Without a moment’s hesitation, Zuo Si took off running.
Although the night watchman meant well, he had to stay here to complete his task.
Strangely, there were no footsteps following him. Zuo Si didn’t look back and ran straight up the stairs to the sixth floor.
First, he needed to confuse this night watchman.
After running up to the sixth floor, Zuo Si finally glanced back; the night watchman had not pursued him.
He stopped running and quietly made his way to the middle staircase, descending to the second floor. Once he found the restroom, he immediately slipped inside.
As he closed the restroom door, darkness enveloped him. Zuo Si used the light from his phone screen to approach the mirror.
He hadn’t intended to turn on his flashlight, but without any light, he couldn’t see his reflection in the mirror at all.
If he couldn’t see himself in the mirror, the Courage-Testing Task couldn’t possibly proceed.
However, the flashlight was too bright; even though he had closed the door, it might still attract the night watchman.
“Maybe I should just light a candle…” Zuo Si took out a candle he had brought with him and placed it on the sink.
The candlelight flickered gently, casting a soft yellow glow on his face. He pulled out his spare phone and set an alarm for two oh five, then picked up a comb to start fixing his hair.
Creak…
Suddenly, a sound came from the inner part of the restroom. Could there be ‘someone’ here?
He couldn’t afford to care about that now; time was ticking away second by second as he mechanically repeated the motion of combing his hair.
His eyes never left his reflection in the mirror, but that familiar face now felt strangely unfamiliar.
Hoo~ A cold breeze swept through the enclosed space, causing the candle flame to flicker. Through the mirror, Zuo Si saw an additional black shadow behind him.
After a brief distraction, Zuo Si immediately looked back at his reflection.
He couldn’t afford to think about anything else; once this game started, it absolutely couldn’t stop.
The face in the mirror became increasingly unfamiliar, until it seemed like a stranger he had never seen before.
Was this an illusion? Or was it just the lighting?
“Why aren’t you smiling yet?” Zuo Si felt a twinge of anxiety. It should be around two o’clock by now, but why wasn’t his reflection smiling?
“I can’t rush it; I need to wait. The task says the me in the mirror will smile, but it doesn’t specify when…”
The mechanical motions continued, and surprisingly, another shadow appeared behind him.
He didn’t know whether they were good or evil…
Zuo Si felt quite uncertain; the only thing he could rely on was his ‘lover’ tonight, Qin Shuangya.
He had helped her fulfill her wish and had even eliminated another spirit medium.
No matter what, Qin Shuangya wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“Where does the danger come from? Is it the evil spirits of this school? Or will this Courage-Testing Task trigger something terrifying?”
Silence, a deathly silence. At this moment, it seemed like only Zuo Si and this mirror existed in the entire world.
The atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive, even his breathing became heavy. It seemed that something was changing in the mirror.
Zuo Si couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but he felt that the frequency of his combing was starting to differ from that of his reflection…
Suddenly, a boy’s singing echoed in his ears.
At the same time, Zuo Si saw his reflection starting to change, his expression becoming strange, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upwards.
Such a bizarre expression—could it really be him?
He felt as if he had never made such a face before.
Zuo Si even had the impulse to touch his own face to see if it had transformed into the one in the mirror.
But in the end, he held back.
Fully focused, he didn’t even blink, preparing to close his eyes at any moment…
If all went as expected, his reflection would soon smile.
“Do I really have to close my eyes?” At this point, Zuo Si felt a bit scared.
Why would the version of himself in the mirror smile? Who were those two black shadows behind him!?
Zuo Si couldn’t help but think more about it.
Suddenly!
The figure in the mirror revealed a broad smile, so radiant yet eerie.
Suddenly, I closed my eyes tightly, and the entire world plunged into darkness.
The hand holding the comb hadn’t even been lowered when I suddenly felt it slip from my grasp. Had the ‘person’ snatched it away?
Chaotic footsteps echoed around me, as if many people were surrounding me.
The atmosphere grew increasingly cold, and Zuo Si dared not open his eyes.
Ding ding ding… ding ding ding…
The alarm clock suddenly rang, its sound piercing, but Zuo Si paid it no mind.
He had already wasted too much time combing his hair; he had just closed his eyes.
The ringing gradually subsided, but the footsteps around him continued.
With a loud bang, the bathroom door seemed to be violently flung open.
Whoosh~
The night wind surged in instantly.
“What are you doing standing here!? Come with me!”
It was the night watchman! This was bad! He had actually found this place.
Zuo Si didn’t move, nor did he respond. If the night watchman truly intended to capture him, he would have no way to escape, but he was most afraid that it was just an illusion.
If he moved now or spoke, the mission would be in jeopardy.
The surroundings fell into silence.
Could it really be an illusion?!
“Boss, I’ve come to find you!”
It was Lin Zihao’s voice. How did he get here?
“Boss, what are you doing standing there? I watched your live stream tonight; it was so thrilling that I rushed over to find you!”
The voice grew closer, as if he was standing right next to Zuo Si.
“Boss, what are you doing? Why aren’t you talking to me?”
Pat pat… pat pat…
The footsteps of the night watchman approached.
“Who… who are you?” Lin Zihao’s voice trembled with fear.
Bang! The sound of a wooden stick striking flesh followed, along with Lin Zihao’s horrified scream.
“Ah! Boss, boss, save me! He wants to kill me!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sounds of beating continued, one after another, and one could even hear the sound of bones breaking, so vividly real.
“Boss! Boss! Please save me! Boss!”
Faced with Lin Zihao’s desperate cries for help, Zuo Si felt an overwhelming turmoil in his heart! What if it was real!? What if Lin Zihao was killed!?
If he died, wouldn’t that mean he would also be killed?
No, why would the night watchman want to kill him? There was no reason at all.
How could he act without saying a word?
“Calm down! Calm down! I must stay calm!”
Zuo Si kept reassuring himself that all of this was an illusion.
This mission was extremely dangerous; if he failed, it would definitely mean death!
So no matter what, he could not open his eyes.
“Zuo Si, I’ve come to play with you too!”
A familiar female voice came, so warm and inviting that Zuo Si’s body involuntarily trembled.
Ding Ruxiao…!!!
How did she get here?
“Impossible, how could Ding Ruxiao find this place? It’s absolutely impossible!”
Zuo Si still didn’t move, nor did he speak, standing there silently, afraid to open his eyes.
“Why are you just standing there?” Ding Ruxiao’s voice was still so pleasant, but at this moment, Zuo Si didn’t want to hear it.
Regardless of whether she was real or not, he just hoped she would leave quickly!
“Where’s Lin Zihao? Where did he go? We agreed to come together; he should have gone upstairs first.”
“Ah!!!” A sharp scream: “Lin Zihao, how… how did he die!?”