A cold wind blew down the corridor. Blank test papers flipped back and forth on their own. The classrooms on both sides were clearly empty, yet strange sounds still emanated from within.
Kong Xiangming's and Yang Chen's teams searched the rooms on either side in tandem, reaching the end of the corridor in just three minutes. They converged at the door of the last classroom.
"The haunted house boss has moved the school badges again." Yang Chen didn't look too happy. "How many did you find?"
"Not a single one." Wei Wu said this with complete nonchalance — he and Kong Xiangming had never come here with the intention of finding school badges in the first place.
"You found nothing and you're still acting all high and mighty?" Wang Yan was the impatient type. "Old Yang, I really think we should stop bringing other people along. They're just dead weight."
"They just got here — they need time to adjust. The layout is complicated, the haunted house boss studied psychology, and the hiding spots are extremely cunning. It's perfectly normal they can't find anything." Yang Chen vaguely felt something was off about these two, though he couldn't put his finger on it. "There are at least three school badges hidden in this last classroom. Nobody splits up — we go in together and finish this quickly!"
Yang Chen pushed open the last classroom door and was the first to charge in. "No dawdling! The seniors specifically told us — we have to be fast! The longer we stay, the more horrifying things will happen!"
The three medical students worked in perfect coordination, each taking a section of the room. They kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact with the mannequins and never touching them. The instant they spotted a school badge, they snatched it up — swift, precise, clearly the result of extensive practice.
Wei Wu and Kong Xiangming didn't enter the classroom. They stood in the doorway, watching the mannequins arranged in various poses — some seated, some standing, no two alike.
"I think I can see individual human souls trapped inside those mannequins." Kong Xiangming squeezed the words through clenched teeth, his voice so low that only Wei Wu beside him could hear.
"Treating living people as toys, denying them peace even in death — what a truly vicious individual." A flicker of dread passed through Wei Wu's eyes. "Do you think those mannequins might be people who once crossed him?"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. There are far too many mannequins. I suspect a large portion of them are innocent people who had no idea what was happening — maybe even tourists who came to visit." Kong Xiangming drew a soft breath. "Every year, so many people go missing in the city. Some of them may have ended up as mannequins in this haunted house. This target is even more brutal than we imagined. We need to be careful."
After hearing Kong Xiangming's words, Wei Wu shrank back slightly. A trace of pity crept into his gaze as he looked toward the students.
How would tourists ever know that the mannequins startling them might be former tourists themselves?
"Get in here and help! What are you just standing around out there for?" Wang Yan had finished searching his area. Seeing Wei Wu and Kong Xiangming still loitering outside, a spark of irritation flared in him and his tone turned harsh.
"Save it." Yang Chen held Wang Yan back. The three had been searching inside for a long time but had only found two school badges.
"Things have changed — we need to pick up the pace." Yang Chen walked out of the classroom holding the badges. Passing by Wei Wu and Kong Xiangming, he felt even more strongly that something was strange about these two. "Gentlemen, since you agreed to cooperate, the least you could do is show a little good faith."
"Forget about them — let's just find the rest ourselves." Wang Yan's words were blunt. He and Li Xue followed behind him, and the three students ducked without pause into the restroom next to the classroom.
Wei Wu and Kong Xiangming didn't follow. The two exchanged a glance.
"These three students are rather interesting. Shall we try turning them into mannequins too?" Faint crimson threads surfaced along Wei Wu's neck, vivid and bright.
Kong Xiangming shook his head. "Careful not to alert the target."
Inside the restroom, Yang Chen opened one stall after another. In the gap between the fifth stall and the wall, he found yet another school badge.