Translator: CinderTL
After briefing Fatty Huai Yi on what to watch out for, Jiang Cheng stood behind the door, listening intently for several minutes. Finding nothing amiss, he slowly opened it.
A blast of icy air rushed in through the crack, as if it had been waiting patiently.
"Brr, it's freezing," Fatty muttered, hugging his arms tightly. "Why did it suddenly get so cold outside?"
Jiang Cheng also sensed something was wrong. While a temperature difference between day and night was normal, this level of chill was excessive, especially since it wasn't raining or snowing.
He didn't immediately step outside. Instead, he stood in the doorway, peering into the darkness. Suddenly, a flicker in his peripheral vision caught his attention. Slowly lowering his gaze, he discovered a puddle of water that hadn't been there moments before.
The dim lighting had obscured the water, explaining why he hadn't noticed it sooner.
"Where did this water come from?" Fatty instinctively looked upward, but Jiang Cheng quickly pressed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, retreated slightly, and then slowly raised his head.
There was no working light directly in front of their door. More precisely, there had been a light fixture, but it was broken. The nearest functioning lamp was about five meters away.
In the dim light, Jiang Cheng examined the ceiling. Though shadowed, he could make out that aside from a few cobwebs, it was relatively clean.
More importantly, there were no ghosts lurking above, nor any signs of leaks.
So where did this puddle of water come from?
Fatty Huai Yi, with his keen eyes, noticed a faint glint of light while the doctor was lost in thought. The reflection was distant, and due to the angle, only Fatty could see it.
"Doctor," Fatty said, pointing. "Look over there. There seems to be something there too."
Jiang Cheng moved to Fatty's position and followed his gaze. He spotted more water stains, scattered unevenly like footprints, stretching into the darkness at the end of the corridor.
In an instant, Jiang Cheng understood. These weren't just stains—they were footprints left by someone soaking wet.
The realization sent a chill down his spine. Slowly lowering his gaze to the larger puddle at the gate, a daring hypothesis began to form in his mind.
Not long ago, something completely drenched, constantly dripping water, and capable of moving silently had passed through this corridor.
Even more terrifying was the fact that the creature had lingered outside their door for quite some time.
Thankfully, Jiang Cheng had put up a sticker on the glass; otherwise, it would have pressed itself against the window, peering inside.
He didn't dare imagine what might have happened then.
"Brother Jiang," Huai Yi said, having pieced things together. His voice trembled as he stared at the water stains on the floor. "Do... do we still have to go? I don't think today's a good day to go out. Maybe we should just..."
Jiang Cheng followed the trail of water stains. The creature must have come from elsewhere, noticing their presence as it passed by and deciding to wait outside their room.
For some unknown reason, it had eventually left, the last of the water stains disappearing into the darkness at the end of the second-floor corridor.
According to the old caretaker, that area housed the laundry room, restrooms, and showers.
As for which of those three places the creature had ultimately vanished into, Jiang Cheng decided this wasn't the time to discuss it.
"Let's go," Jiang Cheng said, stepping out of the room first. "Be careful. Watch your step and don't touch those water stains."
Jiang Cheng felt a grudging respect for whatever that soaking-wet entity was that had appeared in the dead of night.
The group tiptoed to the stairwell. Jiang Cheng noticed that the water stains led downward from the upper floors, meaning the creature had come from the third floor.
What could it be?
Or was it one of Gao Yan, Wang Qi, or Wen Liangshan?
Not daring to linger, they quietly descended the stairs. As they passed Room 107, they heard no sound from within. Shen Mengyun and Shi Xiaoya seemed to have already left.
Thankfully, Jiang Cheng's worst fear hadn't materialized. Perhaps there was nothing of value inside, or more likely, the dormitory caretaker was simply lazy.
The iron gate outside wasn't locked, merely ajar. A gentle push sent it swinging open.
Jiang Cheng motioned for Fatty and Huai Yi to exit first, bringing up the rear himself. After ensuring the coast was clear, he stepped out and carefully closed the gate behind him, leaving it exactly as they had found it.
They didn't quicken their pace until they were thirty meters from the dormitory building.
At that moment, Gao Yan, Shen Mengyun, and their group emerged from behind a cluster of trees to their side.
Unsure of their true intentions, Jiang Cheng didn't mention the water stains. "How long have you been out here?" he asked, turning to face them.
"About ten minutes," Gao Yan replied casually, then added as an afterthought, "Miss Shen left even earlier than us."
Jiang Cheng glanced at his watch. It was just past ten o'clock, meaning Gao Yan had emerged around 9:50. Yet Shen Mengyun, from Room 107 on the first floor, had apparently left even before him.
This didn't make sense.
Putting himself in her shoes, Jiang Cheng reasoned that if he were in Room 107, he would have waited until close to the deadline, listening for the sound of approaching footsteps before making his move. After all, whether it was Jiang Cheng's group or Gao Yan's, anyone leaving the building would inevitably pass by Room 107.
There was no avoiding it, unless they jumped out the window.
Following this line of reasoning, Jiang Cheng concluded that Shen Mengyun must have encountered some urgent situation that forced her to leave prematurely.
Undoubtedly, this variable was a crisis.
She had sensed some kind of danger.
That's why she didn't dare stay in her room any longer.
Jiang Cheng immediately thought of the water stains on the floor by the door.
It seemed that that thing had also wandered around the first floor. Either Shen Mengyun had noticed the stains herself, or she and her companions had encountered whatever left them behind.
(End of the Chapter)
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