Chapter 13: Lights Out in the Classroom_2

Wei Liang adjusted his duckbill cap and tightened his hoodie as if trying to shrink into the non-existent iron shell.

The classroom shook more violently until that moment Lin Yi understood.

The Teaching Building was not a safe zone, and likewise, neither was the classroom!

"The classroom is only a relatively safe area during specific times!"

"And clearly, this time does not include now!"

"If we survive tonight, we must find a way to get back to the dormitory tomorrow!"

As the dense mist scaled the high walls and the tide soaked the iron cage, all protection turned into brittle yellow paper, and the dim light and shadows instantly transported everyone back to the savage ancient times.

Under the darkness, the creatures that lurk in the night began to reveal their sharp teeth.

"Clang! Clang... Clang."

Just as fear started to emanate from all the students cowering under their desks, the pounding on the classroom door suddenly wasn't so terrifying anymore.

The classroom, which had been like a ship tossed about in a storm, gradually calmed down.

In the darkness, breaths followed one after another as if everyone silently exhaled in relief.

"Old Lin..." Wei Liang whispered, frail as a mosquito, "Is it safe now?"

But Lin Yi did not answer him; instead, he glared at him fiercely.

"Idiot, don't communicate with anyone!"

Wei Liang instantly reacted, closed his mouth, and with his neck retracted, he stared at the desk legs.

Lin Yi's expression became even more serious.

"Something's not right!"

"This is totally wrong!"

The foreplay had been going on for twenty minutes; how could it possibly end abruptly?

Those thirty or so classmates hadn't made a single move yet!

Lin Yi tensed up, holding his breath and body tight, daring not to relax in the slightest.

Indeed, as if responding to Lin Yi's serious attitude, a crisp sound echoed in the darkness.

"Click!"

The classroom door's lock-bolt had been turned.

Someone was unlocking the door from the outside.

"Click! Click! Click..."

The lock-bolt turned round and round, its crisp sound rolling over everyone like a wheel.

"Crack... Click!"

When the final turn of the lock-bolt finished, the slowly pressed-down door handle felt like a heavy mountain pressing down on everyone's heart inside the classroom.

"Beep beep beep—"

The classroom door was slowly pushed open from the outside.

"Hiss—"

Like opening the door of a sealed space capsule, a stark white mist poured in from outside.

Devoid of incandescent light, the dense mist crawled and spread on the floor like tentacles, the cold damp breath bringing a hint of icy wind that infiltrated the room, turning the entire classroom into what felt like a basement.

"Ssssss..."

The sound of stones grinding against the floor appeared inside the classroom.

It seemed something wrapped in the mist was moving around the classroom, as if a "Harry P*tter" Soul Harvester was dragging stones across the floor...

Lin Yi struggled to glance at his watch face.

The classroom was too dim without the light; he had a hard time making out the markings on the dial.

22:00.

"Ten o'clock sharp..."

"Today is May 6th, in S city, it won't get light until at least five, right? Seven more hours, do we really have to spend them this way?"

The longest Lin Yi had ever hinted was when he played Baby Glory on the toilet for 36 minutes, losing in the end...His legs trembled uncontrollably when he stood up; it was uncomfortable all over, feeling as if the blood couldn't reach his brain...

If he had to maintain the squat position under the table for seven hours... Was that really possible?

He shook his head, cursing himself for his brain-fade, in such a damned situation who was he to choose whether the position should be squatting or sitting?

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the classroom, catching Lin Yi off guard.

He instinctively glanced at his watch.

22:02.

"Two minutes have passed..."

"I must say, randomly thinking really can kill time. In fact, this way you might actually survive."

"Wait!! Where is that light coming from?!"

He instinctively wanted to follow the light, but he didn't need to search intentionally; he saw a light source under another desk not far away.

It was actually a classmate crouching under the desk, turning on a portable flashlight!

Lin Yi glared, his mind momentarily short-circuited even with his quick thinking.

He could never have imagined that in this randomly assigned classroom, he would encounter such a Little Genius!

Clearly, this person came prepared!

Just then, Lin Yi instinctively wanted to use this hard-earned light to check the classroom environment again, but at the same time, he immediately remembered the warning from the homeroom teacher before parting.

When the lights in the classroom begin to flicker, the first step is to crouch under the desk and hold the desk legs tightly.

Then, do not close your eyes and do not look at anything other than the pattern on the floor or the desk legs!

Thinking again of the "don't look back" rule in the Student Handbook, Lin Yi quickly arrived at a horrifying conclusion.

"The thing in the Mist has come to the classroom!"

"Is the reason not to look around to prevent me from seeing it... or is it for some other reason?"

Some thoughts emerged in Lin Yi's mind.

But this time he had learned his lesson.

If unwanted thoughts came at such a time, well...

He focused his gaze on the desk legs, then let the battle between the Cult of Black Silk and the Cult of White Silk rage in his mind.

Sure enough, thinking this way cleared his head instantly, and the discomfort that was diffusing through the environment around him also lessened considerably.

However, the downsides of self-delusion soon began to show.

"Snap!"

In the deathly quiet classroom, suddenly a dull slapping sound echoed.

It was the sound of a folding chair snapping back into place.

Clearly, a strange classmate had left their seat.

"Shh—shh—"

This classmate dragged their heavy steps around the classroom, their rubber-soled shoes scraping against the tiles, creating a sound like sandpaper.

"Shh—shh—"

The footsteps grew closer and closer...

"Shh—"

A foot wearing an old-style sports shoe appeared in front of Lin Yi, only a short forearm's distance from his face.

Then another foot.

The two feet rubbed the ground in front of him in a very stiff manner, the "shh shh" sounds feeling like thousands of ants crawling over Lin Yi's body, making him extremely uncomfortable.

A strong sense of discomfort and a tidal wave of eeriness rose in Lin Yi's heart, but at that moment he held his breath, focusing on the desk legs, using the images of black silk legs and white silk legs to continuously shatter the various thoughts that surfaced in his mind.

Until the owner of the legs disappeared from his peripheral vision.

"Phew..."

He let out a long sigh of relief. In just a few tens of seconds, it felt like centuries of bad air had been sealed in his chest.

Just then, some sudden noises caught the breath he was half exhaling and choked it in his throat.

"Eh? Hey! Hey!! Hey hey hey..."

As this sound emerged, the beam from the portable flashlight began to shake chaotically, like an eel.

With a bustle of noise, furniture was pushed aside, and the owner of the portable flashlight seemed to be picked up by someone, and then God knows what they saw, they let out a sound full of intense fear, "Ah!"

At the same time, the portable flashlight clattered to the floor tiles, its dazzling beam like a sword, splitting the pitch-black classroom.

The strong light skimmed Lin Yi's face, and he instinctively wanted to squint and turn his head, but his neck had just moved a bit when his whole body suddenly froze in place.

At the extreme limit of his peripheral vision, appeared a shadow that the beam from the portable flashlight couldn't dispel!

A classmate was standing by the desk where he was hiding from who knows when!

Lin Yi froze on the spot, wishing he could take back even the faint breath he had just exhaled.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle..."

A sound started coming from that classmate, followed by a hand appearing in Lin Yi's view.

The classmate bent down extremely slowly, reaching out to pick up the flashlight.

The whole process was like a marionette.

Just as he was about to pick up the flashlight, his head tilted slightly with inertia, and he saw Lin Yi crouching under the desk.