Nightmare Assault - Chapter 61: Disappearance
Luo Yi felt discomfitted being stared at by everyone. In the end, it was Jiang Cheng who stepped forward to move them towards the rehearsal. They would talk about the rest later.
They pushed open the door, and the group was confused by the scene they had seen. In the giant music classroom, there were a lot of people. A lot of students skipped class to be there. There were youthful faces everywhere. However, there was an anxious undercurrent.
Groups of girls were gossiping. The student councils were tired, trying to maintain order. It was not until the teacher who handled the lighting shouted that the situation calmed down slightly.
There were two cameras. Jiang Cheng held a camera that could capture the ghosts. Xu Wen carried the other.
Jiang Cheng looked at everyone. “Does anyone want to volunteer for this job?” The tripod beside them had been set up. No one reached for the camera, and no one spoke. Everyone knew that Long Tao died not long after he used that camera to record the previous rehearsal. Zhang Yinyin sneaked a glance at Jiang Cheng silently. She was caught by Jiang Cheng. He straightened his neck and looked at her. He asked in a loud voice, “Miss Zhang, do you wish to volunteer?”
“No, no…” Zhang Yinyin quickly shook her hands. “I’m fine.”
…
With the previous experience, the progress was much smoother. The choirs of the first three classes soon ended.
The last group choir… began.
Xu Wen pulled down the camera bag and took out the other camera. Then, she opened the other tripod and placed it beside the first camera. She adjusted the angle so that all three classes would show up in the lens.
The three classes moved around, standing criss-crossed on the stage. In their similar uniforms, height and hair style, they all looked like the same person. Their voices were soft and strong, depending on the conductor. When the last turn in music passed, the song reached the climax…
The atmosphere of the group was in direct contrast of the venue.
Zhou Taifu’s face was white as he stared at the screen. He couldn’t stop shaking, “Where… Where is it? When did she disappear?”
The two cameras showed the same image. There were 48 people on stage.
The extra person… ghost was gone.
Zhen Jianren gritted his teeth, yanked the camera over and turned towards the door. He took the camera that could capture the ghost.
The second rehearsal ended. The students and the staff left. When they left the music classroom, they noticed there was a camera trained on them from the corner. Jiang Cheng’s explanation was they were collecting some behind-the-scene footages.
“Thank you,” After sending away the last batch of staff, Feng Lan dragged her tired body over. She glanced at Luo Yi to confirm that he was still there. Then, she turned to Xu Wen, “Miss Xu.” Her tone was strange, “Can I… talk to you in private?”
“We can talk here,” Xu Wen said lightly.
“That…”
“Is that inconvenient?”
“It’s not that.” Feng Lan quickly shook her head. She glanced down the corridor. Most people were gone. The few left weren’t paying them much attention. She turned back to whisper, “Have you… been to the Prop Building?”
Xu Wen’s expression shifted for a moment before returning to normal. “Yes. Before we came here, we went there because our equipment was placed there.”
“You shouldn’t go there again,” Feng Lan looked anxious.
“Why?”
When this was mentioned, Zhen Jianren couldn’t stand still anymore. After all, he was drawn by the ghost.
“I don’t know about that. Just promise me you won’t go there anymore. The people in the school usually avoid that place.” Feng Lan’s voice dwindled even more, “The school supervisors will not be happy to know that you’ve been there.”
Xu Wen thought about it and nodded, “Okay. Thank you.”
“Then, I’ll leave for now. You should go back to rest.”
“Goodbye.”
After Feng Lan left, Zhen Jianren raised the camera and aimed it at Feng Lan’s back. There was nothing anomalous. They had taken pictures of everyone present, but they couldn’t find that extra girl. The ghost… appeared to have disappeared.
Zhen Jianren’s face darkened. He was targeted. He could end up like the woman in the qipao and Long Tao at any moment. Xu Wen stood forward and told him, “Let’s go back. This is not the place to chat.”
It was 3 in the afternoon. Since the sun was still out, Jiang Cheng argued that he wanted to go to the canteen. He was already excited for food when the menu was revealed at noon. At 4 pm, the canteen would serve dishes like black-pepper steak, Sichuan chicken, braised meat and so on…
“Go and make your order,” Zhen Jianren found a table to sit at. He just wanted to go to the market and buy some bread to fill his stomach. However, Jiang Cheng told him that it might be his last meal. Zhen Jianren’s hands trembled, and his chopsticks almost fell to the ground.
“You eat.” Zhen Jianren put down the chopsticks. “I’m not hungry.” The others didn’t have much appetite either. They only took a few bites. Only Jiang Cheng enjoyed the meal. He finished two big bowls of rice and even got a takeaway of duck heads as supper.
“I’m very impressed.” Zhou Taifu walked behind Jiang Cheng and was almost crying, “How can you even eat at a moment like this?” Strangely enough, the disappearance of the ghost unsettled them more than her appearance.
“What does my appetite have to do with the ghost?” Jiang Cheng held his takeout with one hand and a large iced tea with another. He added, “I’m eating for me and not for the ghost.”
Zhou Taifu thought about it and realised he couldn’t refute him.
After they returned to the hostel, Xu Wen stopped Luo Yi. When everyone looked at him, Luo Yi’s nervousness was apparent. He sat on the chair in Room 406. He was surrounded by everyone.
“I know what you want to know.” Luo Yi sighed, “But you’re going to be disappointed. The file rooms have nothing, just old books and files.”
“That’s all?!”
Luo Yi nodded, “Yes.”
Xu Wen showed no expression, but her tone chilled, “Then, why did they capture you?”