Chapter 1 The Campus at Night

Jiang Cheng's words reminded Fatty of many unpleasant things. In the previous mission, near the end, the world was about to fall into eternal night.

The campus was quiet at this time.

Even the mournful cries of autumn insects that could occasionally be heard before had now disappeared.

Jiang Cheng and Fatty wasted no more time and walked quickly west along the chosen route.

Fatty's facial features were twisted together. He looked at Jiang Cheng, repeatedly opening and closing his mouth, before finally asking, still very worried, "Doctor, do you think everyone except us has been killed by the ghosts?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and replied, "Not necessarily."

Hearing that some teammates might still be alive, Fatty's pale face gradually regained a touch of color.

"Maybe one or two were caught by the ghosts," Jiang Cheng continued as he walked, "and then had their arms and legs torn off and kept as pets to relieve boredom."

Hearing this, Fatty's legs went weak, and he almost burst into tears.

After walking for about 20 minutes, they saw a courtyard in the distance, sitting on the open space ahead.

It shouldn't have been so clear in the dark, but two large red lanterns hung high in front of the courtyard gate.

The lanterns emitted a scarlet light, which looked extremely eerie from a distance.

It was like the eyes of a giant beast crouching in the wilderness, staring maliciously at the approaching living.

"Doctor," Fatty hid behind a tree on the side of the road, his voice changed with fright, "Are those two damn lanterns?!"

Jiang Cheng crouched beside Fatty, pressing down on a branch with his hand, looking towards the equipment center through the gap. "Thank you," Jiang Cheng said, "Fatty."

Fatty was stunned for a moment, then looked at Jiang Cheng with a questioning gaze. "What are you thanking me for?"

"I'm thanking you for telling me those are two lanterns," Jiang Cheng said calmly, without looking at him, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have known."

Fatty: "......"

After observing for nearly 10 minutes, the equipment center was very quiet. Apart from the two red lanterns being an eyesore, everything else seemed normal.

Since being choked by Jiang Cheng, Fatty had been much more careful in his speech, trying to skip some of the exclamatory nonsense. "Doctor," he licked his lips, "What are your plans next?"

"Let's go take a look first," Jiang Cheng said after thinking for a moment.

Just as Jiang Cheng had expected, when they arrived outside the equipment center, they noticed more abnormalities, not some ethereal feeling, but real, tangible abnormalities in their sight.

A huge lock secured the gate from the outside. Thick iron chains were wrapped around the door in circles, and the iron lock gleamed with a dark luster, looking very strong.

"Strange..." Fatty's eyes widened. "Why is this lock locked from the outside?"

Jiang Cheng stood in front of the door and thought for a moment. "Let's go," he said, turning around, "Let's walk around nearby."

Fatty left with three steps back for every one forward, as if worried that the door would suddenly open and a disheveled, vengeful ghost would rush out.

Before long, they found a side door hidden behind a bush in an inconspicuous location.

It was a wooden door, about the same size as a regular house door, but it looked like it had been through many years.

The edges were mottled and peeling.

But what really caught Jiang Cheng's attention was not these things, but... the door was sealed shut from the outside with sturdy wooden planks, and surrounded by huge nails, some as thick as a baby's finger.

Jiang Cheng stepped forward and pushed it gently, but it didn't budge.

Fatty had sharp eyes. He noticed a corner of something yellow showing from the crack at the bottom of the door, close to the ground. He reached out his hand and carefully pulled it out.

Only when he took it out did he realize it was a piece of yellow paper, folded very tightly.

"Doctor," he whispered, beckoning Jiang Cheng over as he carefully unfolded the paper. "Look, what's this?"

An inexplicable picture was drawn on the paper with bright red dye. The brushstrokes were sharp, and it was clear that this was not a random doodle, but something that had taken some effort.

There were also sections of something resembling text on both sides of the picture, but unfortunately, Fatty didn't recognize them.

Jiang Cheng stood in place, staring at the wooden door, slowly crouching down. Before long, Fatty heard him take a deep breath.

Fatty followed his gaze and found that the cracks in the door were filled with this kind of yellow paper, and what was even stranger was that each piece of paper was folded into a relatively standard triangle.

Fatty's hand, clutching the yellow paper, trembled violently. A bad feeling slowly rose in his heart.

"It seems something strange has happened in this courtyard," Jiang Cheng suddenly said in an assertive tone. "This is a Taoist talisman. It's stuck here, probably to suppress a ghost."

Fatty had actually vaguely guessed this, but out of fear, he didn't dare say it.

The next second, Fatty threw the yellow paper on the ground with a "whoosh."

"Doctor," on the way back, Fatty wished he could hang on Jiang Cheng. His face was as pale as if he were about to die. "This is too scary. The door cracks are filled with talismans. How much hatred and resentment must there be?"

Recalling the scene, Fatty's heart was pounding violently.

Based on the previous clues, Fatty also quickly voiced his own opinion, "Could it be that when Chen Yao was alive, she didn't get together with Su Yu because of Li Yanwei's interference, and then after death, she couldn't bear the loneliness and wanted to have a human-ghost romance with Su Yu?"

"So she went to knock on Su Yu's door every day, but Su Yu was afraid, so he asked for these talismans and locked himself in this courtyard, refusing to come out."

Jiang Cheng frowned slightly. "Then why doesn't he leave this school? Staying here, he'll be found by Chen Yao sooner or later."

"And have you considered this," Jiang Cheng continued, "Su Yu is just an equipment center administrator, completely insignificant in the school hierarchy. Remodeling the equipment center like this is no small project, and it definitely can't be done with just an administrator's nod. There must be the tacit approval of upper-level leaders."

Fatty's expression gradually became strange. Finally, a flash of light went through his eyes. He looked at Jiang Cheng and suddenly said, "Doctor, are you saying... Li Yanwei?!"

"All of this was approved by Li Yanwei?!"

At this time, they had returned to the vicinity of the main gate. Before Jiang Cheng could answer, they heard a strange sound coming from inside the door.

Jiang Cheng and Fatty immediately held their breath. Then, with extremely light steps, they hid behind a nearby low wall. As the surroundings quieted down, the sound became clearer.

"Hiss... hiss..."

It sounded somewhat like a snake hissing, but upon closer listening, it wasn't. Just as the two were preparing to move closer and listen carefully outside the door, they suddenly heard a "click" from the door.