The cramped female dormitory room at Mu Yang High School was suffused with a peculiar, acrid smell, a mix of mold and something unplaceable that clung to the air, making Chen Ge's skin prickle as he stood poised over the four chairs. Beyond the faint glow of his flashlight, the bedsheet on a nearby bunk fluttered faintly, as if something stirred beneath it, sending a shiver down his spine.
The rain outside battered the cracked windows, the storm's ferocity growing, its droplets drumming a relentless rhythm that contrasted with the oppressive silence within the room. The eerie quiet felt unnatural, as if the dormitory itself held its breath, waiting for something to unfold. The black phone's Pen Spirit mission weighed heavily on Chen Ge, its connection to Fan Yu's haunting black-and-red drawings and the woman's tale of the sealed classroom amplifying the stakes. Zhang Ya's crimson presence stirred, her "Yours forever" vow a spectral whisper, urging him to proceed with the ritual despite the growing dread that this room, like the sealed classroom, was a focal point for the school's supernatural horrors, where survival until dawn might demand confronting forces beyond his control.
Chen Ge's arm hovered over the blank white paper, the ballpoint pen's tip grazing its surface as he fought to steady his nerves, the ritual's chant still echoing in his mind. After invoking the Pen Spirit with the words—"Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, you are my spirit from my previous life, and I am your spirit in this life. If you are with us, please draw a circle on the paper"—a palpable pressure settled on the back of his hand, cold and deliberate, as if another hand had clasped his own. The chill of unseen fingertips seeped into his skin, raising goosebumps that spread up his arm, a sensation both alien and undeniable.
He repeated the chant, his voice steady despite the mounting unease, hoping to coax a response from the spirit. Yet, to his confusion, the pen remained still, upright, refusing to trace the requested circle. The black phone's hum vibrated faintly in his pocket, a reminder of the Mu Yang High School mission's urgency—complete all four side missions to unlock the full scenario. Zhang Ya's mark flared in his eyes, her sadistic allure pushing him to persist, warning that the Pen Spirit's silence might be a prelude to something far more dangerous lurking in the room's shadows.
The atmosphere thickened, the air growing heavy with an oppressive tension, the chill on Chen Ge's hand now creeping up his arm like icy tendrils. Something's changed, he thought, a gut feeling that he was no longer alone in the room.
His Yin Yang Vision, a gift from past missions, sharpened his senses, and in the dim light, he glimpsed three blurry shadows standing around him, their indistinct forms reaching for the pen in his grasp. Three of them? His heart skipped, the image vanishing with a blink, but the cold on his hand intensified, as if plunged into icy water, confirming that at least three unseen entities were holding the pen with him. Is this because of my 'Specter's Favored' title? he wondered, the black phone's unique designation amplifying his connection to the supernatural, drawing multiple spirits to his call. The realization was both thrilling and terrifying, the weight of their presence pressing against him.
Zhang Ya's crimson presence pulsed, her "Yours forever" vow a reminder that these spirits, tied to the Pen Spirit mission, could be allies or threats, and the night's survival hinged on navigating their intentions with care.
As Chen Ge grappled with the presence of the three spirits, the pen in his hand twitched, a subtle movement that sent his pulse racing. It's starting. The flashlight on the bed dimmed, its light faltering as if drained by the room's growing malevolence, and under his watchful gaze, the pen's tip pressed harder against the paper, dragging slowly to form a red circle. Chen Ge hadn't moved, yet the circle appeared, stark and deliberate, its crimson hue echoing Fan Yu's drawings and the woman's haunted photo of faceless students.
The side mission's title—The Pen Spirit Who Refused to Leave—flashed in his mind, a chilling reminder of the game's three taboos: never ask about your cause of death, never ask about your life expectancy, and always unbind the spirit when finished. Violating these, especially the third, could bind the spirit to him forever, potentially turning malevolent. Zhang Ya's sadistic whispers urged caution, her presence a double-edged sword as he stared at the red circle, knowing the spirit had responded. The black phone's mission demanded completion, but the circle's appearance felt like a warning, a sign that the spirits were watching, ready to act if he faltered.
Murmuring a quiet hope—"No accidents, please"—Chen Ge refocused on the paper, the red circle a confirmation that the Pen Spirit had heard him. The opportunity to ask a question was rare, and with the black phone's mission urging him to uncover Mu Yang High School's secrets, he chose carefully, avoiding the taboo questions scrawled on the other papers. I'm here to complete the mission, not to provoke the spirit, he thought, his voice steady as he spoke: "Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, do you know where my parents are?" The question, tied to his deepest personal mystery, felt like a gamble, but it was safer than asking about death or fate. The room's silence deepened, the rain's rhythm outside the only sound, as he waited for the pen to move again. Zhang Ya's crimson allure surged, her "Yours forever" vow a chain binding him to the ritual, warning that the Pen Spirit's answer could unlock vital clues—or unleash a horror that might follow him beyond the school's cursed grounds, threatening his survival until dawn.
Chen Ge's heart carried the weight of the Bathtub Nightmare Mission, where his deepest desire—to reunite with his missing parents—had gone unfulfilled, yet the mission's outcome had given him a sliver of hope: his parents were still alive, somewhere out there, lost to the unknown. The memory of that mission lingered as he stood in the moldy female dormitory room at Mu Yang High School, the Pen Spirit ritual in progress, the black phone's Pen Spirit mission urging him to uncover the school's secrets. His question—"Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, do you know where my parents are?"—was a desperate plea rooted in years of uncertainty, a question that had driven him through countless dangers.
The black phone's Deep Well hint—"Everyone has a deep well inside their heart where shameful and unknowable secrets stay buried"—echoed, tying his parents' disappearance to Fan Yu's haunting black-and-red drawings and the woman's tale of the sealed classroom. Zhang Ya's crimson presence stirred, her "Yours forever" vow a spectral whisper, warning that the Pen Spirit's response could either illuminate his path or plunge him deeper into the school's cursed mysteries, where survival until dawn demanded unwavering focus.
To his surprise, as he posed the question, the pen in his grasp began to quiver violently, a faint crack splintering its plastic body, a reaction far beyond what he'd anticipated. Is my question that hard? The unexpected response unnerved him, the chill on his hand intensifying as if the spirit struggled with the query. Two minutes passed, the room seeming to brighten inexplicably, as if an unseen light pierced the oppressive darkness. The pen moved again, tracing another red circle on the paper, joining the first. Chen Ge stared at the two circles, a mix of confusion and realization dawning: the Pen Spirit didn't know the answer, its awkward silence almost palpable. My parents' disappearance is more complex than even a spirit can grasp, he thought, the silence stretching as he processed the implications. Zhang Ya's mark flared in his eyes, her sadistic allure urging him to press on, the black phone's mission demanding completion despite the setback. The circles mocked his hope, yet they confirmed the mystery's depth, pushing him to continue the ritual in the rain-soaked dormitory, where every moment brought him closer to the night's terrors.
The chill on Chen Ge's arm crept toward his shoulder, a numbing cold spreading as if half his body was slipping from his control, a sign that the Pen Spirit game was taking a toll. With his primary question unanswered, he decided to pivot, choosing a lighter query to complete the Pen Spirit mission and move on. "Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, can you tell me who my future wife will be?" he asked, his tone deliberately casual, though the question still carried a flicker of curiosity. The room's atmosphere shifted, the tension spiking as the flashlight flickered, its beam faltering as if heralding an unseen presence. The window rattled, rain seeping through its cracks, and a flash of lightning illuminated the room, casting four shadowy figures on the wall—three more than should be there. Chen Ge's grip on the mallet tightened, his pulse racing as the pen began to move, scrawling blood-red letters to form the character "Xu." Xu Wan? His interest piqued, the name of his Haunted House employee sparking a moment of surprise, but before the second character could form, the pen froze, trembling violently as if caught in a struggle. Zhang Ya's crimson presence surged, her "Yours forever" vow a warning that the spirits were reacting, their intentions unclear in the storm's chaos.
A sudden BANG echoed through the room, the sound jarring as the pen quivered, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface, as if multiple forces battled for control within the darkened dormitory. Chen Ge watched, a mere spectator, as the pen lurched, crossing out the "Xu" with a jagged line before scrawling a new name beside it: "Zhang… Ya." The name, written in stark red ink, sent a jolt through him, his breath catching as he stared at the paper, the clarity of the writing unnerving in its precision. Zhang Ya? The spectral entity tied to his black phone, her "Yours forever" vow now echoing with chilling irony, had been named by the Pen Spirit as his future wife. "Pen Spirit, are you sure this is what you meant to write?" he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief, but the room remained silent, the chill on his arm fading. He chanted again, "Pen Spirit, are you still with us? If you can hear me, please draw a circle," but the Yin energy had vanished, the room returning to its moldy normalcy. Zhang Ya's presence pulsed, her sadistic allure mocking his confusion, leaving him to wonder if the spirit had fled—or if Zhang Ya herself had intervened, her mark a reminder of the dangers lurking in the Mu Yang High School mission.
To ensure safety, Chen Ge chanted the unbinding ritual—"Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, you are my spirit from my previous life, and I am your spirit in this life. If you wish to go, then please go ahead"—his voice steady despite the unease gripping him. As he released the pen, it shattered into pieces, its broken segments scattering across the paper like a sad relic of the ritual's chaos. My Pen Spirit game is definitely not like others', he thought, a wry smile tugging at his lips as he retrieved his phone from the bed. To his astonishment, the livestream's view count had surged past 20,000, a new record despite the fuzzy connection and lag. The unexpected popularity bolstered his resolve, a small victory amidst the mission's dangers, but the name "Zhang Ya" on the paper lingered, a haunting reminder of the black phone's influence and the spectral forces at play. Zhang Ya's crimson allure surged, her "Yours forever" vow a chain binding him to the remaining side missions—Fifth Cubicle, Deep Well, and Sealed Classroom—each a step closer to unlocking the School of the Afterlife scenario, where survival until dawn might hinge on deciphering the Pen Spirit's cryptic message and the school's deadly secrets.