Looking in the direction of the laughter, there was nothing else. No one, no laughter, nothing at all, except for the terrifying images evoked by his vivid imagination.
Fear is the path that evil spirits walk.
Fear will spread, like a plague.
Ren Yifei was eager to know what was causing his fear, so he turned and left, heading towards his dormitory.
When he approached his dormitory room and saw the round hole in the door, his rich imagination made him feel that it was a hole through which one could pass, thus giving rise to many unusual associations.
He imagined whether there would be an indifferent eye afterward, and a sense of instinctive panic arose from that.
Ren Yifei wasn't afraid; he'd seen too many strange things and lacked curiosity. Zhang Zhengyuan, on the other hand, was a sensitive person and had many specific associations with fear itself.
As he imagined what lay beyond the hole, Ren Yifei began to sense something peculiar. It was as if the corridor had suddenly become colder and darker, and he seemed to hear the barking of dogs coming from the depths of the underworld.
But when you calm down, none of that matters. It's just an ordinary corridor, with a few dormitory doors open and students going in and out.
There were sounds in the hallway, but they were all voices from the dorm rooms, full of laughter and cheerful conversation, not eerie or scary.
Yi opened the dormitory door, but his roommate wasn't sitting in his chair, and the computer wasn't on. The tent above was closed; he didn't know if his roommate was inside.
He came in, carefully took the book "Legendary Incredible Architecture," and then left, preparing to close the door. Ren Yifei remained quiet and stealthy throughout, trying not to make a sound.
Why did you make yourself look like a thief?
When the sound reached his ears, Ren Yifei thought he was hallucinating, but when he turned around, he saw his roommate standing on the balcony with clothes he was about to hang out to dry.
"I thought you were asleep." Ren Yifei tried to lighten the awkward atmosphere with a smile, but he failed and could only manage a weak "Sorry."
The door slowly closed, completely blocking his roommate's face from view. Ren Yifei braced his hands on the door and took a deep breath.
"There's no time to waste." He quickly left the dormitory and went to the library.
It's afternoon now, and the library is crowded, probably because it's final exams and everyone needs to work hard to avoid failing.
He found an empty seat, took out his book, and turned to the page about the ruins of Atlantis.
This is a city 'created' by humans. No one has yet confirmed its existence, but the pictures above are incredibly lifelike.
He looked through the virtual city ruins; they looked so majestic, composed of multiple concentric circles, each with different functional zones.
"Excuse me, can I borrow this book?" A girl with long curly hair appeared in front of him. The girl had fair and rosy cheeks and looked radiant. She didn't seem like a victim of hallucinations. Ren Yifei wanted to refuse her, but then he noticed the monster pendant hanging on the girl's phone.
It looks exactly like the monster hanging on his keychain.
He took out the key, and the girl immediately spotted the little monster. She exclaimed in surprise, "Are you also a member of the Mysterious Life Research Society?"
Mysterious Life Research Society?
Ren Yifei memorized the club's name, but remained outwardly calm: "You're one too?"
The girl sat down and said, "I just joined this year, I'm a freshman majoring in civil engineering, and my name is Fang Tianyu. Haha, my dad named me, doesn't it sound like a boy's name?"
Once she realized Ren Yifei shared her interests, the girl became very enthusiastic. She wore a dusty rose dress, but her personality was very cheerful and easygoing, never making anyone feel uncomfortable.
"I'm a sophomore, majoring in sculpture." Ren Yifei seemed a little reserved, as if he didn't interact much with girls.
"Oh, it's you, senior! Which country's mysterious life forms do you like the most? I like Egyptian ones, oh, and the Mayan civilization..." The girl's eyes lit up when she talked about her favorite things, like a child who couldn't wait to share her happiness with a new friend.
"Shh!" The person next to her turned to look at her with displeasure.
The girl blushed with embarrassment and lowered her voice, saying, "I'm sorry." Her voice trailed off, becoming even softer. Although the neighbors seemed to still have some complaints, they didn't say anything more.
Through this girl, Ren Yifei learned about the 'Mysterious Life Research Society,' which was mainly a group of like-minded people who studied creatures in various myths and legends. They studied myths and legends from all over the world, including some indigenous evil gods.
Furthermore, just a month ago they held a team-building event where a group of people imitated a tribe's ritual of worshipping a foreign god, using this hands-on experience to understand this kind of evil god worship.
Ren Yifei: ...I've seen people court death, but I've never seen anyone court death like this.
"More than a hundred people participated in this team building activity, some playing shamans, some playing clan chiefs, some playing priests..."
The girl couldn't help but say enviously, "I happened to have something to do that day and couldn't come, otherwise I could probably have played a witch. The highest witch in this tribe is a witch."
Because the girl was not present at the scene, she only had a vague understanding of the content of the ritual, knowing only that it was supposedly an ancient evil god ritual that had survived to this day.
"Which country's tribal priest is this?" Ren Yifei felt as if he had grasped a lingering shadow left by 'fear'.
The girl thought for a moment: "It seems to be from Yunnan, what was it again?"
As soon as the girl left, Ren Yifei immediately turned on his phone and searched for clubs in his contacts. The 'Mysterious Life Research Club' popped up, along with many other friends from the same club.
"Hmm?" This group... seems to have kicked the original owner out just the day before yesterday, but the previous chat history is still there.
After participating in that team-building activity, I often dreamt of incredible things. I don't know how to describe it; it felt like I was underwater, surrounded by stone walls covered in green and brown algae. Six towering stone pillars were carved with ferocious monsters. I couldn't describe it; it seemed almost alive.
What have you all done? My life is a complete mess.
Something is following me! Tell me what kind of ritual I'm participating in, please help me!
The original owner was then kicked out of the group by the group admin, who accused him of spreading alarmist rumors and superstition. However, it wasn't just one person in the group who said they were affected; at least three people said they sensed a different aura.
However, only the original owner insisted that there was something wrong with the ritual. The others were persuaded by the group leader and others that it was just their imagination running wild.
He opened the chat history and jumped directly to a month ago, when they had their secret team-building event. There were still videos and pictures posted there; the videos were no longer accessible, but the comments about them remained.
Most people felt a sense of mystery and awe from the primitive worship practices of ancient humans. Some also regretted that they couldn't completely replicate the scenes of ancient headhunting rituals.
"Headhunting priest." Ren Yifei wrote these four words down in his notebook. This priest was someone who would cut off heads; he was definitely an evil god priest.
He continued looking at the chat history. Although the pictures couldn't be enlarged by clicking on them, the smaller pictures still showed the attire and actions of some of the ritual personnel.
They wore simple clothes with colorful stripes and patterns, and their faces were painted with many mysterious designs.
Some of these people are bending over and striking a metal drum, some are raising their hands with their palms flat as if supporting something, and some are pushing with their arms vertically.
Their expressions were serious, carrying an eerie quality reminiscent of primitive tribes etched into stone walls. Looking at the pictures alone, it's impossible to imagine that this was merely a club team-building activity with hardly any rehearsals.
Suddenly, the eyes of a priestess in a picture turned and looked at Ren Yifei.
Ren Yifei was startled. His phone fell to the table with a 'bang', attracting the attention of those around him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ren Yifei's expression was not very good, but he still apologized to the people around him who had been disturbed.
After the people turned back, he opened his phone again. This time, however, the priestess in the picture was looking at the field, her eyes not moving, and she wasn't looking at him either.
He swallowed hard, his heart still pounding, not at ease.
[It's amazing, I feel like I've become one of the people in it.]
[Yes, it's like something is directing us. The effect this time is exceptionally good. The previous rehearsals never had this same immersive feeling. It really does take the costumes and set to work together.]
Looking at these comments, Ren Yifei then looked at the people in the pictures and slowly noticed something unusual. They had only rehearsed a few times, but their movements were as precise as if they had rehearsed thousands of times.
They looked just like the humans performing sacrifices in those primitive murals, their wide-open eyes empty.
These seemingly ordinary yet eerie images formed a bizarre sacrificial dance in his mind. The red bonfire and black faces turned into distorted symbols, and his heart froze for a moment, losing all warmth.
"Yunnan, primitive rituals." He wrote these words on the paper, his fingers trembling slightly as he held the pen, as if he were recording something that humans should never dare to peek into.
Ren Yifei stayed in the library until dark, then quickly bought bread and water from a convenience store to make do with his meal. He didn't want to go back to his dorm, but he had no choice.
The school is in a remote suburb, and there are hotels nearby, but they are the kind of hotels for couples that you know what I mean.
Around 7 p.m., the school was bustling with activity. As the temperature dropped outside, many nocturnal creatures peeked out and strolled around the campus living area in their slippers.
Ren Yifei walked through the residential area, his back to the light, his face hidden in the shadows, his steps somewhat heavy.
Even though he slowed down, he still arrived at the dormitory door before 7:20. He prepared himself mentally, inserted the key, and turned it.
The locking mechanism's gears turned, making a clicking sound. It was a very subtle sound, but he heard it clearly.
'Click,' the mechanism stopped; we've arrived.
Ren Yifei stared at the door for a moment, swallowed hard, and slowly pushed it open: creak—
It's black inside.
Is he not here? Or...? Ren Yifei reached out and pressed the light switch by the door. The light turned on, dispelling the darkness.
"You're back?"
Ren Yifei turned his head sharply, and his roommate was right behind him, in a place that was theoretically impossible for him to be.
He gave Ren Yifei a strange smile and pushed him hard with both hands.
"Ah!" Ren Yifei felt a jolt throughout his body. He closed his eyes in pain, his head buzzing.
However, when he opened his eyes again, he saw his own body standing in the doorway, looking back. Behind him stood his roommate, who was smiling at him.
The next second, he was pulled by a force and directly into a vortex. He heard a splashing sound, and water or something else enveloped him.
He was in a daze, seemingly having given up the fight.
In a daze, he felt as if he were underwater, with gurgling bubbles rising from his body.
Ren Yifei opened his eyes. A beam of light descended from the sky and shone on him as he slowly fell. He saw buildings that were faintly visible in the shadows all around him, covered with green and dark brown seaweed.
Several towering stone pillars surrounded him, carved with ferocious monsters that seemed to be staring at him.
However, his heart seemed to be blocked from reacting; he felt neither fear nor pain, but only wanted to close his eyes and sink into the depths.
He felt an incredible sense of peace, as if he had returned to his mother's embrace.
And so, slowly...
"What are you doing?"
"Ah!" The slightly cold voice suddenly broke the dream. Ren Yifei opened his eyes and saw the dormitory room with the lights on, and his roommate holding the clothes he had collected looking at him with a p
uzzled expression.