“Chapter 44: Dormitory Ghost Stories (2)”

"Chapter 44: Dormitory Ghost Stories (2)"

"◎Another slap, harder this time.◎"

"Shi Youqing’s gaze moved away from the face of the boy in front of him, quickly scanning the surroundings."

"Four bunk beds, a standard eight-person dorm, but the furnishings and decor were old, reminiscent of a bygone era’s dormitory… One bunk bed was unoccupied, so including him, there were six people in total."

"Three of them had tags floating above their heads, similar to character IDs in games."

"For instance, the sturdy boy in the lower bunk speaking, above his head displayed [Yu Xiaohui, Senior Year 2, Class 7]. Across the middle floor, in the upper bunk of the opposite bed, a smaller boy, [Lu Mingliang, Senior Year 2, Class 7], and below him, a boy with glasses reading under his flashlight, [Chen Zheng, Senior Year 2, Class 7]."

"The other two, one above him and one above Yu Xiaohui."

"Shi Youqing craned his neck to look up. The light was too dim to see clearly, but those two showed no display above their heads and were also peering down at him…"

"Clearly, they were players who had entered the instance like him."

"Bo Huai and Feng Bin were not here."

"Yu Xiaohui cleared his throat, prompting Shi Youqing to pay attention."

"'Continuing the ghost story! It was about a decade or so ago, before this dormitory building was constructed. Back then, our school wasn’t a boarding high school and had fewer students. A teacher from out of town came, and for convenience, he stayed in a vacant teacher’s dormitory. The other teachers were locals with homes nearby, which means…' Yu Xiaohui paused dramatically and looked at them."

"Lu Mingliang, shivering under his blanket, stuttered, 'He... he stayed overnight at the school alone?'"

"'Yes,' Yu Xiaohui replied with a satisfied smile towards Lu Mingliang, 'The place where that teacher lived back then is right in front of our dormitory building!'"

"Lu Mingliang yelped and shrank further into his blanket."

"Yu Xiaohui asked, 'Guess what he encountered?'"

"Silence followed."

"It seemed like a taboo topic; nobody dared to utter that word."

"Yu Xiaohui, seemingly enjoying the thrill of scaring others, was about to continue when someone unexpectedly asked, 'A ghost?'"

"Surprised, he looked over to find it was the frail new transfer student who had just arrived that day. Before he could respond, Lu Mingliang interjected with fear, 'Why would you suddenly mention that word in the middle of the night? It's so creepy…'"

"Shi Youqing responded, 'He was the one asking.'"

"Lu Mingliang continued to grumble, but was cut off by the transfer student's slightly impatient tone, 'Please continue, what was it exactly?'"

"Despite his impatience, his expression carried a faint smile, making it hard for anyone to argue with him."

"'...It was crying!' Yu Xiaohui finally continued, 'The teacher woke up in the middle of the night and heard many people crying outside! You have no idea how terrifying it was…'"

"'Oh my god...' Lu Mingliang shivered again."

"'And where did the crying come from? Hehe, you all must have heard that many schools were built on old cemeteries. Naturally, the cries were from ghosts! That teacher was so scared that he didn’t dare leave his room until dawn and moved out immediately, never wanting to stay at the school again...' Yu Xiaohui deliberately shook the flashlight to create a spooky atmosphere, 'I say, we don’t hear those cries now because there are many of us, and our living energy suppresses those ghostly presences!'"

"Lu Mingliang nodded vigorously, while Chen Zheng interjected, 'Alright, stop scaring the new students.'"

"Yu Xiaohui, dissatisfied, said, 'How is this scaring? We often tell these stories during our night talks, just to bring everyone closer together…'"

"'You tell it well,' Shi Youqing leaned back and glanced sideways at Yu Xiaohui, 'But I have a few questions, like – were there any graveyards near the school about a decade ago?'"

"'Of course, not just nearby, this school area used to be one too. Where else would all those ghosts come from?' Yu Xiaohui boasted with pride."

"'Did that teacher leave the school afterward?'"

"'Not really, after all, losing a job back then meant it was hard to find another one.'"

"'Then it’s quite clear now.'"

"...Huh?"

"The crying was from humans," Shi Youqing glanced at Yu Xiaohui's dated flip phone and smiled, "Many places have a custom of conducting funerals at dawn after someone's death. Given your reaction, it seems common here. The wails of grieving relatives in funeral processions could be what the teacher heard if a graveyard was nearby. It’s not unusual to hear such cries at night; a simple inquiry the next day would have clarified it for him. Though human, few can endure such a scare, so his decision to move out was understandable. With the school expanding and surroundings being remodeled, the graves would have been relocated. How could you still hear mourning now?"

"Wow!" Lu Mingliang, who had retracted into his blanket, peeked out again, "You sound like a host of a science show!"

Yu Xiaohui looked annoyed, obviously feeling that his moment was spoiled.

"Then let me tell another," Yu Xiaohui persisted, "Our dorm number is 304, but did you know, in many horror movies and ghostly tales, 304 is a common spooky room number?"

Lu Mingliang withdrew again.

Shi Youqing found this NPC amusing, almost like a spring toy.

"However, what I'm about to tell is not from TV or novels, but a real eerie incident that happened in our dorm... Like that vacant bunk bed, everyone who lived there... died."

"Enough!" Chen Zheng suddenly interrupted, "Stop making stuff up."

Startled by his serious demeanor, Yu Xiaohui pouted and stopped talking.

"Who were those two?" Shi Youqing asked, "You can't just leave a story half-finished." Those two must be among the three deceased mentioned in the task.

The dorm fell into a strange silence.

The player in the upper bunk spoke up, his tone harsh, "Yeah, finish what you started!"

There was a hint of command in his voice.

Chen Zheng, with a stern face, eventually said, "They were indeed our former roommates, but the dorm has changed since. That empty bunk has been unoccupied from the start. Don't overthink it, or we wouldn't dare to stay here."

"...Former roommates?" Shi Youqing clenched his fists, "...How did they die?"

Chen Zheng sighed, "They were accidents, both Ding Lin and Ma Fan were our classmates, we all got along well, so their deaths hit us hard..."

"What exactly happened?" impatience crept into the voice from the upper bunk.

Shi Youqing frowned, worried that this otherwise cooperative NPC might react poorly to the pressure.

Fortunately, aside from looking upset, Chen Zheng revealed, "Ma Fan died six months ago. He slipped on his way to the restroom at night, hitting his head and didn't survive the injury... And Ding Lin, three months ago, was struck by falling glass from an abandoned school building... They were indeed accidents."

"This school sounds pretty unreliable," another player chuckled, "Aren’t you guys scared at all?"

Chen Zheng replied, "What can we do? The abandoned building is now off-limits, and the dormitory restroom has been renovated for safety... With the college entrance exams just a year away, we have to focus on our studies."

"Oh, let's not talk about that now..." Yu Xiaohui chimed in, "Tonight’s program isn’t over yet."

"Program?" Shi Youqing looked at him, "What program?"

"We talked about it earlier, remember? After the ghost stories, we draw straws, and the person who picks the blank straw has to go on a bravery test!"

"What kind of bravery test?" the person from the upper bunk asked languidly.

Yu Xiaohui, brimming with enthusiasm, explained: "Every day, our dorm leader Chen Zheng places a crumpled paper with his handwriting in a corner of the dorm building. The person who gets the blank straw must follow the dorm leader’s clue to find it, all within half an hour. Since you three are new, you’ll be drawing the straws."

So Chen Zheng was the dorm leader.

"Why should we listen to you?" the person from Yu Xiaohui's upper bunk protested, "It’s only fair if all six of us draw."

"You don’t have to listen," Yu Xiaohui sneered, "No one's forcing you."

The other person fell silent.

That statement was essentially a warning.

This was a task given by an NPC, and they had to comply.

After a moment, Yu Xiaohui produced three paper slips: "The two of you up there, come down and draw!"

Shi Youqing got down from his bed and in a couple of seconds, the person from the upper bunk followed suit.

The flashlight beams all converged on them; he casually observed the faces of the two men, memorizing them, then opened his paper slip to find eight words – 'Thank you for playing, try again next time.'

Shi Youqing: "..."

The two came closer; one of them had noodle-like hair, eyeing Shi Youqing curiously before turning to the haughty, impatient-looking man in Shi Youqing’s upper bunk.

They both reached for a paper slip and unfolded it.

The one with the blank slip was the guy with noodle hair.

The other player laughed: “Great, I love playing thrilling games!”

Shi Youqing: "..."

The players were aware of the world's attributes. Despite Yu Xiaohui’s exaggerated ghost stories, everyone knew that real ghosts and monsters couldn't possibly exist here. For most, the absence of ghosts meant there was nothing to fear.

The noodle-haired player, clearly one of those unafraid types, smilingly asked Chen Zheng, “What’s the clue?”

Chen Zheng answered, “First floor.”

“OK, wait for my return,” he said, picking up the flashlight from his bed. As he was about to pull open the door, Yu Xiaohui suddenly asked, “Are you really not scared?”

“What’s there to be scared of? We should trust in science.”

“...Do you want me to come with you? Actually, I quite fancy a bit of fun too.”

Noodle hair, clearly not expecting an NPC's offer to help, was about to respond when he heard the beautiful young man nearby say, “…What a coward.”

“Who are you calling a coward!” Noodle hair waved the paper slip indignantly. “I said I’ll go alone, so I will. You, with your chicken-hearted attitude, better stay put here!”

With that, he opened the door and stepped out. Simultaneously, the door opposite also opened.

Shi Youqing looked up to see a pale-faced Feng Bin holding a white paper, evidently about to undertake the same NPC task as Noodle Hair.

So they had just been separated.

Shi Youqing stepped out to speak with him, but before he could say anything, a figure from the next room pulled him into the corridor corner.

“It's me.” The familiar voice sounded.

As he stood bewildered, Feng Bin also approached quickly, getting straight to the point: “In my dormitory, aside from me, there are three players. One I don't recognize, but he seems like a newbie who teamed up with an experienced player. There's also Yu Ze.”

“Yu Ze?” Shi Youqing found the name vaguely familiar.

“The couple from Chenggu Town,” Feng Bin reminded him.

His eyebrows raised as he fully recalled, “...What about his girlfriend?”

Feng Bin's brow furrowed, and he shook his head.

Shi Youqing, coming to a realization, looked at the ground without speaking.

He remembered the girl, her name was Guo Yalan.

Feng Bin's recent behavior was obviously because of this.

Guo Yalan had died in another instance.

"You go ahead with the task," Shi Youqing said after a moment, looking up to remind him, "There's only half an hour left."

Clenching the paper, Feng Bin said, "When it's daylight, I'll try to gather all the players. Today's Monday, and we need everyone's cooperation to gather clues if we want to find the culprit by Friday."

"Okay."

After speaking, Feng Bin turned and left, quickly disappearing down the hallway.

Left with only two people, Shi Youqing turned to Bo Huai, who had emerged from dormitory 306 next to his. Looking at Bo Huai's empty hands, he asked in confusion, "Was it you who got picked in your dorm? Where's the paper?"

The man shook his head, calmly delivering startling news: "The person who was picked is dead."

"…What?"

"A newbie," Bo Huai spoke emotionlessly, "probably teamed up with veteran players but didn't end up in the same dormitory. Insisted on not doing the task to find his teammates, refused, and died on the spot."

After a few seconds of silence, Shi Youqing said, "…But I didn't hear anything."

Shouldn't there be some noise with a death?

"Once a player dies here, everything about them is erased from the NPCs' memories. After that person died, all NPCs forgot he ever existed, and the player's body also disappeared in a short time."

“……”

...Just like those games in reality.

The players are brought into the instance as students to blend in and complete tasks, yet their deaths don't disrupt the original storyline of the instance—like causing a disturbance or the police coming to investigate.

It's a mechanism to maintain the normal operation of the instance.

Shi Youqing slightly furrowed his brows: "How many players are left in your dorm?"

"Just one."

Before he could ask more, a voice from dormitory 304 suddenly called out, urging Shi Youqing, "Shi Youqing, come back quickly!"

The rules were still not completely clear, and it was best to avoid antagonizing the NPCs as much as possible.

Shi Youqing responded, and Bo Huai walked him back to the door of 304. Peering inside and noticing the empty bed, Bo Huai’s stoic face showed a slight change.

Guessing what he might be thinking, Shi Youqing said, "Don't come. It's likely against the rules."

"I'll apply to change dorms tomorrow," the other man said seriously, "If the teacher agrees, it won't be breaking the rules."

“……”

After another call of urgency, the large hand on his shoulder gently pushed him inside, slipping an old-fashioned cell phone into his hand.

"!!!" Before Shi Youqing could ask where the phone came from, Yu Xiaohui hurriedly shut the dormitory door: "Hurry up and come in, don't wander off. We can only scare them when no one is outside!"

Holding the phone, he walked inside to his bed and noticed someone standing there.

It was the person from the upper bunk, who turned on a flashlight and shone it directly on his face.

Shi Youqing turned his head to avoid the light, frowning, "Don't shine it on me."

"Went out to meet your teammates?" the person said in a low voice, a mix of disdain and playful taunting, "Found some veteran players to guide you?"

At these words, Shi Youqing looked up at him.

"Nice face," the eyes focused intently on him, "What a pity..."

"A pity?"

The man scoffed, about to speak—when suddenly a loud "slap" sound rang out abruptly.

The man froze, his face still turned to the side from the slap, momentarily stunned, then incredulously stared at Shi Youqing.

The NPCs were also shocked.

"Why, why did you hit him?"

"He seemed to be insulting me," Shi Youqing muttered, rubbing his hand.

"...Seemed?" The others were dumbfounded.

The man in front of the bed seemed to have never experienced such a thing before. At the moment, instead of anger, he seemed more stunned in place. When he finally came to his senses, the young man nonchalantly tried to step past him to get into bed... How could it just end like this? He reached out to grab him—

"Slap!"

Another slap, this one even harder.

"...Damn it!" He was so angry that his eyes turned red.

"You're disgusting," the young man said, stepping back, articulating every word, "I'm not gay. Find someone else, and stay away from my bed."

“……”

Zongtu Yuan had never encountered such a situation in his life. He covered his face with his hand, overwhelmed with anger and rigidity, wishing he could commit murder.

But under that gaze, he forgot how to react, while the other had already moved his face away with disgust, climbed into bed, and even shook the part of the blanket closest to him.

“……”

[Author's Note]

Thanks to the little angel who threw a grenade: The Underground Girlfriend of a Lone Soldier - 1 piece;

Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: He Yan - 20 bottles; Yan - 14 bottles; Moheng - 10 bottles; Quite Good, Qi Xing, 64169939 - 5 bottles each; L - 2 bottles; A Man Who Doesn't Love Himself is Like a Rotten Cabbage - 1 bottle;

Thank you all very much for your support, I will keep working hard!