Qi Yang gave a simple, indifferent look, as if completely unaware of his own uniqueness.

The other five people were shocked by the scene where even the ghosts feared Qi Yang. They didn’t understand, nor could they guess why the ghosts were afraid of Qi Yang. They only saw Qi Yang cut his wrist, and blood dripped onto the ground. No one would have thought that Qi Yang was pregnant with the child of the ghosts’ top boss, and the supervisor had directly ordered all ghosts not to harm a single hair on Qi Yang.

Du Yong and the others subconsciously wondered if it was because of the incident outside the cafeteria that afternoon that these ghosts dared not approach bleeding players, fearing that they would be lured by the players’ fresh blood and then lose control and pounce.

The result of pouncing on them was having their heads stomped on by the supervisor. The players thought about it again and again and concluded that this was the only possibility; anything else, they couldn’t even imagine.

So Du Yong immediately took the knife from Qi Yang’s hand and cut his own palm. The wound was larger than Qi Yang’s, and blood gushed out instantly. Du Yong raised his palm, the fear in his expression now replaced by excitement. He even deliberately raised his blood-stained hand and approached the ghosts. The ghosts looked as if they had seen a ghost, constantly backing away, as if avoiding him.

Du Yong’s eyes were bright. He looked at Qi Yang, his expression clearly asking for praise for his cleverness. Qi Yang, however, didn’t think Du Yong was clever at all; he just wanted to knock Du Yong on the head to make him sober up.

Of course, he didn’t knock him. His left wrist was a little sore. After all, it was a small wound, even if it wasn’t cut deeply.

“Did you find the numbers?” Ignoring Du Yongjing’s shining eyes, Qi Yang turned around and asked Yi Xinming.

Yi Xinming frowned. After Qi Yang’s surprising actions, the imminent threat of death was somewhat alleviated. The ghosts no longer moved forward, and for now, it seemed unlikely that they would be forcibly pushed down by the ghosts. With ample time now, Yi Xinming reconfirmed that the ghosts were indeed keeping their distance, seemingly afraid to approach. He let out a long sigh and continued searching for the numbers.

Perhaps it was a change in mindset; the more anxious he was before, the harder it was to find them. After searching again for a short while, Yi Xinming found the numbers in the left corner of the deep pit. Not only that, but Yi Xinming also saw steps made of glass. They were very difficult to spot if one didn’t look carefully. The steps were narrow, embedded in the wall, and connected to the rapidly rotating gears below.

“There.” Yi Xinming pointed to a number 9 that looked as if it were stained with blood.

“…We found the numbers, but what’s the use? We still can’t get out!” It wasn’t that Xu Yang deliberately said these disheartening words; it was just that, besides the numbers, he really couldn’t see any other chance of survival.

Although the ghosts were no longer approaching, lunchtime was fleeting. If time ran out and they still couldn’t leave by the afternoon class, did that mean they would have to stay another week in this high school full of ghosts?

In the past four days, more than twenty out of thirty people died. In another week, there would be six of them left. It seemed the ghosts were afraid of their blood, or perhaps not really afraid. Xu Yang had observed that when Du Yong raised his blood-soaked hand and approached the ghosts, their eyes were filled with an intense craving for blood. Due to the rules, they dared not approach for now, but would there be an even more terrifying crisis next? Xu Yang was truly desperate; he felt he couldn’t see any hope of survival.

Compared to Xu Yang, who was so quick to give up, the two girls, though scared, surprisingly showed much more courage.

“Since it’s a game, there must be a way to clear it. Let’s look again. These gears have been running continuously. I’m wondering if there’s a way to stop them, or if there’s a button somewhere? As long as we can stop the gears, I think we can walk down the glass stairs and then go to the other side.” The glass staircase wasn’t just on this wall; it was on the opposite wall too. Those stairs led directly to the school gate. If they could climb up, they could successfully leave the school.

“There must be, there must be!”

Kang Lian kept giving herself psychological hints as she thought, a moment ago she didn’t dare to approach the deep pit, but the next moment, in order to find the last chance of survival, she lay on the edge of the deep pit, her eyes wide open, searching inch by inch.

“I also think that’s a possibility.” Yi Xinming nodded, agreeing with Kang Lian.

The supervisor was still watching them from the teaching building diagonally opposite. He had been standing there the whole time, and Qi Yang vaguely felt that the man didn’t seem to want to keep him, but rather seemed to be waiting for them to leave.

Qi Yang joined in the search for the button. He hadn’t initially thought of stopping the gears, but after Kang Lian’s reminder, he suddenly felt it was indeed possible. Qi Yang called Du Yong, and after a glance at Xu Yang, he left him alone. The group then searched together for a way to stop the gears.

The button was indeed found. The first person to discover the tiny button was Yuan Yuan. The button was also transparent; someone with poor eyesight might not find it no matter how wide they stared. Yuan Yuan’s eyesight was better than average, and she was overjoyed. After finding the button, she immediately called Qi Yang and the others over.

“Is that it? Is that it?”

Yuan Yuan had never felt so powerful before. In this game, she had always been in a protected role, and she had felt inferior because of her weakness and cowardice. Finally, here, she found the button. The thought of being able to help everyone made Yuan Yuan so happy that she almost lost her footing and fell into the deep pit.

“Be careful!” Yi Xinming was right beside Yuan Yuan and grabbed her.

“Thank you.” Yuan Yuan was overjoyed. She looked up at Qi Yang, who also had a faint, appreciative smile on his face at that moment.

“Yuan Yuan, you’re amazing.”

Hearing Qi Yang’s praise, Yuan Yuan’s cheeks flushed slightly. She had always secretly harbored a crush on Qi Yang, and although she knew it was impossible for him to like someone as unremarkable as her, her heart still quickened at his compliment.

“The button is too low.” Yi Xinming frowned again after a careful observation, realizing that he could easily fall if he wasn’t careful. He spotted a button, and regardless of whether it was the one to stop the gears, given the possibility, he had to try it. Otherwise, if he missed the current window to leave, this round would be considered a failure, and failure might mean death.

There were six people here, and it definitely wasn’t appropriate for the girls to go down. Qi Yang wasn’t feeling well, so he was also out. Yi Xinming’s gaze fell on himself, Du Yong, and Xu Yang. Xu Yang’s mental state wasn’t very good at the moment, so he might not be able to hold onto the steps firmly. Yi Xinming finally looked at Du Yong.

Du Yong and Yi Xinming looked at each other, seemingly understanding Yi Xinming’s meaning.

“I’m going down…” Before Du Yong could finish saying “down,” Yi Xinming interrupted him.

“Damn it, you’re careless and clumsy. If something else goes wrong now, we’ll really be stuck.” In the end, Yi Xinming decided to go himself. Before he went down, he looked at Qi Yang again. He thought about how Qi Yang had helped him many times in this game, and if it weren’t for Qi Yang, he might have lost his life a long time ago. As a thank you to Qi Yang, he would take on this danger.

As an experienced player who had cleared the game several times, Yi Xinming had better mental fortitude and endurance than a novice. He carefully descended the glass steps. Because the steps were narrow and vertical, Yi Xinming’s field of vision was quite limited. The others above helped him by giving directions. After a few close calls, Yi Xinming reached the button. He cautiously extended his hand to press it. His other wrist was tied with clothes—Qi Yang and the others had taken off their jackets, tied them into knots, and bound them together, providing Yi Xinming with a bit of security.

Yi Xinming quickly found the button. Before pressing it, he looked up at everyone standing above, nervously watching him. Everyone nodded in unison, agreeing to face whatever happened together once the button was pressed. Yi Xinming took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly sharpening. He pressed the button firmly. The giant metal gears beneath the deep pit emitted a dull sound. After a loud clang, the gears began to slow down, moving slower and slower.

But just then, the step under Yi Xinming’s right foot suddenly broke, and he plunged into the pit. Kang Lian screamed from above, and everyone else’s hearts tightened.

Just as Yi Xinming was about to fall into the still-moving gears, in the nick of time, his left hand suddenly grabbed a step. Everyone simultaneously pulled tight on the rope made of clothes. Yi Xinming’s toes scraped against the gears, and one of his shoes fell off.

“Hold on, Yi Xinming, hold on tight!” Du Yong shouted, kneeling at the edge of the pit, his hands gripping the rope tightly.

Yi Xinming hung in mid-air, and after a while, he smiled, “It’s okay, I’m fine.”

With everyone’s help from above, Yi Xinming grabbed the steps with both hands and found suitable footholds on the wall. Then he stopped moving, waiting for the gears below to stop.

As soon as the gears stopped, Yi Xinming, whose limbs were numb, told Qi Yang and the others to let go. He leaped down, landing directly on the stopped gears.

The moment he jumped, he startled the people above.

Du Yong called out, “Yi Xinming!”

Yi Xinming stood safely on the uneven gears. He straightened up and waved his hand upwards.

“Alright, you can do it.”

His companions all smiled, but just as Du Yong was about to descend, Yi Xinming suddenly spoke up again to stop him.

“Wait a little longer, wait until I’ve climbed to the other side.” For safety’s sake, Yi Xinming turned around and climbed up the glass steps on the other side.

The ascent was much easier than the descent had been, and in a flash, Yi Xinming was standing on the opposite side of the deep pit, with the school gate behind him.

“Be careful going down, don’t miss a step.”

Yi Xinming directed Du Yong, who was descending on the opposite side. Du Yong slowly landed on the gears. After Du Yong went down, he provided support from below. The two girls then followed, and Du Yong helped them steady themselves and sent them over to Yi Xinming.

Then it was Xu Yang’s turn. Xu Yang’s legs were still a bit weak, and he missed a step. Fortunately, he wasn’t far from the gears at the time, and Du Yong caught him in time.

Qi Yang was the last to go down. Before descending, he glanced at the supervisor on top of the teaching building. Strangely, the person had disappeared. As if sensing something, Qi Yang looked among the ghost students and saw Fu Mingnan standing there at some point.

He walked towards Qi Yang, stopping when he was still about two meters away.

Du Yong, on the gears, saw the supervisor suddenly appear, and so close to Qi Yang. His heart immediately panicked, thinking the supervisor was going to harm Qi Yang.

“Brother Qi, get down quickly!” Du Yong shouted in a hurry.

Qi Yang slightly curved his lips at Fu Mingnan. He only said two words: “Goodbye.”

Fu Mingnan gazed at Qi Yang with tender eyes, watching him leave his sight. As Qi Yang descended into the deep pit onto the gears, he softly replied, “See you in the next game, baby!”

Qi Yang heard the word “baby” and sharply turned his head, but by then Fu Mingnan had already turned and left.

Clutching Du Yong and Yi Xinming’s hands, Qi Yang climbed out of the deep pit, and the six of them walked out of the school together.

Standing outside the school gate, several people turned back to look inside the school. Through the school’s iron gate, they could still see the ghosts gathered inside, clustered at the edge of the deep pit, their eyes glowing eerily as they stared at Qi Yang and the others.

“Let’s go.” Qi Yang turned his head and stopped looking. Both sides were empty, as if they could go either way. Qi Yang chose the right side, and the others had no objections, following behind him.