Chapter 23: Am I crazy? No, it's this world that's gone mad

“Buddy, usually I'm the one telling horror stories to scare people. Are you trying to turn the tables on me?”

Wu Wang turned back, helpless.

As a madman capable of piercing his own temple with a dagger without changing his expression, he had no use for a boring emotion like fear.

However, when he looked back, he saw nothing.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask Li Yang, "Are you always this humorous?"

But in the next second, he noticed Li Yang's expression becoming extremely unnatural. He looked as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words, his fingers lifting and dropping several times.

【He saw it】

Those words surfaced on Li Yang's forehead.

As the red vertical pupils exerted their power, Wu Wang finally believed him.

"You... you really can't see that person? He's walking toward us, he's almost right next to you," Li Yang said again, unable to help himself as he watched the figure move slowly.

But no matter how much Wu Wang widened his eyes, he couldn't see anyone in the dim corridor.

After a moment of contemplation, he rolled up his sleeves.

His red vertical pupils were exposed, the eerie pupils darting around as if a curious child were full of interest in the world.

As time passed, gradually...

Wu Wang saw it too.

A blurry silhouette appeared about two or three meters in front of him.

As his vision gradually cleared.

A boy about 1.7 meters tall, with a somewhat rounded build and wearing a Gaoshan High School uniform, was looking at the two of them curiously.

His face looked chubby, the kind of little kid you'd find in almost every high school class, and there was a hint of timidity in his eyes.

He asked cautiously, "Are you... new students in the building? Which class are you from?"

"!"

Wu Wang immediately sensed something was wrong.

The moment this guy spoke, everything around them became brighter and clearer.

The corridor, which had been pitch black, was now clear enough to see the stains on the floor tiles, and the cluttered, haphazardly piled junk had vanished, replaced by neatly organized items leaning against the walls on both sides.

Most bizarrely, many students were even standing on the corridor tables, smearing certain pigments onto the walls, appearing to be creating some kind of printmaking.

Everyone was getting along harmoniously.

Occasionally, there were sounds of playing and frolicking, and many people were picking up pigments to paint on their uniforms as keepsakes, sketching youthful, albeit naive, drawings on them.

Some girls were quietly writing the names of their crushes on the left chest of their uniforms inside little hearts; some prankster boys were drawing ghost faces on their faces to scare others.

"Fuck! Where the hell am I?"

"Is this even still in the country?"

Wu Wang couldn't help but curse.

The situation inside this art building was far more complex than he had imagined!

Abnormal places producing normal people.

That was the most abnormal situation of all!

The little chubby kid finally mustered the courage to step forward and comfort them: "You can't remember which class you're in either, right? It's okay, we're the same."

With that, he walked toward a girl who was standing on a table on her tiptoes, sketching a Totoro pattern on the wall, and said softly, "Class Monitor, we have new students again. Please assign them."

The girl turned around.

Even without makeup, she could be seen to be a beauty; her small, oval face and cherry lips, which were moist enough to drip even without lipstick, looked full of youth.

A smudge of blue pigment on her cheek gave her an air of playfulness.

She jumped down from the table gracefully.

She reached out to Wu Wang with a bright smile: "Hello, my name is Chen Nan. I am the head class monitor for all the classes in this art building. Follow me, and I'll explain the situation here."

Wu Wang reached out and shook her hand.

"Chu Yuxun. Please look after me."

The warmth from her palm made him feel slightly dazed.

Body temperature? Are these guys real people?

They aren't ghosts?

No, that's too presumptive; he needed to observe more.

The group walked forward side by side.

After only a few steps, two boys nearby bumped into each other while shoving, accidentally knocking over a basin used for washing pigments. A large amount of black-red dirty water splashed directly toward Wu Wang.

Despite his quick reflexes, he was still splashed with a significant amount of dirty water on his abdomen.

"Li Hua! Wang Ming! Can't you see there are new students? Behave yourselves!" Chen Nan scolded, grabbing the two boys by their ears.

"Our mistake, our mistake! Sister Chen, let go, you're going to pull my ears off..."

The boys pleaded with grins on their faces.

Seeing Wu Wang standing frozen in place, the chubby kid stepped forward to comfort him: "Did you get dirty? I have an old uniform over there; I'll go get it for you to change into later."

Wu Wang did not respond.

He only frowned, lightly wiping the pigment stains from his body. The familiar stimulation of pain against his nerves kept him extremely lucid.

He opened his palm.

There was no pigment stain; there was only a hand full of thick, black-red liquid.

His vision blurred for a moment.

The surroundings turned dim once again.

In front of him was a steel pipe about the thickness of a finger. Its end was broken, revealing a cross-section that was incredibly sharp despite being covered in rust.

Because he had slammed into it head-on, the steel pipe had impaled him straight through his abdomen.

The bulletproof vest had been completely useless; clearly, this was not a simple physical injury.

The so-called pigment stains were his own blood! It appeared black-red because his internal organs had also been pierced!

"Cough, cough, cough... that's more like it..."

A crazed smile appeared on Wu Wang's face.

"A warm class monitor in this ghost school? What a load of bullshit this 'inner world' is!"

He then grabbed the steel pipe with his hand and began to pull it out bit by bit. Every millimeter of movement tore at his internal wounds, the feedback from his pain nerves causing the veins on Wu Wang's forehead to bulge.

*Psh—*

The steel pipe was completely pulled out.

The finger-thick wound in his abdomen caused blood to flow incessantly like a burst dam.

He didn't care at all; he merely gasped for air, gripping the steel pipe tightly, and slowly aimed its sharp end at his own temple.

"Second Loop... initiate!"

*Swish—*

Without any surprise, Wu Wang pierced his own brain. After all, letting the abdominal wound develop until death was far too slow and would hinder his movement.

It was better to cut the Gordian knot!

Die one step ahead!

"Huff... ha! Huff, ha!"

The moment he resurrected and opened his eyes, Wu Wang saw the people around him looking at him with strange expressions.

Looking down, he found himself holding a basin of dirty water, frantically washing his face.

His entire face was a mess.

He had even scrubbed his skin until small wounds appeared, enough to show that the force used was staggering.

"Uh, Student Chu? Do you perhaps have a slight... um... mental issue?" Chen Nan asked cautiously, then immediately explained, "Of course, I'm not discriminating against mental illness, I'm just asking for the safety of the other students."

Anyone seeing someone suddenly freeze in their tracks, then grab a nearby basin of dirty water to scrub their face would think something was wrong!

The force was enough to scrub the skin right off his face!

What normal person would do that to themselves!

"I am likely ill," Wu Wang explained with a grimace and a distorted smile. "But I believe more strongly—"

"That your world is insane."

(End of Chapter)