Doubt

Just as the Fatty was steeling himself to step in and help, he suddenly caught Jiang Cheng's gaze.

The look clearly told him not to. The Fatty instinctively shrank his neck.

The words he'd just been preparing to say died in his throat.

Jiang Cheng looked away and fixed his eyes on the Suit Man.

Under Jiang Cheng's gaze, the man's expression turned uneasy, and a foreboding feeling surged in his heart.

He was just about to say something when Jiang Cheng cut him off. "Brother," Jiang Cheng said politely, "could you give me a hand?"

The Suit Man looked at the corpse with its back to him, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Beside him, Hat Man and the Ponytail Woman both looked relieved.

"Me?" the Suit Man asked, frowning.

Jiang Cheng nodded. "Yes, you."

Hearing the conversation inside the room, the middle-aged man in the tank top, another man, and the Sleepwear Woman all moved close to the doorway, but none of them crossed the threshold.

Everyone's attention was fixed on the Suit Man.

With no way around it, the Suit Man thought for a few seconds before agreeing. He and Jiang Cheng crouched on either side of the Qipao Woman.

As Jiang Cheng had instructed, each of them took hold of one of the Qipao Woman's shoulders, then turned her over.

The Suit Man waited until he saw Jiang Cheng touch the dead Qipao Woman before reaching out to grab her other shoulder. Then the two of them worked together to roll her onto her back.

"Ah!" The Sleepwear Woman cried out from the doorway. Her legs gave way, and she nearly fell into the pool of blood.

Even the former mercenary, the Ponytail Woman, who had seen all kinds of corpses, couldn't keep her expression from changing.

The Qipao Woman had died in a horrifying state.

Most chilling of all, her lower jaw was gone. The upper half of her mouth was exposed for everyone to see, along with the twisted muscles.

Something had clearly seized her upper and lower jaws.

Then it had torn her lower jaw off by force.

The sight was so gruesome that the Fatty almost threw up.

The Qipao Woman lay overturned on the floor, her elegant dress soaked in blood, like an ink painting splashed in vermilion.

The most terrifying thing was the Qipao Woman's eyes.

They were wide open, her brows raised unnaturally high. She must have seen something horrifying just before she died.

Even in death, her face was frozen in indescribable terror. Her eyes hadn't even closed, and, on closer inspection, the blood vessels in them were still visible.

Once her initial revulsion had passed, the Ponytail Woman stepped forward and crouched beside the Qipao Woman's body. After a while, she said, "Her tongue is missing too."

Her voice was exceptionally calm, devoid of emotion. She was merely describing a fact.

Still, her calm tone made everyone uncomfortable.

"She really is dead." The man in the tank top shuddered violently. He'd realized it already, but nothing compared to the shock of seeing the corpse with his own eyes.

No one paid him any attention. People dying in nightmares was perfectly normal. What they needed to do was find out how the woman had died.

And then use that to deduce what was crucial to this mission.

Blood had sprayed everywhere, coating the walls, bed, wardrobe, mirror, and even the ceiling. The long-absent stench of blood filled their nostrils, setting an ominous tone for the mission.

"Someone must have snapped her jaw off in an instant," the Ponytail Woman said after crouching in front of the corpse and examining it closely.

Though she'd said "someone," everyone knew perfectly well that it had to be a ghost.

The ghost in this mission had killed her.

It was hard to find any other explanation for that level of strength and speed.

After they'd finished examining the body, Hat Man folded his arms and suggested they leave. Everyone agreed. Jiang Cheng took one more look at the Qipao Woman, then followed the others out of the room.

Standing outside the door, they briefly discussed the Qipao Woman's death. But even the Fatty could tell there was nothing substantial in the discussion—just a lot of pointless chatter.

After the crowd dispersed, the Sleepwear Woman, who had been hiding at the back, suddenly spoke up. In a timid voice, she asked whether they should do something about the Qipao Woman's body—perhaps bury her, so she could at least have some dignity.

A vivid red handprint marked her delicate face, making her look even more pitiful.

If they'd been anywhere else, someone might have been taken in by that look. But this was the Nightmare World.

The Suit Man and the others simply ignored her. In the end, the Fatty took pity on her and told her that this was the Dream Realm, so she didn't need to worry too much about things like that. The corpse might disappear on its own in a little while.

Unexpectedly, when the girl heard that the corpse might vanish without a trace, she grew even more frightened. She had clearly started imagining all sorts of strange things.

That wasn't the Fatty's problem. He'd simply told her the truth.

Cruel as it was.

According to the woman who had shown them the way, their mission was to film the academy's anniversary celebration.

It would take place in seven days.

By their count, they had six days left.

In other words, that was the time limit for the mission.

Time was short. After a brief discussion, everyone decided to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, then walk around the school.

Since their role in this mission was that of photographers hired to film the event, they should explore the grounds. The clues might be hidden somewhere inconspicuous.

The Fatty suddenly reminded them, "Don't forget, our cameras are still in the equipment room."

Jiang Cheng turned to him. "Then let's split up first and meet in front of the equipment room at noon."

It was a sensible suggestion, and no one objected.

Jiang Cheng and the Fatty turned and headed downstairs. Just then, the Sleepwear Woman hurried after them, following pitifully behind. The little tail on the back of her pajamas swayed as she walked, making her look rather cute.

Perhaps she'd chosen to take her chances with them because the Fatty had been the only one to speak to her earlier.

After all, the Qipao Woman was dead, and the Sleepwear Woman, who lived in Room 407, was now truly alone.

"Following us won't do you any good," Jiang Cheng said calmly. "Daytime is relatively safe. If I were you, I'd think carefully about how to get through the night."

The Sleepwear Woman stopped in her tracks. Then, as if she'd suddenly understood something, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

The Ponytail Woman stood in front of Room 406, lost in thought.

The campus was larger than they'd expected. Yesterday, with a woman guiding them, it hadn't seemed like much, but finding the cafeteria on their own had taken quite a bit of effort.

Jiang Cheng had seemed distracted the entire way, leaving the Fatty to navigate. That was also the direct reason they'd taken so long to find the cafeteria.

The Fatty swallowed. "Did you notice something?"

Jiang Cheng didn't answer directly. He only nodded and said, "Let's eat first. I'll tell you after."