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The rolling mist surged up the stairs like a solid entity, rushing toward the corridor.
"Shhhh..."
The unmistakable sound of stones scraping against the ground rose from behind her, and she could sense something reaching out from the midst of the mist, about to touch her shoulder.
She rushed through the door and then slammed the office door shut with a "BANG!!"
She leaned against the door, her chest heaving violently.
A few breaths later, she realized her clothes were soaked through.
She glanced at the wall clock; the pendulum had started moving again at some unknown time, and now the hands pointed to 9:41 PM.
"Bang bang bang!"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Bang bang bang!"
The office door was still being hit by a tremendous force, and the calls of "Teacher, teacher..." never stopped coming from outside the door.
But she seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief, tidied up her slightly disheveled clothes, stood up, and calmly placed the folder back on the desk.
Before long, the knocking stopped.
She looked at the wall clock again.
9:43 PM.
Then, she opened the drawer to check, and when she saw the blue envelope neatly placed in one corner of the drawer, she finally relaxed completely, slumping into the chair and letting out a long sigh of relief.
...
Class 2, Group B.
Having sat back down, Wei Liang still looked visibly shaken.
Lin Yi's eyes were also narrowed to slits, his mind full of flickering lights in the corridors and the swirling mist.
At that moment, Lin Yi was entirely convinced that the Teaching Building was not safe—at least... the hallway was definitely not safe!
He immediately thought of the military-grade explosion-proof glass installed on the classroom windows...
It seemed only the classroom was safe!
But inside the classroom...
He looked around; as the homeroom teacher locked the classroom door, the students, who seemed almost embedded in their seats, began to stir.
He could feel all eyes—strange and unabashed—fixing on him without disguise.
So was the classroom really safe?
He reopened the student handbook and looked for the rule about returning to the dormitory.
"The time to return to the dormitory is really only between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM, but once the fog descends, it's definitely going to rain on campus at that hour!"
He felt a headache coming on; was he to stay in the classroom overnight for seven days?
He thought of Xu Shunkang and Xie Huayang and remembered what Xu Shunkang had said to him before leaving.
He muttered Xu Shunkang's warning:
"After we leave, be careful of everyone except yourselves."
"Because... night-time belongs to them..."
"Remember, following the rules is the only means you have to protect yourselves."
"However, theoretically, staying overnight in the classroom is relatively safe. I hope we'll see each other tomorrow... good luck."
"Night-time belongs to them..."
"Staying overnight in the classroom is relatively safe..."
"Following the rules is our means of self-protection..."
As Lin Yi pondered the meaning of Xu Shunkang's words, Wei Liang's voice came from beside him.
"Damn it, what the hell was that?!" Wei Liang cursed and panted. Seeing Lin Yi approach, he couldn't help but ask, "Old Lin, did you get entangled with something dirty?"
"I heard this place used to be an abandoned village, maybe even a haunted one!"
Lin Yi gave him a glance: "If it was really that horrific, how did you dare to come last time?"
Wei Liang muttered: "Because I believe in science!"
Lin Yi teased: "The last guy who said he believed in science flew away on a sword after saying that."
"Then I believe in metaphysics!"
"Believe in metaphysics and you'll die of fright here sooner or later."
Wei Liang's face turned bitter, and he spread his hands: "Alright, alright, it's all for money! Pretend to study, survive the seven days, and get thirty thousand yuan, with food and lodging covered, plus some adult manga to read. Anyway, we're in our internship period, if it were you, wouldn't you come?"
Lin Yi snorted coldly: "You should've told the truth from the start, instead of babbling about science and metaphysics."
Wei Liang pursed his lips, but the memory of that classmate inviting them to take the elevator lingered in his mind.
He couldn't resist asking: "Old Lin, did you realize something was wrong with that guy right from the start?"
Lin Yi looked at him and asked: "Do you really want to know?"
"Hey!" Wei Liang put on an angry face, "If I didn't want to know, why would I ask you? What are you hesitating for, have you discovered some secret you don't want to share?"
Lin Yi sighed: "I'm afraid if I tell you, it will scare you to death."
Wei Liang was stunned, then decisively said: "Damn it, then don't tell me. I'm faint-hearted, I can't handle frights."
"Giving up so easily?"
Wei Liang got up, dusting off his clothes: "I'm not as smart as you, I don't ponder as much, but looking at your behavior before... maybe it's better I remain a fool who knows nothing, strictly following the rules to increase my chances of survival."
"To be honest, once this experiential course is over, I won't ever come back to this lousy place."
After speaking, he left his seat and walked straight to the staircase.
"Where are you going?" Lin Yi quickly asked.
"Going to find those adult manga!" Wei Liang's voice came from behind the tiered classroom, "Do you have any requests?"
Lin Yi intended to refuse, but then he said: "Just grab a couple of blue-collar comics."
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