Chapter 3: The Funeral

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Cao Yu's vision rapidly distorted, his surroundings swiftly shifting before his eyes... When the instance teleportation ended, he found himself in a spacious hall. The lighting inside was soft, with a floral wreath and an ice coffin placed at the center. On either side were flower arrangements and condolence banners, while mournful music played quietly in the background.

This place was... a funeral home's farewell hall?

At this moment, Cao Yu stood in the corner of the hall. Besides him, there were seven others in the corner, two of whom he recognized. One was his close friend Chen Ran. The other was Zhou Fan, who had been the first in their classroom to exclaim, "I have superpowers!"

Cao Yu was not surprised to meet classmates inside the instance. Previously, 53 people, including himself, had almost simultaneously torn open their invitation letters to become players, so their player numbers must be close. The first instance for new players was matched by Evolution Game based on their numbers and location, and only new players could be matched. In other words, all the players here were entering an instance for the first time.

Cao Yu noticed the other five people in the corner were wary and scrutinizing their surroundings, clearly not there for a funeral ceremony. It was safe to assume they, too, were players teleported here.

On the other side, Chen Ran also spotted Cao Yu, his eyes briefly lighting up before he quickly masked it, adopting the guise of a stranger. Zhou Fan did the same.

One of the training modules at the Fourth Academy emphasized that upon entering an instance, encountering familiar faces meant players should initially pretend not to know each other — a strategy that could prove unexpectedly useful later.

Everyone silently observed the environment. When they recognized it as a funeral home, expressions varied—some looked nervous, others frowned.

Then, Cao Yu’s player interface suddenly popped up, displaying information:

[E-rank Instance “Girlfriend” has begun]

[Background: Du Ruo had a deeply loving girlfriend, and they were inseparable, as if they could talk endlessly.]

[One day, Du Ruo’s girlfriend died in a car accident. He was devastated.]

[Seven days later, Du Ruo realized being single wasn’t so bad...]

[Hint: Only one deceased, with no lingering will to be resurrected]

[Objective: Survive for 12 hours]

“Girlfriend...” Cao Yu read through the instance details, noting the player interface also showed the time—11:00 a.m.

Before entering the instance, it was afternoon in the real world, so this must be the in-instance time.

In the corner, besides Cao Yu, Chen Ran, and Zhou Fan, the other five players also looked toward the air in front of them—presumably checking their own player panels. This detail confirmed to Cao Yu their player identities.

Currently, eight players, including himself, were involved in this instance.

One wore a mask completely covering his face except for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Judging by his build, he was likely male and looked like someone ready to rob a bank.

The masked man broke the silence first: “Tch... why do we have to start in such a gloomy place?”

“This is a funeral home? Uh... yeah, definitely unlucky,” came a reply.

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The one responding was a young man in his twenties, lightly made-up, hair styled with a 3:7 side part, heavily sprayed with gel, and dressed in a fashionable casual suit—looking like a male model about to hit the nightclub scene.

The model-like guy continued, “You’re players too, right? Have you received the instance info?”

“Yes, we got it. E-rank instance ‘Girlfriend.’ The background mentions Du Ruo’s girlfriend... The task is to survive 12 hours,” answered a well-groomed man, asking, “Is your info the same?”

“Yep, exactly the same,” said a fragile-looking young woman.

The others nodded in agreement.

Cao Yu looked at the last player. She was slim with long legs, wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled low, covering the upper part of her face. Only her nose, mouth, and smooth, fair chin were visible.

Her stunning lower face drew the attention of everyone present, each curious to see who was behind the hood. Humans are instinctively drawn to beauty.

Let’s just call her ‘Pretty Girl’... Cao Yu withdrew his gaze and surveyed the group attending the funeral.

They were gathered around the flowers and ice coffin, quietly chatting in small groups. Some glanced toward the corner where Cao Yu stood—mostly focusing on the masked man, puzzled by his bizarre attire.

So far, no one had questioned the sudden appearance of these eight strangers. Evolution Game must have cloaked their arrival.

Yet, the funeral was modest in scale, with few attendees. It was strange that no one approached these eight strangers to ask about their presence.

‘Players must have reasonable identities assigned within this instance,’ Cao Yu thought.

Feeling around his body, he found a police badge—An Xin, from Getan City. This must be his in-instance identity.

The badge also held a photo of a man and woman standing closely, appearing intimate.

Other players noticed Cao Yu’s action and followed suit, each retrieving their own police badges and photos.

“No wonder no one has questioned us,” Zhou Fan said while examining his badge. “We’re probably set as people related to the deceased, so it’s not strange for us to be here. But what does this photo mean? Could that person be me?”

“Well... I think instead of obsessing over the photo, shouldn’t we focus on the hint mentioning ‘the deceased’?” the fragile young woman suddenly said nervously. “The deceased... could there be a ghost here?”

The instance hint stated—only one deceased, with no will to resurrect.

If “deceased” and “resurrection” were literal...

“Not just the hint, the background story about Du Ruo also seems off,” Chen Ran said, her tone tense as she analyzed the situation:

“Du Ruo’s girlfriend died in a car crash, and seven days later he felt that being single wasn’t so bad... Doesn’t that sound like the ‘seventh day after death’ belief? Like the girlfriend became a ghost who returned on the seventh day to haunt Du Ruo.”

She clearly was a bit afraid of ghosts.

Cao Yu, knowing Chen Ran well, wasn’t surprised she knew about the ‘seventh day’ concept. The Federation and his previous Earth shared many similar cultural customs, as if two parallel worlds.

“Hmm... now that you mention it, it really does sound like the seventh day,” the model-like guy agreed, casually complimenting Chen Ran’s imagination.

“If it really is the seventh day, then we're in trouble.”

The well-groomed man now wore a serious expression and spoke:

“Our task is to survive 12 hours. Since it’s a survival mission, there must be dangers inside. We need to find out what threats exist and how to avoid them.

“The only lead we have is Du Ruo from the background story.

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“Right now, Du Ruo is very likely possessed by a ghost...”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone understood—seeking Du Ruo would almost certainly mean encountering the ghost.

Suddenly, Cao Yu, who had been silent, spoke up:

“Du Ruo is already dead.”

He met the gazes of the others and pointed toward the center of the farewell hall, where an electronic display hung.

In the rectangular hall, the deceased’s information was placed beside the ice coffin. The eight of them stood at the corner near the entrance, some distance away, so the details were hard to see.

However, the large electronic screen was showing the deceased’s life story, currently displaying a photo and the name—Du Ruo.

Du Ruo was already dead?

This revelation took everyone by surprise.

At that moment, the farewell ceremony officially began.

A solemn atmosphere filled the hall as the host spoke, inviting everyone to a moment of silence.

The mournful music grew louder.

Listening closely, Cao Yu sensed something was off... Beneath the music, he faintly heard a whisper:

“...An Xin... An Xin... An Xin...”

An Xin—the name on his police badge, his in-instance identity.

“An Xin!!!”

The faint whisper suddenly turned into a roar, exploding in Cao Yu’s ear as if someone stood right beside him shouting.

Instinctively, he jerked his head to the side... but saw nothing.

Chen Ran, standing not far off, noticed Cao Yu’s strange behavior.

Feigning a stranger’s demeanor, she whispered with concern, “Are you okay?”

“...Didn’t you hear the shouting?” Cao Yu asked.

“Shouting?”

Chen Ran listened carefully, then said:

“Is it like this... An Xin.”

Her throat suddenly emitted a deep, resonant male voice.

“...!?”

Cao Yu staggered back in shock.

Chen Ran smiled eerily at him, her lips slowly splitting wide toward her ears...