My House of Horrors

Shall I go in to take a closer look?

Chen Ge was anxious. Holding the mallet in his hand, he wished desperate to knock the door down to see what was written on the piece of paper.

According to the school forum, five students once broke into Mu Yang High School to play a game of Pen Spirit in the last classroom on a dare. Could the pen and paper have been left behind by them? Chen Ge thought about it and realized that was impossible. According to the post’s description, when the two extra people appeared in the room, the five students were so scared that they escaped as fast as they could. In their desperation to escape, they had to knock over some of the furniture, but all the tables and chairs in the room now were neatly arranged.

Of course, that doesn’t take away from the possibility that after they left, the furniture was rearranged or the speculation that all five were possessed.

Chen Ge put his mallet down and decided to save the classroom for last. After leaving the education block, Chen Ge headed for the dormitory.

The dilapidated squat building had less than a handful of rooms, and he walked around it for a long time before coming across a faded iron sign. The characters on it were smudged, but Chen Ge believed that it once read ‘Second Floor is Female Rooms. No Entry to Males.’

This school sure is shabby.

After removing his raincoat, Chen Ge dabbed at the rain that had seeped into his collar and was about to carry on when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and answered it readily. “He San?”

“Boss, I’ve given my senior your phone number. She said that she would have her father contact you when he’s home.”

“Thank you, is there anything else?”

“Also, that Qin Guang has just started his livestream. Are you sure you’re not going to take a look? He hired an actor to play the killer next door, and his opening and even his analysis were a complete copy of yours. I didn’t even know from where I should start to complain.”

“Let him be then. But when I start my livestream in a bit, remember to come support me.”

“You’re starting a livestream‽” He San’s voice shot up several octaves. Chen Ge was gladdened that he had such a loyal viewer. “Since it has been quite long since my previous livestream, I have something exciting planned this time.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Chen Ge could hear shuffling footsteps several seconds later. He San seemed to have put on his slippers to run around his bedroom to shake every one of his roommates awake. “It’s time to get up to watch the livestream! Yet another bout with death tonight!”

While Chen Ge was thankful for He San’s free promotion, but his words did make him feel a bit weirded out.

After hanging up, Chen Ge opened up the video-sharing app. Qin Guang’s supernatural livestream was heavily promoted on the front page. He clicked on it for a quick look. It was obvious that a full team was behind this production. There was a professional cameraman, and Qin Guang was only responsible for the analysis and looking for clues. Just the comparison of video quality alone could squish Chen Ge like a bug. He definitely could not fault his opponent for having better preparation.

680,000 views. If I had that many views to promote my Haunted House, wouldn’t the whole park be filled the next day?

Livestreams and short videos were Chen Ge’s only way of advertisement, and Qin Guang’s featured livestream did point a way for Chen Ge. If he could reach Qin Guang’s level of popularity, then perhaps one day the platform would be willing to use so many resources to support him.

Chen Ge, don’t get too far ahead of yourself for now. Focus on the current goal of surviving tonight first.

He left Qin Guang’s livestream and opened his own. He was stranded at the countryside, so his connection was weak. His livestream video was fuzzy, and there were constant black screens and lag. He could not even see the chat.

My video quality might not be as good as Qin Guang’s, but my content is definitely better than his…

Since he couldn’t see the chat, Chen Ge could not communicate with his viewers. After a brief introduction of Mu Yang High School, he stopped following the livestream. Chen Ge searched through the first floor of the dormitory and came up with nothing, so he moved to the second floor.

“The female dormitory room looks similar to the males’.”

The rooms were filled with textbooks and trash. When the school was closed, most of the stuff inside it was not cleared out. Chen Ge looked through the rooms patiently with his flashlight. When he passed through the fourth bedroom on the second floor, he discovered that there were four chairs placed neatly in a row inside the room, and several pieces of white paper as well as a ballpoint pen were placed on one of the chairs.

“The paper and pen look brand new, so they must have been placed inside the room after the school was closed.”

This was the second time that Chen Ge had come across the combination of paper and pen. The rusted lock was a mere decoration. Chen Ge merely rattled it several times before it fell away.

As the door opened, the smell of mold hit him like a wave. Chen Ge covered his mouth and nose as he walked closer to the chair to look at the pieces of paper.

There were four white papers in total, the first one read—’When will I die?’

The second read—’How will I die?’

The third read—’Who will be the next to die?’

The fourth was completely empty.

The Pen Spirit game?

Chen Ge ransacked the rest of the room to try to come up with some extra info, but most of the stuff had decayed from time.

Since his investigation turned up nothing, Chen Ge turned his focus back on the white paper in the middle of the room. No one could provide an actual explanation behind the Pen Spirit game, but the scientific community stresses that it was reasons like breathing, heartbeat, and blood flow that caused the human body to shiver. A simple human without special training would have their arm move after maintaining them in a constant, elevated position for a long time. This is a natural bodily reaction that has nothing to do with legends of the Pen Spirit.

Chen Ge placed the phone on the bed and made sure himself and the four chairs were all within view.

Since I need to complete all four side missions at Mu Yang High School, might as well start with this one.

He turned to close the bedroom door. He stood and hesitated for four minutes before sitting down and picking up the ballpoint pen.

Internally, he told himself not to worry. Chen Ge placed the doll in his chest pocket, and with his right hand holding the pen and left hand holding the mallet, he started the game of Pen Spirit.

He tried to remember as many details from the thread that he had read earlier. He raised his arm slightly and straightened the pen so that the tip of the pen touched the white paper. He closed his eyes and started to chant.

“Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, you are my spirit from my previous life, and I am your spirit in this life. If you are with us, please draw a circle on the paper.”

After chanting, Chen Ge tried to make himself calm down. His arm was suspended over the paper, his body frozen.

The rain outside the window continued to fall. The school that was swallowed by the night started to shift imperceptibly.

The moldy smell in the room dispersed, and a cold draft of an unknown origin lifted the white paper on the chair slightly. Not long after that, Chen Ge’s eyes flew open. He had just felt someone grip his hand.

Chen Ge stared closely at his right hand while his left hand tightened over the mallet. He would strike the moment things went wrong.