Once the five-day break ended, everyone took a bus to the site of the second round of the competition.
They arrived again in the afternoon. The destination was a boarding school called Evergreen High School, one of the ten schools Jiang Luo and his team had identified as likely candidates.
Upon seeing the school, Jiang Luo immediately recalled the information he had memorized.
Evergreen High School was once a top school in the city. Though it was in a remote location and the facilities were old and run-down, the school had excellent college admission rates. In 2012, the Education Bureau funded its expansion, dividing the school into two campuses. The new campus housed first and second-year students, while the old campus was for third-year students and repeaters. The old campus, being more secluded, provided a quiet environment for college exam prep.
However, during what should have been a routine expansion, an incident occurred—a senior girl went missing during the renovation.
Evergreen was a boarding school where students could only go home once a month. Her disappearance on campus caused a huge stir. In the following three months, more girls went missing, and two construction workers died in accidents. Evergreen High was officially removed from the list of top schools.
Yet, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. Many students and parents weren’t superstitious and were secretly pleased that the admission threshold had been lowered. As a result, the student body remained large.
But this year, something happened again.
At the front, a staff member with a loudspeaker announced: “The second round of the competition will last three days. Within that time, you must uncover what happened in 2012—the cause of the senior girl’s disappearance, the workers’ deaths, and the true events of that year. At the end of the round, thirty participants will be selected to advance. Your accommodations are in the old campus, which has been vacated for you. This round will be live-streamed. Before we begin, everyone must sign a death liability waiver—”
“Thirty people?!”
“Holy cr*p… they’re eliminating a hundred in one go?”
“A 1-in-4 chance? This round is brutal!”
The crowd erupted in anxious chatter, drowning out the staff’s voice.
Jiang Luo clicked his tongue. “A liability waiver? That serious?”
Zhuo Zhongqiu calmly reassured them, “Don’t worry. My dad got selected as a judge this year. I called him before the round and asked him to look out for us. No matter how dangerous this round gets, we’ll definitely be safe.”
Ge Zhu sighed, “It really feels safe following Sister Zhuo.”
Zhuo Zhongqiu smiled coolly. “It’s nothing.”
Hearing her words, the students of Class 01 from Baihua University, who were already mentally prepared, felt even more at ease. They confidently signed the death waiver agreement and followed the staff to their dorms.
The old campus dorms were four-person rooms—two bunk beds and four desks pushed together in a space of about ten square meters, which felt especially cramped. As soon as they entered, a damp, foul odor hit them in the face.
The smell was like garbage left for days, or perhaps the stench from a sewer. Wenren Lian covered his nose and sighed, “Definitely a boys’ dorm.”
“Of course it’s a boys’ dorm,” the staff member in front said cheerfully. “The old campus has frequent sewer issues, so please bear with it.”
“We can bear with it,” Lu Youyi said, puzzled as he pointed at Zhuo Zhongqiu. “But why is she, a girl, in our boys’ dorm?”
The staff member’s smile didn’t falter. “There must’ve been a mix-up during the dorm assignments. But it’s no big deal. It doesn’t matter if it’s boys or girls. Zhuo can use the staff bathroom on the first floor.”
A guy shouted from behind, “Then we can’t walk around shirtless anymore!”
“Walk however you want,” Zhuo Zhongqiu drawled lazily. “Bro, I’m into cute, soft girls. You’ve got no boobs and a bit of extra meat—don’t flatter yourself.”
The room erupted in laughter.
As they went from dorm to dorm, the staff called out names according to the list. When they reached the last room on the sixth floor, the staff announced: “Jiang Luo, Zhuo Zhongqiu, Bai Yefeng, Xu Yan.”
Jiang Luo turned and saw Bai Yefeng smiling as he led someone over to him.
“What a coincidence,” Bai Yefeng smiled at the black-haired youth. “We’re in the same room.”
That strange feeling of familiarity returned.
Jiang Luo narrowed his eyes slightly. “Yeah, I didn’t expect this coincidence either.”
Two people from Baihua University, two from Shanhai University—it was too convenient to call it coincidence.
The staff left after taking them to the dorm. The four stood at the door for a moment. The person Bai Yefeng brought, Xu Yan, was watching Jiang Luo with wary hostility—clearly viewing Jiang Luo as the number one threat in the eyes of Bai Yefeng’s followers.
Zhuo Zhongqiu slung her arm over Jiang Luo’s shoulder and walked into the dorm with him. “Let’s pick beds first.”
There was still that sewer-like smell in the room, but after a while, they stopped noticing it.
After they finished unpacking, Jiang Luo and Zhuo Zhongqiu left the dorm.
No words needed—they naturally paired off, without much conversation with the other group.
In this competition, students from different schools were all competitors. Only a small number out of 130 would make it to the next round, so everyone was wary of everyone else.
The Baihua University students gathered in the open space in front of the dorms. Kuang Zheng and Wenren Lian shared a room, Lu Youyi and Ye Xun another, and Ge Zhu with Cyril in the third. After comparing, they realized each dorm of four was split into two from the same school.
“Are they all four-person rooms?” Jiang Luo frowned. “Then that note saying ‘4–5 people’ couldn’t have been referring to the old campus dorms?”
“Most likely,” Wenren Lian mused. “The note’s too vague. So far, nothing matches it.”
Then he looked at Jiang Luo. “Did you notice anything?”
Jiang Luo glanced back at the dorm building.
The sky was overcast. The old dorm was worn and faded, with some parts of the wall peeling off on the third and fourth floors, revealing the grayish white underneath.
It was damp and gloomy, making people feel heavy-hearted just looking at it.
“This place makes me feel uneasy,” Jiang Luo said, his eyes scanning up to the sixth floor and stopping at the window at the end—someone was standing there looking down. It was Bai Yefeng. Jiang Luo continued in a low voice, “I’ve felt this way since stepping onto the old campus.”
Zhuo Zhongqiu looked thoughtful. She practiced both body and spirit disciplines and was much more sensitive to such things. “Though it’s not as strong for me, something definitely feels off.”
The two shared a knowing look.
Jiang Luo unzipped his backpack and casually pulled out a stack of talismans. “Five for each of you. That’s all I have.”
Everyone was instantly moved to tears, wanting to rush up and give Jiang Luo a big hug. “Jiang Luo, you’re amazing, sob sob sob.”
“You even prepared all these talismans for us.”
“You must’ve spent so long making them, sob…”
Jiang Luo replied modestly, “Your safety is what matters most.”
Then he smiled. “After all, only by working together can we win first place.”
The short gathering ended, and the sky had darkened completely. Strong winds bent the tall trees, and heavy clouds gathered—it looked like rain was coming.
Ge Zhu looked up at the sky. “There’ll be rain tonight until 6 a.m. Let’s all stay in the dorms.”
On the way back, many participants still ignored the approaching rain and went out to search for clues. Most of them likely felt unsure they’d make it to the next round and didn’t want to waste precious time.
Jiang Luo hadn’t climbed six floors in a while, but fortunately, he’d been training with Lu Youyi for the past month, so he didn’t feel too tired after the climb.
Back in the dorm, Bai Yefeng was still there, but Xu Yan had disappeared.
Bai Yefeng was sitting by the window reading a book. When he saw Jiang Luo and Zhuo Zhongqiu enter, he smiled. “You’re back?”
Zhuo Zhongqiu nodded toward him and asked curiously, “What are you reading?”
Bai Yefeng closed the book. The title clearly read Compass Analysis. He smiled and said, “I rarely read these foundational books. But flipping through them once in a while is actually quite interesting.”
Jiang Luo narrowed his eyes and glanced at him, then at the book, only to feel that the stench in the room was getting stronger—as if it had clung to his body.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
He grabbed a bottle of body wash and stepped into the dormitory bathroom.
The bathroom in the old campus dorm wasn’t great, but at least it had been cleaned thoroughly, with no clutter. Jiang Luo used the entire bottle of body wash to wash himself, and as he was shampooing his hair, he suddenly caught a whiff of rust.
He opened his eyes and saw that the hot water pouring from above had turned the color of blood. It gushed out with a heavy metallic scent that grew stronger by the second.
Jiang Luo: “…sh*t.”
He flicked the water off his hands and pulled a yellow talisman from his pants pocket, sticking it onto the pipe. A moment later, the rusty smell vanished, and the blood-like water turned clear again.
Expressionless, Jiang Luo washed himself a second time, still covered in reddish liquid.
As he turned off the water and began dressing, someone knocked on the bathroom door.
“Jiang Luo, are you done? I’d like to shower too.”
It was Bai Yefeng.
Jiang Luo opened the door for him and glanced outside. Zhuo Zhongqiu was gone.
“She went to the first floor to shower,” Bai Yefeng said with a smile. “She told me to let you know—she’ll be back soon.”
Jiang Luo smiled back politely. “Thanks.”
He went back inside to finish dressing.
Bai Yefeng looked at him with an ambiguous smile. He gently closed the bathroom door and pulled off his T-shirt.
In the mirror, the slender, fair-skinned young man with black hair was lowering his head, fastening his pants. Behind him, a more solidly built figure slowly approached.
“Classmate Jiang Luo,” Bai Yefeng said, watching the mirror, “did anything… happen while you were showering?”
Jiang Luo lifted his head and locked eyes with him in the mirror. Suddenly, he smiled—a radiant, tight-lipped smile blooming like a flower. The red mole on the back of his hand looked like a drop of blood. “Why do you ask?”
Bai Yefeng pointed at the yellow talisman on the pipe. “I don’t remember that being there before.”
“Oh, that.” Jiang Luo reached up, peeled off the talisman, and stuffed it into his pocket. “I have a habit of placing charms when I shower. Occupational hazard. Hope you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” Bai Yefeng smiled gently. “That habit sounds very safe.”
After a bit of small talk, Jiang Luo finished dressing and headed for the door. But just then, Bai Yefeng reached out and touched his shoulder. Instinctively, Jiang Luo grabbed his arm, flipped him over his back, and pressed a knee hard against Bai Yefeng’s neck. With both hands restraining Bai’s wrists, his gaze turned razor-sharp and cold—like a drawn blade.
“What are you trying to do?”
Despite being pinned harshly to the ground, Bai Yefeng didn’t appear to be in pain. Instead, he chuckled softly. “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to tell you—your collar was flipped up.”
Jiang Luo looked down at him, his damp hair clinging to his shoulders. Some of the moisture had soaked into his shirt, while the rest dripped onto Bai Yefeng’s chin. Bai’s laughter slowly faded. He looked up innocently. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Luo curled his lips, stood, and pulled Bai Yefeng up. He patted his shoulder with mock affection. “Sorry, Classmate Bai. I don’t really like people patting me on the shoulder from behind. My bad for overreacting.”
Bai Yefeng smiled gently. “No problem.”
Jiang Luo gave him a grateful smile and left the bathroom. When the door closed behind him, something suddenly struck him. He reached into his pocket.
But the talisman was gone—only ashes remained.
His fingers twitched slightly. He turned to glance at the bathroom door, his beautifully shaped eyes narrowing as his lips slowly curled upward.
Ah.
It seemed he had just uncovered a very interesting secret.
