Chapter 1 The Corpse

Just as Fatty was steeling himself to offer help, he caught Jiang Cheng's eye.

The look in Jiang Cheng's eyes was cold and dismissive, a clear refusal, making Fatty instinctively shrink back.

The words he had prepared died in his throat.

Jiang Cheng shifted his gaze, staring directly at the man in the suit.

The man's expression faltered under Jiang Cheng's scrutiny, a feeling of unease bubbling up inside him.

He was about to say something, but Jiang Cheng cut him off. "Mr. Guardian," Jiang Cheng said politely, "I need your help."

The man in the suit glanced at the corpse behind him, his lips twitching. Beside him, the woman with the baseball cap and ponytail exchanged a look of relief.

But only for a moment, before their faces were clouded with worry once more.

"Me?" The man in the suit frowned.

Jiang Cheng nodded. "Yes, you."

Hearing the conversation inside the room, the middle-aged man in the vest, another man, and the woman in the pajamas all crowded near the doorway, though none dared to cross the threshold.

Everyone's attention was focused on the man in the suit.

Weighing his options, the man in the suit agreed after a few seconds of consideration. He and Jiang Cheng crouched down on either side of the woman in the qipao.

As Jiang Cheng instructed, they were to grab the qipao woman by the shoulders and turn her over.

Only after seeing Jiang Cheng touch the dead woman's body did the man in the suit reach out and grasp her other shoulder. Together, they flipped the woman over.

"Ah!" The woman in the pajamas screamed, her legs giving way, and she nearly fell into the pool of blood.

Even the ponytail woman, a former mercenary accustomed to all kinds of corpses, paled.

The qipao woman's death was horrifying.

Most chilling of all, her jaw was gone, the upper part of her mouth exposed in a gruesome display of flesh and twisted muscle.

Something had clearly seized her upper and lower jaws.

And forcibly torn off her chin.

The sight was too much for Fatty, who nearly vomited.

The qipao woman lay sprawled on the ground, her elegant dress soaked in blood, like a splashed-ink painting rendered in cinnabar.

Most terrifying of all were the qipao woman's eyes.

They were wide open, her eyebrows arched high in an exaggerated expression, as if she had seen something truly horrifying before she died.

Even in death, her face was contorted with unspeakable terror, her eyes unblinking, the blood vessels within still visible.

After overcoming her initial revulsion, the ponytail woman stepped forward and crouched beside the qipao woman's body. After a moment, she said, "Her tongue is gone, too."

Her voice was unnaturally calm, devoid of any emotion, as if she were simply stating a fact.

But her calm tone only made everyone feel more uneasy.

"She... she's dead?" The man in the vest shuddered violently. Although he had already realized it, it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing the body with his own eyes.

No one paid him any attention. Death was common in Nightmares; what they needed to do was figure out *how* she had died.

And from that, deduce the taboos of this mission and carefully avoid them.

Blood spatter covered the room, splattered across the walls, the bed, the wardrobe, even the ceiling. The long-absent smell of blood filled the air, setting an unsettling tone for the mission.

"Her jaw was probably twisted off instantly," the ponytail woman said after examining the body closely.

Although she said "person," everyone knew it was a ghost.

The ghost in this mission... had killed her.

Such strength and speed could hardly be explained by anything other than a ghost.

After observing the scene, the baseball cap girl suggested leaving, and everyone agreed. Jiang Cheng took one last look at the qipao woman before retreating from the room.

The group stood outside the door and briefly exchanged their thoughts on the qipao woman's death, but even Fatty could tell that it was all fluff, just empty words.

As the others dispersed, the woman in the pajamas, who had been hiding in the back, suddenly spoke up, timidly asking if they should do something with the qipao woman's body, perhaps bury her, to give her some dignity...

Her delicate face bore a fiery red handprint, making her look even more pitiful.

On the outside, that might get her somewhere, but this was the Nightmare World.

The man in the suit and the others simply ignored her. Finally, Fatty, feeling sorry for her, told her that this was the Dream Realm and that she shouldn't worry too much about such things; the body would probably disappear soon anyway.

The girl, upon hearing that the body might disappear, became even more frightened, clearly imagining all sorts of strange things.

But that was no longer Fatty's concern. He had simply told her the truth.

However cruel it might be.

According to the woman who led them here, their mission was to film the academy's anniversary celebration.

Which would take place in seven days.

That meant they had six days left.

Which was the time limit for this mission.

Time was short, so after a brief discussion, they decided to go to the cafeteria for breakfast and then explore the school.

Since their role in this mission was that of visiting photographers, they should move around and look for clues that might be hidden in some inconspicuous place.

Fatty suddenly reminded them, "Don't forget, our cameras are still in the equipment room."

Jiang Cheng turned and replied, "Then let's split up and meet in front of the equipment room at noon."

It was a reasonable suggestion, and no one objected.

Jiang Cheng and Fatty turned and headed downstairs, when the woman in the pajamas hurried after them, trailing behind them like a lost puppy, her little tail swaying behind her pajamas in a rather endearing way.

Perhaps because Fatty was the only one who had paid her any attention, she had decided to try her luck with them.

After all, now that the qipao woman was dead, she was truly alone in room 407.

"Following us won't do you any good," Jiang Cheng said calmly. "The daytime is relatively safe. If I were you, I'd be thinking about how to survive the night."

The woman in the pajamas stopped in her tracks, then, as if she had understood something, turned and ran in the other direction.

The ponytail woman stood in front of room 406, lost in thought.

The campus was larger than they had imagined. It hadn't seemed so big yesterday, when the woman had led them, but now it took them a while to find the cafeteria.

Jiang Cheng seemed distracted the entire time, leaving the task of finding the way to Fatty, which was the direct reason why they were having so much trouble.

"Doctor," Fatty said, swallowing hard, "have you noticed something?"

Jiang Cheng didn't answer directly, but nodded. "Let's eat first, and then we'll talk."