"Even though I was terrified, I persisted and finished the game. When I stood back up, my friends saw a piece of paper taped to my back. It described the method for leaving the East and West campus."
The diary didn't end there. Below it were instructions and precautions for the three mini-games, written with remarkable care—as though deliberately luring people into playing them.
"If we complete these three mini-games, we'll get the method to leave the ruined school. Looks like we're pretty lucky—we've found one of the main quests." Lan Dong flipped the diary to the last page and carefully read through the instructions for each game.
"Isn't our mission to find the oil paintings?" The male assistant spoke up preemptively, afraid Lan Dong would do something crazy, but he was already too late.
"Even if we collect all the oil paintings, we still can't leave. What if the haunted house owner throws a tantrum, breaks his word, and forces the difficulty up?" Lan Dong had thought things through thoroughly.
"There are five main quests in this haunted house. We drew the easiest one. The other quests probably contain information about escaping—which means this diary we found is actually a critical clue for another quest. If we can find a way out, we'll have the upper hand. We'll be able to laugh in the haunted house owner's face, point at the surveillance cameras and imagine him throwing an impotent rage."
Lan Dong's words hit Liu Kang right where it counted. He made the call immediately: "Three mini-games, that's it. The viewers in the stream want to see it anyway. Let's knock them out in five minutes, grab the clue, and then go find the Art Club."
"Don't worry. The three of us have played plenty of paranormal games like this. Nothing will go wrong." Lan Dong held up the diary. "The first game is 'Guess Who's Behind the Door.' The rules are simple—one person stands inside a completely dark room. The rest stand outside the door. They can't speak, only make footsteps. After walking back and forth outside the door twice, they knock three times. The person inside calls out the knocker's name. If they guess correctly, the knocker enters the room, and they move on to the next person."
"Pretty simple game. No real challenge." Liu Kang had expected something far more terrifying; he didn't expect something this ordinary. "We can agree on an order in advance, then just knock in sequence."
"Yep, that's what I was thinking too." Lan Dong looked at the dormitory behind him. "This room will work. I'll go inside and guess. Ali and Xiaochun, you two follow right after. Then Brother Kang. The cameraman and the assistant last."
"Alright. Let's try to finish in under a minute." Liu Kang nodded his approval, and no one else objected.
The game began. Lan Dong stepped inside and shut the dormitory door.
The boys' dormitory was pitch-black. Under each bedsheet, something had been placed, making it look as though someone was lying in every bed.
"I'm ready."
After Lan Dong spoke, footsteps echoed down the corridor outside. They were soft, measured.
After two passes, the dormitory door was knocked.
"Xiaochun, is that you?"
The door swung open. The quiet-looking girl stepped inside. "What kind of paranormal game is this? Any one of the games we've played before was scarier than this."
Footsteps sounded again, and everyone filed into the room one by one, following the agreed-upon order.
Chilling wind crept through their collars and slid down their backs. Fewer and fewer people remained outside in the corridor. The male assistant gripped his phone tightly, glancing left and right from time to time.
In the silent hallway, those abrupt knocks were unnerving. The constant pacing footsteps grew more unsettling the longer they echoed. The assistant's thoughts began to scatter. For some reason, he recalled the stories adults had told him as a child.
Late at night, if you don't go home and keep pacing the hallway, you'll attract their attention. And when you open the door, they follow you home.
"Why did we have to play a game like this?" He was terrified. His palms were drenched in sweat, leaving wet smudges on his phone case.
Xiaochun, Ali, and Liu Kang had all made it inside successfully. Only the muscular cameraman and the assistant remained in the corridor.
Hefting the camera, the big man walked toward the far end of the hallway as the game required, while the assistant stood alone by the door.