This is a bizarre rule, isn't it? It's supposed to grant me many children and good fortune

The next second, everyone's breath caught in their throats.

Beneath that bluish-black skin, something was moving.

A small lump first swells up on the skin, then disappears in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, another lump rose up and slowly moved under the skin.

"It moved...it moved..."

Tasia's pupils suddenly contracted, and his voice was filled with horror.

The dormitory fell silent instantly.

No one knew whether this strange object would completely mutate and break through the skin and flesh, and they were even more afraid that it would suddenly erupt in the middle of the night, dragging everyone in the room into danger.

Park Tae-rang trembled uncontrollably, his voice trembling with tears:

"Help...help me."

Lin Feng took out a tube of ointment from his personal space, bent down, and carefully applied it to Park Tae-rang's injured ankle with a cotton swab.

A few seconds later, the subcutaneous pulsation gradually slowed down and finally stopped completely.

Park Tae-rang's stiff back slowly slumped down, he let out a heavy breath, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He tried moving his ankle, and the pain lessened considerably.

He turned to look in the mirror again, and his reflection showed that his movements were exactly the same as in reality, which eased his anxiety a little.

No one noticed that Lin Feng was looking down as he slowly tightened the cap on the tube of ointment in his hand.

He knew very well that the thing was just being suppressed, like a stone temporarily covering an anthill.

Once the effects of the medicine wear off, the abnormal activity below will resurface, and it will only intensify.

........................

Meanwhile, in room 304, the candlelight was dim.

Five Black men sat on the edge of their respective beds. Kuna Kazuko curled up on the innermost bed, hugging her knees with her arms, shrinking into a small ball, trying her best to minimize her presence.

Bald Marcus rubbed his forehead, glanced at the window, and grinned with a relieved expression.

"Luckily we drew rooms on the south side. If we had drawn rooms on the north side, we would have frozen to death tonight."

Several young Black men nodded in agreement.

Someone suggested that we go to the bathroom to take a shower.

Marcus waved his hand, his tone very practical:

"Why wash? It's not hot now! Besides—"

"You never know what you might encounter while showering. If you're not already contaminated, don't go looking for trouble and risk your life."

After listening, everyone agreed wholeheartedly.

After Marcus finished speaking, he turned his head, his gaze falling on Kuna Kazuko. He softened his tone and spoke in as gentle a voice as possible:

"Miss Kazuko, you don't need to worry."

"We are all Black, but we are all law-abiding citizens and will not take advantage of others."

"You can rest peacefully tonight; no one will disturb you."

He spoke sincerely, and several of his companions nodded in agreement.

Kana Kazuko slowly raised her head, glanced quickly at Marcus, nodded slightly, and made a very soft whisper:

"Um."

Seeing that Kana Hoko had no intention of speaking, the other five people began to chat quietly among themselves.

They talked about their origins and nervously guessed the outcome of this unknown trial.

After chatting for about half an hour, Kane from Gana let out a lazy yawn.

He casually turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the room, and unintentionally landed on the mirror opposite the bed.

Kane just wanted to check if his hair was messy.

Then he froze.

In the mirror, his reflection was facing him—slowly tilting his head.

But he himself didn't move at all.

Kane blinked, thinking it was just an illusion caused by the flickering candlelight.

This time, Kane in the mirror had completely broken free from his movements.

His head tilted to the right, and he grinned, revealing an extremely exaggerated smile.

The pupils in those eyes had shrunk to pinpoints, staring intently at Kane himself outside the mirror.

Kane sprang back and fell off the bed to the floor.

"The mirror—something's wrong with the person in the mirror!!"

His voice changed, and his finger pointing at the mirror trembled uncontrollably.

"You're contaminated!" Marcus's face darkened. "According to Rule Four, you need to take a shower immediately!"

Kane's eyes were filled with fear, but he knew this was not the time to hesitate.

He nodded vigorously, got up from the ground, and ran towards the door.

Marcus took two steps to catch up, raised his hand and patted him hard on the shoulder: "I'll go with you and watch the candles for you."

The two pushed open the door, and their figures quickly disappeared into the swaying shadows of the corridor.

After the door was closed again, the three remaining Black men looked at each other, their faces filled with barely suppressed tension and fear.

Meanwhile, in the corner, Kana Kako's gaze fell on the mirror opposite.

The reflection of Kana Kazuko in the mirror was facing her, and she didn't make any different movements.

Kana Kazuko breathed a sigh of relief.

........................

Marcus and Kane stepped into the bathroom at the end of the corridor, one after the other.

The three candles on the candlestick burned steadily.

Marcus reached out to test the height of the candlestick, making sure it could shield the flame at any moment, then gestured with his chin toward the shower:

"Go in. Don't draw the curtain all the way closed, leave a crack so I can keep an eye on you."

Kane nodded, then slipped behind the curtain and went inside.

Marcus added, "Remember, whatever you do, don't look at the drain hole!"

"I know," Kane replied, reaching out to pull off the brass ring.

"Splash—"

Cold water poured from the beast's mouth, drenching Kane.

He shuddered, let out a muffled groan, and then quickly began to scrub.

The water gurgled and splashed on the stone surface, then flowed along the grooves to the central cast iron grille, and into the depths of the dark drainage hole.

About three minutes into the shower, a gust of cold wind suddenly rushed in through the window, swirling and sweeping across the entire bathroom.

"call--"

The candle flame tilted violently to one side, almost flattening the flame into a horizontal line.

Marcus hurriedly cupped his hands around the flames, but the wind was too strong, and the outermost of the three candles was blown out with a "poof," leaving the remaining two teetering precariously.

Marcus cursed, hurriedly took the candlestick off, pressed it tightly against his chest, and then abruptly turned around, using his back to block the cold air from entering.

A few seconds later, the sudden, eerie wind gradually subsided, and the room returned to deathly silence.

Marcus caught his breath, turned and called into the shower, "Kane! Are you alright?"

Amidst the rushing water, Kane's voice came through the curtain, sounding somewhat muffled: "It's alright!"

Marcus breathed a sigh of relief and was about to turn around and hang the candlestick back on the wall—

Suddenly, a stench-laden, putrid wind shot out from the depths of the latrine and hit Marcus directly in the face.

"vomit--"

Marcus's nose was filled with the smell, his stomach churned, and he couldn't help but bend over and dry heave.

The hand protecting the candlestick trembled violently.

Just as he lost his balance, the evil wind slipped in and, with two "poof" sounds, extinguished the remaining two candles.

Darkness instantly engulfed the entire bathroom...