Nightmare Assault

“Midnight?” Zhou Taifu gasped. Zhen Jianren was right. Their time was almost up. The third rehearsal was their last chance.

“We currently have three leads.” Xu Wen explained, “First, it is that department head Lee. We haven’t seen her before, but she has been observing our every move. I believe she knew everything that happened back then.

“Second is the music classroom in Block C. It is the first and only place we’ve captured the ghost on film. That place must be very special to the ghost.

“Third is the prop centre,” Xu Wen turned to Jiang Cheng, “Mr. Hao said he encountered a drawing ghost there…”

“That’s right.” Jiang Cheng nodded sincerely as he pointed at Zhen Jianren. “He was the subject! Actually, the ghost was quite a good painter.”

Zhen Jianren glared at him. “Can you stop pointing at people?”

Xu Wen’s patience was drying when dealing with these two. She continued her analysis, “The clues should be among these three. We’ll split up since we don’t have much time left.”

Xu Wen’s suggestion was reasonable. Jiang Cheng and Fatty would find department head Lee to find out more information. Xu Wen’s group would sneak into the music classroom when it was not in use. Zhen Jianren and Luo Yi would search the prop centre. The mission was reaching its end. No one cared which place was more dangerous. If they couldn’t end the mission before the upcoming midnight, everyone would die.

After that, Xu Wen’s group left.

When Zhen Jianren reached the door, he paused. Then, he suddenly turned to Room 404 like he just realised something. Confusion slowly coloured his eyes. He frowned… like something was missing.

“Brother Guardian Angel!” Jiang Cheng called after him kindly, “When you find your self-portrait, remember to pay attention to the lower right corner!”

Zhen Jianren’s thought was interrupted. His face dropped, “What do you mean?” Luo Yi also turned to look at Jiang Cheng strangely.

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and sat up straight. He became very serious. Zhen Jianren couldn’t help but be worried. Jiang Cheng’s presence made him very uncomfortable. Fatty sensed something familiar.

“You might find the ghost’s name there,” Jiang Cheng said.

Zhen Jianren’s pupils narrowed. Then, he became excited, “You mean… the drawing might be signed?” He said to himself, “That way, we can know the girl’s name! And through that…”

Jiang Cheng shook his head. “No. I simply hope you’d die knowing what’s happening.”

…

The path after the rain was muddy. Zhen Jianren’s footsteps squelched as he walked on it. The drawing grasped his mind like a nightmare once Jiang Cheng mentioned it to him.

“Do we really need to go there?” Luo Yi asked.

Zhen Jianren stared ahead, ignoring Luo Yi, “Do we need to discuss that?”

Luo Yi shut up.

When they passed by the convenience store, they bought some bread, water and ham. They ate as they walked. They had been hungry since the night before. Zhen Jianren rubbed his temples. Since yesterday, he had been dominated by this bad feeling. It was like a pair of eyes had been watching him.

The prop centre was rather secluded, situated beside the old field. The field was long abandoned. After the rain, it was more like a swamp. They walked around the field and tried to pick the cleaner paths. However, their shoes still got dirty. Finally, they stopped.

Zhen Jianren looked up. The sign still said very clearly, Prop Building.

The gate was wide open, but there was no one around.

“Is no one here?” Luo Yi frowned as he looked around. “At this time, they should be at the canteen.”

Zhen Jianren thought about it and shook his head. “Unlikely. Based on Xu Wen’s description, the old man was pale and limping. This place is very far from the canteen, and the road is very slick. He wouldn’t have gone there.”

“You mean… he is still here?!”

“Most likely.”

Luo Yi became serious, “This old man doesn’t feel like a normal NPC. He should be an important character.”

Zhen Jianren and Luo Yi walked around the place. They noticed this large place only had one entrance. There was a small side door, but it had been sealed up with wooden boards. When they returned to the front door, they walked forward. They didn’t enter but stayed outside to observe. Plus, there was a lock on the door. They held their breath and waited. The place was deadly silent.

“What should we do?” Luo Yi whispered.

Standing there, Zhen Jianren felt more anxious.

Xu Wen said an old man stayed there. So far, this was the only male character they had encountered at this school.

Zhen Jianren glanced at the front door. There was a very thick chain with a black lock. Luo Yi became nervous as well. Standing there, he couldn’t help but reminded of the painting ghost… and the bloody handprint.

“Strange…” Zhen Jianren suddenly commented.

Luo Yi lowered his voice to ask, “What do you mean?”

“Where does this old man normally live?”

“He should live here,” Luo Yi glanced around. When they interviewed the students, they found out that some of the teachers chose to stay at the school after they retired due to many reasons. They found other jobs, such as hostel managers, librarians, and so on. The old man should be one of them.

“But…” Zhen Jianren pointed at the door and said, “The lock is on the outside.”

Luo Yi was startled. Then, he frowned.

That was indeed suspicious. If the old man lived there, the lock should be on the inside. Why would it be on the outside?

Unless…

Zhen Jianren suddenly remembered the side door.

The door was nailed shut from the outside. It was covered in finger-thin nails.

“He is not staying here willingly,” Zhen Jianren turned to Luo Yi and concluded, “He’s being imprisoned here.”