Fourth Campus

Chapter 28

Dr. Liu shook his head helplessly. "Yes, this disease is incredible. During several days of observation, we found that her organs in all parts of her body were rapidly degenerating. Blood tests have ruled out viral causes, but in those blood tests, we were surprised to find that the cell division rate of her blood tissues was astonishing. Several generations of cells were renewed every few minutes, which is dozens of times faster than the cell division rate of a normal person."

"What exactly is that disease?"

"Didn't I just tell you? I've never seen this disease before. And the cause isn't clear either. We can only suspect it might be due to a gene mutation in the patient. Genetics is a new field; we don't even know where to begin."

"Is her life in danger?"

Dr. Liu sighed, "At this rate, she'll age very quickly, and she'll die when her organs degenerate to the point where they can no longer function properly."

I was stunned, staring at the images of cell division taken with an electron microscope. My vision began to blur, and tears fell drop by drop onto the film.

"Don't be too sad. At least let the patient spend the last part of their life happily," Dr. Liu patted my shoulder.

PART 4.

I returned to the ward with a heavy heart, and Mengna was looking at me with sad eyes. A pang of sorrow gripped my heart, and tears welled up in my eyes.

But I couldn't cry, I couldn't tell her all this. I should let her spend the last part of her life happily. I turned my head away and wiped my eyes.

"I didn't sleep well last night, and my eyes are a little sore," I said to Mengna, forcing back my sadness.

Mengna didn't say anything, she just looked at me silently.

"It's already noon, let's eat first. What would you like to eat?" I really didn't dare to look her in the eye.

"I know the consultation results are in," Mengna said.

"Yes, the doctor said it's not a big deal. As long as you get plenty of rest, you'll recover quickly, and it's especially important to keep a good mood."

Mengna sighed and shook her head. "Don't lie to me. I know exactly what's wrong with me. This day was bound to come sooner or later."

"It's okay, you're just overthinking it." I didn't know what to say next.

Meng Na smiled. "Lin Yuan, everyone has to die eventually, it's just a matter of sooner or later. You don't need to be sad for me."

I quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Don't talk nonsense, you'll be fine."

Meng Na gently pried my hands apart, then suddenly looked at me with deep affection—she had never looked at me like that before. "Lin Yuan, I know you've always been very good to me, and actually, I like you too. But I didn't want to make you too sad, so I rejected you back then. In this school, I have almost no friends; you're the only one who's been kind to me. Actually, for me, I have no regrets."

"Meng Na." I couldn't help but hug her tightly, tears welling up in my eyes. "Meng Na, did you already know about your condition?"

"Yes, I knew this day would come a long time ago." Mengna said calmly.

The Fourth Campus: The Vengeance of the Dead (3)

"Then why didn't you receive treatment sooner?"

"It's incurable, Lin Yuan. I know my illness very well; I have at most ten days left."

"No, Mengna!"

"Don't be like that, Lin Yuan. Let's spend these ten days happily together. But I'll grow old soon. Will you still like me then?"

Of course! I'll always be by your side!

PART 5.

I got back to school at 10 p.m. I didn't go back to my dorm; instead, I went straight to find Maeda Reiko.

When I told her about Nangong Xiaoxue's diary, she was extremely shocked.

"I've only heard of this diary, I've never seen it in person!" she said. "How can you summon the spirit of a dead person?"

"Do you really believe in spirit summoning techniques?" I still don't quite believe in these paranormal events.

"When I was very young, I accidentally opened my grandfather's diary, which contained records about summoning spirits."

"Your grandfather's diary? What did he do?"

Reiko Maeda didn't answer my question. "That's not important, but he did record instances of summoning spirits."

"Could it really be Nangong Xiaoxue's ghost seeking revenge?"

"That might be true. But... why would she summon Nami Ikeda's spirit?"

I've never thought about this question, and I can't figure it out at all.

"Now I'm actually quite worried about you," Maeda Reiko suddenly changed the subject.

"Worried about me?"

"Yes, legend has it that anyone who reads that diary will die. This rumor has been circulating on campus ever since Zhang Xueyao and the others died one after another in the woods. Remember when I asked you to investigate the 'female ghost'?"

"Of course I remember. It was because of this that Lingmin was implicated." I felt very guilty when I thought about it.

"There's another matter related to the 'female ghost' incident," Maeda Reiko said. "After a series of deaths, corpse theft began at the morgue. Old Man Sun was in charge there; every time a body was brought in for experiments, it had to be registered, and he would inspect the bodies daily—it was his job. But one night, while patrolling the morgue, he discovered a person standing next to a female corpse who looked exactly like her!"

"What!"

"After that, Old Man Sun went mad, often talking to himself. This whole thing came out in his own mutterings. Didn't you and Lin Duyu encounter three identical female corpses in that secret passage? Now that Lin Duyu is dead, don't you think I should be worried about your situation!"

I started sweating profusely. "Could it be that Old Man Sun and Lin Duyu were both scared to death by that 'corpse'?"

Reiko Maeda nodded. "Very likely. The expression on his face was the same as Nami Ikeda's. It's very likely the same killer; at least, all three of them died from the same cause."

"I have a different opinion. Ikeda Nami, Lin Duyu, and Old Man Sun all died from the same cause: they were scared to death. Zhang Xueyao and the others committed suicide. Lingmin also committed suicide, but I believe her cause of death was the same as Old Man Sun's—fright. Furthermore, her method of suicide differed from Zhang Xueyao's; there was no struggle with herself. The methods of murder are different, so the killer may not be the same person."

Reiko Maeda nodded. "You have a point. I've been wondering what the motive is for killing. If it really is Nangong Xiaoxue seeking revenge, I can't understand why she would summon the souls of her victims?"

Hearing this, I suddenly remembered a line from Nangong Xiaoxue's diary: "I will let the flames of revenge burn throughout the entire school!"

"Is it to let hatred spread?" As I said this, I couldn't help but shudder.

Maeda Reiko also seemed terrified. "Perhaps that's the case, but I'm still wondering how Ouyang Jun managed to summon Nangong Xiaoxue's soul back? How can a dead person summon a soul? Unless..." Maeda Reiko hesitated.

"Unless he's not dead!"

PART 6.

When I got back to the dormitory, Zhao Jun and Xu Zhifei were already fast asleep, as usual. A strange white candle was still burning on the table, with textbooks piled haphazardly in front of it. It was then that I remembered the final exams were approaching.

I casually flipped through the textbooks, and Xu Zhifei's name was written on one of them. I looked at Xu Zhifei's bed, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up inside me. He must have lit the candle, and he must have deliberately left it lit so that I would have some light when I came back.

After washing up and blowing out the candles, I lay in bed. I used to be afraid of the dark, but now I'm no longer. After experiencing so many bizarre and terrifying events, I seem to have become somewhat numb to fear, and even started to like the night. Only at this time can I find a moment of peace. Staring at the ceiling, I thought of Mengna. Ten more days, just ten more days before I never see her again! In these ten days, besides trying my best to make her happy, what else can I do for her? She must really want to know why her sister "disappeared." Otherwise, why would she have enrolled in the school her sister attended? But I still haven't found the answer to that question. Perhaps I could inform her family, at least allowing her to reunite with them one last time before leaving this world. I won't tell her I'm going to do this; she definitely won't agree. She wouldn't want her family to suffer immense pain watching her leave this world. She's always been a good girl who likes to think of others, which is why she rejected my love when she learned she had a terminal illness.

"Dong--dong--" In my daze, I heard the bell ringing again, seemingly far away yet also close at hand. I opened my eyes, and the ringing continued. A bell like this had never sounded on campus before; only in my nightmares would the clock tower's bell ring like this. Had someone rung the sleeping clock? Or was I dreaming? I rushed to the window and discovered that the ringing really was coming from the "clock tower"! In the dim light of the campus streetlights, I could vaguely see the clock hands pointing to twelve!

Who did it? That strange old woman? Just thinking about her terrifying eyes sends chills down my spine. I was about to draw the curtains when I suddenly saw a white figure flash past the dormitory building, strikingly similar to the one in my nightmare.

The Fourth Campus: The Vengeance of the Dead (4)

I quickly dressed and rushed out of the dormitory. I needed to figure out why the long-dormant clock had started ringing, and who that white figure was. I climbed out of the broken bathroom window, followed the drainpipe downstairs, and looked around, but found nothing. "Could it be inside the clock tower?" Its open doors were like a gaping maw ready to devour everything. I rushed towards it, but as soon as I stepped onto the stairs, I pulled my foot back. That terrifying, aged face filled me with lingering fear.

When I woke up, it was already ten in the morning. I thought, "Last night was just a dream." I had just finished dressing when a commotion suddenly erupted in the hallway, as if something serious had happened. Curious, I opened the door and saw many people rushing up the stairs. I stopped one of them and asked, "What happened?" He said, "Someone's died in the 'Clock Tower' again!"

The Fourth Campus: The Ghost Returns (1)

PART 1.

It's the "Clock Tower" again! Who has met with misfortune this time? The deceased must have been involved in the investigation of the forbidden area on campus. It must be someone I know. Could it be her—Hu Xiaoli?

After Lingmin's death, I had a strong premonition that either Hu Xiaoli or I would be next, but it was never either of us who met with misfortune. Perhaps it was because Old Man Sun and Lin Duyu knew more than us that they became the killer's primary targets. Is it now our turn?

I ran towards the "clock tower".

Hu Xiaoli, I hope that person isn't you!

The "Clock Tower" was crowded with onlookers, filled with noise. It took me a lot of effort to squeeze to the scene, where I saw a female corpse dressed in white lying at the entrance of the third-floor staircase, her face covered with a white cloth.

My first instinct was to rush over and pull back the white sheet covering the corpse's face. The girls standing around screamed, and someone vomited.

Beneath the white sheet was a disfigured face; the skin had been peeled away, leaving only two wide-open eyes with grayish-white pupils. It was her! The terrifying old woman who appeared in the "Clock Tower" last night! While Maeda Reiko and I were fleeing in panic, she kept crying out "Help!" in Japanese, and now she's dead! Who was she? What had happened to make her cry for help? And why did she know Maeda Reiko?

A surge of movement swept through the crowded area, and a group of police officers in uniform approached. I recognized the two leading officers; they were the same two officers who had forcibly "invited" me back to the police station for questioning last time. They also noticed me beside the body, their sharp gazes meeting my blank stare. Then, they began to examine the scene.

"Who discovered the body first?" an officer asked.

"It's me." Wang Siyue stepped out from the crowd.

Please describe the situation at that time.

Wang Siyue said with lingering fear, "I'm the librarian, and it was my turn to be on duty this morning. Around 9 a.m., I found this body as soon as I arrived. She was lying right here, and the skin on her face had all been peeled off. It looked horrifying."

The officer nodded, then suddenly turned around, staring at me. "Lin Yuan, do you know the deceased?"

"I don't know him."

"You really don't recognize him? Have you seen the deceased?"

"I said no, I'm sorry, I still need to go to the hospital." I pushed through the crowd and squeezed my way out.

The first thing I did after leaving the "clock tower" was to look for Maeda Reiko. She seemed very nervous when she heard the news.

"Do you know that old woman or not?" I pressed her.

Reiko Maeda paced back and forth in her room. "I don't know her, I don't know her! I've already told you."

"She kept calling for help last night, and she's dead today. Who do you think killed her? And in such a cruel way, her entire face was ripped off!"

"That's not what I'm worried about right now, Lin Yuan. Don't forget we were at the crime scene yesterday!" Maeda Reiko's words struck me like a bolt from the blue.

"Just like when Old Man Sun died, the murderer is obviously trying to frame us!" said Reiko Maeda.

"I think so too, and the person I suspect most right now is Zhao Jun." I've always been bothered by Zhao Jun's slander that I sleepwalk.

Reiko Maeda pondered for a moment, "You should keep a close eye on his movements during this time. Also, and most importantly, figure out how to deal with the police; they'll be here soon."

PART 2.

Entering the ward, I saw Mengna sitting on the bed, staring blankly out the window, just like a few days ago. She didn't even notice my arrival.

I gently sat down on the chair beside the bed, gazing intently at her beautiful face. The soft winter sunlight bathed her, outlining her features in a golden hue. I couldn't bear to disturb her tranquility, so we remained there, her staring blankly out the window, and me staring blankly at her.

I don't know how much time passed, but she suddenly asked me, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm wondering what you're thinking," I said with a smile.

Meng Na turned around and smiled, a bright smile as radiant as the rare winter sunshine. But this radiant smile couldn't hide her aging face; a few faint wrinkles could be seen on her forehead, and her temples had turned gray.

My heart ached, but I had to keep smiling. I tried my best to look natural, even though I knew how ugly my smile looked.

"What's wrong?" Mengna noticed my forced explanation.

I gently stroked her hair and said tenderly, "It's nothing. I just wish time could stop, that we could stay like this forever, sitting by your side forever."

Mengna smiled again, a happy and sweet smile. I gently pulled her into my arms. Just then, I saw Mengna's aging face reflected in the small mirror on the bedside table.

I turned slightly to the side, using my back to block the mirror, and even tried to place the mirror face down on the bedside table.