"Do you think what he said is believable?"

Li Sheng, lying on the ground, was gradually losing his vital signs. His body temperature was growing colder, and his face was turning pale.

The blood flowing from his broken arm had already coagulated.

Yang Linlin stood beside the giant vat, feeling uneasy.

Li Sheng was undoubtedly a villain, but his story made him seem so real that Yang Linlin almost forgot he was just an NPC in the dungeon.

Zhao Yi's attention was still on the pile of nerve endings inside the vat.

"From a psychologist's perspective, I think he's telling the truth."

"But this is clearly not the way the system intended for us to survive."

"There must be a simpler way to break the curse. Otherwise, if we follow Li Sheng's method, even if new players learn this way, ninety-nine out of a hundred would die on this path!"

Yang Linlin fell silent at his words.

The SAN drop in the ghostly fog was indeed a deadly move!

This continuous method of reducing players' spirit was far more terrifying than any potential ominous presence inside!

"So, should we look for another way to break the curse?"

Zhao Yi pondered over the events that had transpired and said:

"There's no need. Taking a shortcut is good for us."

"A shortcut means fewer unexpected occurrences."

He eyed the secret passage Li Sheng had entered with eagerness.

Ordinary players couldn't stay in the fog for too long.

But Zhao Yi didn't mind.

Firstly, he wouldn't lose SAN value due to the mysterious power in the fog.

Secondly, as a psychologist who had treated thousands of mental illnesses, Zhao Yi could perfectly control his emotions.

"I'm heading out now."

Yang Linlin didn't follow Zhao Yi. She knew she couldn't maintain her spirit value as steadily as Zhao Yi could. Although she was tempted by the side quest rewards, as a seasoned player, she knew when to take risks and when not to.

Following Zhao Yi now would only cause trouble for him and be suicidal.

She didn't want to end up like Zhen Tao, with her spirit value dropping to zero and becoming a specter in the dungeon!

Securing an S rating on a hidden quest was already a huge win!

Now, all she needed to do was stay in the experiment chamber and wait for Zhao Yi to complete the side quest, and she could clear the dungeon!

After navigating the secret passage for a while, Zhao Yi finally saw a glimmer of starlight ahead.

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This secret passage was deep underground and operated via a vertical shaft elevator, but unlike the one guarded by X-2, this shaft required member authorization, so the specters outside couldn't enter.

After all, they wouldn't foolishly dig through hundreds of meters of earth.

Even as specters, they had a clear sense of self-awareness.

They were killers, hunters!

Not excavators.

Zhao Yi entered the elevator, took out Hedi's head, and held it up to the facial recognition scanner, which promptly activated the elevator!

"What an advanced facial recognition system. It's so decayed that even its own mother wouldn't recognize it," Zhao Yi quipped, putting Hedi's rotting head back into his inventory.

The elevator reached the top.

As the doors opened, a strong malevolent aura greeted him!

The starlight here was particularly dim.

Outside the elevator, a blood-soaked woman in red stood with her back to him, head lowered.

She was gnawing on something with both hands.

Scattered on the ground were numerous bloody finger bones.

This must have been Li Sheng's arm.

Zhao Yi wasn't surprised by the scene before him.

Li Sheng had preferred to risk provoking X-2 rather than using this secret passage, likely because something terrifying lurked here!

Feeling the bone-chilling cold emanating from the fierce ghost, Zhao Yi remarked on the autumn chill and stepped out of the elevator, sticking closely behind the female ghost.

He wasn't trying to become a ghostly knight.

He had no choice; she was blocking the way.

As a man with a robust physique, Zhao Yi had to brush past the red-clad fierce ghost to move forward.

Sensing the warmth on her back, the fierce ghost turned her head in confusion, her terrifying visage sending shivers down the spines of the live streaming room audience.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Zhao Yi gave an awkward but polite smile and slowly walked away.

...

[Red-Clad Fierce Ghost: Extremely Dangerous!]

[Note: A terrifying spirit cursed by evil, it feeds on fear!]

[Weakness: With its senses obscured by rules, it can only feed on the emotional fluctuations of living beings. But encountering someone as indifferent as you, it will only see you as a rock.]

[Addendum: Such a beautiful ghost, aren't you tempted?]

...

Zhao Yi sniffed.

Damn.

Since the strange data update, the notes he saw were becoming increasingly frivolous.

This was the storage room of the school's gymnasium.

Opening the door, shadows as terrifying as the red-clad fierce ghost were everywhere in the gym.

There was no fog.

But a strange nursery rhyme was softly being sung.

[August 8, cut your hair, cut your hair and then cut your mom, sew mom into a doll...]

Zhao Yi walked up to the child singing the nursery rhyme and patted its head.

Hmm, a bit greasy.

This ghost must not have washed its hair for days.

"Little one, can you tell me how to get to the center of the fog?"

The little girl stopped singing and looked up, stunned.

She remained silent for a long time before pointing numbly in a direction.

Zhao Yi thanked her and walked in the direction she pointed.

After he left, the little girl stopped singing and stood there, lost in deep thought...

Why would a rock talk?

She didn't understand.

Deprived of their senses by the rules, they couldn't judge living beings by sound, smell, or light.

Only emotional fluctuations like fear, horror, and excitement could capture their attention.

Even if Zhao Yi attacked them, they likely wouldn't retaliate.

It's like being hit by a rock; your first reaction is to find the person who threw it, not to pick up the rock and punch it.

Last night at the water tower, whether Zhao Yi blocked the basement entrance or not, the outcome wouldn't have changed.

The specters were just patrolling the water tower according to the rules.

Of course, Zhao Yi didn't want to take that risk.

Caution was always his top priority.

Outside the gym, the thick fog was pervasive.

Specters were becoming more numerous.

In the depths of the fog, there was a headless female corpse in a ballet dress dancing ballet, a demon playing a piano made of human bones, a butcher dragging a giant cleaver chopping bodies, and a slit-mouthed woman with a mouth torn to her ears...

They lurked behind the fog, possibly appearing suddenly, or even colliding directly with Zhao Yi!

But no matter what happened, Zhao Yi's spirit value remained at 101, completely stable.

The deeper he ventured into the fog, the more ferocious and terrifying the specters he encountered. A crying infant corpse caused Zhao Yi to bleed from his orifices, nearly killing him! A pitch-black moose merely glanced at Zhao Yi, and his leg began to rot! A paper figure with bright face paint breathed on Zhao Yi, and ghostly flames erupted on his body, burning him beyond recognition!

Throughout, Zhao Yi showed no emotional fluctuation, not even a hint of pain on his face!

The live streaming room audience was so tense they barely dared to breathe, fearing Zhao Yi might accidentally perish!

Finally, the fog ahead began to slowly dissipate.

Dragging his heavily injured body, he reached a clearing where two corpses lay twisted like pretzels!

Zhao Yi stopped to examine them, deducing from their clothing that one was likely a woman and the other a man.

He suspected they might be Zhang Ya and Pang Xiao.

But their identities no longer mattered.

Zhao Yi squatted down, pulled a long worm from his rotting leg, and then took out his scalpel, poking the worm's belly.

Soon, black tendrils sprouted from it, tightly wrapping around it!

This was a passive ability derived from the Evil Deity Meme—The Glutton.

The worm soon died, its tendrils blooming into vibrant flowers before withering away.

Without the worm, Zhao Yi's leg stopped rotting. He staggered to a fist-sized box on the ground.

The box was intricately crafted.

Opening it, a small ancient tower slowly rose and rotated inside.

The tower emitted music as brilliant as the stars, beautiful and elegant, noble and dignified, captivating the listener.

In the midst of this music, Zhao Yi's gaze was momentarily lost but quickly returned to normal.

He grabbed the box and slammed the lid shut.

The runes on the box's surface emitted black mist, gathering slowly in the sky to form a giant, menacing ghostly face. Its eyes, burning with black flames, coldly surveyed Rockridge High School before inhaling sharply, swallowing all the ghostly fog and the ominous presence within, making them vanish.

[Congratulations to player Zhao Yi for completing the side quest—Breaking the Curse of Rockridge High School.]

[Rewards will be settled after the main quest is completed.]

...

[Congratulations to player Zhao Yi for obtaining the hidden item—Pandora's Box]

...