Night fell quickly. The pitch-black sky was void of stars. At some point, a layer of white mist began to float in the air. It was already eight o'clock, but Li Yiqian and Du Xiaonan still hadn't returned. No one answered their phones either. Could something have happened to them?
"They didn't tell you where they were going to investigate?" Su Jin'er asked worriedly.
"They just said they were going into the city. They didn't mention where exactly," Lin Yuan replied, clearly frustrated. She had told them that morning to come back early, and if they couldn't, at least to call. But now there was no news at all!
"Maybe they got delayed or something... I wonder if Chu Feifan managed to get the key," Su Jin'er murmured, feeling a strange, inexplicable sadness.
"From what Zuo Yi said, I'm sure he got it. It's those two girls that worry me," Lin Yuan said as she fidgeted with her fingers.
Su Jin'er closed her eyes. She hadn't expected to encounter such terrifying things so soon after transferring to this school. If her parents found out, would they ask her to switch schools? Probably. But right now, she felt a growing curiosity about everything. Even though she knew it might cost her life, she couldn't stop herself from getting involved.
She walked over to the balcony and looked down. "Let's go. Maybe they're already waiting for us."
It was late autumn, and the temperature at night had dropped significantly. Their breath turned into large clouds of mist that quickly vanished into the cold air.
They left their dorm. Outside, the white mist was even thicker. They could barely see three meters ahead, and even flashlights only lit up five meters. But that didn't stop the couples around campus—every few steps, they'd see people whispering and cuddling. Because of this, they hadn't chosen the pavilion as a meeting spot.
"Jin'er, Lin Yuan, over here!" Zuo Yi waved.
Su Jin'er frowned. She had originally thought both Zuo Yi and Chu Feifan were quiet, serious types. But now she realized she was wrong. Zuo Yi had a delicate, handsome face, but he was actually quite mischievous. There was no telling how many girls at school had fallen for his looks.
"So? Did you get the key?" Su Jin'er asked.
"Got it," Chu Feifan replied.
He was, at least, the type whose actions matched his words.
"Ah, you don't know how hard our dear Feifan worked to get that key. He almost had to sell himself!" Zuo Yi teased with a sly grin.
"Sell yourself? What did she ask you to do?" Su Jin'er asked curiously.
"Don't listen to Zuo Yi's nonsense. Nothing like that happened." Chu Feifan shot him a sharp glare.
Zuo Yi stuck out his tongue and said no more.
"It's fifteen minutes to nine. Should we go now or wait a bit?" Chu Feifan asked.
Su Jin'er looked around and suddenly noticed something strange. The couples who had been around earlier were now gone, leaving the place eerily quiet.
"Where did everyone go?" Lin Yuan asked nervously.
"Maybe it's the sudden drop in temperature," Zuo Yi said, pulling his jacket tighter.
"Forget it. Since no one's around, let's just go. I want to find some answers already." The eerie atmosphere was making Su Jin'er uneasy. She wanted to run back to the dorm and never think about any of this again. A deep fear had settled in her chest.
She took a deep breath and walked toward the student council building. Perhaps because the school placed great importance on the student council, they had their own two-story building. The meeting room was on the first floor, and the president had a private office. Other offices were used by school clubs. The archive room was on the second floor, the last room on the left. They quietly went upstairs.
"This room might look like the others, but there's another door inside," Chu Feifan said as he unlocked the first door.
"There's that much important material? Two doors?" Lin Yuan asked.
"Yeah. It holds records from the founding of the school until now. Very valuable," Chu Feifan explained. "Once we're inside, let's split up and search. Be careful not to make too much noise or someone might find us."
"Got it."
After they entered the first door, they found a second, much more secure one.
"I still don't get it. They're just old documents. Why go to such lengths to hide them? Who'd want to steal this stuff?" Lin Yuan mumbled.
"Let's just focus," Su Jin'er said.
The archive room was pitch black. Without moonlight outside, it was impossible to see anything. They didn't dare turn on the lights.
"Let's split up. We'll find things faster that way." Su Jin'er used her flashlight to look around. There were three shelves and one glass cabinet filled with neatly sorted documents.
She chose the last row of shelves. Each of them began to search quietly. Only the rustling of turning pages broke the silence.
At some point, the temperature dropped sharply. Su Jin'er rubbed her arms and kept flipping through documents. Still nothing useful. Their class was the 81st cohort, so five years ago would be the 76th. But at this rate, even searching all night might turn up nothing. She rubbed her sore neck and stood up.
"Have you found anything?" she asked softly.
All three shook their heads.
"Chu Feifan, you're the vice president. Do you know where the 76th class records are?"
Chu Feifan shook his head. "I'm not officially the president yet, and this is my first time here too."
"We're looking for a needle in a haystack. If this was a major incident, maybe there's a special place for big events. Five years ago was the 76th class." Su Jin'er pointed at the glass cabinet. "Maybe it's all in there."
She used her flashlight to check the cabinet labels. "Look! This one really has years marked on it!"
Everyone picked up their flashlights and searched. Sure enough, one glass cabinet was labeled "76th."
"Over here!" Chu Feifan called.
They gathered around and carefully pulled out a thick stack of files.
"Looks like a lot happened that year," Zuo Yi commented.
"Let's split this up and read carefully," Su Jin'er said.
Suddenly, it felt even colder. Lin Yuan looked around. "Do you feel like it got a lot colder?"
"A bit. But it's late autumn. The temperature difference between day and night is normal," Zuo Yi replied, rubbing his shoulders.
Lin Yuan nodded, but something didn't feel right. The chill felt like it came from inside her, not the air.
They sat at a table and began flipping through the documents. Slowly, the atmosphere grew more oppressive.
Then, a sudden wave of icy dread swept through them, from their feet to their skulls. Their spines stiffened. They turned their heads slowly—
Nothing.
They glanced at each other.
"You felt that too?" Lin Yuan asked in a trembling voice.
All three nodded. There was no way this was a shared hallucination.
"Why does it smell like blood?" Su Jin'er swung her flashlight around. The last time she smelled blood, someone had died. Was it happening again?
"Yeah… and it's getting stronger."
"Ah—blood!" Lin Yuan suddenly screamed.
Bright red blood was slowly seeping in from under the door. The metallic stench was overwhelming.
"I'm going to be sick," Lin Yuan clutched her chest, face pale.
Within seconds, the blood reached their feet. Su Jin'er stared in horror. "Where's it coming from? Is this… another hallucination?"
The blood kept rising. They climbed onto chairs, watching in fear as the floor was covered.
Suddenly, a rustling noise came from behind the door.
"What is that sound?" Chu Feifan strained to listen.
"T-that… what is that?" Lin Yuan's eyes widened in the dark.
Her flashlight began to dim—then died. She hit it frantically. "Why now?!"
The others aimed their lights toward the door. The rustling continued, like fabric dragging across the floor.
Then— a hand reached in under the door. It was drenched in blood, the skin completely stripped off.
"What the hell is that?!"
Fear made their hair stand on end. The pressure in the room was suffocating.
A head slowly followed the hand inside. Long hair dragged across the floor. Blood dripped from its mouth.
It crawled into the room—on its hands and knees. They watched, frozen, unable to scream.
It stopped two meters away. Then slowly… raised its head.
They stared in silent horror.
Its face was covered in blood. Eye sockets were empty, nose twisted, lips peeled upward, and thick streams of blood poured from its eyes, nose, and mouth. Even without eyes, they felt it staring straight at them.
Their chests heaved, stomachs churned from the stench of blood, but they couldn't move.
The cold froze them solid. Their brains screamed to run, but their limbs refused to obey. Their spines ached with stiffness; their bodies trembled violently.
"Run!" Chu Feifan leapt down, grabbing Su Jin'er off the chair.
His voice broke the spell. The others jumped down, feet landing in the bloody water. The smell nearly knocked them out.
They held hands and tiptoed past the monster. Su Jin'er felt the thick, sticky blood cling to her skin. Her stomach turned, but she couldn't throw up.
The creature knelt motionless, watching them with hollow eyes.
They moved inch by inch.
Only a meter to go.
Suddenly, it turned its body.
Four pairs of eyes stared in shock. None of them saw it move.
How had it turned without anyone noticing?