"Alright," before anyone else could speak, Teacher Sweet removed her hand from her forehead and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's 8:30 in the evening. Everyone's tired today, so you can go back to your rooms to rest."

"Our reality show is quite humane; the camera crew won't follow guests into their rooms..."

Hearing this, Yuwen Hao breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to wake up to a pallid face shoving a camera in his face, filming him.

"And your respective selectable candidates will also return to their own separate rooms, so you won't be sharing a room with them when you sleep."

Gu Mian noticed that as Teacher Sweet said this, the Fortune-teller, who had a slightly tense expression, seemed to relax a bit.

She had just been startled by Number 4. I wonder if she's still mulling over it, Gu Mian thought.

"However—"

As Teacher Sweet uttered the word, Gu Mian knew something bad was coming.

Sure enough.

"However, all your rooms have surveillance. I can observe you at any time through the live broadcast."

As soon as she finished speaking, Dong'er, sitting on the single-person sofa, turned pale, as if terrified.

The expressions of the Fortune-teller and Yuwen Hao weren't much better. Both looked uncomfortable but said nothing.

Teacher Sweet continued, "I saw clearly how you all behaved when you first arrived in this instance. I must say, your mental fortitude is quite impressive..."

While she was speaking, Dong'er, still a bit pale, suddenly interjected, "Excuse me, Teacher Sweet..."

Teacher Sweet's words were indeed cut short. She seemed to have anticipated it, smiling as she looked at Dong'er. "What's the problem?"

Dong'er paused, then spoke softly, "I suddenly thought of something. In this reality show, a guest wins if they select an actual player. So, can we choose the selectable candidates of other guests? Or, to be bolder... can we directly select other guests?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Hao's interest was piqued.

He had previously considered choosing other guests' selectable candidates, but his intuition told him it wasn't feasible. All selectable candidates were designated by numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4. If he wanted to choose someone else's candidate, he couldn't just write "Gu Mian's Number 1," could he?

Moreover, he didn't dare to gamble. The 'Heartthrob Selection' card was a one-time use, and he didn't dare to mess around recklessly.

But Dong'er's second hypothesis... directly choosing other guests by writing their names...

"No."

To his surprise, Teacher Sweet flatly rejected Dong'er's theory.

"I remember saying when you were first in your rooms that you can only choose your heartthrob from your *own* selectable candidates. So, you cannot choose other guests or other people's selectable candidates."

Hearing this, Yuwen Hao's budding excitement instantly deflated.

It was indeed a good suggestion, but it wouldn't work. He thought that if he had come up with it, he would have kept it to himself and tested it first. Yet Dong'er had actually voiced it in front of the other guests. Is she not very bright? Or just too naive? Yuwen Hao wondered.

Yuwen Hao mused as he glanced at Dong'er beside him, who had posed the question. She had lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

While she was thinking, Yuwen Hao's peripheral vision caught the people behind her.

Unlike Gu Mian's three female and one male selectable candidates, all of Dong'er's were male; there was no gender ambiguity.

But then, Yuwen Hao frowned. Wait... the number doesn't seem right!

Teacher Sweet's voice sounded again, "It's getting late. Everyone can return to their rooms to rest. Of course, even at night, you're free to go on dates with your selectable candidates."

Gu Mian was rubbing his chin. I do need to 'date' Number 1 and Number 4.

It wasn't easy identifying two actual ghosts. Of course, I have to make good use of this opportunity.

So, while the others were still hesitating about dating their selectable candidates, they saw Gu Mian grab a woman covered in blood and drag her into his room.

The room door closed with a soft CREAK, like someone's mournful wail.

The Fortune-teller was the next to get up.

After watching Gu Mian drag what was clearly a ghost into his room, she stood up unsteadily.

Seemingly afraid she might fall, Dong'er beside her offered a steadying hand.

The Fortune-teller glanced at the two of them. "I'm going back to my room first."

It seemed she had no intention of dating anyone.

After the Fortune-teller returned to her room, Yuwen Hao also quickly stood up, gave Dong'er a hurried nod, and swiftly went upstairs.

As he rushed upstairs, a chill ran down his spine. Dong'er's number of selectable candidates is off.

The other three guests each had four selectable candidates, but Dong'er only had three people following her...

Only then did Yuwen Hao recall that Dong'er, as a guest, had been mostly out of their sight the entire day. The few times they had met were within this villa, encounters they couldn't avoid.

Because they'd met so infrequently, had no one noticed that Dong'er was short one selectable candidate?

No, perhaps others had noticed but chose not to point it out...

Although the discrepancy in numbers could be because this reality show instance's logistics were insufficient, in a Mysterious Dungeon, anything related to numbers warrants careful attention.

If it wasn't a logistical shortfall for the instance... then why would Dong'er be missing one selectable candidate?

As he was still pondering this, he reached the top of the stairs.

Two doors came into view.

His room was to the left; Gu Mian's room was to the right.

Just moments ago, Gu Mian dragged a ghost, one that looked like it was struggling fiercely, into the room on the right...

That said, in a Mysterious Dungeon, staying near someone like Gu Mian should be very safe. The crucial problem, however, is that this instance is different from other survival-type instances.

No matter how capable Gu Mian is, he can't help me identify the player among the four, can he?

No!

Another wild idea struck Yuwen Hao. Maybe I can get Gu Mian to help me throw my selectable candidates off the roof one by one. The one who dies is the player! But if they're dead, can their name still be put on the card?

He was suddenly startled by his own thought. Have I been around Gu Mian for so long that my thoughts are unconsciously aligning with his?

By now, Yuwen Hao had paced in front of Gu Mian's door several times.

Just as he finally mustered the courage to seek help from this 'old acquaintance,' he suddenly heard a sound from the room, like a motorcycle engine starting.

He'd heard that sound many times before!

It was the roar of a chainsaw starting up.

Hearing this, Yuwen Hao's previous thoughts vanished completely. He practically ran back to his own room.

Anything can wait until tomorrow... tomorrow... Yuwen Hao quickly returned to his room and swallowed hard.

There was a wall clock in every room. After swallowing, Yuwen Hao glanced towards it.

It was already nearly ten o'clock.

He knew well that many Mysterious Dungeons only truly came alive at night; the pitch-black darkness was prime time for Evil Ghosts to roam.

He didn't know if this instance was the same. Even though this was a reality show instance, Yuwen Hao always felt uneasy. I keep imagining my selectable candidates will silently appear above my head in the middle of the night.

If only all the guests could gather together...

Yuwen Hao sighed as he thought about it. If all the guests could gather, they could take turns keeping watch and resting.

Speaking of taking turns to keep watch, he seemed to recall doing that once in a previous instance. Yes! It was in the instance where I first met Gu Mian.

He still remembered how Gu Mian, upon hearing a noise from under the bed, had stuck his head under there to startle the ghost.

It was just that the players in this instance were all strange.

Gu Mian, needless to say, would most likely refuse if asked to keep watch.

And that Fortune-teller seems to have run into some trouble. She was sullen when she returned, and who knows what she's doing in her room now.

Dong'er, the one with the least presence, is also strange; she seems to be intentionally or unintentionally avoiding contact with other guests.

Come to think of it, I seem to be the only normal person in this instance...

Yuwen Hao sighed silently as he mulled this over.

Forget it. Since we can't all gather, I'll just have to manage alone.

He plopped down onto the bed and lay back. "Though I need to rest, I must stay alert... ready to flee at any moment!"

He was prepared. If anything unexpected happened during the night, he would immediately dive into Gu Mian's room next door.

"A chainsaw can solve anything," Yuwen Hao murmured to himself, then peacefully closed his eyes.

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