Chapter 11

Are you a man or a ghost?

Wu Wang squinted and silently circled around to hide behind the stone pillar beside the school gate; despite the bulky bags strapped to his body, he made not a single sound, slipping like a shadow.

He knew this place too well.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a five-person dungeon? Where’s the fifth person? Who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like this?” muttered the tall guy in the school uniform.

Beside him, a masked girl—her identity obvious from her long, flowing black hair and bell-like voice—dismissed it coldly: “It doesn’t matter. A reality-oriented dungeon can still activate with the minimum number of participants.”

“Hehe, fewer people is better—we might get more of the good loot,” chimed in the short boy, barely a meter and a half tall, circling the flowerbed by the school gate with glee.

It was he who had just made the footsteps.

A middle-aged man with a scruffy beard stood silently beside them, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke curling around him; his facial scar and ill-fitting school uniform made him look utterly out of place.

Is this guy even a student?!

Wu Wang’s expression grew slightly odd.

When he heard “reality-oriented dungeon,” he guessed these people were likely players too—not ghosts from the Gaoshan High School dungeon that had somehow escaped into reality.

But why were they here?

Wu Wang could understand that more than one school uniform existed—after all, the last beginner tutorial had fifty murderers playing hide-and-seek together.

But the uniform’s equipment description never specified which school to go to!

What are the odds that everyone ended up at this abandoned Huaxi High School?

Wu Wang didn’t believe in such coincidences.

Before he could figure it out, the eerie, ghostly voice echoed in the minds of all four within the campus—

【Condition for reality-oriented dungeon met】

【Welcome to Gaoshan High School】

【Dungeon Name—Truant Dragon】

【Dungeon Intro: This is a legendary school with a 98% college admission rate; parents across the nation fight bloody battles for a single enrollment slot. Graduating from here guarantees a brilliant future!】

【Main Team Quest: Prevent any Gaoshan High School student from skipping class within five days. Each captured truant adds one point to your reward value.】

【Side Quest 1: Uncover the secret of the principal and homeroom teachers (I’ve got a little secret~ a little secret)】

【Side Quest 2: Reveal the truth behind the Black Room and the Art Building urban legend (It’s watching you, staring without blinking~)】

【Clearing Reward: Base reward is one randomly selected Common-tier item; total reward scales with the number of truants captured (Reward pool still increasing!)】

【Hidden Reward: Conditions unknown】

【May each of you find your own death】

Meanwhile,

The surroundings shifted from the desolate, ruined ruins of the abandoned school into a clean, orderly campus.

The ivy and moss on the buildings vanished, replaced by a massive banner—

“If studying won’t kill you, study until you die!”

The pitch-black night turned into bright daylight; they realized they were no longer standing by the flowerbed at the entrance of the abandoned Huaxi High School.

They were now inside a dorm room.

But awkwardly—

There were five people in the dorm.

On the top bunk, a guy who looked like a military enthusiast, draped in bizarre talismans and charms, was watching the four of them through the gaps in the railing.

“Hey there, folks! You’re the new roommates, right? I’m a senior from Grade 12, please take care of me,” Wu Wang grinned naturally.

Not a flicker of blush or racing heart.

His lie, wrapped in flawless acting, showed zero cracks—though inside, he was cursing like a madman.

Did this damn system really have to gather all players together first? He’d planned to hide and pull off the whole thing solo!

He strongly suspected the system was retaliating for his naked calisthenics last night.

The four beneath the bed exchanged glances.

They couldn’t tell if this guy was an NPC or a player.

Until the scar-faced man silently pressed his finger against his school uniform.

Then, with a thought—

The next instant, Wu Wang saw the uniform’s equipment description float beside him—

【Gaoshan High School Uniform: Collect three or more uniforms. Stay within the Huaxi High School ruins on the outskirts of Mingyang City for one hour before midnight to activate a non-lethal reality-oriented dungeon.】

“?”

A giant question mark appeared in Wu Wang’s mind.

Why is this uniform different from mine?

Not even the twisted 【Bloodstained Uniform】 from that red-eye plague god—let alone the original version—looked anything like this!

Was my uniform special from the start?

Did the blood-pupil on my wrist just make it even more twisted?

At the same time, text floated above the scar-faced man’s head—

【Eagle Sight • Hundred-Mile Blade】【Lv6】

“Bro, stop pretending. You can see the player panel, right?” The scar-faced man crushed his cigarette on the table.

Shit, I got played.

Wu Wang instantly realized the man had been watching his eyes—when Wu Wang looked up, he revealed he could see player IDs, meaning he couldn’t possibly be an NPC.

This guy’s a seasoned pro.

Before Wu Wang could reply, the scar-faced man spoke calmly: “I’m an agent of the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs. My ID is Hundred-Mile Blade. You may verify my authenticity.”

“This reality-oriented dungeon is a team cooperation type. No need to fight each other. I hope we can be honest—no suspicion, no attacks. True cooperation is the only path to mutual gain!”

The Bureau of Anomalous Affairs—full name: Bureau of Anomalous Affairs.

Independent of police and military departments, it handles all supernatural events and extraordinary individuals tied to the 【Spiritual Disaster Games】.

In short: the official agency.

The tall guy and the masked girl exchanged glances.

Then both revealed their IDs.

【Shi Gandang】【Lv5】

【Qing He Yi Kan】【Lv5】

The short boy, seeing everyone choose cooperation, shrugged and showed his own ID.

【Tu Xing Sun】【Lv4】

All eyes turned to Wu Wang, filled with suspicion.

Is this kid still trying to bluff as an NPC?

Little did they know Wu Wang faced a different problem—how the hell do you even display your player ID?!

After pondering for a while, he found the trick.

He focused his mind—and his shocking player ID appeared before everyone.

【The Undead】【Lv1】

The four across from him froze, their expressions twisting—this weirdo had spilled too many red flags.

The short boy, Tu Xing Sun, couldn’t hold back: “Bro, personal tastes are private. No need to flaunt your kinks to the whole group!”

Before Wu Wang could reply, Hundred-Mile Blade spotted another anomaly—the kid was only level one!

He frowned at Wu Wang: “You… haven’t entered any dungeon since becoming a player?”

I’d love to have had time to enter more dungeons! But I only became this damn player last night!

Wu Wang smiled faintly: “Yeah, I’m a coward. I hate pain. So I never voluntarily entered any dungeon. This was an accident.”

“Sigh… Guess I’ve got to babysit a newbie. Fine, let me explain the quest and dungeon type to you.” Hundred-Mile Blade rubbed his temples.

He really hated newbies.

It wasn’t just that most newbies were arrogant—he feared they’d attract something that’d wipe out the whole team.

Luckily, the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs had trained its agents specifically on how to handle new players.

The department hoped this would win over wild players’ goodwill—not expecting them to join, just not to oppose the official side.

Hundred-Mile Blade then explained to Wu Wang the priority order of their main quest and side quests, warning him not to ruin the main objective by chasing side quests.

But the more Wu Wang listened, the stranger his expression became.

Because what he’d heard before entering the dungeon…

The side quests matched—but the main quest? It seemed… different.

He worried he’d misheard, so he unconsciously glanced at his own panel to confirm—

【Main Quest: Escape from Gaoshan High School within five days. The more living students who escape with you, the greater the reward (Whose life are we really living?)】

Shit.

So this team dungeon means I’m supposed to fight the whole team by myself?

Is this game discriminating against me?