Chapter 77.2 Savage Expansion (10)
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Huo Nanjing was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“They’ve all been possessed by ghosts,” the girl replied without answering his question. She stood up and pointed at Huo Nanjing and Lin Zhaohe. “Burn them alive, all of them!”
“Burn them alive! Burn them alive!” The remaining students echoed the girl’s proposal.
Huo Nanjing was dumbfounded.
As they spoke, these individuals began dragging him and Lin Zhaohe away. They clearly noticed Xiao Xiu on Huo Nanjing’s back, because their eyes filled with intense fear. Before long, the two of them were dragged to a corner where several charred corpses were laid out. Smoke still rose from above their heads, indicating they had been burned not long ago.
“Jiang Wenxue, Jiang Wenxue, it’s me!” Huo Nanjing watched as the girl approached him with a gasoline canister in hand, his fear mounting instantly. “It’s me, I’m Huo Nanjing. What are you planning to do—”
The girl, known as Jiang Wenxue, remained expressionless, seemingly unaffected by Huo Nanjing’s pleas. She poured the gasoline she held onto Huo Nanjing, her voice cold as she said, “Of course, I know you’re Huo Nanjing. It’s you, Huo Nanjing, whom I want to burn to death.”
With that, she took out a lighter.
The flame of the lighter flickered, and it was about to be thrown onto Huo Nanjing when Lin Zhaohe shouted, “Wait— I can take you out of here—”
His words caused Jiang Wenxue’s actions to pause for a moment.
“I have a communicator on me, which can contact people outside!” Lin Zhaohe made a desperate attempt, quickly appealing to their emotions and reasoning. “Continuing like this here will only lead to a dead end. Trust me this once!”
Jiang Wenxue turned around and exchanged a few words with someone nearby, seemingly communicating something. After the conversation, she approached Lin Zhaohe and crouched down. “Where is the communicator?”
Lin Zhaohe said it was in his pocket.
Jiang Wenxue reached into the pocket and indeed found a peculiar-looking object, not quite like a cellphone but resembling one in some ways. She squinted and asked Lin Zhaohe how to use it, and he explained everything in detail.
As Jiang Wenxue dialed Zhuang Lao’s number, Lin Zhaohe’s heart raced, hoping against hope that the signal here would reach Zhuang Lao. Otherwise, they would truly be doomed.
The communicator rang a few times, and just as Lin Zhaohe was contemplating how to leave his last words, there was a click, and Zhuang Lao’s voice came through from the other end. “Hello, Xiao He?”
“Boss—” Lin Zhaohe felt a sense of relief.
“We have arrived at the location but don’t know how to get in,” Zhuang Lao said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Lin Zhaohe glanced at Jiang Wenxue and continued, “There are several students from different schools here. I’m figuring out how to get them out. It would be great if you could come and help…”
“Okay,” Zhuang Lao replied. “Stay in a safe place, and we’ll be there as soon as possible.”
They exchanged a few more words to confirm that Lin Zhaohe was not lying and that they were indeed the rescue team sent from outside.
The communicator was disconnected. Jiang Wenxue hesitated for a moment before loosening the bindings on Lin Zhaohe. However, she showed no intention of releasing Huo Nanjing. Instead, she watched him with extreme vigilance.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Huo Nanjing felt wronged.
“Why? Don’t you have any idea in your heart?” Jiang Wenxue sneered. “This event was organized by you in the first place. The school has turned into this state. I don’t believe you had nothing to do with it.”
Huo Nanjing’s eyes widened and said, “What does it have to do with me? I was invited here by Xiao Xiu.”
“You’re talking nonsense.” Jiang Wenxue roared, “Wasn’t it you who posted on the school forum?”
Huo Nanjing said, “What post? I never use the school forum!”
Jiang Wenxue frowned upon hearing his words, seemingly skeptical of Huo Nanjing’s claim. According to her description, Huo Nanjing was the initiator of this exploration event. He even hosted three or four paranormal games. However, Huo Nanjing insisted that he never participated in any of them. Shortly after entering the school, he didn’t want to take part in those terrifying games, so he made an excuse to go to the restroom and slipped away. Later, when he realized something was wrong, he couldn’t find the main group.
“So, the person who posted isn’t you?” Jiang Wenxue asked.
“Of course not,” Huo Nanjing trembled and said, “I’m terrified of these things.”
Jiang Wenxue said, “You claim you didn’t post, but then it means you’re not the one responsible for Xiao Xiu’s death either?”
Huo Nanjing shook his head anxiously, explaining that the small handkerchief on his back was retrieved from the pond just now. He loved Xiao Xiu so much, how could he harm her?
“But I clearly saw you push Xiao Xiu down with my own eyes,” whispered a male student behind Jiang Wenxue. “I saw it very clearly. It was you who reached out your hand.”
Huo Nanjing felt helpless, crying and laughing, stating that he truly didn’t do it. He had no reason to do all of this.
“Could there be two Huo Nanjings?” one of the male classmates, who still retained some sanity, suggested. “Could the other Huo Nanjing be responsible for all those things?”
Jiang Wenxue furrowed her brows. “It’s possible, but we can’t take that risk. We can’t untie him for now.”
Huo Nanjing was overwhelmed with sadness, continuing to proclaim his innocence. Unfortunately, Jiang Wenxue remained adamant, her heart as hard as iron, stating that she wouldn’t untie him until they left this place.
Lin Zhaohe had just washed his face when he was drenched in gasoline once again. Now he sat on the ground, assuming a somewhat helpless posture. The students looked at him with fearful eyes. Lin Zhaohe explained that he was a good person.
A male student weakly spoke up, “We know you’re a good person. Can you make those two female ghosts on your shoulders stop being so creepy?”
Lin Zhaohe: “No, I can’t.”
The crowd: “……”
He could be burned to death, but the female ghosts would certainly not cease their torment.
Wiping off the gasoline from his body, Lin Zhaohe gathered the information about the current situation from their accounts.
Currently, there were four surviving students in the library, led by Jiang Wenxue, consisting of two males and two females. The emphasis on “surviving” students was due to Jiang Wenxue’s description of unseen entities within the library, such as their deceased companions…
The charred corpses beside them were the monsters they had captured in the library. However, from the appearance of these beings, they seemed to be ordinary humans.
Of course, Lin Zhaohe couldn’t be entirely certain and silently resolved to be more cautious.
“Monsters are everywhere outside. When the moon comes out, their numbers slightly decrease,” Jiang Wenxue stared wide-eyed, unaware of how long it had been since she last slept. Dark circles formed under her eyes, and her expression carried a sense of nervousness. “It has been thirteen hours, but the moon hasn’t risen yet.”
“Why don’t you take a break, Jiang Wenxue?” a male student suggested. “You haven’t rested since you came in.”
Jiang Wenxue shook her head, refusing the offer, claiming she was fine and didn’t need rest. She said she was mentally strong and asked them to check the second floor to prevent those things from coming in again. She gave a subtle signal to one of the male students.
The male student hesitated, his face showing doubt. “Do we really need to go again?”
“Why not?” Jiang Wenxue responded. “But going out there is not without risks.”
The male student nodded, turned, and headed towards the second floor. Lin Zhaohe felt like he wanted to say something but, with Jiang Wenxue present, it was difficult for him to speak up. So, he took the initiative and said, “I’ll accompany him. We can also check the situation outside. You stay here with Huo Nanjing to prevent any unexpected incidents.”
“Wait,” Jiang Wenxue intended to intervene, but Lin Zhaohe didn’t give her a chance. Ignoring her shouts, he swiftly followed the male student up the stairs. The male student kept his head down and didn’t speak much. Lin Zhaohe called out to him, but he didn’t respond.
At the entrance to the second floor of the library, a roaring bonfire blazed. The burning materials in the fire seemed to be books, the easiest to find nearby. The male student walked straight to the bookshelves, observed for a while, and then pulled out a few books, throwing them into the fire.
Lin Zhaohe: “What are you doing?”
The male student: “Maintaining the light.”
“What do you mean?”
Glancing at Lin Zhaohe, the male student explained, “Literal meaning. Initially, the library was dark until someone ignited a book, and the lights inside illuminated. That’s when the monsters were driven out…”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah,” the male student, his gaze fixed on the bonfire before him, replied with a numb tone. “Jiang Wenxue told us to burn novels first and then consider other books. It’s a good thing you came, otherwise, we would have argued over what books to burn next.”
Lin Zhaohe, observing the burning books in the fire, suddenly furrowed his brow. He walked up to the bonfire, ignoring the puzzled expression of the male student, and retrieved the recently thrown book from inside, narrowly avoiding getting burned by sparks.
Surprised, the male student asked, “What are you doing?”
“Is this book from your library?” Lin Zhaohe inquired.
“Yeah,” the male student replied.
A sense of unease washed over Lin Zhaohe as he thought about it. This book couldn’t be from the high school library because it was an unpublished draft that he had written.
[A/N]:
Lin Zhaohe: Even if the boss turns into a terrifying corpse, I will still bring him along!
Zhuang Lao: How touching!
Lin Zhaohe: Otherwise, who will give me a raise?
Zhuang Lao: ? The finance department can reimburse the damaged property expenses and charge it to Lin Zhaohe. He can work for the company for the rest of his life.
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