Chapter 54

"The situation... is like this."

Ten minutes later.

In Lu Yueling's dormitory.

Da Guo faced the other two people and carefully repeated everything he had seen before:

"When I went there, the track and field team bathroom was full of people. Zhang Dewei... one of the roommates of the first deceased, was standing there with his hands covering his body, howling and swearing. The other roommate seemed to be quite frightened and kept muttering, saying there are ghosts, ghosts, and there are black people in the closet..."

"Black people?" Xiao Guo, who was sitting opposite her, couldn't help but frowned, and Lu Yueling seemed to have thought of something, and her face suddenly looked a little subtle.

——Perhaps because of the limited space, the new Lu Yueling and Xu Ming were assigned to the same dormitory. More than ten minutes ago, she had already changed into her school uniform with the help of Xiao Guo and moved directly back from the infirmary.

As for Da Guo, she had not yet come to her senses when Xu Ming ran out of the door. After a minute, she suddenly realized that she might be able to help, so she said hello to the other two and chased in the direction of the track and field team's bathroom -

and when she finally arrived, she saw such a puzzling scene.

What's even more strange is that she deliberately looked around at the time, but didn't see Xu Ming at all.

"Could she have found the wrong place?" Da Guo was worried sincerely.

"That's too dangerous." Xiao Guo was still frightened, "Fortunately, the two sports students found a way to run out by themselves. Otherwise, everything might be too late..."

She knew about the whole thing the latest. After all, when Lu Yueling and Xu Ming were exchanging information, she had been chatting with the medical teacher outside, so she didn't learn the full situation from her until she took Lu Yueling out of the infirmary. As

a result, Xiao Guo's mood could be said to have fluctuated the most in a short period of time - God knows, when she first learned about this from Lu Yueling, she almost ran to the bathroom.

It was Lu Yueling who persuaded her. What she said was also quite subtle.

"Xu Ming has already passed away. If she can hold it back, she will definitely hold it back. If she can't hold it back, it's useless for you to go. You might as well stay with me. If something really happens, I can still protect you."

... How to say it, although it sounds a bit second-year, it seems to make some sense.

Xiao Guo really waited. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long before she got some good news.

"But why is it a black man?" She thought about it carefully and felt something was wrong. "Are water ghosts black?" It seemed that she had never heard of this saying. Lu Yueling's expression became more and more difficult to explain after hearing

this . "I suspect that what they want to say is 'burnt people'." After a while, she whispered. "Ah? That's too scary!" Big Guo couldn't help but exclaimed, and Little Guo also looked horrified. After thinking about it, he still felt that it didn't make sense: "That's even weirder." "The charred ones...are usually in fires, right? Isn't this even more different from water ghosts?" Lu Yueling: "..." Lu Yueling: "So, who told you that they must have encountered water...ah." Before she finished speaking, she heard the door lock turn, and Xu Ming opened the door and walked in. Seeing a group of people in the room, she seemed to be stunned. Then she saw her nodded calmly at a few people: "Yes, they are all here." Unlike her calmness, Big Guo almost jumped up when he saw her. "Oh my god, you finally showed up! I just looked for you for a long time!" She said quickly, "Where have you been? I didn't see you near the bathroom... Oh, yes, you know? The bathroom is really haunted!" "Yeah, I know." Xu Ming responded and put his schoolbag on his seat, "Good news." "..." ? Do you want to listen to what you are saying? "No..." Da Guo was stunned for a moment, trying to remind her to think about the wording again, "About the haunted matter... Is this your reaction?" "Actually, there are reflections." Xu Ming thought about it and spoke fluently, "Although the result is good, there are still some problems with the whole process arrangement. Some parts are not detailed enough, resulting in some loopholes. The overall process can be further optimized." Da Guo & Xiao Guo: ... What is she talking about? Are we discussing the same thing? "Oh." Finally, Lu Yueling couldn't stand it anymore and said directly, "The black person you are talking about is her... She is our colleague." "?" This time it was Xu Ming who was stunned: "What black person?" "The one you are talking about... A Jiao." Lu Yueling curled her lips. Seeing that the other two hadn't reacted yet, she added again: "Don't you understand yet? This time, it's not a water ghost but a house ghost... "She asked her colleagues to go to the locker room to make trouble and scare the two people out directly. In this way, they won't go into the bathroom, right?" "...Oh." The big and small Guo finally reacted, and then realized another important problem. "So..." Xiao Guo looked over in shock, "Your colleagues, there are... This kind of people?" "...Yes." Xu Ming was silent for a moment, and nodded decisively, "Special auxiliary post. Don't worry, they are just like the secret guards in ancient times, usually not seen by people." "..." Then your unit really has enough crouching tigers, hidden dragons and crouching tigers. So what exactly is the nature of your demolition office...?" "Okay, okay, let's stop talking about the bathroom for now." Seeing that the two of them were about to let their imaginations fly, Xu Ming had to quickly stop the topic and turned to look at Lu Yueling, "By the way, how are you thinking about the things I asked you to recall? Do you have any clue?" "I remembered a lot of things. I don't have any clue at all. " Lu Yueling said confidently, spreading out a piece of paper and handing it over - inside it was all the information related to numbers that she had dug out from her memories according to what Xu Ming said. From the start and end time of the movie, to the time when the female ghost in the lake climbed ashore, to the dormitory numbers of all the victims she remembered... Anyway, everything she could remember was here. "It's scattered." Xu Ming took the paper and looked at it for a while, then sighed softly, "I really don't have any clue."

"How about this, you hurry up and sort out the plot of the movie. We'll take a look at it in combination with the logic of the plot." Xu Ming tried to give a plan, "As for some ready-made time points, let's hurry up and try them one by one. Maybe one of them will really work."

"Try? How to try?" Da Guo was surprised, "There are monsters in the bathroom."

"About this, I actually have some ideas, but I need to practice and confirm it." Xu Ming said, returning the paper in his hand to Lu Yueling, "Compared to this, I'm actually more worried about how to delay time..."

Whether it's looking for clues or trial and error, the most needed thing is time.

But this is the only uncertainty-the monster in the artificial lake has killed one person, as long as it kills two more, it can directly open the invincible.

The good news is that, judging from the current situation, a monster must meet at least one of the two conditions to kill someone. Either it has directly violated the rules, or it has come into contact with someone who has violated the rules. There is no such monster for the time being, but there are two confirmed monsters, the two gym students.

And the monster in the artificial lake has dragged on for two days without attacking anyone else, which makes Xu Ming even more suspicious. The only ones who meet the conditions are probably the two gym students.

But this is also her current problem.

She did drive the two people out of the bathhouse temporarily today. But what about after that? And is the crisis really only in the bathhouse?

She can't watch people all the time. So the best way is to set rules and set limits for them. The problem is that the current "Ghost Story Demolition Office" is only a third-level basis and cannot be used to formulate rules; the only feasible way is to use the two abilities in "Bad Fruit Replacement". However, if the rules are modified or established by replacement, the effect is equivalent to the original rules, and she does not have any rules that have sufficient binding force...

The rules in this area seem to be the same. Except for the three "Don't pay attention to her", the others are just ordinary school rules.

Xu Ming pondered for a moment, and finally turned his gaze to the big and small Guo on the side. They came earlier than him, and maybe they know some absolute rules that he doesn't know.

Facing Xu Ming's doubts, Xiao Guo thought about it seriously, and after thinking about it, he asked a question from the bottom of his heart:

"So, what is strong binding force?"

"Well..." Xu Ming didn't know how to express it, "It's the kind that when you see it, you will be in awe and obey it from the bottom of your heart, and know that you must not violate it. Once you violate it, there will definitely be very bad consequences?"

"..." Xiao Guo fell into thinking again, and finally tentatively gave an answer, "So, the three 'Don't pay attention to her' next to the artificial lake, do they count?"

Xu Ming: ...

Strictly speaking, it doesn't count. In other words, it is binding, but not enough.

And from the example of the first deceased, it can be seen that even such a rule will still be thrown behind by some people.

Hmm... Thinking about it this way, maybe what she needs is not a "strong binding" rule, but a "strong intimidation" rule...

"So, why do we have to start with the rules?"

At this moment, Lu Yueling spoke faintly.

"?" Xu Ming immediately looked over, "What do you mean?"

"It's very simple, your purpose is to prevent them from taking a bath recently to avoid triggering a death incident, right." Lu Yueling crossed her arms and looked over seriously.

Xu Ming rarely saw her so serious, and he couldn't help but frown: "Well, what next?"

"That's easy. We sneak into their dormitories while they are sleeping, tie them up, and make sure they can't even go out of the door, let alone take a shower. That's it!"

Lu Yueling said confidently, and nodded in self-affirmation.

There was a gleam of wisdom in her eyes.

Xu Ming: “…”

“Well… that’s also an idea.” She was silent for a moment, and chose a more euphemistic way of expression, “The problem is, this place operates according to a more normal logic. And according to the rules of the normal world, if a student is missing, the teacher will come to look for him…”

“Then just make sure they can’t find them.” Lu Yue Lingli was more straightforward and stronger, “You can tie them up and then secretly put them in a place where no one can find them. For example, in a cupboard, under the bed, in a grove, in an underground air-raid shelter…”

…

Why don’t you just pour cement and sink Tokyo Bay?

In order to prevent them from being killed by ghosts, why not just kill them first, and be done with it. Take the evil spirits’ path first, leaving them with no way to go.

…But don’t mention it, it seems to make some sense…

Xu Ming thought silently, with a thoughtful look on his face. He raised his eyes inadvertently, but met the shocked eyes of the other two people. He was slightly startled, and suddenly reacted.

"No, no, don't listen to her nonsense, she is joking." Xu Ming began to try to save the reputation of the Demolition Office, "We are professionals, and we will never take such extreme measures under normal circumstances. Strange stories are not outside the law, and we will never do such things that are obviously illegal and disorderly."

"Oh...oh." Big and small Guo nodded in confusion, but the same question popped up in their hearts:

What is "under normal circumstances"? What is considered an unusual situation?

The two looked at each other and wisely did not say it out loud.

On the other side, Xu Ming had just finished speaking, and I don't know what he thought of, and pursed his lips again. After a while, she was heard mumbling to herself: "Speaking of which..."

The other three: "?"

"Although this method is crude, there is actually nothing wrong with the overall idea." Xu Ming said softly. As

soon as this was said, Lu Yueling, who was originally a little unhappy because of their reaction, immediately became happy again: "See, I told you. After all, I have also taken a business war class. This trick is called 'cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron'..."

"No." Xu Ming interrupted her calmly and raised his eyes slightly, "The idea I mean is not this."

Lu Yueling: "......?" Which one is it?

"Take the path of the evil spirits." As if seeing her doubt, Xu Ming slowly uttered this sentence, "Leave the evil spirits with no way to go."

Lu Yueling:?

I didn't say that!

*

So, not long after.

Men's dormitory. Room 106.

The door of the room slowly opened, and two boys were escorted in by the dormitory manager and the teacher. One of them was holding the hot water given by the teacher, his face was still pale and frightened; the other one had his eyes downcast, with a helpless look on his face.

The expressions of the teacher and the dormitory manager were very serious. Before leaving, they specifically reminded them of a few precautions, but they left in a hurry, as if they were afraid of getting something on them.

The door was quickly closed again. The remaining two boys looked at each other. After an unknown amount of time, one of them sneered, "Look at them. They are clearly in school, but they are still doing superstitious things. They didn't see anything, but they scared themselves to death... They don't act like teachers at all."

"It's not superstition, there really are ghosts!" The man holding the hot water opposite became excited instantly, "I saw it with my own eyes, I really saw it, in the bathroom... You were there at the time..."

"Okay, okay, calm down, I don't mean to laugh at you. And didn't the teacher say that in the next few days, just be careful as before. Just be careful not to run into that kind of thing again, and you'll be fine. Don't be too nervous."

Zhang Dewei paused and couldn't help asking, "But are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"... Zhang Dewei, what do you mean?" The roommate took a deep breath, "Do you still think I'm making a fuss?"

"I'm not making a fuss, I just think you might be under a lot of pressure." Zhang Dewei said slowly, "It's true that I was there, but to be honest, I didn't see anything except the cabinets that were banging around... And think about it, you said you saw a charred human figure, so it should be related to the fire, right? But the thing that killed Xiaobai was clearly drowned, which doesn't make sense at all."

Another person: "..."

"But I really saw it..." He took a deep breath and repeated this sentence for the nth time.

"I know, I don't mean to deny you. But is there a possibility that you are under too much pressure recently, which leads to hallucinations?" Zhang Dewei tried to open his mind, "The teachers have been watching us too strictly recently, which has affected your mental state. At the same time, there was a small fire accident next to the playground, which also left an impression on you. Therefore, when you were about to enter the bathhouse, these two influences combined at once, causing you to see the illusion of a charred human figure..."

"You see, this is completely reasonable."

He analyzed seriously, and the more he spoke, the more he felt that what he said made sense: "You see, I went to take a bath alone before, and I was not always fine. So I think you and those teachers may be too nervous.

"Again, is there any evidence to prove what kind of weird power killed Xiaobai? There is none at all, right. "It was all the teacher's guesswork, and then he took measures on his own, and as a result, you became abnormal..."

Zhang Dewei said, and took the opportunity to look at the dormitory he was in, and curled his lips unconsciously.

Their original dormitory was 206, where three people lived in a four-person dormitory. However, after Xiaobai died, the two of them were moved to 106 by the dormitory manager - it was closer to the dormitory manager's bedroom on the first floor, and it would be more convenient for the dormitory manager to come over if there was anything at night.

But the dormitory conditions on the first floor are obviously not as good as those on the second floor. The lighting is poor, there is no air conditioning, and small reptiles can often be seen in the room, which is maddening. The

only good news is that there are only two of them living in this dormitory at present, so there is more usable space. The extra beds can also be used to store things. Like now, the two of them each occupy a bed at the inside, and the two beds on the outside, including the beds and tables, have become their storage racks.

"I don't know when we can move back. "I'm not sure how long I'll be staying here, so I don't dare to take care of anything..." Zhang Dewei muttered unhappily, thought for a while, and got up and climbed up again, intending to get something from the bed. Halfway up, he seemed to realize something and stopped moving.

His roommate opposite him finally finished drinking the hot water and was about to get up. Seeing him suddenly stop, he couldn't help but get nervous again: "Hey, what are you doing?"

"... Huh." Zhang Dewei quickly raised his hand to signal, paused for a while, and frowned again, "Did you hear any sound?"

"What what sound?"

The roommate opposite heard him ask this, and immediately became more nervous: "I didn't hear anything, don't scare me on purpose!"

"I didn't... did you really not hear anything? "Dong, dong, dong..."

Zhang Dewei said, and paused. Then he climbed down again, walked around the bed, and listened with his ears to the side, as if he wanted to determine the real source of the sound.

After several minutes, he seemed to have finally got the answer, and stood in front of an empty table.

As he stopped, his roommate finally heard the sound -

"Dong", "Dong", "Dong".

A sound lighter than knocking on the door. It sounded so close. It was like someone was knocking behind some obstruction, such as under the bed, behind the wall, under the chair, and so on...

Following Zhang Dewei's line of sight, the roommate's eyes finally fell on the drawer that came with the empty table.

Then he couldn't help but gasp.

"Zhang, Zhang Dewei..." he said tremblingly, and he had already stood up, ready to rush back to his bed at any time. Zhang Dewei quickly raised his hand, signaling him to be patient.

"Don't panic, don't panic... Maybe there are just bugs, big bugs..." He tried to comfort him, "Or maybe it's just a mouse..." "

!" In response to him, his roommate's increasingly frightened eyes and the action of climbing onto the bed without hesitation. It

's even scarier, isn't it!

"Anyway, don't be afraid, there are no ghosts in the world! There definitely aren't! "Zhang Dewei said confidently, and it was unclear whether he was trying to convince him or to cheer himself up. Then he pursed his lips and raised his hand, as if he was going to open the drawer.

However, before he could do anything, the "click" knocking sound suddenly stopped.

Then there was a slight sound. The drawer opened outward by itself.

A charred hand was revealed.

It stretched outward with great effort, as if groping for something. The palm touched the edge of the drawer and pressed on it subconsciously. From Zhang Dewei's angle, he could clearly see the turned flesh - the next second, the palm suddenly flipped up, and the whole arm twisted in an incredible way, and the palm slammed heavily on the table above.

Then it trembled and retracted a little bit.

With a snap, the drawer closed again.

"..." Zhang Dewei stared at the drawer for a long time before he realized that he had collapsed to the ground without knowing when.

Even his back was wet... He opened his mouth wide, breathing hard, and tried to get up, but his legs were still as soft as potatoes and he couldn't move at all.

At this moment, he heard his roommate's trembling voice from above: "Zhang, Zhang Dewei, that table..."

"I know! I saw it!" Zhang Dewei took a deep breath again, followed by a strong exhalation, and finally found his voice, "I know what you want to say, I saw it--"

"No, no!" said the roommate. He was now on the bed above, his whole body buried in the quilt, with only his head exposed. Because he was in a higher position than Zhang Dewei, he could see more clearly than him.

"I want you to look at that table... just now, that hand just now seemed to have left something on it... It seemed to be a piece of paper..."

Zhang Dewei: "...?!!"

After a while, he finally found some strength back, but he didn't have the courage to get close to the table again. After clumsily poking with the clothesline for a long time, he finally poked the piece of paper into his hand.

I opened it with shaking fingers, and saw two lines of extremely clear handwriting on it:

[If you dare to take a shower again, I will kill you]

[Strange Stories Demolition Office]