Are they humans or ghosts?

Wu Wang squinted, quietly circling behind a stone pillar by the school gate to hide. Despite the bulky bags slung over his body, he moved without a sound, as silent as a shadow.

He was all too familiar with this environment.

One of the tall guys in a school uniform cursed.

“Isn’t this a five-person Instance? Where’s the last person? What kind of idiot would give up such a good opportunity?”

Standing next to him was a girl whose face was obscured by a mask. Judging from her flowing, straight black hair and her bell-like voice, she was clearly young.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said disdainfully. “A real-world Targeted Instance can still be initiated as long as the minimum number of people is met.”

“Hehe, it’s better with one less person. We might be able to get a bigger share of the good stuff,” a short male student, barely over 1.6 meters tall, replied gloatingly. He circled the flowerbed at the school’s main gate.

He was the one who had been pacing just now.

There was also a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard standing silently to the side. A cigarette dangled from his lips, smoke curling around him. Combined with the knife scar on his cheek, the school uniform he wore looked exceptionally out of place.

This is a fucking student?!

Wu Wang’s expression was a little strange.

The moment he heard the words “Real-world Targeted Instance,” he had guessed that this group was most likely players, not ghosts from the Gao Shan High School Instance who had escaped into the real world.

But why were they here?

Wu Wang could understand there being more than one school uniform. After all, the last novice tutorial had fifty murderers playing hide-and-seek together.

But the uniform’s item description didn’t specify which school to go to.

Could it be a coincidence that everyone came to this abandoned school, Hope High School?

Wu Wang didn’t believe in such coincidences.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, a chilling, static-laced voice echoed in the minds of the four people on the school grounds.

【Conditions for initiating the Targeted Instance have been met】

【Welcome to Gao Shan High School】

【Instance Name—Fight Back to School】

【Instance Description: This is a legendary school, a top-tier institution with a 98% college admission rate. Parents from all over the country would fight tooth and nail for a single spot. To graduate smoothly from here is to have a bright future ahead of you!】

【Team Main Quest: Within five days, prevent any students from Gao Shan High School from skipping school. For every truant caught, the value of the reward will be increased by one point.】

【Side Quest 1: Uncover the secrets of the principal and the class advisors (I have a little secret~ a little secret)】

【Side Quest 2: Uncover the truth behind the strange tales of the Little Black Room and the Art Building (It’s watching you, watching you without blinking~)】

【Clearance Reward: The base reward is one random piece of common-grade equipment. The specific reward will be calculated based on the number of truants caught (The prize pool is still accumulating!)】

【Hidden Reward: Conditions unknown】

【May you all find the death that belongs to you】

At the same time, the environment transformed. The desolate, dilapidated school became clean and tidy.

The creeping vines and moss on the buildings vanished, replaced by a large banner.

“As long as studying doesn’t kill you, study yourself to death!”

The ink-black night also turned into a bright, sunny day. The group discovered they were no longer standing by the flowerbed at the entrance of the abandoned Hope High School.

They were now inside a dormitory room.

Awkwardly… there were five people in the dormitory.

On the top bunk in the corner, a guy who looked like a military enthusiast, laden with all sorts of strange anti-evil items, was sprawled out. He observed the four of them through the gaps in the bed’s guardrail.

Wu Wang grinned, looking completely natural.

“Yo, hello everyone. You must be the new roommates. I’m a senior from the third year. Please take care of me.”

His face didn’t redden, his heart didn’t race. His acting was so superb that his lie was flawless, but inside, he was already cursing up a storm.

Does this goddamn system have to gather all the players together first? I was planning to hide and pull off something big!

He seriously suspected the system was retaliating against him for doing calisthenics in the nude last night.

The four people below the bunk looked at each other, unsure if this person was an NPC or another player.

The scar-faced man silently pressed a finger on his own school uniform. With a thought, its description appeared for all to see.

【Gao Shan High School Uniform: Gather three or more uniform holders and stay within the Hope High School ruins in the suburbs of Mingyang City for one hour before midnight to activate a Non-lethal Type Real-world Targeted Instance.】

A big question mark popped into Wu Wang’s mind.

How is this uniform different from mine?

Forget about the 【Bloodstained School Uniform】 that had been twisted by that red-eyed Lord Cthulhu, even the original uniform he had wasn’t like this.

Could it be that his uniform was special from the very beginning? And the blood-red eye on the inside of his wrist just made it even more twisted?

At the same time, a line of text appeared above the scar-faced man’s head.

【Eagle Vision Baili Dao】【Lv6】

The man stubbed out his cigarette on the table.

“Brother, stop pretending. You can see the Player Panel, can’t you?”

Fuck, I was tricked.

Wu Wang instantly realized the man had been watching his eyes the whole time. The fact that his gaze had shifted upward proved he could see the Player ID, which meant he couldn’t be an NPC.

This guy’s a veteran!

Before Wu Wang could reply, the scar-faced man spoke flatly.

“I am an agent of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau. My ID is Baili Dao. You can all verify my authenticity.”

“This Real-world Targeted Instance is a cooperative type. There’s no need to fight. I hope we can all be honest without probing or attacking each other. Sincere cooperation for mutual benefit is the way to go!”

The Abnormal Affairs Bureau, in full, was the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau. It operated independently of the police and military, specifically responsible for handling supernatural individuals and events related to the 【Spirit Calamity Game】.

Except for situations like the initial distribution of novice accounts, where the game would use its bizarre power to erase its traces, most supernatural events caused by players left clues. The Abnormal Affairs Bureau was established to prevent such incidents from affecting ordinary society.

In short, it was an official government department.

The tall guy and the masked woman exchanged a look. Then, they both revealed their IDs.

【Shi Gandang】【Lv5】

【Qing He Yi Kan】【Lv5】

Seeing that everyone had chosen to cooperate, the short student shrugged and also showed his ID.

【Tu Xing Sun】【Lv5】

Everyone turned their gazes to Wu Wang, a hint of doubt in their eyes.

Is this kid really going to keep stubbornly pretending to be an NPC?

Little did they know, Wu Wang was facing another problem.

How the fuck do I reveal my Player ID?!

It took him a good while of fiddling to figure out the trick. Then, with a thought, his outrageously unique Player ID was displayed before everyone.

【Pending Death】【Lv1】

The expressions on the four people’s faces immediately turned strange. His ID raised far too many questions.

The short student, Tuxing Sun, couldn’t hold it in.

“Brother, your personal tastes are a bit private. No need to show them off to everyone, right?”

Before Wu Wang could reply, Baili Dao spotted another key detail. This kid was only level one.

He frowned at Wu Wang.

“You… you haven’t experienced an Instance since becoming a player?”

I’d love to have time to do more Instances! The problem is, I only became one of these damn players last night!

Wu Wang offered a faint smile.

“Yeah, I’m a bit of a coward and I’m afraid of pain, so I’ve never actively entered an Instance. This time was an accident.”

“Sigh… to think I’d have to carry a newbie.”

Baili Dao sighed, rubbing his forehead. He really hated newbies. It wasn’t just that most were self-righteous; he was more afraid they would provoke something that could get everyone wiped out.

Fortunately, the Abnormal Affairs Bureau had trained agents like him on how to brief newcomers. The department hoped to win the goodwill of unaffiliated players this way. They didn’t expect them all to join, but simply not opposing the authorities was good enough.

Baili Dao then explained the priorities of their current Main Quest and the two Side Quests, hoping Wu Wang wouldn’t cause problems by trying to force the side objectives.

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

The things he heard before entering the Instance… the Side Quests were the same, but the Main Quest seemed a little… off.

Worried he had misheard, he subconsciously glanced at the information on his own panel to confirm.

【Main Quest: Escape from Gao Shan High School within five days. The more living students who escape with you, the richer the reward (Who should decide our lives, anyway?)】

I’m screwed!

A team Instance means I have to fight their entire team by myself, doesn’t it!

Is this game discriminating against me or something?