"This dorm room feels different from the others." Zhu Jianing stood in the doorway, looking ready to bolt at any moment. "It's got that escape room vibe. The clue to the exit must be hidden in here, right?"
"Who knows? It's my first time seeing a haunted house with this much freedom. The owner's got guts—doesn't seem to worry about guests getting hurt." Fei Youliang walked over to the chair and casually picked up the sheets of white paper scattered on it. Each bore a question: *When will I die? How will I die? Who will be next to die?*
"The scene looks like it's set up for the pen spirit game, but..." He looked at the ballpoint pen wrapped in clear tape on the chair. "This pen is a bit... odd, isn't it?"
"Is there some kind of mechanism?" Zhu Jianing walked over and took the pen, pressing the clicker several times with so much force he nearly cracked the barrel. "Seems like just a pretty ordinary pen."
"Do you remember what the haunted house owner said before we came in?"
"The house has four mini-scenarios. You have to experience all of them to get the clue to the exit."
"Exactly. The clue to the exit is hidden in these four rooms. Let's look carefully. In my experience, there should be something like a key or a note in this dorm."
The room wasn't large, but after searching every corner, the two found no hints.
"This haunted house is pretty tough, and cleverly designed." Fei Youliang laid the white papers flat on the desk. Three were written on, but one was blank. "Do we actually have to play the pen spirit game to find the answer?"
"Playing a pen spirit game in a haunted house seems like a bad idea," Zhu Jianing said, looking at the questions on the papers, his nerves showing.
"Of the four scenarios in this house, this one looks the simplest. If we don't use it as our starting point, are you planning to go back to that classroom to look for clues?" Fei Youliang waved his hand impatiently. "Besides, you really think pen spirits exist? Come on, let's try it. If it doesn't work, we'll just leave."
Something felt off to him; he couldn't shake a sense of discomfort. The negative emotions he'd been suppressing at the bottom of his heart felt triggered, giving him a sudden impulse to destroy everything.
Zhu Jianing reluctantly walked over to stand across from Fei Youliang, the two of them flanking the chair.
"But I don't know how to play."
"Don't worry. I've seen a lot of movies about pen spirits and even tried it at home a few times ages ago. It's all fake—this game can be explained scientifically." Fei Youliang held the pen upright, hovering it over the single blank sheet of paper. "Slide your fingers into the gaps between mine, grip the pen, and then just don't do anything else."
"Okay." Zhu Jianing trusted Fei Youliang. He crouched beside the chair and held the middle of the pen. "What now?"
"Just stay quiet." Fei Youliang wrote *yes* and *no* on the white paper. Once no other sounds disturbed the quiet of the girls' dormitory, he spoke softly, "Pen spirit, pen spirit, you are my past life, I am your present life. If you wish to come, draw a circle on the paper."
No sooner had he spoken than the half-open door suddenly blew inward with a gust of wind.
The old door creaked open slowly, revealing the deathly silent hallway beyond.
Zhu Jianing shivered and shrank further into the room.
"Don't move," Fei Youliang said, his eyes fixed on the pen tip, his body as still as a statue.
A cold wind swirled through the dorm. Scraps of paper on the floor scraped against his calf, as if someone were lightly scratching it with a fingernail. The temperature dropped, and a chill crept up from his ankles.
Maintaining the same position while in a state of high tension heightens human senses. For the two engaged in the pen spirit game, this was undoubtedly a form of torture.
The decrepit girls' dorm room seemed to grow darker. The stained bed sheet was touched by something—it looked just like someone was crawling out from under the bed.