[502] Inside the dorm room, Su Yuan continued typing.

  [Why? Didn't everyone agree not to open the dorm room door?]

  "Can someone being watched by a ghost really be safe just by hiding behind a wooden door?"

  His younger sister tilted her head and said, "If that's the case, then ghosts don't seem so scary."

  Su Yuan thought she made a good point, but...

  [Aren't you a ghost too? Why can't you even help me cheat on exams?]

  Younger Sister: "... Maybe... I'm not a ghost."

  [Not a ghost? Then what are you?]

  "Soul... spirit... ghost?"

  His younger sister gnced at her translucent hand and giggled, "Maybe... you're just a lunatic, brother!"

  A lunatic...?

  Su Yuan seriously pondered this question.

  He had undergone a year of mandatory treatment in a mental asylum, and his medical records clearly stated he had a "history of mental illness."

  But he didn't believe he was truly ill.

  In the asylum, he had seen a girl who imagined herself as a toilet seat and sat on a toilet for over ten hours a day.

  There was also a teenager who fantasized about being a martial arts master, using various tools to hit his crotch daily.

  He cimed it was to train his weaknesses in the Iron Shirt technique.

  There were also many intellectual patients who gathered to passionately discuss:

  "The Earth is actually ft, beyond the Antarctic ice wall lies a vast world, and we're all being kept in captivity!"

  "The universe, the moon nding, it's all a hoax! I've figured it all out, and they've confined me!"

  "The Earth is neither round nor square; it's actually... a giant foot!"

  The most memorable was an old man in the neighboring ward...

  He secretly collected his own excrement, molded it into spiral shapes, and used it as weapons to attack doctors and caregivers during rounds.

  The scene was like a living hell!

  The stench spread to every corner of the corridor, lingering for days.

  Because the old man's actions were akin to a terror attack, he was the most heavily monitored and medicated patient in the hospital.

  Su Yuan believed he was fundamentally different from these patients.

  His condition posed no threat to the outside world, didn't harm himself, and his thinking was no different from a normal person.

  In other words, as long as he pretended not to see his younger sister, he could be discharged immediately.

  So, based on information he found online, he diagnosed himself.

  He probably had Yin-Yang Eyes.

  Definitely not a mental illness.

  "Did you hear that?" Zhang Yang suddenly spoke from the upper bunk.

  "Hear what?" Ye Haoyu asked without looking up.

  A creaking sound came from the upper bunk as Zhang Yang sat up, uncertain, "It sounded like... a door opening, someone leaving?"

  "Leaving?" Su Yuan snapped back to reality, "Are you sure you heard right?"

  "Yes," Zhang Yang said confidently, "I heard it clearly; it should be from the next dorm."

  Next door... is it [503]?

  Su Yuan's nerves immediately tensed up, "Old Ye, turn down the game volume."

  "Okay."

  "What's the big deal about someone leaving? People visit each other's dorms all the time," Qi Yinhong said, munching on chips.

  "They just agreed next door that no one would leave the dorm today," Gao Wenyi took off his headphones, "But who knows, maybe someone didn't take it seriously?"

  "Agreed not to leave the dorm?" Qi Yinhong sneered, "You guys are really obsessed, believing in this 'family' nonsense?"

  Bang!

  Before he finished speaking, a loud bang echoed from the corridor, like thunder out of nowhere, making everyone's eardrums ache.

  The sound was like someone angrily smming a door or a gust of wind smming it shut, startling everyone inside the dorm.

  "Fuck!" Qi Yinhong's heart nearly jumped out of his throat, and he shouted, "Are you trying to get us in trouble? What if the dorm auntie comes?"

  "You're the one shouting loud enough to bring her here!"

  Lin Yuan hurriedly got up and put on his slippers, "I should head back. If the auntie finds me here, I'm screwed."

  "Wait, don't go out yet!" Su Yuan quickly grabbed him.

  "Why?" Lin Yuan looked at Su Yuan in confusion.

  Su Yuan didn't answer, turning to Zhang Yang instead, "Besides the door opening, did you hear anything else? Like footsteps?"

  "No," Zhang Yang shook his head, "I only heard someone leave."

  As soon as he said it, he realized something was off.

  No footsteps or other door sounds meant that whoever left was just standing in the corridor without moving?

  The dorm fell silent, and everyone simultaneously thought of the bloody writing on the bckboard.

  [Student Mao Houwang, please exit the dorm after lights out and stay in the corridor for ten minutes.]

  ***

  In the quiet corridor, the sound of a door closing startled Mao Houwang.

  His previously confused eyes now showed a hint of crity.

  He turned his head, looking around.

  "Why am I in the corridor... when did I come out?" Mao Houwang felt his mind was foggy, instinctively raising his hand to his forehead, trying to clear his thoughts while recalling what had happened.

  After lights out, he y in bed, pnning to py some games before sleeping...

  While in the middle of a game, he vaguely heard someone calling his name from outside the door.

  The voice sounded familiar, comforting.

  In a daze, he got out of bed, wanting to see who was calling him...

  Then...

  Mao Houwang turned his head, looking at the dead silent corridor, feeling a chill run up his spine.

  He immediately turned to open the door, wanting to return to the dorm.

  Click.

  "Locked?"

  Mao Houwang's eyes widened as he turned the doorknob four or five times, realizing it was indeed locked. He started pounding on the door.

  "Who the hell locked me out? When I get in, you're gonna get it! Open the door!"

  There was no response from inside the dorm.

  Mao Houwang continued pounding with all his might, shouting, "Open the door, damn it, open the door!"

  The force made his palms ache, his arms grew sore, and after pounding for four or five minutes, the door remained shut.

  Cold sweat dripped down his face as a deep fear welled up inside Mao Houwang.

  He had made such a commotion; the entire dorm building should have heard it, not just the fifth floor.

  But now, everything was silent, not even the dorm auntie came to check.

  The dark corridor stretched endlessly, only the biting cold wind howling through.

  A feeling crept into Mao Houwang's heart.

  It seemed like he was the only one left in the dorm building...

  His heart pounded, and he dared not look around, fearing something terrifying would emerge from the darkness.

  "This is your prank, right? I... I'm really gonna get mad, just... just open the door for me!!!"

  Fear drowned his remaining sanity, and Mao Houwang started kicking the door frantically.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Open the door... open the door!

  Even if it's a prank, I won't hold it against you, just someone help me open the door!

  Mao Houwang thought, kicking harder and harder, as if trying to kick a hole through the door.

  Gradually, his movements stopped.

  Because from the other end of the corridor, he heard slow, heavy footsteps.

  "Thump, thump, thump..."

  The footsteps approached slowly, drawing closer to his position...

  Finally, the footsteps stopped behind him.

  Mao Houwang clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling with fear.

  He forced himself to calm down, but his mind was bnk.

  Who was behind him?

  Or rather, was it even a person standing behind him?

  After a moment, he made a very wise decision.

  Run!

  No need to look back, just fucking run!

  "Little Wang, what are you doing?"

  Just as Mao Houwang turned to run, a gentle, familiar voice came from behind, freezing him in pce.

  He mechanically and slowly turned his head, disbelief written on his face:

  "Mom?!"

  In front of him stood a middle-aged woman in her forties, smiling warmly, her eyes gently watching Mao Houwang.

  "Little Wang, it's so te, where are you pnning to go?"

  "I... I was going back to the dorm to sleep."

  Mao Houwang said, then realized something was wrong, "Mom, why are you here?"

  His mother didn't answer, taking two steps forward.

  "Xiao Wang, Mom missed you, did you miss Mom?"

  "I... of course, I did." Mao Houwang looked up, meeting his mother's gentle gaze, his consciousness starting to blur again.

  "Mm!"

  His mother nodded with a smile, opening her arms to embrace Mao Houwang, "Then let's stay together forever, never apart, okay?!"

  Forever, together?

  Mao Houwang's eyes were vacant, leaning his head into his mother's embrace without resistance.

  "Okay..."

  His mother's embrace was warm, making Mao Houwang feel especially at ease.

  But at that moment, he realized what had been bothering him all along.

  He slowly raised his head...

  In the cold moonlight, his mother's face still wore that gentle smile, as if it was the only expression she knew.

  But... that smile grew increasingly eerie, her mouth stretching back to her ears.

  Yes, that's it.

  How could his mother be over two meters tall?

  A pale, rge hand covered the back of his head.

  The st thing Mao Houwang saw was the ceiling rushing towards him.