There was a strange silence throughout the classroom. The closed windows and doors seemed to block out all of the sounds. When Su Zimo and the others sat on the platform near the podium, they could hear Jiang Weiâs breathing around them.
âThe way to get out must be on the wall. Why else would the weirdest thing here be the wall!â Lin Xiao continued wandering the classroom alone, her tone full of unconcealed anxiety.
âBut weâve tried everything. The stuff on the wall that looks like chalk figures has nothing to do with this.â Jiang Wei shook his head helplessly.
Su Zimo couldnât see the expressions of the other two people clearly. The flashlight he carried before was just a normal rechargeable flashlight, and it wasnât fully charged, so there was no electricity left after using it.
After Su Zimoâs phone ran out of power, the only ones that could be used to light up the surroundings would be the phones the others carried with them.
But Su Zimo left Ghost Call in the store, and Uncle Jiang Wei was someone who didnât carry his phone with him, so the only thing that could shine was the sky outside of the window, which was so dim that it was almost useless, and the phone in Lin Xiaoâs hand.
âIf I had known this would happen, I would have brought my power bank to class!â Lin Xiao was also looking at her phone in distress.
She told Su Zimo and the others before that although she charged her phone before going to class, after playing with it throughout the long class period, Lin Xiaoâs battery was worryingly low. After using the power-consuming flashlight, the small amount of power left made Lin Xiao, who was already anxious, even more anxious.
Her cell phone light that could go out at any moment seemed to have become her last ray of hope. Even if she knew that her remaining power was precious, she was still reluctant to turn it off even temporarily. She just wanted to light up the wall in front of her, wanted to find out what information was hidden in the distorted shapes and random smears of chalk.
âMaybe you can turn off the phone and try?â Su Zimo secretly calculated the time he had waster there, and he also anted to leave as soon as possible. But to be honest, the information that this classroom could provide was too little, and Su Zimo couldnât think of anything other than to break through violently.
[Just directly break through. There isnât any internet here. I havenât finished watching the food DIY video that I found.]
"
"
Su Zimo had just thought of that when the voice of the ghost umbrella sounded in his ears with a grievous tone. Perhaps because DIY beverages couldnât satisfy his curiosity recently, but he seems to be paying more attention to food bloggers.
Su Zimo didnât respond.
[The reason why the doors and windows canât be opened it that thereâs a ghostly essence covering them. Itâs as if theyâre covered in a thin film, making it impossible to reach the outside. So if you use a ghost tool to slowly polish it away, you should be able to leave, provided that you donât anger the ghost hidden here.]
Ghost Umbrella spoke with particular detail this time, and Su Zimo couldnât help but think about disconnecting the ghostâs internet next month.
Too depraved.
âAyu makes sense. Maybe we should turn off all the lights. Maybe after the lights are gone, something will happen with the walls in here.â Jiang Wei also agreed to Su Zimoâs plan.
Lin Xiao thought for a while, walked cautiously over to the others, and then temporarily shut off her phone flashlight.
After the last light disappeared, Su Zimo felt that the appearance of the corners of the classroom was clearer than when the phone light was on. After all, when people have been in a dark place for a long time, their ability to see things was better than when it just darkened.
It was only at that moment that they could see the twisted shadows on the wall again.
The twisted shadows that were originally drawn in blue chalk were indistinguishable from black at that moment.
âAm I wrong? The shadow on the wall looks a little different than before?â Lin Xiao blurted out immediately. âIsnât there something like this in horror movies? Like the shadows moving on the wall, etc. Isnât that a common occurrence?â
âIt looks a little different. But even so, we donât seem to be able to escape.â Jiang Wei frowned and looked at the shadows on the all, then walked to the door and tried again. âDo horror films say how to get the shadows to open the door for us?â
ââŚâŚâ Lin Xiao was quiet for a while, then returned to the podium in depression and sat down. She curled up into a ball, apparently refusing to communicate with the others.
The phone that had been turned off was turned on again.
âWu Qing and the others seem to have cleared a new task again.â Lin Xiao used her phone to see the blood on her left arm. ââThe sound of skipping rope in the girls dormitory,â âthe sound of water in the public bathroom,â âpeople who canât get out of the schoolâ and âthe scream in the libraryâ from before. Theyâve resolved four supernatural events!â
âWe donât know how long weâve been here.â Jiang Wei sighed. âItâs been a long time. It must be dinner time, right? I knew I shouldâve brought something to eat with me.â
âNewcomers donât know when theyâll enter the nightmare world, and itâs impossible for them to have a countdown on their right arm, so itâs normal to have no preparations.â The trainers that Su Zimo met were able to prepare so much extra stuff every time because of the countdown reminder on their right arms.
âIâm really hungry.â Lin Xiao said. She couldnât help but stretch out a finger and secretly grab Su Zimoâs backpack. But to her disappointment, his seemingly large backpack was weightless, and seemed to be empty.
âAyu, didnât you bring any biscuits?â Lin Xiao clutched her stomach, looking uncomfortable.
âNo.â Su Zimo said, thinking that there were chocolate cookies that Ghost Umbrella made in his backpack. âButâŚâ
âForget it.â Lin Xiao sighed. âIâve been eating biscuits for a month. Even if someone gave me more, I guess I couldnât eat any more.â
âYouâre such a young girl, shouldnât you still be in university? Why have you been eating biscuits for a month?â Jiang Wei couldnât do anything anyway, so he simply sat down and chatted with Lin Xiao.
âLiving expenses are too tight.â Lin Xiao answered very simply. It seemed that she didnât want to say any more.â
After all, Lin Xiao didnât seem to be such a poor person. Although she didnât wear makeup and her clothes were simple, they were all brands that Su Zimo had heard about. The phone in her hand was also a recent model which couldnât be cheap.
âYoung lady, why are you in such a hurry to escape?â Jiang Wei asked curiously.
âIâŚâ Lin Xiao hesitated for a long time, then finally whispered. âMaybe the repayment date for Jiele Hua is approaching, ba?â <sup>1</sup>
âJiele Hua?â Su Zimo seemed to have never heard of anything like that.
âI seem to have heard that itâs an online payment branch product. Just like a credit card, there are some overdraft limits. The overdraft limit needs to be repaid the next month. Is that the case?â Jiang Wei recalled and turned his head to look at Su Zimo. âThere arenât many young people who donât know about that kind of thing these days.â
âIâm still more accustomed to spending my own money.â Su Zimo smiled.
âThatâs the right thing to do. There are many people around me who use Jiele Hua. At first they thought it was convenient, but after using it for a while, they found that their monthly expenses were much higher than before. They all said that it feels like theyâre not spending their own money.â Jiang Weiâs tone sounded very heartfelt. âItâs better to be pragmaticâŚâ
Before Jiang Wei finished lamenting, he thought about Lin Xiao next to him and ended his speech somewhat hastily.
âIs the repayment so urgent?â Su Zimo looked at Lin Xiao, who seemed as if she wasnât anxious to repay, but anxious to save her life. âIf the repayment is one day late, will something bad happen?â
âProbably not?â
While Su Zimo and Jiang Wei were talking, Lin Xiao remained silent.
It was some time later when Su ZImo heard Lin Xiao speak again. âItâs really not good to be late. I would rather die.â
ââŚâŚâ
After a while, Su Zimo finally gave up his curiosity. He preferred to expose his identity to leave the empty classroom and return to the campus full of potential products.
At that time, there was a sound like something hit the door.
There were even voices from some people outside the door.
âWait. Donât talk, let them open the door!â When Su Zimo saw Lin Xiao rush towards the door with her phone, he subconsciously wanted to stop her. At that time, just waiting quietly and letting Wu Qing and the others find a way to break in was the best choice. That way, even if Wu Qing had a plan in his heart, he could no longer force them to make a deal.
But Su Zimoâs voice was too low. Lin Xiao didnât wait for Su Zimo to finish speaking. She rushed over and shouted, âWeâre inside!â
âSomeoneâs inside?â Wu Qingâs voice came from outside. âHahaha. Lin Xiao?â
Su Zimo didnât know what happened to that lonely boy, but from his laughter, Su Zimo got a bad feeling.
Lin Xiao seemed to realize that she had impulsively blurted that out, and directly covered her mouth, but Wu Qing outside the door obviously wouldnât think that the voice just then was an illusion because of the sudden silence.
âHahahaha, Lin Xiao, are you inside?â Wu Qingâs tone seemed to have lost its initial warmth. Although he was laughing, his tone gave people chills. âAre you stuck inside? What a coincidence, I can see something from here.â
Lin Xiao didnât say anything that time.
But Wu Qing didnât intend to let it go, and said, âLook under the door.â
Su Zimo and the others looked down. They saw light appearing in the crack of the door below. It seemed like someone was shining inside with something like a flashlight. The gap in the door was so narrow that even a coin couldnât be inserted.
The next second, a white button was stuffed through the crack in the door. It was clearly a slave medallion!
It was as thin as a few sheets of paper with five small black spots on it.
Translatorâs Notes:
SZ:
<figure></figure>
Footnotes
<ol>Jiele Hua is the name, means Borrowing Flowers. It sounds like itâs a reference to Huabei, a virtual credit card company.</ol>