“Student council? Gao Yun? Why is he looking for me?” Gao Ming had a deep impression of the 51st student of Class 13. He was supposedly the only survivor of the bus accident. However, the other students were tricked to get back into the tunnel. The dead students were alive again. Gao Yun, who should survive, died on their behalf. Of the two parties, only one could leave the tunnel. However, due to the loophole in fate’s arrangements, they both appeared at Han Hai.
“The president wants to give you something.” The student council member walked towards Gao Ming when he saw him. He was rather dull-looking, and his tone was even like that of a puppet without his own thoughts. He reached into his pocket and searched for a long time. Eventually, he took out two old phones. One of them was stained with blood like it was taken from a crime scene; the other was fully black. Its model was even older than the other.
“The president wants to ask you a question. Please answer it carefully. Do not try to lie to him again.” He held a phone in each hand. The student stood before Gao Ming, “If this time you are required to stay inside the tunnel for him to exit, are you willing?”
Gao Ming did not answer immediately. Only the students of Class 13 knew how hard this question was. After a long silence, Gao Ming nodded. “What do you need from me?”
After getting Gao Ming’s reply, the student felt like a puppet who had finished his mission. He placed the bloody phone before Gao Ming and put away the other phone. “The president doesn’t want to have conflict with you. The things he’s doing are recorded on this phone. You can contact him through it. Of course, this phone might expose your location. If you think it’s too dangerous, you can toss it away.”
Gao Ming switched on the phone. The screen saver was a group photo of Class 13. However, it was the photo painted by Xia Yang, where everyone had died horribly. The only contact in the contact list, the student president, had sent many videos to this phone.
After leaving Han De Private School, Gao Yun handed the school rules back to Yan Xizhi. He led the student council members to escape to the central circle of the east city. He created a new student council in the big city. Different from the other ghosts, Gao Yun didn’t harm the innocent and didn’t want to expose himself. He spread the rules silently in the dark. The people who followed his rules had surpassed a certain limit, and his influence included three residential areas and a school.
Most of the horror games existed to serve the shadow world. However, Gao Yun’s student council rules were different. Its core was to help those who followed the rules survive. The rules gathered the scattered masses into a giant collective. The student council was its core, binding everyone together.
As the tragedy approached, more citizens followed the rules of the student council. This was why Gao Yun sent people over to Gao Ming. He hoped that Gao Ming would retreat out of the east city so that the investigation centre wouldn’t benefit from their conflict.
Han De Private School was the centre for Situ An to cultivate sacrifices. It was his back garden. Many information and secrets there fell into Gao Yun’s hands. After Situ An’s death, he took over Situ An’s forces, including the largest underground force in the east city and the many undercover spies planted inside the investigation centre.
Situ An’s plan was deep. Gao Yun was originally one of his pieces. However, he was tricked by Gao Yun at the school. Gao Yun went not only for the school rules but also for the man’s soul and memory. Gao Yun didn’t seem like he had gained much from school, but he escaped with the exact thing that he wanted. Through Gao Yun’s videos, Gao Ming gained a clear understanding of the new Han Hai.
The north port city was the investigation centre headquarters’ base. It housed the strongest members of the research and security departments. It was the production line to deal with the tragedy. It was where Han Hai’s “hope” was located. Anomalies barely had a chance to surface there.
The east city that once belonged to Situ An was basically half-fallen. It was the busiest part of the city. After the Level 4 Anomaly, Han De Private School lost control, more citizens were replaced by ghosts in the dark. This was the location where parties like the ghosts from the shadow world, the student council, the investigation centre and Han De Private School fought crazily.
The old city was the most chaotic zone at Han Hai. It had the highest and densest population. It was the focus of infiltration for the shadow world. Situ An had once conducted more than ten rituals there. The anomaly at Li San Hospital had spiralled out of control. The investigation centre hadn’t given an official danger rating, but the situation was worse than in the east city. The only good thing was that Gao Ming was based there, and it was the zone where the horror game players were the most active.
The west port had the future tech garden. The west city investigation centre had the strongest security team outside of the one at the headquarters. The 13 investigation stations located there were led by capable agents.
Lastly, it was the south port. Some of the Han Hai locals were from this area. Gao Ming’s classmate, Wang Jie, was from this place. Wang Jie’s eldest uncle was the captain of the one of the centres there.
In the face of the tragedy, the south port didn’t care for procedures and justice. They accepted and protected any people or ghosts who were willing to help. They followed full practicalism. If humanity lost, they might willingly embrace the shadow world.
Gao Yun shared a lot of information with Gao Ming. To thank Gao Ming for giving up on the east city, he even sent Gao Ming a present.
In the last video, Gao Yun did a demonstration for Gao Ming.
He found a citizen who was lured into an anomaly. He forced the other party to follow the student council rules. After they were put in danger, different people would explode with different levels of will.
These powers of will could further strengthen the horror game rules. They could make the rule more realistic and could help Gao Yun break away from the shackles of fate. Gao Yun’s presence was closer to a dream ghost.
“Those who should have died survive. Their fates have been changed. It can help me break the chains of fate. Their wills can be turned into nutrients to improve the power of the God of Flesh and Blood and Zhang Ding. Isn’t this what I need?”