I Got My Cheat Skill by Acting My Way into a Horror Protagonist Role

Chapter 144: Dean

What about the Acting Director?

Had she also become one of these monsters?

Or, like himself, was she actually an external intruder, an 'NPC' who forcibly entered this instance?

The attitude of the ghost NPCs like the teachers and caregivers in the orphanage towards the Acting Director subtly indicated something.

Having thought about the different opposing forces represented by the two rules he had speculated about, Xiao Gui'an felt he was already very close to the truth.

He just wasn't clear now about the meaning behind her actions in doing all this.

Acting Director...

Director...

The Acting Director was holding onto something that clearly didn't belong to her.

Those eyes and her face always had a sense of incongruity.Where had he seen it before? That face of hers...

Wait, when he went to the data information management room last night, he had clearly looked at the photos on the wall.

But why had he subconsciously overlooked the Director sitting in the most prominent center of the photo?

Wasn't the Director sitting right there?!

Logically, he should have noticed him.

But in fact, he hadn't.

He even had some impression of the other unfamiliar faces that might belong to the cook or medical staff, but he just couldn't recall seeing the Director.

Either he was truly distracted and didn't pay attention.

Or someone had used some method, within this orphanage, to prevent people from deeply investigating the Director's existence, some kind of cognitive obstruction or something.

If one wanted to cleanly and neatly replace a person and seamlessly integrate without breaking the balance, then always controlling that person would be the best method.

Did the Acting Director also have a System?

If not, what method did she use to make this horror instance acknowledge her existence?

And even grant her management and punishment authority.

According to what the suited man he hypnotized earlier said, using the 'Admission Ticket' to send players into this so-called 'Arena' was clearly not done for the first time.

It had been operating covertly for a long time, and everything was already handled with ease.

Even in a horror game, as long as one doesn't suffer super-standard power attacks or extremely powerful backlash within the instance, under the protection of the game and helmet, a person might end up disabled, but they wouldn't die.

But judging from the current situation, it's possible that none of the players sent in before ever made it out.

And this clearly belongs to an extremely bizarre mass incident, didn't the officials notice?

Xiao Gui'an thought slightly optimistically; they probably were aware, otherwise they wouldn't have sent those two official personnel here.

Continuously feeding players into this incomplete instance, letting them be devoured – putting it nicely, it's called resource replenishment; putting it bluntly, it's called offering tributes.

And giving it the name 'Arena' – could it be they want to, like raising gu insects, either select the most powerful player or cultivate the most powerful existence within this arena?

And regardless of which purpose it is, both seem somewhat terrible, right?

Now that he had roughly confirmed these NPCs would turn into ghosts and wander at night, then perhaps the Director would also be constrained by the rules and come outside.

The traces Xu Zisheng observed on the grass outside the office building and the smell he detected – if his own judgment wasn't wrong, that might very well be the traces left behind after the Director transformed into a ghost and left.

And the other presence giving off a sense of oppression was either some mutated ghost or – the Acting Director!

Then what was the enormous black shadow that appeared at 2 AM last night?

Last night, Xiao Gui'an had watched blatantly how that black figure with hollow eyes tortured and killed those ghosts, venting his anger, killing them as easily as crushing an ant.

If daytime belonged to the world of the 'oppressors', then what about the night?

Were those orphans always in a disadvantaged position?

But they are ghosts too, aren't they?

If there is hatred and resentment in their hearts, and if those obsessions and emotions coalesce, could it overturn the situation?

Mutation into out-of-control ghosts is due to the influence of the bell, and rewinding time within this orphanage also relies on that massive Clock Tower in the center.

The enormous black human figure seen last night was probably the 'time' power represented within this rule.

Was it the collective consciousness of all the orphan-ghosts?

Or was it just 'it' alone that caused everything now?

The pain continues endlessly, the despair knows no bounds.

Wavering between being tormented and taking revenge through torment, have they ever thought about ending this absurd and terrifying cycle?

Xiao Gui'an's brain was now operating frantically; he needed to first confirm the Director's existence.

As long as he saw the other party or confirmed their true situation, he could determine that his speculation about the Acting Director was likely correct.

He also didn't know what time those ghosts would change back.

It might be the rules taking effect, or it might be that black human figure using the power of the bell to rewind those ghosts.

If possible, it would be best to clear this instance before midnight tomorrow night.

The System prompt indicated that by then, his [Writer] hierarchical status power would no longer be suppressed.

This identity is a genuine ghost; who knows if other existences would also become unrestricted by then, turning even more terrifying?

Then the players entering would likely be in danger.

The arrival of the fifth day would be a critical turning point of crisis.

Hold out until the last day?

They probably wouldn't last that long.

Dark clouds drifted within the orphanage where the chill was gradually deepening. Xiao Gui'an wasn't unwilling to investigate the current situation of those orphan-ghosts; he was somewhat worried that rashly revealing himself might alert the enemy.

After all, it had already been over forty minutes past 11 o'clock now.

If he went to disturb them at this time, he wouldn't have any particularly suitable reason to deal with the other watchful System and rule power.

"Caw—"

A cawing sound!

Xiao Gui'an immediately focused his spirit, stealthily looking around. Sure enough, not far ahead on a withered, short tree, he spotted several black crows preening their black wings.

They were scattered loosely together, their heads occasionally twisting in an eerie, stiff manner, their prominent crimson eyeballs trembling slightly, as if surveying the surroundings.

Below those few black crows, among the pile of fallen leaves, something seemed to be slowly wriggling. Xiao Gui'an cautiously moved closer and saw a figure wrapped in dirty bandages.

There were some twisted wires on its body, piercing straight through it. The flesh not wrapped in bandages was bloody, covered with one sharp wound after another.

As if having suffered cruel abuse, that ghost's aura was extremely weak; even moving was very slow, and low, hoarse rasping sounds came from its throat.

As it turned over slightly, the originally withered trees around became even more ashen and began to wither and fall, as if they had been crushed.

Very faint.

But Xiao Gui'an detected it – the faint scent of disinfectant and medicine permeating the air.

He waited silently, making no sound, extremely patient, while the other party shifted there, finally revealing its front to him.

Its face had several haphazardly wrapped bandages, its throat was torn open with a large gash, the skin on its face had completely disappeared, as if someone had used a blade or something to carve it off forcibly.

That's the Director, right?

The flesh and skin belonging to that middle-aged woman's original face was probably now pasted onto the Acting Director's face.

Wanting to integrate into the orphanage but not completely succeeding, yet indeed replacing the Director's existence in another way.

All the ghosts here clearly knew this full well, didn't they?

Yet they hypocritically maintained the surface appearance of calm.

To only leave these few crows here to guard... where was the Acting Director now?

Was she unable to go out due to the rules and the power of the black figure, or did she have other matters to attend to tonight?

He also didn't know how Xu Zisheng and those two official personnel's investigation was going; he hoped they wouldn't encounter too much trouble.

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Xu Zisheng narrowed his eyes, looking at the ghost with the crow head ahead. Although there were some changes,

he still recognized it as the ghost he had fought with on the first day at noon.

If the other party hadn't revealed its true form, he might not have recognized it at all.

Now that they had obtained the item, there was no need to stall any longer.

What they needed to do was leave this place immediately.

On the first day at noon, the other party might not have cared much about him, so the power used was also limited.

Now, facing that crow-headed monster head-on felt like being targeted by an utterly terrifying existence; the gaze seemed to come from all directions, tightly locking onto them.

Crows—

Eyes—

Although the communication with [Writer] before their nighttime wandering tonight wasn't much, the other party had still subtly reminded him.

And after the other party said it, Xu Zisheng immediately understood the connection.

The 'eyes' in rule two were those black crows flying around everywhere that they often easily overlooked.

Rule one's nighttime wandering instead offered more room for manipulation.

As long as they weren't caught by those patrolling ghosts.

Encountering them was one thing; whether they could escape was another.

But they absolutely could not, during the game instance, under the gaze of the rules and System, have their 'player' disguised orphan identities exposed by the other party.

The cold wind carried a sinister pressure, making one's hair stand on end. The entire space seemed to darken.

A formless domain was slowly coalescing; if they were enveloped by it, there would probably be no chance of escape.

Having been tricked by the two of them, the other party clearly could no longer suppress the madness and rage in its heart, now recklessly boosting its power, intending to kill Xu Zisheng and the other right there on the spot.

But Xu Zisheng wouldn't go in without any preparation.

Another force appeared on one side.

It was those ghosts he had deliberately attracted by creating disturbances.

The swaying, dim lights were extremely conspicuous in the darkness.

Their appearance clearly exceeded the other party's expectations; its imposing manner visibly faltered, even showing a sense of indecision.

That massive crow-headed monster seemed utterly unwilling to be tainted by the aura of those ghosts.

Seizing this briefly created opportunity, Xu Zisheng and Yang Qianqian made a decisive decision without the slightest hesitation, both using the strongest means at their disposal to flee for their lives.

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Cheng He's side encountered no problems along the way.

After finishing his exchange with Xu Zisheng, he used a secret technique. A faint, almost imperceptible scent of calming incense drifted in the air, colorless, odorless, silently infiltrating the Security Booth.

There were no ghosts inside the Security Booth.

Cheng He then turned his gaze towards the small concrete house not far from the Security Booth. If that security guard ghost wasn't on duty, it might be inside that room.

He used the secret technique again to search, but still found no abnormalities.

This area seemed to have been forgotten, with basically no traces of recent activity.

But being cautious was never wrong.

Concealing his own aura, he used Ghost Power to open the door of the security room. A heavy smell of smoke and a fishy, foul odor rushed towards him.

The space inside wasn't large, containing only a desk and a chair. On the desk sat an old radio and a water canteen.

Nothing of value could be found inside.

Cheng He immediately turned back to the other room.

The person living there should be the security guard. An old security uniform hung on the wall; inside were scattered cigarette butts and liquor bottles. The bed was in disarray, the bedding twisted into a ball.

Ability, somewhat similar to—

『Double Pupils』 watched as Cheng He closed his eyes and surveyed the surroundings. In the darkness, the other party clearly handled things more adeptly.

Simply looking visually didn't seem to be able to locate the item.

Cheng He put away his glasses, drew a blood talisman on each palm, then gently smeared them onto his tightly closed eyes.

The boy and the doll floating beside him scanned the small room, their gazes eventually landing together on that bed.

Found it!

Moving aside the bed board, within the hollowed-out space was a small combination safe.

It seemed to contain quite a few things, painstakingly hidden by its owner.

Cheng He could see through the safe what was inside. The newspapers mentioned by the Cleaner, many of them folded, were placed at the very bottom.

As for the items on top, stacks of what were probably paper money, with some jewelry and watches beside them.

Good, now the simplest step was to crack the safe!

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Don't look back.

And couldn't worry about the other person now.

The slightest hesitation, and they would absolutely be slain on the spot by that crow-headed monster.

Only after finally escaping to the vicinity of the Student Dormitory Building did Xu Zisheng's taut nerves relax slightly.

Tonight, his and Yang Qianqian's nighttime wandering experience could be described as sufficiently heart-stopping and thrilling.

According to the information relayed by Little Tong, the other party should be able to return soon as well.

They would then agree to exchange information in any one of their dorm rooms on the fifth floor! They had made significant gains tonight!