Hao Wei looked at the mirror. It had been wiped spotless, and her reflection showed clearly in it.
Si Qi suddenly slapped her arm and frowned. "What are you smiling at?"
Hao Wei's reflection wore an eerie smile.
Hao Wei froze. "Was I smiling?"
Si Qi muttered, "Stop smiling. It's creepy."
Looking serious, Wei Lin rubbed the words "Straighten Your Clothes" engraved on the mirror, then held his fingers beneath his nose and sniffed. He let out a relieved breath. "It's not blood. Just ordinary paint."
Qian Fang, a member of the Abyss, asked in confusion, "Why put such a huge mirror in the lobby?"
"To remind yourself to keep your appearance neat at all times."
The players heard an amused voice behind them. In the mirror's reflection, they saw an extraordinarily handsome man standing at their backs.
He wore an absurdly oversized black trench coat, and a pair of bright eyes lay beneath his slightly drooping fringe. Those dark eyes were lowered now, a faint smile playing about his lips.
"Hello."
Wei Lin lifted his chin, the wariness in his eyes undiminished by the friendly greeting. "You're saying this mirror is here to remind students to 'keep their appearance neat'?"
"Campus Ghost Stories."
Hao Wei's pupils abruptly contracted. She hurriedly pulled Si Qi around the corner, out of the mirror's view.
The other players reacted just as quickly, retreating from the lobby.
"We should be fine, right?" Qian Fang looked pale as he turned to Wei Lin for help.
Before Wei Lin could answer, the bell signaling the end of break-time exercises rang, and students streamed from the sports field into the classroom building.
Ji Xun keenly noticed that every student passing the mirrored wall in the lobby kept their head down, without exception, as though some vicious ghost lurked inside it.
Wei Lin's expression darkened. "Come on. Let's head back to class too."
The game panel showed that their identities for this round were transfer students. When class time came, students naturally had to return to their classrooms and prepare for lessons.
The players had been assigned to different first-year high school classes. After a student led Ji Xun to an empty seat, he discovered that Yuan Ci was sitting behind him, smiling at him with his arms crossed.
"Hey, teacher. We meet again."
A boy with a wheat-colored complexion sitting beside Yuan Ci waved at him in greeting. Coupled with that slightly punchable tone, he momentarily made Ji Xun think he was looking at Tang Cha.
Ji Xun turned away with a cold expression, ignoring the two of them. But Yuan Ci had no intention of letting him off so easily.
Yuan Ci lightly poked Ji Xun's back with a pen and whispered, "You still haven't told me your name."
Ji Xun turned a deaf ear to him, opened his textbook, and casually skimmed a couple of lines.
What exactly were humans studying?
What was all this stuff in the book?
Ji "Half-literate" Xun angrily snapped the book shut.
A clear burst of laughter came from behind him. Ji Xun turned and glared at Yuan Ci. "What exactly do you want?"
He had never experienced the carefree days of youth and didn't know that young men expressed their interest by constantly making a nuisance of themselves in front of someone to attract their attention.
Put simply, it was a peacock displaying its tail.
Yuan Ci merely smiled without answering.
Ji Xun coldly supplied his name. "Ji Xun."
Having received his answer, Yuan Ci quieted down. Ji Xun was left stewing and could only pray that this big shot wouldn't cause any more trouble.
"Hey, Ji Xun." Yuan Ci reached out and poked his back again, then said meaningfully, "What do you think would happen if that fan fell?"
Ji Xun: Nothing much. Hope you survive.
Experimental Middle School had a cafeteria, where all the students ate lunch.
The players gathered in groups of three or five and shared what they had discovered that morning.
"This school isn't big, but the students all act so weird," Si Qi said, swallowing a mouthful of chicken drumstick rice. "Whenever I asked whether there were any ghost stories about the school, they clammed up like they'd seen a ghost."
Hao Wei stole glances at Ji Xun as she ate. "I managed to get a few out of them, but they were all ordinary ghost stories. A staircase with steps you can never count, knocking in the girls' bathroom, and an anatomical model in the School Infirmary that moves."
"We..." Su Rang guiltily glanced at Yuan Ci. We didn't find anything. All we did was watch Ci flirt with the newcomer.
Ji Xun kept his head down and ate. Although he didn't need food, he had suddenly discovered the pleasure of eating.
"Su Rang, what's his name?"
Hao Wei knew Ji Xun was a player, but he hadn't had time to introduce himself earlier.
Su Rang quietly told her Ji Xun's name, only to be met with another pair of bewildered eyes.
There was indeed no one named Ji Xun on the Top 100 Ranking.
The afternoon classes were just as dull and tedious. At last, evening arrived.
Night was when players in infinite-instance games came into their own, but the school had a rule for its students: they had to return to their dorms and go to bed before the ten o'clock room inspection, or face disciplinary action.
To make communication easier, Wei Lin created a temporary group chat and added all the players taking part in this game.
Afterward, the players returned to their respective dorm rooms.
Rooms were assigned by class. When Ji Xun returned to Room 204, sure enough, he found Yuan Ci and Su Rang sitting on stools.
Ignoring Yuan Ci, he placed a hand on the edge of the upper bunk and, with a slight push, vaulted up and lay down.
"Wow, handsome moves, pretty boy." Yuan Ci whistled, then vaulted onto the bunk opposite him with much the same movement.
They lay head to head, separated by only a railing.
Ji Xun closed his eyes. The lights went out at ten sharp, and the boys' dormitory instantly fell silent after its earlier clamor.
In the darkness, all he could hear was Yuan Ci's steady breathing beside him.
Thud, thud, thud-
Heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. Through the gap beneath the door, Ji Xun could see the dim hallway light.
He wanted to get down and take a look, but Yuan Ci caught his shoulder and held him in place.
"Don't move."
Ji Xun hesitated, then lay back down.
"Let's see which room has naughty children who aren't asleep-"
A rough, hoarse voice rang out, inexplicably sinister and frightening in the darkness.
When the dorm supervisor reached Room 203 next door, Ji Xun heard a faint startled cry from the other side of the wall. Then the person seemed to cover their mouth, letting out muffled whimpers.
"Found you, naughty child."
"Ah-!"
Ji Xun heard a door being smashed open, followed by several terrified screams filled with boundless fear and despair.
A jumble of noises came from next door, as though someone had knocked over a stool while desperately trying to hide.
The screaming lasted less than five seconds before the boys' dormitory fell silent again.
As though nothing had happened.
The supervisor hummed cheerfully and continued his rounds.
Now, alongside the sounds he made, there was also the noise of something heavy being dragged along the floor.
He stopped outside Room 204.
"Good children, are you asleep?"
Su Rang's breath caught, but he remained as motionless as a corpse. Yuan Ci's breathing didn't even change rhythm.
Ji Xun thought that he certainly lived up to his rank as the number-one player.
As though unwilling to give up after failing to get the result he wanted, the supervisor knocked on the door again.
When the people inside really seemed to be asleep, the supervisor smacked his lips and had no choice but to abandon his attempt to trouble this room.
Just as he was about to step away, Ji Xun opened his eyes.
There was a small ventilation window above the dorm room's door. Through it, Ji Xun met the eyes of the supervisor lingering outside.
He was a man over two meters tall, his face covered in burns.
His face, its features no longer distinguishable, twisted into a stiff smile at Ji Xun. Almost all his teeth had fallen out.
As the sound-activated light went out, the supervisor's voice carried excitement and bloodlust.
"Good child, I've caught you."
Before you continue