The upheaval happened too fast.

No one had time to react.

No one except Chen Ji.

The moment he saw the sky dim, the corner of his lips slowly lifted. A sick, delighted smile spread across his face, as if he had finally been served a long awaited feast.

He drew out two knives.

Before anyone could respond, he viciously thrust them toward Jiang Shengxu and Li Zechuan.

Squelch—

The sharp blades flashed with cold light, piercing cleanly through Jiang Shengxu and Li Zechuan’s hearts without the slightest hesitation.

Chen Ji moved too fast.

So fast that no one reacted in time.

Jiang Shengxu and Li Zechuan stiffened violently. They slowly lowered their heads to look at the knife tips protruding from their chests. Blood instantly soaked through the fabric over their hearts.

They turned back in disbelief, shock still frozen in their eyes, as if they could not understand why Chen Ji would do this.

Chen Ji offered no explanation. He indifferently twisted the knives in his hands, then mercilessly pulled them free.

As the blades slid out, scalding blood sprayed forth, staining their clothes an even deeper red.

Their bodies swayed.

They could no longer remain standing.

They collapsed to the ground.

Their breathing and pulse faded away.

But this was not the end.

Less than three seconds after their breathing stopped, their bodies moved strangely. Slowly, they rose from the floor.

Their skin turned the ashen gray of death. The emotions of the living vanished from their eyes. A chilling aura of yin energy coiled around them.

Death washed away the disguise of the living from their bodies.

It also washed away the dungeon’s restrictions.

Sealed memories flooded violently back into their minds.

They finally understood.

They understood why.

They understood Chen Ji’s calculation.

Because death had restored their memories.

While they had been in the state of the living, they had no memory at all. They could never have been Yang Ruiqing’s match.

Only by dying completely—

Would they gain even the slightest chance.

And this was indeed the best opportunity.

Yang Ruiqing had tormented them for a long time. They had been trapped in this school for a long time. Yet they had never been able to resist him.

Because they were weaker than Yang Ruiqing.

This time, in order to accompany Wen Ruyu, Yang Ruiqing had left the library before fully breaking free of its restraints.

His power had definitely been greatly weakened.

This was an unprecedented opportunity.

They had to help Chen Ji.

Even if Chen Ji had stabbed them to death.

—

The moment the atmosphere in the cafeteria turned wrong, Lin Zhou and the others immediately fled.

They did not dare look back.

They did not dare hesitate.

They ran at full speed away from the cafeteria.

But they had not gone far when the sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye. At the same time, a cold and emotionless broadcast echoed inside their minds.

The dungeon had entered Eternal Night Mode.

The method of clearing had changed.

They only needed to survive for six hours.

Su Xiao was only a new Player. She did not know what Eternal Night Mode was. When she heard that they only needed to survive six hours, her steps faltered.

A faint flicker of joy flashed in her eyes.

Six hours.

They only needed to survive six hours.

That did not sound difficult.

But when she lifted her head and looked at Lin Zhou and Han Yi, that trace of joy froze instantly on her face, as if ice water had been poured over her from head to toe.

Their expressions were extremely ugly.

Su Xiao’s heart sank violently. Instinct told her something was wrong. Her voice trembled as she asked uneasily,

“W what’s wrong?”

Cold sweat streamed down Lin Zhou’s forehead. He swallowed with difficulty. Every word seemed squeezed out of his throat, heavy beyond measure.

“In Eternal Night Mode, the sun will never rise again. Day will never come back. The ghosts in the dungeon will be completely released. They won’t follow any killing rules anymore.”

“They can slaughter without restriction.”

He paused.

His voice dropped so low it sounded like a death sentence.

“No Player has ever survived Eternal Night Mode.”

Eternal Night Mode was a special state of a dungeon. It required special circumstances to trigger. In the year since the horror game descended, it had only been triggered a handful of times.

And in every single one of those few times, the Players had been completely wiped out.

Not one had survived six hours.

Not even one had survived three.

Ordinary dungeons were already nine deaths for one survival.

Eternal Night Mode—

Was hell difficulty.

—

Su Xiao quickly understood what Eternal Night Mode meant.

When darkness completely swallowed the daylight, every student on campus stopped in unison.

Then, stiffly, they turned their heads toward the three of them.

Their gaze was the same as the classmates in the cafeteria.

As if the next second they would devour her whole.

All of them had become ghosts.

Or perhaps they had always been ghosts.

The appearance of the living had only been a façade.

And living flesh—

Was fatally attractive to ghosts.

Su Xiao’s limbs went weak. Her face turned pale as paper. Terror filled her eyes.

“Run!!!”

Han Yi roared in fury.

The three of them did not dare delay even half a second. They poured every ounce of strength into their legs and fled like mad toward the opposite direction.

Greed.

Covetousness.

The wind howled past their ears, yet it could not drown out the sound of footsteps behind them.

They were catching up.

Their hearts pounded so violently they felt ready to explode. But they did not dare slow down.

They could not look back.

Even a single second now—

Was a race against death.

And they had to survive six full hours like this.

It was pure fantasy.

Fear swallowed them like a tidal wave.

At this moment, clues and truth no longer mattered. Yang Ruiqing’s cause of death no longer mattered.

Live.

They only needed to live.

Instinct drove them forward.

But the things behind them pursued relentlessly.

They did not run very fast.

But there were too many of them.

Every student of the Third University.

This place had long become a ghost domain.

Ghosts closed in from all directions, blocking every possible escape.

There was no light in Eternal Night Mode.

Even the streetlamps remained dark.

The entire university was submerged in absolute darkness, broken only occasionally by automatic motion sensor lights flickering on.

The unsteady light brought no comfort.

Instead, it felt ominous.

But it was the only chance to see.

The campus was too dark.

Every shadow could conceal lethal danger.

Without light, they would only die faster.

All three understood this.

They ran toward wherever there was light.

The best place was the teaching building.

The lights there could be switched on freely.

Only with sufficient illumination could they see the surrounding dangers.

Only then was there even a sliver of hope.

But no matter how they tried to run toward light, they inevitably had to pass through stretches of darkness.

Or find their path blocked by ghosts.

Lin Zhou saw a ghost rushing toward him from the front.

His heart skipped a beat.

If he continued forward, he would die.

He clenched his teeth and abruptly changed direction, sprinting down a remote path to the left.

But that path was no safer.

It was worse.

The moment he entered it, he heard dense footsteps approaching.

He was finished.

Knowing he would certainly die, Lin Zhou closed his eyes and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Come on!!!”

“I’m here!!!”

If death was inevitable, then at least let it have value.

At least buy the others a moment.

His voice rang sharply through the deathly darkness.

Nearly half of the ghosts that had been chasing Su Xiao and Han Yi instantly turned and surged toward Lin Zhou.

Su Xiao heard it too.

She trembled as she glanced back.

Tears burst forth instantly.

But she did not dare make a sound.

Sound would draw the ghosts’ attention. Lin Zhou’s sacrifice would be wasted.

She did not dare hesitate.

She ran desperately in the opposite direction.

A few seconds later, a short scream sounded behind her.

Lin Zhou was dead.

In just a few seconds, the companion who had discussed clues with them and fled alongside them—

Was gone.

Su Xiao’s heart trembled violently. Tears welled up in her eyes. She bit down hard on her lower lip to stop them from falling.

She could not cry.

Tears would blur her vision.

She would not see the road.

Fear crushed her lungs.

She had no time to grieve.

She could only move her legs mechanically, running toward the teaching building.

She did not dare stop.

—

The two of them stumbled into the teaching building.

The lights inside were on, illuminating the surrounding area.

And the unseen dangers.

“This way!”

Han Yi had investigated this building before. He knew its structure.

He rushed toward a narrow corridor.

A narrow corridor could block most ghosts. The congestion might even slow them down. They could escape through the back entrance.

But just as he approached, several stiff figures slowly emerged from the far end.

“Back!”

Han Yi spun around instantly to change direction.

But the ghosts downstairs had already caught up.

Front and back.

Trapped.

“Upstairs!”

He made the decision instantly, grabbing Su Xiao as he turned and sprinted up the stairs.

What they did not expect—

Was that there were even more ghosts inside the building.

Eternal Night did not mean time had turned to night.

Time remained frozen as before.

There were still many students in class.

Now, they had all become ghosts.

Perhaps they had smelled living flesh.

The ghosts who had been sitting quietly stiffly turned their necks and stared straight at the two of them.

Their hearts nearly stopped.

They fled in another direction.

But ghosts were everywhere.

One lunged from the side.

Han Yi shoved Su Xiao forward, allowing her to narrowly avoid it.

But they were separated.

“Run!”

His voice was hoarse, trembling at the end.

“Whether you live or die depends on your own luck.”

He turned and ran without looking back.

At a time like this, no one could care for anyone else.

Su Xiao wanted to follow him.

But ghosts blocked her path.

Terrified and desperate, she stood at the stairwell.

Then she could only run upward.

Upward.

A dead end.

But she had no choice.

Perhaps Eternal Night had no way out.

She had barely reached the next floor when a scream erupted from below.

Then the sound of bones shattering.

Then silence.

From the moment Eternal Night began until now—

Less than half an hour had passed.

And she was the only one left.

Her face was bloodless.

She stumbled all the way to the top floor and shoved open the iron door to the rooftop.

The rooftop was empty.

The wind was strong at this height, biting cold.

But it was still a dead end.

There was nothing to climb down from the edge.

Below was pitch black ground.

If she jumped, she would certainly die.

At the doorway—

The ghosts slowly approached.

One.

Two.

Ten.

Dense shadows packed the entrance, sealing it completely.

Sealing every retreat.

They moved stiffly, hollow eyes gleaming with greedy hunger as they advanced step by step.

Su Xiao’s face was white as paper.

Her eyes were bloodshot.

She backed against the cold wall, trembling uncontrollably.

Despair swallowed her whole.

She slid down the wall and collapsed to her knees.

Finally, she closed her eyes.

Tears streamed down uncontrollably.

At least—

This time, she could cry.

Chapter 42

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