I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

In the instance, the difference between day and night is somewhat subtle.

The sky brightened amidst a grayish-white expanse, the light obscured by thick fog, resembling frosted glass.

Daylight broke, but the fog hadn't lifted.

Liu Guilan was the first to wake up.

The three of them slept in the cafeteria's dining area yesterday.

As she got older, her bones became brittle. When Liu Guilan woke up, her whole body ached, and her arms and legs were numb.

"Why hasn't this thick fog lifted yet?"

She rubbed her lower back as she stood up, walked to the door, and looked out with concern.

The fog was still frighteningly thick.

It was even stronger than when they first came in last night.

Everything was a hazy white blur; you couldn't see anything beyond three steps.

"Those things should be gone by daybreak, right?"

Deng Ziwen squatted down next to Zhao Weilai and helped his girlfriend sit up.

The sound of splashing water last night was constant, along with footsteps echoing on the ceiling, and later the sound of fingernails scratching at the window.

The creaking noises kept Zhao Weilai and Deng Ziwen awake. In the end, they had to push two stools together and sleep side by side to get some rest.

"Auntie, how's it outside?"

Deng Ziwen asked in a low voice. Liu Guilan looked for a while and shook her head: "It's still the same. The fog is so thick that you can't see anything and there's no sound of anyone."

She walked to the sink, turned on the tap, and the water pipe made a few gurgling sounds before flowing out a little yellowish water.

After just one night, the food in the canteen had all rotted and spoiled, and yellow liquid had flowed all over the floor.

There was food in the vending machine, but none of them had cell phone signal so they couldn't buy anything.

Deng Ziwen originally wanted to smash the vending machine, but Zhao Weilai stopped him in the end.

"Didn't you read that rule? It tells us to follow some student code of conduct, smashing vending machines—that's probably considered damaging school property."

Although it's uncertain what the consequences of breaking the rules will be, the strange thing that haunted us all night is enough to make us wary.

"The water supply in the canteen has been cut off too." Liu Guilan said worriedly, "If we can't find anything to eat, even if we don't finish that task, we'll eventually die of thirst or starvation here."

"Then hurry up and get out of here."

Zhao Weilai shook his head and changed the subject, "Seventy-two hours, we can't just wait to die."

"I also feel that we can't stay here all the time."

Liu Guilan came over and rubbed her hands together. "Let's go out and look for something to eat, and then look for other people."

There's strength in numbers, and since we're all from the same school, we can look out for each other.

Deng Ziwen nodded: "That's what I think too, Auntie. Although we are safe here for the time being, the mission is to find three strange tales to check off. We can't just wait for the mission to come to us."

"Why don't we take advantage of the daylight and go out to see if we can find the others?"

Zhao Weilai also agreed.

The three got up and prepared their equipment.

Liu Guilan's first thought was to find something to defend herself. She ran to the back kitchen, found a large stainless steel shovel, and weighed it in her hand. It was heavy and easy to handle.

She then found two more rolling pins and handed them to Deng Ziwen and Zhao Weilai:

"Take it. At least it's something. You can swing it around a couple of times if you encounter something. It's better than empty-handed."

Deng Ziwen took the rolling pin and was about to say thank you when Zhao Weilai suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with hesitation:

"Wait... won't taking these things break the rules?"

Liu Guilan was taken aback: "What rules?"

"It's like what's stated in the rules of the copy: you have to abide by the student code of conduct."

Zhao Weilai frowned. "There must be a clause in the student code of conduct about 'taking care of public property.' The shovels and rolling pins in the cafeteria are all public property of the school."

If we take it out without permission, does that count as breaking the rules? What if we trigger a penalty?

Upon hearing this, Liu Guilan quickly put the shovel back, clearly at a loss for what to do.

"Oh dear, how come I didn't think of that! You young folks are so quick-witted. You can't just take this without thinking, what if you break the rules!"

There's an old saying in our village: wherever you go, you have to follow the rules, or you'll suffer the consequences.

Deng Ziwen was also stunned.

Who hasn't heard of student rules when they were in school?

But who would actually carry it?

It's nothing more than handing out a booklet at the beginning of the semester, which everyone just throws away without even flipping through it.

Who would have thought that one day this thing would be a matter of life and death?

"Student code of conduct... Let me think about it."

Deng Ziwen scratched his head. "It's nothing more than not being late or leaving early, not damaging public property, not fighting, respecting teachers, and getting along with classmates... The rules of schools all over the world are pretty much the same."

"Is taking public property considered a violation?" Zhao Weilai pressed.

"Well... it's hard to say."

Deng Ziwen smiled wryly, "Who knows how strict the 'Student Code of Conduct' is in this game? If stealing counts, then we're in trouble."

Liu Guilan was getting anxious: "What should we do then? If we don't bring anything, how are we supposed to deal with that water ghost if we're empty-handed?"

"How about... we use sticks? We can look for a paper copy of the student handbook later."

Zhao Weilai pointed to several mop handles piled up in the corner of the cafeteria:

"The mop belongs to the school cafeteria, but we're just borrowing it. We should be fine returning it afterward, right?"

The three exchanged glances and all felt that this idea was more prudent.

Deng Ziwen walked over, picked out three sturdy mop handles, removed the mop heads, leaving only the wooden sticks that were more than a meter long:

"Okay, let's use this one—even if it's against the rules, it shouldn't be too serious. It's better than fighting empty-handed."

Liu Guilan took the wooden stick and felt a little more at ease.

"By the way, Ziwen, do you remember what else is in the student code of conduct?"

Zhao Weilai asked, "What if we accidentally step on a landmine? That would be terrible."

"How could I possibly remember that?"

Deng Ziwen sighed, "Don't even mention me. Ask any student in the school, who can memorize the student code of conduct?"

It's only read once at the beginning of the semester, who cares?

Anyway, let's remember, don't damage things, don't fight, and walk properly; we shouldn't get into any serious trouble.

Zhao Weilai nodded, still feeling a little apprehensive:

The rules are too vague.

Vague rules are often more frightening than clear punishments.

—Because you never know which step you took wrong that triggered the annihilation.

The three of them walked to the entrance of the canteen. Deng Ziwen first opened the door a crack and looked out.

Thick fog blanketed the campus, which was deserted and not a soul in sight.

The camphor trees by the roadside are now just blurry black shadows. When the wind blows, their branches sway like countless hands shaking.

It's too quiet.

It's too quiet.

The university, with tens of thousands of students, was as quiet as a tomb at this moment.

"Let's go, I'll go first." Deng Ziwen gripped his wooden stick and led the way. "Let's not get separated."

Zhao Weilai followed closely behind him, while Liu Guilan walked at the back, glancing back every now and then.

The three walked along the main road, the asphalt under their feet was wet, covered with water droplets formed by the condensation of mist.

The vending machines by the roadside were lit up, and the drinks inside were neatly arranged, yet they looked unreal, as if they were made of paper.

Looking at the empty road, Zhao Weilai felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously moved closer to Deng Ziwen.

Just then, a crackling sound of electricity suddenly came from afar.

The sound came from a loudspeaker on the side of the road.

The three of them stopped in their tracks and looked warily toward the source of the sound.

[Sizzling sound...feeding...feeding...can you hear me?]

Thank goodness, the radio still works.

A man's voice came through the loudspeaker, crackling and static:

This is the Jiangcheng University Broadcasting Station. I am Ding Feifan, the counselor for the first-year students in the School of Economics.

If there are any other surviving students or teachers who hear this announcement, please assemble immediately in the school auditorium! I repeat, please assemble in the auditorium!

Let's work together to get out! Please be careful, travel in groups whenever possible, and don't go alone!

The sound repeated twice, then turned into a crackling electrical noise.

All three of them showed expressions of surprise and delight.

"Ding Feifan? Instructor Ding?"

Deng Ziwen's eyes lit up. "I know him! He was the one who hosted our college's last major meeting. I didn't expect him to be here too!"

"There really are other people in the dungeon!"

Zhao Weilai also became emotional, his eyes reddening, "I thought... only the three of us were still alive."

"That's great, that's great." Liu Guilan also breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good to have more people, and we won't be afraid if there are more people."

After the initial surprise, the three of them hesitated for a moment.

"Could it be a trap?" Zhao Weilai whispered. "What if... what if it's some kind of thing mimicking a human voice to lure us over?"

The terrifying experience last night is still fresh in my mind.

Deng Ziwen pondered for a moment: "Probably not, I remember Instructor Ding's voice."

Besides, the instance wouldn't need to trick us into going there; we didn't break any rules, and if the instance really wanted to kill us, we would have been dead already.

Besides, blindly running around like a headless fly isn't a solution.

The auditorium isn't far from here, only a ten-minute walk. At worst, we'll just be careful.

Liu Guilan nodded in agreement: "I think Xiao Deng is right. We can't just wander around aimlessly. Let's go check it out. If it's a person, great; if not, we can just run away."

Zhao Weilai thought for a moment and nodded.

The three of them composed themselves, managed to discern their direction, and headed towards the auditorium.

The fog was still very thick, and the scenery on both sides of the road was blurred.

The three people walked very slowly, clutching the wooden sticks tightly in their hands.

Occasionally, a chilly wind would blow by, swirling up fallen leaves and making a "whoosh" sound—enough to startle them.

When they passed the artificial lake, the three of them didn't dare to stop walking.

The fishy smell became even stronger.

"Hurry up." Deng Ziwen lowered his voice and pulled Zhao Weilai forward quickly.

Liu Guilan followed behind, turning back every few steps, a chill running down her spine.

She always felt that something in the water wanted to come up.

……

……

The auditorium door was ajar, revealing a crack through which a sliver of warm light shone.

The three of them stood at the door and gently pushed it open.

The auditorium was dark, with only the emergency lights on the stage illuminating a small area with a dim yellow glow.

Rows of seats were neatly arranged, and several program schedules were scattered on the ground.

The red curtain on the stage hung down, and the wind blew in from backstage, causing the curtain to sway gently.

"Is anyone there?" Deng Ziwen called out tentatively.

The sound echoed in the empty auditorium and carried far.

"Who?"

A man's voice came from the side of the stage, sounding wary.

Immediately afterwards, a figure emerged from behind the curtain.

He was probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a white shirt and black-rimmed glasses. The shirt was a little wrinkled and dusty, and he looked somewhat tired.

It was Ding Feifan.