It was 10:10.
Hu Zihao finished using the restroom, accompanied by Han He and Shi Yu. The three said their goodbyes and parted ways, and soon it was lights out in the dormitory.
Han He returned directly to his dorm. As soon as the room went dark, most of Han He's other roommates chose to go to bed, with only two still sitting under their bunks, reading by desk lamp.
Han He sat below, thought for a moment, and pulled a small cat-shaped pouch from his locker.
He carefully unzipped the small cat pouch and took out its contents.
The items inside were meticulously wrapped in oiled paper. Han He placed the oiled paper package on the table and peeled back the layers of oiled paper one by one, quickly revealing what was inside.
There was an ancient-looking small knife, five small branches of different types, a few animal teeth, a few feathers, and two small bottles of liquid. One bottle was clear, while the other looked like old blood. As Han He shook it, the reddish-brown liquid softly licked the glass walls of the bottle.
Han He didn't do anything else; he just glanced to confirm that nothing was missing, then rewrapped them, intending to find a hidden place to act tomorrow.
It was better to be cautious in the dormitory building, Han He thought, and he put the wrapped items into his personal pocket. Then he also went to bed.
Shi Yu, on the other hand, walked around, then chatted with his roommates when he returned to the dorm. He tentatively asked a few questions about the disappearances, only to receive the answer he most feared.
Shi Yu's heart sank.
His dorm was mixed, not entirely composed of students from his own class. When he asked:
"Recently, I've noticed your class's math representative hasn't been going to the teacher's office; the teacher has been taking the math papers themselves.", the other person replied:
"Huh? You must be mistaken. Our class teacher has always taken the papers themselves."
Impossible.
Shi Yu clearly remembered that just a week ago, his roommate had made fun of their class's math representative, saying he was a big sucker for having a lazy teacher, to the point where the math representative had to go pick up even a single pen in advance.
At Han He's reminder, Shi Yu specifically walked around after parting ways with Hu Zihao and Han He, and discovered that several dorm rooms were missing people. The responses from those in the dorms fell into three categories.
"I think they took leave." "I think they're sick."
These responses came from people who were not classmates with the disappeared individuals.
"Huh? There's never been anyone there."
This response came from those who were classmates with the disappeared individuals.
When both types of responses appeared together in a dorm, the entire room would suddenly fall into an eerie silence, then forget the previous question and ask Shi Yu why he was there.
That round of walking scared Shi Yu so much that cold sweat soaked his back.
And those people in his own dorm were in the situation of forgetting the disappeared individuals, because they were classmates.
That Evil's ability was indeed related to memory. And after Yang Desheng appeared, its manipulation in this regard became even more terrifying.
But why were he and Han He unaffected?
Was it because they were special? But Han He aside, he clearly knew he was an Inheritor.
What about himself?
He would ask again tomorrow. As long as he got through tonight safely, he would now place his hopes on Han He and Hu Zihao.
Shi Yu buried his head in his quilt, wanting to be an ostrich once more.
"There's nothing wrong with being an ostrich. Haven't I been one four times already?"
Shi Yu thought this.
"If I'm truly special, then as long as I keep praying not to be targeted, I can somehow make it to Friday, right?"
Shi Yu pulled the quilt tighter.
"Then I'll transfer schools, call the police, and just do what I can, like before, right?"
Shi Yu rubbed his palm.
"But how many more people will have to die then?"
Shi Yu was starting to lose control of his thoughts. He had used his "ability" too many times today. He felt his brain was a chaotic mess, tired, yet too awake to sleep.
He couldn't help but recall the woman from the first time he felt terror.
She cried on the balcony. Her husband died first, and it was said that maggots were burrowing in his corpse. Then came her child, a little girl who had just started second grade. The neighbor auntie said the child was an obedient, good girl who would help her hold open the hallway door.
Finally, it was her. She watched her loved ones' corpses slowly begin to stink, watched the monster gradually approach. She waited for a long time, waiting to live, and finally died.
If he hadn't been too scared to mention it back then, if he had called the police, would that woman have been saved?
He remembered the second time. Shi Yu saw a boy in an alley walking hurriedly, constantly looking back behind him. The young boy saw him; he seemed to want to say something at the time, but he didn't, said nothing at all, just walked very fast with his mouth closed.
Shi Yu heard on the third day that the young man had died, crushed by something unknown. If it weren't for his stylish clothes, his mother wouldn't have been able to recognize him as her son.
If he had done something then, would that boy still have died?
...
Han He couldn't sleep.
Han He lay perfectly straight in bed. He pinched his fingers, counting one by one.
This had been his habit since childhood.
Han He's home was in the mountains. His grandfather often went out, leaving Han He alone.
When he was home alone, Han He didn't know what to do, so he would count the leaves on the trees outside the house.
When his eyes got tired from counting, he would play with his dog for a while.
Sometimes his grandfather would be gone for two days, sometimes three, sometimes longer. Little Han He would count from one to a thousand many, many times until his grandfather returned.
As he grew older, Han He went into the mountains with his grandfather to find some herbs and fruits.
Even older, he learned to catch those that ran, swam, and flew.
At that time, Han He's grandfather taught Han He to be still, to wait, until the opportunity came.
If he could succeed, he would go for it; if not, he would run.
Han He remembered clearly, hiding in the grass and under trees, watching those animals.
He would just count one by one, until the opportunity arrived.
His grandfather praised him as a natural hunter.
Han He didn't speak, just continued counting the numbers.
Just like now.
"Crack—Crunch!!"
The time had come.
Han He sat up instantly, leaping from the upper bunk. The amulet's direction was clear and precise. Han He's fingers brushed his personal pocket; the contents were bulky and pressed against his hand.
He knew tonight would not be peaceful, and he had been straining his ears to listen to the sounds in the corridor, but the result was obvious: he heard nothing.
Fortunately, he had already given the amulet to Hu Zihao in advance. Multiple layers of protection proved their worth at this moment.
Han He was like an agile leopard, incredibly light-footed. Opening the door, turning, and sprinting were all done in one fluid motion. In just a breath, he had already rushed to the front of the washroom.
But that Evil seemed to have sensed his presence. Han He only felt a blur before his eyes, and a cold, lime-like smell rushed into his nostrils. Han He instantly froze his body; his control over his body was excellent, and inertia seemed to be especially lenient with him at this moment.
There appeared to be nothing in front of him. The slowly closing restroom door was right there, waiting for Han He to stop it.
But Han He did not let down his guard. He retreated slightly, pulled a branch from his embrace, and twisted it until it snapped.
"Snap."
As the branch broke, a spreading force emanated from the plant's fracture. Under the effect of this force, a white wall abruptly appeared in front of the seemingly empty space.
That Evil had tampered with his memory, and it also had the ability to disturb people's perceptions.
"Bang."
The washroom door closed behind Han He.
.....
"Bang."
Shi Yu was startled. He sat up.
He felt as if he had just been trapped in a swamp of thoughts, countless ideas swirling in his mind, until the sound of the door closing broke him free.
"What's going on? Who went out?"
A strange tremor rose in Shi Yu's heart.
Shi Yu felt he had the answer in his heart.
Hu Zihao must be in trouble.
Should he go?
Shi Yu pondered this question, even temporarily dispelling other thoughts.
Han He definitely went. He himself had no abilities, so what good would going do?
Shi Yu looked around the dorm. Everyone else was fast asleep, not even snoring.
Dead silence.
As Shi Yu's mind emptied, he again thought of the dead people.
He remembered the distance Hu Zihao deliberately kept when talking to him.
...
Han He kicked the door, extremely fast and viciously, completely exceeding the strength and speed a normal person could exert. The kick ripped through the air and crashed against the door with a boom!
But the dilapidated door showed no signs of budging at all.
The sound of kicking the door was loud, but not a single person was awakened.
That Evil was getting stronger and stronger.
Han He gritted his teeth, pulled out everything from his pocket, arranged the branches, animal teeth, and bird feathers in a specific order, forming a pattern that was square on the outside and triangular on the inside. He opened the bottle of reddish-brown liquid, sprinkled it on the pattern, and muttered incantations. As he spoke, a strange smell emanated from it, reminding one of freshly felled trees.
Then Han He grabbed the doorknob and started pulling with force. The door no longer remained motionless as before, but began to open slightly, though it was far from enough.
Han He gritted his teeth and pulled harder, veins bulging. The words almost fell from between his teeth, each word clanging in the air. The door gradually opened a tiny crack.
And Shi Yu's dorm room suddenly opened. Shi Yu, wearing pajamas, stared blankly at Han He, who was pulling the door, then quickly ran over and helped Han He pull the door.
But Shi Yu's addition was useless; the door remained as tightly shut as a clamped oyster, unwilling to open.
Shi Yu simply let go, giving Han He more space to exert force.
Shi Yu stood there, his mind a constantly expanding ball of mush. He suddenly remembered his ability.
"I'm very lucky."
He had said that before.
"Things I want seem to happen as long as they're not too outrageous."
This was what he had learned after exploring.
Right now, he just wanted the door to open. He thought this.
"I want this door in front of me to open."
The sound of flesh rubbing against metal was grating. Blood dripped from Han He's palm, shattering on the floor, but the door still didn't open.
Shi Yu reached out to the door bolt. He felt as if this was the only thought in his head.
"This door's bolt is going to be torn apart, and the door will open."
Crack!!!
Bang!!!!!
The door bolt suddenly exploded! Various tiny parts scattered everywhere, like countless little stars. Shi Yu saw Hu Zihao fall out of the door.
A dizzying sensation came over him. In this moment of dizziness, Shi Yu suddenly saw a vision: he saw an infinitely high dome, an ineffable deep silence, sounds, curtains, and countless doors. And one of them was slowly opening directly towards him. The door seemed to be adorned with some pattern, and a staircase of ten steps descended from the door, with the last step landing before Shi Yu.
Shi Yu raised his hand and placed it on the step. In that instant, countless chaotic thoughts exploded in his mind, and then, like a flock of birds finding a resting place, they neatly and orderly returned to Shi Yu's mind. Shi Yu felt his thoughts were like a neatly arranged bookshelf, layer by layer, methodically reorganizing. Dazzling specks of light flickered before his eyes, scattered, and then returned to tranquility.
Then he swayed and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
.........
Accompanied by the creaking of a metal ladder being stepped on, Shi Yu woke up.
He tried to twist his body and found himself lying on his dorm bed, neatly tucked in by the quilt, wrapped like a freshly baked bread roll.
Pulling his arms out of the "bread roll," Shi Yu rubbed his eyes. The clock on the wall pointed to 6:05. Shi Yu's nose twitched slightly; he smelled that special scent on the quilt—it was the scent of Han He's ritual.
This was indeed his dorm, so last night.....
Shi Yu sat up, recalling the events of last night, the things he saw before he fainted. Shi Yu felt his own miraculous transformation.
At this moment, Shi Yu felt his mind was incredibly clear, as transparent as newly molded glass. His thoughts were like marbles spit out in Zuma, categorized and eliminated one by one.
It was as if some knowledge had been added to his brain, or rather, some instincts. Shi Yu looked down at his roommate who had just gotten out of bed.
Shi Yu concentrated, looking at his roommate, and silently thought:
"Wang Liang just woke up. He's very thirsty right now, so he'll take out his water bottle, but he needs to wash up, so he's decided to drink that bottle of water when he gets back."
Wang Liang was putting on his shoes. Next to him, a basin and toiletries were neatly arranged; he was going to the washroom to wash up. On the innermost side of the table, a water bottle was placed there.
As soon as Wang Liang tied his shoelaces and stood up, he instinctively reached for the innermost part of the table, laboriously maneuvering around the basin placed on the outside, pulled out the water bottle from inside, then placed it on the outer side of the table, and carried the basin out of the room.
Shi Yu nodded. Then he narrowed his eyes, focusing his attention on the water bottle placed on the outer side of the table.
The water bottle suddenly moved. It smoothly slid towards the inner side of the table, as if an invisible hand was pushing it.
*Note:
The Staircase of Mind Power: First Step: "Coincidence"
"The coincidence I desired, coincidentally happened."
"One coincidence after another, one linked key after another. It opens the door called impossible, and so do I."
