Free Web NovelIt was like an illusion, the strange Old man in the photo suddenly blinked.
Lu Yibei met his gaze, only feeling as if something cold and disgusting was slowly crawling up her spine.
The strong sense of discomfort made her hands tremble uncontrollably, and the photo silently drifted to the ground just like that.
The next moment, her eyes began to burn, and the scene before her blurred, becoming almost invisible. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Indescribable forms, some even transparent as if non-existent, flashed through her vision, followed by streaks of light in various colors. Then, those streaks of light began to fade, and the light before her dimmed.
Lu Yibei steadied herself, raised her hands to examine them, and after finding that her hands had become small and fair, she nodded thoughtfully.
Was it because of that photo that triggered a hallucination related to Xue Hua?
It seems, as I expected, ever since I swallowed the witchs egg, when I enter these hallucinations again, I will also become like a Strange Tale. Lu Yibei thought.
Ever since the last time she was drawn into the hallucination triggered by the bamboo slip and stayed there for a while, she had this suspicion.
It was just that the hallucinations had always been passively triggered, and she hadn't had a chance to verify it.
Withdrawing her thoughts, Lu Yibei looked around and found that her location was exactly the corridor inside the sports equipment room at Huacheng Institute of Technology, as shown in the photo.
The sports equipment room at Huacheng Institute of Technology was built a long time ago, traceable back to when the university was first established.
The architectural style at the time now seems quite unique, a square four-story building nestled in a corner, with only one stairwell entrance near the right side of the building. There were no windows in the corridor, and the corridor on the left looked particularly eerie and long.
This architectural layout resulted in the entire building becoming deserted after the nights grew long, remaining abandoned for most of the time.
Many things were piled up in the small building. Besides some old sports equipment, there were also many unused costumes and props from various clubs... As time passed, even the people who originally put those things there couldn't clearly say what was stored inside.
These seldom-used items, like the small building itself which was rarely visited, were mostly forgotten in dark corners.
In fact, if it weren't for the recent intensive rehearsals by various university clubs for the anniversary celebration, which might require some old props, the door of this small building should have been locked.
Looking at the photos the Counselor took just now, there were almost none of the sports equipment room.
Perhaps he also took advantage of the small building's door being open during the anniversary celebration to sneak in and take photos, satisfying that strange peculiar hobby of his? Lu Yibei thought, walking along the corridor towards the location shown in the photo.
In the dimly lit corridor, there was a deathly silence. Poor quality performance costumes were casually discarded on the floor, and dilapidated old sports equipment showed signs of rust.
In the distance, several prop dummies from the drama club lay askew on the ground. Although the dummies were old, their craftsmanship was quite high; their limb joints could be freely bent.
It's just that, it's unclear what play the drama club was rehearsing back then, but when making the dummies, they deliberately drew their features to be comical and distorted, adding heavy blush, which couldn't help but remind one of paper figures used in memorial services.
And after the facial outlines of those dummies faded and bits of color peeled off, they looked even more unsettling.
If there was a Strange Tale hidden inside this pair of dummies, secretly watching passersby, I wouldn't find it strange. Lu Yibei thought.
As she was thinking, a sound of footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor. She turned her head to look for the source and saw that at the stairwell entrance on the other side of the corridor, someone seemed to have come up, cautiously peering out with half their body.
Seeing this, Lu Yibei slightly furrowed her brow, looked around, found a pile of cardboard boxes stacked together, and concealed herself.
Although, several times before when entering hallucinations, the people or urban legend within the hallucination did not notice her presence.
However, having had the experience in the bamboo slip hallucination last time, she felt it was safer to be cautious and avoid contact with the people in the hallucination.
As soon as Lu Yibei concealed herself, she heard a series of murmurs.
"Nice, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) the atmosphere here is really good! Photos taken here will definitely turn out great! This issue's booklet will surely sell for a good price."
Listening to this voice... it sounds like the Counselor? Lu Yibei frowned, and her gaze peered out through the gaps between the cardboard boxes, indeed seeing Xue Hua's figure holding a camera, and his excited face.
Lu Yibei watched Xue Hua continuously take photos of his surroundings, secretly muttering to herself.
I didn't expect the Counselor to be secretly selling "urban legend photos"?
Although everyone has the right to choose their own hobbies, seeing this scene, Lu Yibei still wanted to complain, this kind of hobby is truly courting death! free𝑤ebnovel.com
Things like "urban legend photos" are like how many people enjoy looking at and are willing to pay for private photos of pretty Misses.
After the nights grew long, some people, seeking thrills, developed the hobby of taking or buying so-called real "urban legend photos".
Lu Yibei had only heard of the existence of such niche hobbies before and had seen photos shared by group members in the Monster Story Chat Group. She didn't expect Xue Hua to be one of the photographers for these photos.
I really don't know what's so good about these things. Lu Yibei thought, aren't you afraid of having nightmares at night if you look at them too much?
As she was thinking, she suddenly heard Xue Hua on the corridor let out a cry of surprise.
"Holy crap—!"
What's going on? Did that strange Old man appear? Lu Yibei's heart skipped a beat, and she focused her attention on the corridor.
She saw that on the corridor, Xue Hua was surrounding the drama club's dummies, excitedly arranging them into exaggerated and distorted poses, and then continuously pressing the shutter.
The dummies' pale, paint-peeling faces, accompanied by the camera flash, flickered on and off in the darkness, looking inexplicably eerie. Coupled with Xue Hua's lecherous expression, Lu Yibei always felt a chill down her spine.
Lu Yibei watched Xue Hua pose different dummies one by one and take photos. Suddenly, a feeling of unease surfaced in her heart, and then she saw Xue Hua stop in front of a large metal storage cabinet.
The metal storage cabinet was unlocked, its two rusty doors slightly ajar, and a figure could vaguely be seen inside.
"Huh?! There's one hidden here?"
Xue Hua discovered the figure hidden in the metal storage cabinet, let out a surprised exclamation, and then, under Lu Yibei's gaze, walked forward and pulled open the metal door.
The moment Xue Hua pulled open the metal door, Lu Yibei's eyes burned intensely, as if warning that something bad was about to happen.
Lu Yibei slightly furrowed her brow. After her eyes adjusted to the burning pain and her vision stabilized, when she looked towards Xue Hua again, she was so startled by the scene before her that her body trembled violently.
She saw Xue Hua standing in the corridor, holding the strange Old man, who was wearing bright burial clothes and had gray skin all over, in his arms. He carefully moved him out of the metal storage cabinet, laid him flat on the ground, looked him over, then grabbed one of his arms, draped it over his own shoulder, and took a selfie with his camera.
Immediately after, he bear-hugged the strange Old man around the waist, carried him a short distance forward, and placed him steadily on a long table nearby.
"The craftsmanship is too good, it feels like silicone. Is such a good dummy just left here unused? What a waste!" Xue Hua examined the "dummy" on the table, muttering to himself with emotion. "My photos this time are definitely going to sell like hotcakes!"
Lu Yibei knew what that strange Old man was. Although the scene before her was somewhat comical at the moment, putting herself in Xue Hua's shoes, she suddenly felt chills running down her spine.
He couldn't actually be treating that Strange Tale Old man as a dummy and preparing to take photos of it, could he? Even if that kind of thing were fake, shouldn't you stay as far away from it as possible?
This...
I didn't expect the Counselor, who usually looks gentle and ordinary, to be so bold!? Lu Yibei thought.
As she was thinking, Xue Hua stepped back a few paces, adjusted the camera's aperture, stood near the strange Old man's feet, looked down, and pressed the shutter.
"Click—!"
The soft click of the shutter echoed in the silent corridor, accompanied by the camera flash lighting up and then dimming once again.
Lu Yibei clearly saw that in the darkness, the Old man lying flat on the long table silently sat up, his lifeless face almost pressing against Xue Hua's face.
Xue Hua, completely unaware of this, pressed the shutter again. As the flash lit up, that pair of murky, bloodshot eyes filled with malice abruptly burst into his vision through the lens.
"Ah—!"
Xue Hua cried out loudly, stumbled back a few steps in panic, fell off the long table, and without regard for his body's pain, scrambled backward and ran.
The sound of objects being knocked over continuously echoed. In the darkness, a blood-red lantern slowly lit up.
Xue Hua's screams echoed continuously down the corridor, "You, don't come any closer! You... damn it!"
However, what struck Lu Yibei as strange was that she didn't hear much fear in Xue Hua's screams. She even saw Xue Hua occasionally pick up his camera and continuously take photos of that strange Old man.
Thinking about taking photos at a time like this? Isn't his behavior a bit too strange?
Lu Yibei thought, and the next moment, her vision plunged into darkness.
...
On the other side, in Xue Hua's dormitory.
The Headless Senior had been quietly watching Lu Yibei from the side. Seeing her take that photo and suddenly fall into a strange state as if her soul had left her body, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.
She walked forward, gently patted Lu Yibei's shoulder, and with slightly parted lips, was about to ask her something, but suddenly felt a very terrifying Spiritual Energy fluctuation.
At that instant, she clearly felt the approach of death. It was an aura violent enough to break rules, a suppression from the Spiritual Energy fluctuation of a higher-level Strange Tale, causing her body to tremble instinctively.
Is it that terrifying Strange Tale I discovered before? Has it already noticed this place?
The Headless Senior had this thought. Without time to think further, she immediately picked up Lu Yibei, who was in a daze, turned around, and quickly ran towards outside the dormitory.
However...
That Spiritual Energy fluctuation, powerful enough to leave her with no desire to resist whatsoever, did not disappear. Instead, it followed her like a maggot clinging to bone, as if a high-dimensional life form had inadvertently locked its gaze onto her...
This is bad, bad! Where is it?! I can't sense it at all. The Headless Senior thought, glancing at Lu Yibei on her shoulder. No! I'm the one who got her involved, I must protect her!
