Translator: Cinder Translations
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"What's wrong?" Luo Yi stared at Zhen Jianren by his side and couldn't help but ask.
Not long ago, the two had just met in front of the main teaching building, exchanging the information they had gathered. But suddenly, Zhen Jianren stopped abruptly.
The next moment, he looked around, his eyes sharp and full of caution.
Luo Yi also seemed to sense something. Following Zhen Jianren's gaze, he slowly scanned the surroundings.
Ahead was a small park, with a pond in the middle.
The pond had long dried up, surrounded by a low fence.
To the right of the fence, a flower bed had been built with red bricks.
Further east was a small grove of trees, but it was the season where most leaves had already fallen, offering little cover — you could almost see right through it.
Other than the occasional passing teachers and students, there was nothing unusual.
Pulling his gaze back, Luo Yi looked at Zhen Jianren with confusion. His lips moved slightly, but before he could say anything, Zhen Jianren hesitated and spoke, "I just had a really bad feeling... just now."
After being on edge for so long, Luo Yi was exhausted, but he forced himself to focus and asked in a low voice, "What kind of bad feeling?"
After a moment of silence, Zhen Jianren shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure we've been targeted by a ghost. We have to find the clues and leave this cursed place as soon as possible."
"What's the plan?"
"We'll split up," Zhen Jianren stood up, looking at Luo Yi. "You go to the archives and see if you can find information about the girl they mentioned. I'll notify the others."
"We meet at 2 p.m. in the music room of Building C."
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Zhen Jianren was the last to arrive.
As soon as he stepped into the cafeteria, he saw Jiang Cheng and Yu Wen's groups gathered around one table.
Fatty, with his keen eyes, immediately waved him over enthusiastically, "We've been waiting for you!"
Yu Wen was explaining the information she had gathered from Ms. Feng Lan, who was in charge of the rehearsal.
Upon hearing that Feng Lan had been trapped in her office and that the guards outside the door were missing their jaws, Zhen Jianren suddenly spoke up: "It seems like the story I heard is the earlier part of yours."
He and Luo Yi had gone to Class 3-1 and Class 3-2 to gather information. Both classes had participated in the rehearsal.
In the video, the female ghost had been spotted near them.
According to Zhen Jianren, there was a legend among the students at this school, involving the music room in Building C.
The rumor was that Building C looked completely different at night than during the day.
It was eerie and cold; even in the height of summer, people inside would shiver with cold.
What was stranger was that no matter how warmly you dressed, you couldn't resist the chill.
Because the cold seemed to creep up from inside you, little by little.
Especially... on a rainy night.
At this point, Zhen Jianren glanced at Yu Wen with an inscrutable expression.
After all, there had also been a rainy night in her story.
On that night, Ms. Feng Lan, who had just arrived at the school, witnessed a terrifying scene she would never forget: four people standing outside her door, bloodied and missing their jaws, staring at her.
"What happens on a rainy night?" Yu Wen asked coldly.
It was clear that even this usually calm woman was no longer as composed as before.
Her icy tone was merely a mask for her underlying fear.
The clues were scattered, and time was running out.
The legend claimed that if a person climbed the stairs from the third to the fourth floor of Building C on a rainy night, something strange would happen.
The 48 steps would inexplicably become 49.
And with that extra step, everything around you would change.
The walls, floors, corridors, classrooms, desks — everything would appear brand new, as if they had never been used. It would feel as if time had reversed.
And you might encounter... people.
Zhou Taifu swallowed nervously and asked in a whisper, "What kind of people?"
"All kinds," Zhen Jianren stared into Zhou Taifu's eyes. "Teachers, students, even people in security uniforms."
Zhou Taifu froze for a moment before his body began trembling uncontrollably.
He looked toward Yu Wen for help, but she was entirely focused on something else.
"You haven't mentioned the music room," Jiang Cheng reminded him.
Zhen Jianren averted his gaze. "They said if you open the door to the music room, you'll see a girl inside, dancing endlessly. She's an incredible dancer. Anyone who enters will be drawn into her rhythm. Slowly, after the dance ends, she'll stop and ask you a question. At that moment, whatever you do, don't answer."
"Don't answer?" Fatty frowned, sensing he'd caught onto something crucial. "Why shouldn't you answer?"
"Because according to the rumor, if you do answer, something very bad will happen."
Zhen Jianren recalled that the girl who had told him this had grown quieter and quieter as she spoke, until her voice was almost inaudible.
But Zhen Jianren had still caught her final words: if you answer, you'll be trapped there forever.
Just like everyone else.
At these words, not only Zhen Jianren, but everyone present grew serious. Jiang Cheng thought that by now, the Cheongsam Woman and Long Tao were probably among those trapped there.
"Was the girl dancing ballet?" Zhang Yinyin asked after a long silence, speaking for the first time.
"Yes."
It seemed that this girl was the source of the entire ordeal.
Now that the ghost had been identified, the hoofprints found at the scene of the deaths also made sense.
They weren't goat tracks at all, but marks left by the ballet shoes the female ghost wore.
The ghost had been dancing ballet as she killed the Cheongsam Woman and Long Tao.
The whole scene was chilling, sending shivers down their spines.
From this, they established two key rules for the mission ahead.
In other words, two prohibitions.
First, when facing the female ghost, under no circumstances should you answer her questions. If possible, avoid making any sound at all.
Second, when filming in the music room of Building C, everyone must stay together — no splitting up. And unless absolutely necessary, avoid going there at night.
"Where's your partner?" Zhou Taifu suddenly seemed to remember something. The next second, his face turned pale as he said, "He didn't..."
"No," Zhen Jianren interrupted him. "He's in the archives looking for the girl's records. He'll meet us later."
Fatty seized the moment to speak sarcastically, "Did Brother Luo go alone? Isn't that a bit dangerous?"
"Thanks for your concern, Brother Fatty," Zhen Jianren smiled. "I have full confidence in my friend. But as for you all..."
His gaze shifted from Fatty to Jiang Cheng, and with ill intent, he asked, "Did you find anything at the equipment center?"
(End of the Chapter)
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