Chen Ge stood frozen in the shadowed corner of the second-floor toilet at Mu Yang High School, the phone pressed to his ear as Gao Ru Xue's father's analysis of Fan Yu's behavior sparked a chilling realization that sent shivers down his spine.
Fan Yu likes haunted houses because he feels at home with ghosts? The thought, born from Gao's clinical reasoning, felt both absurd and terrifyingly plausible, tying directly to the black phone's Fifth Cubicle in the Toilet mission and the eerie clues surrounding Fan Yu's black-and-red drawings. The storm outside raged, its rain seeping through the boarded-up window, wetting the cracked tiles, while the memory of the two childlike shadows in the corridor lingered, their connection to the mission's red shadow uncertain. Zhang Ya's crimson presence stirred, her "Yours forever" vow a spectral whisper urging him to pursue this lead, warning that Fan Yu's strange affinity for the supernatural could be key to unlocking the school's horrors—perhaps linked to the crematorium's past or the sealed classroom's ghostly students. The black phone's weight in his pocket pressed against him, its 11 p.m. deadline looming, amplifying the urgency to connect Fan Yu's trauma to the mission before the night's dangers escalated further.
Gao's voice came through the phone, cautious yet intrigued. "I wouldn't diagnose this patient so quickly. If you have time, bring him to me for a proper evaluation. Psychological illnesses are complex, influenced by countless factors—his environment, past trauma, even genetics." The suggestion hung in the air, Gao's unfamiliarity with a case as peculiar as Fan Yu's evident, his desire to examine the boy in person underscoring the mystery of his condition. Chen Ge remained silent, his mind racing as Gao's words crystallized a horrifying thought that made his blood run cold. The idea that Fan Yu sought the company of ghosts wasn't just a quirk—it suggested a deeper, supernatural connection to Mu Yang High School, where the Fifth Cubicle, Deep Well, and Sealed Classroom missions converged.
Chen Ge peeled open his raincoat, retrieving Fan Yu's drawing from his pocket, the black house and red figures stark under his flashlight's beam, their significance now chillingly clear. He'd initially thought the black house depicted one of Mu Yang High School's buildings, but none matched—the education block, dormitory, and office were too distinct from the squat, dilapidated structure in the drawing. A sudden realization hit: the house resembled the rundown home Fan Yu shared with his aunt, a place steeped in gloom where the boy spent hours locked in his room, drawing obsessively. If Fan Yu's drawing his own house, and these red figures are ghosts… The thought made the hairs on his arms stand on end, the implication that Fan Yu's home was filled with spectral presences too horrifying to dismiss. The black phone's Deep Well hint—"Everyone has a deep well inside their heart where shameful and unknowable secrets stay buried"—echoed, suggesting Fan Yu's drawings were a window into a haunted reality tied to his parents' disappearance.
The memory of visiting Fan Yu that morning flooded back, vivid and unsettling: the aunt's anxious demeanor, Fan Yu barricaded in his darkened bedroom, windows and door shut, his focus consumed by his black-and-red drawings. Each sketch featured the same black house and red figures, but Chen Ge now recalled a chilling detail—the figures' positions shifted slightly in every drawing, as if they moved within the house. What he'd dismissed as childish scribbles now seemed like a record of spectral activity, each red figure a ghost Fan Yu could see. He's not just drawing—he's documenting what he perceives, Chen Ge realized, his lips paling as he gripped the phone tighter, the toilet's damp air closing in. Another memory surfaced: Fan Yu's fixation on Chen Ge's shadow during their Haunted House encounter, the boy's two sentences directed at him, not out of fondness but as if recognizing a kindred spirit touched by the supernatural.
The realization deepened as Chen Ge pieced together Fan Yu's behavior and the tragic night of his parents' disappearance, recounted by the aunt on a similarly stormy evening years ago. Fan Yu had vanished, prompting his parents to search for him, only to meet a grim fate—killed, their bodies hidden with meticulous care, the crime scene wiped clean. The precision required for such an act suggested a calculated killer, yet one glaring question haunted Chen Ge: Why spare Fan Yu? If the boy had witnessed the crime, as his fixation on the well—where he claimed "heaven" lay—implied, a methodical killer would have eliminated him as a witness. The aunt's story of Fan Yu inspecting the well, believing his parents were inside, suggested he'd seen something that night, perhaps the very act of their murder.
Chen Ge narrowed his eyes slightly as a chill coursed through his body. That is unless the killer knew the boy or was the boy himself!
Regardless of which one it was, either possibility made Chen Ge's heart cold with fear.
The aunt herself was also a prime suspect. There were way too many plot holes in her story, and when she supposedly went into the kitchen to pour water for Chen Ge, she should not have wasted so much time in there. Then, during the conversation, and even before he left, she had kept reminding Chen Ge to take a sip of the water.
At the time, Chen Ge had been too focused on his mission to be careful of her 'kindness', but thinking back, he suspected that something had been done to that glass of water.
If it was the aunt who killed Fan Yu's parents, what was her motive? The woman loved Fan Yu to the extent of pampering him. She was blessed with beauty but did not seem to keep up her appearances. It was obvious that it was not easy for her to raise Fan Yu alone. She even spared no expenses to take him to see many doctors. She had put her whole life on hold for Fan Yu's sake, would such a kind woman really be the killer?
To be honest, the thin woman had left a good impression on Chen Ge; he thought she was independent and strong.
Then again, if she was not the killer, then the next prime suspect would be the boy himself!
He was the crime's only witness and survivor. Chen Ge did not suspect him initially because he was just a child, but after knowing the secret behind his drawings, Chen Ge realized he had greatly underestimated this child.
Fan Yu had a pair of unique eyes, and his constant company was only ghosts. He was not scared by their presence but, in fact, managed to survive just fine. Chen Ge even suspected that he had the ability to control them.
This would sound preposterous to others, but not to Chen Ge because he himself was the Specter's Favored.
But if the boy is the killer, what was his motive? This was the question that stumped Chen Ge the most. Neither the boy nor the aunt had any actual reason to murder their close family.
What really happened on that day? Fan Yu's parents were ultimately dropped inside Mu Yang High School's well, but why Mu Yang High School of all places?
When Chen Ge placed the drawing back inside his pocket, he realized that the call was still connected, so he immediately apologized to Doctor Gao. "I'm so sorry, my attention was otherwise distracted."
"No worries, I was just flipping through the journals to find out more about the patient. In fact, I'm really interested in his case. Do you mind bringing him to see me when there's an opportunity?" Gao Ru Xue's father had not hung up; he had waited patiently for Chen Ge.
"Of course, should the opportunity arise, we will definitely visit you."
"Thank you, this number is my personal number, so call me when you're coming. Lastly, I have something to remind you." Teacher Gao sounded like he was hesitating on the phone, as if he was deciding whether he should say something or not.
"What is it?" Chen Ge was appreciative of any advice from this kind doctor.