WTNL Chapter 7.2

Decai Middle School
Chapter 7.2: The face in the mirror is not mine

Wen Jianyan flipped back page by page, looking at the increasingly messy handwriting on it, goosebumps popping out layer upon layer on his back.

He uncontrollably remembered that monster in the mirror in the downstairs duty room.

As it gradually approached him, that ghastly pale face, with features so simple they were just lines, transformed bit by bit, until it looked more and more like him.

Wen Jianyan shuddered.

He composed himself and continued to flip backwards.

The next page of the notebook only had a few messy, large characters written on it: “Where did my face go?”

In the dead silent dorm room, only the sound of turning pages could be heard.

The next page again.

Five shocking red characters, written with such force they almost tore through the paper:

“Have you seen it?”

The next second.

“Creak, creak, creak”

The sound of neck bones twisting inch by inch came from behind, emitting a teeth-aching creaking noise.

—”Have you seen it?”

A female voice echoed faintly right behind his ear, its cold, eerie tone seeming steeped in deep malice.

The hairs on the back of Wen Jianyan’s neck bristled.

Too close. This voice sounded as if it were pressed against the back of his head. He could almost sketch the image in his mind—that head completely twisted backward slowly turning around, looking bit by bit at him in front.

Slowly revealing that…

Faceless visage.

The temperature in the air dropped to the freezing point, as if it could instantly freeze a person’s flesh and bones.

He had no time to overthink, decisively telling a lie:

“Yes!”

The “creak creak” sound stopped.

The dorm once again fell into a deathly silence.

However, Wen Jianyan could clearly feel that he was not alone. Something… was silently staying behind him at this moment, watching, waiting.

“I know where your face is.”

The young man sat ramrod straight in place, not turning his head, merely opening his mouth towards the empty air to ask, “Do you want to get it back?”

“I can help you.”

His voice was calm, as if carrying an extremely powerful confidence, possessing a certainty that was hard to refuse.

But no one could see the warm sweat sliding down from his temple, leaving a cold, wet trail on his cheek.

“…”

Time slipped away minute by minute, second by second, and the standard of measurement seemed to have lost its balance.

Wen Jianyan stared at a small spot in front of him, his vision blurring a bit.

His heart pounded wildly in his chest, blood rushing against his eardrums, sharp white noise pulling away in his ears.

He counted down in his heart.

9, 8, 7…

The moment the time reached zero, he would use the fastest speed to open the shop and purchase a life-saving item.

But, before that, Wen Jianyan wanted to take a gamble.

Gamble that his guess was right.

5, 4, 3…

Suddenly, the familiar mechanical voice sounded:

[Ding! Congratulations to the streamer for triggering the hidden item (Epic) activation task: Please find Xu Yuan’s lost face for her.]

[Upon completion of the task, you will obtain the qualification to unlock the hidden item (Epic)!]

The instant the voice fell, the surrounding temperature began to slowly rise. That feeling of a prickle in the back, as if being deadly stared at, also disappeared.

“…”

Wen Jianyan turned his stiff neck and cautiously threw a glance behind him.

Empty.

As if a huge rock had instantly fallen from his heart, the excessive pressure abruptly vanished, making Wen Jianyan’s limbs feel a bit numb.

Good, it’s over.

Based on the information he got from the viewers, this Xu Yuan had never appeared in past live broadcasts. In addition to the contents of the notebook, she herself was more like a victim. Even if she had residual resentment, she was far less dangerous than the female ghost in the mirror from before, and the plea in her diary contents was also very clear.

Therefore, Wen Jianyan had never changed his initial judgment.

More like a clue, less like a danger.

It seemed his gamble paid off.

[An Epic hidden item task! Aaaaaah! So OP!]

[Is he really going to find the Epic hidden item?! Amazing, this guy truly has some real skills.]

[Why is the person above so excited? It’s not like Epic hidden items haven’t been unlocked in other, higher-difficulty broadcasts. Is it that big a deal?]

[The person above doesn’t need to randomly show off a sense of superiority. I think you’re the one who hasn’t watched enough live broadcasts, right? For most streamers in their newbie period, let alone Epic, even Normal-level hidden items are hard to find. Even for a new account’s start, to get a Hard hidden item and also trigger an Epic item task… this is really my first time seeing it.]

Wen Jianyan’s upper body swayed. He somewhat sluggishly reached out to touch the railing beside him, then leaned out with a sickly pale face—

“Blargh!”

The barrage livened up again:

[LMAO, you can tell the streamer was really scared.]

[Fearing ghosts while tricking ghosts, very professional.]

[Pfft! Must be acting!]

[Although the streamer’s main account hasn’t been dug up yet, there’s no need to pretend to be a cute newbie so simply and crudely, it’s too much!]

[No way, no way? Do you guys really think the streamer is acting? Is there any need to pretend this, I ask you? A noob is a noob; stop making excuses.]

[Doesn’t the person above know? It’s because of this streamer that the difficulty and viewing rating of this live broadcast hall ‘Decai Middle School’ were all raised a tier. How could this be a real noob? I don’t believe it!]

While the two groups of people were arguing heatedly, the veteran viewers who had been in this live broadcast room from the beginning were dumbfounded:

[???]

[!!!???]

[What? What are the people above talking about?]

The barrages of new viewers covered it up:

[Ah? You guys don’t know?]

[I clicked in precisely because of this, otherwise how could I possibly come watch this kind of D-rank plaza.]

[+1]

[+1]

……

[+10086, if you don’t believe it, go out and see for yourself. The entrance rating won’t lie.]

The number of people in the barrage fluctuated drastically, first decreasing significantly, then growing back up again.

The viewers who came running back all had dazed expressions on their faces:

[…Fuck, it’s true, the rating really changed.]

[Even if it’s a big shot’s alt account, to reach this level under such restricted resources is really too OP…]

[Damn it, who cares if he’s a newcomer or a big shot, I declare that I’m taking up residence in this live broadcast room from now on!]

[Investing early, massive profit, no loss!]

Wen Jianyan, with a pale face, climbed down from the bed feeling somewhat exhausted.

The stomach spasms caused by tension finally vanished, but the physiological discomfort it brought hadn’t entirely disappeared.

The mirror placed face-down on the desk had disappeared at some unknown point, replaced by a small key. A faded nameplate hung on the key, appearing to be a key for some locker.

Weighed down under the key was a crumpled slip of paper with a line scribbled on it:

“Room 408 on the fourth floor, locker No. 368. Rental period: Before 1:00 AM.”

It seemed this was his time limit for completing this so-called “task.”

But… Room 408?

Wen Jianyan remembered the conversation he had eavesdropped on in that women’s restroom earlier.

The room where that mirror was located was Dorm 408.

Was there some connection between these two rooms? Or was it merely a coincidence?

Wen Jianyan flipped the note back and forth a few times, but didn’t find any other clues.

He stuffed the note and the key into his pocket together.

Right at this moment, the sound of a bell rang from downstairs: “Dong— Dong— Dong—”

The bell tolled ten times.

Clear and sonorous, as if amplified by some unknown force so that everyone in the dormitory building could hear it.

“Click!”

The lights in the corridor suddenly went out.

“It’s time for lights out—”

From far downstairs came the old witch’s voice.

Her voice had become extremely bizarre. Mixed with hissing sounds in her originally very gruff voice, it sounded weird and peculiarly intonated. In the boundless darkness, it seemed exceptionally eerie, giving people goosebumps for no reason.

“You bunch of bad things, don’t let me catch you still staying outside your dorm rooms… hehe.”

“Ding!”

That familiar mechanical voice rang in every streamer’s ear:

[Live broadcast task updated]

As if to push everyone into the depths of nightmare and fear, that emotionless voice unceasingly continued to say:

[Issue Task: Leave the dorm after lights out and explore the campus.]

[To provide a better viewing experience for the audience, please ensure the live broadcast remains smooth; do not disconnect!]

At the same time, Wen Jianyan heard a “ding” ring by his ear.

Immediately after, a few lines of text appeared before his eyes:

[NPC Teacher Yang’s mutation countdown: 00:00:01]

[NPC mutation completed]

[Aggro concentrated target: Xiao Wen]

[Under the streamer’s unremitting death-courting and persevering provocations, you have finally become the target of the NPC’s aggro! Congratulations to the streamer for obtaining this honor! Universal celebration, congratulations!]

Wen Jianyan: “…”

…I have a curse word, but I don’t know if I should say it.

__

Author’s note:

The overturning-car streamer persona stands strong!

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