There are ghosts among the staff; don’t get caught during the ball.
Lin Ya recalled the only somewhat true rule from the manual and scanned the surroundings. He suspected that among the large crowd, there were players disguised as ghosts, while the rest, aside from his few companions, were all NPCs.
Although he could see through the illusions, any careless touch against the rules could lead to an attack. He figured that once the ball was over, he should take a look around. While the talisman was still effective, he aimed to grasp the basic rules here. If he was careful not to breach them, he could pass through safely.
As the staff carried away the girl’s corpse with a smile, a beam of light descended from the stage above the banquet hall, revealing a graceful figure emerging from the darkness.
The woman had long, slender legs and an alluring figure, tightly wrapped in a black mermaid dress. Half of her face was obscured by a black veil, revealing only her sharp chin and fiery red lips.
Almost all eyes in the crowd were drawn to her.
Lin Ya frowned, feeling a surge of darkness in his gaze.
A living person?
“Welcome everyone to my ball…” The woman’s voice was slightly husky, her red lips curving into a full arc. As the lights dimmed, her enchanting figure vanished.
Music began to play, and the lights adjusted to an appropriate brightness. Pairs of NPCs started to enter the dance floor, quickly followed by some players who imitated them, regardless of whether they could dance or not; they simply jumped in.
Except for Lin Ya and another surviving newcomer without partners.
Facing the sudden and tragic death of his companion, he was clearly in shock, standing motionless with a pale face and trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing them remain stationary for a long time, all the NPCs, still smiling, danced as if copying and pasting movements, while their gazes were fixed on the two of them.
Ignoring these stares, Lin Ya turned to the refreshment area, took a few pieces of cake, and sat on a nearby sofa with a drink.
Although they were all ghosts, the snacks were edible. If he missed this meal, he would likely go hungry tonight.
“…Is he really a newcomer?” Wu Yun lowered her voice, incredulous as she leaned closer to Su Ziyi, unable to believe someone would dare eat in such a situation.
Didn’t he see how the NPCs were watching him? Unless he was blind!
Su Ziyi: “…” He didn’t know. With countless players in the infinite world, he couldn’t possibly know everyone.
However, seeing this nonchalant man, a sense of unease surged in his heart.
Why wasn’t he going down to dance?
Plus, he hadn’t even looked for a partner earlier…
Was he not afraid of breaking the rules, or did his manual not include the rule of [bringing a partner to dance at the ball]?
Suddenly, feeling a touch on his shoulder, he quickly raised his head, instantly breaking out in a sweat.
He didn’t realize when the dance floor had become so crowded; almost all the NPCs were pushing toward them.
Remembering the number tag he was hiding, Su Ziyi froze, recalling that nothing had happened even though the other two hadn’t gone down to dance, and quickly pulled Wu Yun out toward the exit.
“What’s wrong?! Aren’t we dancing?” Wu Yun was still confused, trusting him and following closely behind.
“If we don’t go up now, we won’t even know how we die!” Just as Su Ziyi’s words fell, a scream erupted from the dance floor.
Without needing further explanation, Wu Yun sprinted faster than him.
“Run!” The others snapped out of their stupor and followed suit.
“My number tag?! Ah!!”
In the banquet hall, the number tag represented one’s identity. Without an “identity,” any ghost could attack and kill the intruder.
A chase ensued.
The lights flickered in and out. Lin Ya finished the last bite of his cake and was preparing to grab another piece when he caught a strange smell in the air.
“It smells like something is burning…”
“Dong…” The clock sounded.
Lin Ya glanced at the time; it was precisely 8 o’clock.
Flames erupted from somewhere, quickly engulfing the entire banquet hall. Originally elegant and beautifully attired ladies and gentlemen rolled on the ground, screaming in panic.
Players near the dance floor also screamed in agony, desperately trying to extinguish the flames burning on their bodies.
Su Ziyi and Wu Yun ran closer to Lin Ya, but they hadn’t been touched by the flames yet. Su Ziyi watched as Lin Ya sat expressionlessly without moving, pulling Wu Yun further behind him.
The fire was about to spread.
But in Lin Ya’s eyes…
There were no flames at all; he only saw players and NPCs rolling in distress, the closer they got to the dance floor, the more horrendous their screams became.
It seemed that from his invisible perspective, they were engulfed in flames, and the banquet hall was the same.
Is it a reenactment…?
Lin Ya lowered his gaze, thoughtful. As long as he believed there was no fire, there wouldn’t be any; he couldn’t even smell that initial burnt scent anymore.
Reality—
Lies—
So that’s what it means.
As the flames drew near, Su Ziyi and Wu Yun suddenly widened their eyes.
“?!”
The flames actually avoided that person.
“Could it be that he used an item?” Wu Yun’s eyes were wide with disbelief. Was he really a big shot?!
“I don’t know. But we need to use an item to save our lives now,” he pulled out a crystal pendant hanging from his neck, feeling a pang in his heart; it was only the first day, and he’d used an item already.
Wu Yun looked even more anxious; she had already used two life-saving items on her first day. If the reward for surviving until the end wasn’t worth as much as these items, it would be a huge loss.
As the flames reached the edges of their clothes, Su Ziyi made a decisive move, crushing one of the crystals. The flames miraculously veered away from them.
Finally, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Ya stood up, took a few more cakes, prepared to pack them away later, and casually grabbed two bottles of drinks.