NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Chapter 7: Mutation
The old bicycle creaked noisily under his feet.
The once clear weather had now turned gloomy and dim, as if it could be wrung into water.
Lu Feng pedaled hard, rushing toward the school at the fastest speed he could manage.
Five minutes later, he finally saw the school gate.
Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, Lu Feng threw the bicycle aside and, with slightly weakened steps, ran toward the school gate.
However, he suddenly stopped, and then a bone-piercing chill surged through his entire body.
Although it was already early summer, Lu Feng felt as if he had been frozen, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He stared at the school he had attended for three whole years, yet at this moment it felt utterly unfamiliar.
Instead, he could only sense waves of dread rising from the depths of his soul.
The open school gate resembled the mouth of a giant beast, waiting for Lu Feng to deliver himself into its jaws.
Almost instinctively, Lu Feng took a step back.
Facing this familiar academy, he felt fear—as if what he was about to step into was not a school, but a tomb.
He recalled what Liuli had said yesterday—if you came to school tomorrow, something bad would happen.
Something bad… Could it get any worse than this?
So thought Lu Feng.
He took a deep breath, trying hard to dispel the chill from his body.
Then, he stepped forward toward the school gate.
Just as he was about to enter, he inadvertently glanced at the security guard at the entrance.
The guard also looked at Lu Feng, but did not stop him, letting him walk into the school.
Lu Feng subconsciously felt that there was something wrong with this security guard, but he could not pinpoint exactly what it was.
At the very moment Lu Feng entered the school, the guard’s head suddenly twisted a full 180 degrees.
His eyes fixed firmly on Lu Feng, and a terrifying grin split his mouth all the way to the ears.
And the moment he stepped into the school, Lu Feng realized what was wrong with the guard—
The guard’s pupils were permanently dilated, just like a corpse’s!
But before he could turn back, his consciousness plunged instantly into darkness.
……
No one knew how much time had passed before Lu Feng slowly regained consciousness.
Supporting his still slightly dizzy head, he opened his eyes and looked around, only to find that he had somehow ended up in the classroom of Grade 3 Class 2.
Lu Feng was sitting in his own seat, yet the classroom was completely empty.
No one else was there.
What had happened after he entered the school?
Lu Feng had no memory of how he got to the classroom.
He only remembered that he seemed to have fainted, and when he woke, he was already here.
But none of this mattered anymore.
Right now, he only wanted to find Yu Mo and the others as soon as possible.
Lu Feng instinctively pulled out his phone to check the time, only to find that although it had ninety percent battery when he left home, it now could not be used at all—not even turned on.
“What’s going on? Broken?”
He tried several times, but the phone still would not work.
Lu Feng had no choice but to give up.
Lifting his head to look out the window, he was stunned to see that the outside was shrouded in thick fog, with visibility of less than five meters.
Yet when he had arrived earlier, the weather had not been like this.
The entire classroom was dim and eerie, like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
But for someone like Lu Feng, who occasionally encountered ghosts, the situation was still within tolerable limits.
Lu Feng pushed the door open and stepped out of the classroom.
The once lively and bustling school was now deathly silent.
There was not a single figure nor the slightest sound, as if everyone had vanished.
The thick fog engulfed the entire school grounds, yet curiously, not a trace of mist seeped inside the campus.
All the fog existed only around the outer perimeter, like a massive veil enclosing the entire school.
This abnormal sight made Lu Feng swallow nervously.
He checked the neighboring classrooms, but they were all empty, the doors tightly shut, with no sign that anyone had been there.
What was going on? Where had everyone gone?
Just as Lu Feng found it harder and harder to comprehend the situation before him, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind,
“Lu Feng!?”
The voice carried both fear and shock.
Lu Feng hurriedly turned around, only to see a beautiful girl he had never met.
The girl looked at Lu Feng in alarm and doubt, her beautiful eyes staring fixedly at him.
Although he did not know her, Lu Feng oddly felt she looked familiar.
Just as he was about to ask why she knew him, the girl suddenly rushed forward, gripping his shoulders tightly.
Her face was filled with terror and despair.
“Why? Why did you come to school!? Didn’t you promise me that no matter what happened today, you wouldn’t come!?”
Lu Feng was startled by the girl’s reaction.
But upon hearing her voice and what she had just said, he immediately realized, staring at her in shock,
“You—you’re Liuli!?”
The girl before him overlapped with the ghost who had clung to him before.
Those delicate features, graceful slender figure, and long flowing black hair were undoubtedly Liuli’s appearance.
Only, there was still a gap between the half-transparent spirit and the flesh-and-blood living person, so Lu Feng had not recognized her at first glance.
“You—how did you come back to life!?”
Liuli was about to say something, when suddenly, a rasping, saw-like voice blared out from the loudspeakers,
“All students of Grade 3 Class 2 are now present. Please return to your classrooms immediately. Roll call will begin in ten minutes……”
Such were the words the voice said.
The moment she heard it, Liuli’s face went deathly pale as she collapsed to her knees on the ground.
Her eyes were filled with despair and deep fear, her slender body trembling uncontrollably.
“It’s over… everything is over……”
She lowered her head, speaking in despair.
“……Liuli, what on earth is going on?”
Lu Feng could no longer make sense of the situation.
Who was that voice just now? What had happened to this school? How had Liuli come back to life?
Everything before him had broken away from all logic, crushing his worldview bit by bit.
Liuli said nothing.
She silently lifted a trembling finger and pointed in a direction.
Lu Feng followed her gaze and saw that it was where the school’s comprehensive building stood.
What about the comprehensive building?
One second Lu Feng was puzzled, the next his eyes widened in disbelief, staring at a certain spot.
On the rooftop, the golden signboard that once bore the words “Xinli High School” had already changed.
The once shining golden letters had turned a blood-like crimson, as though corroded with decay.
And the four characters that once symbolized the academy’s name no longer read “Xinli High School,” but instead—
Evil Spirit High School.