"A little past two in the morning—there's still time."
His passenger needed to reach the abandoned school in the suburbs in the middle of the night, and the driver in the front seat was clearly stressed, frequently wiping sweat from his brow while keeping a close eye on Chen Ge through the rearview mirror.
Being watched like that nonstop made Chen Ge a little uncomfortable. He suspected that if this kept up, he'd end up on the Jiujiang Taxi Company's blacklist before long.
"Guess I should think about buying a car. But I don't have a license… forget it. I'll wait until I find a fierce ghost who can drive."
The thought of the truck driver at that moving company in the eastern suburbs flashed through his mind. That guy seemed like a good fit.
"Once I finish the underground morgue task, I'll head to the eastern suburbs. If that truck driver agrees to join the haunted house, I can save myself the money for a car too."
A smile crept onto his face before he could stop it. Chen Ge felt like he'd just discovered another promising employee.
At two forty in the morning, Chen Ge arrived at the perimeter of Muyang Middle School. He slipped into the tangled overgrowth and hadn't gone far before the school materialized out of the darkness.
"This place is only a two-star horror scenario, so why does it feel even more sinister than the Third Ward?"
Chen Ge unzipped his backpack. He had come to ask the old principal for help and hadn't intended to look too terrifying, but without the Skull-Crushing Hammer he just couldn't feel at ease.
Gripping the hammer's handle, Chen Ge pressed the switch on his voice recorder and stepped into the abandoned school.
"The old principal appeared in the last classroom before."
The murderer in the well-hiding case had already been caught. After the police pulled out, no one had come here for quite some time.
The sports field was overgrown with weeds, and Muyang Middle School had reverted to its original state.
Walking along the charred corridor, Chen Ge entered the teaching building. He pushed open the door to the last classroom and peered inside.
Rows of desks stood neatly in place. Chen Ge sat in the center of the room, just as he had the first time.
Strange characters were scrawled on the blackboard. Bizarre requests were carved into the desktops. The windows swayed gently, and the night wind blew in through the shattered glass.
The scene was the same, but the questions swirling through Chen Ge's mind were entirely different from last time.
"Where could the old principal be hiding?"
Chen Ge harbored no ill will toward the old principal. He simply wanted to reunite him with those students.
After a moment's thought, Chen Ge pulled a ballpoint pen from his backpack.
He sat in the very center of the classroom and played the Pen Spirit game.
"Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, you are my past life, and I am your present life. Can you tell me where the first principal of Muyang Middle School has gone?"
The ballpoint pen, its barrel wrapped in clear tape, stood upright on the desk. Hesitantly, it wrote three characters: "Office."
Seeing those words, Chen Ge nodded gently. He felt the Pen Spirit had already developed a sense of belonging toward the haunted house—perhaps even a sense of pride. That pleased him.
Rising from his seat and leaving the last classroom, Chen Ge ducked into the office building. He checked each room one by one until he found the principal's office at the far end of the hallway.
To leave a good first impression on the old principal, Chen Ge knocked on the door five times first. Only after confirming there was no response did he use the Skull-Crushing Hammer to smash the lock.
He kicked the door open and found the room empty.
"Muyang Middle School was built by the old principal bit by bit. He shouldn't have left this place."
Perhaps the timing wasn't right, or perhaps the old principal had other concerns. Either way, he didn't show himself.