The closer it drew to midnight, the more distorted the figures of the "people" on the dance floor became, like masses of formless, chaotic darkness.
Horror seeped from every corner.
Che Quan could not be bothered to ask any more questions. After showing the others how it was done, he sank lazily into a sofa nearby.
His ink-black hair was medium-length, soft and sleek. On his pale, flawless face, a pair of slightly darkened crimson eyes glowed like blazing red lotuses, radiating an intense, morbid beauty.
Che Quan looked at no one. He propped his cheek lazily on one hand, his eyes half-lidded as he rested.
Standing beside him, Jiang Cong lowered his lashes slightly and watched Che Quan nestled in the soft booth sofa.
A trace of barely perceptible obsession lay hidden beneath his elegant, composed expression, vanishing in an instant.
Not far away.
Chang Jianfeng and the others were trying various ways of questioning the "people" who had not yet fully transformed.
They discovered that as long as they did not ask about the girl whose name contained Qiao, the suspected final boss of this instance, these "people" could answer their questions perfectly well.
Chang Jianfeng asked a twisted figure that looked like a female ghost, "S-student, do you remember who I am?"
The figure writhed crookedly, like a twisting stick figure with its arms and legs spread. Her voice sounded no different from an ordinary human girl's, with obvious caution and reverence mixed in. "T-Teacher Chang! You came too! Thanks to you, we were able to get such good grades... You really are amazing..."
"N-no, not at all, not at all." As Chang Jianfeng stumbled over his words in surprise, some of the weight lifted from his chest. He had truly feared that these horrifying monsters would pounce on him and devour him the moment he approached. "Um, which student were you again...?"
The figure shook violently, seemingly even more nervous. "Teacher Chang, I'm Chen Qi, your class representative... Don't you remember me? I-I paid you so much in tutoring fees. My mom even sold a kidney because of it..."
Her voice immediately grew much quieter toward the end, as though she feared Chang Jianfeng would hear.
But Chang Jianfeng had good hearing. Not only did he hear it, he heard it very clearly, easily picking up on the anger and resentment this "girl" was desperately trying to conceal.
In fact, he did not even need to listen. Chang Jianfeng could tell just by looking that the figure's negative emotions were mounting-with each emotional fluctuation, she swelled and writhed wildly, as though she had suffered some tremendous blow.
Chang Jianfeng's face went white. He hurriedly slipped away, putting distance between himself and the frenzied shadow.
Things were much calmer on Chen Yuxiang's end.
She seemed to have encountered a boy from her former class who had a crush on "her," so he answered every question she asked.
"You know our class had a campus belle, right?" Chen Yuxiang began, cautiously testing the waters.
"Of course I do. Little Miao, right? What about her? Why are you suddenly asking?"
"Nothing. She just came to mind, so I thought I'd ask. As far as you remember, what was our relationship like?"
"Not much of one, I guess. I never saw you two hanging out. But around the time we were about to submit our college choices, Campus Belle Miao seemed really eager to get you to go out with her? She kept asking us whether we could get in touch with you. It was pretty strange, come to think of it."
Chen Yuxiang frowned in confusion. A thought flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it herself. That couldn't be possible, could it? That would be too outrageous.
Just then, Ning Dantong approached, and the boy's shadow immediately said, "Oh! Speaking of people who were close to Campus Belle Miao, here's one right now. From the class next door. What was her name again...? Sorry, I forgot. But I always saw her with Campus Belle Miao. They were inseparable."
Ning Dantong happened to hear him. She stopped beside Chen Yuxiang and took the opportunity to ask the shadow, "Then what was Yuan Zhou's relationship with Campus Belle Miao like?"
The shadow fell silent.
Then he spat. "That suck-up Yuan Zhou just latched onto anyone with money or influence! And if someone's family was poor or the teachers looked down on them, he'd lead the bullying!"
Ning Dantong keenly picked up on the word "bullying" and pressed him. "For example? Who did he lead them in bullying?"
At first, the boy's shadow casually offered a nickname. "'The Invisible Man.' They were always mocking him and ordering him around. I remember one time they pushed 'the Invisible Man' into the swimming pool, and he nearly drowned. That bunch stood there laughing at him, stomping on his hands and kicking his head so he couldn't climb out."
"The Invisible Man" was presumably the expert's identity in this instance-the nobody.
"Who were those people?" Chen Yuxiang could not help interjecting.
"Who else could it be?" The boy's shadow seemed to purse his lips, as though he found it awkward to say. "That suck-up Yuan, of course, and you-know-who..."
Seeing him dodge the question, Chen Yuxiang grew anxious. Midnight was almost here. They had no time for hemming and hawing or guessing games.
To get the clues as quickly as possible, Chen Yuxiang could only suppress the fear in her heart and pretend to be eager for gossip. Leaning closer to the boy's shadow, she said, "Um, how about you tell just me? I really want to know. Come on, tell me."
The boy's shadow hesitated. Seeing this, Ning Dantong tactfully stepped back a few paces and turned her head away to wait nearby.
Only then did the shadow lean close to Chen Yuxiang's ear and say, unaware of how sinister he sounded, "Campus Belle Miao and that best friend of hers who was just here, too!"
Chen Yuxiang's heart jolted. The bizarre suspicion she had pushed down earlier surfaced once again.
Distracted and unsettled, she blurted out a question without thinking. "Then who else was there besides 'the Invisible Man'? Were any girls bullied?"
The boy's shadow froze at her words. Entirely unaware that "he" was now a shapeless mass, he tilted his head as he searched his memories. Then, apparently remembering something, he suddenly let out a piercing scream, followed by another and another. His figure rapidly twisted into a terrifying skeletal shape, as though he was about to go berserk.
At the sight, Ning Dantong and Chen Yuxiang exchanged a glance, a suspicion already taking shape in their minds.
They cautiously moved away from the frenzied shadow and retreated to the foot of the stairs, where everyone had first gathered.
Chang Jianfeng also returned then, his expression somewhat grave.
Yuan Zhou was probably still upstairs keeping track of the time. Chang Jianfeng raised his voice and asked, "How much longer?"
"Nine minutes!" Yuan Zhou's shout came down from upstairs, trembling with unmistakable fear.
Everyone looked toward Miao Rouning.
Whatever Miao Rouning had heard had filled her with terror. When the shadow in front of her suddenly went berserk as well, she hastily stumbled back.
Everyone was finally together again, and once more, Ning Dantong took on the task of comforting Miao Rouning.
Ever since she had finished questioning the shadow, Chen Yuxiang's thoughts had remained a tangled mess. During the brief, terrifying silence, she instinctively looked toward Che Quan, resting peacefully on the booth sofa nearby, and Jiang Cong, who seemed entirely removed from the situation.
The aura of formidable experts surrounding those two was impossible to conceal.
Chang Jianfeng was no different from Chen Yuxiang.
He looked at Che Quan and nervously asked for his opinion. "Sh-should we go up to the second floor first?"
Before you continue