The school bell rang at eight for the evening study session.
Due to staying up late reading that ghost story on the forum, Yang Jian spent the entire next day at school yawning and looking listless. Every time he tried to doze off in class, the image of the old man's photo would involuntarily pop into his mind, and in his drowsiness, he seemed to feel that pair of hollow, deathly, horrifying eyes staring at him from somewhere.
With a jolt, he would regain his spirits.
"Can't sleep again; that photo is really eerie," he muttered.
"Hey, hey, Yang Jian, lend me your ear for a moment," a voice said as a lanky student leaned over.
Yang Jian was puzzled. "Impotence? What do you mean, lend you my ear?"
Zhang Wei, nicknamed Impotence, had his name mistakenly pronounced as "Yang Wei" by the teacher when they first enrolled because his name was listed below Yang Jian's on the roll. The unfortunate nickname had stuck with him for three years.
It was a rather sad tale.
"Come on, don't dodge the question. I saw you yawning all day; you must have been up to some naughty business last night," Zhang Wei said, patting his shoulder and lowering his voice. "Got any good stuff recently? Share quickly and let your buddy enjoy it too."
Yang Jian replied, "Enjoy what? I was up late reading a ghost story on my phone."
"Ghost story? Speaking of ghost stories, Impotence, Yang Jian, have you guys heard about the supernatural incident that happened recently in a residential area in the city?" another student chimed in.
"What supernatural incident?" Yang Jian asked. "I haven't heard anything about it."
Zhang Wei said, "I know about that too. It's said that in one night, more than twenty people in a community committed suicide by hanging. Their bodies were hanging on the security windows, like dried meat in the sun. It's really terrifying. I've got a photo of the scene, but I'm not sure if it's real or not."
With that, he took out his phone, opened his gallery, and found a photo.
The photo was taken in the evening, and due to the poor lighting in the community, it appeared a bit blurry. However, it was still possible to discern the silhouettes of human figures hanging on the security windows of the community's balconies, densely packed in a row. You could vaguely see the ferocious and terrifying faces of the corpses, especially their wide-open eyes filled with fear, as if to suggest the horrors they experienced before death.
From a distance, the dozens of bodies did indeed look like dried meat hanging in the sun. What was also strange was that the heads of the bodies were inside the security windows, but the bodies were below, which should have been impossible given the gaps in the security windows were not wide enough for an adult to pass through.
Moreover, their heads were tilted backward in an uncanny, broken posture.
The more one looked at the photo, the more a sense of unease and fear arose. This photo had a similar effect to the photo of the old man in the long gown on Yang Jian's phone, capable of stirring emotions.
"Damn, Impotence, where did you get this photo? I couldn't find it anywhere," said the student next to him.
Zhang Wei said triumphantly, "A friend of mine took it when he passed by. The place is now sealed off, and you're not allowed to take photos there now. If you want it, call me 'Dad,' and I'll give it to you. Also, don't call me Impotence anymore; I've recently adopted an English name."
"What English name?"
"Wade Jill Yimbang."
"In that case, I also have an English name: Voss Sharb. Remember, when you see me on the street, please shout my English name loudly."
Yang Jian said, "We all went through nine years of compulsory education; why are you guys so outstanding?"
"Yang Jian, we've all attended cram schools; you just can't keep up," Zhang Wei said smugly.
"Speaking of supernatural events, I've also heard a lot of people talking about them online recently. They talk as if it's real, and it scares me so much that I dare not look. Do you think these things are real or fake? Are there places that are really haunted?"
A female classmate named Miao Xiaoshan leaned over and asked.
Yang Jian said, "Most of the stories online are fake. Unless I see it with my own eyes, I don't believe there are ghosts in this world. However, some things are better to believe in than not, and it's better to stay away if you really encounter them."
"That's true," Miao Xiaoshan nodded.
"Everyone, stop talking and be quiet."
At this moment, Teacher Wang shouted and strode into the classroom: "The school has temporarily notified us that today's evening study will be changed to a publicity class, mainly to promote knowledge of student safety precautions. During the lecture, I do not want to hear anyone talking or disrupting the classroom discipline. Now, let's welcome Mr. Zhou Zheng to give us a lecture, and everyone please applaud."
Hmm?
Yang Jian clapped while feeling puzzled. Was there really a safety lecture so late at night?
But when the man who was going to give the lecture, Zhou Zheng, walked into the classroom, his eyelid twitched.
This man named Zhou Zheng was wearing a gray overcoat, wrapped tightly around his body, and wearing a mask, which was strange considering it was a hot day. He had some kind of badge hanging on his chest.
What was striking was how terrifying his appearance was. His face was extremely thin, almost to the point of being skin and bones, and you could even see the shape and outline of his facial bones. His eyes appeared large due to his emaciation, with bloodshot eyes as if he hadn't slept for several days.
However, his thin face contrasted with his protruding belly.
It looked like he was carrying a big beer belly full of fat, but people with beer bellies shouldn't be so thin.
It was abnormal, eerily abnormal, causing a sense of unease to arise.
At this moment, Zhou Zheng stood on the podium, exuding an aura of darkness, haggardness, and numbness. He stood stiffly, his bloodshot eyes slightly moving, like two dim, lifeless glass beads.
Wherever his gaze fell, all the students felt an inexplicable fear.
Yang Jian subconsciously clenched his fist, his body tensing up, not daring to meet his gaze, and thought to himself, "This feeling is even stronger than when I was facing that photo..."
"Hello, students, my name is Zhou Zheng, and I am an international police officer. I am very happy to be standing here alive today to give you this lecture."
Zhou Zheng finally spoke, his voice dry, hoarse, and grating, like glass scraping against the ground. Combined with his extremely thin face, it made people feel creepy.
Alive and standing here to give a lecture?
Yang Jian felt a chill in his heart. His words sounded strange.
Zhou Zheng picked up the chalk and turned to write a messy yet incredibly clear big character on the blackboard:
Ghost!
"Ghost legends have existed since ancient times, not only in our country's history but also in the history of various countries. I don't have a good knowledge of history, and I can't talk about ancient things. Let's talk about the major events that have happened in the past few decades: the Louvre incident in France, the haunted mansion incident in the United States, the ghost shadow incident in the parking lot of the island country, the curse of the Egyptian Pharaoh incident... and our country's Fengmen Village incident."
Zhou Zheng's voice remained hoarse and grating as he slowly said, "Some people
you're done."
His bloodshot, haggard eyes stared at everyone, and he said this sentence very seriously, then turned around and wrote a second sentence on the blackboard.
"The only thing that can deal with ghosts is ghosts themselves."
Zhou Zheng continued, "If there's no way to kill ghosts, it means that the technological forces of all countries will be useless. Talismans, spells, bombs, or even nuclear weapons, all are useless. If scientists in the future cannot decipher the 'ghosts,' for now, there is only one way to use ghosts against ghosts. I know you have doubts in your hearts, and some people may even think I'm crazy, but it doesn't matter. What's important is to listen to me and remember these words firmly in your mind, you will use them in the future."
"Of course, I also hope you never need to use them."
"Yang Jian, what is this person talking about? I can't understand at all," Zhang Wei whispered.
Yang Jian said, "I also don't quite understand, but after hearing these words, I always feel a bit uneasy."
"Could it be that the Earth has mutated? Like what's written in the novels?" Zhang Wei said.
"I don't think so..." Yang Jian hesitated.
Although he had also fantasized about the existence of immortals and superpowers, if these things really existed, he would inevitably be panicked, after all, this is a huge threat to ordinary people.
Zhou Zheng on the podium continued, "Since ghosts cannot be killed and have extraordinary abilities, then combining these two situations, a question can be raised: how can ordinary people survive if they are targeted by ghosts? This is the key point, I hope you remember it forever, preferably for a lifetime."
After saying that, he turned around and wrote a third sentence on the blackboard: Perceive the patterns of ghosts.
"Every thing has a pattern to find, and ghosts are no exception. According to research data, every ghost has a nearly fixed way of killing and acting, just like a computer program. You press the power button, and the computer can run; you click the mouse to open the software. Overcome fear, perceive the patterns of ghosts, find flaws, this is the only chance for ordinary people to survive when targeted by ghosts."
"Remember, if you are targeted by ghosts, apart from this method, you have no other way to survive. Don't harbor any illusions, the horror of that thing exceeds your imagination."
He repeated a sentence solemnly.