As expected, the auditorium should be safer. As long as Kira followed his instructions carefully—using the funeral incense to suppress and the auditorium's shielding mechanisms—no anomalies could harm them.
Once the anomalies reawakened, Kira would immediately signal, allowing Li Mo to complete the third-day process independently.
With this plan, both the second and third days could pass smoothly.
"It feels a bit too easy," Li Mo remarked, taking a big swig from a bottle of cola.
Just then—
"Hmm?"
Li Mo stood up abruptly, his attention drawn to the night sky above the auditorium.
A magnificent frost waterfall surged upward from the ground, its icy blossoms glittering like countless stars scattered across the heavens.
"Good, this seems to have resolved itself without much trouble," Li Mo muttered, satisfied.
He activated the broadcasting equipment, turning on the microphone. All the lines were functioning.
But just as he was about to speak, an unexpected event occurred.
Ten seconds passed, and the first frost waterfall had yet to disappear when a second one erupted.
"..."
Li Mo frowned slightly, setting the microphone aside. He turned his gaze towards the auditorium, but it was shrouded in darkness.
Only the faint tremors beneath his feet hinted at trouble brewing there.
---
Meanwhile, in the auditorium, all eyes were fixed on a child with ashen skin, their faces grim. The child's unhealthy complexion, parched lips, and decaying visage betrayed its true identity.
"Damn it...!" Kira gripped her greatsword tightly, sweat forming on her brow.
She had made a grave error.
Just as Li Mo had predicted, upon returning to the auditorium, Kira encountered several survivors. She had them moved far from the black coffin but not entirely out of the auditorium.
Resolutely, she ordered them to leave the auditorium entirely. They complied without resistance.
Lowering her guard, Kira was approached by a mother pleading for food for her child. The woman claimed she's fine herself.
After much internal struggle, Kira decided to let the child come forward to take the food, while ensuring the older survivors stayed away from the black coffin.
The child seemed normal—until the clock struck seven.
In an instant, the child's form twisted, launching itself towards the black coffin like a cannonball.
Reacting swiftly, Kira swung her sword, decapitating the child in one clean stroke.
But it was too late.
The severed head remained animated, rapidly consuming the second incense stick.
"Captain... what now? The second incense has been devoured!"
"Where's that senior of yours? Captain, why didn't he come back with you?"
"Yeah, where is he?"
A barrage of questions erupted, but the tremors beneath their feet snapped everyone back to reality.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The decapitated head began bouncing, slamming into the ground repeatedly as it advanced towards the auditorium.
Without the funeral incense, the auditorium's protective barrier had been compromised. Now, they faced an onslaught of head ghosts piling up outside.
"Open the black coffin! Throw out the corpse inside! Let as many people in as possible!"
Kira's face was pale as she raised a signal flare into the sky—a move that diverged from Li Mo's original plan.
The plan had been simple: the funeral incense would protect the auditorium until the head ghosts grew restless, signaling the start of the third-day ritual. Kira would then send a signal for Li Mo to complete the ritual alone.
But this sudden turn of events had thrown everything into disarray.
With the incense destroyed, they could no longer determine when the third-day ritual would begin.
Desperate, Kira sent up a second signal, gambling that Li Mo would understand the urgency of the situation.
"Captain, aren't you coming in?"
Many survivors were already squeezing into the black coffin, but neither Kira nor Shaori showed any intention of following.
"Aren't you going in?" Shaori asked.
Ignoring her teammate, Kira instead addressed a young girl who had been clinging to Li Mo earlier.
"Where's my brother?" the girl asked.
Kira pointed towards the academic building. "He's there, completing the third-day ritual on his own."
"Then why aren't you going in?"
Kira headed towards the entrance, her voice resolute. "Because I need to atone for my mistakes."
Back in the broadcast room, Li Mo instantly understood what had happened upon seeing the two signals.
If the signals were meant to urge him to proceed with the third-day ritual, there should have been a long interval between them. The second signal would only appear after the first had faded.
But for the second signal to appear before the first had even dissipated—it was a clear warning of an emergency.
Li Mo deduced that either the funeral incense or the auditorium's barrier had been compromised, allowing the anomalies to awaken prematurely. The auditorium's occupants were now in grave danger.
"...Have we failed?"
Li Mo murmured, knowing full well that failure on either side meant doom for both. Even if he wanted to help those in the auditorium, he couldn't reach them in time.
A mocking voice crackled through the speakers, celebrating his plight. "Hehehe! Dead! Dead! Someone's dead! They're all going to die!"
Li Mo slumped onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Die again?
No. If he died again, he might not even retain his humanity.
What should he do?
Li Mo didn't blame anyone else. After all, it was his decision to trust others instead of relying solely on himself.
Yet even if given another chance, there was little else he could have done.
The foes they faced had come prepared.
Kira and her team, despite their best efforts, could not have matched his ability to deal with the grotesque and terrifying anomalies they faced.
After a long silence, Li Mo's weary gaze fell on the notebook in his hand.
"I don't have a better choice now. If I act prematurely, the third-day ritual will fail, and the fourth-day ritual will accelerate, throwing everything into chaos."
He glanced at the exposed vertebrae on his back, a rare bitter smile crossing his otherwise emotionless face.
"Prove your worth to me—or be buried here with me."
Opening the notebook, a thick stench of blood emanated from its pages.
=====================
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