densely covering its entire body!

"Now, the game begins."

"The cat is about to hunt!"

...

Deep in the corridor, inside a hidden compartment in the wall of the equipment room.

"Who would’ve thought there’s a secret hiding spot in this room?"

"If I stay hidden here and refuse to come out, even if the Supernatural Entity searches until nightfall, it won’t drive me crazy trying to find me, right?"

The Hearts faction’s male player gazed at this perfect hiding spot.

The concealed wall compartment was completely sealed.

This was practically the chosen sanctuary for hide-and-seek!

Unlike Ji Yan and Liu Congming, he had separated from his teammates—not out of any grudge, but because he believed putting all eggs in one basket would lead to total annihilation.

He pulled out an MP3 player he had picked up in the Instance from his pocket and plugged in the earphones. But before he could even put them in his ears, a loud clang echoed from behind.

He whipped his head around.

It was just a picture frame that had fallen off the wall.

"Scared the hell out of me!"

"Are these expansion nails for hanging pictures really this shoddy?"

Stuffing the earphones into his ears, the male player picked up the fallen portrait.

Staring at the human body sketch on it, he felt an inexplicable chill.

Just as he was about to toss it into the corner, the music from the earphones became intermittent, replaced by sharp static that pierced his eardrums.

"These ancient relics are just useless."

As he muttered to himself, the earphones suddenly returned to normal—but what he heard wasn’t music. Instead...

"Hehe! The first rat has been successfully caught by the cat!"

The male player’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

He spun around abruptly, only for a pair of hands to stretch out from the darkness, eerily passing through his head like a projector’s beam.

Ten fingers plunged deep into his eye sockets.

In an instant, the male player lost his vision— Yet he felt no pain, only overwhelming terror spreading through his entire body.

His hands flailed wildly in the air as he panicked, wondering how he had been found when barely a minute had passed since the countdown ended!

Desperate, the male player blurted out, "Wait, I’ll give you my Playing Card!"

"Give me another chance—this time, I’ll definitely hide better—"

Before he could finish, the hands buried in his skull withdrew.

Along with them came two ghastly white Eyeballs, still dripping with blood and trailing nerves and flesh!

Thud.

The male player collapsed stiffly to the ground, his body convulsing.

The Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity tossed the pale Eyeballs into its mouth, chewing as if savoring the pulp of a lychee between its teeth.

Lost in the ecstasy of the meal, it picked up the picture frame and rehung it on the wall.

The countless eyes covering its body blinked rhythmically under the shifting light.

"Now, who shall be the second lucky one?"

...

Ding dong! "Latest announcement: In this [Hide-and-Seek] exam, Hearts faction examinee 'Mo Xiangyu' has been eliminated!"

As soon as the announcement rang out, the remaining hiding players froze, their scalps tingling with dread.

"What? It’s only been five minutes, and one’s already caught?"

In the equipment room, Liu Congming also took a deep breath. "Is this Supernatural Entity cheating?"

"We’re playing a game against a Supernatural Entity, not a human."

"If it weren’t cheating, it wouldn’t be a Supernatural Game."

Ji Yan, however, wasn’t too surprised. He had already guessed that some unlucky soul would be the first to fall.

He was thinking, how does the Cursed Eye Supernatural Entity locate them?

The countless eerie eyes covering its body are the key—most likely its supernatural ability...

Just as Ji Yan was pondering this, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his palm.

His right hand moved uncontrollably, his nails piercing through the skin of his palm.

What is the Blood Gu Supernatural Entity trying to pull this time?

The sudden sting sent a chill down Ji Yan's spine.

He abruptly sensed eyes staring fixedly at him—and not just one pair!

Ji Yan turned his head, scanning the room behind him.

His gaze swept past dumbbells, treadmills, volleyball nets... before finally landing on that damaged plaster statue.

Ji Yan's eyes locked onto the statue.

The motionless plaster figure stood with its head raised, as if lost in thought while gazing at the sky...

Ignoring Liu Congming's calls beside him, Ji Yan remained fixated on the statue.

Time ticked by...

Just as Ji Yan's eyes began to ache and he prepared to look away, he froze in the next instant.

The statue, which had been gazing upward, blinked its cracked eyes—an illusion?—then eerily shifted its gaze, tilting downward to stare directly at Ji Yan...

The statue was alive?!