Chapter 20: The Courage Test Game

hailed a cab to head toward Xinhu High School, but even the taxi driver didn't know of such a place. We spent over two hours asking around and navigating before finally reaching the destination.

Paying the fare, I stepped out of the car. Surrounding me was a desolate wasteland, filled with waist-high weeds and stinking ditches. Deep within this wilderness, I spotted the campus, shrouded and forgotten beyond the city.

"This looks nothing like the fancy private school in the photos!"

The school in the pictures had been high-end and elegant, but the dilapidated reality before me was eerie, like a half-buried corpse.

"It's already 11 p.m. Time to speed things up." Determined to complete the task, I plunged into the wilderness, trudging ahead. However, I was soon stopped by a row of rusted iron fences.

"NO ENTRY!" The warning sign had been removed and thrown into the mud, with faint, smudged bloody handprints left on it.

Picking it up, I re-hung it but couldn't help wondering, "Normally, even abandoned factories don't bother with fences unless they're hiding hazardous materials. Why would a school need this level of isolation?"

Climbing over the fence, I pressed on. If I had turned back, I would've noticed the warning sign trembling slightly before falling back into the mud with a thud.

At the main entrance, the black-painted gates were secured with two red padlocks. Peering inside, I could only make out the faint outlines of a few buildings.

As I observed closely, a chill ran up my calf. Startled, I jumped back and saw a black cat sitting by my feet.

"You scared me!"

The black cat's green eyes gleamed as it tilted its head, almost human-like, before darting into the abandoned school grounds.

"One scare after another. If this keeps up, I'm going to end up with a nervous breakdown."

Pushing my suitcase through the gap under the gate, I climbed over it to enter Xinhu High School.

"Phew, made it to the destination. Time for my second live stream!"

I set up the camera and connected my phone to the mobile encoder.

"Image acquisition in progress..."

"Connecting to chat..."

"Connection stable. Start the live stream?"

"Yes."

"Welcome to the stream, Teletubby Killed in Murder! Welcome, Officer Huang from Class 2-3! Welcome..."

The moment the stream began, several familiar usernames popped up in the chat.

"Holy crap, the streamer's alive! What a relief!"

"Streamer, we thought you'd kicked the bucket—we even ordered a funeral wreath!"

"So, where are you planning to die tonight? The alert system is armed and ready to call the cops!"

The chat's enthusiasm exceeded my expectations. Though most comments were jokes, they helped ease my anxiety and tension.

"Welcome back to the Midnight Thriller Live Room. Tonight's destination is genuinely spine-chilling."

I pointed the camera toward the school's sign. "This is Xinhu High School, a private elite institution co-founded by China and Japan. The students here were all from wealthy families..."

"I've heard of similar elite schools—introducing Japanese-style education, and the tuition fees are insane!"

"Bah! Our five-thousand-year-old civilization needs no Japanese influence! Get out of the stream, you imperialist stooges!"

"Um, calm down, everyone. Xinhu High School was shut down five years ago, so there's no need to argue."

Trying to steer the chat back on track, I continued, "This school should've been well-known locally, but based on my investigation, all information about it has been deliberately erased since its closure."

"What are they hiding? Or what happened five years ago to warrant the shutdown?" The viewers' attention gradually shifted to my words. "Peeling back the layers of mystery, uncovering lost truths—tonight, I'll lead you to solve them all."

"Hurry up before the security guard wakes up!"

"My gut tells me the girls' locker room has secrets—petition to investigate!"

"I agree with the commenter above! The stars align, and I've reached the same conclusion!"

"Amateurs! The girls' bathroom is way spookier..."

"Perverts, all of you. Leave!"

Ignoring the chat's playful banter, I lifted my camera and entered the campus, leaving my suitcase by the gate.

Exploring a new environment starts with orientation and mapping the area. "Classroom building, science lab, girls' dormitory, administrative office, playground..."

Xinhu High School was enormous, and it would take a long time to explore the entire campus. To be safe, I decided to search one building at a time to look for clues.

After weighing my options, I headed for the nearest classroom building.

The four-story building housed all grades due to the school's focus on elite education and small student numbers. Each floor had four classrooms labeled with grade and class names. Burn marks scarred the walls and stairs, with most railings broken or missing—walking through was precarious.

"Judging by the damage, the online rumors about a fire and stampede may not be baseless," I muttered, walking through the first-floor corridor. If you've ever looked into an empty classroom late at night, you'd know—those rows of desks and chairs sitting silently are unsettling.

All the first-floor classrooms were empty, as expected.

I cautiously moved to the second floor, passing classrooms marked Class 5 of Grade 10, Class 1 of Grade 11... Still nothing. I began doubting my fears were overblown until I reached the third floor.

"Empty, empty, still empty."

My nerves finally calmed—until I spotted something in the last classroom.

"What is that?"

Through the window, I saw four dark silhouettes standing by the teacher's podium.

"Bang!" Startled, I dropped my camera. I stumbled back and nearly fell over the railing.

"Are those students? No, calm down. Maybe they're just mannequins."

Picking up my camera, I cautiously approached the window again. The figures were gone. They weren't mannequins!

Cold sweat drenched me as I backed toward the stairs.

"Creak." The classroom door opened. Relieved, I muttered, "Not a ghost, just a person!"

To my surprise, two boys and two girls with schoolbags emerged from the room.

"You..."

"We're students from a nearby school. We heard this place was haunted and came to test our courage," said the oldest-looking boy, around 17 or 18.

"Courage test? Go home! This place is dangerous!" I warned sternly. Given Hell Show chose this location, there might actually be ghosts here.

"Relax, dude. Your nerves are shot," one short-haired girl chuckled, seemingly in a relationship with the boy.

"Leave now. If something happens, you won't have time to regret it."

"You adults are always so dramatic. We've been here longer and haven't seen anything weird."

"Exactly. If you want to leave, go ahead. Our game's just starting."

Today's kids were utterly fearless—or, as the saying goes, courting disaster. If I forced them out, they might rebel and sneak back later.

"Fine. If you won't leave, let me join your courage test. I'm a supernatural explorer streamer, so I'm actually into this stuff."

I only said that to protect them. Little did I know, the real nightmare was just beginning.