Dachang City's pedestrian street.
Around 5:30 in the morning, dawn was breaking.
It was too early for the usually bustling commercial street, which lay deserted and quiet before business hours began. Shop doors were closed, and the streetlamps still shone brightly above.
At this time, however, an abnormality occurred.
The streetlamps, which normally emitted white light, suddenly switched to an eerie red glow. The lamp casings reflected shapes of red eyes on the bulbs as if stamped on their surfaces, which seemed to move ever so slightly.
But as abruptly as this bizarre scene appeared, it vanished just as quickly.
With a flicker and a buzz, the lights returned to normal. The red glow and the eye patterns on the bulbs had disappeared.
Weirdly, the previously empty pedestrian street was now occupied by seven individuals—men and women who appeared young, presumably students. Yet, they were all visibly shaken, faces pale and trembling, eyes filled with terror as if they had just been through a harrowing experience.
"This isn't the school... where are we?"
As the searing pain in his body subsided, Yang Jian sat on the pavement, propped against the glass door of a shop, gasping for breath.
The situation had been too dangerous. A moment's delay, and everyone would have perished in the ghost realm. Fortunately, he had managed to open his own ghost realm in the nick of time.
The others were still in shock, looking at each other with eyes that had not yet shed their fear. They scanned their surroundings frantically, fearing the return of the enveloping darkness. But as they saw the bright streetlights and the rising sun in the distance, a sense of relief from escaping death filled them, slowly replacing the fear and bringing a semblance of calm.
"It looks like the pedestrian street."
Miao Xiaoshan crouched on the ground, cautiously looking around, still unsure.
"It's definitely the pedestrian street. I've been playing here since I was a kid, I won't mistake it. My home is nearby."
Zhang Wei hurriedly added, "We've made it, we've left the school. Look, the streetlights are on, the sky is bright, and there are cars driving by. I can even hear the honking of cars..."
His voice betrayed his excited state; never had these commonplace sights and sounds seemed so wonderful.
"It really is the pedestrian street, we did leave the school."
Zhao Lei's hands were still shaking as he grappled with the disbelief of what he was seeing.
Just a second ago, they had been trapped in the darkness of the school. A flash of light, a fleeting shadow, and now they were on this pedestrian street?
Yang Jian continued to survey his surroundings with a cautious eye. After some observation, he confirmed that they had indeed left the school and escaped the ghost realm. The specifics of why they appeared on the pedestrian street instead of just outside the school did not matter anymore.
The mere fact that they were alive was miraculous.
The group sat on the street for a full two hours before they could accept everything that had happened, and the terror in their hearts began to subside. Yet, the incidents at the school had clearly left deep scars within them.
"Teacher Wang, Zhao Qiang, Zheng Fei, Fang Jing... Qian Wanhao, they're probably all dead, right?"
After a long silence, Zhang Wei, now sitting on a chair resting, finally spoke.
The others chose to remain silent, still unable to accept the reality of losing so many classmates overnight.
Nobody responded to Zhang Wei. Wang Shanshan, still frightened, turned to Yang Jian, asking with a hint of urgency, "Yang Jian, what should we do now?"
By now, everyone regarded Yang Jian as their pillar. Each of the survivors looked up to him unconditionally. After all, it was Yang Jian who had led them to safety.
Yang Jian touched his arm where the wound had already healed, hiding what felt like the contour of an eye beneath, ready to emerge at any moment. This strange feeling confirmed to him that last night's events were not a dream; it was all too real.
"What else can we do? We're all alive and have left the school, and we're unharmed. The most natural thing to do is to go home and rest and not to worry our parents," Yang Jian responded while stifling a yawn.
"Yang Jian, after such a major incident, with the school being haunted and so many people dead, we're just going to sleep?" Zhao Lei stood up with agitation.
Yang Jian glanced at him, "What else are you planning to do, call the police? Tell them the school is haunted and many are dead? Don't be naive. Zhou Zheng was Interpol; the state will surely investigate such a major disaster. You don't need to trouble yourself with this. After all, we're just students. We've barely survived. Do you really want to get entangled in this again? At most, when the police come to take statements, just tell them the truth."
Feeling intimidated by Yang Jian's gaze, Zhao Lei bowed his head, choosing to say nothing more.
"Yang Jian's right, this isn't something we can handle. Just being alive is already no small feat," Miao Xiaoshan added.
"So what, we just go back to sleep like that?" Zhang Wei asked, seemingly dazed.
Could it really be so simple to just sleep after such an event? Hadn't the shock been too great?
"What else? You plan to head back to school for morning self-study?" Yang Jian replied.
The thought of returning to school sent a chill down everyone's spine. They resolved never to set foot in the school again, nor even venture near it.
Some were now considering transferring schools or leaving Dachang City entirely.
What did exams or university matter now? Living an unremarkable life seemed more than enough after such terror.
"I'm very tired. I'm going home to sleep. If anything comes up, give me a call."
Yang Jian said as he collected the phones they had tossed away, then asked, "Are you sure you don't want them?"
"Definitely," they confirmed in unison.
"Then I'll sell all these second-hand phones. Don't worry..." Yang Jian picked up their discarded mobiles. "...I won't give you a cent from the sales. Even if we eat out together next time, it's on you."
Without another word, Yang Jian, laden with several phones, turned and left.
"Wait, take me with you," Wang Shanshan said, still visibly scared and wanting to accompany Yang Jian.
"Do you intend to come home with me to sleep?" he asked.
"I don't mind staying at your place for a few days," she said softly.
"Huh?"
Everyone, including Yang Jian, was taken aback.
Wang Shanshan might not have been the class beauty, but she was undeniably attractive—especially with her dance-honed physique, which lent her a slender waist, long legs, and striking features. There was no apparent connection between her and Yang Jian, an average guy they barely interacted with regularly, so why had she suddenly become so attached to him overnight?
While the others were perplexed, Yang Jian understood.
It wasn't that she had fallen for him; it was the fear of the ghostly infant incident.
She was still terrified and didn't dare to be alone.