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Chapter 84: Seven Mysteries of the Campus (VI)
Chapter 84: Seven Mysteries of the Campus (VI)
Feng Bu Jue stood frozen in indecision. Trust his teammate's capabilities, or rely on his own instincts? The time limit forced a choice—one that embodied the system's secondary pressure beyond mere fear. Even before considering the consequences of his decision, he'd already lost this battle of wits against the system. By diverting mental energy toward an unsolvable dilemma, he'd created a dangerous distraction.
Suddenly, a piercing infant's wail shattered the silence. Feng Bu Jue swiveled toward the sound, flashlight beam slicing through the darkness to reveal a corridor stretching endlessly ahead. The cries emanated from the far corner.
He checked his phone—40:27 remained. Eighteen seconds until his chance to make this call vanished.
Fingers trembling slightly, he pressed the speed dial. Despite sharing only one scenario with Si Yu, he chose to believe in her competence. More importantly, he suspected that failing to call would burden her with the same psychological torment he'd endured.
His reasoning crystallized: making the call was non-negotiable. Whether connected or not, the attempt would serve as indirect proof of mutual safety. Statistically, placing the call offered a 50% chance that neither would face ghostly pursuit—while silence guaranteed one player's doom.
Beep—
Only one ring before Si Yu answered. "I'm fine, don't worry."
"Mm..." Relief flickered across his face before skepticism crept in. "Aren't you the one who said not to ask about each other's safety?"
Two seconds of silence. Then—Beeeeep— The call dropped.
The answer was clear. In the absence of malice, Si Yu had just angrily censored herself mid-sentence before hanging up.
Before he could finish ranting, the wailing intensified, echoing the nursery rhyme's warning: "Waaah, waaah... Infant cries pierce the ears."
He snapped the phone shut, transferring flashlight to his left hand while drawing a kitchen knife from his satchel. The corridor curved ahead, revealing a picnic-style wicker basket on the floor. Inside lay an infant swaddled in white towel, face unremarkable—newborn features scrunched shut.
Feng Bu Jue exhaled sharply. "Spit it out. Thirty seconds, or I carve your head off."
The wails sharpened into glass-scraping screeches. "Cry all you want!" he barked. "That counts against your time!"
His bandit-style interrogation triggered disaster. The infant's eyes peeled open—blood-red amber orbs. Its features contorted into a grotesque grin.
Legends spoke true: newborns possessed yin-yang eyes, their vengeful spirits fiercer than ordinary ghosts when wronged.
The basket morphed into a disembodied torso—limbs torn off, viscera spilled across the floor. The infant now lounged inside the hollow cavity, grinning wider.
"Bone cradle and skin sac, huh?" Feng Bu Jue sneered, unshaken. His eyes caught movement—corridor walls now teemed with similar corpses, all eviscerated and limbless.
"You're some hermit crab reincarnation", he taunted. "Let me guess... Your mother was a student here. Some teacher or student knocked her up, then rejected her plea. She killed herself here, cutting you out in hatred?"
His novelist instincts proved accurate. The ghost screeched, shattering windows and draining Feng Bu Jue's vitality. The monster wouldn't die peacefully.
He lunged, knife aimed downward—but something gripped his wrist. A disembodied arm protruded from the wall, blocking his strike. The corpses' missing limbs had regrown.
The infant's shriek drained his vitality dangerously, but ceased after seven seconds. Walls now sprouted twitching limbs. Feng Bu Jue slashed at the grasping arm—kitchen knife barely bit into rotting flesh. Blood flowed, dousing the infant who laughed maniacally.
Dropping phone and flashlight, he grabbed Mario's pipe wrench from his satchel. The tool smashed the ghost's head, triggering concussion effects. All limbs froze. He wrenched free, pummeling the creature until gore splattered grotesquely.
The corpses' limbs vanished—victory seemed near. Then the dead torso transformed, face morphing into Feng Bu Jue's own. "Hurt... Stop..." it pleaded, voice twisting from whimper to roar as it thrashed.
He hesitated—mistake. The ghost vanished. Blood-soaked laughter erupted behind him. Looking down, he saw the horror—bloody infant clinging to his ribs inside his open abdomen.
"Hallucination", he muttered, calmly reaching for his satchel. Touch confirmed reality—clothing still tangible. He retrieved the Eye of Hostility, scanning the corridor. The device pulsed at one eviscerated corpse—target locked.
He strode forward, wrench smashing down. No escape this time.
[Main Quest Progress Update]
[Explore Yejie High School, dispel 7 paranormal phenomena. Current progress 3/7]
[Main Quest Progress Update]
[Explore Yejie High School, dispel 7 paranormal phenomena. Current progress 4/7]
Two system prompts flashed simultaneously—Si Yu had completed her staircase mission.
"Tch", Feng Bu Jue scoffed. "Guess I worried for nothing."
In the main building, Si Yu slumped against a blood-smeared corridor wall. Dozens of corpses littered the floor—bloated, grotesque. Her right hand gripped her phone; left hand clamped her bleeding waist wound. Sword and lantern lay forgotten nearby.
This floor allowed no escape. Once entered, survival meant killing everything. She'd chosen the latter.
Her earlier call had been a lie. At 40:00, she'd answered mid-combat—blood loss and exhaustion ignored. Players couldn't burden teammates with weakness.
Now, panting against the wall, she watched her phone—ten minutes until next call. She must make that connection before the ghost hunt resumed.
Feng Bu Jue deserved blame for that awkward exchange. No man should ever correct a woman's contradictions—even when justified.
Drip... drip...
She barely caught her breath before distant water droplets echoed through darkness.
(End of Chapter)
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