Chapter 43:Weird School 12 Darkness

“Isn’t the classroom door just… a door?”

“What’s the point? It opens and closes freely,” Ran Feng scoffed.

“Peak Bro, why not try it?” Qi Ye’s eyes sparkled, waiting for his move.

Ran Feng handed him the key. “Go on.”

Qi Ye grabbed it like treasure, rushing to the door to test it.

Zhang San’s tight lips softened into a cold, mirthless smirk, his gaze icy on Ran Feng.

His key, yet not returned—given so easily to that goofy giant Qi Ye.

Ran Feng was asking for it.

Killing here wouldn’t reach the real world, right?

Ran Feng, aiming to put Zhang San in his place, had kept the key, knowing Zhang San’s resentment. Ranked 250 on the horror leaderboard, he wasn’t naive—he sensed Zhang San’s hostility but dismissed it. A newbie like Zhang San couldn’t touch a veteran like him.

Still, he stayed wary.

Seven minutes to 7 p.m.

Qi Ye shut the door, inserted the key, and turned right.

Click.

It opened.

“Confirmed! It’s for the classroom door!” Qi Ye waved the key, beaming brightly.

Nothing happened. The corridor outside remained unchanged.

He tried opening and closing it again.

Time ticked by.

Ran Feng called out, “Qi Ye, five minutes left.”

“Three minutes.”

“Two and a half.”

Sweat beaded on Qi Ye’s forehead. Nothing changed.

He frowned. “Seems useless.”

Ran Feng tapped his chin. “What if… the change is outside?”

“Should we check?”

“Qi Ye, stay here. Keep opening and closing.”

Qi Ye’s face fell, a question mark hovering. Why me?

Everyone else left. Only Xu Nian, Shen Musi, and Qi Ye remained.

Under Qi Ye’s hopeful gaze, Xu Nian and Shen Musi ignored him, heading out.

Qi Ye, teary-eyed, mechanically opened and closed the door.

Xu Nian and Shen Musi took two steps, then turned back.

Qi Ye, numbly working the door, barely reacted. “Forgot something?”

“Go to the corridor’s end,” Xu Nian told him.

“Thanks!” Qi Ye, clueless why but relieved, pulled the key and slipped past them.

“Wait. Leave the key.”

“Oh, sure.”

Qi Ye handed it to Shen Musi. It seemed useless, and Ran Feng or Zhang San wouldn’t care.

Shen Musi passed the key to Xu Nian, who pocketed it.

The clock showed one minute left.

They locked eyes. Shen Musi understood. “Run?”

She extended her hand.

The classroom’s dim light hit her, making her radiant, eyes reflecting starlight—and Xu Nian.

Xu Nian took her hand, a familiar warmth, as if they’d held hands through countless years, natural as breathing.

They sprinted down the endless corridor, passing the chatting group like a gust of wind.

Yuan Shen noticed their speed. “Why’re they running?”

Ran Feng checked his watch, then their fleeing figures. His heart sank. “Damn it!”

“Move!”

He urged the others, rushing to follow.

A corner appeared at the corridor’s end, with stairs leading up.

Xu Nian and Shen Musi neared it when all lights went out.

Pitch-black night cloaked the corridor, breeding fear.

Everyone grew uneasy.

Xu Nian clung to the warm hand in hers, a lifeline.

Sensing her fear, Shen Musi whispered, “Xu Nian?”

Recalling their position before the blackout, Xu Nian said, “We’re less than two meters from the stairs.”

“Okay.”

Hand in hand, they groped through the dark. Xu Nian pulled out her phone.

A faint glow lit the way, barely revealing the steps. They felt along the walls, advancing slowly.

The flashlight at max brightness clarified the stairs’ size.

Tap, tap, tap, tap…

High heels echoed, as if stepping on their hearts, growing louder, closer, unnerving.

The clustered players whispered anxiously.

“What’s that?”

“Anyone got a flashlight?”

“I do. Phone’s got plenty of battery.”

A phone flicked on, its beam sweeping. Nothing. The sound stopped.

“Did you… hear that?” Ran Feng asked, probing.

“Yeah.”

“High heels?”

“Yes.”

High heels… Ran Feng recalled the earlier teacher.

Tap, tap, tap…

“So loud,” Qi Dong muttered, annoyed.

A cold hand gripped her neck. The flashlight swung back, revealing a pale face inches away, icy eyes piercing.

“Aaah—!”

Her scream echoed as the group scattered.

Upstairs, Xu Nian and Shen Musi stumbled into a hallway lined with open dorm rooms, each marked with a number.

Dormitories?

The chaos below—high heels and screams—raged on.

No time to care. They ducked into a room, shutting the door.

Click.

Xu Nian exhaled, tension easing, but a chill ran down her spine, making her shiver.

She turned slowly.

Her pupils shrank, heart racing, hand on the doorknob, ready to bolt.