Chapter 6: A Leap Into Death (New Book—Please Add to Favorites and Recommend)

Zhang Xiaofan stood up, his face pale. Although he had long expected that most people would target him this time, when the moment actually arrived, he couldn’t help but tremble. Of course, there were also quite a few people looking at him with pity, as if they could already see the scene of Zhang Xiaofan falling and shattering his skull.

“What should we do now?” Hu Xiaotian said worriedly.

“This is at least eight or nine meters high,” Jiang Kaiwei sighed.

“Yes, and worst of all, the ground is concrete—so hard…” Sun Lili, who sat next to Jiang Kaiwei, shook her head.

Hearing Sun Lili’s words, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly looked up, a glimmer of hope breaking through his pallor. He turned to her and asked, “What did you just say?”

Sun Lili was startled. “I said, the worst part is… the concrete ground.”

Zhang Xiaofan burst into laughter.

“Ah, a final burst of energy before death—my grandfather laughed three times before he died,” a student muttered, shaking his head.

“Zhang Xiaofan, what’s wrong with you?” Hu Xiaotian asked.

Casting a sharp glance around the classroom, Zhang Xiaofan said coldly, “I have an idea.” Without another word, he pulled Hu Xiaotian and several dormmates straight out of the classroom.

“Has he gone mad?”

“Who knows? He’s about to jump—maybe he’s just been scared out of his wits.”

While his classmates were chattering away, Zhang Xiaofan, Hu Xiaotian, and a few others returned from the gym, carrying several thick mats with them. They stacked the mats high, measuring over a meter.

Without a word, Zhang Xiaofan climbed up and jumped straight out the window.

Bang!

He landed in a jumble, and a chorus of gasps rose around him.

He got up, and Hu Xiaotian and the others rushed over. “Are you okay?”

Zhang Xiaofan shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“That’s great! Bao Lei just texted—you’ve passed the challenge,” Sun Lili said, holding her phone.

“Zhang Xiaofan, you’re a genius. You actually thought of this,” Jiang Kaiwei exclaimed.

“It was Lili who reminded me,” Zhang Xiaofan replied. “She mentioned the concrete ground, and I immediately realized—if the ground became soft, I could jump and complete the task without dying.”

“Hmph. Just a bit of cleverness,” Song Feng said sourly.

Zhang Xiaofan ignored him and returned to the classroom with his friends, surrounded by admiring looks. After all, in that situation, not many would have thought of such a solution on the spot—most would have been too frightened to think at all. Zhang Xiaofan not only came up with the idea but dared to carry it out.

Shen Fengxing walked up to the podium again, his tone heavy. “If this goes on, I’m afraid this game will kill us all.”

“Yes, this red packet was sent by Sun Yang. I suggest we go to his house,” Su Qianqian proposed, standing up.

At her words, the class responded eagerly.

“That’s right, Sun Yang sent the red packet—he must want us dead. Let’s go to his house.”

“But where does he live?”

“It’s in the class roster. But who’s going? What if Sun Yang is a ghost?”

At that, no one dared volunteer.

“A bunch of cowards. If you won’t go, we will,” Wang Hu snorted, standing up. “Follow me.”

His cronies promptly followed, and the group marched out of the classroom. At a time like this, no one could focus on studying, and the teachers had stopped caring about their class, so no one objected as Wang Hu and his gang skipped class.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaofan whispered to Hu Xiaotian, “This can’t go on. If this game continues, next time it could be one of us.”

“So what do we do?” Hu Xiaotian asked.

“This haunting at the school must be related to something from the past. We need to look into the school’s history—find some clues,” Zhang Xiaofan said.

“But all the school’s records are in the archives. We can’t get in there, can we?”

Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Su Qianqian, who wasn’t far away. “Su Qianqian is the class secretary—she’s managed the library for the teachers. The library and archives are on the same floor, and the keys are kept together. I bet she has a key.”

“I’ll call her over,” Hu Xiaotian said, waving Su Qianqian over.

Su Qianqian, her delicate features showing confusion, walked over. “What’s up?”

Zhang Xiaofan explained their plan. “We just want to take a look. Maybe we’ll find a clue.”

“I’ll think about it,” she replied hesitantly.

Zhang Xiaofan nodded. Later that afternoon, Wang Hu and his followers returned, their faces dark.

“How did it go?” Song Feng asked.

“The door was locked—we couldn’t get in,” Wang Hu replied.

“But it’s broad daylight. If he’s not at school and not at home, where is he?” Murong Feng frowned.

“Maybe we should try again tonight, when his parents are home,” a student suggested.

“At night? Are you stupid? What if it’s haunted? Ghosts are even stronger at night.”

The students argued heatedly, but by dismissal, they still had no plan.

Back in his dorm, Zhang Xiaofan sat on his bed, his mind full of the red packet game from the past two days.

Is Sun Yang even human, or is he a ghost? Why is he killing people? And what’s the purpose of those underworld wallets and ghost coins we’re collecting?

These questions tormented him, making him restless.

Am I going to die too? The thought weighed on him, and he couldn’t help but take out his photo album, turning to the first page—a portrait of his grandfather.

Zhang Xiaofan had lost his parents young and was raised solely by his grandfather. He’d once hoped, after graduation, to repay him with filial devotion, but now, faced with this nightmare, he couldn’t imagine how heartbroken his grandfather would be if he died.

He glanced down, and suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed his right eye—an old injury from a year ago, when he’d been knocked unconscious. Since then, his right eye often ached for no reason.

When he opened his eyes again, Zhang Xiaofan’s pupils contracted, his hand trembling so hard the album nearly slipped from his grasp.

In the corner was a photograph taken by their teacher on the first day the whole class entered the school. At first, nothing seemed amiss. But then he spotted Ma Xiaoshu, Guan Dongtian, Bao Lei, and Yao Xiaoqing—the students who had died. His gaze froze.

All the other students in the photo looked healthy, but these four were deathly pale. Most disturbing, their eyes were completely black, with no whites at all, and they wore twisted grins, sneering coldly at Zhang Xiaofan.

Those who die become dead people even in photographs.

A chill ran down Zhang Xiaofan’s spine. He had to find a way out—there had to be a way to break the red packet group’s game.

That night, the nightmare came again. He dreamed of battling a horde of monstrous beasts. He was incredibly powerful, easily holding his own even as they surrounded him. Suddenly, he woke with a start—it was already daylight.

He and his roommates went to class. After the teacher told them to study on their own, he left immediately, clearly having lost interest in managing this class.

“The red packets are here!” As soon as the teacher left, a student announced in terror, holding up his phone.

“Everyone grab one. Yesterday proved that if you don’t, there’s a punishment,” Shen Fengxing said.

Everyone scrambled for red packets. Zhang Xiaofan managed to get eighteen yuan this time. He quickly checked who had gotten the most.

He was stunned—two people had gotten exactly the same amount, and both were girls: Chen Jing and Zhang Hua.

He himself had tied with Zhou Liping.

Bao Lei: Two options have appeared.

Option one: Zhang Xiaofan must have relations with Chen Jing within two hours. If not completed, Chen Jing dies.

Option two: Zhang Hua and Zhou Liping must have relations within two hours. If not completed, Zhang Hua dies.

It’s because Chen Jing and Zhang Hua got the same amount that there are two options?

Yes, and the task is actually to make them do this?

Looks like Zhang Xiaofan just got lucky.