Extra 16th place tube

It was almost ten o'clock in the evening when the dorm manager's emotionless voice echoed from the corridor, echoing through some kind of loudspeaker:

"Lights out is approaching. All students please return to your dormitories and prepare for bed."

The sound was repeated three times.

Wang Ke stood up immediately as if he had received an order and began to take off his coat stiffly.

I changed into my pajamas, then climbed into bed and lay facing the wall, not moving.

Li Mu and the other two could only follow suit and lie down with their clothes on, not daring to actually fall asleep.

Ten o'clock sharp.

“Bang!”

All the lights went out instantly.

Absolute, all-consuming darkness suddenly descended.

There wasn't even a ray of light, it was truly pitch dark.

The oppressive feeling brought by the extreme darkness was even greater than the dimness in the corridor before.

Dead silence.

Even the sound of breathing seemed unusually clear and loud.

The three people's hearts were beating wildly in the darkness.

Rule 1: [After lights out, no noise, walking around, or using any light source is allowed.]

They didn't even dare to breathe.

I don't know how long it took, maybe just a few minutes, maybe a century...

“Da…da…da…”

The clear sound of hard-soled leather shoes hitting the floor tiles came from the end of the corridor, slowly and gradually getting closer.

Check the dormitory!

Here we come!

The footsteps stopped at the door of 1810.

Dead silence.

There was no sound at the door, no knocking, no questioning.

It was as if the dormitory manager was standing quietly at the door, "watching" inside the door through the peephole, or without even looking through the peephole.

In the darkness, Li Mu could feel that Gao Meng and Zhao Sha's bodies were as tense as stones. He also held his breath, and cold sweat soaked his back.

Wang Ke was still facing the wall, motionless, as if he had fallen asleep.

Ten seconds... twenty seconds... one minute...

The footsteps never left.

An indescribable, cold feeling of being watched penetrated the door like a substance and pressed down on everyone.

It wasn't checking, it was more like... waiting.

Waiting for someone to break the rules, make a little noise, or be tempted to use a little light.

Li Mu suddenly understood the terribleness of the second rule - [You must answer the door immediately when the dormitory manager knocks]

But what if she didn't knock at all?

She just stood silently outside the door, applying pressure with this cold gaze until someone broke down.

Time passed incredibly slowly. The psychological pressure of that silent gaze could drive a person crazy.

Gao Meng clenched his fists in the darkness, his nails digging into his flesh. Zhao Sha's body began to tremble slightly, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

“Boom.”

An extremely slight sound, as if something fell on the quilt, came from the direction of Wang Ke's bed.

The cold gaze outside the door suddenly intensified.

Li Mu's heart instantly rose to his throat.

Did Wang Ke move? Did he break the rules?

However, the expected break-in did not occur.

The dormitory manager outside the door seemed... hesitant?

Immediately afterwards, Li Mu felt a cold hand groping and touching his arm extremely carefully.

Then something small, hard, and cold was stuffed into his hand.

It’s Wang Ke!

He hadn't slept at all. He had just deliberately made a slight noise to attract the dormitory manager's attention, and then took the opportunity to hand something over in the dark.

Li Mu's heart was beating wildly as his fingers touched the thing - it seemed to be a folded, hard piece of paper.

The dormitory manager outside the door still didn't leave, and the cold gaze was still there, but it seemed that because there was no follow-up to the slight sound just now, he fell into a strange state of "judgment".

Li Mu remained motionless, feeling the piece of paper with his fingertips.

There seemed to be some uneven marks on it, like Braille, or some hastily drawn marks.

He concentrated all his energy and tried hard to identify it.

The first symbol... looks like a number... 1... 8... The second one... 0... 1? 1801? And then there's something... like... an arrow?

Pointing... then a twisted... "X"?

What does this mean? 1801, then an arrow, then a cross? Is this a warning to Class 1801 that they're in danger? Or does it mean...

“Bang, bang, bang!”

The knock on the door, dull and slow, but with unquestionable power, finally sounded.

The dormitory manager seemed to have ended the "silent observation" mode and started the formal dormitory inspection.

"Room 1810. Count."

The calm voice of the dormitory manager came from outside the door.

Wang Ke was the first to speak, his voice trembling with a hint of deliberate suppression:

“1.”

Li Mu immediately followed up: "2."

Gao Meng and Zhao Sha also spoke hurriedly.

There was silence outside the door for a few seconds, as if they were checking the number of people.

Then, that calm voice sounded again: "Wang Ke."

"Here." Wang Ke's voice was still trembling.

"Li Mu."

"Here." Li Mu forced himself to stay calm.

"Gao Meng."

"arrive."

"Zhao Sha."

"arrive."

There was silence outside the door for a moment. Then, the tablet's voice seemed extremely soft... paused for a moment before continuing:

"The personnel are correct. Keep quiet and observe the bedtime rules."

The sound of footsteps rang out, "da...da...da..." and gradually faded away.

Not until the footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did the four people in room 1810 let out a long, silent sigh of relief at the same time, as if they had just emerged from underwater, their bodies drenched in cold sweat.

Dormitory inspection...passed?

Just like that...it all went smoothly?

However, Li Mu's heart did not relax at all. He tightly grasped the cold piece of paper in his hand.

What message did Wang Ke take the risk to convey to him?

Beneath the appearance of "safety" lie more disturbing mysteries and crises.

The "absolute security" of the dormitory does not seem to be without loopholes.

In the darkness, Li Mu could hear extremely faint, suppressed sobs coming from Wang Ke, full of despair.

This real student from Class 1801 obviously knew more about the inside story and was in great fear.

Feng Tianning's thoughts, like a glimmer of light penetrating the thick fog, were once again accurately transmitted into Li Mu's sea of ​​consciousness, with a rare solemnity:

"The clues he gave are crucial. 'It's' attention is being diverted from other areas. You are running out of time. Tomorrow... you must find a breakthrough."

A breakthrough? In a place like this, where the rules are strict, weirdness is everywhere, and even the concept of "safe zone" may be just a relative concept, where is the breakthrough?

Li Mu opened his eyes wide in the absolute darkness, his fingers unconsciously stroking the cold piece of paper.

Outside the window, in the depths of the pure darkness that seemed to be able to devour the soul, it seemed that something was silently watching the dormitory building that fell into deathly silence after the lights were turned off.