Opposite them was a row of two- or three-story buildings.

They were similar to those found near any school, mostly restaurants, internet cafes, stationery stores, and such.

The internet cafe was doing booming business, while the female owner standing in front of the stationery store looked as pale as death.

Jiang Cheng walked to the entrance of a coffee shop, paused for a few seconds, then pushed the door open and went inside.

There was hardly anyone on the first floor. He found the stairs, went up to the second floor, and then headed straight to the third floor.

As soon as he reached the top, he saw that the seats by the window were all taken.

There were about seven or eight people, and their eyes were all focused on Jiang Cheng's face.

"Doctor!" The fat man, squeezed into a corner, looked at Jiang Cheng with tears in his eyes. "It's so good to see you here!"

Jiang Cheng hadn't expected to see the fat man here, but he only glanced at him before looking away.

These people in front of him must be his teammates for this mission.

There were more of them than last time.

Including Jiang Cheng, there were a total of eight people this time.

"Hello," a man in a white suit stood up, smiling and greeting Jiang Cheng. "You're really amazing, finding your way here on your own."

Indeed, Jiang Cheng hadn't chosen this coffee shop at random.

Most of the buildings in the area were low, so this was the only place with the best view. Moreover, the third floor had large glass windows, providing a clear view of the school across the street.

Jiang Cheng looked at the school outside the glass window and slowly turned his head back. "The mission location is this school?"

"It seems so," the man in the white suit shrugged. "I already asked the waiter here. This isn't an ordinary school, but an art college."

Just as the man in the white suit was about to say something more, a loud roar suddenly came from the side. "Where is this? Who are you people? I'm calling the police!"

Jiang Cheng turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in a vest shouting loudly. He was agitated, clearly a newcomer to the nightmare world.

"We've already told you everything you need to know. Whether you can accept it is your problem," a young man in a baseball cap leaned against the sofa, squinting at the middle-aged man. Suddenly, he grinned and said, "I'm not your dad, so I have no obligation to care whether you live or die."

"I'm calling the police! I'm suing you for illegal detention!" The middle-aged man looked fierce, but Jiang Cheng could tell at a glance that he was just scared.

The middle-aged man must have realized that this world was different from the real world, but he was just instinctively resisting the fact.

Otherwise, he could have chosen to leave instead of staying here.

There were three recognized newcomers this time, besides the middle-aged man in the vest, there was also a man and a woman.

The woman was wearing a cute dinosaur pajamas set with a short tail dragging behind her. Her face was pale, and she looked like she might faint at any moment.

The man was slightly better than the woman, but according to the fat man, the man had been even worse than the middle-aged man when he first appeared. He had not only excitedly questioned everyone present but had also overturned a table in the coffee shop in public.

"Alright," the man in the white suit stepped forward and said naturally, "Now that everyone's here, let's go take a look at the school."

"Is the school definitely the mission location?" The one who spoke this time was a woman in a qipao, her smoky makeup filled with the charm of the last century. She had a great figure, but her appearance was unremarkable.

"Not necessarily," the man in the white suit looked at her with a smile. "But there's no harm in trying. We all know that we'll only encounter those things after we reach the real mission location."

Hearing the man mention those things, everyone's expressions turned serious, and no one spoke anymore.

The group walked out of the coffee shop, and even the hysterical middle-aged man followed silently at the back of the group.

The fat man took the opportunity to squeeze over. "Doctor," he said in a low voice, "I was scared to death when I didn't see you when I first arrived."

Jiang Cheng didn't bother to talk nonsense with him and asked directly, "How did you find the coffee shop?"

Unexpectedly, the fat man licked his lips and said embarrassedly, "I didn't find it. My spawn point was here. I pushed open the door and was standing directly on the table on the third floor of the coffee shop, facing the school."

Jiang Cheng glanced at the fat man and didn't say anything for a while before continuing to ask, "What about the others?"

"They all arrived after me."

"Their spawn points were also in the coffee shop?"

"Not entirely," the fat man shook his head, then raised his chin, gesturing for Jiang Cheng to look at the front of the group. The man in the white suit was turning his head to comfort the woman in the dinosaur pajamas. "That white suit, like you, found his own way here."

Jiang Cheng took a breath. "So, apart from you and him, the remaining seven people were all spawned in the coffee shop, especially you, who were standing directly on the table on the third floor."

"Doctor, if you insist on saying that, I won't argue with you," the fat man seemed much stronger than when he first entered the nightmare, at least he could speak fluently. He continued, "But please don't use words like 'spawn.' I think 'descended' sounds more sacred."

Jiang Cheng "tsk"ed. Just as he was about to give the fat man a lesson, they arrived at the front of the school.

The main gate was silent, but the small door next to it made a long "creak" sound.

Then, a middle-aged woman walked out, claiming to be the reception teacher here, welcoming them.

Because they didn't know the content of this mission or the identities they were playing, everyone wisely chose to remain silent and follow behind the middle-aged woman, who was also the first NPC (non-player character).

Generally speaking, the role of the first NPC is to tell the players their character identities in this instance and the mission background they are facing.

Through communication with the woman, they learned the identities of the characters they were playing.

They were a photography crew from a cultural media company, specially invited to film the school's upcoming anniversary celebration.

Indeed, as the man in the white suit had said, this was an art college, mainly recruiting students majoring in music and related fields. It was not large in scale, but according to the woman, it was quite famous and had produced many celebrities.

"Your company sent the equipment a day in advance," the middle-aged woman said. "It's currently stored in our equipment room, so you don't have to worry."

"Can we go to the equipment room to take a look?" The young man in the baseball cap in the group suddenly spoke.

At this moment, he was wearing his hat backwards, and an earring on one ear seemed to be inlaid with something, reflecting light in the setting sun.

The woman suddenly stopped and looked at the young man. Her expression suddenly darkened. "No, absolutely not!"