[A worn-out piece of clothing: don’t throw it away, it can bring you good luck.]
Li Ran: “???”
The blue clothing floating on the lake caught his attention. He had thought it was just trash in the water, but his golden finger gave him a warning.
“This thing can bring good luck?” Li Ran was skeptical, but still picked up a branch to fish the worn-out clothing out of the water.
Afterwards, Li Ran walked a circle around the lake, not finding any more valuable quest items.
“Better go complete the quest and improve my strength a bit.”
Aimless searching was time-consuming and exhausting. Before he realized, the whole morning had passed.
“I’ll go to the security office and find Uncle Ge first.”
Li Ran had already planned a route in his mind.
When he sent Li Ziyang home yesterday, he noticed a supermarket near the residential gate. He could go there in the evening to buy some groceries.
Also, the fortune-teller was nearby at the residential gate too, which could save him quite a bit of pointless wandering.
As for the ID card and the worn-out clothing, that would depend on the situation.
Thinking of this, Li Ran immediately set out toward the residential gate.
Not long after, five people came walking toward him.
“Li Ran.”
The other party recognized Li Ran.
But Li Ran didn’t recognize them. They seemed familiar, but not clearly.
So, he politely greeted them, “What a coincidence, running into you all here.”
“Great! Now our team’s getting stronger.”
The speaker was a man wearing black-framed glasses who looked refined and scholarly. He was dressed in a suit, hair slicked back like a professional elite, and held a laptop bag in hand.
“I’m Xiao Yi,” he pointed to himself and introduced, clearly not fooled by Li Ran’s vague greeting.
Only then did Li Ran remember hearing this name often at school.
Azure Isle Academy, Vice President of the Student Council, Xiao Yi.
Rumored to be a smooth operator with strong abilities, highly favored by teachers and school leadership.
The other four also introduced themselves:
Qiu Zhongji – greasy-faced and full of pimples.
Deng Zhiwei – gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes and a shifty gaze.
Chen Jiabin – a “Ghostfire Teen” with blonde hair, tight shirt, and leather pants.
Song Linjia – wearing a floral dress, wrists stacked with various bead bracelets.
As for why they all recognized Li Ran, the reason was simple—he’d always ranked at the bottom of the grade, who wouldn’t know him?
Xiao Yi, the glasses-wearing one, took a small notebook out of his laptop bag and said, “Out of 25 people, I’ve only found you guys. The rest probably didn’t make it. Forget it, I won’t search anymore.”
“After going through yesterday, I trust none of you think this eerie world is just a prank anymore, right?”
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Xiao Yi scanned them with his eyes and continued, “Good. Since we’re all aware now, I’ll keep it short. In the eerie world’s dungeon, it’s best not to act like a lone hero. A single person’s strength is limited—you’ve all seen the footage.”
“Yes, it was terrifying. After midnight, the entire neighborhood was swarming with monsters,” Song Linjia said with lingering fear.
Li Ran had slept like a log last night, completely unaware of what had happened outside.
Xiao Yi also saw the footage, and recalling it gave him goosebumps.
The others also looked terrified. Most of them, except for Li Ran, probably didn’t sleep well last night. Deng Zhiwei especially—he looked like he hadn’t slept at all and seemed to have gone through something horrifying. His gaze was unfocused, as if easily frightened.
“I’m willing to share the information I have. I hope you all will also share what you know—let’s strategize together, conquer together, grow stronger together.”
“Agreed.”
The others had no objections.
Only with enough information could they complete enough quests, earn more rewards, and survive until the end.
After a day, everyone had seemingly grasped some rules of the eerie world.
“Then I’ll go first.”
Xiao Yi pushed his reflective glasses and pointed with his pen toward the neighborhood’s front gate.
“I live in the building near the gate. When I went downstairs this morning, I saw the old man at the security office pacing around, like he was looking for something. He was so anxious—throwing things and kicking the door.”
“In that kind of situation, I didn’t dare go up. You all know—one wrong move and you could die. But if any of you have a clue or are brave enough, maybe try approaching. It might trigger a quest.”
Chen Jiabin’s eyes lit up and he asked, “What’s he looking for?”
“If I knew, I would’ve done the quest myself.”
“Also, there’s a Happiness Supermarket at the neighborhood gate where you can buy a lot of daily supplies with points.”
Li Ran looked at Xiao Yi. The golden finger’s notification panel popped up:
[Reminder: Don’t fully trust anything he says.]
[Xiao Yi’s current eerie power: 10. Points: 100. He’s carrying two active quests.]
“This guy sounds convincing, but the information he gives is half-true and half-false—hard to judge. If not for the golden finger’s tip, I probably would’ve believed him too.” Li Ran made a mental note to stay wary.
Sharing is a voluntary act. Some people will share everything; some will hold back. It’s a personal choice and can’t be forced.
Among the other four, Deng Zhiwei and Song Linjia had completed the guidance quest. Qiu Zhongji and Chen Jiabin had not.
After speaking, Xiao Yi looked toward Deng Zhiwei.
Deng Zhiwei looked worn out, with two huge dark circles under his eyes. As if recalling last night’s events, his bloodshot eyes trembled.
Xiao Yi patted his shoulder and reassured him, “Don’t be afraid, we’ll all help you.”
After a moment, Deng Zhiwei suddenly burst into tears: “I... I… I let Zhou Miaomiao down. This morning, when she was being taken away by a big man, she begged me for help… but I didn’t… I was scared…”
“And… and I… I’m an apprentice at a beauty salon. Last night, I… I killed someone…”
(End of Chapter)