Chapter 19: The Unwidowed One: Are You Human or Ghost?

“Puff… puff…”

“Brother Baili, how the hell do you have so much stamina?!” Tu Xingsun gasped, barely catching his breath.

Behind them, the horde of tentacle ghosts twisted and crawled along the ground, chasing them with grotesque postures but unnervingly swift speed.

This alone revealed the fundamental gap between wild players and Incident Bureau players.

Baili Dao, through years of physical training, ran with steady, lightning-fast precision.

In contrast, the short guy nearly got caught multiple times.

“Stop goofing off! We’re almost at the office!” Baili Dao led the way ahead.

First floor, second floor, third floor…

Soon they reached the sixth floor; Baili Dao knew the building’s layout by heart—homeroom offices were always on the same floor as their respective classes.

Seeing the sign reading 【Senior Three Office】, both broke into relieved smiles.

Alive! We’re alive!

Creak—

Before they could even raise their hands, the office’s iron door creaked open by itself.

A stranger stepped out.

He was pot-bellied, his beer gut jiggling with every step, fingers adorned with rings of every color—clearly a bloated nouveau riche.

Only his eyes glinted with a chilling, predatory glare.

Baili Dao and the other froze as they locked eyes with the man—nearly collapsing to their knees.

Because they heard Teacher Yao’s voice from inside the office say:

“Principal Wang, take care on your way out!”

Principal?

This man was the principal of Gaoshan Ghost School!

“Teacher Yao, which class are these students from? Don’t they know playing and roughhousing is forbidden in the halls?” Principal Wang’s voice was deep and authoritative.

Instantly, Baili Dao and the other recalled Shi Gandang’s earlier warning about the principal.

And now, there was nowhere left to run.

So—fuck it!

“Report, Principal! Something strange is chasing students behind us! It’s disrupting our studies!” Baili Dao blurted out, forcing himself to plead.

Rules! The principal must have his own behavioral rules!

They hadn’t broken any rules, and their grades were decent.

The principal wouldn’t punish them without cause… would he?

At these words, Principal Wang frowned and turned toward the stairwell behind them.

Sure enough, a horde of tentacle ghosts crawled toward them—some even clung upside-down from the ceiling, their sheer numbers sending chills down their spines.

“Noise! The campus is sacred ground! How dare you filthy things disrupt it?!” Principal Wang’s tone brimmed with anger.

Then, slowly, he rotated the ring on his index finger—a sapphire-blue gem embedded in gold.

Everything around them fell utterly silent.

The tentacle ghosts froze mid-movement, as if paused by a button.

Even those leaping mid-air hung motionless.

The wind outside the windows, the rustling leaves, even the flow of air—all halted.

Only Principal Wang, Teacher Yao, Baili Dao, and Tu Xingsun remained mobile.

Under their terrified stares, Principal Wang strolled toward the frozen horde.

“Just a few appetizers!”

The next second, he stopped being human.

His already obese body swelled like a small mountain, nearly filling the entire corridor; his massive hand seized one tentacle ghost.

In comparison, the creature looked like a chick being lifted by a giant.

“Crunch… crunch…”

Principal Wang actually shoved the tentacle ghost into his mouth and began chewing!

Then, under Baili Dao and Tu Xingsun’s pale, trembling gazes,

the once-formidable horde became nothing more than appetizers, slowly devoured and erased by the transformed, demonic Principal Wang.

Moments later, the corridor was clean.

Principal Wang’s body returned to its original form, save for a few crimson smears lingering at the corner of his mouth—proof of what had just happened.

He walked slowly toward them.

Standing beside Baili Dao, he spoke to Teacher Yao: “Go check on the Black Room. Their appearance means a fugitive escaped from inside—it’s why they’re here.”

As he spoke, his gaze turned vicious.

He locked his eyes on Teacher Yao’s terrified pupils and trembling legs, threatening: “Do your job well, Lao Yao. Someone must bear responsibility for this incident.”

Gulp—

Teacher Yao swallowed hard.

He was smart.

Principal Wang’s meaning was clear: if the real culprit wasn’t found, he’d be the one to take the blame.

“P-please rest assured, Principal Wang—I’ll handle both tasks you gave me!” Teacher Yao replied, teeth chattering.

Seeing this, Principal Wang said nothing more.

He turned to Baili Dao and Tu Xingsun, twisted the yellow ring on his middle finger, and extended his fat palm to pat Baili Dao’s messy hair.

His voice low: “Chen Baili and Sun Jia, right? Your grades are decent. I hope you maintain them in tomorrow’s exam.”

The next second, his tone turned stern.

“But I won’t tolerate any foolish thoughts. Students must focus on studying. Understood?”

Both nodded frantically.

Especially Baili Dao—he feared the man might snap his head off and use it as a chamber pot if displeased.

Who the hell would dare not understand now!?

Damn this Spirit Catastrophe game!

Could they possibly hope to stand against this?

Yet they also felt a sliver of relief.

Thank goodness the main quest was just to catch truants—not to figure out how to skip class themselves.

If it had been the latter, they’d be dead.

“Alright. Forget what just happened. Study hard. Only then can you get into a top school and rise above others,” Principal Wang said, satisfied.

His smile revealed fragments of tentacle flesh and cloth scraps caught between his teeth.

He rotated the white ring on his ring finger.

Whoosh—

In an instant, the surroundings became familiar.

Baili Dao and Tu Xingsun stared at the walls plastered with sticky notes and the messy beds around them, stunned.

“Is this… back in the dorm?” Tu Xingsun panted, confused.

Meanwhile, Baili Dao glanced out the window.

The sky sparkled with stars.

It was already night.

The two exchanged glances.

Time control, demonic form, spatial teleportation…

Principal Wang was practically invincible in this ghost school!

Bang—

The dorm door burst open.

A tall figure stormed in, his expression slightly unnatural.

“Huh? You’re back?” The two stared at Shi Gandang, puzzled.

Shi Gandang trembled: “Just now, it went pitch black all at once. The school nurse kicked me out, said I should rest in the dorm—couldn’t stay to watch over Miss Qing.”

“Then why do you look like you just saw a ghost?” Baili Dao raised an eyebrow.

The other replied with a bitter smile: “You’re right—I met the Unwidowed One. He came to the infirmary to get a certificate excusing him from class.”

At this, both froze in shock.

“What?! He’s still alive?!”

“Fuck, is there a newbie protection rule?!”

After all, Wu Wang had vanished since being taken to the Black Room by Teacher Yao during morning self-study.

They’d assumed he was dead.

But Shi Gandang shook his head: “No, I’m not sure if he’s still alive.”

Then he described what he’d seen:

In the infirmary, Wu Wang walked in to obtain a certificate excusing him from class.

The school nurse followed procedure and examined him.

The kid simply showed his severed right wrist, saying he couldn’t hold a pen to answer questions.

“That school medic is a stubborn fool—he said as long as you can still see, you can read even if you can’t write, and flat-out refused to issue a certificate,” Shi Gandang said with resignation.

The other two also sighed.

Clearly, they had all considered trying to get a certificate from the infirmary.

They never expected the medic to be so difficult.

Could they really gouge out their own eyes just to get a certificate?

Thinking of this, Baili Dao’s expression suddenly turned uneasy.

Shi Gandang had originally claimed the medic had issued the certificate.

He asked, voice trembling: “You mean he…”

“Yeah, just as you think—Weiwang stuck his fingers into his own eye sockets right in front of the doctor and told him he was blind; the doctor had no choice but to issue the certificate.”

Every time he recalled that scene, Shi Gandang felt his whole body stiffen.

That hollow eye socket still seemed to be staring at him.

“So he’s no longer human.”

Baili Dao sighed.

It seems Weiwang has been killed; whatever now wears his skin must be something from the Black Room.

It might even be connected to the urban legend.

He himself has probably been teleported back to the real world.

Fortunately, this isn't a death-type dungeon.

“Yes, I also think he’s been killed—after all, he’s just a newbie; it’s normal he couldn’t protect himself,” Shi Gandang said, equally regretful.

Creak—

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door opened again.

A familiar figure in strange attire walked in.

The three instantly went on high alert.

Wu Wang tilted his head with a faint smile and said:

“I heard that after we split up, you went around telling everyone I was dead?”