Class 0804

District 1, Teaching Building 13, 3rd Floor, Classroom 0804.

Until Yin Kuang sat down at a desk with his name scorched into the wood by flames, his mind remained a complete blur. He did not even know how he had arrived at this classroom from that massive "playground."

"Horror High School... Horror High School..."

Vague, chaotic fragments of consciousness seemed to exist in his mind, all related to this "Horror High School" where he now found himself. Threads of awareness tangled together, impossible to unravel, yet the four flame-scorched characters of "Horror High School" kept flying back and forth across his hollow mind.

"Hey!"

Yin Kuang was jolted back to his senses by a sudden pat and a shout, snapping him into clarity. "It's you?"

The person who had woken him was the handsome youth who had been the first to speak to Yin Kuang back on the "playground."

"What a coincidence. I didn't expect us to be assigned to the same class. Let's get acquainted first. My surname is Li, Li Shuangmu. 'Shuang' as in frost and snow, 'Mu' as in bathing in wind and rain."

"Nice to meet you." Yin Kuang shook his hand. "I'm Yin Kuang, 'Kuang' as in a relaxed and happy heart." After the introductions, Yin Kuang asked curiously, "You don't seem nervous or afraid at all?"

Yin Kuang glanced around the classroom. Everyone else looked anxious and uneasy; some were even deathly pale or sobbing quietly. While there were a few with strong nerves, someone as bright and cheerful as Li Shuangmu was truly an outlier.

"Why should I be nervous or afraid?" Li Shuangmu asked back with a smile.

"This..." Yin Kuang couldn't answer. "Shouldn't we be terrified? Suddenly arriving in this bizarre place?"

Li Shuangmu gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "But what good would fear or nervousness do? Regardless, we are already here, aren't we? What do you think?" He seemed to recall some past events, saying faintly, "Keeping a clear and calm head at all times is a course I have always had to train for."

The seemingly sunny and cheerful Li Shuangmu appeared to have an unknown history. The maturity, wisdom, and faint sense of desolation he displayed now left Yin Kuang sighing to himself, He is a man with a story...

Yin Kuang nodded and said, "You're right. Since we are here, we might as well settle in."

As they talked, and influenced by Li Shuangmu, the unease in Yin Kuang's heart gradually began to dissipate.

Slowly, a few others nearby joined their conversation, using various topics to distract themselves and dispel the negative emotions within.

"My surname is Wang, Wang Ning. Sigh, I was happily heading to university to register, but I don't know how I tripped while going downstairs... then, everything went black, and I ended up here..." The person in front of Yin Kuang turned around to say.

Wang Ning was as his name suggested—delicate in appearance, wearing thin-rimmed glasses. But the fear in his eyes could not be hidden even by the lenses.

"Who's to say otherwise? I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes. Is it easy to get into a second-tier university? Now look at this, I've ended up in this ghost place for no reason... Sigh, I don't know what my parents will do when they find out I'm missing; they must be worried sick. By the way, I'm Wei Min, 'Min' as in the people."

Wei Ming had a sturdy, tall build, a buzz cut, and a rigid face with a faint scar on his left cheek; he looked like someone who had been a tough character in the past.

"Do you guys think... this is a kid... kidnapping?"

A timid, soft, and gentle voice cut in. When everyone looked over, their eyes couldn't help but light up. There was no other reason than the fact that the speaker was a petite girl with large eyes, an oval face, snow-white skin, and bright eyes and white teeth—pure and moving. Especially now, her shy and timid appearance was truly endearing, making one want to pull her into their arms and offer sweet, whispered comfort.

The girl clearly became even more frightened under everyone's gaze, shrinking back slightly like a startled rabbit.

Li Shuangmu was not much affected by her pure charm, feeling only a slight sense of wonder. He analyzed, "It shouldn't be a kidnapping. From the very beginning, everything that has happened has far exceeded our imagination and cognition—like suddenly appearing here, the bizarre text on the admission notice, and the chaotic consciousness appearing in our minds. Everything feels like a ghost story. Heh, if the kidnappers had such powerful means, they wouldn't need to rely on kidnapping to make money."

Yin Kuang agreed wholeheartedly. "Besides, I'm a pauper. If it really were a kidnapping, they would never have kidnapped me. Only an idiot would do that."

The back-and-forth between Li Shuangmu and Yin Kuang helped soothe the timid girl. "But... what exactly happened?"

Just as Yin Kuang was about to say "We don't know either," a roar suddenly erupted in the empty classroom. Then came the sound of desks and chairs crashing together.

"Damn it! Say that again if you have the guts!!"

A shirtless, burly young man was seen holding a stool menacingly, pointing it at a pale-faced but handsome boy on the ground. It seemed that if the boy on the floor didn't give an explanation, he would really smash the stool down and crack his skull open.

The pale-faced boy with cold eyes wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spat. "I'll say it. You, Du Fang, are trash! You have no money and no power. Hmph, Norman follows you, but you can't give her anything. You can't even feed yourself, yet you want Norman to suffer and endure hardship with you. Sooner or later, she'll be taken by some pot-bellied nouveau riche to be a mistress, living a miserable life. But I am different..."

"Zhang Yaozong, I... I'll kill you! Ah!!" The big guy, Du Fang, was filled with murderous rage and brought the raised stool down. If this hit, it would be fatal. The pale-faced boy shrank back in terror.

However, the stool did not land.

A white shadow suddenly darted out from the side, wrapping around Du Fang's waist and knocking him away, saving the life of the pale-faced Zhang Yaozong.

This white shadow was none other than Li Shuangmu.

"What are you doing? Get lost! Stop meddling in my business, or I'll kill you too!" The man was clearly consumed by rage, biting at anyone like a mad dog.

Li Shuangmu stood between them, his face cold. "I don't want to meddle in your business. But we are all in the same class now. Before the situation becomes clear, I don't want any complications. This is no longer just a grudge between the two of you; it concerns all thirty students in our class."

Indeed, in this empty classroom, there were thirty boys and girls, all around twenty years old.

When Li Shuangmu said this, everyone agreed.

"That's right! Even if you have a deep hatred, now is not the time to settle it."

"Exactly... who knows what supernatural event will happen next. Don't drag us down with you."

"Is it because of a woman, man? Is it really worth fighting and killing over?"

As everyone chimed in, the furious Du Fang regained some rationality, threw the stool down with a hateful glare, and returned to his seat.

Yin Kuang went over to help pick up the overturned desks and chairs. However, the pale-faced Zhang Yaozong snatched the desk away and said ungratefully, "I don't need your fake pity. I'll clean it up myself."

Yin Kuang shrugged, smiled at his own rejection, and sat back at his desk.

Just then, the classroom door, which had been tightly shut, was suddenly opened—no, it was kicked open! It was kicked open with such rudeness and violence that it made a loud "bang," causing the eardrums of everyone in the classroom to vibrate.