Pale light illuminated the area.

The surroundings were completely different from before.

It was no longer the familiar campus but a chaotic, abandoned building. Nearly collapsed cardboard boxes were piled in the corners. The ground was covered in thick dust, and even the stair railings were rusted and almost broken.

Without light, it would have been pitch-black.

Chu Changge's flashlight lit up everyone.

Gu Mian couldn't see Fatty.

Keke was staring wide-eyed at where Fatty had been standing, her expression one of utter bewilderment.

Gone.

Fatty was gone.

He vanished into thin air, without making a single sound.

007 hadn't expected someone to encounter trouble so quickly. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her breathing grew heavier. "Was it a ghost?"

Gu Mian remained silent.

Chu Changge, holding the flashlight, shook his head at Gu Mian. "I didn't hear anything, nor did I find any clues."

Gu Mian furrowed his brow and walked back into the corridor they had just been in. However, it too had undergone a heaven-and-earth change; it was no longer a long corridor but a wide, open floor.

It was pitch-black.

It was as if they had been moved to another building in an instant.

Chu Changge followed and swept his flashlight around. "No one," he said.

Gu Mian stared at the empty floor in silence for a moment before speaking. "There are three possibilities now. One: the four of us were moved to this building, and Fatty was left alone at the school. Two: Fatty was moved here with us but isn't nearby. Three: he's dead."

Hearing the last possibility, both 007 and Keke felt a chill run down their spines.

"We need to find out where we are," Gu Mian said, turning and heading for the stairs. "First, let's leave this building. Downstairs."

007 and Keke nodded slightly and quickly followed.

Gu Mian was in the lead, with Chu Changge at the rear, lighting the way with the flashlight.

These stairs were very steep, and even more dangerous in the dark.

As he descended, Gu Mian said, "Everyone, hold hands. To prevent anyone from suddenly disappearing."

Previously, it was Fatty, who was last in line, who had suddenly disappeared. Now, Chu Changge was at the very back.

Gu Mian heard 007 and Keke agree. Then, Keke's voice came. "Then I'll hold onto your clothes?"

She was speaking to Gu Mian.

Gu Mian didn't speak, which was taken as tacit consent.

He quickened his pace down the stairs, but this seemed to be an incredibly tall building; the staircase made several turns without any sign of an end.

Just as they reached the fourth turn, Gu Mian heard Keke, who had been quiet until then, suddenly exclaim anxiously, "Wait!"

He turned to look.

The flashlight beam was still on, illuminating the surroundings. But behind Keke was empty space. Further back stood Chu Changge, holding the light and looking over.

007 was gone.

Keke looked at the empty space behind her, bit her lip, and shivered violently. "We're..."

Gu Mian looked inquiringly at Chu Changge behind him. Chu Changge shook his head slightly, indicating he hadn't noticed anything.

Gu Mian frowned again. He paused for a few seconds before saying, "Let's stop for a moment."

It was certain their group had been targeted by the ghost; that's why they were disappearing one by one.

But disappearing didn't necessarily mean death. A ghost could only kill one person a night, yet two of their companions had already vanished.

Keke clutched Gu Mian's clothes tighter. She looked down at the staircase spiraling into the darkness below, like the gaping maw of a giant beast waiting for prey to walk into its trap.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. "If this goes on, will the three of us also disappear one by one?"

Gu Mian looked at the slightly panicked Keke. "That's right. But I have a theory now."

"What?" Keke, somewhat on edge, hadn't expected Gu Mian to suddenly say this and couldn't help but look at him.

Gu Mian looked at the staircase disappearing into the darkness below. "Everything has a pattern," he said. "Including this."

"Pattern?" Keke looked like she didn't quite understand.

Gu Mian withdrew his gaze. "People started disappearing ever since we began going downstairs."

Keke understood. "So, you're saying the disappearances are related to going downstairs?"

"Very possibly. Perhaps we should try the opposite," Gu Mian said, lifting his head to look up the stairs.

The stairs above were also shrouded in darkness. Even though this was the path they had taken, looking back now, the darkness seemed to hide unsettling things.

The three of them fell silent. Half a minute later, Keke nervously broke the silence. "So, we... try going back up?"

"Yes," Gu Mian nodded. "You two go back up."

Keke was taken aback. "Then what about you?"

"I'll continue down," Gu Mian responded, looking at Chu Changge. "I'll go down; you two go up. Starting from when we separate, I'll call out one of your names every twenty seconds. Answer me. If my voice disappears..."

Gu Mian paused briefly. "...it means I've disappeared. If my voice hasn't disappeared after ten calls, then stop, and I'll come up to find you."

Upon hearing this, Keke's face turned even paler. "Why do this?"

Gu Mian reached behind him and pulled a small flashlight from his guitar case. "This is the only way to confirm my theory. It's an important clue."

As he spoke, he switched on the flashlight and pointed it downstairs.

The beam lit up the dark staircase below. It seemed to have no end.

Chu Changge had already turned sideways. He looked at Gu Mian and didn't object to his idea. "Anything else to add?"

Keke looked at Chu Changge in disbelief. "Are you really letting him go downstairs alone?"

Chu Changge looked at her and nodded slightly. "Just remember to answer when he calls your name."

With that, he turned and started up the stairs.

Keke hesitated only for a moment before quickly following him. When she glanced back at Gu Mian, all she saw was his back descending the stairs.

Gu Mian didn't have a watch.

There were no watches in the game supermarket that could be brought into an instance.

So, he could only rely on mental calculation to count the twenty seconds.

Holding the flashlight, he slowly descended. The sound of footsteps from above—Chu Changge and Keke's—grew fainter and fainter.

After descending the first flight of stairs, Gu Mian stopped. It was time.

He lifted his head and looked upward. "Chu Changge?"

His voice echoed eerily in the stairwell.

Half a second later, Chu Changge's voice, also echoing, drifted down from the darkness above. "Still here."

Hearing the reply, Gu Mian continued down the dark stairs.

Keke had learned Chu Changge's real name from the compensation list of the hide-and-seek instance, so Gu Mian didn't need to be discreet.

The footsteps from above had faded, almost inaudible.

Another twenty seconds passed. Gu Mian looked up, paused for a moment, then called out, "Keke?"

Hearing her name, Keke nervously leaned her head towards the handrail and quickly answered, "I'm here."

Ahead, Chu Changge, holding the light, didn't stop. He continued to ascend, his silent back looking somewhat eerie in the darkness.

Keke felt a sense of unease.

After twenty silent seconds, Gu Mian's voice came again from below. It was much fainter now; they were getting farther and farther apart.

"Chu Changge?" Keke heard Gu Mian's third call from below.

Chu Changge answered again and continued up the stairs.

We're getting so far apart, Keke thought, anxiously awaiting the next call. I wonder if I'll be able to hear clearly next time.

Another twenty seconds passed. The next call came as expected—

"Keke."

Hearing her name, Keke instinctively responded.

But as the sound left her throat, she realized something was terribly wrong.

That voice... it came from right beside her head, and it wasn't Gu Mian's.

Right behind her, practically on her scalp!

Fear instantly shot through her limbs, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

In that horrifying instant, a thought struck her.

If going down the stairs made someone disappear, then going up... wouldn't that mean someone extra would appear?!

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