Xiao Gui'an could only move over somewhat stiffly. He called out to the Proxy System in his heart, but the other party seemed as if it had died, not even bothering to emit a perfunctory, mechanically indifferent tone.

"Gui Yi, are you still conscious right now?" Xu Zisheng waved his hand in front of Xiao Gui'an's eyes.

The ghost with bloodshot, vacant eyes froze for a moment upon hearing his words, then slowly began to move, before finally sitting down on the sofa bit by bit in a daze.

There was no clear focus in his gaze, as if he couldn't see Xu Zisheng's hand.

He neither spoke nor answered, just sat quietly, black fragmented hair hanging down, hands with cracked nails resting lightly on his knees, like a puppet manipulated by strings.

He seemed capable of understanding simple commands.

His reactions to external stimuli were not very sensitive.

Xu Zisheng assessed Xiao Gui'an's condition.

"Gui Yi, raise your hand—"

"Turn your head—"

Xiao Gui'an gently turned his head.

"Open your mouth—"

Xiao Gui'an: ?

What do you want to do?

He was still a ghost right now, wasn't he really afraid that he might suddenly go berserk or something?

Of course, Xiao Gui'an felt that even if he did go berserk, he probably couldn't beat Xu Zisheng, and might even receive some thorough psychological counseling.

For details, please refer to the twitching body bag nearby.

Xiao Gui'an thought for a while, and ultimately did not open his mouth. After all, in his setting, [Gui Yi]'s ghost transformation ability was related to his 'Long-Tongued One' attribute. If possible, it was better to avoid opening his mouth.

Xu Zisheng watched as the black-haired ghost before him seemed to hesitate for a moment, showing some resistance and confusion, and ultimately still did not open his mouth.

Xu Zisheng estimated it was because of Gui Yi's ability, similar to word spirit or mental control, which required certain activation conditions.

Certain specific actions might cause his human side to fall further toward the ghost side.

The black-haired ghost originally had a cheerful-looking face, with rounded eyes adding a youthful feel. When he spoke, he was chatty and full of unique vitality.

But now, the flesh at both sides of his mouth was torn open, as if forcing him to laugh unnaturally.

The stitches sewing the flesh together were very rough—who knew if he had done it himself? Even his tongue had been cut in half, making it difficult to speak. It seemed like everything was trying to destroy him in the opposite direction.

Here it was again, that unreadable gaze that made Xiao Gui'an's hair stand on end.

He had just backstabbed the other with an axe! Even though he later transformed into a ghost and ran back, it could totally be interpreted as his brain being corrupted, with no intention of saving anyone at all!

Since he already knew he was [Gui Yi], and knew his ghost identity, shouldn't he be humanely eliminated right now?

Why did he still look so concerned?

Could that axe blow have damaged Xu Zisheng's brain?

Unable to figure out the reason, they had now occupied this room, and he didn't know if the other ghost 'Seekers' were aware.

In the second round, they had lost the initiative to strike first, so they could only temporarily stay here as Xu Zisheng said.

Maybe he should just pretend to faint first?

Xiao Gui'an thought it was feasible.

He would keep an eye on the situation here, giving himself some space to calmly analyze where exactly things had gone wrong.

The gloomy ghostly aura gradually disappeared. The black-haired ghost gently lowered his head, slowly closed his eyes, the torn flesh on his face began to heal, the black stitches continuously vanished, and the dirt and bloodstains on his clothes faded away.

The person sitting on the sofa had once again returned to his previous student appearance, but the wounds left earlier had not completely disappeared. The bleeding just gradually stopped, no longer dripping.

The torn clothes also left many openings with bloodstains. [Gui Yi] closed his eyes, his breathing extremely shallow, the whole person looking somewhat disheveled and pitiful.

[Current 'Half-Ghost Student' acting degree: 30%]

Xu Zisheng watched his transformation from the side, checking his breathing and pulse.

Fortunately, it seemed he was just too tired and had fallen into a coma. He just didn't know when he would wake up.

The third residential building was blocked by that old woman, unable to go up. He didn't know the situation with the remaining two residential buildings either.

If the blackboard that required writing real names was only in the third residential building, then it would be a bit troublesome.

What he would face then wouldn't just be ghosts, but also greedy, despicable characters.

Right now, Gui Yi's condition was unclear, and he himself was somewhat tired. He should rest and recuperate here for a while, then go out later to investigate the situation.

Thinking this, Xu Zisheng also gently closed his eyes to rest.

[System, System, what should I do about this? This is completely different from what I imagined!]

Withdrawing his consciousness from [Student] and returning to his own small room, Xiao Gui'an, wearing [Writer]'s elegant and noble face, wailed.

This was absolutely a huge stain on his professional career.

The Proxy System was clearly somewhat at a loss about this situation too, and could only mechanically repeat the collected data information. [The system has no authority to interfere with the horror game world's main system judgments, cannot guide the thoughts of the Chosen Ones of Fate, and cannot make predictions. Please judge independently, Host. The 'Half-Ghost Student' acting degree has reached 30%. The preliminary image and role in the eyes of the Chosen Ones of Fate and within the horror game world have been generated.]

[In this round's instance, the role of 'Half-Ghost Student' has reached mission standards.]

[Please do not easily change or damage the now-established basic attributes of this NPC character in subsequent acting. The host needs to continuously improve based on this foundation, and must not deviate from the behavioral logic and operational rules of the 'Half-Ghost Student' NPC character—]

The Proxy System said, [Please wait, Host, exporting the now-established NPC character image of 'Half-Ghost Student'—]

['Student Gui Yi'

Exists in a half-human, half-ghost form. The human side is orderly and friendly, but is influenced by the other ghost-transformed side, leaning toward evil chaos. The reasons for this state's formation are unknown, to be supplemented by the host through acting—

The identity walking in reality is unknown, to be supplemented by players themselves...]

Xiao Gui'an sat cross-legged on the soft sofa, hand propping his chin as he pondered slightly. When it came to matters involving acting, he would never be vague.

How could [Gui Yi]'s human side be orderly and friendly? Wasn't he acting in the direction of a foolish villain?

As for evil, it was because he inherently had malicious intent, not because of the ghost transformation's influence.

Such impression effects must also include Xu Zisheng's perceptions. How exactly had he come to think of him this way?

So if he wasn't mistaken, Xu Zisheng, as the so-called Chosen One of Fate, indeed had some unknown investigative methods.

He had actually stumbled on this. It seemed that in future acting, he would have to fully immerse himself, absolutely not giving the other any chance to see through him.

Now only the Writer remained.

The acting standard that [Writer] needed to reach wasn't high. Since they already knew the real ghost's name, then [Writer] was to some extent safe.

When the time came, just before completing the mission, he would have [Writer] make an appearance, leave an impression, and then the acting degree should be about enough.

After the commotion caused by [Gui Yi], Xiao Gui'an felt that the invitation previously issued under the [Writer] identity carried a somewhat dangerous meaning.

He had to consider the situation of actually luring Xu Zisheng to his home.

The margin for error must be further increased. Facing a protagonist who didn't follow normal human conventions, he needed to be even more cautious. In his professional field, he absolutely could not allow any mistakes!

After transforming his home into a study belonging to a wealthy family from the Republican Era, Xiao Gui'an detached from [Writer] and once again descended into the body of student [Gui Yi].

He cheered himself on in his heart.

Although he didn't say it out loud, he was actually quite happy that [Gui Yi]'s human side was judged as positive.

This way, in the future, he wouldn't have to constantly pretend in front of Xu Zisheng, but could interact with him using some of his originally casual, laid-back nature, almost like friends.

Xiao Gui'an's tightly closed eyelashes trembled slightly, then he slowly opened his eyes, gently turning his head to meet Xu Zisheng's eyes directly.

Hiss—

Since the character's acting tone had already changed, he needed to carefully consider how best to explain himself.