Volume 3: High School Arc - Mirror Game
A moment of mental disorientation, that instant reflection made my scalp tingle.
The hand that had been resting on the door paused slightly, and my whole body froze on the spot.
Then... I suddenly twisted my head around!!
However... the mirror was still the same mirror, and the reflection was still my reflection, with no changes at all.
"Whew..."
At this moment, my heart was trembling continuously.
The surge of adrenaline caused even my fingertips to tremble slightly.
"Yunyan? Sister Yunyan??"
"Ah!?"
A dazed voice rang in my ears.
My scalp exploded, and I instinctively turned my head with a startled cry.
"Yah!!"
As if frightened by my cry, the owner of the voice also let out a startled gasp, though it was much softer.
That immediately brought me back to my senses, and at a glance I saw...
Bai Juanjuan was staring at me with her round apricot eyes, full of panic, fluorescent tears swirling at the rims.
"Yun... Yunyan?"
Seeing this, my spirit snapped back to awareness.
The burst of mental shock returned to a normal sense of exhaustion, and I couldn’t help but raise a hand to rub my forehead.
"I'm fine."
I said to Bai Juanjuan, whose eyes were filled with worry and who looked as though she were about to cry.
At this point, I didn’t dare let my eyes meet hers, for fear that the terror in mine might infect her.
I... used to have some immunity to fear.
But over the past few months, I found myself increasingly unable to handle fright.
Maybe it was due to the effects of the body?
After all, it was a female body, and the left and right brains in women were almost equally distributed.
Therefore, when both hemispheres worked simultaneously in emergencies, it often resulted in full-body paralysis due to conflicting commands.
This was also why some girls were often too scared to move when faced with danger.
Now, my heart was overwhelmed with panic and fear.
The intense sense of terror made my hands tremble involuntarily.
This was a message sent from the right brain.
I had specifically observed it using my Evil Spirit Form—at such moments, the right brain emitted powerful electric currents.
Meanwhile, my left brain was rationally analyzing the situation.
So, my brain was thinking clearly, but my body trembled in fear.
Damn it!
I forced myself to temporarily abandon logical thinking and focused entirely on controlling my fear.
Soon, the trembling in my fingers subsided.
The whole process took about five seconds.
"I'm really fine. Let's go back to the classroom."
I didn’t explain anything to Bai Juanjuan.
I didn’t even feel like arguing.
This kind of thing would definitely happen again in the future.
From Fang Zheng’s memory, I knew that ordinary people couldn’t react to a strange event before it occurred.
But I was different from Fang Zheng.
Perhaps it was because I inherently carried the traits of the strange.
That allowed me, in many cases, to sense their presence in advance.
But the advance warning might be only a few seconds.
In the hospital, before the persistent task occurred, I had heard breathing in front of the door.
That should’ve been a form of perception.
And in some later unusual cases, all evidence suggested that I could perceive the presence of strangeness even before the event happened—before the APP even issued the task.
I didn’t know how the APP worked.
But I figured... the APP probably let the strangeness enter the Interdimensional Space to prepare the game.
Then, during that process, it locked in the player.
Only when everything was ready would it notify the player.
Just like earlier, before the task began, I saw my own reflection in the black screen of the phone.
That malicious smile still sent chills down my spine when I thought about it.
I didn’t look at Bai Juanjuan again.
I kept my eyes averted, avoiding her gaze so she wouldn’t see the remnants of fear in mine.
Fortunately, the trembling had stopped.
The Evil Spirit Form could observe things invisible to the human eye, including tiny electric currents.
So, although I had never taken an IQ test, I could confidently say my intelligence was higher than Liu Wanqian and Gong Lianyu.
Because the brain activity currents in my brain were more active than theirs.
Based on the medical knowledge stored in my mind, I estimated my IQ to be between 160 and 180.
There was no way to get an exact test, and it didn’t matter now anyway.
I returned to the classroom.
I ignored Bai Juanjuan’s concerned gaze, lowered my head, closed my eyes, and recalled what I had just seen in the phone.
【Team task issued, to begin in 167:45:33. Please accept the task.】
Though the last line said “please accept,” it gave me no real option to refuse.
The task was already issued, and the countdown had begun.
【This task cannot be declined. Please arrive at the designated location before the game starts and make contact with other players. If not followed, the player will die instantly when the game begins.】
In other words, don’t join—then die.
【All item durations in this game are halved. Reusable item cooldown is one hour. Please be informed.】
So they were essentially limiting our tools?
If durations were halved, then the Substitute Doll’s duration would only be five seconds?
The World Watch would only pause for 2.5 seconds?
Cooldowns?
Now there were usage intervals added?
Damn it!
They really cranked up the difficulty!
【Game rules are as follows. Please read carefully:】
【Rule One: Within seven days, by midnight, go to the abandoned mirror factory east of the city, Building No. 7, and stay for one hour.】
【Rule Two: Within that hour, players are not allowed to damage any objects. During that time, players will receive absolute immunity.】
【Rule Three: Try to survive for the next three days.】
【Rule Four (this rule is only visible to specific players; others cannot see it): Find a way to devour the strange. Devouring one-third earns 50 points. Devour all for an extra 150 points and a special item reward. If you fail to devour it, 100 points will be deducted after the game ends.】
After reading all the rules, I couldn’t help but sincerely express my admiration.
What the hell!
That last rule was obviously made for me, wasn’t it?!
Besides me, I didn’t believe any other player had the ability to devour the strange.
In other words... this was a rule specifically made for me!
Team tasks gave 100 points by default.
Solo survival in S-class tasks gave 200 points.
If this team task also had solo survival, it would probably be 200 too.
But if multiple players survived, each might only get 100.
Emergency tasks were also 100.
Persistent tasks—still 100.
Even S-rank team instances only gave 100 points.
Everything else was extra.
In other words, even without buying any items, I’d have to survive 50 times to save up the 5000 points required to leave.
First team task... and they’re already giving me this kind of VIP treatment.
Is that really okay?
Damn APP!!