Resurgence of the Unknown

Chapter 3: The Ghost Realm

"Ghosts cannot be killed.
Only ghosts can deal with other ghosts.
Understand the patterns of ghosts."

These three sentences were scrawled on the blackboard, the writing rough but clear, indicating how much force Zhou Zheng had used to write them. The evening study students looked at each other in confusion.

Was this guy really an international detective? Or was he some crazy person who had wandered in from somewhere? This was supposed to be a safety lecture, but all he was doing was talking about things that didn't make any sense.

Some students shook their heads in disbelief, while others started whispering and even snickering. Clearly, most of them weren't taking Zhou Zheng's words seriously.

Only Yang Jian had a serious expression on his face. The story from the forum and that eerie photo had left him feeling uneasy, and now, with this strange man's cryptic words... Could it be that the world was changing in ways he didn't yet understand?

After writing those three sentences, Zhou Zheng didn't say much more. He just scanned the room with his bloodshot, weary eyes. "If any of you have questions or if something strange happens around you, feel free to ask me. I'll do my best to help. If there are no questions, then today's safety lecture is over."

But no one asked anything.

"Should I ask him about that old man in the photo?" Yang Jian wondered. He pulled out his phone and reopened the forum, scrolling back to the old man's picture.

But just as he was hesitating, the lights in the classroom suddenly dimmed, casting the room in a gloomy shadow.

"Huh?"

Zhou Zheng's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately became alert.

Yang Jian instinctively looked up. Through the window, he caught a glimpse of a figure in the hallway outside, and his eyes widened in shock. His entire body tensed up, a wave of intense fear washing over him, paralyzing him on the spot.

Outside the window stood an old man, dressed in a black robe, his face covered in corpse spots. His lifeless, gray eyes stared directly into the classroom, as if he were a cold, unfeeling statue.

Around the old man, the hallway was pitch black, completely devoid of light. The corridor lights seemed to have gone out entirely, and a thick, inky darkness was seeping into the classroom like mercury, slowly enveloping everything in its path.

The wall next to the old man began to decay at a visible speed. The freshly painted surface rapidly grew covered in moss, the paint peeling and darkening, as if decades had passed in mere moments. A musty, rotten smell began to fill the air.

"It's the old man from the forum story... How is this possible? How can he be here?"

Yang Jian's knuckles turned white from gripping his phone too tightly. The screen still showed the photo of the old man, who looked identical to the one outside the window—except the real one was far more terrifying.

Unable to contain his fear, Yang Jian shot up from his seat, knocking his chair over in the process. His sudden movement drew the attention of the entire class.

"Yang Jian, what are you doing? Sit down and stop disrupting the class!" Mr. Wang, their teacher, scolded from the back of the room.

But Yang Jian didn't hear him. His terrified eyes were fixed on the black-robed old man outside the window.

The old man moved...

His rigid body turned mechanically, his dead, gray eyes seemingly unfocused as his head slowly followed.