159 Both In and Out

 

Near the end of the diary, there were some apologies from the girls but they were clearly forced. The diary last entry had a hasty end. Other than Girl 4, the other girls were only reminded of the need for kindness when they were faced with death and despair. At the end of the diary, there was a group picture of the 4 girls when they first moved into Room 304. It looked so ironic now. Han Fei picked up the picture, and turned it over. 4 names were written on the back. Girl 4 was called Su Mengting. She had the gentlest smile in the picture.

“Such a kind soul, but she was twisted into a monster by the world.” Han Fei placed the picture into his pocket because he felt negative energy from it.

“The environment does influence an individual’s personality a lot.” Zhang Guanxing looked at the tattoo on his arm, he empathized with Su Mengting.

“Indeed, once upon a time, I too was an innocent boy.” Han Fei placed the can of wishes near the door. If the ghost tried to enter from that door, she’d be stopped by the can. Han Fei did not plan to harm the girl, in fact, he did not think he was capable of hurting the girl in the first place. So his plan had always been to survive for 30 minutes inside the room and then run for his life. 15 minutes had passed since the start of the mission, and so far everything was fine. Han Fei and Zhang Guanxing ransacked Room 304 and found no other useful clues.

“Sir, I think we should just stay inside this room.” Zhang Guanxing tried to remember what the diary said. “The 3 girls got their comeuppance because the hostel manager came and they had to open the door for her. I believe it was then that Su Mengting also entered the room. So as long as we keep the door closed, we should be fine.”

“You’re too naïve.” Han Fei shook his head. “The diary was never completed. Clearly something bad has befallen the author. Su Mengting was already inside the bedroom.”

“Wasn’t that what I said?”

“Yes, but what if she never left?” Han Fei’s question stumped Zhang Guanxing.

“You mean the ghost has been in here with us? Then… what about the footsteps outside the door?” Zhang Guanxing was covered in cold sweat.

“Didn’t you realize how strange those footsteps were? It felt more like something was dragged along the floor than someone actually pacing about.” Han Fei pointed out the problem. “That was probably just a method to get us to run inside the room to hide.”

“So this is a trap all along?”

“I believe so.” Han Fei still remembered the mission requirement, he had to stay inside the room for a whole half an hour no matter what happened. So far, the system missions had always asked Han Fei to do extremely dangerous things. The system wanted him to stay inside the room not because there was a ghost outside the door but because it wanted Han Fei to try to survive inside a room with a ghost for 30 minutes. Half an hour later, he could walk out from the room freely, provided that he was still alive. The system would always issue the most insane mission in the most casual tone.

“There might be ghosts both inside and outside the room, it only depends on which ghost we’d like to face.” Han Fei sat on the mattress. He was becoming better at making deductions.

“So we’re doomed?” Zhang Guanxing sat beside Han Fei obediently. This ruffian had been turned into a teacher’s pet in this Iyashikei game.

“Don’t worry, after half an hour, we’ll be safe.” Just as Han Fei said that, the strange footsteps returned to the corridor. The sound slowly approached and this time it stopped before Room 304. The key eased into the keyhole, the old lock creaked noisily. The keyholder turned until the whole lock shook like it was about to fall off. Han Fei and Zhang Guanxing closed their mouths and turned to stare at the door. Neither of them dared to breathe too loudly. A few minutes later, silence returned outside the door.

“Has she left?” Zhang Guanxing asked when the knocking came on the door of Room 304. The sudden noise startled Zhang Guanxing. He jumped up and almost knocked his head against the board of the upper bunk. They were reliving the incidents described in the diary. The knocking came at fixed intervals, it rang inside the room consistently. The incessant knocking tortured the people inside the room. She returned to Room 304 again and again, fueled by resentment, hatred and pain. The stench in the room enhanced. A cold draft picked up even though the windows and door were already closed. Han Fei and Zhang Guanxing had no idea what was outside the door, the fear of the unknown was the scariest. With veins popping on the back of his hands, Zhang Guanxing picked up the pen and paper from the table and wrote a note to Han Fei.

“Sir, I’ll go and open the door. You go and grab the can. When the door is open, you throw the can out!” Zhang Guanxing’s idea was not bad but he overlooked one problem. The Can of Wishes was one of the few ‘weapons’ Han Fei had, if he tossed it out, how were they going to deal with the ghost inside the room? Furthermore, the half an hour limit was not yet up. Han Fei would not ruin his own chance at completing the mission. Therefore, he replied on the note, ‘Just stay still and wait for my orders.’

The ghost inside Room 304 wanted to play the long game with them and that fitted Han Fei’s goal perfectly. Zhang Guanxing and Han Fei continued to stare at the door. Slowly, the door of Room 304 started to tremble and the moisture inside the room became more palpable. Zhang Guanxing who had his attention fixed to the door suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He shivered. He reached behind his neck and realized it was wet. “It’s leaking but aren’t we on the bottom bunk?” Zhang Guanxing turned his head around in confusion. He looked through the gap in the bed and saw there was a disfigured face looking at him.

“S, s, sir…” Zhang Guanxing used his shaking hand to touch Han Fei.

“What’s wrong?”

“She, she is just above us!” After saying that, Zhang Guanxing dragged Han Fei and leaped away from the bed. The two of them stood in the middle of the bedroom and turned back to stare at the bed they just vacated. There was no ghost there but the upper bunk bed was wet. There was a water stain in the shape of a human. “But I saw it! I swear I did!”

“Don’t worry, I believe you.” Han Fei signalled for Zhang Guanxing to move behind him. He reached his hand towards the mattress. When his hand touched the human-shaped stain, the sound of a girl crying reverberated inside the room. Han Fei sensed regret and despair from the stain. “You’ve pushed her to her death and she’s now back to get you, it’s entirely fair.” Han Fei did not even consider saving the stain. First, he did not have that ability and secondly, he believed those who made mistakes should be punished.

The smell of decomposition inside the room heightened until it was suffocating. Han Fei’s clothes started to bloom with wet stains, the bedroom felt like it was sinking into a dark river. It was getting wetter and colder. The light dimmed. Not one spot was safe. Han Fei inspected his mission interface, he was 6 minutes left to complete the mission. Picking up the black can, Han Fei looked around with alertness, he knew the girl was about to show herself soon. The knocking became more insistent. Han Fei and Zhang Guanxing stood in the room with the greatest alarm!

When he was 3 minutes away from completing the mission, the knocking abruptly stopped. Then the footsteps began again, it sounded like the thing outside the door was leaving. As the footsteps faded away, Han Fei’s heart slowly returned back to its place but then he slowly noticed something was wrong!

‘There are 2 sets of footsteps!’ He whipped his body around. A girl in dripping clothes stood behind Zhang Guanxing. Her skin was devoid of life and color! The water stains on the ground were climbing up Zhang Guanxing’s body. The ruined face was painted with resentment and hatred. Her body was bloating.

“Behind you!” Grabbing Zhang Guanxing by his arm, Han Fei dragged him back while opening the can to aim it at the girl. Perhaps the girl was too strong or the can had been too badly damaged, after the girl saw the can, she only halted for a few seconds. However, in those few seconds, Han Fei had managed to save Zhang Guanxing.

The girl’s body was melting together with the water stains inside the room. An imposing presence radiated off her. The black can snapped with a crisp sound. Another crack appeared on the can. Han Fei knew there was not much time left.

“Keep the mouth aimed at her.” Han Fei handed the black can over to Zhang Guanxing as he took out the red paper doll from his inventory. The situation was too dangerous for Han Fei to communicate with the doll. He cut his palm and allowed his fresh blood to drop onto the doll. Savoring the blood, the doll’s eyes slowly opened. The way it looked at Han Fei was colored with a pathologic remembrance.