Chapter 63: Yucai High School
Early the next morning, the sharp blare of the school’s wake-up bell echoed once more, jolting the players awake.
Dawn’s faint light filtered into the dormitory as Li Zhi got out of bed. Before doing anything else, she quietly pulled open the door to peek out at the corridor. The floor was spotless. Nothing out of place. It almost made last night’s terrifying sounds of vomiting seem like a hallucination.
Next door, Xu Yiran heard her door open and immediately slipped out too. Both Xu Yiran and Peipei looked pale, as if they hadn’t slept all night. With fearful glances at Bei Xuan’s dorm, they quickly scurried over to Li Zhi’s side. Xu Yiran’s voice trembled: “Zhi-jie… you heard it too, didn’t you?”
“Come inside,” Li Zhi said simply.
The two rushed in. Tan Manyu was already on the balcony washing up. With all four gathered, Xu Yiran and Peipei’s complexions looked marginally better.
“We almost lost our minds last night…” Xu Yiran’s voice cracked, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “Neither of us dared close our eyes. We were scared that if we fell asleep, she’d kick the door down. Zhi-jie… what’s wrong with her? Has she already… turned into a ghost?”
Tan Manyu finished washing up and came back inside, expression solemn. “Did you two hear her vomiting?”
Peipei frantically nodded. “Yes! Ugh—it was disgusting. Just listening to it almost made me puke.”
Tan Manyu calmly explained, “There’s something inside her body—that thing infecting them. It sounded like… insects crawling inside her. Remember she said her stomach hurt? Probably because they’re eating her from the inside out.”
Xu Yiran and Peipei both dry-heaved at the mental image, faces contorted with nausea. “Stop! Don’t talk about it—we still have to eat breakfast later!”
After freshening up, the four stepped out into the hallway—only to come face-to-face with Bei Xuan and her two teammates. Xu Yiran and Peipei instinctively backed up a step, their disgust and fear written all over their faces. Bei Xuan noticed. Her eyes narrowed, a mocking sneer curling her lips. “Afraid of me? Good. Stay the hell away. I don’t want bad luck sticking to me.”
With that, she stormed past them.
The four girls exchanged glances. Xu Yiran muttered, “She’s acting normal again… which just makes it more abnormal.”
“Ever since they played the Four Corners Game, Bei Xuan’s behavior’s been getting worse,” Tan Manyu murmured as they headed for the cafeteria. “When she first entered the game, she was at least rational. Even if she wasn’t happy, she wouldn’t show it.”
But now? It was like she didn’t care about her public image at all.
Li Zhi’s tone was calm but cold: “That thing inside them amplifies their true selves. It’s dragging out the worst parts of their personalities.”
They weren’t fully themselves anymore. Their behavior, their words, all twisted by the influence of that foreign thing festering inside them—and they didn’t even realize it.
The cafeteria scene drove the point home. Zhou Jianzhang and his group openly exploded at the cafeteria staff over the quality of the food, loudly berating the woman serving rice. Even Zhou Jianzhang, who’d seemed like a steady, reliable “PE teacher” at the start of the game, now wore a vicious, almost feral look in his eyes.
They were never “one of us” to begin with, Li Zhi thought.
Seated a few tables away, Tan Manyu gave her a knowing look. They’ve dropped the act.
Li Zhi quickly finished her meal. Before Zhou Jianzhang could leave the cafeteria, she approached with a bright, harmless smile. “Morning, Teacher Zhou!”
Unlike yesterday, his reply was cold. “What do you want?”
Yeah. No pretense anymore.
Li Zhi smiled brighter. “Didn’t you all play Invite the Lamp Spirit last night? Could you share the incantation with us? We’d like to give it a try tonight too. The sooner we finish these games, the sooner we all clear this dungeon.”
Everyone at Zhou Jianzhang’s table looked up, eyes filled with irritation and suspicion. Zhou’s lip curled into a sneer. “We risked our lives for that chant. Why should we just give it to you for free?”
Li Zhi stayed patient. “We can exchange intel. I have clues you don’t.”
“Don’t bother with her,” Bei Xuan interrupted coldly. “We don’t need her clues—we’ll clear this on our own.”
Zhou Jianzhang gave Li Zhi a final, venomous glance before turning his back on her.
Even the audience watching the live stream felt the chill:
【WTF… what happened to Zhou Jianzhang?! He seemed so decent at first!】
【Li Zhi said it—the infection exposes their true nature. Turns out Zhou Jianzhang was scum hiding behind a good-guy mask.】
【Is there no saving them?】
【LMAO stop treating Li Zhi like she’s a god. She’s just a player, not a miracle worker.】
【Honestly, at this point, more than half the players are doomed. Why won’t they just listen to Li Zhi?】
【Good advice is wasted on those determined to die. No one owes them their life.】
Li Zhi hadn’t expected to actually get the chant. That wasn’t the point. The interaction was confirmation of her suspicions.
As they made their way back toward the classroom, she quietly told the others, “If Zhou Jianzhang came into this dungeon with impure motives, then with his true nature amplified now, he’s officially a threat. Don’t go anywhere alone. Especially not with him.”
Everyone nodded in grim agreement.
The classroom atmosphere was the same as ever—nervous and oppressive. Interestingly, even Zhou Jianzhang’s group, as out of control as they were outside, settled into obedient, “good student” behavior as soon as they crossed the classroom threshold.
So far, it seemed whatever infected them couldn’t override the school’s enforced behavioral norms entirely.
By lunchtime, the scores on Zhou Jianzhang’s group’s badges had risen by thirty points—obviously thanks to last night’s Invite the Lamp Spirit session. As they filed out to lunch, Tan Manyu overheard them planning to play the Mirror Game in the dorms that night.
Li Zhi packed her books calmly and addressed her team: “Tonight, we’ll play the Four Corners Game. Here. In the classroom.”
There was a flicker of something like… excitement among the group.
That’s not normal, they all realized with alarm. Why are we excited? This is a horror game.
After lunch, Li Zhi called Xu Yiran and Peipei aside. “Distract the dorm matron. I need to search the dorm records.”
Finally—a mission they could contribute to. Xu Yiran gave an eager nod. “Leave it to us!”
Hidden behind the shrubbery outside, Li Zhi and Tan Manyu watched as the dorm matron was successfully lured away. Xu Yiran even threw them a cheeky OK sign before disappearing behind the building.
They slipped inside.
While Tan Manyu kept watch at the door, Li Zhi rifled through musty cabinets until she found the student registry. Quickly flipping to the relevant year, she located Xiang Min’s entry—formerly a student in Class 1, Grade 1. Dorm room 404. Empty now. Li Zhi scanned the hooks behind the door, plucking the labeled key for Room 404.
With a silent nod to Tan Manyu, the two crept upstairs to the fourth floor.
It was eerily silent. Fourth floor, like the abandoned second floor, was utterly empty.
When they reached 404, Li Zhi pulled out the key, but Tan Manyu stopped her. “What if… what if her ghost’s in there?”
It was a valid concern.
Li Zhi checked her danger detector. “It’s not sounding.”
If the thing wasn’t reacting, it meant the room wasn’t dangerous.
Reluctantly, Tan Manyu stepped aside. “God, I wish I had tools like yours.”
“You will,” Li Zhi said softly. “Soon.”
She unlocked the door and pushed it open. The stench of mildew hit them immediately.
The room was almost identical to theirs in layout and furniture. Four beds, four desks. Three of them had been cleared out—but one remained untouched, neatly kept, personal belongings still arranged as if waiting for someone to return.
“Xiang Min was from a poor mountain village,” Li Zhi explained. “She only had a grandmother, already in her eighties. After she died, no one came to collect her things.”
She flipped the light switch. Weak fluorescent light filled the small space. On the lone remaining bed, a neatly folded blue plaid blanket sat atop a small, worn pillow. Beside it—a library copy of Fortress Besieged.
Tan Manyu checked the desk. Most of it was textbooks and old notebooks. A cut soda can filled with used pen refills sat by the window. Then she opened a drawer—and found it. A plain notebook.
“A diary,” Tan Manyu breathed.
Li Zhi joined her, and together they started reading under the harsh light.
Excerpts from Xiang Min’s Diary:
Sept. 2nd:
I finally got into the city high school! The teachers and officials said they’d fund my tuition and living expenses for three whole years. I won’t let them down!
Oct. 8th:
Ranked 10th in the monthly exams! Teacher Liu gave me a pen. So happy. I also had my first counseling session at the infirmary. Teacher Li seems so gentle.
Oct. 26th:
Haven’t made any close friends yet, but everyone’s nice. Even Xie Cong helped me take out the trash today. Who knew troublemaking boys could be kind? I’m really glad to be part of Class 1!
Nov. 20th:
Still improving! Teacher Liu praised me again. But… she scolded Xie Cong. Why won’t he behave? Teacher Liu’s scary when she yells. I can’t get scolded. I won’t let her down!
Dec. 25th:
Christmas! Xie Cong gave me an apple. My first Christmas ever. Everyone exchanged cards, but I didn’t know… Next year I’ll be prepared!
Jan. 13th:
Finals are coming. Poor Xie Cong got yelled at again. I wish I could tutor him, but he has so many friends. He doesn’t need me.
Then came the shift. Messy, frantic handwriting:
Jan. 14th:
WHAT WAS THAT?? WHAT DID I SEE?? WHY????
Jan. 16th:
What do I do?? I’m so scared!!! I can’t tell anyone—I’ll be kicked out of school! I can’t say it! I can’t!
Jan. 17th:
They’re taking Xie Cong to the principal’s office!!! Should I warn him?? Help him???
Jan. 18th:
It’s over. It’s over. He’s back but it’s NOT him. He’s NOT Xie Cong. He’s a monster. They’re ALL monsters!
Jan. 19th:
Teacher Liu called me in today. She was so nice. I finally told her everything—but she didn’t believe me. She called me a liar. I’ve never been scolded before. What do I do? What do I do?
Jan. 25th:
Everything’s changed. I can’t stand this. I want it to stop. I want it all to end…
The diary ended there.