A bitter smile flickered across Chen Mo's face. Wide awake with no trace of sleep, he propped himself up from the edge of the bed and picked up the cup of water placed nearby.
The tea had gone completely cold, its original fragrance long gone, replaced by a hint of bitterness. Yet, this sensation oddly sharpened his mind, and his nerves gradually eased from their earlier tension.
Over two months had passed since the terrifying experience at the amusement park. Chen Mo wasn't entirely unprepared for a new story mission, but the preview for this one was unexpectedly puzzling and unsettling.
Judging from the visuals, was this story somehow related to games?
Beyond that, the time limit for this story was unprecedented—a full month. Seven people, an entire month. Did this mean the horror story ahead would be more complex than any he had faced before?
Dingdong, dingdong.
With the release of the new story, the horror chat group sprang back to life.
This story had the most participants Chen Mo had ever encountered. Though Li Yan and Fatty weren't selected, a familiar name appeared: Lin Tianheng, the young man he had met in the "studio."
Like Chen Mo, he was a listener who had survived one story.
Then there was Dai Minghan, who, according to Li Yan, had survived two stories.
As for the rest, most seemed to be recent additions to the radio station over the past two months.
After learning the basic information about all participants, two more days passed, and the story finally reached its opening scene!
---
"Teacher Chen?"
"Teacher Chen!"
A voice from behind snapped Chen Mo back to reality.
Three days had passed since receiving the new horror story preview and entering this supernatural world's Changteng High School, yet the participants still had no leads.
Compared to the tense, murderous pace of the previous story, this one felt to Chen Mo like filming a youthful idol drama.
The lush campus, the sound of reading aloud, the peaceful days—not only did it remind him of his own student years, but it also baffled the other participants.
Over the past three days, despite their probing questions, they had uncovered no clues about the story's main thread.
Changteng High School seemed like an ordinary school. Not only were there no student death cases as the participants had speculated, but even fights and brawls were rare.
Naturally, no so-called urban legends circulated among the students.
Hearing the call behind him, Chen Mo stopped and turned to see a girl chasing after him: "Duan Xue, it's you."
There were seven participants in this story world. Among them, Duan Xue was the only female listener, and a newcomer who had joined the station just a month ago.
"Teacher Chen, um... can I ask you something?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Seeing the barely concealed tension on Duan Xue's face, Chen Mo deliberately wore a calm and composed expression. Her nervousness seemed perfectly normal to him—after all, this was a supernatural world with murderous ghosts. Every newcomer had to endure a long struggle before accepting reality and pulling themselves together.
The sooner one adapted to the story's rhythm, the better their chances of survival. Chen Mo didn't bother explaining this; he believed the girl beside him could sense it herself.
In this story, Duan Xue, along with Lin Tianheng, Ye Sheng, and Li Kai, were all assigned roles as Changteng High School students. However, they weren't placed in the same class. Li Kai was in first year, Duan Xue and Ye Sheng in second year, and Lin Tianheng, unluckily, was stuck in the most grueling third year.
As for Feng Wenxuan, Chen Mo, and Dai Minghan, they entered the story as teachers. Dai Minghan, in particular, took the opportunity to vent his frustration with the station by piling on homework, taking it out on the innocent students.
Perhaps Chen Mo's calm smile offered some comfort to Duan Xue, as the tension on her face gradually eased.
"Teacher Chen, is this place we're in really a world with vengeful spirits?"
"Yes, you'd better not have any doubts or wishful thinking about that."
Seeing the panic flash across her face, Chen Mo smiled slightly. "But don't be too nervous either. If something really happens, those of us with story experience will do our best to look out for you."
Though she had only heard he had completed one official story, the young man before her seemed to have a decent reputation in that horror group. Thinking this, Duan Xue's expression slowly steadied, though a hint of unease lingered.
"I'll rely on you then, Teacher Chen..."
Chen Mo nodded, about to say something more to reassure her, when suddenly a loud noise reached their ears—someone was shouting angrily.
They then noticed three or four students standing in the hallway outside the faculty office, heads drooping like defeated roosters, enduring a storm of scolding.
Pausing to listen, Chen Mo and Duan Xue couldn't help but smile wryly. The criticism was about these kids being addicted to games and failing to finish their homework, provoking the teacher's frustrated outburst.
But then again, what kid these days didn't love gaming? Games like Honor of Kings or PUBG—though Chen Mo had no time or inclination to play, he knew a bit about them. Seeing the boys' dejected looks, he couldn't help but step in to say a few words.
With another teacher intervening, the irate teacher couldn't keep going, but still harshly assigned several more test papers until the boys reluctantly agreed. Just as they were about to make a break for it, the teacher suddenly remembered something and called them back: "Wait, I knew someone was missing. Where's Zhou Xiaomi?"
The boys exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Teacher, Zhou Xiaomi didn't come to class today."
"Didn't come again?" The teacher looked surprised and annoyed. "How many days has he been absent? Is he planning to skip college? Do you know what's going on?"
"Teacher, we don't know either."
Probably not close to "Zhou Xiaomi," the students just shrugged and shook their heads.
Seeing he wouldn't get much out of them, the teacher waved them off with an apologetic smile at Chen Mo. "These brats are a real headache. Sorry you had to see that, Teacher Chen."
"No problem, I actually find the kids quite interesting," Chen Mo replied with a smile. "But about that student Zhou Xiaomi you mentioned—what's the story?"
At this, the teacher sighed, worry etched on his face.
"I don't know what's going on. That student hasn't shown up for days, even missed the midterm exam the day before yesterday. I suspect he's hooked on games. These mobile games have no sense of social responsibility—kids can't control themselves. We used to talk about internet addiction, but now I think phone addiction is way worse..."
As the teacher grew more agitated, Chen Mo and Duan Xue both felt a jolt. The other had just mentioned... games!
"Is Zhou Xiaomi usually into gaming?"
"Well... not really. His grades were decent..."
"Which class is he in?"
"Class 3, second year. Oh, isn't that the class you teach too, Teacher Chen?"
-- PS, second chapter