Footsteps Behind Him

Yang Jian's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. He panted heavily, only then feeling the cold sweat on his forehead run down his cheeks and drip to the floor.

Just now, he had practically taken a trip through the gates of hell.

"No, I can't stay in this place. I have to... I have to get out of here as soon as possible."

Having only just escaped the ghost's grasp for the moment, he did not even have time to dwell on what had happened.

He hurriedly grabbed his phone, turned on its flashlight, and got to his feet.

An unknown ghost was wandering through the darkness here. The longer he stayed, the faster he would die.

He started forward through the darkness.

Yang Jian's entire body trembled slightly, whether from excessive tension or inexplicable fear, he did not know.

After only a few steps, as the light drove back some of the darkness, he saw Duan Peng and Zheng Fei. Both wore terrified expressions as they stood before a mottled, mold-covered wall, frantically pounding on it.

"Who? Who's there?" Zheng Fei asked, his voice trembling as he turned around in terror.

He saw a faint glow.

Yang Jian held up his phone, his face cold. "It's me, Yang Jian."

"Yang... Yang Jian? You're not dead?" Zheng Fei's terror was mixed with shock.

"Like Fang Jing, were you hoping I'd die?" Yang Jian asked.

Duan Peng was agitated. Looking nervous and frightened, he rushed over, grabbed Yang Jian, and shouted, "Y-you, why did you drag me in here? Why? I've never done anything to you, so why are you trying to kill me?"

Yang Jian punched him in the face and roared, "I've never done anything to you either, yet weren't you trying to kill me? Now you're blaming me for the good deeds you people did? I said it before: if we die, then we die together. I regret not dragging Fang Jing in here too. He should have experienced what it felt like to be grabbed by that ghost."

Duan Peng was knocked to the ground by the punch. Ignoring the pain, he sobbed, "I-I don't want to die. I just want to live. Fang Jing told me to do it. If I didn't, then when that thing came out, everyone would die. Better for one person to die than all of us, right?"

"So I'm supposed to be the one sacrificed? Ridiculous. If you're so noble, why don't you volunteer to sacrifice yourself? Why force someone else to do it?"

Yang Jian said, "And even if you sacrificed me, could you get out? Don't forget there's still a ghost outside. And don't be so naive. Fang Jing wanted to kill me from beginning to end. He definitely knows something, or he wouldn't have kept targeting me. I'll settle this score today—if I can get out of here alive."

Before he could finish, Duan Peng suddenly shuddered. Horror spread across his face as he slowly turned to look behind him.

Nothing could be seen in the thick darkness, but he could feel an icy hand gripping his wrist.

And an unimaginably powerful force came from that cold hand.

Duan Peng's body was almost beyond his control as he was dragged backward.

"Help... help me, Yang Jian! Save me!" Duan Peng screamed in terror.

Yang Jian's heart tightened. With an inadvertent glance, he saw the pale hand gripping Duan Peng's wrist.

His heart skipped a beat. Without a doubt, the ghost from before had returned.

Almost instinctively, he raised his phone, ready to play that audio file again and scare the ghost away as before.

But just as his hand moved, he stopped.

Was Duan Peng really worth saving?

No.

He was not.

Fang Jing, Duan Peng, and Zheng Fei were entirely responsible for him ending up in this situation.

Now that they were in danger, why should he save them? They had not tried to save him just now. They had only thought of finding their own way out. And even if he wanted to save him, how could he? The audio file on his phone could only scare the ghost away; it could not hurt it.

He was merely borrowing another's power to intimidate it.

You want to live. Don't I want to live too?

Fang Jing had been right. He had been too naive before. He had heard Fang Jing planning to kill him in the classroom, yet he had still let down his guard.

He would never do that again.

Yang Jian lowered his phone and took a step back. He watched coldly as Duan Peng was continuously dragged backward into the darkness, unmoved no matter how he begged and screamed.

At last, he watched Duan Peng's figure vanish into the darkness, his face frozen in terror. The pale hand disappeared with him.

The instant darkness swallowed Duan Peng, even his cries for help vanished.

Everything quickly returned to silence. Only the faint, distinct sound of dripping water echoed around them.

Yang Jian turned away and took a deep breath. He tried to calm his trembling body and overcome the fear in his heart, then picked up his phone and began searching for a way out as though nothing had happened.

That ghost was still wandering around here. If he remained, he could not guarantee that it would not choose him as its next target.

Fang Jing had said earlier that people could temporarily hold a ghost back.

That was why Fang Jing had shoved him in here before—he had wanted to use Yang Jian's life to delay the ghost.

Since Duan Peng had now been taken by the ghost, there had to be a certain interval before it appeared again.

If his analysis was correct, then he was safe until the ghost attacked again.

He could only pray that was the case.

With that in mind, Yang Jian immediately began looking for a way out.

"Yang Jian, where are you going? Take... take me with you."

Seeing that he was leaving, Zheng Fei hurriedly tried to follow him.

Yang Jian ignored him and refused coldly, "Figure it out yourself. Don't follow me. Do you really expect me to take you out of here? You people are the reason I ended up in this damned place."

With that, he quickened his pace and rapidly disappeared into the darkness.

Not taking revenge on the spot was already more than enough consideration for their status as classmates. After killing Duan Peng, the ghost would surely come for Zheng Fei. He could wait here to die and buy Yang Jian some time.

If the ghost attacked again, Zheng Fei would definitely be its first choice.

Zheng Fei was startled and hurried after him, but Yang Jian had already disappeared. All around him was endless darkness.

"Y-Yang Jian, where are you? Come out! I didn't mean it before. I'm sorry. I'll apologize to you."

Sobbing, he groped through the darkness with both hands, but touched nothing.

He continued walking in circles.

Zheng Fei soon realized he was lost.

He could not find Yang Jian. He wanted to turn back, to return to the wall where they had been standing before, but he could not find that wall behind him either.

This no longer seemed like the familiar restroom. It was an endless space of darkness.

Fear gradually welled up in his heart, drowning the last traces of courage he possessed.

Then he heard heavy footsteps coming from behind him.

The footsteps drew closer and closer, steadily approaching where he stood.

"D-Duan Peng, is... is that you?" Zheng Fei asked cautiously, his voice shaking.

Before he could finish speaking.

A pale hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and grabbed him by the throat from behind.

It was a cold, rigid hand, not one that belonged to a living person.

"Ahhh!" A hysterical scream rang out.

But Yang Jian did not hear that scream. He was facing a problem of his own.

He had gotten lost in the darkness again.

This is definitely not a restroom, he thought grimly.

The darkness ahead had no end. The distance he had walked had long surpassed the length of any restroom.

He checked the time on his phone. A full twenty minutes had passed.

He had not managed to leave a restroom in twenty minutes, nor had he even touched a restroom wall or toilet. That was completely unreasonable.

The only explanation was that he had entered some unknown place.

"Damn it, what exactly is this Ghost Domain? Zhou Zheng didn't explain any of it when he was teaching before." Yang Jian was anxious.

Without sufficient information, he could not analyze anything, much less find a way to break out of this Ghost Domain.

"Drip, drip."

The sound of a faucet dripping began again.

"Wait, the dripping stopped for a while earlier. Why has it started again now?"

Yang Jian's expression shifted. Without hesitation, he headed toward the sound.

If he could hear a faucet dripping, then the restroom had to be nearby. As long as he returned to that familiar restroom, he could find the door and leave this damned place.

Damn it, he should have noticed that earlier.

With a direction, Yang Jian felt somewhat steadier and quickened his pace.

But soon, his phone gave a low-battery warning. It startled him. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and turned the phone off.

More than darkness, he feared the ghost wandering around this place.

He had to save what little battery remained for a critical moment.

He moved forward blindly, cautious and alert.

Only the steady drip, drip of water sounded in the darkness. Other than that, there was nothing.

The surroundings were frighteningly quiet. He could even hear his own breathing clearly.

But not long after he extinguished the light and continued onward.

Suddenly.

Tap, tap!

A series of footsteps sounded behind Yang Jian, heavy and distinct.

The footsteps came from far away, gradually drawing closer to him.

In an instant, Yang Jian's body stiffened and every muscle tensed. He abruptly switched on his phone's light and looked back.

The beam illuminated about a meter ahead. Behind him was nothing but dense darkness.

Yet the footsteps kept drawing nearer.

"It definitely can't be Zheng Fei or Duan Peng." Yang Jian's face stiffened slightly.

No living person could follow him through the darkness with such precision.

If it was not Zheng Fei or Duan Peng, then it was most likely the ghost wandering through that restroom.

"Run."

Feeling the footsteps approach ever closer, Yang Jian's heart tightened, and he hurriedly increased his speed.