Overnight, nothing happened. It seemed that after a peak wave of ghostly attacks, the story had entered a relatively calm buffer period.
Using their phone maps to search, Chen Mo and Dai Minghan quickly located the so-called North City No. 3 High School. Unlike the private Changteng High School, North City No. 3 was a very ordinary public school. After an hour-long bus ride, Chen Mo and Dai Minghan stood at the school’s entrance.
Although it was the weekend, there were still some students on campus playing ball on the court or reading in small groups under the trees. Dai Minghan once again pulled out that "real fake ID" and entered the campus without any trouble.
Even though the students were on break, a few teachers were still busy in the office. When they saw the two "uninvited guests," they all looked up, surprise showing on their faces. However, when Dai Minghan flashed that "real fake ID" again, they paused for a moment. Then, one of the teachers, who seemed to be a grade-level director, stood up with a smile.
"So you’re colleagues from the Education Bureau. Please, have a seat. Um... I’ll go notify the school leadership right away."
"No need to trouble yourself," Chen Mo said with a smile. "We’re just here to look into the specifics of a certain matter."
"Oh? What matter would you like to know about?" The teacher’s face immediately showed a hint of nervousness and tension, clearly convinced by the prop’s effect of their identities.
"Has anything unusual happened recently at North City No. 3 High School, like students going missing?"
"Students going missing?" The teacher’s expression shifted. At the same time, Chen Mo noticed that the other teachers in the office exchanged glances, their faces showing complex emotions.
From the sudden change in the teachers’ expressions, Chen Mo could tell that something must have happened to those two male students.
"It’s like this..." The teacher’s face grew serious. "In our school’s Class 5, Grade 11, two students have indeed been absent from class. Let Teacher Zhang, their homeroom teacher, explain the details."
From Teacher Zhang, the homeroom teacher, Chen Mo and Dai Minghan finally learned the full story.
About three weeks ago, in Class 5, Grade 11, a male student had started taking consecutive leaves of absence and stopped coming to school. The school had called his parents to ask about the situation and urge him to attend, and at first, the calls went through. However, the parents said they were helpless about their child’s condition and asked if he had been showing signs of gaming addiction at school. Later, even the calls went unanswered. Not long after, news spread that the entire family had "disappeared." Everything in their home was intact, but the family of three had seemingly left without a trace, including the student.
What was even more peculiar was that this wasn’t the only incident. Shortly after, another male student from the same class refused to attend school, and soon, he and his family also vanished under mysterious circumstances.
"Something like this happening is truly regrettable for our school. However, after an internal investigation, we’ve confirmed it has nothing to do with the teachers’ education methods. We’ve also implemented corrective measures regarding this incident..."
Dai Minghan cut him off with a wave. "Do you have any other leads on the students’ disappearances?"
"You’re asking about this...?" The teacher frowned, seeming a bit puzzled, but under the powerful effect of the prop, she didn’t suspect much. Still, the information she could provide was very limited.
Just hearing about the two students’ successive "disappearances," Chen Mo and Dai Minghan could basically conclude that those two students who had entered the old house were likely in grave danger. Not only they themselves, but even their families hadn’t been spared. This showed that the curse’s power in this story was incredibly strong!
However, because the two students and their families had collectively "disappeared," the trail Chen Mo wanted to follow was cut off again. The red gaming console he had seen in his "dream" was now lost without a trace.
Just as Chen Mo was feeling a bit frustrated, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that the call was from Ye Sheng. Pressing the answer button, he immediately heard the other’s slightly excited voice.
"Chen Mo, I found it!"
"Found what?"
"Something related to that cursed game. Come back and take a look!"
Chen Mo’s heart tightened. "Dai Minghan and I will be right back. You guys... stay safe!"
"Got it."
Chen Mo hung up. From his expression, Dai Minghan could tell that Ye Sheng had made a new discovery. Without saying much, the two quickly walked out of the school, hailed a taxi, and rushed straight back to Changteng High School!
"No way, so that’s how it is..."
Staring at an open document on the screen, Ye Sheng and Li Kai were both filled with shock. Even Lin Hengtian, who was usually joking around, had dropped his playful demeanor.
The document read—
"July 18, 2011. Less than three weeks until the game’s release, but during testing, another accident occurred, resulting in the mysterious death of a tester..."
This wasn’t the first case of a tester’s death they had seen. In fact, the three of them hadn’t rested all night; they had been combing through these hidden files. What was even more terrifying was that when they opened these logs arranged in chronological order, they uncovered a horrifying truth.
In this game project that RinZ had poured all its efforts into, staff deaths kept occurring. At first, everyone thought it was just coincidence or accident. But as time passed, the number of deaths increased, and the incidents grew more frequent. The game’s developers finally realized something was wrong. By then, however, the game had already caused over 12 deaths, earning it the name "The Cursed Game"!
"July 25, 2011. Only two weeks until the game’s release, but the company’s upper management decided to halt development. Not only that, but the entire project team, including the company itself, suddenly announced its dissolution and closure within a single day!"
"Why did this happen? Why did things turn out this way? There must be some unspeakable secret hidden in all this! But I doubt I’ll ever be able to reveal the truth to the public, because just now, that terrifying sound came from my phone... Yes, I’ve received that game still in testing. I can’t escape anymore. But honestly, I had a feeling weeks ago, because I saw... those deceased colleagues in the game."
"Will anyone believe me if I write this in the work log? Probably not. They’ll say I’m hallucinating, but I know that’s not the case."
-- PS: A new month has begun. The author would like to ask everyone for monthly tickets. As a new writer with a new book, I humbly request your support. Thank you. Please search on WeChat or wait for your invitation.