"The solution to Xu Meiqian's resentment was already given in the story!"
With that, Chen Mo reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled paper—the report card he had found in Xu Meiqian's desk drawer...
"What's this?" Dai Minghan was startled.
"A report card."
"Only, it's one that Chen Mingyuan tampered with."
"Stories never give meaningless items. When this report card appeared in Xu Meiqian's desk drawer, I thought it must hold some significance. Then, after hearing the conversation between Xu Meiqian and Chen Mingyuan, I assumed it was just an item to help us understand the backstory. But that wasn't the whole picture—this report card is also the key to dispelling Xu Meiqian's resentment!"
"Think back. Xu Meiqian's resentment didn't stem from being killed by Chen Mingyuan, but from her grades being altered. So, to get Xu Meiqian's student card, the crucial step is to correct the false grades on this report card—that is... restore Xu Meiqian's first-place ranking!"
However, none of them had a pen on hand, so Chen Mo immediately bit his fingertip and used his blood to smear the number "2" after Xu Meiqian's name, changing it to "1." As for the others' rankings, he simply blotted them out with blood.
Then, holding the report card, he walked toward Xu Meiqian's corpse. The massive ghostly face did not lunge at him.
"Xu Meiqian, we've fixed your grades. Your resentment should fade now."
"Now, can you lend us your student card?"
With that, Chen Mo let go, and the report card drifted down onto Xu Meiqian's body. After a moment, a pale, ghostly hand emerged from the corpse, clutching the third ghost student's card.
"Xu Meiqian, Sun Jingyan, Jiang Xiaohui—three people, no, three ghosts dealt with. Just one left: Chen Jingyue, and we're done."
Having safely obtained the third student card, Dai Minghan let out a huge sigh of relief, but then suddenly remembered something. "Holy crap," he cursed, "what about Lin Tianheng? I almost forgot him! Chen Mo, where did you send him?"
"This..." Chen Mo looked a bit awkward. "I actually don't know either..."
Just then, a ringtone abruptly sounded from Dai Minghan's phone. He answered, and a familiar voice came through the speaker.
"Lin Tianheng?"
Hearing the voice, Dai Minghan brightened instantly. "Bro, you okay? Where are you?"
"I'm fine." Lin Tianheng's voice paused on the phone. "I don't know where I am either, but... the surroundings seem a bit strange..."
"Strange? What do you mean?"
"Here... it's still on campus, I think. A closed room, but it looks abandoned—an old facility. It's very dark, damp, and I can hear water. Hang on..."
Ssshhh, ssshhh. For some reason, static suddenly crackled through the phone. Amid the growing noise, Lin Tianheng's voice came through intermittently.
"And there's a big pool here, filled with water. The floor, the floor's wet too... Wait, this might be..."
Ssshhh, ssshhh. More static erupted. "Where?!" Dai Minghan shouted, only to realize the call had dropped.
"Damn, Lin Tianheng might be in danger, but we need to find where he is first!"
"Right..." Dai Minghan slapped his forehead. "He mentioned in the call that he's in an abandoned room with water!"
An abandoned room? Water?
These two clues suddenly gave Chen Mo a bad feeling. Abandoned rooms and water—both classic elements of paranormal phenomena in horror movies.
An abandoned room with water meant it wasn't in the teaching building. It had to be a derelict structure, with water pooling on the floor, suggesting the building wasn't too tall. Chen Mo quickly walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked out. Under the moonlight, Shizhu Ghost School was surrounded by a sea of black tree shadows. On this side of the playground stood three teaching buildings in a row; on the other side were the library, gym, and dormitories. None looked abandoned or prone to flooding.
A pool, lots of water on the floor...
"Chen Mo, I think of one place," Su Mu suddenly interjected. "Have you noticed? Shizhu High School is an older facility. Dorms like these usually don't have showers for students; they build a separate bathhouse instead."
"You mean... the bathhouse?"
"Right. A damp, enclosed space with a pool—that's exactly what a bathhouse is. Except this one might have been closed off by the school after something happened."
"What if a student had an accident there?"
In Chen Mo's mind, an invisible thread seemed to connect all these events.
"From Xu Meiqian and Chen Mingyuan's conversation, we know Chen Jingyue's death was initially treated as an accident. If the student bathhouse was shut down due to an accident, could that accident be the same as Chen Jingyue's death?"
"Chen Mo, are you serious?" Dai Minghan's face suddenly paled. "You mean Lin Tianheng might be at the spot where Chen Jingyue died? What are the odds?"
"Honestly, I don't know. The teleportation talisman sends you to a random location. Lin Tianheng... maybe he's just that unlucky?"
"I have to warn him to be careful!" Dai Minghan immediately pulled out his phone, but no matter how many times he dialed, he couldn't get a signal.
"Damn, the call won't go through."
"Then we need to find that place fast. Chen Jingyue is definitely the last student ghost in this paranormal mission. In this story, she's the only truly innocent one. She doesn't know what Chen Mingyue did for her behind the scenes, nor about Xu Meiqian's resentment. If Chen Jingyue was drowned in water, her resentment must be terrifying!"
-- PS: Two chapters delivered today. Please support us!