Zhang Shan sped down to the north, towards the university, in a strangely silent ride.
Perhaps it was because the atmosphere was a bit awkward in silence that Lu Yibei couldn’t help but break the silence by asking, “Why aren’t you talking? I thought you loved to tell stories to your passengers.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Oh?” She was slightly taken aback. “How about I tell you one, then?”
The corners of Zhang Shan’s mouth twitched up and down as if he were unsure of his feelings.
‘Should I listen? If I do, I can adapt it and tell it to my audience, but it may also lead to dire consequences.’
His eyes were back on the road, and soon the view of the University came into view.
“We’re almost there. Save your story for another time.”
She wordlessly nodded. Saving Professor Ma was more important than silly little stories.
“Don’t stop at that gate. Turn to the fourth gate,” Yibei ordered.
She didn’t want to be stopped by the security, especially with the glaring kitchen knife strapped to her waist.
Plus, Gate No. 4 was much closer to the lab.
However, as soon as Zhang Shan heard this, he slammed on the brakes and started to tremble.
‘Gate No. 4? The… haunted gate…?’
Isn’t it haunted over there? How dare she take that way to enter the school at such a time?
Zhang Shan thought about it, glanced back through the rearview mirror, and almost jumped up from his seat.
It’s empty!
Just as he was about to panic, a girl with a big bump on her forehead crawled upwards from the taxi’s floor and got up, asking, “Why did you stop all of a sudden? Ack, this hurts.”
After an embarrassing silence, he turned the wheel towards Gate No. 4.
In the dark bathroom, the stench was unbearable, as if many corpses were stacked on top of one another.
Professor Ma pushed himself into a corner by the window, and the fear in his heart continued to intensify. His legs were so weak that he couldn’t even stand, so he was in a defensive sitting position.
He could only watch helplessly as the bloodied arm fumbled around in the darkness as if searching for a target.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a furry sensation on the back of his hand.
The mouse running past the back of Professor Ma’s hand seemed to have played a malicious joke with him.
“Agh!”
The arm locked onto his position in an instant and flung itself towards him.
A strong stench wafted through his nostrils, and his survival instincts took over, forcing him up clumsily. In a panic, his hand was pressed harshly against the fluffy rat that struggled in his grip.
He was about to withdraw his hand, but at this moment, the arm was about half a metre away from him.
In a fit of anger, he clenched the rat in his hand and flung it towards the arm.
Squeak!
As if it were playing catch, the arm caught the flying mouse in an instant.
After catching the mouse, the arm quickly retreated to the sink, forcing itself through the tiny holes of the sink and disappearing.
Squeak! Squeak!
The mouse screamed in horror and struggled constantly in the arm’s grip, but bit by bit, it was swallowed down the sink like a snake.
With a shrill squeak, it disappeared down the sink.
Its body was squeezed into a pulp from the tiny holes of the sink, but it did not die immediately, and its screams could still be heard as it went down the sewer pipe.
Professor Ma stared at the sink that had brought him great fear, and after a long while, he scrambled to his feet and ran out of the bathroom.
However, he could hear something being dragged in front of the door, and when he tried to push the door open, he was horrified to find that it was blocked by something outside.
Professor Ma was slightly taken aback, and he felt chills run down his back.
Something is in the library! The copper coin was right—he will be dying today!
Sooner or later, that arm will catch him in the bathroom, and even if he leaves the bathroom, he’ll have to face whatever horrors are in the lab.
Professor Ma’s slammed against the door hard, and this time, the sound of metal pipes was ringing in his ear.
“Help me… Please, help me.”
Water started to overflow from the toilet and the sink, and a thin layer of water made his shoes uncomfortably wet.
Through the water, a pale arm stretched out and grabbed his ankle.
He struggled desperately but felt that the arm was like iron.
His face turned dark as he remembered the rat being forced down the tiny holes of the sink—whatever it is will keep him alive as it dragged him down the sink, and he’ll still be conscious even if he is made into a pile of meat pulp…
Thinking of this, his eyes became dull, as if he had transcended. He stopped struggling, letting the arm pull him towards the sink.
Ding!
The copper coin slipped out of his coat pocket and fell to the floor. He opened his eyes weakly and saw heads once again.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
He saw his loving wife waiting for him at home, and their love for each other was just as fresh as the day they met.
‘I miss her.’
Ding!
The crisp sound of the copper coin landing rang again, but Professor Ma did not open his eyes.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Clearly, copper coins shouldn’t be able to flip themselves over and over again, and Professor Ma forced his eyes open.
In the darkness, the polished coin kept bouncing on the ground as if being manipulated by a pair of invisible hands.
Every time it bounced up, it would flip three times in the air, and it landed on its tail every single time.
“Damn it! Why am I trusting this damn coin so much?”
The spark of life was rekindled in him. Enduring the pain, he gritted his teeth, kicked himself forward, grabbed the door frame of the bathroom, and put a foot against the sink.
“Help me!”
“I’m inside here! Anybody! Help me!”
Professor Ma yelled a few times and suddenly felt that the arm on his ankle was losing its strength.
The arm let go, and he limped lifelessly on the ground.
The next moment, the door to the bathroom swung open, and a suffocating yet comforting warmth rushed into the room.
“Professor, are you alright? I’m right here,” Yibei called out.
The girl before him was covering her eyes as if she were in pain and wielding a shiny kitchen knife with her other hand.
Zhang Shan sped down to the north, towards the university, in a strangely silent ride.
Perhaps it was because the atmosphere was a bit awkward in silence that Lu Yibei couldn’t help but break the silence by asking, “Why aren’t you talking? I thought you loved to tell stories to your passengers.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Oh?” She was slightly taken aback. “How about I tell you one, then?”
The corners of Zhang Shan’s mouth twitched up and down as if he were unsure of his feelings.
‘Should I listen? If I do, I can adapt it and tell it to my audience, but it may also lead to dire consequences.’
His eyes were back on the road, and soon the view of the University came into view.
“We’re almost there. Save your story for another time.”
She wordlessly nodded. Saving Professor Ma was more important than silly little stories.
“Don’t stop at that gate. Turn to the fourth gate,” Yibei ordered.
She didn’t want to be stopped by the security, especially with the glaring kitchen knife strapped to her waist.
Plus, Gate No. 4 was much closer to the lab.
However, as soon as Zhang Shan heard this, he slammed on the brakes and started to tremble.
‘Gate No. 4? The… haunted gate…?’
Isn’t it haunted over there? How dare she take that way to enter the school at such a time?
Zhang Shan thought about it, glanced back through the rearview mirror, and almost jumped up from his seat.
It’s empty!
Just as he was about to panic, a girl with a big bump on her forehead crawled upwards from the taxi’s floor and got up, asking, “Why did you stop all of a sudden? Ack, this hurts.”
After an embarrassing silence, he turned the wheel towards Gate No. 4.
In the dark bathroom, the stench was unbearable, as if many corpses were stacked on top of one another.
Professor Ma pushed himself into a corner by the window, and the fear in his heart continued to intensify. His legs were so weak that he couldn’t even stand, so he was in a defensive sitting position.
He could only watch helplessly as the bloodied arm fumbled around in the darkness as if searching for a target.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a furry sensation on the back of his hand.
The mouse running past the back of Professor Ma’s hand seemed to have played a malicious joke with him.
“Agh!”
The arm locked onto his position in an instant and flung itself towards him.
A strong stench wafted through his nostrils, and his survival instincts took over, forcing him up clumsily. In a panic, his hand was pressed harshly against the fluffy rat that struggled in his grip.
He was about to withdraw his hand, but at this moment, the arm was about half a metre away from him.
In a fit of anger, he clenched the rat in his hand and flung it towards the arm.
Squeak!
As if it were playing catch, the arm caught the flying mouse in an instant.
After catching the mouse, the arm quickly retreated to the sink, forcing itself through the tiny holes of the sink and disappearing.
Squeak! Squeak!
The mouse screamed in horror and struggled constantly in the arm’s grip, but bit by bit, it was swallowed down the sink like a snake.
With a shrill squeak, it disappeared down the sink.
Its body was squeezed into a pulp from the tiny holes of the sink, but it did not die immediately, and its screams could still be heard as it went down the sewer pipe.
Professor Ma stared at the sink that had brought him great fear, and after a long while, he scrambled to his feet and ran out of the bathroom.
However, he could hear something being dragged in front of the door, and when he tried to push the door open, he was horrified to find that it was blocked by something outside.
Professor Ma was slightly taken aback, and he felt chills run down his back.
Something is in the library! The copper coin was right—he will be dying today!
Sooner or later, that arm will catch him in the bathroom, and even if he leaves the bathroom, he’ll have to face whatever horrors are in the lab.
Professor Ma’s slammed against the door hard, and this time, the sound of metal pipes was ringing in his ear.
“Help me… Please, help me.”
Water started to overflow from the toilet and the sink, and a thin layer of water made his shoes uncomfortably wet.
Through the water, a pale arm stretched out and grabbed his ankle.
He struggled desperately but felt that the arm was like iron.
His face turned dark as he remembered the rat being forced down the tiny holes of the sink—whatever it is will keep him alive as it dragged him down the sink, and he’ll still be conscious even if he is made into a pile of meat pulp…
Thinking of this, his eyes became dull, as if he had transcended. He stopped struggling, letting the arm pull him towards the sink.
Ding!
The copper coin slipped out of his coat pocket and fell to the floor. He opened his eyes weakly and saw heads once again.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
He saw his loving wife waiting for him at home, and their love for each other was just as fresh as the day they met.
‘I miss her.’
Ding!
The crisp sound of the copper coin landing rang again, but Professor Ma did not open his eyes.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Clearly, copper coins shouldn’t be able to flip themselves over and over again, and Professor Ma forced his eyes open.
In the darkness, the polished coin kept bouncing on the ground as if being manipulated by a pair of invisible hands.
Every time it bounced up, it would flip three times in the air, and it landed on its tail every single time.
“Damn it! Why am I trusting this damn coin so much?”
The spark of life was rekindled in him. Enduring the pain, he gritted his teeth, kicked himself forward, grabbed the door frame of the bathroom, and put a foot against the sink.
“Help me!”
“I’m inside here! Anybody! Help me!”
Professor Ma yelled a few times and suddenly felt that the arm on his ankle was losing its strength.
The arm let go, and he limped lifelessly on the ground.
The next moment, the door to the bathroom swung open, and a suffocating yet comforting warmth rushed into the room.
“Professor, are you alright? I’m right here,” Yibei called out.
The girl before him was covering her eyes as if she were in pain and wielding a shiny kitchen knife with her other hand.
