Translator: 549690339
The students exchanged glances until finally, all eyes landed on a tall young man.
“Yang Yi and Lin Zihang bunked together, they shared a tent.”
Tu Dan asked the young man: “Yang Yi, was anything unusual about Lin Zihang yesterday? Where did you guys go?”
“Nothing…” the lanky boy said with red-rimmed eyes, his voice barely more than a croak. “He was okay when we got back last night, we chatted for a bit before sleeping… I woke up before him this morning, called him to get up, he was just staring blankly, I thought he hadn’t slept enough, so I went to wash up first.’
He buried his head, seemingly unable to face the fate of his classmate, choking on his words. “…and then, he turned into this.”
“There’s no reason for him to turn into this for no reason, think carefully.” Bai
Youwei questioned, – “Could it be that he went out after you fell asleep?”
Yang Yi clutched his head, unable to utter a word.
At this moment, a gasp from Zhang Tianyang in the crowd.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Zhang Tianyang said: “Lin Zihang seemed to have gone to the restroom last night. I went to bed late and heard someone leaving the next tent, but I am not sure who it was, looking at it now… if Yang Yi was asleep, then it must have been Lin Zihang.”
Shen MO picked up on the crucial point, his brows furrowing: “Is there a mirror in the place where you go to the toilet?”
“Yes, but we had it covered.” Zhang Tianyang stood up and said, “I will take you there.”
The toilet used by the students was located at a corner from the labyrinth’s center, in an “L”-shaped café.
The café was essentially intact, with a private restroom inside.
Any reflective object around was either plastered over with paper or covered with cloth, the mirror in the restroom was also utterly covered with café flyers bound by tape.
Shen MO had a quick look around.
Then, he raised his head to look at the ceiling.
The ceiling… was mirrored.
Reflecting its dark glass, were the vague shapes of ‘them’ silently watching everybody right now.
Those who followed Shen Mo’s line of sight all gasped in shock.
Without another word, everyone retreated, step by step, until they were outside the café… They then returned to the center of the maze.
Upon their return, Lin Zihang had fully transformed into a human-sized doll.
Tu Dan zipped up the tent door, sealing the doll-like Lin Zihang inside. As if out of sight, the heaviness in their hearts would lighten just a bit.
And the plan to explore the maze was put on hold.
As the incident had shocked every student, Tu Dan, their team leader, was also in disarray and unsure of what to do next, choosing instead to regroup on the spot.
During their break, they collected more paper and tape, covering every visible mirror with paper.
As for Shen MO and Bai Youwei, they continued to explore the maze as planned.
Bai Youwei, distracted by thoughts about the dolls as they navigated the maze, delegated the task of counting to Teacher Cheng. Following yesterday’s path deeper into the labyrinth, they found dolls—
Wedged into concrete walls, with only their heads and shoulders visible, about a dozen or so.
But as they moved forward, the number seemed to grow.
At the end of the passage, they turned a corner and found another corridor leading towards a “door”.
Just like the previous one, both sides were crammed full of dolls.
The four of them stalled in the middle of the intersection, no one taking a single step forward.
Teacher Cheng looked at his companions with unease: “Should we go back and tell them?”
Shen MO considered this, then said, “Let’s move on.”
He looked at Bai Youwei and asked, “What do you think?”
Bai Youwei stared at the unopened door for a long while before finally replying, “Since there’s no unique exit, let’s move forward..”