Chapter 21
Chapter 21
“What do we do now?” Xu You’s voice rang out in the darkness, tinged with nervousness.
“Stay calm and think of a countermeasure,” Wei Sen replied.
Her guess had been right. Since there were two of them, they hadn’t broken the rules, so the things behind the doors hadn’t rushed straight out. For now, they were safe.
This Daoist was fairly reliable after all.
If it had been anyone else, they would have already ducked back into their own dorm room and left Wei Sen outside alone in a situation like this.
If that had happened, she would almost certainly have died.
Wei Sen’s mind raced as she thought through their options.
The knocking all around them grew more and more violent, and faint low growls could be heard between the blows.
“Let’s go find another working flashlight together,” Xu You suddenly suggested.
“But first, we need to figure out how to get out of this strange space,” Wei Sen said, reasoning from their current situation. “The world of the rule-based horror story is the Outer World. The space invaded by the Eerie Entities is the Inner World. The dorm room door is very likely the only entrance back to the Outer World.”
Wei Sen suspected that from the moment the digital watch stopped displaying anything, the space they were in had no longer been the original space.
Most likely, because night had fallen and they still hadn’t returned to their dorms, their mental strength had been corroded by eerie power, causing them to unknowingly sink into the Inner World.
Xu You was not surprised by Wei Sen’s words. She was a Daoist, and this was not her first time entering the Inner World.
What did surprise her was that Wei Sen, an ordinary person, could deduce the existence of the Inner World and the Outer World in such a short time.
“Fortunately, whether it’s the Outer World or the Inner World, the Eerie Entities still obey the rules we know,” Xu You said.
As long as they did not take the initiative to violate the rules, they were relatively safe.
After thinking for a moment, she continued, “But the first of the Dormitory Rules says only one person can live in a dorm room. So if we enter 305 together, we’d be breaking the rules too.”
“Mm,” Wei Sen answered.
They both knew perfectly well that the current situation was very unfavorable for Wei Sen.
Xu You could simply enter her dorm room door and return to the Outer World, but Wei Sen still had to go downstairs and make it back to 204 safely.
Yet now the flashlight was out of power. The moment Wei Sen left Xu You, she would be violating the rule that said she could not be outside alone after dark.
Of course, Xu You could escort Wei Sen back to 204, then return to 305 alone, but that would mean facing enormous danger as well.
So the situation before them seemed to be a dead end. Only one of them could survive.
In the darkness, neither of them spoke. Each seemed to be weighing the trade-offs in her own heart.
The knocking all around them became increasingly fierce. The things behind the doors seemed as if they might burst through at any moment.
Wei Sen knew that right now, time was life. The longer they stayed in the Inner World, the easier it would be for these things to completely devour their minds.
And human nature was the least trustworthy thing of all.
The person beside her might open the door and leave at any moment to save herself. If that happened, Wei Sen would have no chance at all.
“System, check my Merit Points,” Wei Sen called to the System in her mind, racing against time.
///Ding~ Host originally had 151 Merit Points. With additional Danger Compensation, earnings are doubled for a total increase of 40 Merit Points. Current Merit Points: 191.///
She was still 9 points short of a Card Draw.
If she could unlock one Card Draw chance, perhaps there would be a turn for the better.
“Daoist!” Wei Sen suddenly said solemnly.
“What is it?”
“You’re very pretty.”
“Huh???” A confused voice came from the darkness.
///Ding~ Host has praised another person. Merit Points +1.///
“You’re very loyal.”
“…I guess.”
“You’re very brave!”
“…Uh.”
“You’re very strong!”
“…”
“You’re very smart!”
“…”
“And very interesting!”
“…”
“You’re very knowledgeable!”
…
///Host’s current Merit Points: 198.///
“Wait, I’m running out of compliments,” Wei Sen said with a perfectly serious expression.
Xu You’s tone turned grave. “I think the most urgent thing right now is to perform an exorcism on you.”
As if suddenly remembering something, Wei Sen replied solemnly, “Thank you!”
///Ding~ Congratulations, Host. Merit Points have reached 200. You may activate one Card Draw. Use it?///
“Use it!” Wei Sen silently said in her heart.
///Ding~ Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an Anomalous Artifact: one Great pixiu. Usage method: After summoning the Great Pixiu, it can resist all Eerie Entity damage for 10 seconds.///
Ten seconds. Running from one end of the third floor to one end of the second floor was a little tight, but it was worth a try.
“Daoist, go back. I have a way now,” Wei Sen said.
“What way?”
“Trust me.”
Xu You thought it over carefully.
Their current situation really was tricky. The dorm room doors were the only exits back to the Outer World, but each of them had to return to her own corresponding dorm.
Which meant one of them had to face the road back alone.
Since Wei Sen had volunteered, that saved Xu You from having to choose.
“Fine. I hope you really do have a way,” Xu You said, placing her hand on the doorknob. “I rarely acknowledge anyone as better than me, but if you’re still alive tomorrow morning, I’ll call you Big Sis.”
“Heh.” Wei Sen let out a laugh and answered in terrible Sichuanese, “Sure thing.”
In the darkness, Wei Sen heard the door open, but because she was still in the Inner World, she couldn’t see a thing.
The instant the door closed, countless other doors opened in unison.
“Use Great Pixiu!” Wei Sen activated the Anomalous Artifact almost at the same time.
In an instant, a ring of green light flared around her, as if she were standing inside a transparent pixiu.
At last, she could see everything before her.
The lower half of the corridor walls had been painted pale green, while the upper half was a deathly white. But now those colors had long since peeled and flaked away, revealing the blackened wall beneath.
Every dorm room door had opened inward. Inside each doorway stood a shadowy figure whose face couldn’t be seen.
But Wei Sen could feel it. At this moment, all of them were staring at her like predators watching prey.
Run!
After wasting half a second to get her bearings, Wei Sen followed the route in her memory and rushed toward the stairs.
As she ran, the shadowy figures inside the rooms swarmed out as well, chasing after her.
“What a pain!” Catching a glimpse of the dense mass of figures behind her from the corner of her eye, Wei Sen quickly reached the second floor and charged toward Room 204 at the very end.
Six, five, four, three, two…
Wei Sen could feel a piercing chill closing in on the back of her neck. Fortunately, at the very last second, she grabbed the doorknob, rapidly knocked three times: knock, knock, knock. Then she opened the door, slipped inside, and slammed it shut with force.
She leaned against the door, her heart pounding violently. The world outside was so quiet there wasn’t the slightest sound.
At the same time, her watch vibrated.
She checked it and found 99+ group messages.
Looks like she had successfully returned to the Outer World.
She let out a breath of relief and began surveying the dorm room.
The tungsten bulb overhead cast a dim yellow light, shrouding everything in gloom.
The room was less than ten square meters. The air inside was thick and heavy, carrying a rotten stench, like dead air seeping out of a grave.
The wooden wardrobe and desk looked old and mottled. On the desk sat an old-fashioned electric fan, its blades covered in a thick layer of dust. Beside it was a black vintage cassette player, its surface gleaming with an unsettling oily sheen.
This was clearly Wei Sen’s first time seeing this place, yet she felt an eerie sense of familiarity.
As if she had once lived here. Or… died here.
“Bzzzt… bzzzt…”
A sound like electrical static drew Wei Sen’s attention.
The cassette player on the desk had started running on its own. Strange green lights glowed on its left and right panels, staring fixedly at her like a pair of eyes.
“Dormitory Rules, Article Four: The dormitory is old and in disrepair, and the wiring is aging. Strange noises or unstable voltage are normal. Please do not concern yourself with them.”
“And Article Two: After dark, please get into bed and sleep as soon as possible. Otherwise, no one can guarantee your safety.”
Wei Sen kept the rules firmly in mind. She walked straight to the metal-frame bed, took off her shoes, and lay down.
“Bzzzt… bzzzt…”
The tape was still turning. Wei Sen selectively blocked out the noise and opened her watch messages to read through them.
In the Zhihui Primary School Instance group chat, only ten avatars still had color. All the others had gone black.
She hadn’t expected more than half of them to die on the very first day.
At this rate, did they really have any chance of leaving alive…?
In the main group chat, everyone had initially been sharing what they encountered.
The people in Group C had gone to the teaching building. There were two teaching buildings, Buildings A and B, each seven floors high.
On weekends, there were no students in the teaching buildings.
Under Bai Xue’s lead, the people in Group A had already found the dormitory building before dark.
According to Bai Xue’s update, two people in Group A had died. One had violated a rule by entering the dorm without knocking.
The other had successfully returned to their dorm, but no one knew what had happened afterward. Their avatar had gone black.
The last message in the main group chat was also from Bai Xue-
[Bai Xue: Unfortunately, Group C has been wiped out.]
Wei Sen then checked Group B’s chat, the group she belonged to. To her surprise, as of now, every single member of their group was still alive!