WTNL Chapter 7.2

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

{x year x month x day, Rainy

Something has changed, but I can’t tell what it is.
I seem to have changed in the mirror, but no matter how I rubbed the mirror, it’s blurry and I can’t see anything clearly.}

{x year x month x day, Rainy

Today, the class monitor sent me the wrong test paper again. More and more people started to call me by the wrong name. What’s going on?}

{x year, x month, x day, Rainy

I went to talk to A-Xin after class, but A-Xin looked at me with very unfamiliar eyes and left after saying a few perfunctory words.
Why? Did I do something wrong?}

{x year x month x day, Rainy

It was the weekend, but I didn’t wait for my parents to pick me up. I went to ask the teacher at the security office, but the teacher was very surprised and told me that Xu Yuan’s parents had already picked her up and gone home.
……
But I’m Xu Yuan.}

{x year x month x day, Rainy

The mirror is no longer blurry.
But that face inside is not mine.}

Wen Jianyan flipped page after page, looking at the gradually messy handwriting on it, and the goosebumps on his back came out layer by layer.

He couldn’t help thinking of the monster in the mirror in the duty room downstairs.

As it gradually approached him, the simple facial features on the pale face changed little by little, until it became more and more like him.

Wen Jianyan shivered.

He calmed down and continued to flip the pages.

On the next page of the notebook, there were only a few messy words written: {Where did my face go?}

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

The next page.

The shocking red letters were so powerful that they almost cut through the paper:
{Have you seen it?}

The next second.

“Cluck, cluck, cluck.”

The sound as if the neck bones were twisting one by one came from behind, making a tooth-aching crunching noise.

——”Have you seen it?”

A soft female voice sounded behind his ear, and the cold tone seemed to be filled with deep malice.

The hair on the back of Wen Jianyan’s neck stood up.

It was so close that the voice seemed to be coming from the back of his head. He could almost draw a picture in his mind — the head that was completely twisted behind his back slowly turned around and looked at him little by little.

Slowly revealing that… face that lost its facial features.

The temperature in the air dropped to the freezing point as if it could freeze a person’s muscles and bones in an instant.

He didn’t have time to think too much, and told a lie decisively:

“Yes!”

The “clucking” sound stopped.

The bedroom fell into deadly silence again.

However, Wen Jianyan could clearly feel that he wasn’t alone, there was something… quietly staying behind him at the moment, watching and waiting.

“I know where your face is.”

The young man sat upright and didn’t look back. He just faced the air and asked, “Do you want to get it back?”

“I can help you.”

His voice was calm as if filled with great self-confidence, there was an irresistible certainty in it.

However, no one could see the warm sweat sliding down his forehead, leaving a cold wet mark on his cheek.

“…..”

Time passed minute by minute, and the standards of calculation seemed to be out of balance.

Wen Jianyan was staring in front of him, his eyes flickering.

His heart was beating wildly in the chest cavity, the blood was hitting his eardrums, and the high-pitched noise was pulled away from the ears.

He counted down in his mind.

9, 8, 7…

At the moment when the countdown reached zero, he would open the store as quickly as possible and buy life-saving props.

However, before that, Wen Jianyan wanted to take a bet.

Bet that he got it right.

5, 4, 3…

Suddenly, a familiar mechanical sound rang:

【Ding! Congratulations to the anchor for triggering the hidden item (legend) task: please find Xu Yuan’s lost face. After the task was completed, you will get a hidden item (legend)!】

At the moment, when the voice fell, the temperature around him began to rise slowly, and the feeling of being stabbed in the back, as if being stared at by someone, also disappeared.

“…..”

Wen Jianyan turned his stiff neck and carefully glanced behind his back.

Empty.

As if a big stone in his heart fell to the ground in an instant, the excessive pressure suddenly disappeared, causing Wen Jianyan’s limbs to go numb.

Good, it’s over.

According to the information he got from the audience, this Xu Yuan had never appeared in the previous live broadcasts and coupled with the contents of the diary, she herself was more like a victim. Even if there was residual resentment, she should be far less dangerous than the female ghost in the mirror before, and the appeal in her diary was also very clear.

Therefore, Wen Jianyan never changed his initial judgment.

Like a clue, not like a danger.

It seems he made the right choice.

[Legendary hidden item task! Aaaaaaaahh! So strong!]

[Is he really going to find the legendary hidden item?! No way, this one really has something strange about him.]

[Why are you so excited? It’s not like legendry hidden item hasn’t been unlocked in other more difficult live broadcasts, right?]

[Upstairs doesn’t have to show a sense of superiority. I think you don’t watch the live broadcast much, right? Most of the anchors are newbies in the live broadcast. Let alone legendry, even ordinary hidden items are hard to find. Even if you start a new account, you can only get difficult hidden items but open legendry item tasks… I really saw it for the first time.]

Wen Jianyan’s upper body swayed, and he reached out to the railing beside him a little slowly, and then leaned out with a sullen face ―

“Yuck—!”

The barrage became lively again:

[I’m dying of laughter. Now, it can be seen that the anchor is really afraid.]

[While being afraid of ghosts, he can still deceive them. He is very professional.]

[Bah! Don’t pretend!]

[Although I haven’t torn down the anchor’s trumpet[1] yet, it really isn’t necessary to pretend to be a newcomer in such a simple and rude way, right!]

[No, isn’t it? Do you really think the anchor is pretending? Is it necessary to pretend to be a chicken? Please don’t make excuses.]

[Upstairs doesn’t know. It’s because of this host, that the difficulty and viewing rating of the live broadcast hall “Decai Middle School” have increased, how can this be a real chicken, I don’t believe it!]

When the two waves of people were arguing, the old viewers who had been in the live broadcast room from the beginning were stunned:

[???]

[!!!???]

[What? What are you talking about?]

New viewers come up in the barrage:

[Ah? Don’t you know?]

[I also came in because of this, otherwise how could I come to see this D-level instance.]

[+1]

[+1]

…

[+10086, if you don’t believe me, go out and take a look, the rating at the entrance won’t lie.]

The number of people in the barrage fluctuated sharply, first decreased significantly, and then increased again.

The audience who came back were all in a daze:

[…Crap, really, the rating has really changed.]

[Even the trumpet of the big shot can reach this level with such limited resources. He’s really too strong…]

[D@mn, no matter whether he is a rookie or a boss, I announce that I will live in this live broadcast room from now on!]

[Invest in shares in advance, you won’t lose money!]

Wen Jianyan’s face was white, and he crawled out of the bed in exhaustion.

The twitching caused by the tension in the stomach finally disappeared, but the physical discomfort caused by it has not completely disappeared yet.

The mirror that was upside down on the table disappeared at some point, replaced by a small key with a faded nameplate hanging on it, which seemed to be the key to a locker.

There was a crumpled note under the key, with a line of words scrawled on it:

“Classroom 408 on the fourth floor, locker 368, Time limit: before 1:00 a.m.”

It seemed that he had to complete this so-called “mission” before the time limit was up.

But… Classroom 408?

Wen Jianyan remembered the words he overheard in the women’s toilet before.

The room where the mirror was located was dormitory 408.

Was there any connection between these two rooms? Or was it just a coincidence?

Wen Jianyan read the note over and over several times, but he didn’t find any other clues.

He put the note and the key in his pocket.

At this moment, the sound of the bell ringing came from downstairs: “Deng-Deng-Deng-“

The bell rang ten times.

Clear and loud, as if amplified by some unknown force for everyone in the dormitory to hear.

“Snap!”

The lights in the corridor suddenly went out.

“It’s time to turn off the lights—”

In the distance, an old witch’s voice came from downstairs.

Her voice became extremely strange. The original thick voice was mixed with a hissing sound, which seemed weird, and in the boundless darkness, it seemed extraordinarily strange, giving people goosebumps for no reason.

“You bastards, don’t let me find out that you are still outside the dormitory… hehe.”

“Ding!”

The familiar mechanical voice sounded in the ears of each anchor:

【The live broadcast mission has been updated.】

As if to push everyone into the depths of nightmares and fears, the emotionless voice continued to say:

【Released mission: Leave the dormitory after lights are turned off and explore the campus.】

【In order to bring a better viewing experience for the audience, please ensure that the live broadcast is smooth and does not disconnect!】

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

Immediately afterward, a few lines appeared in front of him.

【NPC teacher Yang alienation countdown: 00:00:01】
【NPC alienation completed.】
【Target of hatred: Xiao Wen】

【Under the anchor’s unremitting death-courting and persistent provocation, you have finally become the target of NPC hatred! Congrats to the anchor for this honor! Everybody celebrate, congratulations!】

Wen Jianyan: “…..”

…I have a dirty word that I don’t know if I should say or not.

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Translator's Note:
(1) Trumpet: Used for ghost account/ sockpuppet. ^

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