Wang Qian was taken aback when the ghostly student burst into tears after Lin Feng slapped him.
To call Lin Feng kind didn't seem accurate; he bullied ghosts. To call him wicked didn't fit either, as he hadn't destroyed every ghost he encountered.
An odd one indeed. Wang Qian had been a ghost hunter for a long time, but this was the first time he had seen someone behave so unorthodoxly. Lin Feng didn't see himself as a ghost hunter at all; the guy acted more like a ghost king.
In the cafeteria, many ghostly students turned their attention toward them. They cautiously gathered around, their expressions mixed with fear. They couldn't figure out the trio's identity but sensed they weren't like the students here and were a bit different from ghosts, too.
Lin Feng lit a cigarette. The flames from the lighter made nearby ghostly students frown and retreat instinctively. Then Lin Feng exchanged for a bowl of talisman water at the Ghostly Mall and handed it to Nie Chuxia.
Nie Chuxia frowned. "What for? You want me to drink this stuff again? I won't!"
Lin Feng sighed, both amused and exasperated. "It'll at least mask your Yang energy. These ghostly students, once they sense you're different from them, will attack you. And if we encounter some powerful malicious ghost, we're doomed..."
Lin Feng's approach was always to blend in wherever he was. Since the environment was filled with ghosts, there was no need to flaunt his identity as a ghost hunter. To him, such behavior was idiotic.
Nie Chuxia pouted. "Why don't you make the chubby one drink it instead?"
Lin Feng shot a sideways glance at Wang Qian and said, "Him? He already stuck a piece of dead skin on his back for protection. He's sharp enough..."
Wang Qian gave an awkward laugh but said nothing, feeling slightly guilty for not warning them earlier about his precaution.
Nie Chuxia glared at Wang Qian before reluctantly drinking the talisman water.
Moments after she finished, the ghostly students dispersed. The students who had gone to get food hadn't returned yet when a loud bang erupted from the back of the cafeteria as a door was kicked open.
Amid the swirling smoke, a voice rang out with wild laughter:
"Looks like I'm the first to reach the third stage!"
Not long after, another voice followed:
"Drunkard, stealing my thunder? You're quite bold."
Through the smoke emerged a man with a scruffy beard and another with peach blossom eyes. The two arrogantly surveyed the ghostly students. The cafeteria chef had already been killed by them, his neck twisted and his body stuffed into a cooking pot, leaving only the corpse he had inhabited before.
But as the two men entered the cafeteria, their previously smug expressions froze.
They were stunned to see three familiar faces sitting there.
They... they had reached the third stage first?!
The two couldn't believe it.
Lin Feng and his companions were equally surprised.
Especially Lin Feng—this was supposed to be a system-generated map. He already found it odd that the three of them had been dragged into it. Now, other people who cleared the first two stages were here as well? What the heck? Someone explain this!
Lin Feng raged internally as a sea of question marks swirled in his mind.
The newcomers were none other than members of the Fight Sect: Scruffy Beard and Peach Blossom Eyes.
"You three got here before us? How's that possible?! How did you do it?"
Scruffy Beard was utterly baffled. It didn't make sense. When they cleared the second stage, the Zombie Tomb, they had fought their way through countless ghosts. There shouldn't have been anyone ahead of them!
Wang Qian merely smiled without answering. Seeing how sharp the chubby guy was, Lin Feng decided not to play the fool either and remained silent.
Nie Chuxia, however, began, "Actually, we—"
Wang Qian coughed lightly and lazily interrupted, "With me, Lin the Black Dog, and Junior Sister Nie, is it really that surprising we got here first?"
Scruffy Beard and Peach Blossom Eyes were annoyed. The chubby guy had leveraged the situation perfectly. Though they were unconvinced, they didn't dare to retort recklessly; offending three people at once was not a smart move.
Peach Blossom Eyes clicked his tongue, and Scruffy Beard scoffed as they left.
"We'll definitely clear the third stage before you! Just wait!" Scruffy Beard declared, glaring at Lin Feng. "Pei Tiangou, you're quite capable! I underestimated you!"
With that, Scruffy Beard stomped off.
Peach Blossom Eyes, having some history with the trio, stayed behind to chat amiably. "Hey, Chubby, Brother Lin, do you have any clues? Since you arrived first, share something with us, will you?"
Lin Feng smiled bitterly. "We've got nothing. We're looking, too."
Peach Blossom Eyes sighed, realizing they had just arrived as well.
Nie Chuxia asked, "Brother Wan, why is the Yin energy around you so dense?"
Peach Blossom Eyes smiled charmingly and explained, "Junior Sister Nie, you don't know? Hehe, once you're in the Mirage Realm, you take on a Yin form, becoming no different from ghosts. After all, this is just one massive ghostly labyrinth. We entered using Boundary Talismans, so we couldn't possibly have Yang bodies."
"Oh…" Nie Chuxia sensed something odd in his explanation but couldn't pinpoint what.
Meanwhile, the ghostly student who had gone to fetch food returned timidly, holding a tray of meals. Earlier, he had seen the cafeteria chef brutally killed by Peach Blossom Eyes and hesitated whether to bring an extra portion to curry favor with him.
Peach Blossom Eyes noticed these people were still in the mood to eat ghostly food and decided not to linger. He had to clear the stage quickly and return to teach his junior sisters about Taoist techniques.
"I'll head out first! See you at Green Bamboo Manor!"
With that, Peach Blossom Eyes bid farewell and left.
The dining atmosphere at the table was oppressively tense.
Lin Feng glanced at Wang Qian, and Wang Qian looked back. Neither spoke.
Nie Chuxia tried a bite of the ghostly meal and found it tasteless. It seemed the food was condensed from Yin energy, merely enhancing one's Yin aura without being particularly disgusting.
"Why aren't you eating?" Nie Chuxia asked, puzzled. She remembered Lin Feng had a hearty appetite, even eating in ghost markets. Could there be something wrong with this meal?
Lin Feng downed his bowl of rice soup in one gulp, looking melancholic. "Miss, you really shouldn't have asked Peach Blossom Eyes that question."
Lin Feng was referring to the question about Peach Blossom Eyes' heavy Yin energy.
Wang Qian nodded in agreement, his eyes glazed over with a look of resignation.
Nie Chuxia sensed something was terribly off with the two men. Sticking out her tongue nervously, she asked, "What's wrong? Did I ask something inappropriate?"
Wang Qian blinked his small eyes and said, "Junior Sister Nie, you might not believe this, but I think Lin Black Dog and I are on the same page."
He glanced at Lin Feng, who nodded in agreement. Wang Qian paused briefly before continuing, "In this stage, The Human Skin Campus, the human skins they're looking for might just be ours…"
As soon as he finished, Nie Chuxia froze, her food dropping onto her clothes without her even noticing.
Lin Feng let out a bitter laugh. This chubby guy was truly sharp. Even without the Fierce Ghost System or the task prompts, he had figured it out! As a disciple of the Talisman Sect's Heaven Character Hall, Wang Qian's aptitude was truly terrifying.
Indeed, Lin Feng had started to feel something was off when Peach Blossom Eyes mentioned they were in their Yin bodies.
The three of them had entered this realm through the Fierce Ghost System; they were undeniably living humans. How could they have Yin bodies?
However, Lin Feng had secretly used his Heavenly Eye Technique to investigate, and Peach Blossom Eyes truly was in a Yin form. This meant, at the core, Peach Blossom Eyes was no different from the other ghosts here.
If Peach Blossom Eyes was a ghost, then the others must be ghosts too!
The third stage, The Human Skin Campus, stated in the task description that finding a human skin would trigger a clue to pass the stage. But human skins? Only the three of them, as living humans, had that!
Damn it. No wonder the task description seemed like a trap—it wasn't instructions for them but rather for others! The three of them were the stage's final bosses!
Nie Chuxia stared wide-eyed, looking between Lin Feng's expression and Wang Qian's explanation. The two seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
Wang Qian sighed. "The Fight Sect may have the weakest Heavenly Eye techniques among the three sects, but let's hope Big Flower didn't notice we're still in our Yang bodies…"
None of them felt like eating anymore. If Scruffy Beard and Peach Blossom Eyes had made it here, it was only a matter of time before more people arrived. And if anyone discovered that passing the stage required peeling off their skins, the trio would be in extreme danger.
"In that case, isn't our task crystal clear?" Lin Feng suddenly said, taking a deep breath.
Wang Qian froze for a moment before realizing something. When he looked at Lin Feng again, his expression had changed.
Nie Chuxia noticed Wang Qian's complicated expression, mixed with admiration and respect. She lowered her voice and asked awkwardly, "What's our task?"
Lin Feng's eyes gleamed with cunning, tinged with a fighting spirit.
"Obviously… find a way to take them all out! Kick them OUT of the game!"
Nie Chuxia and Wang Qian trembled slightly at Lin Feng's decision, then grew eager with anticipation.
Exactly!
If the task for others was to eliminate them and take their skins to pass the stage, why not try eliminating the others instead?
In a game like Three Ghost Stages, if they were the bosses, then they needed to act like it!
As the cafeteria grew noisier, more people trickled in from the second stage, arriving at the third. The three exchanged glances, sinister smiles creeping onto their faces.
"So that's your plan? I'll expose your secret to everyone!"
A ghostly student who had been eavesdropping sneered menacingly. Lin Feng glanced at him, and his grin froze.
Out of nowhere, Niu Meng appeared behind the ghost, his iron chains snapping the ghost's head apart. The ghost's essence was sucked into Nie Chuxia's mouth and exhaled into an oil lamp.
Wang Qian stretched lazily. "Lin Black Dog, so you had a ghost servant all along… Hehehe, I'm really glad I teamed up with you before entering this game."