[Ding—Welcome to the instance: Midnight Class 13.]
[Commit the following rules to memory, or you will… vanish.]
[Rule 1]: At twelve midnight, all classroom doors must be locked. Latecomers, please proceed to the 5th floor of the East Teaching Building on your own.
[Rule 2]: At one in the morning, if you hear knocking on the windows, do not turn around.
[Rule 3]: The last stall in the restroom—never enter it.
[Rule 4]: If you encounter a student in an old-fashioned school uniform, bow your head and do not make eye contact.
[Rule 5]: At two in the morning, when the school anthem plays over the broadcast, you must not make any sound. Otherwise, you will be "sent to the principal's office."
[Rule 6]: Don't ask who sits behind you.
The cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind, drawing out the final word, "vanish," like a rusty saw grating on a nerve.
Li Ye opened his eyes to find himself sitting in a dilapidated classroom. The air was thick with the strange smell of dust mixed with mildew. Above him, an old-fashioned ceiling fan spun sluggishly, groaning with a "creak... creak..." as if it could give up the ghost at any moment, fall, and crack open some unlucky soul's head.
The classroom was dimly lit, with only the pale moonlight filtering through the windows, tracing the skewed outlines of desks and chairs. Besides him, there were three other people—two women and a man—all with ashen faces, clearly terrified by the sudden turn of events.
"Where... where is this? Wasn't I sleeping at home?" a girl with a ponytail, who looked like a college student, asked, her voice trembling with fear and confusion.
"It's 'The Game'..." whispered the other girl, who had short hair and a cold expression. She scanned her surroundings vigilantly, her hands subconsciously clenched into fists. "We've been chosen."
The only man, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, pushed them up his nose. The moonlight glinted off the lenses, giving him the air of a sophisticated scoundrel. He forced a calm tone. "Newbies? Don't panic. Listen to me; I've been through this twice. As long as you stick strictly to the rules, the chances of survival are high." He tilted his chin slightly as he spoke, a hint of a veteran's superiority in his posture.
The gazes of the three fell, in unison, upon Li Ye, who had remained bizarrely calm from the very beginning.
At that moment, Li Ye was, with a grave expression... pulling things out of his hiking backpack, which was half as tall as he was.
Crinkle— A bag of chips was torn open.
Glug, glug— A bottle of soda was twisted open.
Rip— The plastic wrap of a sausage was bitten open.
In the dead-silent classroom, these sounds were infinitely amplified, seeming extraordinarily abrupt, even... inappropriate.
Li Ye nonchalantly stuffed a large handful of chips into his mouth, making a crisp "crunch, crunch" sound, then chugged a big gulp of soda and let out a satisfied burp.
"Buuurp... Ahhh—"
The man with the glasses felt his lips twitch. "My friend, we are in mortal danger. Shouldn't you be a little more serious?"
Munching on his chips, Li Ye replied indistinctly, "An army marches on its stomach. If I'm starving, my brain won't work. I won't even have the energy to run when a ghost chases me. Isn't that just asking to be caught?"
His absurd logic left the other three stunned.
The ponytail girl, Lin Wan'er, whispered to the short-haired girl, Chen Xue, "Is this guy... for real?"
Chen Xue shook her head, her eyes full of suspicion. "I don't know. He could be a lunatic, or he could be a master. Either way, stay away from him."
The man with the glasses, Zhao Kun, scoffed. "Just an attention seeker. People like him die the fastest in these instances."
Li Ye ignored their chatter, continuing to pull more items from his bag: a small protective talisman, a miniature flashlight, a roll of red string, and even a stack of yellow sticky notes and a pen. His backpack was like a Mary Poppins bag, filled with a mixture of pragmatic and... ridiculous items.
"Hey," Li Ye said, without looking up as he scribbled on a sticky note. "Does anyone have a watch? What time is it?"
Chen Xue raised her wrist, revealing a digital watch. "Eleven forty-five."
"Oho, almost time then." Li Ye slapped the sticky note he'd written on onto the blackboard. On it, in flamboyant handwriting, were the words "Today's To-Do List," under which he had copied the six rules. He even drew a large clock next to the first rule, with the hands pointing to twelve.
"Rule one, lock the doors at twelve." Li Ye dusted the chip crumbs off his hands. "We need to find a classroom to stay in. This one has both its front and back doors wide open. It's too exposed, definitely bad Feng Shui. Let's go, find a new spot."
Zhao Kun sneered. "What do you know? All the classrooms are the same. Any one will do."
"Not at all," Li Ye said, leaning in mysteriously. "Let me tell you, choosing a classroom is like choosing a burial plot. It's all about harnessing the wind and gathering Qi. Look at this one, it has a cross-breeze, all the 'Qi' is scattered. It's a straight path for negative energy. A ghost wouldn't even need to make a turn. We need a room with a single door and south-facing windows for more 'Yang' energy."
Zhao Kun looked at him as if he were a complete idiot.
Lin Wan'er, however, was swayed, subconsciously feeling that he might have a point.
Chen Xue remained silent, but a hint of scrutiny entered her gaze.
Li Ye didn't care if they believed him or not. He hoisted his heavy backpack and walked out of the classroom with the cheerful enthusiasm of a primary schooler on a field trip.
"Believe it or not, suit yourselves. The rules clearly state that latecomers have to go to the 5th floor of the East Teaching Building. I'm a coward, and I hate walking alone at night," he muttered as he walked.
Lin Wan'er hesitated, then bit her lip and followed him. Chen Xue glanced at Zhao Kun, then at Li Ye's retreating back, and silently followed as well. Left alone, Zhao Kun's face turned livid. He cursed "lunatic" under his breath but ultimately, reluctantly, trailed behind them.
The school hallway was deserted. The voice-activated lights were broken, leaving only patches of pale moonlight on the floor, cast through a series of windows. Li Ye's flashlight beam danced ahead of them as he hummed a jaunty, out-of-tune hero's anthem.
"Heeey-ya, ho-ya, hey hey ho-ya..."
In the silent hallway, the singing was more eerie than encouraging.
"Can you please stop singing?" Chen Xue finally snapped, her voice tight with suppressed anger.
"Oh, my bad, my bad," Li Ye stopped immediately and switched to another tune. "Oh, the moon tonight, is so big and bright..."
Chen Xue: "..."
Just then, Li Ye stopped in front of a classroom. A worn sign hung on the door: Class 3-13.
"This is it!" Li Ye nodded with satisfaction. "Lucky number, powerful name, excellent Feng Shui. The top choice for home, travel, and ghost-evasion."
Zhao Kun couldn't help but mock him. "Thirteen? In the West, that's an unlucky number."
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do, got it?" Li Ye shot him a look. "This is a Chinese-style horror instance. We play by local customs. Besides, thirteen is one and three. One life, three chances. It's a great omen!"
This forced explanation left Zhao Kun speechless.
They entered Class 13, and Li Ye immediately started giving orders. "Alright, alright, close the windows, lock the doors. Male comrade, make yourself useful, help me drag the teacher's desk to block the front door. Female comrades, check if the back door is locked properly."
His tone was so natural it was as if he were the team leader. Though annoyed, Zhao Kun's survival instinct kicked in, and he helped Li Ye move the heavy desk. Lin Wan'er and Chen Xue confirmed that the back door was bolted from the inside.
Just as they finished, the hands of the clock on the wall pointed exactly to twelve.
DONG—
A deep, ancient bell toll echoed from an unknown source, ringing through the empty campus and striking fear into everyone's heart.
Immediately after, a series of "clank, clank" sounds of metal hitting metal came from the hallway, as if someone was locking each door one by one. The sound moved from far to near, finally stopping at their classroom, Class 13. Then came the sound of a key inserting into a lock and turning.
Click.
The door was now locked from the outside. They were completely trapped in this classroom.