Chapter 127 The Overlapping Campus

Chapter 127 The Overlapping Campus

"The campus forum post about the Seven Campus Mysteries lists the women's restroom on the first floor of the teaching building as the second most uncanny—specifically, the large mirror above the sink in that restroom." Ai Xiaojia recounted the campus forum details as if reciting a cherished list, her excited expression suggesting that her sneaking into the school with Zhang Pan was driven by more than just concern for her friend.

"Legend has it that if you stand in front of that mirror late at night..." Ai Xiaojia paused dramatically, building suspense.

"Your soul gets sucked into the mirror?" Mr. Axe furrowed his brow, as if recalling some ancient horror film.

"No," Ai Xiaojia shook her head. "Nothing happens at all."

Before Mr. Axe and the others could question whether the girl was telling a bad joke, Ai Xiaojia continued, "At that moment, nothing really happens. But the next day, the person who looked in the mirror undergoes a drastic personality change. They start saying things the original person would never say and doing all sorts of bizarre, terrifying things—like picking up chalk from the lectern and chewing it up before swallowing it!"

"Wow, that’s terrifying," Mr. Axe deadpanned, his tone devoid of emotion.

"It really is terrifying!" Zhang Pan and Zhou Qingshou seemed genuinely unnerved, shuddering at the mere thought of such a scene.

"The person in the rumor was a teacher who, for some reason, stayed overnight at the school, which makes sense. After all, normal students wouldn’t be at school in the middle of the night..." Ai Xiaojia trailed off, exchanging somewhat guilty glances with Zhang Pan and the others before quickly changing the subject. "Ahem, anyway, they say the teacher acted like they were schizophrenic the next day—sometimes normal, sometimes not—and didn’t fully return to normal until noon, when the sun was at its brightest. And they had no memory of all the strange things they’d done."

"Not just late at night," Ai Xiaojia added, possessing a peculiar knack for telling ghost stories, "occasionally, students who were kept after school would use the first-floor restroom after sunset. They all looked in the mirror, but nothing strange happened to them the next day."

"However, one of the girls—a casual friend of mine—told me that when she looked in the mirror that day, she was washing her hands with her head down, but her reflection was standing upright. At first, she thought it was just her imagination, but when she finished washing her hands and left, the reflection lagged behind by half a beat." Ai Xiaojia’s voice grew increasingly hushed. "And it wasn’t just her. Many girls who used that restroom at night had similar experiences."

"Sounds like it’s probably true. If the connection between Honghuai Ghost School and Honghuai No. 1 Middle School is strong enough, we might actually manage to take some useful photos." Flashlight exchanged glances with his two teammates, nodded in agreement, and then turned to lead the way out of the study hall.

Worried that the library might still be hiding something, the three nightmare world players exited cautiously. Ai Xiaojia and the two other students were still sandwiched between the players for protection, but this time, Su Bai had joined the group.

"Hey, brainiac, didn’t you leave a bunch of books in the library? Aren’t you going to take them?" Zhang Pan asked quietly after they left the library.

"It’s fine. I'm done with them." Outside, Su Bai stretched his neck and limbs slightly. Even for nightmare world players with enhanced physical strength, spending six hours working on problems in the library was exhausting—mentally fulfilling, but physically draining.

At least, that’s how it felt to Su Bai.

Earlier, Ai Xiaojia had briefly explained why the three of them and the three players were at the school. But since the players had likely kept details about the nightmare world, Ai Xiaojia’s account was filled with her own subjective guesses.

Still, based on his understanding of the nightmare world, Su Bai understood why the three players had come to Honghuai No. 1 Middle School—or, as they called it, "Honghuai Ghost School." Most likely, after being pulled into the nightmare game, the administrator had tasked them with finding and photographing the actual manifestations of the Seven Campus Mysteries.

Unlike Zhang Pan’s prank dare, which only required taking photos at the seven mysterious spots as proof of their visit, the nightmare world players likely had to not only locate the spots but also capture images of the ghosts causing the supernatural events.

A nightmare game issued by the administrator was naturally far more dangerous than a prank among students.

Even so, Su Bai didn’t try to stop Zhang Pan and the others from accompanying the players.

While the difficulty of nightmare games isn’t usually tied to the number of participants—sometimes a 20-player game is simple, while a 2-player game can be a death trap—it’s only sometimes. In most cases, games with fewer players do tend to be easier.

In other words, unless something unexpected happens, the difficulty of this game set in "Honghuai Ghost School" shouldn’t be too high.

Moreover, regardless of the game’s difficulty for the players, this temporary nightmare space under the Red Moon would always be a nightmare for ordinary people. Until sunrise, Zhang Pan and the others really needed the protection of the three players.

Outside the library, the familiar light of the Red Moon fell on Su Bai, the soothing sensation nearly made him meditate on the spot. But he quickly dismissed the reckless thought.

Having been buried in studying in the library until now, this was Su Bai’s first real chance to observe Honghuai No. 1 Middle School after its overlap with the nightmare world.

"Overlap," as the term implied, meant the real-world Honghuai No. 1 Middle School and the nightmare world’s ghost school had merged. At a glance, however, Su Bai saw no obvious signs of incomplete overlap—the campus under the Red Moon appeared perfectly normal at first.

But upon closer inspection, having returned to school for several days, Su Bai quickly noticed differences between this campus and the real Honghuai No. 1 Middle School. For instance, the electronic screens were gone, the speakers around the playground had been replaced by old-school megaphones, the towering trees had thinned out, the neat artificial turf on the soccer field had become uneven grassy patches, and the rubber-surfaced basketball court had turned into rough concrete...

It felt like stepping back into Honghuai No. 1 Middle School from over a decade ago. The layout of the buildings remained largely unchanged, but the facilities had regressed by more than ten years.

Su Bai glanced up at the Red Moon in the sky.

No one knew how many bizarre things they would experience before the sun rose.