Dark Farm 7

Wan Qian had a peculiar quirk since childhood—whenever she was forcibly woken from deep sleep, she would easily lose her temper and act out of character. 

For example, she was usually mild-mannered and easygoing, always appearing friendly and agreeable. But the moment her sleep was disturbed, she would instantly become furious and uncontrollable. 

What was even more terrifying was that she did all of this while in a half-asleep, half-awake state. Once she fully woke up, she would have no memory of anything she had done. 

Because of this, back in university, just two months after moving in, all three of Wan Qian's roommates had packed up and left, leaving the dorm entirely to her. 

Aware of her own condition, Wan Qian tried to recall what had happened the previous night, but all she could vaguely remember was throwing something out the window. 

Seeing Wen Xirou and Xiao Lin standing perfectly fine in front of her, Wan Qian let out a breath of relief. At least she hadn't thrown a person out. 

"Did I scare you last night?" she asked. 

"Uh… not too much," Wen Xirou hesitated before adding, "Actually, I slept pretty well." 

She wasn't lying. Perhaps it was because the biggest threat in the dorm—the wardrobe—had already been thrown out. 

With that gone, both she and Xiao Lin felt inexplicably at ease. After closing their eyes for a while, they eventually drifted off and slept soundly until morning. 

A good night's rest had left them both in high spirits. 

"That's good." Seeing that they were in good shape, Wan Qian felt a little reassured. 

However, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed something on the floor and froze. 

It was the kind of mark left by a dark crimson liquid after it had dried. The trail stretched from where the wardrobe had originally stood, winding all the way to the window. 

Could this be something she had done last night? For some reason, Wan Qian felt a bit guilty, quickly looked away, and pretended not to see it. 

She got up, changed her clothes, folded her blanket, and hurried out to wash up before heading downstairs for breakfast. 

Wen Xirou and Xiao Lin, however, had also noticed the marks on the floor. It had been too dark the night before, so they hadn't seen anything unusual. Now, Wen Xirou crouched down to examine them closely. 

At the spot where the wardrobe had stood, a large patch of dried black-red liquid stained the floor. Within it, limp, elongated worm-like things clung to the ground, shriveled and fragmented. 

Wen Xirou stared at them for a long time, and a thought surfaced in her mind—they looked like blood vessels of some kind, forcibly torn apart. The dried black-red fluid must have leaked out from these "vessels." 

With this realization, she recalled the sharp, grating sound the wardrobe had made as it was dragged across the floor. 

Perhaps that wasn't the sound of friction at all. But it was the distorted, agonized scream of some creature having its blood vessels forcibly ripped apart. 

"Does that mean…the wardrobe was alive?" 

The thought sent a shiver down Wen Xirou's spine. But this thought took root deeply in her mind. 

Yes—because the wardrobe was alive. That was why, the moment they had stepped into the room, they had felt as though something was watching them. 

... 

When Wan Qian reached the first floor, the cafeteria was empty, with only the butler standing by the food cart. The cart was covered with a scarlet velvet cloth, obscuring whatever was underneath. 

"Ms. Wan," the butler greeted her as soon as he saw Wan Qian. 

Wan Qian glanced around, seeing that no one else was around, before walking over to the butler. "Morning." 

The butler smiled and said, "Good morning, Ms. Wan. There's something I must tell you—one of the interns was eliminated last night." 

"Already?" Wan Qian was a bit surprised. They hadn't even started working yet, and someone had already left? 

But then she thought about it—her own farm was so poor it was almost visible to the naked eye. The pipes in the bathhouse were rusted, and at night, there were mice squeaking in the cabinets. 

It made sense that the intern found the conditions difficult and left. 

"Well, if they left, then they left," she said, shrugging. 

Just as Wan Qian had finished speaking with the butler, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. She quickly took a few steps back, distancing herself from the butler, afraid someone might notice she knew him. 

The first to arrive at the cafeteria was a tall, burly man—the same one who had blocked Wen Xirou outside the bathroom yesterday. 

Two men followed him, both his chosen roommates. One was a greasy, overweight man, and the other, a thin, small man with glasses. 

The two of them looked nervous and apprehensive, constantly looking to the burly man for guidance. 

After the three of them arrived at the cafeteria, the burly man glanced at Wan Qian before choosing a seat and sitting down. The fat man and the one with glasses quickly followed and sat down as well. 

Before long, the others started to arrive one by one. 

Wen Xirou and Xiao Lin took the initiative to sit at the same table as Wan Qian. 

Compared to Wen Xirou and Xiao Lin, who appeared to have rested reasonably well, the others looked drained and weary. 

Most notably, Wu Fei, who had witnessed her roommate's death in the bathroom. 

Last night, under a mix of persuasion and threats from Tian Fang, Wu Fei reluctantly took a shower in one of the stalls, thus avoiding breaking the "Employee Dormitory Management Rules." 

But after nightfall, she couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. Lying on her bed, she wanted to cry but was too afraid to make a sound. 

The wardrobe, it seemed, knew she was the most vulnerable. As soon as she closed her eyes, the sounds began to echo in her ears. 

"Bang— Bang—" each sound grew louder and closer, as if the wardrobe were right beside her bed. 

Inside the wardrobe, something seemed to be frantically banging against the door, as if it could burst out at any moment and pounce on her. 

Wu Fei was tortured by the noise the entire night and couldn't sleep at all. 

When everyone saw her in the morning, they were startled by her appearance. 

Her face was deathly pale, her lips cracked, and her eyes were filled with bloodshot veins. She looked like a frightened bird, nervously scanning her surroundings. 

Liu Wen, who shared a dorm with Tian Fang, frowned when he saw Wu Fei's condition. 

"At this rate, she won't last long," Liu Wen said. 

Tian Fang sighed faintly and said, "Let's wait and see. She might pull through. If she does, everything will be fine."