Chapter 1976: Ghost Skull Mystery 37

They're all dead!?

As Lin An spoke his conclusion, Gao Tian's scalp went numb, and he felt his body's hairs stand on end!

"Brother Lin!? You mean the system only left us these people alive!? Because we can understand that thing!?"

Exactly!

It's like a baby entering an exam hall—he can't even read the test paper, so naturally he has no qualification to take the exam; keeping them alive would be pointless for the system!

Combined with the system's minimum requirement of Fifth Stage, this can be understood as the entry threshold for the mission!

"That's right, I also thought of this from the sea demon."

Lin An let out a light sigh, his gaze toward the direction Qing Kai left:

"The mission is semi‑compulsory; aside from the Giant Demons, the powerful civilizations of the Creator Alliance are confident they can complete the mission. They'll gamble, sending Star Destroyers and experienced Fifth‑Stages in, while other civilizations likely just send some cannon fodder."

"So even if the over a hundred people left are all Fifth‑Stages, they're still unqualified."

"Just as the sea demon would follow Qing Kai away, he also realized his clansmen were likely worthless cannon fodder. He just didn't dare think of that possibility, and still wanted to look for his own clansmen."

"We, this batch of people, have a chance to complete the mission in the system's judgment, so the system assigned us together."

"That way, there's no unfairness."

His eyes flickered; upon realizing this, Lin An couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart, grasping how brutal the system becomes after Fifth Stage.

If you're useless, the system won't even give you a chance to struggle—it'll just say you're dead and you die!

Of course there is a way to live—it's this batch of us; if we complete the mission, others can also be revived.

Think about it carefully—this is probably the system's punishment for those "cowardly" civilizations. And Qing Kai deeply understands this, so no matter what he wants to keep control of his fate, never leaving it to others.

"But, Captain Lin... if that's really the case, how are those people supposed to be revived?"

"According to our conclusion, reviving by leaving corpses inside isn't really revival at all! Are we supposed to go dig up their bodies? But that would still be unfair—not just to us, but even more to them! They lack awareness, so we have no reason to dig up corpses, nor any need to!"

His thoughts were in utter chaos; Gao Tian couldn't sort out the logic for a moment, feeling that something just didn't add up.

However, as his words fell, Lin An spoke calmly:

"Didn't you already say the answer?"

"We can't go look for them, so naturally they'll come look for us."

"Either the ghosts hunting us are those Fifth‑Stages, or... they're waiting for us at the mission exit....!"

One minute later.

"Lin An!? You mean there are still ghosts at the exit!? And those ghosts there are the most dangerous!?"

Putting down the steel frame in his hands, Jin Niu gave Lin An an ugly look as he approached.

Although the ghosts are invisible, they still have substance, so he still intended to set up some defenses here.

He had been planning to wait here for others to regroup, gather more cognition, then flee—but hearing Lin An's news, Jin Niu's mindset nearly exploded!

If there were ghosts chasing us ahead, that'd be bad enough, but with ghosts also at the exit, wouldn't we be caught in a pincer, a dead end!?

"That's right, we shouldn't stay here long, and we won't be able to hold out long."

"The ghosts will only get stronger; if nothing unexpected happens, once it gets dark we'll have to make a choice."

Lin An nodded, not hiding anything:

"The ghosts' strength should be enhanced according to the cognition we fill in."

"Different cognitions correspond to different traits."

"First is the one we encountered in the workshop—its strength far exceeds that of the earlier batch, but it has no eyes."

"That earlier batch could clearly see us, but their strength is somewhat weaker."

"Extrapolating, when we finally see the ghosts clearly, that will be the moment our cognition is complete—we'll know exactly what they are!"

He said no more; as Lin An shared his analysis, everyone present felt a heavy heart. Especially for the Giant Demon clan, several people exchanged glances, their faces full of bitterness.

Lin An's words weren't actually finished.

If nothing unexpected happens, after they complete their cognition they'll flee toward the exit; the final stage will be the "those people" Lin An guessed at.

And this last stretch of road is undoubtedly brutally harsh.

Perhaps only Lin An and that bear can charge through...

"Lin An, if that's the case, my Giant Demon clan would like to ask you for a favor. I know we're a burden, and our information should be nearly complete."

"If possible, take our heads with you... if that's impossible, even a piece of meat will do."

"If we can survive, I, Gu Siman, will surely repay you forever!"

Straining to his feet, Gu Siman grabbed a few of his clansmen and gave Lin An a heavy look.

With a swing of the knife, he sliced off a piece of flesh from his own wrist and laid it in his palm.

"Later, if ghosts appear, just give the order and we'll exert our last bit of value. Actually I also realized something: after a ghost kills a person it needs some time—it seems unable to kill continuously!"

"I think this might be our only useful trait."

He didn't hide anything else; after Gu Siman finished speaking, he gave a bitter laugh, knowing that saying this likely made him cannon fodder.

What Qing Kai said wasn't wrong; he believed Lin An had surely thought of this too, which is why he kept him.

But no matter what, whether Lin An wants to use him or something else, he doesn't mind dying.

"I'll do my best."

In the silence, Lin An spoke softly and took the piece of meat.

That's right, he also noticed that.

After the Divine Archer died, that ghost just stood there motionless; and according to Gao Tian's description, after the Red Robe died, it took several minutes before a ghost appeared to chase them.

Thus the whole mission is like a relay race: everyone focuses their cognition into one person's hands, and that final person will carry the hope of revival to break through the last obstacle.

But with Gu Siman already placing his hope on him, the pressure in Lin An's heart far exceeds what anyone imagines.

He has already prepared himself to die on the road, ready to restart at any moment.

The reason is nothing else; there are some things he still hasn't figured out, and he always feels this mission is far from being that "simple".

Everything is just speculation; ultimately, nobody knows what the answer is.

"Get ready; if there are any other teams still alive, they should find us soon. They likely have ghostly creatures chasing them from behind, and when we meet up, that will be our moment to fight desperately."

"Also be careful with the remaining time; I always feel like something is watching us."

He put away the meat chunk, Lin An spoke in a low voice, but just as he finished speaking, he discovered that Jin Niu's hand suddenly reached out.

"That... Lin An brother. My meat... also give it to you..."

"Actually, I didn't mention this piece of information, and of course I don't know whether it's useful or not."

Lin An raised his eyebrows, only to see Jin Niu point at the camera in his hand, then speak hesitantly.

"The photos in this camera, the ones in front and the ones in back, feel like they were taken with different techniques. When I was searching for clues downstairs with Hai Yao, I actually saw a flash of light. And at that time, the mission hadn't started yet..."

Huh?!

Before Lin An could even react, the next second, a sudden loud thud of a heavy object falling rang out from far away.

"Bang!!"

Only to see, on the not-far road, a sedan's roof instantly dented!

Ghost, here it comes!