Miao Yu was the one speaking, "On the first night, there’s only one ghost, and the lab is so big, simply find a place to hide, and the chance of being killed is very small."
She was very direct, "And for a ghost to become human, it has to kill someone, which means at least one person is bound to die tonight."
The rest of the players fell silent. After a while, Zhu Rumin said, "What if we don’t draw lots to determine who is the ghost?"
"The requirement of the instance task is to participate in the game. If we don’t draw lots, no one will be able to clear the stage," replied Miao Yu.
"If we can find and kill the ghost tonight, the rest can win," Mao Wei said with a deep voice. "Otherwise, the number of ghosts will only keep increasing."
"That might not necessarily be the case," Chu Yuan said. "If the ghost successfully kills someone and becomes human on the first day, won’t there be no ghosts left?"
"The game’s requirements clearly state that humans have to catch a ghost to succeed," Xu Huo interjected, making his presence known.
"Then why don’t we just all collaborate and catch the person who draws the ghost lot and clear the level?" suggested Wu Xiaonan.
"Would the person who draws the ghost lot cooperate with you?" Peace Chunsheng countered.
"I’m not great with numbers, can someone explain how the number of ghosts increases?" Wan Yunrong asked.
"One ghost on the first day, two on the second, four on the third, and so on, unless we kill all the ghosts that appear on a given day, only then will the number of humans stop turning into ghosts..." Ge Pan started to say but then hesitated.
In truth, the best approach was to catch the player who drew the "ghost" lot tonight. That way, not only was there a chance to clear the stage, but they could also choose whether to kill or spare the person, yet no one wanted to be that "ghost."
"If we don’t manage to kill the ghost today, there will be one more ghost tomorrow. If we kill a ghost tomorrow night, will there still be two more ghosts the day after tomorrow?" Wan Yunrong asked, puzzled. "Is that what it means?"
"It should be," Zhu Rumin replied. "The conditions given by this game are not precise; only through playing will we understand clearly."
"So what’s next, drawing lots?" Peace Chunsheng spoke up. "Pick an unlucky ghost?"
Who the hell would be willing to do that? Among the twelve players present, most would definitely demand to show the results of the draw on the spot.
As everyone was at an impasse, Xu Huo said, "I think if the results are not made public, and we all draw lots, anyone could become the ghost, and no one would want to die on the first day of the game."
"Being caught as a ghost might result in more than just failing to clear the level. I agree," Chu Yuan said. "Everyone has to play the game; there’s no running away. Don’t just think about killing others, consider your own life as well."
"Isn’t that boring?" Miao Yu objected. "I don’t mind being the ghost. If I draw the ghost lot today, you’re all welcome to try and kill me."
Miao Yu appeared slim and tall, yet her body was evenly toned, radiating a sense of strength. It was evident that her practical abilities were good; otherwise, she wouldn’t have the confidence to make such a statement.
"I agree to keeping the draw confidential," Mao Wei said at that moment.
"I agree as well," seconded Ge Pan.
Zhu Rumin and Wu Xiaonan beside him thought about it for a moment and also agreed.
The rest of the players, aside from Miao Yu’s indifferent attitude, mostly agreed to keep the drawing of lots confidential.
In the end, it was decided how they would draw lots. There was paper in the laboratory, and for fairness, each of the twelve people took a piece of paper, eleven wrote "human," and one wrote "ghost." They then put the papers into an opaque container, shuffled them around, and randomly drew a piece of paper from the container without touching any of the other papers inside throughout the process.
After Qiu Xiangdong wrote "ghost," all the paper slips were placed into the container, shaken up, and everyone lined up at random, with Wan Yunrong, who was first in line, drawing first.
Once all twelve people had taken a turn, everyone held their slips without rushing to look and, by silent agreement, left the room in search of new hiding spots.
Because they couldn’t trust each other, there were few companion groups; most went off on their own. The laboratory had three floors with countless rooms, so hiding separately was safer.
"Looks like more people are afraid of dying, otherwise we wouldn’t all have agreed to keep the drawing confidential," said Chu Yuan.
Xu Huo walked beside him without responding.
How could players agree to confidentiality out of fear of death?
To the player with the ghost lot, it seemed like a disadvantage at one against eleven, but in reality, as long as the ghost lot player killed someone, they could regain human status, while it would be difficult for the other players to instantly kill or capture them unless they had overwhelming capabilities.
The "ghost" only appears when the lights go out at night. To kill or catch it would have to be done in darkness, which is inherently difficult. Moreover, what’s the point of playing if the ghost is accidentally killed on the first night?
Even if the "ghost" is successfully caught, it’s not guaranteed that everyone will clear the level. To be safe, the "ghost" of the first night also needs to survive. To an extent, the increasing number of ghosts also increases the chances of clearing the stage.
The "Human Catch Ghost" game requires killing the "ghost," and with the ghost not completely killed, every player could potentially become a "ghost." If the second task of the instance requires a "human" to catch a "ghost," then the player who became a "ghost" must regain human status. To do so, they have to kill a ghost, which decreases the number of people who could potentially clear the stage.
Of course, it would be a different matter if a "ghost" could catch a "ghost."
However, Xu Huo thought this possibility was very slim, not even sure if the conjecture of "catch the ghost to clear the level" was accurate because it contradicted the requirement of the "Human Catch Ghost" game. He leaned toward the side with higher difficulty: even if they caught the "ghost" during the game, they might not clear the level.
Proving this point wouldn’t be hard, and the result might even come out today.
"This room is not bad," Chu Yuan found a room near the elevator, a large control room with over twenty consoles and corresponding cabinets that provided plenty of cover.
Xu Huo just casually glanced around and found a chair to sit down and rest.
Chu Yuan couldn’t stray too far. The two of them stared at each other for a while before he said, "You didn’t draw the ghost lot, did you?"
Xu Huo unfolded his piece of paper, on which "Human" was clearly written.
Chu Yuan first covered his own slip with his hand before he let out a sigh of relief, "I’m human too."
"If we are both humans then I’m relieved," he continued. "Everyone knows we’ve banded together, so if anyone chooses to strike, they won’t find us tonight. On the contrary, we have a certain advantage. We might be able to kill the ghost if we work together."
"I don’t want to go out," Xu Huo said lackadaisically.
"Why not?" Chu Yuan was puzzled. "We’ve participated in the game, and if we catch the ghost, couldn’t we complete the instance early?"
"Catching a ghost is not that easy," Xu Huo said. "Once the lights are out, we won’t be able to see anything. The ghost can only appear at night, but there’s no guarantee that it can’t see us."