Chapter 50: Guess Who I Am
Ever since Zhao Mingyue entered this place, she felt something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Unlike the Sunshine Apartment, there were no strong smells of disinfectants or burnt things to make her uneasy; this place was devoid of smell altogether, even the hair-raising cold wind was missing.
Even scarier was the absolute silence.
It was so quiet it was terrifying; no rustling leaves, no chirping bugs—nothing at all.
She felt like she had stepped into a world where time stood still.
Standing in front of the dormitory building for what felt like an eternity, she noticed there were four rooms per floor, from 101 to 104. Each dorm was set up like a giant bunkhouse with upper and lower beds, meaning more than sixteen people crammed into one room, or even twenty to thirty if everyone showed up!
Each dorm had iron-welded security windows which looked super sturdy, definitely to prevent students from sneaking out.
The doors, however, were old and shabby—pure black wood with nothing on them except for a red paint job with the dorm number smeared on.
At the stairwell, there were two dorms on the left and two on the right.
Stepping inside, Zhao Mingyue pondered whether to complete the task beneath the bed already.
[Under the Bed]
[Task Requirement: After starting the task, enter Room 404 of Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School dormitory, lie on the bottom bunk in the corner by the window on the right as you enter, close your eyes for ten seconds, then open them.]
[I’m too scared to go to class, and after everyone’s gone, I’m left all alone in the dorm. I bury my head in the blankets, afraid to hear her voice, afraid to see her eyes.]
Just the sound of “404” gave off bad vibes, even though she had also stayed in Room 404 at the Sunshine Apartment.
“Well, let’s check it out first. Completing one task is better than none, and at least Sister Yu is here to help!”
Gearing herself up, she didn’t take the rabbit plush toy out of her pocket. Instead, she held her flashlight as she approached the dorm rooms.
The dormitory doors were all locked tight, but she could peek through the windows.
The glass was covered in dust, but her flashlight’s beam penetrated it, though it was hard to make anything out. Luckily, one glass shard below had shattered, giving her a chance to see inside.
Bending down to the lower edge of the broken window, Zhao Mingyue’s heart raced. She feared that the moment she leaned in, a rotten face or something equally terrifying would pop up to greet her.
Fortunately, nothing happened; the eerie silence was still intact.
The flashlight illuminated the room, and just as she thought, there were several big iron bunk beds inside—at least thirteen of them—meaning the place could host twenty-six students if they all happened to be there.
The dorm was a total mess, with knickknacks strewn all over the floor and beds, mostly items students had brought but didn’t want to take back—like an old pair of pajamas or a few pairs of unwashed socks.
Besides some broken toys, there were also thin, moldy quilts left behind on the beds.
Frowning, Zhao Mingyue pointed the flashlight at the walls, slightly yellowed, with numerous posters and multiplication tables still not fully torn down.
Overall, it looked like just another ordinary abandoned dormitory.
Of course, that is, if you ignored the neatly arranged pile of chairs on the floor.
These chairs were positioned methodically, all against the beds, facing the interior, while the sole chair nearest the window was facing Zhao Mingyue, defying the trend.
In a messy dormitory like this, why were all these chairs lined up so neatly?
“Such a weird dormitory,” Zhao Mingyue mused. She thought if those chairs weren’t meant for sitting, just imagine passing by at night with silhouettes filling each chair—that would be true terror!
Having checked one dorm, Zhao Mingyue moved down to explore the others on the first floor.
The same unsettling situation awaited her—same chaos, same orderly chairs.
The only difference was that some chairs faced inward while others faced outward, but without a doubt, one chair always stood apart.
“What does this odd chair signify? If one chair represents a ghost, is the odd one a traitor ghost, or did it escape…?”
She remembered the little boy who had hidden in the convenience store; he had escaped from Dongcheng No. 13 Middle School. She wondered if he had returned.
“If not, what if this chair symbolizes the principal, the old one who was burned to d*ath?”
As she took a step back, she noticed something flicker in her peripheral vision.
It was a face, ashen and youthful.
Just a moment ago, that face had been lurking behind a dorm window, but it vanished the instant she turned around.
Instead of fleeing, Zhao Mingyue hurried over to the dorm, realizing this was the very one she first saw—the only one with the chair facing outward.
That boy was watching her from the window’s gap! She had been wondering if she’d see a face if she peered through.
Cautiously bending down, she shone her flashlight inside.
Unfortunately, the only view was through the window; some corners remained hidden from sight.
“What if that ghost is hiding over there? It’s less than a meter away from my face!”
“Hey, little friend! I mean no harm. I’m here to help you. If you can hear me, please sit in that chair facing me, and I will assist you,” Zhao Mingyue whispered, her voice barely audible.
Silence filled the dorm as Zhao Mingyue was ready to leave. Suddenly, something emerged slowly from the bottom of the gap— a lollipop.
“Big sister, if you truly want to help me, then hold this lollipop, and I can escape!”
The voice came from below, sending Zhao Mingyue’s pupils dilating.
This ghost wasn’t next to her; it was right in front!
Her breath quickened, and she didn’t reach out right away. “You need to stand up first so I can see you.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“When I say I can’t, I mean it. If you’re really scared, you don’t have to hold the lollipop. Just come a bit closer, check the number on it, and read it out loud.”
Zhao Mingyue squinted closely, noticing three tiny numbers, so small she had to squint hard to read them.
Before she could respond, Bai Yu’s voice urged her to keep her head up and just walk forward.
As Zhao Mingyue stepped closer, suddenly, her pocket containing the rabbit plush toy sprouted a thin arm, delicate fingers reaching out to clutch the lollipop.
At the same moment, two little hands from below grabbed onto her arm, accompanied by a child’s mischievous laughter, attempting to snatch at her.
In a blink, Zhao Mingyue realized Bai Yu’s grip on the lollipop had actually caught the little ghost by the wrist. Then, she heard an agonizing wail echoing from the dormitory as Bai Yu absorbed the ghost’s wrist, turning it into a wisp of smoke.
“Watch out for the little ghosts; they’re no good. Don’t let your guard down!”
Just wait, there are two more chapters to come! I’ve got to work overtime until eleven tonight to finish this!
