The Door Knocker

Thump, thump, thump. The heavy, eerie knocking sound continued at a fixed rhythm, like the ticking of a well-set alarm clock. The classroom door wasn't locked, nor was it even latched; it was simply closed casually and could easily be pushed open with a little force. But what sent chills down everyone's spines was that the old man in a black robe, covered in corpse spots, did not push open the door. He remained stiff, standing outside the door, knocking without any intention of coming in. However, although the old man didn't enter, the thick darkness in the corridor rushed in like ink. The entire classroom began undergoing unimaginable changes. The pristine walls became mottled and moldy, with peeling paint that left an uneven surface. Black and green mold grew on the pitted walls, emitting a cold, damp odor. The books on the desks quickly turned yellow and rotted. Even the concrete floor started weathering rapidly, revealing rusty steel bars, and some areas began to collapse. In an instant, it seemed as though decades had passed, and the ravages of time had taken their toll. However, the classroom lights fought against the darkness with all their might. The bright white light resembled a flickering candle in the wind, emitting a dim glow as if it could go out at any moment. Fear appeared on the faces of every student. Some screamed, some called for help, and others trembled.

The only calm person was Zhou on the podium. He remained motionless, surveying the surroundings, paying attention to any movement. A dangerous-level ghost that could create a ghost domain was not something he could handle. What he needed to do was to find a way out, to let these students live and leave this place, even if it meant only a few of them. "Zhou , look!" At that moment, Fang Jing suddenly exclaimed. His face was particularly grim as he pointed at several classmates on the classroom desks. Previously unnoticed, it now dawned on them that several classmates were lying motionless on their desks. Their eyes and mouths were wide open, their faces pale, and a putrid smell of corpses emanated from their bodies, as if they had been dead for days. Thump, thump, thump. The knocking sound echoed again. At this moment, one of the male students who had been alive among the crowd suddenly shivered and collapsed on the floor, his body completely rigid. "What's wrong with you, Li?" Someone tried to help him up, but as soon as they touched his body, they let out a scream and quickly backed away. Cold, rigid, like a lifeless corpse. Li, like the previous students, had wide open eyes and mouth, a lifeless face, devoid of any vitality, and his body gradually emitted a putrid smell of decay. Dead, they were dead. Moreover, it wasn't just one; at least six or seven students were lying on their desks with lifeless faces. "How could this happen? They were fine just a moment ago, why did they suddenly... suddenly die?" someone tremblingly said.

Jing's face turned pale. "Stop shouting. There's a ghost outside the door, and we could die in any way. You'll soon know how terrifying a ghost that can create a ghost domain is." The others looked at him in terror, each person resembling prey trapped in a cage, filled with fear and trembling. "Zhou, haven't you figured out a way yet? If you don't, we'll all die here," Jing angrily said. He was trembling too because in the ghost domain, anyone could die, including him. "Stop babbling. If you can't wait, you can escape on your own. Don't count on me." Zhou was also anxious; he didn't dare to act rashly. "Running around in the ghost domain will only lead to faster death. Do you think I know nothing?" Jing retorted. "Since you know, then stand there and wait quietly. If we're really going to die, don't think it's just you. Everyone is the same. Don't think you're special just because you know a few things. In the face of ghosts, everyone is equal." Zhou spoke. "Damn it," Jing couldn't help but curse.

At this moment, Ethan's hands and feet turned cold. He forced himself to calm down because it was not a time for joking; people had actually died, and it wasn't just one. If it continued, many more could die. But when he unintentionally glanced at the blackboard, which was about to fall off the wall, he was suddenly stunned. His gaze lingered on the three sentences Zhou had written, especially the last one about understanding the rules of ghosts. "Zhou is not daring to act because he's also observing the old man outside the door, trying to find his pattern. Only by finding the pattern can he take action. Think quickly, think quickly. What pattern can this old man have?" His mind began to spin frantically, recalling everything recorded in the forum's story and connecting it to the events happening before him. There must be commonalities, similarities. The internet user called night King was at home, and his door was closed. The old man stood outside the door, knocked, and then entered. Then, he came to the door again, knocked, and entered once more.

At this moment, this ghost appeared outside the corridor, knocking on the door but not entering. Why did the old man enter the user's home, but not here? Same situation, same events. What caused the difference? Is time not enough? Then what time is not enough? Could it be that the knocking time is not enough? Perhaps that's the key. Let's give it a try. Suddenly, Ethan gathered his courage and shouted, "Zhou, it's the knocking sound." "The knocking sound?" Zhou paused, his gaze fixed on the student who spoke up. "What do you mean?" Ethan suppressed his fear and said, "Although it's just a guess, I think this thing is killing people through the knocking method. Maybe that old man is timing something, or maybe it's something else, but it must be related to the knocking. If we can stop that thing from knocking, it might be helpful." Killing through knocking. If that's really the case, then this ghost is too terrifying. "This guy's potential is showing so quickly," Jing looked at him with an unfriendly gaze, tightly clenching his fists. "We can't let him leave this school alive." "I'll trust you once," Zhou said solemnly, with no room for choice. If they didn't act now, everyone here would die. Immediately, Zhou sprang into action. Like a wild beast, he charged out, his oddly proportioned body possessing an explosive force beyond that of an ordinary person. "Bang!" With a loud noise, he forcefully pushed open the classroom door, along with the old man in a black robe outside the classroom. The old man fell to the ground, but no one dared to help him up. His body contorted into a strange posture, like a stiff puppet with limbs swinging at random, lacking the resilience and flexibility of a living person.

Ghosts cannot be killed. Zhou wouldn't forget the words he himself had written. Even if this old man were crushed into pieces or burned to ashes, he still wouldn't die. He would continue to appear in an inexplicable manner. Only a ghost can deal with a ghost. Zhou gritted his teeth and shouted back, "Watch for the right moment. As soon as you have a chance, escape. I'll hold this thing back." With that, underneath his large coat, his bulging belly began to wriggle strangely. A hand, or rather, the outline of a hand, emerged from beneath a layer of skin. This hand had a grayish-blue color with sharp nails that seemed as if they could tear open the skin and emerge from within. However, the skin enveloping the hand was resilient and remained intact. What was even more terrifying was that the hand extended over two meters. Was this still a human hand? In this way, the grayish-blue strange hand grabbed hold of the old man on the ground. "Sizzle~!"

The sound of flickering fluorescent tubes filled the air. In an instant, the darkness that enveloped the classroom disappeared, and the bright lights reappeared. Although the walls were still mottled and the ground appeared to be collapsing, it seemed that the disaster had been halted. "It worked," Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. But soon after, his eyes widened in shock, and a sense of fear shrouded his emaciated face. The old man lying on the ground slowly stood up, his lifeless gray eyes slightly moved, as if looking at Zhou. "Impossible, it can still move even though I restricted it?" Zhou's face changed dramatically, and he immediately shouted, "Go, run quickly, take advantage of the ghost domain not appearing yet, leave this place. I'll stay here to hold this thing back." This ghost is definitely not just a dangerous-level entity. Cold sweat ran down his spine.