The questioning lasted for nearly two hours.
Although only Weng Yang and Liu Guilan, who was in relatively stable spirits, were currently able to undergo questioning, Chen Xi asked in great detail.
—from the Instance rules to the characteristics of the monsters, and from the statuses of the individuals to the item rewards.
Both of them answered one by one without hiding anything.
Weng Yang knew that to save the others, relying on individual strength was not enough.
She knew that an individual could not handle this kind of situation alone. Only by cooperating with the authorities could they figure out what was really going on and save the remaining people.
When the questioning ended, Chen Xi stood up and extended her hand to Weng Yang, her expression gentle and reassuring:
“Thank you, student Weng Yang. The information you provided is extremely important to us. Go and get some rest first. If there are further questions, we will contact you again.”
Weng Yang's emotions finally calmed down a bit. She reflexively shook her hand and asked nervously, “Officer Chen, will you... go in to save them?”
Chen Xi didn't offer any empty promises, but said straightforwardly, “Protecting our citizens is our responsibility. We will definitely find a way.”
Weng Yang let out a sigh of relief.
On the other side, the questioning of Liu Guilan had also concluded.
The statements of the two basically aligned, and with the details matching up, it was enough to prove that everything they said was true.
Weng Yang also added information about the Punishment Room, saying that Luo Yiming and Fang Wei were locked up for smashing things and would only be released after twelve hours.
Liu Guilan, speaking and gesturing, supplemented details about the water ghost and also disclosed her awakened class.
Although Tan Moli was not in a good mental state, after being injected with a sedative, she also forced herself to stay awake and added some things she knew:
“It was Zhao Weilai. She... she suddenly became incredibly powerful. She just leaped up, like a movie protagonist, and then... then beat back the water ghost's body...”
“Checking in... checking in lets you leave that Instance, and it even gives us rewards when we leave.”
“There was a student named Zhou Shengsheng. He left on his own.”
“Zhao Weilai and the others are still inside. There's no chance left at the artificial lake check-in point. Please go save them quickly...”
“It's my fault. I held them back. I couldn't run fast, and I even dropped the candle. I... I should have stayed in there.”
As she spoke, her speech became somewhat slurred, her eyelids drooped weakly, and she fell asleep with even breathing.
No one present blamed this innocent girl.
She was not a professional search and rescue worker, nor had she received any special training. Facing so many supernatural entities, forcing herself to hold on until now was already her limit.
...
In the meeting room of the temporary command center at Jiangcheng University, everyone gathered around the conference table, busy compiling information.
The whiteboard was covered in writing:
【Instance Name: Campus Ghost Stories】
【Instance Player Limit: 10 people】
【Returned: 4 people (Weng Yang, Tan Moli, Liu Guilan, Fu Qinqin)】
【Remaining: 6 people (Deng Ziwen, Zhao Weilai, Ding Feifan, Zhou Shengsheng, Luo Yiming, Fang Wei)】
【Check-in Point 1: Artificial Lake · Water Ghost
Mission: Hold a candle and walk around the lake once. Do not look back. The candle must not go out.
Hazard: The candle holder is safe; the water ghost's actual target is the Lake-Center Pavilion.
Monsters Encountered: Bloated Water Ghost, Floating Faces in the Lake, Unknown Ghost Patting Windows in the Administration Building
Rewards: Items, Gold Ingots...】
【Currently Known Rules:
1. Must abide by the Student Handbook. Violations may lead to the Punishment Room.
2. Check in at any ghost story location within 72 hours to clear the Instance.
3. Instance participants cannot leave the boundaries of the Instance.
4. Upon entering the Instance, participants are divided into "Players" and "Instance Participants". Players may possess classes (unconfirmed)】
【Known Classes: Su Ya (Architect), Chen Xi (Constable), Liu Guilan (Clay Sculptor)—Hypothesized that classes may have ranks... Pending verification.】
...
Chen Xi stood in front of the whiteboard, tapping her knuckles against the line that read "Remaining: 6 people."
“The basic situation is clear now,”
she spoke slowly, her tone calm.
“The Instance really exists. Inside, there are rules and monsters. Only those who complete the missions can leave, and they might even obtain special items and abilities.
This means the six innocent citizens inside could face life-threatening danger at any moment.”
“So, we must go in.”
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Only after a long while did someone speak up:
“Captain Chen, it's not that we don't want to go in. The problem now is, how do we enter?
We've tried many methods, but no one can get in. It seems only those chosen by it will be pulled inside.”
“There will always be a pattern. Just like in Taiping Cemetery, Lao Hei, who rode the Route 404 Bus but didn't get off, didn't enter the Instance. So there must be a specific trigger condition.”
Chen Xi walked to the whiteboard on the other side.
Photos of the ten missing persons were pinned to it, with their behaviors prior to their disappearances marked underneath.
“Look here.”
Chen Xi pointed at the photos. “Zhou Shengsheng was playing games, shouting profanities, and slamming the table, making a massive amount of noise.
Deng Ziwen and Zhao Weilai had a heated argument by the lake.
Liu Guilan always speaks very loudly because she has poor hearing in one ear.
Weng Yang and Tan Moli moved a display board before they vanished, which rolled away and made a loud noise.
Luo Yiming and Fang Wei, according to their roommates, one broke a cup and the other flushed the toilet—both making varying degrees of noise.
Fu Qinqin was startled by a cockroach in the library while getting water and let out a scream.
Extrapolating from this pattern, Ding Feifan, who was working overtime in the archives room, might have also made some noise.”
“Thus, without exception, all ten people made a great deal of noise before they disappeared.”
She looked around at everyone and voiced her deduction:
“Therefore, I hypothesize that the trigger condition to enter the 《Campus Ghost Stories》 Instance is making a sound that exceeds a certain decibel level after lights out at Jiangcheng University. The louder the noise, the easier it is to be selected.”
An uproar erupted in the meeting room.
“Noise? Is it really that simple?”
“It sounds a bit absurd, but for all ten people to fit this pattern is too much of a coincidence.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let's submit a report immediately and save them!”
“The families of the missing are about to turn the school upside down. The unscrupulous media are like hyenas, staring us down and claiming we're 'not actively searching and rescuing.' Screw them...”
“No, it's too dangerous.”
Of course, there were also those who objected. “None of us know what this Instance actually is. Approaching it rashly... I still insist on submitting a report first.”
“Every minute of delay means another minute of danger for those inside.”
Chen Xi tugged at her collar. “According to what they said, the water ghost looking for a scapegoat at the artificial lake is only the first check-in point. The difficulty of the games later on will only get higher.
I will request instructions from my superiors and submit the report right now.”
She was a woman of her word and immediately pulled out her phone to dial her superior's number.
The pressure on the authorities was naturally immense as well.
Thus, even though the rescue location was inside an eerie Instance that no one understood, the approval from above was quickly handed down:
【Action plan approved. Deploy nine members from the Special Forces Brigade to form a search and rescue team to accompany Chen Xi into the Instance.
Make every possible effort to rescue the trapped personnel. All actions must prioritize the personal safety of our citizens.】
...
Time ticked by, and everyone waited with burning anxiety.
The lights-out bell rang, and the entirety of Jiangcheng University plunged into darkness once more.
All unrelated personnel had been evacuated from the school. Those walking within the campus were entirely military and police forces.
Although it was summer, everyone had sponges wrapped around the soles of their shoes.
Even the police dogs wore muzzles, currently nesting aggrievedly in their handlers' arms.
Everyone executed their orders meticulously, absolutely refusing to make a single unnecessary sound.
At 12:50 AM.
At the locations where the missing persons had vanished, the ten members of the search and rescue team were already prepared.
To reconstruct the situation of that day as closely as possible, everyone "played" the roles of the missing persons, mimicking their behaviors prior to their disappearances on a one-to-one basis.
Inside the empty male dormitory building, irritable shouting echoed.
On the long slope of the school, two people pushed a large iron drum downward, letting it crash with a heavy thud.
The library, administration building, cafeteria, restrooms...
The search and rescue team made as much noise as possible according to the trigger conditions.
On campus, the patrolling soldiers became increasingly silent.
But nothing happened.
One minute passed.
Two minutes passed.
...
Ten minutes passed.
The wind on campus was still just ordinary wind, and no white mist appeared.
“Captain Chen, there's no response,” someone contacted her via walkie-talkie. “Is our method wrong?”
Deep confusion was written all over Chen Xi's face.
Had she guessed wrong?
Just as she was contemplating, the familiar ink-wash text suddenly materialized in front of the ten of them.
【Prospective Player Team Chen Xi detected, applying to enter the Instance 《Campus Ghost Stories》.】
【Current number of players in the Instance: 4/6.】
【Please wait patiently in queue for an open slot. Once a slot becomes available, you will be automatically teleported.】
【Queue Position: 1】
Chen Xi's expression changed dramatically.
Not because of the sudden appearance of the Instance, but because of that number.
4/6?
Only four living players were left in the Instance?
Who had died?
Chen Xi's heart sank instantly.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Instance, Zhao Weilai sat with her head lowered in a corner of an office in the administration building, the noisy "thump, thump, thump" of someone patting the glass echoing in her ears.
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