Tang Luoshan and Huang Shiliu had never actually considered the issue Zhao Ying mentioned before.
However, once it was brought up, they both realized the deeply hidden abnormality within it.
Tang Luoshan nodded inwardly.
“Indeed, this issue could be significant. I can access records of various cleared dungeons within the Paranormal Bureau.”
“According to those records, the vast majority of specters in dungeons will first target the killer and their accomplices, only occasionally striking at players during the process.”
“Unless the NPCs in the dungeon deliberately induce players to trigger Death Rules to divert the specter's attention. In such cases, the specter would temporarily skip the NPCs to kill the players.”
“However, from the moment we entered the dungeon until now, the NPCs haven't actively guided us to do anything, yet the specter still bypassed the killer to strike at the players… There must be a major problem here.”
Huang Shiliu's claws unconsciously scratched the soft mattress.
“Could it be that the NPCs used some method we don't know about to divert the specter's attention? Or perhaps the specter doesn't even know who killed them? So it avoided those close to it and went after us outsiders instead?”
Tang Luoshan slowly shook his head.
“I don't know. Any guess is possible. But with so few clues known right now, it's impossible to be certain. In my opinion, we should find an opportunity to ask Yao Wenli. It will be more accurate to make deductions after confirming some details.”
Huang Shiliu grunted in agreement.
Just then, Zhao Ying spoke up somewhat uneasily.
“Um… while I was with the other players earlier, I told them the news that two people had already been killed by the specter.”
Huang Shiliu flicked its paw, completely indifferent.
“If you told them, you told them. There are two fewer people now; they would have found out sooner or later anyway.”
Seeing that they were calm and didn't seem to mind at all, Zhao Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then are we just waiting for tonight, when those two NPCs separate? Or should we go look for more clues?”
Tang Luoshan felt another one of his blood aura clones dissipate, feeling a bit disappointed.
Once again, there was no harvest.
Was there really not a single hidden clue within this old residence? Or had he simply not found the right place?
One had to know that while Yao Wenli and Xu Youyou were away, he had created several blood aura clones to conduct a general search of the entire residence.
Although his clones couldn't perform a completely detailed search due to limited time and the pervasive specter aura, they should have covered most of it. After all, he had even checked all the NPCs' rooms.
“There’s no need to go out looking for clues. The real clues must be on Yao Wenli and Xu Youyou. We’ll see if they take an afternoon nap. If they separate, we’ll go to Yao Wenli. If they don’t, we’ll wait until night.”
“The survival time for this main quest is three days. While that isn’t much time, there’s no need to rush and risk accidents.”
The other two naturally had no objections to Tang Luoshan's suggestion.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Of the original ten newbie players, only eight remained.
They had just learned from Zhao Ying that two of the newbie female players were dead. Their hearts felt cold, and fear began to sprout within them.
Coupled with the pervasive ghostly chill inside the old residence, they were truly panicking. Thus, after leaving the kitchen, they found an opportunity to leave the house. They were now on the bluestone platform in front of the residence, near the railing.
Cheng Luoying faced the cold wind outside and rubbed her arms slightly. Once she stepped out of the main gate, she felt the ghostly chill completely recede, finally sensing a normal, cool breeze.
Although it was still a bit cold, it was nothing compared to the chill inside the residence.
However… the thought of the two female players who had shared a bed with her just last night dying unnoticed in some corner made her extremely anxious. She was terrified that she would be the next to die.
Cheng Luoying snapped out of it and looked around. Seeing the others as quiet as mice, she sighed softly and was the first to speak.
“What are we going to do now? Although we learned some dungeon rules from the veteran players just now, neither those big shots nor the other veterans seem like they intend to carry us to clear the dungeon.”
“If we do nothing, we might be used as cannon fodder to buy time and end up dying in the dungeon.”
She was quite clear-headed and knew exactly where she stood. Therefore, she couldn't help but worry about what would happen next.
A young man standing beside her in casual clothes looked up.
“You're right. But exactly what to do is a very complicated question.”
Cheng Luoying’s gaze fell on him. She knew this person; he had introduced himself during their chat last night. His name was… Zhou Hetian.
Zhou Hetian’s expression was solemn as he continued. “To put it simply, we just need to complete the main quest to clear the dungeon. The main quest requires us to survive for three days, which means we need to ensure we aren't killed by the specter during that time. But as for this path of survival…”
“I’m sure you all heard what the veteran players said when we asked them earlier. Finding the path of survival is truly complicated. We have to identify the specter's identity in life, almost fully understand their life experiences, and then find the most likely location of the path of survival from those experiences.”
“That’s a bit too difficult for us.” He frowned slowly. “After all, we are newbies—complete newbies. Aside from our own talents, we don’t have a single specter item. But the other veteran players likely have one, or even more. So for us, the best way is to act together with the veteran players.”
Someone asked worriedly, “But… will those veteran players really be kind enough to lead us? Might we die even faster if we follow them? For instance, what if they use us to test the specter's Death Rules? After all, once they know the specific content of a Death Rule, the other players can consciously avoid it and survive safely.”
Zhou Hetian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. “How could I not know what you’re saying? But other than that, do we have any other options?”
Everyone fell silent.
After a short while, a refined middle-aged man with a scholarly air spoke up. “Tell me, how many paths of survival do you think there are?”
Hearing this question, everyone else was stunned.
How many paths of survival were there?
Cheng Luoying thought back and said hesitantly, “The veteran players said earlier that as long as we find the path of survival, everyone can clear the dungeon.”
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