Chang Gu's life was a tragedy, but it was a tragedy that came about entirely because of the Psychic Ghost School. That school had taken his sister and indirectly caused his parents' deaths.
For Chen Ge, the Psychic Ghost School was just a mission. But for Chang Gu, that school was the prison that had trapped him for his entire life.
He wanted to know the secrets of the Psychic Ghost School even more than Chen Ge did, and that was one of the reasons Chen Ge had chosen to cooperate with him.
After hearing Chang Gu's story, Chen Ge still had one lingering doubt: "But what does any of this have to do with those parents? And why would they be targeting you?"
"At first I didn't realize that Chang Wenyu's case was an isolated one. I investigated through various channels in secret, visited many families where incidents had occurred, asked about their experiences, trying to find clues, trying to help them, and at the same time save myself. Unfortunately, I had underestimated human nature. People can abandon their humanity for hatred, and they can stop at nothing for love. Gradually, they stopped passively cooperating with my investigation — instead, they wanted to force everything out of me. They even wanted to dig out my left eye." Chang Gu didn't go into details, but it was clear those weren't pleasant memories. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been hiding and running even with a Fierce Ghost in Red protecting him.
"If I find my sister and still have the strength, I'll definitely go help them. But the reality is that I'm almost completely blind in both eyes, dragging around this half-dead body. I can barely keep myself alive — how could I possibly have the power to look after them?" Chang Gu's voice gradually grew louder. Only in this old house deep in the mountains and dense forest did he dare to vent like this.
"You did well." Chen Ge leaned against the door. He wanted to say something more, but Chang Gu cut him off.
"Actually, I've been hesitating about something. I need to make a decision before I lose my sight completely." Chang Gu faced Chen Ge and opened both eyes. His right eye was entirely white. His left eye at first glance looked no different from a normal person's eye, but if you looked carefully, you'd notice that the area where the eyeball connected to the socket was covered in dense, fine blood vessels. "I used to always hesitate, but your arrival has given me the resolve. I can't put this off any longer."
"What does that have to do with me? Did I provoke you?" Chen Ge didn't know where he'd gone wrong. "Don't do anything rash. We're companions now — if there's something going on, we can talk it out."
"There's nothing you can help me with here."
"How do you know that if you don't even say it? Even if I can't do it, I have a whole group of friends and brothers. You met them the other night, remember?"
At the mention of that night's encounter, Chang Gu's face turned green. He thought for a long time before speaking: "After the eye transplant surgery, my right eye's vision got worse and worse, and my left eye couldn't see anything at all. Every day brought nothing but endless pain, and I endured it bitterly. Until one day, I was woken from sleep by the pain. Half-dreaming, half-awake, I vaguely saw a door. To see it more clearly, I instinctively closed my left eye and looked only with my right. But to my surprise, when I closed my left eye, that hazy door disappeared!"
Chang Gu grew agitated and shouted at Chen Ge: "Do you know what that means?"
"The door was something you saw with your left eye?"
"That's right! I used my sister's eye and saw a door!" As Chang Gu said these words, veins bulged across his face and his eyes pushed outward, looking as if they might fall out at any moment. It was terrifying.
"What did the door look like? Was it entirely blood-red, with surging blood vessels on it?" The moment Chang Gu mentioned the word "door," Chen Ge's attention had already sharpened to a razor's edge. "Door" held an extremely special meaning for him.
"Blood-red?" Chang Gu shook his head. "The door I saw was just a very ordinary door. But by the time I was fully awake, the door had disappeared."
"An ordinary door? Have you seen it again since?" Chen Ge couldn't understand why the door Chang Gu saw was different from a blood-red door.
"I have, but each time I only see it in that half-asleep, half-awake state. I've tried to approach it, but unfortunately, the moment I wake up fully, the door vanishes instantly."
"Then even if you can see the door, it's useless."
"That's what I thought at first. But then I noticed something very strange — the distance between that door and me kept shrinking! It was like it was trying to pull me in!" Chang Gu's voice became terrifying. "Months ago, that door had already moved to my bedside. Every time I startled awake from a dream, my left eye would see the door standing right next to my bed! I only needed to lift my hand to push it open and step through!"
Chang Gu panted heavily. This must have been his deepest secret. "I don't know where that door leads, much less what's behind it. I've been terrified, but now I don't want to run anymore. Since this door was seen with my left eye, then what's behind it is very likely the Psychic Ghost School!"
These words stunned Chen Ge, but he quickly calmed himself down.
He had been through the world beyond a "door" — and not just once. He had seen many doors, but every single one had been blood-red.
"Your reasoning makes sense, but I have a feeling what's behind that door might not be the Psychic Ghost School. We should think this through carefully." Chen Ge had never dealt with a four-star scenario, and he wasn't sure what the difference between a four-star and a three-star scenario actually was, so he couldn't be certain that a four-star scenario's door had to be blood-red.
"I don't have time left." Chang Gu raised his hand toward his left eye and gently flipped the eyelid. The area connecting the socket and the eyeball had already necrotized entirely, held together only by thin, dark-red strands of blood vessels.
"Fine. Since you're determined to try, I won't stop you. I just hope you can agree to one small request." Chen Ge's own time was running short too — there were only a little more than twenty hours left before the four-star mission deadline.
"What request?"
"When you push through that door tonight, I want to stay by your side to prevent any accidents. Don't rush to refuse — think of this as the last thing I can do for you." Chen Ge's tone was earnest, his gaze sincere.
"Tonight?" Chang Gu was taken aback for a moment, but he agreed readily enough. "No problem. Tonight it is!"
The moment Chang Gu agreed, the Black Phone in Chen Ge's pocket buzzed. He turned, took out the phone, and opened the new message.
"Lucky Ghost-Favored One! Congratulations on earning Chang Gu's trust. Left Eye Mission, Part Three Unlocked — ???"
"Warning! This mission is filled with extreme uncertainty! It is highly likely to trigger serious consequences. Choose carefully!"
Staring at the message on the Black Phone, Chen Ge's heart pounded faster. He read it over and over: "This mission is so strange? Not only are the mission objectives all question marks, but the warning specifically notes it's filled with extreme uncertainty. The biggest issue is that it warns me to choose carefully, but it hasn't even listed any options!"
Putting the Black Phone away, Chen Ge felt a nameless sense of unease.
"You don't look so good." Chang Gu poured Chen Ge a cup of water.
"I'm fine. Go to sleep — I'll keep watch beside you." Chen Ge called Xu Yin back into the voice recorder, dragged a chair over, and sat down by the door.
"Sorry for the trouble." Chang Gu lay down on the bed and pulled the towel blanket over himself.
Time trickled by. Two hours passed, and Chang Gu still hadn't fallen asleep.
"I'm probably too nervous. I don't feel sleepy at all."
Being stared at like this, no one would be able to fall asleep.
"Want me to go down the mountain and get you some sleeping pills?"
"Forget it. The round trip would take over three hours, plus the pharmacies are all closed by now." The thought of pushing open that door tonight completely killed any drowsiness.
"Maybe it's because there's a stranger here. I'll wait outside — try to relax." Chen Ge opened the door and walked out.
Mosquitoes and insects swirled through the air. Chang Gu tossed and turned but still couldn't fall asleep. He checked his watch several times — it was already past two in the morning.
"My body's exhausted, but I just can't sleep. It's really strange."
He struggled until dawn and still couldn't drift off. He walked out of the wooden cabin with deep embarrassment, only to find that Chen Ge had actually stood guard outside the door the entire night.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why, but I just couldn't fall asleep."
"It's fine." Chen Ge's own condition wasn't much better. Worried about missing the exact moment Chang Gu pushed the "door" open, he had remained in a state of high tension the whole time. "Looks like we'll have to wait until tonight. Chang Gu, try not to sleep during the day. I'll come find you tonight."
"Alright." The thought that Chen Ge had spent an entire night standing guard outside his door for nothing left Chang Gu with a twinge of guilt.