Chapter 10: Chapter 10 The First Death
"Um, I did hear someone knocking, but I didn't hear any footsteps going upstairs," Su Jiner said. "By the way, you mentioned seeing words on the wall earlier—what did they say?"
"They were just a line written in red ink! Probably someone's prank," Li Yiqian replied nonchalantly.
"What did it say?"
"'Everyone will die. No one can escape.'" She still sounded completely unfazed.
Lin Yuan's jaw dropped in shock. "You saw something like that and weren't scared at all?"
"Probably just a prank," Su Jiner said.
"I think so too!" Du Xiaonan's voice trembled, but she still chimed in.
The dorm fell silent as each girl pondered the questions swirling in her mind. Then, suddenly, the lights went out.
"Who turned off the lights?" Du Xiaonan asked hoarsely. She had just been thinking about a horror movie she'd seen, and the sudden darkness startled her.
"Maybe it's just lights-out time," Su Jiner replied.
"But lights-out isn't until eleven. It's only ten-thirty now," Li Yiqian said slowly. A faint yellow glow came from her bed—the light from her phone.
Su Jiner closed her eyes, feeling overwhelmingly tired. Her eyelids were so heavy she couldn't keep them open.
At some point, a strong wind began howling outside, its mournful wail sounding like someone crying.
"Someone's crying?" Su Jiner's eyes snapped open.
The wind outside grew even fiercer, rattling the window frames with loud bangs.
Su Jiner checked her watch. It was already midnight. When had she fallen asleep? She shook her groggy head and sat up.
Maybe the window wasn't closed properly—she kept feeling a draft on her face.
Suddenly, something brushed against her cheek. The room was pitch-black, and she couldn't see anything. She reached out and touched it.
Hair.
Since when did Lin Yuan like letting her hair dangle down from the upper bunk?
She climbed out of bed and headed to the balcony to close the window properly.
Just as she was about to shut it, she noticed a shadow moving downstairs. Who would be out so late? She pushed the window open, and the wind whipped her hair into her face, sending a shiver down her spine. She squinted, trying to make out who it was, but the distance was too great—all she could see was a blurry white figure.
Shaking her head, she closed the window. Whoever it was, it wasn't her concern.
Standing by the bed, she glanced at Lin Yuan's upper bunk—only to find it empty. Whose hair had that been?
A cold sweat broke out on her back. She reached out and touched Lin Yuan's bed. It was still warm, meaning she had just left.
She bent down, fished a flashlight from her bed, and turned it on. The weak beam swept over Li Yiqian's bed—she was gone too. Only Du Xiaonan remained, fast asleep and seemingly undisturbed.
Su Jiner might not care about others, but she couldn't ignore Lin Yuan. She checked the dorm's bathroom, but it was empty. Quietly, she opened the door and stepped out.
The hallway was eerily silent, the only sounds her soft footsteps and the wind outside, mingling into something unsettling.
Flashlight in hand, Su Jiner cautiously descended to the third floor. She swept the beam down the hallway—no one. She continued to the second floor—still no sign of anyone. Then she remembered the white figure she'd seen from the window earlier. Could it have been one of them?
Lin Yuan wouldn't have gone downstairs alone so late without a reason. She must have noticed something. Su Jiner felt a flash of irritation—hadn't she told her not to get involved?
When she reached the first floor, she found the main door locked. Were they still inside, or was there another way out? Carefully, she circled the floor with her flashlight but found no exit. Just as she was about to head back upstairs, a cold gust of wind brushed past her.
All the windows were closed—where had the draft come from?
Following the breeze, she discovered a broken window near the dorm supervisor's office. She turned off her flashlight and crept closer.
The gap was just wide enough for someone to slip through sideways. Hunched over, she carefully climbed out. Outside, the wind was fierce, whipping her hair against her face and nearly blinding her.
Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth. She widened her eyes, trying to see who it was, when a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "Jiner, it's me. Don't make a sound."
Su Jiner nodded.
"Xiao Yuan, what are you doing out here?" she whispered.
"I saw Li Yiqian leave, so I followed her. Come on, let's see where she's going in the middle of the night," Lin Yuan whispered back.
"Didn't I tell you not to get involved in other people's business? Why don't you ever listen?" Su Jiner scolded.
"I know, but she didn't look like she was awake. Could she be sleepwalking? I was worried she might get hurt."
Hearing this, Su Jiner relented. "Fine, let's follow her."
"Quick, she's heading toward the old lab building. Let's stay quiet." Lin Yuan grabbed Su Jiner's hand—her palm was damp with sweat.
Sure enough, as they neared the lab building, they saw Li Yiqian walking stiffly inside. Her rigid movements did resemble sleepwalking.
"I've heard elderly people say you should never wake a sleepwalker—it could scare them to death."
"Me too. That's why I didn't call out to her—just followed."
"But how did you know about the broken window?"
"I followed Li Yiqian out. At first, I was surprised too, but I didn't think too much about it. I just wanted to see what she was doing."
By now, they had reached the lab building's entrance. The door was ajar. They pushed it open carefully—inside was even darker than outside.
Su Jiner turned on her flashlight and stepped in cautiously. Dust particles floated in the beam's light. She swept it around but saw no one.
Just as they were about to ascend the stairs, Su Jiner suddenly grabbed Lin Yuan's arm. "Wait. Someone's talking."
She pulled Lin Yuan into a shadowy corner near the stairs.
Faint voices drifted down from above.
"Did you bring what I asked for?"
A man's voice.
"I have it. But first, tell me what I want to know. Otherwise, you won't get it."
Li Yiqian's voice.
"Of course I'll tell you, but I need to see it first."
Su Jiner whispered, "They sound like they're making some kind of deal. Did you see Li Yiqian carrying anything when you followed her?"
"She was holding something against her chest the whole time."
"Let's listen to what they say next."
"Should we go up and look?"
"No!"
By now, Li Yiqian must have shown him the item.
"Now will you tell me?"
"I don't know much about that incident. I only know that after her death, the body went missing twice. The first time, it was found in the cafeteria. But after the second disappearance, it was never recovered."
"Where did you hear this?"
"My brother's a cop. I overheard him talking about it. There's something else important—want to know?" The man's tone turned sly.
"Tell me, or you won't get these things."
What followed was a hushed exchange Su Jiner and Lin Yuan couldn't catch.
"What?!" Li Yiqian's voice was sharp with shock.
Her tone held more than surprise—it was laced with anger.
Then, footsteps began descending the stairs.
"They're coming down. Let's go." Su Jiner tugged Lin Yuan out of the building. "We have to get back before she does."
"I know a shortcut. This way." Lin Yuan pulled Su Jiner toward the back of the lab building.
Behind it was a small grove of trees. Near the wall was a hidden gate leading straight to Dormitory 4. This way, they could return before Li Yiqian and avoid raising suspicion.
Thankfully, they encountered no obstacles and made it back to their dorm. Just as they settled into bed, they heard Li Yiqian's footsteps on the stairs.
Su Jiner turned to face the wall, while Lin Yuan pulled the covers over her head, peeking out with just her eyes.
A long silence later, the dorm was still again. Su Jiner rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Who was the man Li Yiqian had met? What were they trading? And why had she reacted with such shock and anger to his last words? What had he said?
What did they mean about the body disappearing twice? The first time, it was found in the cafeteria—the cafeteria? Su Jiner suddenly remembered Xu Lingling mentioning at lunch that Xiao Qing's body had appeared on one of the tables. Did that mean the body they were talking about was Xiao Qing's? But Xiao Qing had died five years ago. What did that have to do with Li Yiqian? Why was she so invested?
No matter how much she thought about it, nothing made sense. Forget it—she'd promised not to get involved. None of this concerned her.
With that, she closed her eyes.
But less than five minutes later, a loud thud echoed through the night, as if something heavy had fallen. Su Jiner bolted upright. The sound was muffled but piercing in the silence.
"Jiner, did you hear that? Sounded like something fell," Lin Yuan's voice drifted down from the upper bunk.
"Yeah. Why aren't you asleep either?"
"I don't know. I kept feeling a cold draft on my neck. I couldn't sleep."
Su Jiner frowned. She'd closed the window herself—there shouldn't be any draft. Why had she had such a bad feeling ever since arriving at this school?
"Maybe your blanket wasn't covering you properly," she offered, though she didn't believe it herself. Should she tell Lin Yuan about her own growing sense of dread?
"What do you think fell? Should we go check?"
"Probably just the wind knocking something over. Let's sleep—don't overthink it." Even as she said this, her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest. But she couldn't let Lin Yuan know.
The next morning, Su Jiner was jolted awake by loud noises before dawn. She checked her watch—barely 5 a.m. Why was it so chaotic outside? Sirens wailed in the distance.
Her eyes flew open. Had someone jumped last night? She dressed hurriedly and shook Lin Yuan awake.
When they reached the dorm's entrance, a crowd had already gathered. Lin Yuan dragged Su Jiner forward, squeezing through until they reached the police tape.
Officers were covering a mangled body with a white sheet. Oddly, there wasn't a single drop of blood on the ground.
"Why is there no blood?"
At Su Jiner's words, Lin Yuan noticed it too.
The victim's face was turned away, so they couldn't see who it was.
"It's Xu Mengguang." Chu Feifan appeared beside Su Jiner out of nowhere.
"How do you know?"
"His clothes. He's still wearing what he had on during training." Chu Feifan pointed to a corner of fabric peeking out from under the sheet.
He was right—the clothes matched what Xu Mengguang had worn during drills. But that didn't necessarily mean it was him.
As if reading her mind, Chu Feifan added, "Xu Mengguang took leave four days ago. No one knew where he went. The day after he left, Xu Lingling claimed she saw his corpse. Remember?"
"Right—that morning. Then the body vanished."
"What? When did this happen? Why don't I know about it?" Lin Yuan looked baffled.