The old school building of the school was finally demolished and rebuilt after the inexplicable fire last time.
Around the construction site, there was a tall corrugated iron fence, with trucks transporting debris coming in and out every day.
At some point, strange messages began to appear around the school.
Some said that the workers on the construction site would turn into green-faced, fang-toothed zombies at night. Some claimed that many things that shouldn’t exist would wander around the construction site at night. Others mentioned that the workers on the site frequently encountered supernatural incidents and were scared into going on strike.
Curious students passing by would peek, only to be warned away.
Rumors had it that despite the alleged strike, the construction site still echoed with the clattering and rumbling noises.
“Have you heard?” exclaimed Wu Mabo excitedly in the dormitory. “About the recent happenings on the construction site!”
Ke Lin, who was tidying up his bed, hesitated. “You mean the rumor about the workers going on strike?”
“Strike?” Leaning on his bed while reading a book, Wen Dong chuckled. “How is that possible? Can’t you hear the loud noises from such a big construction site? If they were on strike, I’d be truly relieved.”
Tong Xiaosong, holding a pen with a puzzled expression, asked, “What are you guys talking about? What’s happening at the construction site?”
“Haha, so you don’t know yet! Let me tell you!” Finally finding an audience, Wu Mabo eagerly pulled up a chair and sat next to Tong Xiaosong, deliberately lowering his voice. “Ever since they started working on the old school building site, strange things have been happening. According to a worker, they were awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of someone washing clothes. They initially thought it was a diligent coworker, but when they took a closer look, they saw a headless ghost in red clothes washing its detached head in a basin…..”
Tong Xiaosong widened his eyes, asking in a panic, “Really!?”
When the fire broke out, he had seen numerous shadows. At that time, he was too scared to think clearly. Now, upon careful consideration, he wondered if the ghosts from the old school building were released because of that fire.
Who started that fire in the first place?
It couldn’t have just spontaneously ignited, right?
“It’s fake!” Wen Dong laughed. “Don’t listen to Da Bo’s nonsense. In a construction site full of muscular men, which ghost would willingly go to a place with such strong positive energy?”
Tong Xiaosong: … It kind of makes sense.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Snfc lo atlr lr ojxf… P tjnf jcbatfg bcf!” Qe Zjyb, eckliilcu ab ulnf eq, mbcalcefv ab ibkfg tlr nblmf ab rmjgf Kbcu Wljbrbcu. Lf rjlv, “Ccbatfg kbgxfg wfcalbcfv atja joafg 9 q.w., fnfgsbcf wera rabq kbgxlcu jcv rajs lc atflg gbbwr, cba jiibkfv ab ub bea. Ycf vjs, bcf bo atf kbgxfgr vlvc’a tffv atf jvnlmf jcv kfca bea. Ktf cfza vjs, atfs obecv tlr tfjv lc atf mfwfca wlzfg… Llr ktbif ybvs kjr mgertfv, bcis atf tfjv gfwjlcfv. Qtja’r fnfc wbgf ffglf lr atja bc atja rjwf cluta, atfs vlrmbnfgfv tf tjv gfaegcfv. Qtfatfg tf mjwf yjmx jr j qfgrbc bg j utbra…”
Tong Xiaosong listened with a shocked heart.
Wen Dong couldn’t stand it and sighed, “I’m telling you, Da Bo, can you consider some logic and reality when telling ghost stories? Stopping work after 9 p.m. is because of noise issues, okay? If they don’t stop working after 9 p.m., I’ll report them immediately for not complying! As for the guy you mentioned who got crushed… If that were true, even if they didn’t want to stop working, the principal would have made them stop. It’s an accident, and the police would come to seal off and investigate, right? They stay at the school every day; have you seen them stop for a moment? Moreover…”
“Okay, okay, I admit it, everything I said just now was fake! I deliberately wanted to scare Tong Xiaosong!” Wu Mabo raised his hand in surrender, helplessly saying, “Why expose me? Look at Tong Xiaosong’s shocked expression, so amusing!”
Tong Xiaosong: …?
He stared incredulously at Wu Mabo, realizing he had taken it so seriously. He had even been contemplating the connection between these stories and the old school building.
It was all fake!?
Well, it’s fine even if it’s fake. At least it means no one got hurt.
Tong Xiaosong pursed his lips, feeling that his sense of humor wasn’t as developed as Wu Mabo and the others. Many times, he would be teased for a long time before realizing they were just joking.
Fortunately, they had no malicious intent. Although it was a bit annoying to be teased, there was a different kind of warmth in it.
He turned his head back to continue studying, ignoring Wu Mabo.
Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Wu Mabo unwillingly said, “But the rumors of strange things happening on the construction site are true. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Maybe something really did happen on the construction site. What do you think about checking it out tonight?”
Wen Dong sighed, “Da Bo, you’ve forgotten the pain after the wound has healed. We still have a deity in our dorm who can’t be sent away. Do you want to bring in more things just for some excitement?”
At these words, everyone involuntarily looked at the copper basin on the table, filled with melons, fruits, and peaches.
The copper basin on the table gleamed brightly under the lamplight, silent but more expressive than words.
Wu Mabo: “…Forget it, let’s just wash up and go to sleep.”
***
Although rumors about the construction site persist, the site continues to operate normally every day, and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong.
All these rumors appear to be confined to the students. Instead of reflecting reality, they seem more like the imaginative musings of bored students.
***
On this evening, Tong Xiaosong studied diligently, but eventually, feeling overwhelmed, he stretched and snapped out of his focus amidst Wu Mabo’s snoring.
Glancing at the small clock he had retrieved from the trash can on the table, he realized it was already past eleven at night.
He turned to look at the two other empty beds.
It’s so late, why haven’t Wen Dong and Ke Lin returned yet?
Usually, by this time, they would have already turned off the lights and gone to sleep. Today, in the dormitory, only Wu Mabo and he were present. Wu Mabo had fallen asleep while gaming, so there was no one to remind him of the time. Tong Xiaosong was surprised to find out how late it was.
Stretching his stiff muscles, he climbed up the ladder to the upper bunk and gave Wu Mabo a push.
Wu Mabo, annoyed, sucked in some saliva, smacked his lips, and rolled over, looking like he was about to fall asleep again.
Tong Xiaosong hurriedly said, “Wu Mabo, wake up. It’s already past eleven. Wen Dong and Ke Lin haven’t come back yet. Do you know where they went?”
Wen Dong, drowsy, opened his eyes, rotating his somewhat rusty brain.
After a moment, he suddenly looked startled, his eyes instantly alert as he sat up abruptly. “Shit! No way!”
Tong Xiaosong, startled, took a step back and almost fell off the ladder. He quickly grabbed onto it. “What’s wrong?”
Wu Mabo, not very sure, said, “This afternoon, Wendong told me he seemed to be going to the construction site to deliver something. Coincidentally, Da Lin was also going to deliver something, and the two met. They said they hadn’t finished delivering and had to go again in the evening…”
Tong Xiaosong had an ominous premonition. He suppressed the rising unease in his heart and asked, “The things you mentioned about the construction site earlier… weren’t they all fake?”
“It’s fake…” Wu Mabo looked serious, reclined again, and stared at the ceiling, pondering, “But I don’t know if the rumors about strange occurrences on the construction site at midnight are true or not. They should be false; otherwise, why would the school allow students to go to the construction site at night?”
Tong Xiaosong furrowed his brow, glanced at the two empty beds, and asked, “So, if they haven’t returned yet, is it because they were delayed while delivering something?”
***
The morning light cast its glow through the window. In the dormitory, where four people should have been sleeping on bunk beds, only two individuals were slouched or lying on their respective beds.
Tong Xiaosong, rubbing his sleepy eyes, briefly thought of the two absentees. Suddenly alarmed, he immediately sat up and looked at the neighboring bed.
Still neat and empty.
Turning to his own upper bunk, it was equally vacant.
He must have fallen asleep without realizing it last night, exhausted from studying.
Glancing at Wu Mabo on the adjacent upper bunk, who was sleeping carefreely with saliva dripping, Tong Xiaosong climbed onto the opposite bunk ladder with a sense of urgency. He vigorously shook Wu Mabo and shouted, “Wake up! They haven’t returned all night! What if something happened!?”
“Huh? What?” Wu Mabo, in a daze, woke up abruptly, took a few seconds to register, then suddenly recalled the events from last night. He turned to see the empty bed and exclaimed, “They didn’t come back all night!? Damn, something might have happened!”
With well-developed motor skills, Wu Mabo didn’t need the bunk ladder. He threw off the covers, leaped down from the upper bunk, and declared loudly, “You go to class! I’ll go find the school authorities and ask!”
Tong Xiaosong couldn’t focus on going to class. He clumsily climbed down the bunk ladder, putting all his effort into catching up with Wu Mabo. “I’m coming too! Wait for me!”
Wu Mabo turned around, couldn’t help but laugh, and said, “Why is this little weakling following? Maybe there’s nothing wrong with them; they might have just slept at the construction site.”
“I’m not at ease.” Tong Xiaosong ran up to Wu Mabo, and the two of them walked briskly, almost jogging. “I want to hear the outcome before I can concentrate on class. Besides, I’m not that much of a weakling now. My physical fitness has improved a lot.”
“Yeah, improved…” Wu Mabo rolled up his sleeves, boastfully suggesting, “Want to compare muscles?”
Tong Xiaosong:…
He had gained a bit of weight recently, but he didn’t have the muscular build like Wu Mabo. Even though he worked towards building muscles every day, it seemed like only a thin layer covered his frame, making him appear just as fragile as before.
Speechless, Tong Xiaosong could only choose to ignore Wu Mabo’s taunts and focus on keeping up with his steps.
“Perhaps…” Wu Mabo scratched his head, hesitating, “But would delivering something make them return so late?”
Oh no.. Pls don’t let anything happen to wen dong and ke lin!!