chapter 2

That sentence made my scalp tingle.

I turned around and silently looked at my roommates.

Our Dormitory assignments were randomized, so we were all from different majors.

At this moment, Qin Xiao from the Chinese department was sitting at the desk, wearing headphones, watching short videos while eating her instant noodle midnight snack, occasionally bursting into laughter.

Meng Lier, the Department Flower from the chemistry department, was elegantly painting her nails.

Wu Lan, the academic star and Dorm Leader from the medical school, was still out studying and hadn’t returned yet.

Everyone looked like perfectly normal female college students, and our relationships had always been harmonious.

But among us… could there really be a Tomb Owner?

Maybe my face looked too pale, because Xiaoran quickly sent another Danmaku.

[No matter how good your friendship is with your roommates, you have to accept a fact-one of them is already dead. The ghost’s resentment lingers, and she’s trying to drag the other three of you down with her.]

[This process takes a hundred days. On the hundredth day, the coffin can be sealed and buried, and the Ritual will be complete.]

I glanced at the calendar on the small table, my neck stiffening.

The Danmaku exploded.

[Wait, school started on September 1st, so tomorrow is the hundredth day?]

[Kind of scared, I checked and luckily our Dorm Room has a Window, phew.]

Amidst the flurry of discussion, Xiaoran’s blood-red Danmaku appeared again.

[Streamer, if you really started school on September 1st, then tonight is your last chance.]

[If you don’t find the ghost tonight, the other three will all die tomorrow.]

My hands started to tremble.

In the Danmaku, some die-hard fans spoke up for me.

[This Xiaoran, are you making up ghost stories in the middle of the night to get back at society?]

[All of Ruanruan’s old fans know she’s super timid, she can’t even watch horror movies!]

[Ruanruan, maybe go get some fresh air. If your Dorm Room doesn’t have a Window, it really isn’t ventilated. You look so pale.]

[Yeah, Ruanruan, go take a walk! Didn’t Xiaoran say none of you can leave? As long as you go downstairs and show everyone on stream, that’ll prove she’s just making things up.]

I picked up my Mobile Phone and stood up.

Indeed, as long as I went downstairs and streamed myself leaving, her words would be disproved.

With my mind made up, I held my Mobile Phone and started streaming as I walked out.

However, just as I passed by the door,

a hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed my wrist.

That hand was very cold.

I was so startled I almost screamed. I whipped around and met a pair of eyes hidden behind thick glasses.

It was Qin Xiao.

She had been engrossed in her short videos, but as I passed by, she suddenly grabbed me.

“Ruanruan, it’s so late,” Qin Xiao stared at me without blinking. “Where are you going?”

The lenses reflected the overhead incandescent light, and I couldn’t see Qin Xiao’s expression clearly.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but suddenly Qin Xiao seemed more unfamiliar than usual.

My throat was dry. I swallowed hard before I managed to speak: “I’m just going out for a walk.”

Qin Xiao frowned: “It’s raining so hard.”

Was she not allowing me to leave?

Could Qin Xiao… be the Tomb Owner?

As that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly realized my thinking was already following Xiaoran’s lead.

But just as I was wondering how to break free from Qin Xiao, she let go of my hand on her own.

She turned to grab an umbrella and handed it to me: “Take the umbrella, and pick up Sister Lan while you’re at it.”
I took the umbrella and hurried out of the Dorm Room.

Just now, I thought Qin Xiao wouldn’t let me leave, but she didn’t stop me.

Could it be…

My heart was pounding, and a thought surfaced.

-It’s because Wu Lan hasn’t come back yet.

Yes! According to Xiaoran, the Tomb Owner needs three Sacrifices, not one less.

Now Wu Lan hasn’t returned, and Qin Xiao doesn’t know that I’ve already noticed something’s wrong, so she thinks I’ll come right back after going out, and will bring Wu Lan along with me.

Thinking of this, I fished out another Mobile Phone from the pocket of my pajamas-I have two phones, one for streaming, one for daily life. At this moment, I quickly took out my daily-use Mobile Phone and sent a message to Wu Lan.

[Sister Lan, don’t come back yet!]

No reply. I called Wu Lan, but she didn’t pick up either.

She’s probably on the way.

Forget it, I’d better go downstairs first. Maybe I can intercept her on her way back from the Study Room.

While I was contacting Wu Lan, I had already crossed the long Corridor and arrived at the elevator lobby.

But when I entered the elevator lobby, I suddenly realized-

Both elevator display screens were pitch black.

The elevators were completely out of service.

A chill ran through me, and the ominous feeling grew stronger.

Suddenly, I realized that something was terribly wrong with my surroundings.

On the way to the elevator lobby, I had passed through the long Corridor.

Although it was almost midnight, usually at this hour, the Corridor was bustling.

People washing up, picking up late-night deliveries, laying out yoga mats to exercise, memorizing vocabulary, discussing group assignments-full of people.

But the entire Corridor I just walked through was completely empty.

All the Dorm Room doors were tightly shut, and under the dim light, everything was dead silent.

I felt my legs start to tremble.

At this moment, on the Mobile Phone I use for streaming, the Danmaku from viewers was flooding in, all urging me to hurry downstairs.

But strangely, Xiaoran, who had been typing nonstop just moments ago, hadn’t appeared again.

Swallowing nervously, I looked at the Fire Escape door next to the elevator lobby.

Push open the door and there are the Stairs-we’re on the third floor, and it should only take a minute to rush down.

As long as I get out of the Dormitory Building, everything will be fine.

With my mind made up, I dashed into the stairwell and ran down.

There was only one thought in my head-I had to get away from this Dormitory, as far as possible.

The Stairs were as empty as the Corridor.

I raced downstairs, flying down two flights. Maybe I was too panicked, because when I reached the last flight, I missed a step and fell headlong.

My Mobile Phone slipped from my hand. I scrambled up, stumbling, and picked it up.

Luckily, the stream hadn’t cut off.

“Alright, I’m on the first floor.”

I spoke loudly to the Mobile Phone, as if to give myself courage.

But the screen was eerily silent.

All the viewers’ Danmaku seemed to have stopped.

A few seconds later, a few Danmaku popped up.

They all said the same thing.

[Ruanruan, turn around and look…]

My scalp tingled instantly.

The sense of wrongness surged in my heart, and I realized-

I had gone down two flights, but this wasn’t the first floor.

I turned around, and goosebumps exploded all over me.

The number behind me was glaringly clear: 3.

I was still on the third floor.