Nightmare Assault

Zhou Taifu, who stood before the shelf, looked rather awkward. Xu Wen stood beside him. The place was dark. The only light source was Xu Wen’s phone. Their faces were hidden in the dark.

“How can this be?” Xu Wen studied the scene before her. Her thin brows furrowed. The calmness in her expression was gone. The shelf had four layers. Other than the top layer, the other three had been ransacked. A lot of folders were scattered on the ground.

Zhou Taifu knelt down to touch some of the folders. The folders had no dust on them, so this was recent. In other words, Luo Yi was the culprit. He probably found the clues about the ghost there.

However… the pair searched the place again and found nothing. Zhou Taifu slowly stood up and uttered, “It looks like the ghost has taken the clues.” This was the situation that he was most unwilling to accept. Tomorrow night was the time limit. They didn’t have much time left.

“Let’s go,” Xu Wen stopped hesitating and turned around to leave.

Zhou Taifu ran after her. He asked with hesitation, “Where are we going? The Prop Centre?”

“Block C, the music classroom.”

After the door closed, the duo soon disappeared down the corridor. Silence returned. A few minutes passed. There was a minute scratching sound. A closed door eased open a small gap. This door was opposite the file room. It looked perfectly inconspicuous.

Soon, a bloodshot eye appeared in the gap. The eye looked about. Then, the person turned around to whisper, “Doctor, they’re gone.”

Jiang Cheng stood up from a dusty rattan chair. He patted the dust away from his bust. A manila folder was squeezed under his armpit. Upon closer inspection, there was blood on the corner of the folder.

“Doctor,” Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng with admiration and respect, “You are amazing. How did you know they’d come here?”

“Luo Yi had been replaced. They naturally would figure out he had died in the file room. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out he died because he found something inside the file room,” Jiang Cheng answered simply.

“But…” Fatty hesitated before raising his head to ask, “They had no camera. How could they tell Luo Yi had been replaced by a ghost?”

Jiang Cheng held the folder. The seal had been broken. Clearly, Luo Yi had seen the thing inside.

“It’s the mirror.” Jiang Cheng turned the folder over and shook it. A small notebook slid out. Jiang Cheng flipped through it as he shrugged, “I’ve seen Zhang Yinyin use it. They could use the reflection to identify the ghosts.” Hearing the mention of Zhang Yinyin, Fatty suddenly realised he had not seen her earlier. “Doctor,” Fatty looked at the door and said strangely, “Zhang Yinyin has separated from them.”

Jiang Cheng stared at the notebook as he answered, “She is probably separated from this world.”

Realising something, Fatty gasped, “Do you mean… she is dead?”

“Yes.”

Fatty was suddenly, “But the ghost…”

“The ghost didn’t do it.” Jiang Cheng closed the notebook, and his expression shifted, “It’s Xu Wen and Zhou Taifu.” He looked at the door as if he could see through it. “It’s almost time.”

Even though he had no idea what Jiang Cheng was talking about, Fatty felt like it was something important. Plus, he knew that even if he asked Jiang Cheng, the latter wouldn’t explain it to him. The man was extremely weird and conceited. Fatty still couldn’t say he fully understood Jiang Cheng.

For example, on the way there, Jiang Cheng held him by his collar. Through the way Jiang Cheng looked at him, Fatty thought he was going to be killed.

“Doctor,” He carefully changed the subject. He poked his head forward to stare at the notebook Jiang Cheng was holding, “What is written there?”

Jiang Cheng passed the notebook over. The book was small. It was thin too. The cover was decorated with gilded letters that said, ‘Class 09 Dance Major Student Files.’

As Xu Wen predicted, after the ghost killed Luo Yi, she took back the folder and placed it back where it was. Unfortunately, Xu Wen and her lover spent too much time killing Zhang Yinyin. This meant that Jiang Cheng had the opportunity to come to the file room before them to snatch the clue. They even managed to scurry into the room opposite the file room to hide when they heard the footsteps on the stairs.

This room should be an office. It was small but had all the amenities. Jiang Cheng looked around. The only window in the room was blocked by a deep-coloured curtain. Only a bit of light could filter through. A brown bookshelf stood by the wall. Beside it was a white water dispenser. The dispenser was dry. Around five empty bottles sat around it. The empty bottles were toppled over. They were so dirty that one couldn’t tell what colour they originally were.

A few clay pots were arranged in a neat row under the windows. The plants inside them had all wilted.

Behind Fatty was a wooden coat hanger. A few clothes hung from it.

A calendar sat on the office table. Jiang Cheng hadn’t seen a paper calendar in a long time. He picked up the calendar and realised the last page paused in December of 09.

“Doctor,” Fatty noticed this too. “The owner of this office probably left in a hurry. They didn’t even take anything with them.”

December 09…

Jiang Cheng seemed to be thinking.

Fatty held the folder and mumbled to himself, “Does this school even have a dance major?” Fatty remembered this was a music academy. At least, that was what the first teacher they met told them.

“Yu Ying Elite Music Academy doesn’t have a dance major, but Yu Ying Elite Art Academy does,” Jiang Cheng answered, “That is the predecessor of this school.”

Fatty was startled.

“It’s explained in the notebook,” Jiang Cheng shrugged.

Fatty looked through the notebook and found the name Yu Ying Elite Art Academy. “When did they change their school name?”

“Ten years ago. I found some folders dated year 10 in the file room. By then, the school had changed its name to Yu Ying Music Academy.”

Fatty seemed to sense something.

The sudden name change, the abolished dance major, the mystery case… everything appeared to suggest a bigger conspiracy.

And they were all related to the female ghost who was dancing ballet.

“I know! The girl’s death has kickstarted the series of tragedies!” Fatty said with confirmation.