L'affaire du messager fantôme - Le récit d'une âme qui quitte son corps

Chapitre 16

She slowly walked to the window, where she could see the open space in front of the haunted building. The figure in the digital photo was also standing in this spot—was it really just an illusion?

Chunyu turned around and saw something flash across Gao Xuan's eyes. She said coldly, "My roommate died in this room." "I heard it was suicide?" "She bit off her own tongue." "Bitten off her tongue?" Gao Xuan also lost his composure. "How could anyone die like that?"

Chunyu finally took a deep breath. She felt no longer flustered in front of Gao Xuan: "Strange things have just happened. Shortly after she died, I actually received a text message from her." "Dead people can send text messages?" "Yes, she asked me a question in the text message—'Do you know what the 19th level of hell is?'" Upon hearing Chunyu's words, Gao Xuan's expression changed instantly. He sat blankly on his dusty desk, remained silent for a moment, and then answered: "Then, you replied to that text message. A few seconds later, a second text message came in, saying to you—'Welcome to hell.'"

This time it was Chunyu's turn to be stunned, her lips trembling: "How did you know?" "Because I also received a similar text message."

Gao Xuan's answer was something she never dreamed of. Could there really be such a coincidence in the world? She shook her head and said, "Impossible. Did you also enter hell?" "That's right, I did enter hell. I just passed through the 10th level of hell last night."

Sweat beaded on Gao Xuan's forehead. Discussing this kind of topic in the haunted building was indeed chilling. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, saying, "So, what about you? Which level are you on?" "I'm on the fifth level of hell." "Wait a minute—" Gao Xuan interrupted Chunyu, then lowered his head to think. "So, I'm not the only one who's entered the Hell Game?" "You call it the Hell Game?" Chunyu shook her head. "No, two people have already died because of it, and another person has gone insane. Can you still call it a game?" "Is that really true?"

Chunyu stared into his double-pupiled eyes: "How did you receive that question?" "About ten days ago, I received a text message quite by chance. The sender was a very strange number; I can still remember it: 741111." "Sure enough, it's that number again." "The text message only asked one question—'Do you know what the 19th level of hell is?'"

Gao Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "At the time, I was very confused. I had never thought about this question before, so I just replied casually. I didn't expect to receive a text message saying 'Welcome to Hell.' That's how I was dragged into the Hell Game."

Chunyu suddenly lowered her head; she knew that Gao Xuan shared her plight.

Gao Xuan said softly, "Let's not stay in the haunted building any longer, let's go down quickly."

They left the room, then left the door slightly ajar and hurriedly ran out of the haunted building. Back in the open space downstairs, Chunyu glanced back at the window where she had just stood. If someone happened to be taking a picture downstairs, they would surely have included her. Would people then mistake her for a ghost? "Let's go," Gao Xuan urged.

Soon, they returned to the outside of the wall, and Chunyu finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You are a teacher unlike others." "Everyone says so," Gao Xuan gave a self-deprecating bitter laugh, "Perhaps I am not a qualified teacher, but I am a qualified painter."

The second half of her sentence carried a hint of pride, and Chunyu couldn't help but smile. She gave him her phone number and then quickly turned and ran back.

Back in her dorm, Chunyu continued to call Nan Xiaoqin, but she couldn't get through.

She didn't want to ask the other classmates, because almost no one paid any attention to her anymore. All the girls treated her like a jinx, because Chunyu was the first to discover the two recent suicides. Such a coincidence could only mean that Chunyu was incredibly unlucky, and whoever encountered her would be doomed. As for the boys, they were too afraid to talk to her anymore. She felt like a lost soul, wandering around this girls' dormitory building.

As midnight approached, she finally couldn't stay awake any longer and hurriedly turned off the light and went to sleep.

However, before Chunyu could close her eyes, the text message alarm went off.

Just like a few days ago, the text message came from the number "741111"—"You have entered the 5th level of hell and are staying in a Jamaica hotel. You will choose from the following: 1: Coastal Wasteland; 2: Pirate's Lair; 3: Lake Dotsmari; 4: Hell Cafe."

As if bewitched, Chunyu involuntarily chose "Dottsmari Lake," and was subsequently dragged into a haunting world.

Dottsmari Lake, located two miles south of the Jamaica Inn, is the largest lake in the Bodmin Marshes. Legend has it that King Arthur, the most famous figure in ancient England, lay on the lake's shore after being mortally wounded and commanded Bedivere to throw his sword into it. Another legend tells of a 17th-century sheriff who sold his soul to the devil, intending to drain the lake with a seashell. He was hunted down and killed by hellhounds, and his ghost has haunted the area around Dottsmari Lake ever since.

Half an hour passed, and Chunyu's back was drenched in cold sweat. She had finally made it past Lake Dotsmari. She went back to the initial text message and noticed the last option—"Hell Cafe."

Chunyu couldn't contain herself any longer. Having already overcome so many obstacles, one more "ghostly place" wouldn't hurt. So, she chose the Hell Cafe. She then received this text message: "You have entered the Hell Cafe and will be chatting with other Hell Wanderers. Please select: 1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; 2. Frankenstein; 3. Painted Skin; 4. Devil Jack; 5. Sadako Yamamura; 6. Mazzolini."

So there's a mobile chat room here? This surprised Chunyu greatly. Could it really be a hellish game, just as Gao Xuan said?

Moreover, the nicknames of these "Hell Wanderers" are so strange. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "Frankenstein" are characters from famous Gothic novels, and anyone who has read "The Ring" will definitely remember "Sadako Yamamura". As for "Mazzolini"—isn't that the artist of the oil painting I saw in the art department?

Before I could think any further, a second text message arrived, still containing the nicknames and IDs of the "Hell Wanderers." Could I chat with them just by sending their IDs? I wondered if these people even existed, and if they did, were they like Chunyu and her friends?

Huh? Chunyu suddenly remembered that her nickname in hell was "Xiaozhi," so maybe she was also in this "Hell Cafe," waiting to chat with others?

Thinking about this made her even more hesitant. Her thumb trembled a few times before she finally exited the text message.

Then she received the last text message of the night—"You have passed through the 5th level of hell and entered the 6th level of hell."

It was Wednesday.

As soon as she got up in the morning, Chunyu went to the newsstand on campus to buy a newspaper. Although she had been haunted by terrifying events these past few days, life had to go on, especially since her graduation thesis preparation couldn't be delayed. If it were postponed until winter break, things would probably get too stressful. Therefore, she planned to find an internship at a company that did SMS services, which would be good social practice for her thesis, and the school wouldn't object. Chunyu opened the newspaper's job posting section and flipped through it for a while before finally finding an information service company that specifically recruited...

They are hiring several SMS editors. It seems this company specializes in providing SMS services; those harassing service SMS messages are probably sent by such companies.

She decided to go for the job interview tomorrow morning.

Around 10 a.m., Chunyu suddenly received a text message from a completely unfamiliar number. The content of the message made her heart race—"Chunyu, this is Gao Xuan. Are you free at noon today? I have something I want to talk to you about. I'll be waiting for you at 'Love in the City' at noon."

Chunyu didn't reply to the text message. She knew about "Love in a Fallen City." It was a restaurant opposite the back gate of the school, and because it was relatively expensive, students rarely went there.

She thought Gao Xuan really knew how to choose a location; it was the title of Eileen Chang's famous novel, "Love in a Fallen City."

After a while, Chunyu finally calmed herself down. She paced back and forth in her dorm room a few times, then opened her wardrobe and picked out her favorite wool coat. Next, she went out to wash her face, put on some light makeup, and looked quite pretty in the mirror. While she wasn't exactly a pampered young lady, she was certainly youthful and radiant.

It was almost midnight when Chunyu finally nervously stepped out the door. "Love in the City" was just across the street from the school gate. Chunyu slowly walked through the glass door and immediately saw Gao Xuan, who was waving at her from the window seat.

Chunyu walked to the seat but did not sit down immediately.

Gao Xuan glanced at his watch and said, "I've never seen a girl as punctual as you."

Chunyu softly retorted, "So, you often take girls out to dinner, right?"

Gao Xuan smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Why don't you sit down?" "I'm sorry," Chunyu said, glancing out the window, "I don't want to sit by the window because it's easy for my classmates to see me from there."

It turned out that this window faced the school gate across the street, and students could see it as soon as they came out. Gao Xuan shook his head and smiled, then moved to a seat at the very back.

Chunyu then sat down opposite him and said softly, "I don't want to be invited to dinner for no reason. Please tell me what's the matter?" "You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Eat something first."

Gao Xuan casually ordered a few side dishes, which were quickly served. Chunyu had no appetite for them; she only touched the food a few times out of politeness. Gao Xuan seemed quite embarrassed and had to order several more desserts before Chunyu could actually finish her lunch.

Chunyu suddenly remembered a question: "Yesterday afternoon in the haunted building, you said you'd tell me the reason for the haunting legend." "I'm sorry." Gao Xuan looked a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment and said, "I was probably too nervous yesterday, and I forgot about it later. Now let me tell you why everyone calls it the haunted building. Because eight years ago, one night, a beautiful sophomore girl went to a classroom there and hanged herself. Since then, there have been rumors that the girl's ghost haunts the building. Some boys, to show off their courage, went into the building at night to catch the ghost, but they encountered something and were almost scared into a mental breakdown. The ghost story became more and more fantastical, and the building got the nickname 'haunted building.' The school had no choice, and since the building was indeed too old to be used for teaching, they banned students from entering it." "That's the origin of the haunted building?"

Gao Xuan's expression was slightly irritated: "Don't believe these things, there's no such thing as a haunted building. I took classes there, it's just a dilapidated ordinary teaching building."

Chunyu was silent for a moment, then suddenly the fatal question flashed through her mind, and she asked coldly, "Do you know what the 19th level of hell is?"

This question clearly surprised Gao Xuan. He shook his head and said, "I've noticed you always say things that are surprising. Actually, I've been thinking about this question for the past few days, and it's really giving me a headache."

We all know the saying "eighteen levels of hell," but what about the nineteenth level? Perhaps it's a hell within hell. "So, that day you went to the library to look for that book about hell."

Gao Xuan smiled helplessly: "That's right, that's why. Isn't it a coincidence? If I hadn't entered the Hell Game, I wouldn't have gone to the library to look for that book, and I would never have met you." "Hell brought us together?"

After Chunyu finished speaking, she gave a wry smile, wondering if this was fate.