“There are many students who come here, but there are not many who are as honest as you,” Zhang Mingli was intrigued by Gao Ming, “Who do you want to kill?”
“I haven’t decided,” Gao Ming answered seriously.
“What if I teach you, and you end up targeting me?” Zhang Mingli didn’t sound like a teacher at all.
“I’ll only teach those who want to harm me,” Gao Ming glanced into Zhang Mingli’s home. The simple wooden house was filled with ‘new’ books. Most of them were for moral classes.
“An unassuming answer. You’ll have a hard time leaving this place alive.” Zhang Mingli didn’t mean to invite Gao Ming into the house. “Go to the classroom and find a seat. Follow my arrangements.”
Dream Break Town was strange, but the school was an exception. Zhang Mingli was more like a tester than the other villagers. After he gave Gao Ming the orders, he returned to his room. Before he closed the door, he shook his head at Gao Ming, “You’re also a poor soul to be scammed by Immortal Pharma to come to a place .”
Zhang Mingli had no respect for Immortal Pharma. His derision for the company was so deep that he didn’t even want to waste his breath to insult them. From Zhang Mingli’s actions and words, he should be the person the players were looking for.
“Things are going so smoothly that I’m worried,” Gao Ming didn’t expose his identity. Zhang Mingli might not believe him, and Gao Ming felt something was off. He had been to Molten Fire and the Death Building. The players were in a bad state. Most of them had mental trauma that couldn’t be healed, but none of them chose to compromise.
“Considering how far Immortal Pharma has pushed the game players, they wouldn’t have allowed Zhang Mingli to hide here so easily… Unless… is this a trap?” The level five test was one of the most important tests. Those who completed it could join Level Five Labs and interact with the company’s core secrets. If the taboo game players found their way here, it would be a huge threat to Immortal Pharma. “Among the players, Zhang Mingli has a high reputation and has saved many players. Using him as bait is not a bad plan,” Dream Break Town was a dangerous place. The real Zhang Mingli might not even be there. “I can’t rely on Zhang Mingli. I still need to depend on myself.”
To kill the monsters in the nightmare, one had to identify their real symbols first. For example, to kill the night-watcher, one might need to ruin the town rules and destroy the plaques left behind by the generations of night-watchers.
The rules followed by the butcher were different from those of the night-watcher. He seemed to represent murder and chaos. To kill him, one might need to go after him. When Gao Ming first encountered the butcher, he discovered the man had a different voice. The voice was protecting the black donkey, so Gao Ming suspected a tester had joined herself with the butcher.
The night wind moved the wooden door. A man and woman appeared at the entrance. They wore rough-hewn clothes and had ashes on their faces. They looked like the villagers, but the black bands on their wrists exposed their real identities.
“Is the information correct?” The man had a butterfly tattoo on his cheek. The beautiful pattern covered half of his face.
“The way to trigger the 11th modification is at the school. I saw that when I was going through my father’s notes. There can’t be many who know this secret.” The woman looked around 30. She had very fair skin. Her long hair was tied behind her head. She had double pupils.
The man nudged the woman to get her to be quiet. Then, he pointed at Gao Ming. “How secretive can it be when someone else is already here? We shouldn’t have trusted our useless father.”
The woman looked awkward. She looked around. She stopped hiding. She pushed open the door and strode in. “I remember you.” The woman told Gao Ming, “In the room with the altar, I saw you enter the door named Death Portrait with a woman.”
Gao Ming actually saw a paper doll inside the altar, but he couldn’t find a door with the words of a paper doll. That was why he chose to follow Bai Feng.
“I mean no malice. I noticed that because my little brother and I also saw a death portrait. We followed behind you.” The woman stood on the other side of the hall. Her brother blocked the entrance. He seemed to hide a pair of scissors in his sleeves.
“We’re all here for the test. We should help each other.” The woman stared at Gao Ming for a long time. She offered kindly, “My dad was Immortal Pharma Brain Realm Game’s first batch of testers. If you are willing to work with us, we can share some information with you.”
If not absolutely necessary, these testers didn’t want to make enemies.
“What kind of cooperation?”
“Aren’t you here for the 11th modification method? It is supposed to have the weakest side effect. It is called the Dream Release Method.” The woman took two steps forward. “There are no limitations to how many times we can do the modifications. If we work together, all three of us can undergo the modifications and gain level five access.”
“You have misunderstood me. I’m just here to avoid disaster. I’m not that interested in the modifications.” Gao Ming hugged his chest. He was still pondering how to deal with the butcher.
“Be honest. If not for the modification and level five access, why are you here?” The woman’s eyes danced with ghost fire. She seemed to be able to see through Gao Ming, “We saw a death portrait inside the altar. This means that we have someone we want to meet. He has become our obsession. The altar has provided the answer.”
Gao Ming didn’t want to explain. The woman came with a presumption so she could think whatever she wanted.
“My name is Wan Min. He is my little brother, Wan Yang. We are orphans rescued by our father from the cult.”
The woman had a good personality. However, Gao Ming kept his head lowered. He felt like the woman was lying.
The woman said her father was one of the first-batch testers. Gao Ming remembered a tester called Wan Jie. He was one of the first testers, and he also had double pupils. His name was Wan Jie.