Chapter 36

Chapter 36

No one continued the topic. Instead, they began going over everything they had learned that day.

But after summing it all up, although they had learned a great deal and gained a preliminary understanding of the relationships between the people involved, they still had no clue about the “secret” and “wish” mentioned in the Clearance Condition.

On top of that, Guo Xiaolan, Wang Hua, Sun Qiang, and the others had not left the school after classes ended today. That was undoubtedly a major safety hazard.

So while it was still light out, Wei Sen and the others decided to split up and search. If they could find where those students were hiding, Huang Xinze could use his identity as a security guard to drive them out of the school.

But even as the last of the daylight faded, they still could not find them. It was as if the students had vanished into thin air.

“What do we do now?” Xu You asked from the middle of the playground.

The fog around them was growing thicker, and the sky was getting darker by the minute.

Wei Sen looked at the others and said, “Let’s get back to the dorm before it gets completely dark. As for you…”

Wei Sen turned to Huang Xinze, asking for his opinion.

“I still have to go back to the security office and continue my shift.” Huang Xinze rubbed his chin as he recalled, “The work notes in the security office mentioned that if any students remain on campus after school, they have to be driven out.

If they can’t be driven out before dark, then no matter what sounds you hear at night, you must not leave the security office until your shift ends. Then light the white candle in the security office drawer at the school gate and quickly return to the dorm with the flashlight.

So you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll just do what the Security Guard Notebook says! But tonight definitely won’t be safe. You all need to be extra careful in the dorm too!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll go back and sleep right away! If I’m asleep, I won’t be scared!” Lin Xiaoxue planted her hands on her hips, full of confidence.

“Let’s go.”

Wei Sen and the girls returned to the dorm before darkness fully fell. This time, none of them encountered any erosion by the Eerie Entity.

It seemed that as long as there was still daylight, the Eerie Entity did not dare make its movements too obvious.

Back in the dorm, it was still too early. Wei Sen was not sleepy at all, so she continued sitting at the desk, studying the hand-drawn relationship chart and trying to figure out the truth behind the entire Instance.

Before she knew it, it was past ten. Wei Sen remembered that she had violated the cafeteria auntie’s Hidden Rule today, but so far, nothing had happened.

She glanced at her watch. Her Merit Points had reached 460. She was only 40 points away from another Card Draw.

But it was too late now. There was no longer any chance for her to gain another 40 Merit Points. All she could do was pray that nothing would happen tonight…

Wei Sen went to the bathroom, turned on the blue faucet, and began washing up.

The bathroom was very basic, so small that it could only fit one person. The toiletries were basic as well: a tube of Black Man toothpaste and a bag of Diaopai laundry powder.

Wei Sen remembered that this brand of toothpaste had changed its name in a certain year. As for laundry powder, that was an old-fashioned thing no one used anymore.

But the Instance was set in 2002, so it made sense for these things to exist…

As Wei Sen thought this, she lowered her head to wash her face.

However, the moment she bent down, out of the corner of her eye, she clearly saw herself in the mirror.

School Rules, Article Four: There are no mirrors in the school. If you see a mirror, smash it immediately. Remember, do not stare at the person in the mirror for too long!

There had not been a mirror in the bathroom before!

Wei Sen instantly went on alert, but there was nothing within reach that she could use to smash the mirror.

She turned decisively and headed outside.

Yet at the instant she turned around, the other “her” in the mirror suddenly flashed forward, closing the distance to the mirror in the blink of an eye. It looked as though it might step straight out of the mirror in the very next second.

Wei Sen did not notice the abnormality in the mirror. She went straight to the desk, quickly lifted the chair, and headed back toward the bathroom.

When she entered again, Wei Sen saw at a glance that the “her” in the mirror was staring at her with a cold, sinister gaze, an eerie smile still hanging from the corners of its mouth.

Wei Sen was just about to strike when the “her” in the mirror abruptly spoke.

“Do you believe in the rules?”

The chair Wei Sen had raised froze in midair.

The Eerie Entity in the mirror could actually communicate…

“Have you ever thought about it? Who made the rules? Who is the real it, exactly?”

The her in the mirror slowly approached the glass and placed one hand against it. An invisible barrier separated them. “Have you ever thought about it? Who are you?”

Wei Sen slowly lowered the chair she was holding and repeated, “Who am I?”

How did “she” know about the question that had always lingered in Wei Sen’s heart?!

Who was she, exactly? Wei Sen had asked herself that question countless times too.

After losing her memories, was she still the same person she used to be?

Even though the people around her had told her many things about her past, she still felt like a stranger to herself.

“Find its secret. But remember, do not tell anyone! You must remember-do not tell anyone!”
The “her” in the mirror spoke in an urgent voice, her expression twisted and hideous.

As Wei Sen’s hands slowly dropped, she caught sight of the dark screen on her watch, and alarm bells went off in her mind.

She had fallen into the Inner World!

The next second, she raised her hand again. Giving the Eerie Entity in the mirror no more chance to bewitch her, she grabbed the chair and smashed it into the mirror.

In an instant, the mirror shattered into countless fragments. The “her” in the mirror split with them, becoming innumerable faces.

“They” repeated the same sentence in unison beside Wei Sen’s ears: “Don’t tell anyone! Don’t tell anyone!”

Only when the mirror shards crumbled into dust and scattered did Wei Sen’s world return to silence.

She looked at her watch. All its functions had returned to normal. It seemed breaking the mirror was also one of the ways to return from this Instance to the Outer World.

Wei Sen had just put the chair back in place when a knock suddenly sounded from behind her.

Knock, knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking was especially eerie in the silent night, but unlike the frantic sounds she had heard earlier, this knock was unexpectedly gentle.

Wei Sen looked warily toward the dorm room door. She had locked it from the inside after coming in, so whatever was outside should not be able to enter directly.

But at this hour, who could it be?

Xu You, Lin Xiaoxue, and Chen Lin did not have flashlights. There was no way they would go out at night.

As for Huang Xinze, he was a security guard and would not return until 23:00. It was only 22:40 now, not yet the end of his shift, so it could not be Huang Xinze either.

The knocking outside continued. Wei Sen slowly approached and looked through the crack in the door.

It was pitch-black outside, without the slightest glow of a flashlight, so it could not be anyone from Group A.

The only possibility left was… an Eerie Entity!

“Teacher Wei, please open the door,” Guo Xiaolan’s voice came from outside.

Wei Sen stood by the door and hesitated for a long time.

The dorm rules only said not to go out at night. They had never said she could not open the door at night.

So opening the door would not count as breaking the rules.

And the School Rules had mentioned not refusing any student’s request during break time.

What Guo Xiaolan said was a declarative statement-“please open the door”-not a question. If Wei Sen refused to open it, there was a high chance she would violate the School Rules instead.

After weighing the pros and cons, Wei Sen still opened the door, imitating Xu You from the day and blocking the doorway with her body.

Sure enough, Guo Xiaolan stood outside in her red clothes. But in the night, her face looked even paler and more unnerving. She was also holding a stack of exercise books in her arms.

Wait. Wei Sen froze.

Both of her hands were holding the exercise books, so how had she knocked just now?

Guo Xiaolan lifted her head and looked at Wei Sen with those hollow eyes. Holding out the exercise books, she said, “Teacher Wei, these are the essays assigned last week.”

Wei Sen kept calm and took them. “Thank you. It’s so late. Why haven’t you gone home yet?”

Guo Xiaolan’s expression did not change in the slightest, but a hint of disappointment could not be concealed in her voice. “We can’t go back. None of us can go back.”

“Why can’t any of you go back?”

Guo Xiaolan’s head turned mechanically toward the school gate. Her gaze fixed straight ahead, but she did not speak, as if there were something out there, and that thing was what kept the “everyone” she spoke of from going home.

Seeing that she would not get an answer, Wei Sen asked again, “Are Wang Hua and Sun Qiang still inside the school too? Where are they?”

Guo Xiaolan turned back to look at Wei Sen. “How does Teacher know?”

“Teacher didn’t see them leave after school this afternoon,” Wei Sen answered truthfully.

After hearing that, Guo Xiaolan covered her mouth and giggled. The sound was especially chilling in the fog-shrouded corridor.

Wei Sen quietly glanced at her watch. What she could be certain of was that as long as nothing abnormal happened to the watch, it proved she had not fallen into the Inner World.

For now, the watch was normal. It seemed the Guo Xiaolan before her had not caused her any mental erosion.

“Teacher Wei.” Guo Xiaolan tilted her head slightly and looked at her, enunciating every word. “You’re so clever.”

Wei Sen kept feeling that the Guo Xiaolan before her had undergone some subtle change from the one she had seen during the day.

It was not an external change, but something from within.

The Guo Xiaolan she had spoken to during the day had been more like an emotionless NPC. But the Guo Xiaolan before her now clearly had more personal emotions. She even knew how to use the rules to make Wei Sen open the door!

“Then can you tell Teacher where they are now?” Wei Sen also raised a faint smile.

As long as her interests were not harmed, it made no difference to her whether the other party was human or ghost.

Guo Xiaolan blinked and smiled. “In the Gymnasium.”

“What are they doing in the Gymnasium?” Wei Sen had a vague sense that something was wrong.

“Hee-hee. They’re playing a game with Teacher Zhou.”