Chapter 210: Student Forum·Two Strange Tales

Chapter 210: Student Forum - Two Strange Reports

"A University Student Forum"

#Ask: Is Professor Zhang from the Department of Mathematics lenient with grading?# [New]

#Power outage during rehearsal in the auditorium, speechless#

#Why is the classroom at the end of the fourth floor full of people after ten PM?# [Hot]

#Have you encountered the strange tale of the "Doppelgänger" on campus?# [Hot]

#Today I saw a guy without a shadow on the road, was it just a hallucination from studying too much?#

...

Strange Report One: The Classroom Full of People

"Popular Post: I finished my self-study at Zhengde Building and glanced up from the first floor. Suddenly, I noticed that the classroom at the end of the fourth-floor corridor was filled with people sitting neatly.

Isn’t there a rule that the teaching buildings will be cleared by 10 PM at the latest? It’s already past 10 PM now, and the administrators have been clearing out each classroom one by one. How can there still be a classroom full of people? Is there any special event going on recently?"

"1F: Maybe a department is having a meeting?"

"2F: Which student department would hold a meeting in a classroom in the middle of the night? Even cows and horses need to rest."

"3F: At the end of the corridor in Zhengde Building... Are you sure you didn’t see wrong? The all-in-one computer in that classroom has been broken, and the door has been locked recently!"

"4F: Yes, yes, I had a class in that room, but it was moved recently... So how could there still be people?"

"5L: I remember too! I wanted to go in and study before, but found the door of that classroom locked. The key was with the security guard; it's impossible for anyone to get in!!"

[6L: Oh my god, this is getting scary… So what exactly did the OP see?]

"7L: [Scared][Scared]"

"OP's reply: Actually, when I first saw that classroom, I had an indescribable strange feeling. Now I realize why.

Why would someone be in that classroom on such a dark night without turning on the lights? If not for the streetlight shining through the window, I wouldn't have seen the silhouette of someone inside the dark classroom."

"8L: Holy crap, sounds like the beginning of a ghost story…"

"9L: My wardrobe just made a noise, I'm out of here."

"10L: Seriously, OP, run! This is too creepy!"

"11L: Run, run! I've heard a lot of weird things happening around campus lately; better safe than sorry…"

"OP's reply: I was already heading back to the dorm, but then I realized I left my pencil case in the classroom. I had to go back to get it TvT"

"12L: Oh no, good luck, OP."

"13L: Just came out of Zhengde Building; it's really late, and there's almost no one around. The light on the fourth-floor corridor is flickering, making it super eerie and scary…"

"14L: OP, please be careful!"

"15L: Come on, we're all educated people here. Why are so many of you so superstitious about ghosts?"

"16L: The era of Tianya is over; it's not popular to write ghost stories on forums anymore."

"OP's reply: ? What reason would I have to post lies in the middle of the night?"

"17F: It's true that some strange things have been happening at school lately; it can't be a collective prank, right?"

"18F: A friend of mine has also... Anyway, just because you haven't encountered it doesn't mean it can't exist."

"19F: Anyone who believes this, I've noted down your accounts and will sell you health supplements later."

"20F: Arguing like this is pointless. Why not let the OP take a photo as proof?"

"21F: That's a good idea! The OP doesn't need to risk their life taking a photo of that eerie classroom; just a photo proving they're really at Zhengde Building will do."

"22F: But why should the OP have an obligation to prove anything to you? Whoever doubts should provide evidence."

"OP's reply: No need to argue. I noticed that the classroom where I study is quite close to the one filled with people... Do you think ghosts could really exist in this world? That's not scientific, right?"

"23F: I believe in science."

"24F: Right, I think those 'figures' were probably just a mistake on the OP's part."

"25F: When the OP looked up from downstairs, the distance was far, the angle was skewed, and the lighting was poor, making it easy to mistake shadows of leaves or furniture for 'figures.'"

"26F: Wait, why did the OP suddenly ask this...?"

"27F: I sense that the OP has been stirred by a strong (reckless) competitive spirit."

"28F: Help, don't do anything rash, OP!"

"OP's reply: But now I'm standing just a few meters away from that classroom. If I don't find out the truth, my curiosity will keep me up all night..."

"I’ll stand a bit further away, not get too close, and use the camera to zoom in for the photo. It should be fine, right?"

"29L: OP is so brave!"

"30L: So those who doubted the authenticity, can now pretty much confirm that OP is really encountering something, right?"

"31L: OP’s actions were also step by step, usually stories aren’t written this way."

"32L: Waiting for the photos!"

"33L: Damn, I’m both curious and scared to look..."

"34L: It’s been almost three minutes since OP posted, why no update yet?"

"35L: OP? OP? Are you okay?"

"OP's reply: I took the photo."

"OP's reply: How could this be, I saw hdjbdrub&#"

"36L: Scared..."

"37L: Must have hit the wrong keys out of panic, what did OP actually see?"

"OP's reply: I’m sorry, I was so scared... I rushed down to the ground floor in one breath, and my hands are still shaking. I accidentally hit some random keys.

What I saw was that they had no faces! They were just dark, shadowy figures, sitting neatly in rows in the classroom, motionless, without any movement or heartbeat... But at the moment I took the photo, their head shapes turned, as if looking at me, making eye contact through the camera..."

"OP's reply: My mind went blank at the time, I couldn’t think of anything, I just grabbed my bag and ran down. The photo is still in my album, it might be a bit blurry. Once I calm down in my dorm, I’ll post it for you all to see."

"38L: Damn, there really are photos?"

[39L: Shocked, I thought it was going to be another one of those 'in the heat of the moment, no evidence left' stories. How is this for real...]

"40L: Looking forward to it!"

"41L: Ah, bookmarking first, I'll read it tomorrow morning before my 8 AM class!"

"42L: Haha, drawing courage in class, huh."

"OP's reply: I'm back in the dorm, and I took a closer look at the photos. Some of the figures seem so familiar; their outlines resemble some of my classmates..."

"Second row, first seat in the classroom."

"The person sitting there looks like me. Exactly like me... my figure."

"43L: ?? What's going on?"

"44L: My back feels a bit chilly. I'm moving my blanket and logging off."

"45L: Is that classroom really haunted... Anyone brave enough to check it out tonight?"

"OP's reply: I suddenly noticed, I don't have a shadow anymore."

"Swish—"

The sudden sound of flushing echoed through the empty Zhengde Building, causing Student C's hand to tremble as they scrolled through the hot post.

Student C had just finished evening study sessions and initially planned to return to the dorm with the crowd but suddenly felt a stomachache and had to come to the restroom alone.

Few young people can endure the lonely moments spent in the bathroom, and Student C was no exception. Habitually, she began scrolling through her phone, clicking into a popular thread on the student forum.

To her surprise, it turned out to be a ghost story...

The cold white light above dimmed slightly, and Student C felt an inexplicable chill run down her spine. She quietly turned off her phone screen, held her breath, and listened intently for any sounds outside the toilet.

There should be no one around; it was just the sound of the toilet flushing.

The public restroom facilities in the teaching building were old and often malfunctioned. Student C didn't find this unusual and gradually relaxed.

A few minutes later, she pushed open the stall door and cautiously stepped out of the toilet.

After washing her hands, Student C looked up at the sign on the corridor wall—bright red paint formed the number "4," strikingly prominent.

Only then did she realize that she was now at the end of the fourth-floor corridor of Zhengde Building...

The very location where the ghost story in the hot thread took place.

"It's probably all a hoax," Student C shook her head and whispered to herself, "The original poster hasn't shown up since posting yesterday, and hasn't even posted those photos... Maybe the so-called photos don't even exist?"

In the follow-up comments of the hot thread, a user claiming to be the original poster's roommate chimed in, saying that the OP returned home that night looking pale and kept muttering, "Where has my shadow gone?" Then, the OP was frightened into a high fever and remained unconscious ever since, explaining why no photos were posted.

But over the internet, who could verify the identity of the roommate?

Many comments below mocked the claim, suggesting that the "roommate" might be a secondary account controlled by the OP, working together to stage the drama.

Student C had actually only read the post as a story, not believing in ghosts or deities, but she still couldn't help being affected by the eerie atmosphere created by the story and the environment, feeling beads of sweat forming on her palms.

This was the most familiar place where she attended classes every day, yet the difference between night and day, silence and noise, made it seem strangely unfamiliar.

Student C tried to suppress the chill in her heart as she stepped into the now deserted corridor.

Thud, thud, thud...

The teaching building was eerily quiet at this moment.

All she could hear were her own footsteps, echoing hollowly and splashing faint reverberations.

Moreover, the fluorescent lights on this floor were malfunctioning, flickering on and off, casting a pale, ghostly glow that seemed to squeeze Student C's heart with an irregular, phantom hand.

In such an environment, it was hard not to let one's imagination run wild.

Student C suddenly remembered that the classroom beside her was the very one mentioned in the popular online post...

Should she turn to take a look?

Just a quick glance would prove whether the post was true or not...

After all, there’s no such thing as ghosts in the world, right?

With this thought, Student C couldn't resist turning her head to peer into the dark window—

Only to meet the gaze of a figure pressed against the glass, staring back at her.

The figure had no face, no skin, hair, or discernible features, only a shade darker than the darkness itself, vaguely outlining its form... like that of a girl with short, bobbed hair.

It had no eyes, yet Student C felt an unmistakable sense:

It was watching her.

If the shadow had features, they would surely be pressed tightly against the glass window now, forehead touching the glass, eyes fixed on her.

And...

Such eerie shadows were not just one.

Behind that shadow, indistinct figures sat in their seats, as if an unseen teacher was lecturing on the podium, making them sit upright and attentive.

The overlapping shadows and darkness seemed to create another world within the classroom, one that no ordinary person could comprehend, deep and terrifying. Coupled with the flickering lights in the corridor, it instantly ignited a surge of fear in one's heart.

Student C took a step back, wanting to run, but found her legs had gone weak, barely able to keep her standing.

She thought dully that she shouldn't have disturbed them.

Originally, these unknown figures might have maintained their stiff, upright postures, sitting through the entire night until the sun rose.

But now... she had come.

She had disturbed them, and thus became their prey.

One by one, the dark shadows turned their heads, their flat, dark, featureless faces facing Student C, exuding a silent pressure.

But what frightened Student C the most was the shadow of the short-haired girl, so close.

It bent its head even more, almost at a ninety-degree angle with its neck, as if the head would snap off like an overbent plastic toy in the next second and roll away.

It pressed against the glass, its voice carried by the night wind, tinged with a chill:

"Who am I?"

"Have you seen me? Tell me... who am I?"

Student C froze.

How could she know the name of the figure?

What should she answer?

If she said "I don't know," would it end up like in ghost stories, where angering the spirit leads to death?

If she guessed someone's name, wouldn't that be betraying them?

Her heart pounded like a drum, and Student C swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she prepared to make up a name. Suddenly, the light above her began to flicker more rapidly.

"Buzz... buzz..."

Amidst the clear sound of electricity, the light seemed to blink like a mad eye, flashing at an unusually high frequency!

Compared to the normal aging of a fluorescent tube, this sudden high-frequency flickering seemed more like some external factor was interfering with the current, or as if...

Something was approaching.

This thought flashed through Student C's mind.

She looked down the long corridor and saw one light after another go out from a distance, darkness spreading across the floor, swallowing half the corridor in an instant, moving closer in her direction.

As the ground fell into darkness, Student C initially thought it was just a normal consequence of the lights going out. But as she stared intently at the boundary between the darkness and the remaining light, she suddenly realized something.

No, that wasn't right.

If it were just the lights going out, why would the encroaching edge of darkness... twist and wriggle like a living thing?

It seemed as though something she couldn't see had merged with the darkness on the ground, slowly consuming the corridor as each light flickered out.

The edges of "it" surged like waves, layer upon layer, with intricate and beautiful curves, reminiscent of the vast deep-sea creatures in an aquarium, or perhaps something with flexible and soft limbs—

Was it the dexterous tentacles of an octopus?

Was it the wriggling earthworms beneath the soil?

Or perhaps, countless cold snakes?

As her thoughts grew chaotic, the fluorescent tube above Student C suddenly went out, plunging the entire floor into complete silence and darkness.

—"It" is coming.

With the last bit of light swallowed, Student C was enveloped in darkness.

She even had the illusion that she, along with the classrooms, this floor, and perhaps even the entire school building... had been devoured by the colossal creature lurking in the shadows.

Now everything was shrouded in the shadow of "it," as if submerged in its belly.

Compared to the humanoid shadows, this was a monstrous entity of indescribable size.

Just by passing through, "it" evoked the vastest darkness, the deepest unknown, the most colossal grandeur.

Student C's eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness; she could see nothing, only knowing that such darkness had enveloped her for dozens of seconds.

During this time, all she could perceive was her own rapid breathing and pounding heart, driven by fear.

Thump, thump.

Many strange thoughts bubbled up in her mind, like the bubbles in boiling water.

Student C wondered, was this her heartbeat?

Thump, thump—weighty, powerful heartbeats.

Was it her heartbeat, or the heartbeat of the creature she was inside?

After several seconds, light suddenly returned to Student C's vision.

The corridor lights flickered on together, making Student C squint in discomfort.

Turning her head to look at the classroom, it was now empty, not a single figure remained, only rows of neatly arranged, vacant desks and chairs.

She stood there in shock for a moment, then fished out her phone and commented under the popular post:

"Post 71: What the OP said is true... That classroom really was filled with faceless figures!

And there was an even more terrifying, larger shadow that seemed to disperse those figures. When it arrived, all the lights on the floor went out, and the entire building was shrouded in darkness..."

...

Campus Oddities II: The Doppelgänger

[Popular Post: Has anyone heard of the urban legend about "doppelgängers"? It's said that in this world, there might be another you, a doppelgänger. If one day, you see your doppelgänger, or someone you know witnesses another you, it means that death is gradually approaching you.

Because the doppelgänger will use every method to kill the original, taking over your identity and status...]

And recently, I really witnessed the existence of a doppelgänger.”

“1L: What’s going on with the forum lately? Is it hosting a horror-themed storytelling session?”

“2L: +1, I almost thought I’d entered the wrong place when I clicked into the school forum. It felt like the early days of Tianya Forum.”

“3L: I don’t care if it’s real or fake anymore; horror story enthusiasts are thrilled!”

“4L: But, I heard that there have been many strange things happening at the Philosophy Department recently…”

“5L: Like the ‘Full Classroom of Silhouettes’ in the popular thread next door? The OP claims to be from the Philosophy Department too.”

“6L: So what happened to the OP?”

“OP replies: I live in the old North Zone dormitory. Everyone should know that the dorm buildings there were constructed a long time ago and don’t have private bathrooms. So if you need to use the toilet, you have to go down to the public restroom in the corner of the ground floor.”

“The incident happened the night before last. I woke up in the middle of the night and went out to the public restroom. There was no one in the stairwell or the corridor... It sounds creepy, but I’ve lived here for three years and am used to the routine, so I wasn’t scared at the time.”

“It wasn’t until after I finished using the toilet and was about to push open the door that I suddenly saw a pair of feet through the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor.”

“Maybe it was too dark, and I couldn’t see what kind of shoes the feet were wearing. All I could see was that the feet were quietly blending into the dark environment, pointing directly at me, completely silent. Also, my hearing is very good, but I didn’t hear any footsteps at all. It seemed... as if those feet had appeared out of nowhere.”

“14L: Since the OP was using the toilet, there would definitely be the sound of flushing. Even with excellent hearing, other sounds could be drowned out by the water, right? That’s not strange, is it?”

“15L: The person above is just being stubborn.”

“16L: We materialist warriors are like this!

PS: OP, take your time posting. I’m wrapping myself in my blanket first.”

"17L: So urgent! Can't wait for the next part TvT"

"OP's reply: The moment I saw those feet, I froze, too scared to open the door. But right then..."

"The cubicle door was knocked on."

[I still remember that knock! Two light taps, "tap, tap," clear and distinct, making all the hairs on my body stand up instantly.]

[Then a familiar voice from outside asked me, "Who am I?"]

"21L: What the heck! Isn't this plotline a bit familiar?"

"22L: ...Isn't it from that popular thread next door? Someone said she also saw a classroom full of people at night, with a dark shadow pressed against the window watching her, asking the exact same question."

"23L: Help, if it wasn't a coordinated act by some club, I really have to wonder if there's something unclean in the school..."

"24L: Ah ah, science protects me! And theology too!"

"25L: In such an emergency, how did the OP respond?"

"OP's reply: When I get scared, I act purely on instinct. After a brief pause, I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly pushed the door open, not even looking to see what was outside, and ran straight out of the toilet!"

"Strangely, based on the distance of those feet from the cubicle, I estimated that opening the door would definitely hit someone. But throughout the process of pushing the door, I didn't feel anything, as if those feet were just a phantom image."

"But at the time, I didn't think much about it, only focused on running forward. I took the stairs three steps at a time, hearing nothing but the sound of my own footsteps—I thought it hadn't followed me, but when I looked down at the corner of the stairs, there really was a figure chasing after me! It never made a sound the whole time, like a ghost!"

[31L: Wondering what that "person" looks like?]

"OP's reply: The old dormitory corridor is pitch black at night, and I have mild myopia, so I couldn't see clearly. But it seemed to be a girl, with long hair and wearing a loose knee-length dress. Her face was like a void, a blank darkness..."

"32L: No way, how is it really connecting with the post next door?"

"33L: The figure I saw in the neighboring thread looked just like this!"

"34L: These stories... they couldn't possibly be real, could they? [Shocked]"

"35L: Just thinking that some strange changes might be happening around us sends shivers down my spine."

"36L: Whether it's true or not, we'll know once the OP from the neighboring thread recovers from their fever. If there are no photos after a week, it’s probably fake."

"OP's reply: I even won first place in the short-distance race at my school's sports meet, but as I ran up the stairs, that figure never fell behind. Instead, it got closer and closer... Then I didn’t dare to look back, just focused on rushing to the dormitory. In the end, I made it to the dorm and locked the door, keeping it out."

"Thinking about it now still gives me chills. Luckily, I left the door slightly ajar before going to the bathroom! Otherwise, I might have been caught..."

"40L: Putting myself in your shoes, that sounds so intense!"

"41L: I have a question, isn't this just a regular ghost story? What does it have to do with the doppelgänger mentioned at the beginning?"

"OP's reply: The connection is that the more I recalled in the dorm, the more I felt something was off. The figure gave me a very familiar feeling—its build, attire, and even its voice were all too familiar."

"My roommate was woken up by my commotion. As I tried to explain what happened, I suddenly realized—the voice coming from the figure was mine."

"Coincidentally, I had my hair down that night and was wearing a loose nightgown."

"It seemed... to be me."

"If I had been caught by another version of myself, I don’t know what would have happened."