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Zi Liang also wasn't sure how Fatty managed to stare motionlessly at his phone for nearly twenty minutes. For a few minutes, he even suspected Fatty was possessed by a ghost. Fortunately, Fatty's occasional blinks made Zi Liang give up the idea of shaking him awake.

Whenever Zi Liang grew eager to ask something, Fatty would wave his hand, signaling him not to talk.

Zi Liang had been holding back for twenty minutes before Fatty finally pulled his eyes away from the phone screen. It was almost three o'clock by then.

Seeing Fatty look away from the phone, Zi Liang carefully asked, "Brother Fatty, can we look at what's under the box now?"

Hearing this, Fatty stared at the screen for a few more seconds, then nodded. "Be careful."

Zi Liang then carefully tapped [Yes] on his screen. He didn't quite understand the difference between 'tapping carefully' and 'tapping recklessly.'

Could he accidentally crack the screen?

While Zi Liang was still pondering, Fatty, who was beside him, suddenly said, "In the future, if boxes or other similar things appear, don't rush to open them."

Zi Liang nodded, though he didn't fully understand.

Ten minutes didn't pass by too slowly. Zi Liang hadn't waited long before the little character on the screen finished exploring what was under the box.

[A tattered old roll call book]

[This roll call book is very tattered, as if it has endured many years of damage. The words on the cover are almost illegible, but the numbers 'one' and 'eight' can be vaguely discerned.]

Zi Liang stared intently at his screen, almost wanting to bury his head in it.

But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't make out what was written on the small, tattered book on the screen. He had no choice but to rely on the on-screen description.

[Opening the roll call book, the writing inside seems to have been damaged by water; it's almost illegible.]

[Only the class log written by the class leader on duty can be faintly read.]

[January 18: Another one missing today. Why have things become like this?]

[February 27: We can't lose any more!]

[April 4: Chu Hang seems to know something. I should go ask him!]

The text on the screen ended there. Zi Liang glanced nervously at Fatty. "Brother Fatty, this class log seems to be about the mysterious disappearance of people in a class…"

Moreover, the class log specifically mentioned the name "Chu Hang."

Fatty nodded. "Since this person was specifically named, we should focus our investigation on him."

"Since this is a roll call book from years ago," Zi Liang paused, "Chu Hang should have graduated long ago, or at the very least, he'd be in his third year of high school."

Fatty glanced at the wall clock. "Don't worry. Since this item specifically mentioned Chu Hang, he must have left some clues in this school. Didn't the book say you could see the numbers one and eight?"

Hearing this, Zi Liang looked down at his phone screen. "Yes, those two numbers are there. Combined... could it be First Year, Class Eight?"

"It's unlikely to be Year Eight, Class One," Fatty mused for a moment, "or First Year, Class Eighteen, or First Year, Class Twenty-eight, and so on. Though, I doubt there's a Class Twenty-eight in the first year here."

As he spoke, Fatty looked towards the office door. "Anyway, let's find First Year, Class Eight first and take a look. We might discover something."

Saying this, he started pulling Zi Liang towards the door.

By this time, Zi Liang had already put the roll call book into his little character's backpack.

Although the roll call book existed in the game's office, it wasn't there in reality. There wasn't even a single piece of paper in the actual office, let alone a roll call book. The cabinet was covered with a thin layer of dust; it seemed nothing had been placed there for some time.

Just then, Zi Liang noticed that Fatty, who was still pulling him, had suddenly stopped.

He looked at Fatty in confusion, only to see him staring at the door with a strange, somewhat terrified expression.

Zi Liang turned to look as well.

The office door had been stealthily pushed open a crack at some unknown point, and now a pair of terrifying eyes was peeking at them through the gap.

For a moment, Zi Liang was ready to jump out the window to escape.

But this was the ground floor, and the burglar-proof bars were solidly welded to the window frames, making it impossible for anyone to get through.

Fatty stumbled back several steps, swallowed hard, and kept his eyes glued to the eyes outside the door.

Normally, in a situation like this, they should have turned and fled immediately, but they were trapped in the office with no way out.

Fortunately, the eyes outside showed no intention of entering. After just two seconds, the terrifying eyes vanished from the doorway. The two inside the office waited a few more seconds before daring to move slightly.

Zi Liang gripped his phone tightly. "Brother Fatty, that thing's gone, right?"

Fatty nodded nervously. "Yeah, gone."

As he spoke, he didn't forget to glance down at his game screen. It showed no changes; the game hadn't mentioned the terrifying eyes at all.

Strange. The game had always given a warning the previous times a ghost appeared.

Zi Liang moved closer to Fatty and said, "Brother Fatty, look. So far, in our game screens, besides our own characters and ghosts, no other characters have appeared."

No matter how many classmates they'd brushed past, the only characters on screen had always been just them.

Zi Liang continued his analysis, "Since only we and ghosts have appeared in the game so far, and that thing peeking at us just now didn't show up in the game, doesn't that mean it isn't a ghost?"

Fatty clapped his hands. "That's a good point! Since the game screen has only ever shown us and ghosts, then by that logic, wouldn't we be ghosts too?"

Zi Liang looked at Fatty silently. "Why does your tone make me feel like you're mocking me?"

Fatty puffed out his chest slightly. "Not at all!"

After puffing out his chest, Fatty craned his neck again to look towards the door. Just then, a gust of wind blew in from the window, pushing the door open a little wider.

It seemed there was nothing outside.

Seeing this, the two of them stealthily pushed the door open and slipped out into the hallway. The "open-door kill" common in horror stories didn't happen, and they were safe for the moment.

Zi Liang even craned his neck, looking around, apparently trying to see where the thing that had been watching them had gone.

Fatty patted him. "Stop looking around. Class Eight should be on the top floor, or the one just below it. We still have to climb."

Climbing stairs on such a hot day was no pleasant experience, but the two of them had to keep forcing themselves upward.

「Meanwhile, in the art gallery, Willow not supporting wind discovered another [Strange Painting].」