It was 10:25, almost lights-out time at the medical school. Li Rong stood outside, a little anxious. "Excuse me, could you please hurry up?"
Fang Yuan came to her senses, dug Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams from the bookshelf, filled out the borrowing paperwork, and handed it to him.
Li Rong glanced at the cover, then turned and hurried away. His figure grew smaller and blurrier in Fang Yuan's eyes. He turned through the library door and disappeared from her sight, leaving only the sound of his footsteps echoing down the empty staircase.
Fang Yuan debated whether she should confront him directly. Li Rong had come to the library so late to borrow The Interpretation of Dreams. Was he having a nightmare? Was it because he had done something wrong?
What was Xu Yan's purpose in lying? Was it to dissuade him from suspecting Li Rong, or was she mistaken? Perhaps she was mistaken. After all, she had experienced a mental breakdown before, and even though she was back to normal now, her memory was still somewhat distorted. That was understandable. Her curiosity overcame her doubts. Fang Yuan said goodbye to Xiao Jing and hurried after him.
Xiao Jing shook her head at Fang Yuan's back, a wry smile playing on her lips. She muttered to herself, "Poor child."
After Fang Yuan left the library, she vaguely spotted Li Rong. She followed him silently, without making a sound.
It was ten-thirty. Sharp lights-out whistles blared, and the lights in the Nanjiang Medical College dormitories went out one after another, plunging the entire school into darkness and a heavy haze. Her visible area suddenly shortened, and Li Rong's figure melted into the thick darkness.
Fang Yuan quickened her pace, sprinting a few steps before finally spotting Li Rong again.
Li Rong wasn't heading toward the men's dormitory, but—towards the laboratory building, known as the Red Building, or what Nanjiang Medical College students call the Anatomy Building!
It was so late, there shouldn't be anyone in the Red Building. What was he doing there?
Li Rong was wearing a white tracksuit today, which was quite eye-catching. As he approached the Red Building, he seemed to sense something and suddenly glanced behind him.
Fortunately, Fang Yuan was wearing a dark gray tweed coat, which was inconspicuous in the darkness. Li Rong apparently didn't notice her. He stood there hesitantly for a few seconds before entering the Red Building.
Fang Yuan became even more cautious. When she'd visited Li Rong during the day, she'd heard from his friend Wan Hai that he'd been acting very secretive lately. Could he be hiding something shameful from everyone?
Li Rong's pace quickened, until he was practically jogging. The Red Building was so dark, yet he could walk so quickly, indicating he was very familiar with it. What did he come here so often for?
Soon, they both entered the Red Building. Once inside, Fang Yuan noticed that the footsteps weren't coming from the stairs, but from underground. Li Rong had gone to the basement.
Fang Yuan had never been to the Red Building for experiments. Common sense dictates that basements are generally damp and prone to leaks, so they wouldn't be used as labs, but rather as storage for temporarily unused items.
She held her breath and tiptoed downstairs, her eyes fixed nervously ahead, unblinking.
She feared Li Rong was hiding in a dark corner, ready to suddenly leap out at her. Her instincts told her he wasn't trustworthy. His behavior was so strange, he must be up to something shady.
The footsteps faded.
The basement door was open, the lock unlocked. How did Li Rong have the key? What was he doing there?
Fang Yuan stood at the basement entrance. Faint moonlight streamed in through the cracks, appearing pale and bleak in the pitch black. A staccato breeze occasionally blew past, ruffling strands of her long hair.
Fang Yuan glanced at the sky through the cracks. The moon was a waning crescent, the stars dim, and the sky was hazy and deep. No matter how great something is, it's but a speck of dust in the universe. She felt her own insignificance.
As Fang Yuan gazed up at the starry sky, lost in thought, a blurry figure on the wall behind her grew larger and larger, slowly approaching silently. Fang Yuan was completely oblivious.
The figure floated behind Fang Yuan, within arm's reach. Furthermore, the figure's hand reached out, its palm slightly smaller but thicker, its fingers stubby but powerful.
Fang Yuan suddenly sensed something strange behind her. She turned around, and a thin face appeared before her—it was Xu Yan.
Fang Yuan was a bit surprised. "Why are you here?"
Xu Yan countered, "Why are you here too?"
Fang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then finally explained her reason: "I followed Li Rong here."
Xu Yan's face deepened with confusion. "Li Rong came here?"
"Yes, he disappeared here. He must have gone into the basement."
Xu Yan suddenly realized, "He must have gone in. I've been hiding outside and observing him for days. He always sneaks into the Red Building after lights out and doesn't come out for ages."
Fang Yuan shared the same sentiment. What was a boy doing in the Red Building's basement in the middle of the night, instead of going back to the dorm?
"You mean, we go in?"
"Well, are you scared?"
Fang Yuan smiled wryly. To say she wasn't scared would be a lie. Never mind whether Li Rong might harm her, the eerie atmosphere alone was enough to fill her with dread.
"Let's go in together?"
"Of course, I wouldn't dare go in alone."
With their companions to encourage each other, they both felt much braver. Xu Yan brought a flashlight, and arm in arm, guided by its circular beam, they slowly walked into the basement.
The basement was filled with a jumble of old, decaying lab equipment. Heavy dust piled up everywhere, seemingly accumulating within Fang Yuan, making it difficult to breathe. Just as Fang Yuan had initially imagined, the basement was damp and moldy, with green moss crawling in the shadows of the walls. The air was thick with the pungent smell of formaldehyde.
The entire basement was devoid of any light except Xu Yan's flashlight. Fang Yuan was almost certain that Li Rong wasn't in there; otherwise, how could there be no light at all? Without light, what could he possibly do?
"Could he be in the back room?" Xu Yan whispered.
"Maybe. Since we're here, let's go in and take a closer look." Although Fang Yuan was terrified, she could only bite the bullet and move forward.
The two walked into the inner room and pushed open the wooden door. Their flashlight beamed upon a terrifying face!
It was a shrunken face, devoid of any moisture, like a wind-dried walnut. The skin barely clung to the skull, its eyes wide and lifeless.
Fang Yuan screamed and clutched Xu Yan's hand even tighter. Her body went limp, her calves trembling.
As she screamed, Xu Yan shuddered, and the flashlight fell. The light vanished, and boundless darkness quickly enveloped the space they were in.
"Xu Yan...are you...alright?" Fang Yuan stuttered.
"It's okay...did you see anything just now?" Xu Yan's words were broken.
"Where's the flashlight?"
"It fell on the ground."
"Pick it up!"
The two groped around on the ground, and soon, Xu Yan found the flashlight.
She struggled several times in the darkness, but couldn't turn on the flashlight.
"Xu Yan, what are you doing? You can't turn it on?" Fang Yuan asked anxiously.
"Yes, you're holding me too tightly."
Fang Yuan was speechless. She hadn't even grasped Xu Yan yet.
If it wasn't her, then what was holding Xu Yan? Was it Li Rong, or something else?
"Take your hand away!" Xu Yan said as the flashlight flickered on.
Fang Yuan saw that Xu Yan held the flashlight in one hand, and in the other, another hand!
A dead person's hand!
Xu Yan only then saw clearly what was holding her. She screamed and threw both hands away, the dead person's hand and the flashlight.
Darkness returned.
This time, it wasn't so easy for the two to find the flashlight. Even if they did, they weren't sure they could turn it on.
Xu Yan gasped for breath for a long moment before she spoke, "Fang Yuan, are you still there?"
"Yes."
"Let's go back."
"Yes, let's go back."
"I can't see the road clearly."
A faint light shone from Fang Yuan's hand; it was a pocket flashlight. It turned out she had a pocket flashlight ready for emergency work at the library, and it had come in handy now.
The two of them supported each other and trembled as they walked out the door. When they reached the door, Fang Yuan pulled hard, but it wouldn't budge.
Fang Yuan was stunned. The iron door to the basement was locked!