After decapitating another vengeful spirit, Lucas lowered his weapon.
The kitchen knife in his hand was now coated in an even thicker layer of blood, so bright it glistened with unnatural intensity.
And strangely enough—Lucas could feel it.
The knife was evolving.
With every slash, every death, it grew sharper.
It no longer felt like steel—it felt like slicing tofu.
A deadly silence settled over the corridor.
The entire second floor was now quiet.
Lucas whispered to himself, his voice steady, cold.
"The longer I interact with ghosts, the more danger I invite."
"If I just eliminate every ghost who knows the truth about her, then eventually... the mission will complete itself."
He gave a satisfied nod at his own conclusion.
The story didn't matter.
Plot wasn't important.
Survival was.
Blood dripped from the knife.
Tick-tock—
Each drop struck the floor like a secondhand on a cursed clock.
Lucas wiped some sweat from his brow, then began ascending the stairs toward the third floor.
> [Third Floor Corridor – Changming University: Low-Level Danger]
[Class 1, Grade 3: Low-Level Danger]
[Class 2, Grade 3: Low-Level Danger]
[Class 3, Grade 3: Low-Level Danger]
Dong. Dong. Dong.
He rapped on the door to Class 1, Grade 3.
No response.
Lucas checked the risk level again.
Low danger.
Still, there had to be something inside. Evil spirits didn't just vanish.
"…They're pretending no one's home?"
He knocked again, harder this time.
Then, pressing his cheek lightly to the door, he hissed:
"I know you're in there…"
Suddenly, loud noises erupted inside the room.
Clattering—crashing—tables being knocked over—
Then…
Silence again.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
"Playing dead now?"
He frowned.
"I just need to ask a question. You really need to hide for that?"
BAM!
With a sudden roar, Lucas smashed the knife into the wooden door, leaving a deep gash.
He wiggled the blade inside the crack.
The gap widened—revealing a trembling ghost within.
> [Zhao Qiu – Malevolent Spirit, Class 1, Grade 3: Low-Level Danger]
A gangly specter lay collapsed beside overturned desks, its greyish hands trembling.
Lucas' right eye—stained entirely red with dried blood—stared through the crack like a glowing nightmare.
"Got you..." Lucas whispered.
From Zhao Qiu's perspective, it was horrifying.
That red eye vanished for a moment, only for the blade to strike again.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Lucas didn't stop.
He kept hacking at the door like it was personal.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Zhao Qiu finally snapped.
"I-I DON'T KNOW HER!" he wailed, collapsing in terror.
"I SWEAR I DON'T KNOW HER! DON'T COME IN!!"
He backed into a corner, shaking violently, hugging the leg of a desk like a lifeline.
"B-But the ghost from Class 3, Grade 3—he knows her! YES! He definitely knows her! Please, go to him! Spare me!"
Click.
The classroom door suddenly unlocked itself, and Zhao Qiu yanked it open in desperation.
Then froze.
Lucas stood there.
Backlit by flickering corridor light, his figure cast a long shadow.
"Class 3, Grade 3?" Lucas asked calmly.
Zhao Qiu nodded frantically.
"Yes, yes! He'll know her! That ghost—he'll tell you everything!"
Just then, a furious shout erupted from down the hall—
"Zhao Qiu! DID I SLAUGHTER YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY?! How dare you sell me out like this?!"
It was a scream full of rage and betrayal—from the next classroom over.
But Zhao Qiu ignored it. His entire world was focused on the man at the door.
Lucas gave him a polite, grateful nod.
"Thank you."
Then, with the bloodstained knife in one hand and the head of a ghost still dangling from the other, Lucas turned and walked away.
Zhao Qiu stood in the sunlight.
But there was no warmth in it.
Only the echo of blood and fear.
...
Down the hall, another knock.
Then another crash.
Then—
Screams.
Curses.
Begging.
More crashing.
The sound of something heavy rolling across the floor.
Zhao Qiu collapsed like a fish out of water, gasping.
He stared blankly, body drained of all energy, mind blank with terror.
...
Lucas stepped out of the latest classroom, kicked aside the ghost head that had rolled to his feet, and wiped the blood off his kitchen knife using the hem of his hospital gown.
All around him, Changming University had grown still.
The eerie quiet wasn't peaceful—it was scared.
Even the ghosts were too afraid to move.
> [Player Lucas has fulfilled the female ghost's final wish. Hidden mission complete.]
[Reward: Blessing of the Female Ghost]
[Hidden Storyline of Changming Ghost School Unlocked]
[Title Awarded: "Chop-Knife Ghost Hunter"]
> "...The past has finally faded, and Changming High School—once haunted by vengeance—has found peace. Hush now. Don't turn around. There may still be one ghost sleeping in secret..."
Lucas blinked.
"Wait… is that it?"
For a moment, he stood there stunned.
Then—he sighed with relief.
"Honestly," he muttered, "going door to door asking ghosts questions is really dangerous."
> [Congratulations! You have survived five hours in Changming Ghost School and cleared the dungeon.]
[Reward settlement in progress…]
[Teleporting player out of the instance...]
And just like that—
Lucas vanished.
Right there in the corridor, he disappeared into thin air.
The blood-slicked head he'd been holding dropped with a dull thud to the floor.
...
Silence.
Then—like a wave breaking—
Classroom doors opened across the hallway.
Ghosts poked their heads out cautiously, blinking.
"Huuuh… he's finally gone..."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I was in the next room! I thought I was finished for sure!"
"I never imagined surviving five hours would feel like a punishment..."
"That guy's not a player—he's a damn executioner!"
"I almost fainted when he knocked on my door. I held my breath like I was back in Purgatory!"
...
Far away, outside the dungeon—
The broadcast hall was still going wild.
But inside Changming Ghost School?
The haunting was over.
At least... for now.
--
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