Chapter 126: Back-to-Back

Faced with this eerie scene, Liu Yi, standing behind me, instinctively started to scream. I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth, only releasing it once she had calmed down.

I quietly observed the room from outside the window. At first glance, there was nothing unusual about Dadi and the others; they appeared to remain conscious, yet every face was etched with tension and terror, their foreheads beaded with dense sweat.

Zhou Lei and Li Fengyu were playing the "Pen Immortal" game, which was unremarkable; they seemed very cautious and showed no sign of stopping. As long as they didn’t stop, there was no immediate danger. Dadi’s group, however, was playing the "Four-Corner Game." On the surface, it seemed ordinary, but upon closer inspection, it was chilling.

Most people have heard of the Four-Corner Game: four people stand in the corners of a square room. The first person walks to the next corner, taps the person standing there on the shoulder, and takes their place. The next person then continues the cycle.

If you think about it, the game cannot actually continue with only four people. When the fourth person reaches the corner and taps the next, they walk to the first person's original position, which should be empty. If the game continues, it implies a fifth person is playing—and one of them is not human.

What I was witnessing was exactly that: a five-person game.

Dadi started, walking to the next corner to tap Jiang Chao’s shoulder. Jiang Chao then tapped Liu Dong, Liu Dong tapped Zhang Juan, and finally, Zhang Juan walked to Dadi’s starting position. Logic dictated that because Dadi’s original corner was empty and Zhang Juan was blindfolded with a black cloth, she should have stopped when she felt no one there. Yet, an incredible scene unfolded.

Zhang Juan did not stop. She reached out and tapped the empty air before standing in place. Two seconds later, though I saw no one move toward Dadi, his shoulder trembled slightly. He then stepped forward toward Jiang Chao. As they cycled through, the game showed no signs of ending. I could see the faces of Zhang Juan and Jiang Chao; they looked anxious and on the verge of tears.

Without hesitation, I activated my Yin-Yang eyes. I blinked, and when I looked back into the classroom, it had transformed.

Liu Dong was walking toward Zhang Juan. After tapping her, she continued to the corner that should have been empty. But with my Yin-Yang eyes, I saw someone standing there.

It was a young man, roughly twenty-five or twenty-six, with a center-parted hairstyle popular in the nineties and metal-rimmed glasses. His face was deathly pale, as if coated in thick flour, while his eye sockets and the corners of his mouth were an alarming, blood-red hue, as if they might bleed at any moment.

I gasped. Though I had seen many spirits and demons, this youth terrified me. Zhang Juan tapped the youth’s shoulder, and he began to walk slowly toward Dadi. Seizing this gap, I slipped into the classroom and stood in Zhang Juan’s spot.

When I tapped her shoulder, she was startled. She started to scream, but I covered her mouth. Seeing it was me, her terrified expression softened. Because the youth was standing with his back to us after tapping Dadi, he seemed unaware of my presence. I signaled for Zhang Juan to step aside, and I took her place in the game.

She nodded fearfully and retreated. I stood expressionless, waiting for Liu Dong to tap me. Soon, he did. I took a deep breath and cautiously walked toward the youth. Tensing my nerves, I prepared a "Palm Lightning" strike and a Taoist "Sanqing Evil-Suppressing Spell" in my palm, planning to strike him before he could turn around.

Just as I was half a meter away, he seemed to notice something. He turned his head—only his head—to stare at my raised hand with his pale, eerie face. Terrified, I realized my intent was exposed. I dared not strike with the lightning; instead, I tapped his shoulder lightly. "Buddy, this game isn't fun. How about something more exciting?"

He froze, then slowly turned his head back, seemingly accepting the proposal. As he did, I turned around, back-to-back with him. "Buddy, let’s play back-to-back, shall we?"

Leaning against him felt like touching a block of ice—bone-chilling. A ghostly voice drifted from behind me: "Sure!"

"Great. Here are the rules: it’s simple. I ask a question, you answer, then you ask me one, and I must answer. It’s a game where friends share secrets. You want to play?"

"Sure!" the voice replied again.

My scalp tingled, but I pressed on. "First question: what is your name?"

"Cheng Hao!" he replied, immediately asking for my name.

"Wu Dao," I answered truthfully. "What year are you in?"

"Class of '92... and you?"

"Heh, I’m two years behind you, class of '94."

As I played with Cheng Hao, Dadi and the others noticed the shift. Hearing me speak, their terrified faces regained a sliver of composure. Dadi was the first to rip off his blindfold, looking at me for guidance. While keeping up the banter with Cheng Hao, I signaled for them to leave.

They were quick. They quietly moved to the door. Cheng Hao seemed too engrossed in our game to notice. Once they reached the exit, I signaled them to run and not worry about me. Knowing my abilities, Dadi didn't hesitate; he led the others out.

Once they were gone, I stalled for time with more questions, waiting until I felt certain they had escaped the laboratory building.

"Senior, what are you doing in this building?" I asked.

"Conducting an experiment, of course. Graduation is almost here, and I have one crucial experiment left to finish for my thesis. I’ve been at it day and night, but it won't work. I'm being driven mad!" His emotions flared. "Driven so mad I want to jump from this building!"

My heart skipped a beat. Before I could react, Cheng Hao asked in that same eerie voice: "Junior, have you ever jumped from a building?"