Chapter 24: A Family Scented by Corpses

Chen Nan and Fatty continued to lead the way.

They explained everything about this place along the way.

But Wu Wang couldn't tell if it was an illusion, yet he felt as though the two of them were silently distancing themselves from him.

"...That's the general situation," Chen Nan said with a somewhat helpless, bitter smile.

According to her, students would appear out of thin air in this Art Building every so often; the two of them were no exception, they had simply arrived earlier.

Generally, students who appeared out of nowhere only remembered their names and that they were students of Gaoshan High School, but they had no memory of any specific details.

To prevent others from panicking, Chen Nan suggested that everyone form groups, like a class, to find warmth and security in numbers.

She served as the class monitor; if students had conflicts or emergencies, they could come to her.

She was a natural-born leader, a strong woman.

"I hope the teachers and students outside find us quickly once they realize we're missing," Chen Nan comforted them with a smile. "But at least we don't have to attend classes here for now. Everyone just needs to focus on having fun. The Art Building has all kinds of art and music supplies!"

They had recently been discussing painting graffiti on all the walls of the Art Building.

Everyone could let their imagination run wild.

"So, you were the first to arrive?" Wu Wang asked curiously.

Instead, Chen Nan shook her head and pointed to the person beside her. "He was the first. I was the second. When I arrived, Fatty was so scared he was crouching under a desk, trembling all by himself."

"Sister Chen... don't expose my weaknesses," Fatty scratched his head sheepishly.

He was indeed timid.

This was common knowledge among everyone in the Art Building, so they always had him receive newcomers to help train his courage and social skills.

As they chatted, they arrived at a large classroom.

It was filled with cabinets containing pigments.

The desks had had their legs removed, leaving only the wooden boards, which were tied together in pairs to form makeshift bed slats, topped with mattresses sewn from fabrics like curtains.

"Don't mind the limited conditions. You'll be staying in this classroom from now on. Li Yang is staying here too. Since you two already know each other, look out for one another," Chen Nan said, patting Wu Wang on the shoulder with a smile.

However, it was this seemingly casual gesture that allowed Wu Wang to instantly grasp the truth.

He frowned and asked uncertainly, "You... know his name is Li Yang?"

If he remembered correctly, since entering the Art Building, he was the only one who had mentioned the name Chu Yuxun. Li Yang had not spoken at all and was still in a state of confusion.

Chen Nan found the question baffling.

She replied with some confusion, "Of course I know. He was the last student to appear, and you are from this batch. There's only a one-day difference between you two."

After saying this, she lightly punched Li Yang in the chest and said irritably, "You brat, where were you hiding during the day? I didn't see a trace of you all day."

Li Yang: "?"

*Who are you, sister?! Do I even know you? Why are you getting handsy?*

Just as he was about to ask something, Wu Wang stopped him.

"It's fine, you guys go ahead. This kid just woke up and is a bit dazed. I'll get the bedding ready," Wu Wang said, flashing an even brighter smile.

Even though he appeared to be in a normal mental state, Chen Nan was still somewhat worried.

She cautiously pulled Li Yang aside and whispered a warning: "Keep an eye on him. Don't let him hurt himself again."

Li Yang: "?"

*Seriously, sister, why are you acting so familiar with me?!*

Before he could say anything, Chen Nan left the classroom with Fatty after giving her warning.

The moment they left, the smile vanished from Wu Wang's face.

He had seen through the true nature of the Art Building.

"Heh, Gaoshan High School really is a house built on corpses," Wu Wang said sarcastically.

Chen Nan, Fatty, and the other students in the Art Building were actually dead; they just didn't remember it.

He had felt a sense of dissonance all along.

It was because this place was *too* normal!

The Gaoshan High School outside was full of living people, yet it was filled with a deathly, oppressive atmosphere.

The Art Building was full of dead people, yet it was brimming with youthful vitality.

Essentially, the students who appeared here were those who had died because of the "Small Black Room"—whether they died inside it or subsequently committed suicide by jumping from a building, it was all the same.

The part of their normal humanity and youth that had been stripped away was being reenacted here, and they had forgotten the fact of their deaths, as if deceiving themselves into believing they were in a warm, welcoming school.

No wonder the deceased students were thrown into the Small Black Room for "processing."

Because a corpse represents a lifeless, drifting walking corpse, making it easier for the Ghost School to control.

The ghosts appearing in the classrooms represented the obsessions formed after becoming learning machines; that was why they didn't belong to either side. Any creature that obstructed their studying would trigger the appearance of the Tentacle Ghost.

"Principal Wang, it seems you aren't as invincible as you thought," Wu Wang grinned, a crazed expression crossing his face. "You're afraid... afraid that something inside the Art Building will destroy the Gaoshan High School outside?"

As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Li Yang.

Unexpectedly, this unintentional move was exactly right.

A corpse returning to the Art Building meant that Li Yang's two sides would meet and merge, making him a complete "human" once more.

He had become a student with independent thinking capabilities, rather than just a learning machine.

That was exactly what Principal Wang feared!

He feared that such a "normalized" student would uncover the secrets hidden within the Art Building!

"Li Yang, come for a walk with me," Wu Wang suggested, patting the other's shoulder.

"Where to?"

Wu Wang smiled in a way that was somewhat chilling. "To see which forbidden areas in the Art Building are off-limits. Those are exactly the places where we should go to play."

Li Yang: "..."

Though he didn't quite understand, the translation of that sentiment was: *Let's go find our deaths.*

"Can I refuse?"

"Only if you can convince me."

Drawing his dagger named "Tang Niu" from his combat boots, Wu Wang twirled the blade in a flourish to let Li Yang know that, under normal circumstances, Wu Wang was a reasonable man.

Moreover, right now, the "reason" was in his hands.

*Splat—*

Wu Wang suddenly felt a sharp sting on the back of his hand.

It turned out he had knocked over a container of pigment from a nearby cabinet.

His entire palm was stained bright red.

This familiar red and this sensation of pain...

"For anyone else, this dungeon would be incredibly suspicious and uncertain. But sorry, I'm the one who showed up today," Wu Wang laughed disdainfully.

In a trance, he saw himself in a dilapidated classroom filled with junk. His previous movement had caused a row of nails on the cabinet to pierce through his palm—there were about a dozen of them, densely packed.

Rustling footsteps came from outside the classroom.

Along with that eerie "hehe" sound from the beginning.

It was obvious that both the steel pipes and the nails were related to the ghost within the true Art Building.

Without changing his expression, he pulled out the rusty nails one by one, then pressed the dagger against his heart and thrust it in hard.

[Undying]! Resurrect in peak condition!

He cracked his neck, and his vision returned to the warm, tidy classroom.

He had also figured out the situation in the building.

Events occurring on both sides had symbolic correspondences. As long as he avoided being stained by any red pigment on this side, he would be safe on the other.

Conversely, it would lead to a fatal situation.

"Go find death... oh, I mean, find the forbidden zones. Don't be afraid, brother Li Yang," Wu Wang comforted him. "I will teach you the essence of courage—at worst, we die."

"A five-day limit? Not necessary at all! I'll show you how I speedrun this supernatural game with my immortality!"

(End of Chapter)