The moment Invincible Bro finished speaking, a dense swarm of figures—or, more accurately, "Ghost Shadows"—emerged from the walls and ceiling around the group. Each one was unmistakably a female ghost with disheveled hair, and a cursory glance suggested there were at least ten of them.
However, these female ghosts didn't immediately attack. Instead, they glared menacingly at the five survivors. Then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the relatively spacious corridor.
Tap... tap...
A man in casual white clothing and a baseball cap stepped out from behind the Giant's corpse. He squeezed through the gap between the body and the corridor wall, positioning himself before the group.
At first glance, he appeared ordinary, like any passerby. However, perched on his shoulder was an orange tabby cat, lazily licking its paw. It was undoubtedly the same cat Soup Dumpling had briefly touched before being dragged into the Dimensional Rift.
"Tch..." The man's gaze swept over the five survivors before settling on Firefly. Gritting his teeth, he spat, "Damn it! I wanted to play this game a little longer. Now I have to end it early!"
Hearing the man's words, Firefly felt no sense of danger or pressure. Instead, she raised an eyebrow. Although he spoke fluent Chinese, his accent carried a distinct Sakura Nation inflection—a quintessential "Colonel" tone, utterly authentic.
This left Firefly puzzled. Was he merely acting, or was he genuinely a Sakura Nation citizen? The latter seemed more likely. After all, why would a Dragon Nation Evolver attack members of the Dragon Nation's Bureau of Anomalous Investigations? It made little sense. But if the attacker were from the Sakura Nation, it would be far more plausible.
This was clearly a premeditated attack targeting the "five." Given Firefly's recent arrival from the European Union, and Shu Cat and Soup Dumpling being ordinary group members, the primary targets were likely Invincible Bro and Lü Heng, both members of the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations.
The method of attack likely involved using the orange cat to divert their attention. As the group gathered, the attackers deliberately created a Dimensional Rift. The cat might have been the key to opening the Rift—perhaps through a Super Ability or a scientific breakthrough.
If the Fuguang Society could artificially create Dimensional Rifts, it shouldn't be surprising that others could achieve similar feats.
Soon, the five people surrounding the cat were pulled into the school. This explained why the Dimensional Rift had appeared on a bustling street without affecting any ordinary people.
As for Invincible Bro, he didn't habitually keep his Ability active, so he hadn't initially noticed anything unusual about the cat.
Notably, when Firefly glanced at the Sakura Nation man, she saw a name tag on his chest. However, it had been blacked out, obscuring his class and name. The presence of the tag itself suggested that even though he was likely the creator of the Dimensional Rift, he had also been assigned an Identity and would probably have to abide by the local rules.
The blacked-out tag puzzled Firefly briefly. After a moment's thought, she understood its purpose: it was clearly a countermeasure to evade certain rules within the Dimensional Rift. She then glanced at the surrounding female ghosts, his summoned creatures, whose style perfectly matched the atmosphere of the Rift.
In other words, the man likely knew what the inside of the Dimensional Rift would be like and its rules even before it formed.
As it turned out, this was exactly the case. When Firefly and her group were forced to separate by the school bell, the Sakura Nation player immediately targeted Lü Heng, whose identity was "Janitor." In this Dimensional Rift, the Janitor position was remarkably safe; nearly all the "School Rules" had no effect on them.
Unless they deliberately courted danger, Janitors rarely faced any harm. This meant they could roam the entire school freely, gathering information and searching for a Clearance Method for the team.
It was precisely for this reason that the female ghost had relentlessly pursued Lü Heng from the very beginning.
After all, this was a horror-themed Instance. The appearance of a female ghost should have been perfectly normal, right?
As the one being hunted, Lü Heng naturally wondered if he had broken some rule. Who would ever suspect that the creature attacking him wasn't a monster from this Dimensional Rift, but rather something deliberately unleashed by another player?
The Sakura Nation player's plan was simple: he would hide while periodically sending his summoned creatures to ambush Firefly and her companions in supposedly "safe" zones. This would disrupt their judgment and cause them to misinterpret the rules.
Wiping out these five should have been a piece of cake, right?
But his plan was repeatedly thwarted. First, Invincible Bro's ability made it impossible for the Sakura Nation player to disguise his summons as local monsters. Misleading the group about the rules was equally futile—Invincible Bro could instantly see through any deception.
Then, Firefly's combat prowess proved surprisingly formidable. She managed to take down both the Dark Shadow Teacher and the patrolling Giants.
And even more absurdly, after defeating those two, she proposed assassinating the Principal! Was that even a remotely normal decision?
Yet everyone else agreed?!
The Sakura Nation player knew that killing the Principal would collapse the Dimensional Rift, forcing him to abandon his scheme and engage in combat.
"Never mind," he said, spreading his arms with a slightly crazed grin. "It won't be as fun this way, but it's manageable. Go forth, my lovely children! Tear them to shreds!"
At his command, in addition to the dozen female ghosts already surrounding the five, countless more Ghost Shadows materialized behind him.
P.S.: The Sakura Nation is a country deeply enamored with power. After suffering devastating losses to monsters born from Dimensional Rifts, they became obsessed with this power, pouring all their national resources into studying everything related to these rifts. However, their research focus differed significantly from that of other countries.
This nation led the world in the study of how to actively create Dimensional Rifts.
In their eyes, the true wielders of Great Power were not the monsters emerging from the rifts, but the rifts themselves.