The maintenance tunnel stretched endlessly beneath the school.
No classrooms.
No students.
No cheering crowds.
Only the distant hum of electricity flowing through walls that looked older than the game itself.
The girls walked in silence.
Even Mei Chen wasn't making jokes anymore.
Yue Ning unfolded the map from the notebook again.
The red circle pulsed faintly.
"It says the First Lock Archive is ahead..."
She frowned.
"...But we've been walking for fifteen minutes."
Lin Xia stopped.
"Look."
The others followed her gaze.
The tunnel ended at a massive steel door.
Unlike the black XO door, this one looked industrial.
Rust covered its hinges.
A faded sign hung beside it.
ARCHIVE A-01
Mei Chen reached for the handle.
It didn't move.
Locked.
"...Figures," she muttered.
🔹 A VOICE IN THE DARK
"You're not supposed to be here."
The voice echoed through the tunnel.
Calm.
Old.
Patient.
The girls turned immediately.
A man sat on top of a stack of old filing cabinets.
He looked no older than twenty-five.
His school uniform was faded from years of wear.
One sleeve had been stitched together dozens of times.
His student ID was so scratched that his name could no longer be read.
He smiled politely.
"I've been waiting."
🔹 NOT AN ENEMY
Mei Chen instinctively stepped in front of Yue Ning.
"...Who are you?"
The man jumped down from the cabinets.
He landed lightly.
No aggression.
No threatening posture.
"I've had many names."
He brushed dust from his sleeves.
"But none of them matter anymore."
Yue Ning stared.
"...You're the Ghost Player."
The man smiled.
But he didn't answer.
🔹 THE TEST
Instead, he pointed at the locked steel door.
"You want what's behind it."
Lin Xia nodded carefully.
"Then earn it."
Mei Chen frowned.
"...You're challenging us?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"I'm evaluating you."
Silence.
"If you can't solve a human's puzzle..."
He looked directly at the notebook.
"...You'll never survive the system's."
🔹 THE GAME
A small wooden box slid across the floor.
It stopped in front of the girls.
Inside were sixteen carved wooden tiles.
Each tile had a different Chinese character engraved on it.
Beautifully carved.
Years old.
The man explained calmly.
"This game is called The Scholar's Path."
"There are no timers."
"No punishments."
"No tricks."
Mei Chen blinked.
"...Seriously?"
"No."
He smiled faintly.
"The punishment comes afterward."
🔹 THE RULES
He arranged the sixteen tiles into a four-by-four grid.
"Your objective is simple."
"Arrange the tiles to complete the ancient proverb."
"But..."
He placed one final tile face-down.
"...One character is hidden."
"You must determine what it is before you arrange the sentence."
Yue Ning looked closely.
"This isn't just a puzzle."
"It's about language."
"And logic."
"And history," the man replied.
🔹 WORKING TOGETHER
The girls knelt around the tiles.
Mei Chen immediately started moving pieces.
"No."
Lin Xia gently stopped her hand.
"Don't move anything yet."
"First..."
She looked at Yue Ning.
"...Find the pattern."
Yue Ning studied every character.
Not reading them one by one.
Reading their relationships.
She whispered the visible words.
Testing different combinations.
Rejecting them.
Trying again.
Minutes passed.
No one rushed her.
🔹 THE BREAKTHROUGH
Then Yue Ning smiled.
Very slightly.
"The missing character isn't missing."
The others looked up.
She turned over the face-down tile.
It was blank.
Completely blank.
The man nodded once.
"...Good."
Yue Ning continued.
"The missing character is meant to be supplied by the player."
"The proverb changes depending on your choice."
"So this isn't testing memory."
"It's testing judgment."
For the first time—
the man's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Approval.
🔹 LIN XIA'S MOVE
Lin Xia picked up one tile.
Then another.
Slowly arranging them.
Every placement had a reason.
Every adjustment improved the meaning.
When she finished—
the sentence read naturally.
Elegant.
Balanced.
The man read it silently.
Then smiled.
A genuine smile this time.
"...Excellent."
🔹 MEI CHEN'S QUESTION
"So..."
She crossed her arms.
"...What was the punishment?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"You've already accepted it."
Silence.
"The moment you opened the notebook..."
He looked toward the tunnel behind them.
"...The system marked all of you."
"You are no longer players climbing the game."
"You are now enemies investigating its foundation."
🔹 THE DOOR OPENS
With a loud metallic groan—
ARCHIVE A-01 unlocked.
The steel door slowly swung inward.
Dust drifted into the tunnel.
Cold air escaped from the darkness beyond.
The Ghost Player stepped aside.
"I can guide you no further."
Lin Xia frowned.
"...Why?"
He looked at the open doorway.
"Because every Archive has its own guardian."
"And once you enter..."
He looked at each of the girls.
"...You'll have to win by yourselves."
🔹 FINAL LINE
Deep inside the archive—
something awakened.
A pair of glowing golden eyes opened in the darkness.
Then a calm voice echoed through the chamber.
"Three challengers..."
A pause.
"It has been a very long time."