Terror is resurging, but only I am.

Chapter 61 The Escape Begins

Dormitory manager.

Yan Ming stood at the top of the stairs on the fourth floor, looking at the two nodal areas on this floor, pondering to himself.

The seven node areas represent the respawn points, and the difficulty is arranged according to the floor level; the higher the floor, the lower the difficulty.

The easiest landmark on the 5th floor is on the footstep ghost in front of you, and the two landmarks of the next level of difficulty are on the 4th floor.

It seems that Footprint Ghost was well aware of this, which is why he chose to place the footprints on the 4th floor, as this is the most important area in the dormitory building.

Even if Yan Ming planned to betray his teammates and run away first, he could only respawn in the node area on the third floor at most, which was still relatively risky.

"Yan Ming, I can hold on for about five more minutes. This thing has been struggling much harder since it noticed you were here."

He Lian looked in Yan Ming's direction and shouted a warning in the corridor.

Yan Ming nodded and immediately looked at the cane king beside him.

[Later, use your crutches to get to the hallway, then pull me over together.]

Yan Ming handed the note to the cane king, then turned and went downstairs, carrying up half of the split bed board.

Since Lu Mingzhe and his companion were able to exploit a bug by using stilts to ignore the killing patterns of the Foot Ghost, then using the bed board as a plank to slide down the corridor should have a similar effect.

The Footprint Demon's abilities are sinister, but if one knew its abilities in advance, there would be many ways to counter it.

The taboos of ghosts tend to be purely rules; even if they are powerful, they can only extend the rules, not distort them.

If it were a real-life ghost with footsteps, He Lian's telekinetic powers probably wouldn't be able to control it when it struggled, but unfortunately...

The footstep ghost at this moment is merely a product of the ghost-pretending rules and lacks the ability to overcome control.

Following Yan Ming's instructions, the crutch-wielding king successfully arrived at the door of dormitory 2413 and waited for orders. He then reached out and took the rope that Yan Ming threw to him.

The cane king leaned against the wall and then laboriously dragged the rope, allowing Yan Ming, who was sitting on the bed board, to slide down the smooth marble floor.

He Lian, who was standing nearby, witnessed this scene and distracted herself by controlling a telekinetic hand, easily pulling the wooden plank down to the corresponding dormitory door.

Yan Ming took his position and activated his dual-view system, witnessing once again the entire process of a male classmate being arrested.

This time, the boy hid in the closet. The monster at the door went back and forth several times, eventually being attracted by the strange noises coming from inside the closet. Then it came in and kidnapped the boy.

Yan Ming clearly saw that after the boy was taken away, a piece of paper floated down from the empty cabinet, quickly transforming into a paper figure that looked sinisterly at the doorway with a wicked grin.

However, the paper doll quickly noticed Yan Ming, who was also in the dormitory. So it gave a shy smile like Tom the cat caught doing something wrong, and then secretly hid back in the dark closet.

The first point on the fourth floor was also exposed because of a paper figure, which was probably pasted on the top surface of the cabinet beforehand.

From a practical standpoint, if you put yourself in the male student's shoes and grab the paper figure immediately, there's a high probability that you won't be discovered by the monsters outside and can escape safely.

Yan Ming noted down the key points, then reached into the cabinet and found a boy's watch.

This is the marker of the node area.

He was then dragged away from the dormitory by the Cane King and headed to the second node area.

The second node area on the 4th floor was near the Footstep Ghost, and He Lian used her telekinetic power to hold it in mid-air.

As he approached, Yan Ming could feel the sound of something cutting through the air coming from that direction, accompanied by a slight breeze.

He knew that there was an invisible ghost in mid-air, desperately trying to move its feet to land again, but after He Lian lifted it up, the ghost could only move in mid-air and could not move freely.

"Quick, it can sense you approaching and is struggling!"

Suddenly, He Lian raised her hand to assist in controlling the situation. The moment she relaxed her guard, the footprint ghost grabbed her and almost let her go.

The footprint ghost knew that He Lian had expended a lot of energy to control it, so it struggled desperately, seeking a chance to escape.

Yan Ming used his hands to grip the wall and moved forward quickly, reaching the node area in the corridor within seconds.

This time, the boy hid behind the dormitory door. The monster didn't notice him immediately when it entered the dormitory; it was only through the reflection on the window that it noticed his presence.

The second landmark on the fourth floor is a small vocabulary notebook. The first dozen or so pages are mostly words, with 10 words on each page. It looks like the kind of diligent student who uses breaks between classes or after meals to memorize words.

However, the last page only contained words like Demon, Ghost, and Devil, along with a bunch of crazy and twisted "Die," as if foreshadowing the fate of the other people in the dormitory building.

Yan Ming put away the notebook and left the room. At the end of the corridor, the Cane King was already in position, ready to pull Yan Ming back to the "shore".

"All the markers are collected!" The Cane King shouted as soon as he saw what Yan Ming was holding, reminding He Lian and Lu Mingzhe who were waiting in the distance.

Lu Mingzhe responded, "Okay, my ability can temporarily control that ghostly thing. Let Yan Ming write down the plan quickly!"

He followed He Lian to check for any omissions or deficiencies, so that if He Lian encountered any problems, the Footprint Ghost would not be able to be stopped.

"Troublemaker" can do this.

Upon hearing this, Yan Ming began to write furiously. He had already considered everyone's division of labor and positioning.

There are a total of six respawn points. He plans to have the others take their positions and then reenact the night more than twenty years ago.

This task does not require everyone to be gathered. As long as you wear the identification and enter the corresponding location, you can enter that illusion by maintaining the initial posture.

When one person enters the dormitory building from back then, it's like playing a single-player game. But when everyone enters the illusion around the same time, it transforms into a multiplayer game.

Aside from the excellent respawn point on the 5th floor, the respawn points on the other floors are obviously very dangerous, requiring teamwork to escape together.

The two respawn points on the fourth floor are Lu Mingzhe and the Cane King.

Lu Mingzhe needs to use his abilities to suppress the footprint ghost again, so he must stay on the fourth floor.

The Cane King is relatively the weakest, and the respawn point on the fourth floor is relatively safe.

Although the Cane King is not entirely trustworthy, he has not disobeyed Yan Ming's orders during this period of time.

Yan Ming knew very well that he couldn't put the Cane King on the most dangerous first floor, because he needed to leave the Cane King a way out.

Otherwise, if the other side turns against them at the last minute, it would be an undeserved disaster.

Maintaining unity and cooperation as we are now is the most reasonable approach; it would be a good thing if we could all leave alive together.

He Lian needed to help the dormitory manager get into position, so she had to be on the same floor as the manager. The two of them could only stay on the third floor, which also had two node areas.

Yan Ming assigned himself to the second floor, which was the most dangerous place among these people.

As for the last floor, it was naturally reserved for Li Yan.

Because Yan Ming was unsure whether the dormitory manager would "release" Li Yan from his ear after entering the node area, if Li Yan was already out of the game, then giving him the best position would be a waste.

Let's give the first floor a score instead.

He wrote notes for each person, and then, step by step, everyone took their places.

With his notebook in hand, King of Crutches hid in the dormitory, silently counting down the time in his mind. He knew he would begin his escape mission in about five minutes.

He Lian released the hands binding the footprint ghost, then boarded Yan Ming's small bed-boat and, propelled by his telekinetic hand, quickly left the fourth floor.

On the other side, Lu Mingzhe looked in the direction of the footprint ghost. He could sense that there was something there, so he selected the ghost and activated his ability "Troublemaker".

The next second, an equally invisible footprint ghost appeared out of thin air and closely followed the footprint ghost's main body. Lu Mingzhe had no idea what kind of trouble this troublesome ghost would cause the footprint ghost; he simply took this opportunity to quickly get into position.

The footprint ghost tried to chase He Lian's small boat on the bed plank, but found that there was a ghost that looked exactly like itself following it like a shadow.

This ghostly creature can even step on its footprints at will and gain the same acceleration ability.

The footprint ghost quickly reached the stairwell, only to be bumped into by the mischievous ghost chasing from behind, causing it to slam its head against the wall.

He Lian and Yan Ming successfully reached the third floor. Through the shadows, they noticed that the dormitory manager, whose computer had crashed due to Li Yan's actions, was still standing there.

“I will get the dormitory manager in place and leave Li Yan with the landmarks and accurate information for the first floor area.” He Lian stretched out her telekinetic hand, preparing to forcibly drag the dormitory manager into the node area.

Under normal circumstances, it would require more than two people to drag the dormitory manager's body with their eyes closed, which would be extremely dangerous. However, He Lian's telekinetic hand technique can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

After giving his instructions, Yan Ming went to the node area on the second floor alone and stood in the corridor, silently counting the time.

With everything prepared, the rest of the escape will depend on individual abilities.

One minute later, Yan Ming put on the necklace and then controlled Teacher Pan to climb up the ceiling according to the location he remembered.

Maintaining the corresponding posture, in an instant, Yan Ming felt a change in his surroundings.

The entire corridor suddenly went dark. As the faint moonlight spilled onto the corridor, Yan Ming heard footsteps coming from very close by.

"Snapped."

The crisp yet heavy footsteps were therefore particularly loud, like a slap in the face.

It's right below.

The platypus is right below.

Yan Ming was quite knowledgeable and wouldn't normally be too afraid of ghosts, but at this moment it felt like he had returned to reality.

The abilities of the Spying Ghost, the Doctor Ghost, and the Blindfold Ghost are all unusable.

He thought of something, and first touched his face, only to find that it was Teacher Pan, not the Blindfold Ghost, nor Yan Ming or Li Xiaoyu.

It seems that although he possessed Teacher Pan in the form of a blinding ghost, he was still regarded as a person, namely Teacher Pan himself.

However, one's consciousness remains oneself.

Yan Ming felt something move at the collar of his clothes, so he quickly reached out and grabbed the paper figure.

Based on the scene reconstruction of the previous node area, the boy hanging from the ceiling on the second floor was exposed mainly because the paper figure in his arms secretly untied his necklace.

The movement of the necklace caught the attention of the platypus below, which then captured it.

Knowing that the paper figure wanted to harm him, Yan Ming naturally couldn't treat it kindly. He grabbed the paper figure tightly with one hand, especially squeezing its head tightly.

The special ghost that made the "Waijila" sound earlier has not been found yet, and Yan Ming cannot be sure what it is, but apart from the dormitory manager, there are no real ghosts in the entire dormitory building.

Even if we don't say that only paper figures are left, we can at least say that it's highly probable.

It is absolutely necessary to seal the paper figure's mouth.

The platypus paced slowly down the corridor, its pattering footsteps gradually slowing as if it could sense that its target was nearby, and thus it searched with extra care.

"!"

Yan Ming felt a sharp pain in his finger, and his instinct made him want to gasp for breath, but he held it in, his face turning red.

The mouth on this paper figure is clearly drawn on, so how could it bite?!

The sudden pain made Yan Ming tense all his muscles to fight it, and he clenched his fist tightly with the hand hanging from the ceiling to keep his body as stiff as possible so that he would not sway or move at this moment.

The platypus is right below; even the slightest sound could be detected by it.

Yan Ming cursed the paper figure in his heart. He slowly put the hand that was holding the paper figure into his clothes because he could feel his fingers bleeding.

When the blood pools into a single drop and flows down, it will fall onto the corridor floor, much like the necklace falling.

However, he did retaliate, as he began to slowly but extremely forcefully rub the paper figure in his hand, trying to tear it completely apart.

Although he didn't know what kind of ghosts would appear in the form of paper figures, he felt that breaking the paper figures' bodies would most likely harm them.

However, the paper figure's body was more resilient than Yan Ming had imagined, and his attempts yielded no results.

Meanwhile, the platypus below had already walked three or four steps away and seemed to be focusing its attention on a certain dormitory room.

Yan Ming quickly glanced back to check the distance between himself and the stairwell behind him.

According to his vision, there is such a shadowy monster on each floor, which is probably the "evil spirit" mentioned in the introduction that imprisons the dormitory manager's soul.

Then the floor must be the territory of the evil spirit.

The best way to escape the platypus's pursuit is probably to run to another floor.

However, he had previously paid attention to the platypus's speed in the scene reenactment. Its clumsy appearance was just an illusion; the platypus was much more agile and nimble than he had imagined.

There's only a three or four-step difference now; there's absolutely no way he can escape.

We have to wait a little longer, until the platypus walks into the dormitory...

Only then should there be a chance to escape from the second floor.

But the platypus stopped again. It paused at the dormitory entrance, only peering inside, without actually going in to search.

At that moment, a strange thought flashed through Yan Ming's mind.

The respawn point on the second floor is similar to that on the fourth floor; both were discovered by monsters because of the destruction caused by a paper doll.

If stopping the paper figures' malice really could save us from disaster...

Wouldn't the difficulty of the two respawn points be similar then?

Is the added difficulty simply because he's currently hanging from the ceiling?
Is this level of difficulty really worth climbing two floors?

Yan Ming frowned slightly, and then he noticed something.

Why does this platypus have no shadow?

He vaguely remembered that the monsters on the other four floors all had shadows...

and many more.

Yan Ming had a sudden inspiration and couldn't help but look up at the ceiling in front of him.

A chubby shadow was slowly approaching him along the ceiling.

Once it noticed Yan Ming's gaze, its terrifying and eerie giant duck beak suddenly opened and charged towards him.

The stench of blood assaulted Yan Ming's senses, making him dizzy and disoriented.

(End of this chapter)