Have you ever snatched a WeChat red packet? Even though each time you might only get a few cents, it's still endlessly exciting. Especially when you snatch a red packet from a stranger, it feels like you've hit the jackpot. But what I want to say is, sometimes it's really not necessary to snatch a stranger's red packet, because those few cents you covet might lead you to irreversible disaster, or even death!
Unfortunately, I experienced just that once...
It happened during my high school years, in an evening study session when the teacher was absent. The classroom was chaotic, and suddenly my phone buzzed. When I checked it, I found that the class WeChat group was in an uproar.
Sometime earlier, a stranger had joined the group.
The stranger's name was "Hell Gatekeeper". He said, "Thrilling game, anyone interested? Winners get WeChat red packets."
Upon hearing this, my interest was immediately piqued. Since entering the second year of high school, our courses had become much more intense, and we all felt immense pressure. Now, seeing an opportunity to play such a game naturally made me eager to participate.
But then a classmate said, "I don't believe it. Show us by sending one first."
The Hell Gatekeeper immediately agreed and sent a red packet in the group. We all scrambled to snatch it, and I managed to get five dollar. This made me very happy.
Now everyone became interested and urged him to continue sending red packets.
Little did we know, instead of sending more red packets, the Hell Gatekeeper told us that if we wanted more red packets, we had to play a game with him.
Naturally, we all agreed eagerly, without any objections. It seemed like everyone was looking forward to this game.
"Since everyone is willing to play, let me explain the rules. I will announce tasks and designate people. For example, I might command a certain student to do a certain thing within a certain time. The person who receives the task must complete it within the specified time to receive a red packet reward, or face punishment!"
We all shouted in the group, "Let's start already, we can't wait any longer."
As everyone discussed excitedly, the Hell Gatekeeper spoke again, "So, for the first task, Alxe must hold Ayang's hand. The deadline for the task is two hours. The game starts now."
Upon reading this, I couldn't help but freeze, because I was Alxe.
Hold Ayang's hand? I didn't mind, but she would surely refuse. After all, I was just a loser. No girl in the class liked me.
But as I hesitated, many people had already started cheering. They dragged me in front of Ayang. There I sat, staring at Ayang's face, unable to say a word.
As for Ayang, she glanced at me and remained silent.
Next to me were classmates watching, each of them eagerly looking at me, while some kept chanting.
"Kiss her!"
"Kiss her!"
"Kiss her!"
Seeing everyone encouraging me, I finally summoned the courage and grabbed Ayana's hand, kissing it. After the kiss, Ayana gave me a disgusted look, lowered her head, and wiped her hand clean with a handkerchief.
Seeing this, I felt uneasy, but I returned to my seat.
At that moment, the gatekeeper appeared and said, "Alxe has completed the task. A 911 WeChat red packet has been sent to his account." Excitedly, I picked up my phone and indeed saw the gatekeeper had sent me a red packet containing exactly 911 dollar. Everyone was thrilled; for us high school students, that was a significant amount. We eagerly anticipated the next task.
"The second task: Bjork must publicly sing a song. Deadline: one hour." Bjork confidently walked up to the platform and indeed sang a song. Her voice was melodious and pleasant, making everyone feel at ease. After she stepped down, many classmates applauded. The atmosphere in the entire class was lively. Bjork also received a WeChat red packet containing 911 dollar after completing the task.
Next, the gatekeeper announced the third task: "Iago must smash his own phone. Deadline: 12 hours. Failure punishment: bleed to death from seven orifices."
"What the heck!" Before we could react, Iago stood up, his angry gaze sweeping over us. "Who's the gatekeeper? Come out and face me, don't think I don't know you're in this class!"
Hearing this, I realized Iago was right; the gatekeeper had to be someone from our class. Otherwise, he wouldn't know all our names.
"Damn it, just jealous because I bought an iPhone 15? You think I'm stupid enough to smash my phone for 911 dollar?" Iago glared around angrily, then cursed loudly, "I'm not smashing it, if you have the guts, come kill me yourself!"
"Alright, alright, it's just a joke, don't be so angry," the class monitor intervened. Others also tried to console Iago, who eventually grumbled back to his seat.
After that, the gatekeeper never spoke in our group chat again, and everyone brushed it off as just a joke.
The next day, the classroom was chaotic as usual, and the teacher scolded us as usual. But no one took it too seriously.
I sat at my desk, glanced at my phone, and noticed the gatekeeper was still in our class group chat. However, it seemed everyone had forgotten about him. Still, for some reason, I felt a vague sense of unease, as if something was about to happen.
My gaze involuntarily turned to Iago, but he seemed fine, showing no signs of trouble. I chuckled to myself and pushed the whole thing out of my mind. After class, while chatting with my desk mate, a girl suddenly screamed, "Iago, what's wrong with you?" Her voice drew the attention of everyone in the class, and they saw Iago's pale face and bewildered expression. He shook his head, "I'm fine. Just feeling a bit unwell."
"I'll get you excused, go home," the class monitor said, approaching him.
As Iago nodded to reply, the girl beside him suddenly pointed at her own face and shouted, "You're bleeding from your nose!"
Iago reached up, touched his nose, and indeed saw blood on his fingers. He shook his head with a relaxed expression, "It's nothing, probably just a bit heated."
But right after he said that, the girl's face turned even more unsettling, and not just her, but all of us turned extremely frightened.
Because at some point, blood started oozing slowly from Iago's nose, eye corners, mouth, and even his ears. At a glance, it was horrifyingly eerie.
"Iago, what's happening to you?" Even the class monitor was startled, taking a step back and asking him with concern.
As for us, we stared at him in disbelief, one by one.
Iago staggered to his feet, his frighteningly pale face filled with terror. Blood continued to trickle from his face, making it look even more ghastly. Trembling, he reached out his hand, looking around fearfully, then cried out, "Save me, someone please save me. Mon-"
"Call 911!" the class monitor exclaimed urgently, and people around hastily dialed their phones.
But by then it was too late. Iago stood there, his face covered in blood, bleeding profusely. I had never seen so much blood from a person.
Soon, his face twitched, and his body collapsed heavily to the ground. Then he lay still. Blood was everywhere on the ground.
"Ah!" The girl nearby screamed in shock and collapsed to the ground. The class monitor was equally pale.
"He's dead! Iago's dead!" Some girls cried out uncontrollably, some even fainted directly, and the boys around were stunned by the tragic scene. Everyone's face was filled with horror, and it took a long time before students began to react.
"Who has a phone? Call the police now!" a boy reminded, and immediately someone realized it.
But at that moment, everyone's phones rang. In the class group chat, the gatekeeper appeared again. He said, "Because Iago failed to complete the task, he suffered the punishment of bleeding to death from seven orifices. Next, the new task begins."
"Cyrilla must strip naked in front of the entire class, or she will be executed. Deadline: 1 hour." Seeing the message on the phone, we all froze, unable to believe that the gatekeeper's words were actually real. And this time, the task was even more outrageous! Forcing a girl to strip naked in public!
Cyrilla saw the message on her phone and was incredulous. After a while, she screamed in terror, "I won't strip, I won't strip." Then she collapsed on the table, crying in pain.
At this moment, the class monitor stood up anxiously, his eyes scanning around, and he asked in a frightened voice, "Who on earth is the gatekeeper in our group? Come out now!"
His voice trembled with fear, almost on the verge of tears, and the students around all looked around in terror. However, no one knew who the gatekeeper really was.
Faced with this situation, Cyrilla cried out in fear, her face filled with terror. Seeing her like this, the girls beside her hurriedly comforted her. But at this moment, I could see. In the classroom, everyone's face revealed nothing but expressions of terror.