Nightmare Assault

Along the way, the team was quiet. Zhou Taifu grabbed the clothes he borrowed and walked to the right of the team. He glanced occasionally at Zhen Jianren beside him. The latter was silent with a dark face. In great contrast was Jiang Cheng. With a puffed chest, he walked at the front, leading the way for the group.

Fatty followed closely behind him. Xu Wen and Zhang Yinyin stayed at the back of the group. The former was better, but the latter changed tremendously. Her sense of helplessness disappeared to be replaced by a cool gaze. Things were more complicated than she thought. She couldn’t tell how authentic Jiang Cheng’s story was. However, what she could confirm was the portrait, and the ghost should be real. Especially the detail of the ghost’s hand…

She still remembered how Zhen Jianren froze when he heard that the ghost had a hand twice the size of a normal human. His arrogance disappeared instantly, and the fear in his eyes was evident. This confused her.

Zhang Yinyin had two guesses.

First, Zhen Jianren and Luo Yi managed to gather some extra information on the female ghost and found out that her right hand was abnormal. Of course, they didn’t plan to share this piece of information with the rest.

Second, and more directly, they… had seen this ghost before. That was how they knew her physical appearance. Zhang Yinyin’s eyes landed on Zhen Jianren’s back, and her eyes chilled.

Could it be… on him?

…

Before the team split up, they received the notification that the second rehearsal would be at 2 in the afternoon. They were told to be present. The venue was the same, the music classroom at Block C. The group was on the way to Block C.

Luo Yi was missing. Based on what Zhen Jianren said, he went alone to the files room to investigate the female ghost.

Before they reached Block C, they saw a person from a distance. She stood before the entrance to Block C. She paced around nervously. Fatty recognised the person instantly.

“You’re finally here.” When the woman saw Jiang Cheng’s group, she moved to welcome them. It was the same woman who welcomed them during the previous rehearsal. Xu Wen said her name was Feng Lan.

“Your friend is in a conflict with the guards.” Feng Lan said anxiously, “He is now detained. The school is preparing to call the police on him.”

“Is it Luo Yi?”

“I don’t know his name.” Feng Lan looked out of sorts. As she explained the situation, she urged everyone upstairs. “He wears a cap and has a few scars on his forehead.”

That was definitely Luo Yi… Furthermore, everyone else was present.

“What was the source of the conflict?” Zhen Jianren asked, even though he knew. After all, Luo Yi was on his side. He would not abandon him unless necessary.

“I don’t know the details.” Feng Lan was distracted. Her answer was vague. “But I heard it was because he stole something. He was discovered by a passing student. She contacted the guards.” At this point, she hesitated before saying, “He was caught on the fifth floor of Block C. Technically, there are only a few empty file rooms there. The place has been abandoned for years. What was he doing there?”

No one answered.

“Where are they now?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“Third Floor Block C,” Feng Lan led the way, “Room 304.”

Everyone halted. There was a room on their right. Even if Feng Lan didn’t say it, they saw the plaque on the door. It was white characters with a blue background. The number 304. Based on the layout, it was an office. However, the reason they remembered it was because this room was featured in Feng Lan’s story. Standing outside, they could hear the sound of arguing coming from within.

“How many times do you need me to say it?” Someone howled. Then, there was a table-slamming sound and the sound of chairs moving. It sounded heated.

Zhen Jianren’s face froze. It was Luo Yi’s voice.

“You better go in to explain the situation,” Feng Lan stood at the door and turned around, “If the police arrive, things will be so much worse.”

As if sensing their presence, everyone inside the office turned to the door. The office was old. A few dark wood tables were joined together. Around three to four teachers could work together at the same table. The tables were rather messy, with stacks of books and stationery.

A few large paper boxes were placed in the corner. The costumes for the rehearsal poked through the gaps in the boxes. Luo Yi sat on the chair next to the paper boxes. There were three middle-aged women standing or sitting near him. They wore vicious expressions on their faces. They had on the security guard uniform.

“Teacher Feng, these are…” The leading woman said unkindly.

“They are the media people hired by the school to shoot the anniversary.” Feng Lan quickly introduced them, “So is this gentleman. I think there are some misunderstandings.”

“It is a misunderstanding!” Luo Yi became agitated when he saw his teammates, “I needed to use the bathroom. I just found my way there, incidentally!”

The leading woman scoffed, “There are so many bathrooms on the campus. Why did you have to go there?”

“I…”

The argument escalated, but the people outside the door didn’t plan to enter the office to help. No one even said anything to mediate. To be more precise, they made no sound.

They only stood there and watched the situation with detachment.

“You…” Feng Lan frowned as she urged, “Why didn’t you go in to help him?”

Her answer was obtuse gazes and a long silence.

The cold sweat… slid down Fatty’s cheeks. But he didn’t move. The people inside didn’t expect this. Even the sound of argument lowered.

Both sides… were separated by a door. They stared at each other.

Eventually, Jiang Cheng moved.

He pulled open the bag on his shoulder and pulled out the camera. He aimed it at the office. Before the people inside could react…

There was a click.

He took a picture.

The next second, everyone crowded around the camera. The camera Jiang Cheng had was given to him by the old man at the Prop Building. Its function had been found. It could capture ghosts on film.

The picture became clear. When they saw it, everyone’s expression slowly returned to normal.

Fatty sighed and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face.

Everyone in the picture looked normal. There was nothing out of place.

The lead security woman widened her eyes. She didn’t understand what just happened.