Volume One: The Ghost Building Chapter Twenty-Six: Extreme Analysis

Just as Zhao Linxuan believed she understood Cheng Fan, how could Cheng Fan not know her Achilles' heel? He was well aware that her greatest desire now was to escape the building, and everything she did was for that sole purpose.

"Er..."

Hearing this, Zhao Linxuan was indeed struck speechless, standing there in silence. Her gaze toward Cheng Fan became increasingly bewildered; she could not fathom the young man's intentions.

As for why Cheng Fan had come to the restroom, and his specific reason for closing his eyes to rest? The reason was not complex: Cheng Fan was racing against time. As he had mentioned earlier, he could not think clearly while in motion. If he wanted to deeply analyze the path to survival within the instance, he had to create a safe, quiet environment—even if it were only temporary, it was essential.

At this moment, he was indeed racing against time, attempting to grasp the true meaning of the path to survival before the female ghost found him.

With his eyes slightly closed, Cheng Fan’s mind began to race, sorting and integrating all the clues he had gathered so far. Naturally, since he had obtained many clues early on, integrating them did not take much time. Once that was done, he began to focus on other things, such as... the survival tips.

He remembered that before the instance officially began, a cold voice had said a great deal. In addition to stating the name and objectives of the instance, it had provided five additional survival tips.

Since they were explicitly called "survival tips," could he interpret this to mean that the path to survival was hidden within these five lines?

The five tips were:
First, the Ghost Spirit Space would not issue a paranormal instance that was completely unsolvable.
Second, all communication devices would be disabled for the duration of the instance.
Third, there is a ghost in the building.
Fourth, the longer one stays in the building, the more dangerous it becomes for the explorer.
Fifth, there is no need to worry about one's own condition; any method may be used as long as it allows one to leave the building.

First, the first tip. Strictly speaking, this was both the foundation of all rules and the explorer’s greatest reliance for perseverance. If there were no path to survival in a paranormal instance—if it were truly unsolvable—then there would be no need for the explorer to struggle; they might as well just slit their own throats, as further struggle would only bring more torture. Therefore, if one wished to reason through the path to survival, one had to firmly believe that such a path existed. After all, all logical deduction was built upon this rule.

Second, all communication devices would be disabled. There was really nothing to say about this. Since the instance began, he had checked many electronic devices—mobile phones, landlines, computers, and other tools that could contact the outside world—and none of them had a signal. In other words, during this instance, explorers could not receive outside help; they had to rely entirely on themselves.

Third, there is a ghost in the building. There was no need to overthink this, either. The ghost had already revealed itself openly—a red-clad female ghost who killed everyone she saw. She was powerful, filled with immense malice, and possessed supernatural abilities beyond human comprehension. Once one encountered her, the outcome was predictable. From the start of the instance until now, all danger had stemmed from this red-clad female ghost. If not for the pressure she exerted, he wouldn't be sitting here thinking frantically right now.

Fourth, the longer one stays in the building, the more dangerous it becomes. Now, this one was worth noting. Based on previous experiences, he had discovered that the female ghost had a slight weakness. He used the word "slight" because it was not fatal, nor did it significantly impact the ghost. Since deciphering the oil painting on the 20th floor, he had discovered that blood could, to a certain extent, restrain the ghost. Whenever she came into contact with the blood of a living person, she would be forcibly immobilized. Unfortunately, this immobilization effect weakened as the duration of the instance increased, and the longer time passed, the more severe the decay became. He had seen this with his own eyes. Perhaps this was the true meaning of the fourth tip: while providing explorers with a means to resist the ghost, it simultaneously prevented them from truly destroying her, the goal being to force the explorers to find the real path to survival.

As for the final, fifth tip... "There is no need to worry about one's own condition; any method may be used as long as it allows one to leave the building."

To be honest, from the beginning until now, he had analyzed the first four tips to varying degrees, but he had ignored the fifth because it seemed too straightforward—nothing more than a nudge, urging the explorers to leave the building quickly. But the problem was, he couldn't get out!

The elevator had been tampered with by the ghost from the very start. Once an explorer entered, their fate was basically sealed: death. The elevator would mysteriously malfunction during operation, trapping the explorer inside, where they would be easily slaughtered by the red-clad female ghost in the completely enclosed space.

The stairs seemed safe, but unfortunately, they also failed to lead out of the building. With her unique supernatural abilities, the ghost had covered the stairs of the entire building with a "ghost wall." If an explorer took the stairs, they would end up in an infinite loop; no matter if they went up or down, there would always be endless flights of stairs beneath their feet.

After discovering the anomaly with the stairs, he had pinned his hopes on climbing out the window, which was the last conventional way to leave. Yet, regretfully... the ghost had calculated everything. When he finally managed to fashion a rope, he discovered that the building's height had changed. The ghost had altered the height, and a distance of at least a thousand meters—a heaven-defying feat—had completely blocked this final conventional path.

So, in a sense, the fifth survival tip was the most meaningless; it felt even more blunt than the second and third, as if it were just filler.

While it felt that way, was it really? Or could it be that the Ghost Spirit Space would truly issue such a blunt and meaningless tip?

No, that was impossible. He admitted his understanding of the Ghost Spirit Space was shallow, and he didn't fully grasp the logical rules behind its tasks, but his intuition told him that the Ghost Spirit Space would not issue a meaningless tip.

If so, what deep meaning was contained within the fifth survival tip?

Hm?

Without cause or reason, just as his mind was dissecting the fifth tip, Cheng Fan’s expression shifted slightly. His face, which had been calm, twitched without warning.

The reason? There was only one: bewilderment.

Just now, as he focused and seriously contemplated the fifth tip, he discovered a point of doubt—a statement of content he couldn't understand no matter how hard he thought: "There is no need to worry about one's own condition."

What did that mean? What did it mean to not have to worry about one's own condition?