The narrow, dilapidated paths twisted like a labyrinth through the desolate outskirts of Jiujiang, their cracked surfaces overgrown with weeds that snagged at Chen Ge's shoes as he hurried to keep pace with the woman and Fan Yu. His breath came in quick bursts, the urgency of not losing them driving him through the maze-like alleys, each turn more disorienting than the last. The air grew heavy with the scent of decay, and as he rounded a final corner, a squat, two-story terrace block loomed into view, its weathered facade a stark contrast to the bustling city he'd left behind. The woman and boy vanished into its shadowed entrance, their figures swallowed by the building's gloom.
Chen Ge slowed, his eyes scanning the structure—its peeling paint, broken windows, and the faint hum of neglect that seemed to pulse from its walls. A large, faded poster on the ground floor declared the original tenants had relocated, leaving the place to rot. Piles of rubbish—rotting food, torn bags, and discarded junk—cluttered the corners, the stench of fetid drains stinging his nose. They live here? The question gnawed at him, the black phone's weight in his pocket a reminder of the mission ahead, its cryptic hint about "deep wells" and buried secrets echoing Fan Yu's obsession. Zhang Ya's crimson presence stirred faintly, her "Yours forever" vow a shadow over this pursuit, warning him that every step closer to the boy's truth might pull him deeper into her dangerous web.
Chen Ge approached the building, his mind swirling with questions about the woman and Fan Yu's stark contrast in behavior. The woman's readiness to offer 100 RMB for the boy's visit to the Haunted House spoke of her deep care, a willingness to sacrifice despite their evident poverty—yet Fan Yu's cold indifference, his sharp rejection of her touch, hinted at a rift that went beyond typical childish rebellion. Inside the Haunted House, the boy had spoken only twice, both times to Chen Ge, his words sparse but heavy with meaning: "I'm looking for something."
His aversion to the woman, his fixation on the well, and his eerie comfort in the Minghun scenario's darkness suggested something deeper—perhaps tied to his "mental issues," as his aunt had called them, or something far more sinister, linked to the black phone's spectral world. Is it trauma from his parents' disappearance, or is he seeing things I can't? Chen Ge wondered, his thoughts drifting to Xiaoxiao's gentle spirit and Zhang Ya's predatory hunger, both bound to him through the phone. The boy's behavior felt like a puzzle piece in the Mu Yang High School mission, and Chen Ge's instincts, honed by countless brushes with the supernatural, urged him to dig deeper, even as the chill in his eyes—Zhang Ya's mark—flared, a silent caution against the unknown horrors that might await.
Climbing the creaking stairs to the second floor, Chen Ge noted the stark contrast to the building's exterior. The corridor was swept clean, free of the ground floor's debris, with laundry hanging neatly on poles, swaying gently in the breeze. Only one tenant seemed to occupy this level, the solitude palpable. He reached an open door and knocked politely, calling out, "Is anyone in?" despite the faint sound of footsteps already approaching from within.
The woman appeared, her face paling with surprise as she recognized him. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice cautious, tinged with suspicion. "Did we cause damage at the Haunted House?" Chen Ge shook his head, keeping his tone calm and reassuring. "No, nothing like that. I'm interested in Fan Yu's situation and wanted to ask him a few questions." Noticing her reluctance to invite him inside, he pressed on, leaning on a half-truth. "I have friends at Jiujiang Medical University who might be able to help with his condition."
The woman's expression hardened, and she declined immediately. "Thank you, but we're fine." Chen Ge sensed her wariness and pulled out his phone, scrolling to an article about his role in solving the Ping An Apartment case. "I'm not some creep," he said, showing her the screen. "Look, I've worked with the police, even got a medal for it." The headline—"Supernatural Livestreamer Trapped, Saved by Police"—was sensationalized, but the photo of him with the medal was clear. After a long pause, the woman's suspicion softened, and she handed back the phone. "Alright, come in, but leave the door open."
The woman led Chen Ge into a cramped space she called a living room, though it was barely thirty square feet, with a small dining table shoved against one wall and beds tucked into the corners, their worn blankets neatly folded. The room's sparseness mirrored the family's struggles, the air heavy with the quiet shame of poverty. "Sorry for the mess," the woman said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she gestured to a chair. "I wasn't expecting visitors. Want a drink?"
Chen Ge declined, his focus sharp. "No, thank you. I just need to ask about Fan Yu's parents." He pulled out his phone, ready to record anything significant, his instincts telling him this conversation was a key to the Mu Yang High School mission. The woman's face tightened, her reluctance clear, but she sat across from him, her hands clasped tightly. "It's been years—why ask now?" she murmured, but began recounting the events of three years ago. Mu Yang High School had been a normal institution then, she said, until a rainy summer night when Fan Yu's parents, both teachers, returned home to find the boy missing. They'd gone searching in the downpour, desperation driving them into the night, but it was Fan Yu who returned home—alone. The parents never did, vanishing without a trace, leaving behind a five-year-old boy and a mystery that still haunted the woman's red-rimmed eyes.
The woman's words hung heavy in the air, her account of Fan Yu's parents' disappearance painting a grim picture that Chen Ge meticulously recorded on his phone, his fingers tapping out every detail as his mind raced to piece together the tragedy. She had described a rainy summer night three years ago when Fan Yu's parents, both teachers at Mu Yang High School, returned home to find their five-year-old son missing. Desperate, they ventured into the storm to search for him, but they never returned—only Fan Yu did, alone, silent, and forever changed. Chen Ge's thoughts spiraled: Their bodies are likely in a well at Mu Yang High School, and Fan Yu might have seen it all. The boy's fixation on the Siheyuan's well, his eerie comfort in the Haunted House's darkness, and his cryptic claim of "looking for something" suggested he had witnessed a horror that shattered his psyche. The black phone's mission hint—"Everyone has a deep well inside their heart where shameful and unknowable secrets stay buried"—felt like a direct reference to this tragedy, tying Fan Yu's trauma to the Mu Yang High School mission. Chen Ge's pulse quickened, the chill in his eyes—Zhang Ya's mark—flaring as he considered the possibility that the boy's silence hid a truth that could unlock the school's secrets, or even his own parents' fate. Zhang Ya's crimson presence stirred, her "Yours forever" vow a shadow over this pursuit, warning him that every clue unearthed might draw him deeper into her sadistic web.
Chen Ge's gaze dropped to the worn dining table, his brow furrowing as he pulled out the black phone to revisit the School of the Afterlife side missions. He scrolled to Side Mission 6, titled Deep Well, its description hauntingly vague: "One brother and one sister went to school, but how come no one returned?" The words sent a jolt through him, clashing with the woman's story. The black phone was never wrong, its cryptic messages always laced with truth, yet the mention of a brother and sister didn't align with Fan Yu's parents, both adults and teachers. Who are these siblings? he wondered, his mind racing through possibilities. Did the well at Mu Yang High School claim more victims than just Fan Yu's parents? The phone's hint suggested the siblings were the ones trapped in the well, not the parents, creating a puzzle that didn't fit. Chen Ge's fingers tightened around the phone, the weight of the Mu Yang High School mission pressing down—survive until dawn, uncover the well's secrets, and unlock a two-star scenario that could bolster his Haunted House and ease the path to School of the Afterlife. The connection to Fan Yu was undeniable, but the discrepancy gnawed at him, Zhang Ya's spectral influence whispering doubts, her presence a reminder that the truth might come at a cost he wasn't ready to pay.
Hesitating, Chen Ge looked at the woman, her eyes red and glistening with tears, her hands trembling as she clasped them tightly. He ventured a cautious question, his voice soft to avoid pushing her further into grief. "Is Fan Yu an only child? Does he have any brothers or sisters?" The words seemed to strike a nerve; the woman's expression crumpled, her nails digging into her palms until faint red marks appeared, her tears spilling freely. "If the accident hadn't happened," she choked out, "Xiao Yu would have had a brother and sister to play with." Chen Ge's breath caught, his earlier observation of the laundry—women's and children's clothes, no men's—flashing back. He'd assumed she was unmarried, but her words hinted at a deeper tragedy. "Your children?" he asked gently, piecing together the implications. The woman nodded, her voice breaking. "They died young, just toddlers." The raw pain in her eyes was unbearable, and she muttered a quick "Sorry" before fleeing to the kitchen, her footsteps echoing in the small space as she fought to compose herself. Chen Ge sat frozen, the black phone heavy in his hand, its Deep Well mission now layered with new questions: Her children? Toddlers? Then why does the phone mention siblings at school? The inconsistency felt like a trap, Zhang Ya's crimson allure pulsing in his mind, urging him to tread carefully as he neared the heart of this mystery.
The woman's absence stretched on, her muffled sobs drifting from the kitchen, leaving Chen Ge alone with his thoughts in the cramped living room. His gaze shifted to the only other door in the house, likely Fan Yu's room, where the boy—the key to this mission—must be. Driven by the need for answers, Chen Ge stood and approached the door, pushing it open quietly to avoid startling the boy. The bedroom was stark but immaculate, its cleanliness a stark contrast to the building's decay. Fan Yu stood at a small table, his small frame hunched over a sheet of paper, a black crayon clutched tightly in his hand. Chen Ge stepped closer, peering over the boy's shoulder, and saw he wasn't writing but drawing, his strokes deliberate, favoring stark black and vivid red. "Xiao Yu, what are you drawing?" Chen Ge asked, his voice soft to avoid spooking him, mindful of the boy's fragile state. Fan Yu glanced up, his dark, oversized eyes meeting Chen Ge's briefly before returning to his work, offering no reply. The silence was heavy, but Chen Ge stayed, watching as the boy's drawing took shape: a pitch-black house, its lines stark and oppressive, populated by small, red stick figures—humans, but distorted, their crimson forms stark against the dark backdrop. The image sent a chill through Chen Ge, echoing the blood-red cubicle in the Haunted House's mirror, a connection to the Deep Well mission that felt too precise to be coincidence.
Fan Yu finished the drawing, his small hands crumpling the paper into a tight ball before tossing it to the floor, immediately starting anew with the same black and red crayons. Chen Ge watched, transfixed, as the boy repeated the pattern: a black house, red figures, over and over, each drawing a variation of the same haunting theme. The repetition was obsessive, almost ritualistic, and Chen Ge's mind raced, linking the imagery to the Mu Yang High School mission and the well's dark secrets. A black house, red humans—does this represent the school? The well? His parents? The boy's silence and his fixation on these colors mirrored his behavior at the Siheyuan, his gaze drawn to shadows and wells, as if chasing ghosts only he could see. Chen Ge's thoughts flickered to Zhang Ya, her crimson presence a constant undercurrent, her sadistic whims tied to every clue he uncovered. The black phone's mission loomed—arrive at Mu Yang High School by 11 p.m., survive until dawn—and Fan Yu's drawings felt like a map to the horrors awaiting him, a warning that the truth about the boy's parents, the siblings, and the well might pull him into a nightmare from which even Zhang Ya's protection couldn't save him.