Chapter 2: Initial Instance

Considered a cold-blooded hunter.

Called the only hope.

Saying: "This road leads to freedom."

Even if the path is thorny, even if I cannot reach the end.

It doesn't matter...

The torch that leads in the darkness.

If there is no road, then forge one!

If the road has no light, then burn yourself!

When dawn arrives, will break through the path forward, until all enemies are wiped out!

—————Observer (recorded in Blue Star Calendar year 2542, '94968' said to the world)

New Instance: Gray Wolf of the Orphanage

Plot Hint:

This summer's infectious disease is very severe.

The headmaster will give the children injections, saying this can temporarily ease the illness, then the children will draw lots for treatment.

Ci Min was selected, how lucky...

Those who were treated never returned; the headmaster said they were cured and kindly adopted, truly enviable...

………………………

Moonlight shines through the glass, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Tranquility reveals an eeriness.

The heart still beats, the warm palm touching the cold floor.

Lu Ming opened his eyes, his vision a yellowed flower board, moonlight shining directly on his face.

He reflexively tilted his head, discovering a pool of blood on the ground.

Thud!

Lu Ming sat up, the movement causing a stack of books in the corner to fall.

Welcome, players, to the initial instance; this instance is divided into main and side lines.

Only one player can undertake the main line; players who fail to complete the main line default to the side line; please search for clues within the activity area to complete the instance decryption!

Again, that cold, emotionless voice.

Lu Ming looked around; the inside was in disarray, with various boxes and broken tables and chairs piled together.

New Instance: Gray Wolf of the Orphanage

Player count: 6

Current location: third-floor storage room

Lu Ming discovered a green strip in the left corner of his vision, then moving toward blue.

HPP?

Hint: Discovered bloodstains on the ground (can be left behind)

Exploration: 2 points

A segment of subtitles floated into view, gradually disappearing over time.

Since it is so, accept it; Lu Ming, with a psychology background, quickly calmed down.

He began to check his own physical condition.

Fortunately, aside from his belongings being missing, everything else is fine.

According to the hint, the place should still be there; in any case, let's leave this place first.

Lu Ming pushed open the storage room door and stepped into the third-floor hallway.

The hallway's glass had long been in disrepair, covered with a thick layer of dust; cold wind seeped in through the pant legs, even though the storage room had just been stuffy.

Hehehe...

Suddenly, Lu Ming heard a faint, elusive laugh, like the echo of a copper bell tower.

A child's laugh?

Lu Ming belatedly realized that the bloodstains on the ground extended all the way to the end of the hallway, the chandelier swaying, flickering on and off.

Hint: If you are eating dinner now, you will be punished by the headmaster in the cafeteria…

Or should we start locating the cafeteria?

Lu Ming chooses.

Some fluorescent points flickered on the ground, gathering into a line, pointing far to the other side of the hallway.

Others should also receive the same message; we should head to the cafeteria first.

Lu Ming finally glanced at the swaying chandelier, then headed in the opposite direction, picking up a handy shard of broken glass from the floor and slipping it into his pocket.

The game's purpose is still unclear; if it's an elimination format, lacking some self-defense means will be quite troublesome.

According to the instructions, go to the first-floor hall, where a drawing board stands in the center, its surface densely covered with paintings.

Clue: The sea, that child's fantasy of a beautiful world…

Exploration: 2 points

Lu Ming approached and carefully examined the drawing board.

The blue sea and red sun look alike, yet each has its own characteristics.

"Huh..." a sudden whoosh came from behind, very fast, I dodged it.

Bang!

Lu Ming reached out to block, and with his other hand he took out a glass shard from his pocket.

In the darkness, the attacker let out a cry of pain.

Lu Ming slashed at the opponent with the glass shard, even though his own arm hurt badly.

Although untrained, Lu Ming still knew to strike first, and he kicked the attacker solidly with a lifted leg.

"Wait!"

The attacker staggered back a few steps in pain, the wooden stick fell to the ground with a clatter.

Lu Ming noticed the light switch on the nearby stone pillar and turned it on without hesitation.

The hall lit up instantly, revealing the hidden things in the darkness.

"Another player?" Lu Ming grew wary.

The girl's face turned pale, and she charged again.

Lu Ming took a defensive stance, but the girl darted past him.

"Click."

The sound of the button switch, and the hall was once again shrouded in darkness.

"Don't turn on the light! It'll attract them!"

"Who?" Lu Ming saw the other meant no harm, but he still picked up the stick from the ground.

【Obtained: Rough wooden stick (average damage, perhaps sharpening it into a spike could increase damage)】

"Dean."

"The dean of the orphanage?"

The girl nodded heavily: "Sorry, I didn't know the target... You probably also got the cafeteria hint?"

"Mm."

【Team request — / No】

"Traveling together would be safer." the girl explained.

Lu Ming had once played a game where hunters captured several fugitives; now looking at it, it seems like an extreme survival game, and the dean is likely the hunter's survival target.

Lu Ming agreed to team up; if it's a survival game, having teammates is indeed better.

【Player: Qiu Qiliuli】 (teammate)

【HP: 93】

【Status: Bleeding (HP continuously decreasing)】

Noticing that Lu Ming kept holding the wooden stick, Qiu Qiliuli gave a helpless laugh.

"Let's go, the infirmary should have bandages." With less wariness, Lu Ming's voice became much clearer.

"Okay."

At the corner of the west stairwell of the infirmary, Lu Ming was heading from there down to the first floor.

The two walked one after another down the dim hallway, passing several rooms; the tightly closed glass windows reflected their silhouettes.

"Any clues?" Lu Ming suddenly asked.

The clue I got was only a bloodstain, while the other seemed to know clues about the dean; obviously each player's clue is more or less the same, and they are completely identical.

"The clues seem to be shared if we're a team." Qiu Qiliuli said, pressing tightly on her wounded arm.

【Obtained team shared clue】

【Shared clue: Fragmented diary】

The dean has good eyesight, Chen sister said he has night blindness, so the hallway lights are always on, but his hearing is very sharp; in hide-and-seek, he can be caught.

【Obtained clue: Dean's night blindness】

"This clue is useful." Lu Ming shared his clue.

"Bloodstain..." Qiu Qiliuli also wondered.

When they reached the infirmary door, Lu Ming pushed it open.

A pungent smell rushed over them.

Qiu Qiliuli covered her nose and frowned.

【Hint: Smelled formaldehyde (a preservative used for corpses; why would the infirmary grow something?)】

"Formaldehyde..." Qiu Qiliuli obviously also received the same hint; her professional background is medicine, so she's very familiar with formaldehyde and knows exactly what it's used for.

Just…

"The infirmary should…"

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the darkness, grabbing Qiu Qiliuli's arm and pulling her.

"Thud—"

Feeling the cold tile floor, the girl's pupils constricted suddenly, fear making her want to cry out.

"Shh! Don't make a sound!" Lu Ming covered the girl's mouth with his hand, lowered his voice, his short-sleeved shirt showing bruises where the stick had struck his arm.

Noticing this, the girl's violently heaving chest gradually calmed.

"Magnet… magnet…"

The silent hallway echoed with the sound of some metal scraping the ground.