Supernatural and Paranormal Research Society

The moment the words left his mouth, the reflection in the mirror froze.

It was as if some rule or taboo had been triggered, forcing a freeze.

Immediately afterwards, the air pressure in the entire bathroom suddenly dropped.

The air was as thick as mercury, making Chen Haoran feel suffocated in his chest and his eardrums buzz.

He tried desperately to back away, to move towards the doorway.

But his legs felt like they were stuck in cement, and he couldn't even bend his toes.

"Giggle giggle..."

Laughter seeped from the depths of the mirror.

Like the slow, scraping friction of a decaying blade against bone.

Chen Haoran shuddered, goosebumps instantly spreading across his arms.

He gritted his teeth, cold sweat dripping from his forehead onto the edge of the sink, spreading into dark water stains.

"My husband and I were married on that day, with red silk tying our bones and drinking from each other's cups... why bother with such formalities today, asking who I am?"

The ghost bride spoke softly, her words like icicles striking the ground:

"I knew it... You men's mouths are always sewn with lies."

They say all sorts of nice things, like living the high life, and promising to be by your side through thick and thin... but in the end, they just think I'm bad luck and avoid you, afraid to acknowledge you."

Her tone gradually rose, the melancholy fading away, leaving only a century of pent-up resentment and madness:

"You...you're all liars! Liars!"

The moment the last word was uttered, she suddenly let out a sharp wail!

"ah--!!!"

The sound waves were so powerful they slammed against the bathroom walls, making the mirrors vibrate and hum.

The temperature plummeted below freezing, and the cold wind transformed into invisible blades, scraping across Chen Haoran's cheeks, neck, and the back of his hands.

There was no bleeding, but it left behind streaks of frost-like white marks.

The skin and flesh instantly lost sensation, followed by excruciating pain, like countless ice needles piercing the nerves at the same time.

Chen Haoran's vision went black for a moment, his ears rang, and a metallic sweetness suddenly welled up in his throat.

He clenched his teeth, swallowed the blood, his chest heaving violently, and finally managed to squeeze out a broken plea through his teeth:

"Help...help me..."

The sound was as soft as a sigh, and it was shattered by the cold wind as soon as it was uttered.

"puff."

The last candle in the bathroom went out without warning.

Darkness, like thick ink, crashed down upon us.

The thick, suffocating darkness seemed to swallow even the light.

The hum of the exhaust fan, the dripping of the water pipes, and even his own heartbeat were all instantly sucked away.

Only deathly silence remained.

The live stream screen went completely black.

Only at the bottom of the player, a barely perceptible hissing electrical noise could be heard.

The live chat went completely silent.

After a good ten seconds, someone tentatively typed a line of text:

[Did the streamer just scream for help?]

"Holy crap, don't scare me... this is eerily dark."

Is it a device malfunction? Switch the feed quickly!

The live stream room was quiet.

No one responded.

There was only darkness, and the faint, extremely soft sound of fabric rubbing against each other that could be heard from within it.

……

Outside.

Li Lingyun stared intently at her phone screen, her brows furrowed in a deep frown.

This part was definitely not in the script they had agreed upon beforehand.

What is Chen Haoran's current situation?

A sudden, whimsical idea for an immersive prank?

still is……

He suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the tightly closed bathroom door.

No light shone through the crack in the door.

Only a chilly air current was seeping out.

Standing in the corridor, Li Lingyun couldn't help but shiver.

In the middle of summer, this temperature is abnormally low.

His breathing gradually quickened, his Adam's apple bobbed, and several times he reached for the doorknob, but his fingertips froze in mid-air.

What if... there really is something inside?

He swallowed hard, suppressing the pounding in his heart, and tentatively knocked on the door, then cleared his throat:

"Hao? Is the equipment alright? Say something."

no respond.

Only deathly silence.

It's exactly the same as in the live stream.

Li Lingyun looked at the closed door, then looked down at the screen.

The comments section has completely exploded:

Why hasn't the streamer made a move yet? Could something have really happened to them?

[Call the police! Call the police quickly! Something's wrong!]

That cry for help just now was so realistic... my back is completely soaked.

Panic spread like wildfire in the comments section. Li Lingyun finally gritted her teeth and placed her fingers on the cold doorknob.

The metallic touch is piercing.

He took a deep breath and pressed down hard—

"Click".

The door lock popped open by itself.

Li Lingyun was so startled that he took a half step back and blurted out, "Holy shit!"

He looked up.

Chen Haoran stood at the door.

The dim light of the corridor fell on him, illuminating a face that was so calm it was almost eerie.

There was no fear, no sweat, and even his breathing was so steady that there was no visible rise or fall.

The near-collapse fear I felt in the live stream just now seemed to have been severed with a single stroke, vanishing without a trace.

"Ah Hao, what are you doing?!"

Li Lingyun, still shaken, spoke curtly:

"You've been so quiet the whole time, who are you trying to scare to death by suddenly opening the door?"

Chen Haoran had done something like this before.

Every time he gets scolded, he grins, rubs his hair, and says, "I won't do it again next time."

This time, however, Chen Haoran merely glanced at him indifferently.

His eyes were very calm.

It was as still as an ancient well without ripples, reflecting neither the light of the corridor nor the warmth of living people.

He didn't speak, but silently lifted his foot and stepped over the threshold.

"Hey! You—"

Li Lingyun subconsciously reached out to grab his arm.

The moment my fingertips touched Chen Haoran's wrist.

"hiss!"

Li Lingyun jerked his hand back as if he had been struck by a high-voltage electric shock. His entire arm went numb instantly, and even his fingertips felt a chilling, tingling sensation.

That bottomless chill seeped straight into his bones from the point of contact, making his stomach churn violently.

He staggered backward, his back slamming against the wall, his pupils contracting violently.

Chen Haoran stopped in his tracks.

He slowly turned his head.

The corridor lights cast a very faint shadow on his profile.

The shadow was a full size smaller than a normal person's, with blurred edges, like ink stains soaked in water, and was shrinking inward at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

He looked at Li Lingyun's pale face, his lips moved slightly, and his voice remained steady without any inflection:

"It's nothing. The candle just went out."

He paused, and the corner of his eye twitched upwards very slightly.

That curve was so unfamiliar it made my heart pound.

"I am fine."

Li Lingyun looked at Chen Haoran with surprise and doubt.

Chen Haoran acted as if nothing had happened and walked straight into the house.

He climbed straight up to the top bunk, without lifting the blanket, and lay flat on the bed.

His posture was stiff, and the angles of his limbs were arranged with an indescribable regularity, like a body that had been carelessly placed.

Something's not right.

Something's really wrong.

Li Lingyun knows Chen Haoran too well.

This person is a ruthless individual who treats live streaming like his life depends on it. Even when he has a high fever, he will force himself to end the broadcast to thank the viewers for their gifts.

The live stream is still on, with over 30,000 viewers online and the chat is flooded with comments. How could he possibly just fall asleep like that?

They didn't even take away the phone stand.

"Hiro?"

Li Lingyun tentatively called out.

The sound echoed in the empty dormitory room, then dispersed.

There was no response from the person in the upper bunk.

Only long, steady, even overly uniform breathing sounds could be heard.

One beat after another, like the pendulum of an old-fashioned clock, so precise that there is no slight tremor that a living person should have.

Li Lingyun's Adam's apple bobbed.

He gritted his teeth, grabbed his phone from the table, and braced himself as he went into the bathroom.

The moment the door was pushed open, a blast of cold air hit me.