Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Thud, thud!”

“Thud, thud, thud, thud!”

The pounding on the door grew more and more violent, as if even the doorframe were trembling and could be smashed open at any moment.

“What do we do? Are we not even going to survive one night?” Lin Xiaoxue looked like she was about to cry.

Wei Sen suddenly remembered something important. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Which one of you closed the door just now?”

“I did…” Chen Lin answered fearfully. Then she seemed to realize something too, and said in a trembling voice, “The door… the door isn’t locked…”

Everyone’s hearts sank to rock bottom.

“Click.”

The crisp sound of the doorknob turning rang out.

Lin Xiaoxue and Chen Lin, terrified, squeezed Wei Sen from both sides.

“Creeeak-”

The sound of the door slowly being pushed open was especially piercing in the silent night.

A chilly gust blew in from outside, and goose bumps broke out across all of them.

Could the System maybe be useful at a time like this?!

Wei Sen thought desperately.

///Ding~ The System is currently unable to help the Host resolve the present crisis. The Host may increase Merit Points to 200 to unlock Card Draw. Current Merit Points: 125. Keep up the good work, Host!

Methods for increasing Merit Points:

1. Clear an Instance. Merit Points will be awarded according to the clearance grade.

2. Perform good deeds in the Eerie World, including but not limited to environmental protection, helping others, community service, caring for animals, traffic safety, online kindness, respecting others, caring for family, donating and sharing, and spreading positive energy.///

Wei Sen’s brows knitted tightly.

What kind of lousy System was this? Completely useless at the critical moment!

“Tap… tap… tap…”

In the darkness, there seemed to be very light footsteps approaching them little by little.

In this situation, there was only one option left…

Wei Sen was just about to speak.

All of a sudden, a beam of light shone from behind them, landing straight on the doorway of the Infirmary.

The three of them widened their eyes. Under the faint glow of the flashlight, there was actually nothing at the door at all.

But in the mist beyond the reach of the light, a red shadow seemed to quietly retreat.

“Waaah, Daoist sister!” Lin Xiaoxue looked at Xu You with tears streaming down her face. “You found the flashlight!”

Xu You walked over with the flashlight. “The thing got jammed in the cabinet. Took me forever to get it out. Looks like that rule’s fine too. We should be safe for now.”

Wei Sen also breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If Xu You hadn’t found the flashlight in time just now, she had been prepared to tell everyone to split up and run.

That way, whatever was outside the door should only have been able to chase one person at a time. At least each of them would have had a three-in-four chance of surviving for the moment.

“Good. Now we can confirm that Rules Two, Seven, and Eight are all fine. Next, we need to hurry and find the dormitory!”

After Wei Sen finished speaking, the group linked arms, with Xu You walking in the middle and holding the flashlight, and left the Infirmary together.

Outside, however, there wasn’t a single light. They couldn’t tell east from west, north from south.

All they could do was brace themselves and keep walking forward, trusting that no matter how big the athletic field was, it had to have an edge somewhere.

“Heeheeheehee…”

Everyone’s footsteps halted. From somewhere the flashlight could not reach came the giggling voice of a little girl.

“Don’t look back!” Wei Sen snapped, stopping Lin Xiaoxue just as she was about to turn toward the sound.

Those things wanted to erode their sanity, then lure them into breaking the rules!

That afternoon, in front of the rules noticeboard, she had nearly fallen for it.

Lin Xiaoxue kept her head stiffly facing forward and swallowed nervously. “Mm. But… who is laughing…?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just don’t look. We have the flashlight, so we’re safe for now!” Wei Sen said.

“Okay!”

The little girl’s laughter seemed to linger right beside their ears, but everyone kept their eyes fixed on the range illuminated by the flashlight. None of them dared to glance into the darkness.

At last, several stone steps appeared within the light.

“It’s a building,” Xu You said. She swept the beam around and saw five large words painted in red on the mottled white wall: “Staff Dormitory Building.”

“Thank goodness!” Lin Xiaoxue finally let out a breath of relief.

Wei Sen frowned. Her instincts told her it was too early to be happy.

“There are no rooms on the first floor. Let’s go up and take a look,” Xu You said.

The stairwell was narrow, so they could only hold hands in a single file as they went up. Wei Sen walked at the very front, while Xu You stayed at the back, lighting the path ahead.

“Have you noticed? The flashlight is getting weaker and weaker,” Chen Lin said quietly.

Wei Sen had already noticed, which was why she had secretly quickened her pace.

“The rules say we have to return to our own dormitory, but with a whole building, how are we supposed to know where we live?” Lin Xiaoxue said worriedly. “If the flashlight runs out of battery, will that thing from before catch up to us?”

“Look!”

The group reached the second floor. There was a notice posted in the corridor, and Xu You hurried closer, focusing the light on it:
Faculty Dormitory Rules:

1. For the convenience of unified school management, only one person may live in each dorm room. Please be sure to comply.

2. After dark, please get into bed and sleep as soon as possible. Otherwise, no one can guarantee your safety.

3. Before entering the dorm room, please knock on the door three times.

4. The dormitory is old and in disrepair, and the wiring is aging. Some strange noises or unstable voltage are normal. Please ignore them.

5. Ignore anything you encounter in the hallway!

Lin Xiaoxue let out a breath of relief. “Good thing there are only a few. Otherwise, there’s no way we’d remember them all.”

Just then, the flashlight dimmed another notch.

“Hurry,” Wei Sen said.

They began searching the second floor. Fortunately, every dorm room had a name posted on the door.

As long as they checked one room after another, they would definitely find the right dorms, provided the flashlight lasted that long.

And besides…

“The dormitory is also part of the school. The School Rules and the Dormitory Rules stack together, so don’t let your guard down.”

Wei Sen reminded them of everything she could think of. It wasn’t because she was particularly close to these people. It was because of the System.

She wanted to increase her Merit Points as much as possible and see what a Card Draw could bring once she reached 200. Maybe it would become her chance to escape this place alive.

The first name they found was Wei Sen’s, on Room 204 at the end of the second floor.

“Sister Sen, it’s your dorm!” Lin Xiaoxue looked at her excitedly.

Wei Sen fell silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll keep looking for the other dorms with you. After all of you have gone back first, I’ll take the flashlight and return here.”

///Ding~ Detected Host has achieved Selflessness. Merit Points +20. Additional Danger Compensation applied. Merit Points reward randomly multiplied!///

Sure enough, the more she gave, the more Merit Points she earned.

What Wei Sen hadn’t expected was that something like Danger Compensation existed too.

“But that’s too dangerous for you…” Chen Lin said.

“Think carefully about Rule 8. The rule specifically emphasizes not staying outside alone. That means it’s dangerous to be alone. But what if there are two people?” Wei Sen said.

Everyone started thinking.

Xu You said, “You mean it’s safe as long as there are more than two people. And if someone is alone, they need a flashlight.”

“Right.”

Lin Xiaoxue said worriedly, “But Sister Sen, what if the flashlight runs out of power when you’re the last one coming back…?”

Wei Sen took a deep breath.

She had thought of that too. But fortune favored the bold. She needed to raise her Merit Points to 200 as quickly as possible!

“That’s why we’ll go to the top floor first and search downward from there. That way, the last person’s dorm will definitely be the closest to mine. If the flashlight dies, I can still do my best to run back.”

This was the most perfect method she could think of. It would both increase her Merit Points and maximize the chances that all of them could return safely to their dorms.

“All right. We’ll do as you say,” Xu You agreed solemnly. “Let’s hurry.”

The group quickly reached the top floor, the sixth floor, where they found Lin Xiaoxue’s dorm: 601.

Then they continued searching downward and found Chen Lin’s dorm: 404.

In the end, only Xu You and Wei Sen were left to keep searching. By then, the flashlight was almost out. Its beam was as faint as moonlight, barely able to sketch the outline of the path ahead.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone as good as you,” Xu You said seriously. “You were already safe, but you still came to help others.”

Wei Sen pressed her lips together, her expression grave.

She had never been a good person. She was only doing this because of the System.

If she had to define herself, then she was a gambler.

She was betting that she would not die so easily in a place like this.

“Let’s move faster. If the flashlight goes out, we won’t be able to find your dorm,” Wei Sen said, choosing to ignore Xu You’s words.

“We still have this!” Xu You raised her watch.

But the watch, which should have been glowing, now had a black screen. No matter how she tapped it, there was no response.

“It’s broken?” Xu You asked in confusion.

“It’s not the watch. It’s this place. There are nineteen people. There’s no way we’re the only ones who found our dorms. So where are the others? We’ve searched every floor, but there’s not a single sound from the other rooms.”

Their hearts sank. Xu You could only grip her talisman paper, ready to react at any moment.

At last, by the flashlight’s weak glow, they found Xu You’s dorm on the third floor: 305.

The two exchanged a look. Then Xu You solemnly knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Even though she was the one who had made the sound, it still had the unsettling quality of an Eerie Entity.

The next second, the flashlight’s final glimmer suddenly went out, and the entire world plunged into endless darkness.

Almost the instant the light died, the sound of knocking rang out from all around them.

Knock, knock, knock.

It was as if countless things were about to break down the doors and burst out.