Ning Su: "Wake up. Without me, you can’t open the tree trunk and get the Transfer Neurons."
"..."
They had already learned from Gui Sheng that the memory-transferring device was called "Transfer Neurons" by the school. Aside from the principal, no one could take it out of the tree trunk.
Since he spoke with such certainty, it definitely wouldn’t be easy to retrieve.
This instance restricted skills and weapons. The Witch’s wide array of mystical gu insects would undoubtedly be unusable.
Ning Changfeng was a bit of a special case. His abilities were bloodline-based. Ning Su remembered that in the <Flower Servant> instance, skills and weapons were initially restricted too, but he could still transform into a small snake—though just a regular little snake, not some flashy nine-headed serpent.
The Reflection Hall didn’t allow tools to be brought in, and it had been reinforced. The two of them were top-tier players with formidable physical strength, but that didn’t guarantee they could break in—at least not within a few minutes.
In this operation, time was life. They had to transfer memories for sixty or seventy players.
Ning Su knew he was different. He didn’t rely on this game—on the skills and weapons granted by the system or the Ghost Master.
Since his power didn’t come from them, they couldn’t restrict him.
Ning Changfeng: "We might only get this one chance. If you go into the Reflection Hall a second time and succeed, but come back to find your memories gone—what then?"
Ning Su: "How about I transfer a copy first? Even if I lose my memories, the transferred part might still remain."
Ning Changfeng didn’t like that idea.
No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t feasible.
"It’s too risky if we all go."
Ning Su turned to the Witch. "Witch, you should stay. If we lose our memories, you can still back us up."
The responsibility of being the safety net fell to the Gu Witch.
Ning Changfeng still wasn’t reassured. After all, the Gu Witch was from the Yongming Guild. It wasn’t that he had a bias against them—it was just that his son had clearly offended them.
Besides Ning Su, there was also Shi Tianzhu.
In the worst-case scenario, if both he and Ning Su lost their memories, what would happen to Shi Tianzhu, the leader of Yinhua?
Just as Ning Changfeng was about to say more, Ning Su cut him off. "The Gu Witch is the most suitable. Let him stay."
The Gu Witch was indeed the most suitable choice. If he went, Ning Changfeng would definitely follow, leaving no one else but the Gu Witch.
The Gu Witch didn’t need to transfer anyone else’s memories to score 600 points and clear the level—he was strong and trustworthy.
The Gu Witch glanced at Ning Su. The night breeze scattered the white hair across his cheeks, and the look in his long, narrow eyes was hard to discern in the dark. He said, “Fine, go ahead. I’ll back you up.”
Ning Changfeng swallowed his words.
If both the planner and the one being planned for had agreed, what else could he say?
With a grim expression, he said, “Then next, we need to decide on the timing.”
This was another challenge.
He Xin said, “If we’re aiming for one successful attempt, it’s better to do it later—ideally after the ninth mock exam, when everyone is reviewing for the college entrance exams. That way, even if the school notices the memory transfer, they won’t have time to do anything about it.”
Lu Yue countered, “But if we wait that long and something goes wrong, or someone loses their memory, there won’t be time for a second try.”
That was the dilemma.
For a moment, none of them knew how to set the timing.
If they hadn’t known amnesia could be treated, they would’ve chosen an earlier date.
But since amnesia could be treated, it meant that even after transferring memories into their own brains, there was still a risk of them being taken away.
In that case, the later the better—preferably right before the break.
He Xin said, “From what we know, the amnesia treatment happens after the college entrance exams. The school takes the amnesiac students to the Reflection Hall and transfers their memories back to their original brains using those neurons or whatever. The memories we’re trying to steal are from long-graduated students stored in the Reflection Hall—can’t we use the amnesia treatment as a reference?”
Lu Yue hesitated. “True, but we don’t know if the black tree monster will swallow those transferred memories again once they’re in our brains.”
He Xin replied, “Amnesiac players should be immune—their memories have already been devoured once, and they seem resistant now. We can confirm this based on their immunity to the instructor’s black tree whip.”
Lu Yue paused. “…Right!”
“In that case, we can go earlier!”
“Wait,” he added. “But what about the five of us who haven’t lost our memories yet?”
Their team still had six players with memories left. If the Gu Witch didn’t go, that left five players with memories, who were still being targeted by the Black Tree Monster’s memory-locking ability.
Ning Su said, “First, let’s transfer the memories of the amnesiac players. Even if one or two of us five lose our memories, doing it again should be much simpler.”
Ning Changfeng: “We can’t do it too early, but we also need to leave a few days to handle unexpected situations. So, the night before the ninth mock exam.”
“Agreed.”
That gave them about ten days.
Once the timing was set, they immediately began making plans.
The ten days passed quickly, including the eighth mock exam.
During those ten days, they behaved themselves—studying diligently and not causing trouble. Not only did the disciplinary director think they were seriously preparing for the exams, even the other seven players assumed they had given up, that they were truly out of options.
Those seven players looked even more anxious than them.
Possibly because Lu Yue remained unmoved, one day, Jiang Ming and another player came to Ning Su’s class. “Hey, what if… we rebel?”
Ning Su: “.”
He said to them, “We already tried last time. Why don’t you give it a shot this time? If you find a way, we can join you.”
Jiang Ming: “…”
Ning Su waved them off. “If not, then don’t disturb my studying. I’m aiming for a second-tier university.”
Jiang Ming: “…”
The two left, faces pale.
That same night, Ning Su and the others made their move.
At 3 AM, when the school was at its quietest, people began discreetly destroying surveillance cameras around campus.
Players from several third-floor dormitories slipped out through windows—some moving silently toward the black forest and the small black hut, others sprinting toward the school infirmary.
At first, they thought about breaking school rules on purpose, just like before, so they could all be locked in the Reflection Hall together.
But that would be too obvious.
That night, the dean would definitely know who had been sent to the Reflection Hall. If memories went missing there, the investigation would be too straightforward.
Besides, if it was too noticeable, those seven players might find out and ruin their plans.
And after Hong Zhenjiang’s incident, getting from the Reflection Hall to the second floor must have become much harder.
It would be better to act swiftly and unexpectedly in secret.
At three in the morning, one of the darkest hours, the school’s teachers were all asleep, but the Reflection Hall was still heavily guarded by instructors.
There were ten of them in total.
Each held a black tree whip, noticeably longer than usual.
The lake water rippled with a faint splash.
Two sharp-eyed instructors immediately looked over.
The ripples on the lake’s surface slowly faded.
