Translator: CinderTL
All the girls' deaths were related to water. It seemed this Ghost used water as a medium to kill. Unfortunately, their destination tonight was the school swimming pool—a place where water was unavoidable.
After some thought, Jiang Cheng decided to focus on the school swimming pool itself. He asked, "After these incidents, were there any strange rumors circulating about the school swimming pool?"
"I was just about to mention that, Senior," Yuan Xiaoyi said quickly. "Because the school handled the aftermath well, the school swimming pool was only closed for a short period before reopening."
"Most students and teachers at the school didn't know anyone had died there. Those who did were called in for talks by school administrators."
"The teacher who had been in charge of training the girls that day was also forced to resign."
"But just a few days after the swimming pool reopened, strange things started happening."
Yuan Xiaoyi explained, "Because of the previous incident, the school restricted the swimming pool's operating hours. Everyone had to leave by 7 p.m., after which the staff would clean and maintain the facilities. The pool usually closed by 8 p.m."
"We've had reports from staff that even after everyone's left the swimming pool, the floor they've just cleaned will suddenly become wet again, with water stains appearing."
"It's like someone just stepped out of the pool, and the water on their body dripped onto the floor."
"But the pool isn't that big. They're constantly walking around nearby. If someone was actually swimming in the water, how could they possibly miss them?"
"The swimming pool lights also occasionally go out suddenly, then come back on just as abruptly a moment later."
"We called an electrician to fix it, but after inspecting everything, he said there was nothing wrong. After all, the swimming pool was newly built, so there was no way the wiring could be old or faulty."
"In short, these strange occurrences never stopped, but thankfully nothing serious ever happened, so no one paid much attention... until," Yuan Xiaoyi suddenly lowered her voice, "that night."
"It was a Friday. After all the students had left, the staff stayed behind to clean up."
"There were supposed to be two people, but one had to leave urgently, so only one person was left. That meant double the workload."
"The person left behind was a new hire, barely out of his early twenties. He kept his head down, focused on his work, rushing to get everything done without noticing the time."
After finishing all his work, he checked his phone and realized it was almost 9 p.m.—an hour past the scheduled closing time.
He quickly gathered his belongings and headed toward the swimming pool's Gate, ready to leave.
But before he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked back. He thought he heard the sound of water—as if someone were swimming in the pool.
How could that be?
He was the last one to leave, and he'd spent a long time tidying up inside the swimming pool, walking back and forth along the pool's edge several times. He hadn't seen anyone else there.
Yet he was certain he'd heard the sound.
Without thinking too much, the man turned back, figuring it wouldn't be good if someone had accidentally been locked inside.
Because the lights were off, the pool hall was quite dark—not pitch black, but rather shrouded in a hazy dimness.
Faint light filtered in from the highest windows, creating a shimmering pattern on the pool's surface.
He found the light switch and pressed it. The lights flickered once and then went out, momentarily blinding him.
The man didn't have time to complain about the lights. In the brief illumination, he saw someone.
In the swimming pool.
The figure was far away, swimming with their back to him, revealing only a silhouette.
It must be a woman.
The man immediately panicked. He shouted at the swimmer, urging her to get out of the pool and leave the swimming pool immediately. He warned her about the danger of swimming alone at night, and reminded her that the pool was about to close.
The woman seemed to hear him. She swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out using the ladder.
The man hurried over to warn her, but by the time he reached the spot, she was gone.
As if she had vanished in the blink of an eye. Yet the floor was still wet, and he distinctly remembered the woman standing right there just moments ago.
He reached for his phone in his pocket, but then remembered he had left it in his backpack at the swimming pool Gate because it had been getting in the way while he was working.
He couldn't leave her alone here. What if something happened?
He also had a nagging feeling that something was off about the woman. She had appeared silently, her posture slumped, as if deeply depressed. He hoped she wasn't planning something drastic.
Just as he was thinking about going back to get his phone and then returning to look for her, a sound echoed from nearby.
It came from the shower room—the rushing sound of water.
The man immediately realized that after getting out of the swimming pool, the woman must have gone to the shower room to rinse off.
Without hesitation, he walked toward the women's shower room, which was located in a secluded area, requiring him to pass through a corridor and around a corner.
Standing before the women's shower room, the man finally breathed a sigh of relief. The lights were on inside, and the sound of rushing water continued.
Strangely, seeing the light eased the oppressive feeling that had been weighing on his heart since he returned to the pool.
Ever since he had turned back, something had felt like it was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Listening to the monotonous rushing sound, the man couldn't help but feel uneasy, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. He shouted through the door, urging the woman to hurry up—he was waiting to lock up.
But all he received in response was the same monotonous, unchanging sound of water.
That's when the man finally realized what was amiss.
It was the sound of the water!
"The sound of the water hasn't changed since he first stood at the gate."
"How can I describe it? It's like... a woman showering in the same position, never moving, just standing there, being sprayed. There's no sound of movement inside."
The man's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if the woman had hanged herself or slit her wrists inside. After all, that's how it always played out in movies.
He shouted loudly, but the woman didn't respond. In desperation, he threw caution to the wind and barged in.
The shower room was divided into small stalls without doors. Each stall had a semi-transparent plastic curtain that could be pulled closed.
When someone was showering, they would pull the curtain shut.
The woman was in the last stall, in the corner. Through the semi-transparent curtain, he could see a figure standing behind her.
It was a woman wearing a colorful swimsuit. She hadn't taken it off, just stood there silently, being sprayed by the water.
(End of the Chapter)
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