Chapter 71
Chapter 71
-Pfft, the streamer I was following blacked out their screen. I came out to wander around and didn’t expect to catch the follow-up here.
-So what unspeakable thing did you-know-who do after blocking the stream?
-No way, no way. In that little time??
-Person above, that one can check IPs from the backend. Be careful you don’t get offed.
-Fuck, I forgot to follow this Live Stream Room before sending that message. Now I can’t take it back. (I hate this.jpg)
Night climbed to the tips of the willow branches. A gust of chilling wind blew past, covering the moon that hung like a silver plate.
The entire campus was enveloped in a strange fragrance, as if draped in a thin veil.
In the darkness, an invisible pair of hands pressed the code into an electronic lock. A door long sealed by dust was yanked open, and an arm so thin it was practically skin and bones reached out from within. Its rough skin was covered in patches of black spots.
“Hungry!”
“So hungry!”
“I’m so hungry!”
[Detected an Aberration Source in the Instance. Streamer, please prepare…]
Inside the quiet dorm room, everyone in Dormitory 305 was asleep-except No. 14.
He lay flat on his bed, hands folded over his chest, murmuring something under his breath like he was counting down. “59, 58, 57, 56, 55…”
His expression was excited, with a trace of anticipation.
As he continued counting down, the surrounding walls seemed to have been hit with a time accelerator. Layer after layer of old paint began to peel up, spreading like spiderwebs.
At the same time, charred, pus-filled blisters gradually began to bulge across No. 14’s face. The entire dormitory building was aging at a rapid speed, becoming dilapidated and unbearably run-down.
Many of the students locked inside a Detention Room were still awake. After all, there was only themselves in each Detention Room, and they weren’t allowed to turn on the lights. Aside from sleeping, there was nothing else they could do.
Those who fell asleep early woke up early as well, so they were the first to notice something was wrong.
The brand-new Iron Door of each Detention Room broke out in mottled patches of rust, making an ugly kaz-kaz sound as it did, standing before the streamers like it was clinging to its last breath.
At the same time, the mirrors behind them began cracking with sharp, repeated pops. It was like… like something was trying to burst through the glass and squeeze its way out.
Luo Ziwei clutched at his sleeve and retreated step by step. In the darkness, he had no idea what was happening here.
The panicked screams of the other streamers rang in his ears, magnifying the fear inside him even further. It wasn’t until Luo Ziwei’s back pressed against the cold door that he finally stopped.
Creak-
The door actually couldn’t withstand that small amount of weight from his body. With a crash, it collapsed backward.
Under the dim light of the corridor, Luo Ziwei saw layers of dust stirred up by the fallen door around him and couldn’t help sneezing.
Just then, No. 19 across from him also shoved his door open. When he saw Luo Ziwei, all the blood drained from his face. He raised a hand and pointed behind him, terrified. “Behind you… Behind you!”
Luo Ziwei’s spine stiffened at those words. The next second, there was a bang behind him, and shards of mirror shot past his eyes. Something behind him was shrieking and howling.
“Ah-”
The instant Luo Ziwei’s arm was grabbed, he flailed like he’d gone mad, eyes squeezed shut as he clawed wildly. When a scorching, hard sensation came from his palm, he immediately wrenched it with all his strength.
A crisp crack rang through the air. He didn’t dare pay any attention to the piercing howl behind him and pulled out his phone to make a call.
No. 19 looked at the Ghost in front of him, whose arm had been snapped off, then glanced at the “frail boy” crying like a rain-soaked pear blossom. For some reason, he shuddered.
The silence in Dormitory 305 was shattered by an urgent ringtone.
No. 14 unconsciously paused for a moment, then looked coldly toward No. 18’s bed.
Qiao Yu impatiently picked up his phone. When he saw the number ending in 6666, he suppressed his irritation and answered.
“What is it?”
“Daddy, save me!”
Qiao Yu: ??
“The mirror in the Detention Room broke…” Luo Ziwei was crying so hard he kept hiccuping. It took Qiao Yu a long while to sort out what he was actually saying.
“Go to Detention Room No. 60. Once you’re inside, choose the door on the right.”
A short while later…
“Dad, Detention Room No. 60 only has one door, aaahhh!!!”
Qiao Yu’s half-lidded eyes flew open. Before he could truly wake up, a hoarse shriek rang out from beneath the bed, and a black shadow lunged at him like a bolt of lightning.
Suddenly, an icy silver-white chain shot out beside his ear and, in an instant, bound No. 14 in midair. A thin layer of frost immediately spread over his charred-black body.
Qiao Yu looked through the darkness toward the bed opposite his. He could only make out a blurry figure sitting up.
“It’s an Instance Mutation.”
Again?!
Qiao Yu hurriedly distanced himself from the matter. “This Instance Mutation has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
Shang Yan: “……”
He had long known this guy’s way of thinking was different from ordinary people’s, but he had not expected it to be this outrageous.
Even if an ordinary person did not panic, they would at least worry about their own safety.
Qiao Yu was different. The moment something bad happened, his first reaction was to clear himself of all blame.
Shang Yan lowered his lashes, his amber pupils trembling faintly.
A place like an orphanage was no paradise for orphans. With looks like his, Qiao Yu had never once been adopted, which was enough to show that his life there must have been deeply unpleasant. Otherwise, he would not have started living on his own at the age of fourteen…
That was why Shang Yan had never seen Qiao Yu’s harmless little flaws as stains. On the contrary, every time he noticed one, his heart could not help but ache.
“Dad, Dad, Dad, what do I do? Do I go in or not? Aaahhh, there are so many ghosts!”
Qiao Yu frowned and moved the phone farther away. His voice was still thick with sleep. “Go in.”
The moment Luo Ziwei heard that, he yanked open the door in front of him without another word.
Unexpectedly, what awaited him was not some bizarre, terrifying scene, but the familiar rooftop. The Painted-Skin Ghost, dressed in a black suit, slowly turned around. Then she stared at No. 19 behind him, her eyes gradually reddening. During that time, she even began swallowing nonstop.
No. 19 could not help but retreat, wanting to turn around and go back.
But behind him was only empty void. There was nothing there.
The next second, the beautiful female ghost suddenly stepped forward and grabbed No. 19 by the collar. His feet were forced off the ground. Her charred-black fingers were right in front of him, as cold as ice, sending a chill through his entire body.
Just when he thought he was dead for sure, his body suddenly flew into the air and was flung away. The Painted-Skin Ghost’s furious curses rang through the air. “Fuck, you disgusting bastards! How many times have I said it? I don’t eat human flesh! Now get lost!!!”
Luo Ziwei watched as the human skin on the Painted-Skin Ghost’s face began to wrinkle, as if it had been melted by fire. His legs went weak, and his first instinct was to run after No. 19.
But his body was stopped by a chilly arm.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the Painted-Skin Ghost standing beside him, staring at him with cold, sinister eyes. With a thump, he sat down on the ground. “Big sis-sis… spare me-me…”
“Big sis-sis? Spare you-you? You think repeating words makes you cute?” the Painted-Skin Ghost rasped, her voice shrill and hoarse, full of displeasure. “I hate little green tea bitches like you who cry at the drop of a hat. What, you think you’re the only one who can talk all cutesy?
“Cut the crap!
“Let me ask you this. You don’t have that smell on you, so you probably haven’t drunk the free soup in the cafeteria, right?”
Luo Ziwei quickly covered his mouth, crying as he shook his head.
“At least you’re somewhat useful.” The Painted-Skin Ghost rolled her eyes. “Little green tea, from now on, you stay right here and behave. When someone comes in, you throw them down. One after another.
“If you dare slack off, you’re… dead. For. Sure!”
Luo Ziwei: “……”
He was not a little green tea who spoke in cutesy repeats.
He was just too scared.
Wah~