Forbidden Land – CH 014

Back in his dorm room, it was still past 10 PM. The lights were still on, and while the other dorms were noisy, his Room 123, where he lived alone, was quiet. He quickly washed up, wanting to go to sleep early; his nerves had been on edge for the past few days.

Just then, a voice called from outside the window, “Zhang Chao.”

Zhang Chao recognized Bai Qiu’s voice. He leaned out the window, looking at Bai Qiu standing on the grass below, and said, “Qiu, did you need something?”

Bai Qiu said, “Did you go to the School of Medicine again?”

Zhang Chao chuckled, “How did you know?”

Bai Qiu said, “This afternoon, a female PhD student named Chen Rong came to see me. She said she wanted to give you psychological counseling and that she wanted to study with you.”

Zhang Chao quickly protested, “Hey, the college insisted on arranging it for me. If you don’t like it, I’ll force her not to come with me tomorrow; is that alright?”

Bai Qiu frowned slightly. “That’s not what I meant. She said you were going to study at the School of Medicine library, right?”

Zhang Chao inwardly cursed at Chen Rong’s talkativeness. Why did she tell Bai Qiu all this? He remembered Bai Qiu telling him not to go to that self-study area, and now that his lie had been exposed, he could only play the sympathy card: “Qiu, there are fewer people there, it’s quieter, and it’s more efficient. Please forgive me this time, okay?”

Bai Qiu frowned, saying, “You just won’t listen to me!”

Zhang Chao grinned. “How about you come with me to study tomorrow? That way, you can get rid of that shrew.”

Bai Qiu thought for a moment and said, “Okay, tomorrow evening at 6:30, let’s go to Room 505 in East Building 1.”

Zhang Chao said, “Room 505? That’s so high.”

Bai Qiu gave a soft snort, saying, “Didn’t you want fewer people? There are quite a few people there. Take it or leave it, it’s up to you!”

Zhang Chao quickly said, “Okay, okay, my dear auntie, I’ll definitely come.”

A smug smile spread across Bai Qiu’s face; girls always had that smile when they were pampered by boys.

Zhang Chao added, “Qiu, the day after tomorrow is Saturday; let’s go buy a cell phone together. I can’t reach you; it’s so annoying.”

Bai Qiu lowered her head and said, “It’s alright.”

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and instantly understood. He said, “Is some perverted guy harassing you? Is that why you’re afraid to use your phone, afraid he’ll harass you?”

Bai Qiu didn’t speak but sighed.

Zhang Chao said angrily, “Just tell me; I’ll deal with him.”

Bai Qiu shook her head and said, “Forget it; it’ll be fine in a while. Don’t make a fuss.”

Zhang Chao was now certain. There really was a perverted guy harassing her. So, that broken coffin was put there by that bastard in the middle of the night. Damn it, he really wanted to use his newly bought stun gun to beat that bastard to a pulp, make him faint, then splash him with cold water to wake him up. And when he woke up, he’d shock him again!

Bai Qiu looked at Zhang Chao’s angry face and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I’m going back now. Don’t worry about me.”

The last sentence was the key point. Although Zhang Chao was unwilling, after hearing the last sentence, he still pretended to be satisfied and nodded, saying, “Then you should go back to sleep quickly.”

“Okay.” Bai Qiu nodded, turned, and walked away from the grass towards the dormitory.

Zhang Chao climbed into bed, turned off the light, closed his eyes, and felt a surge of anger at the thought of that sleazy man harassing Bai Qiu. He’d even gone so far as to put a coffin down in the middle of the night to scare him after Li Weihao jumped—such a despicable thing!

Then, what about the voice that answered him twice in the middle of the night?

Why was it Li Weihao’s voice?

The thought sent chills down his spine again. He quickly tried to distract himself and fell asleep.

It was the dead of night again, and the quiet dormitory was filled with the “tap-tap, tap-tap” sound. Zhang Chao hadn’t slept soundly. After hearing the sound several times, he sat up abruptly and listened carefully for a while longer. Sure enough, it was the sound of someone knocking on the ventilation glass of the toilet.

“That bastard’s still not done! I’m not afraid of you tonight!” Zhang Chao quietly climbed out of bed, afraid to make a sound lest he scare the person away. He stealthily moved towards the window.

Just as he took two or three steps towards the window, he suddenly stopped.

The moonlight and the faint streetlights shone in through the window, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

The toilet door opened inwards, so the light coming in through the vent naturally cast the door’s shadow outside.

Normally, the shadow cast by the toilet door should be straight. But this was not!

The shadow emerging from the toilet was a human shape. The shadow of the body and torso was crooked and distorted, while the lower part of the body was straight.

What did this mean?

Someone was hiding behind the door!

Only the upper body was sticking out, while the lower body remained behind the door, creating this shadow.

How could that be? The ventilation window in the toilet was too small; there was no way someone could climb in. The window next to the washbasin—if someone climbed in, it would be very noisy; he couldn’t have missed it.

The only explanation was that the person had been hiding in the dorm ever since he returned!

Who would hide in the dorm like that, and he hadn’t noticed them at all! Zhang Chao felt a chill run down his spine. He cautiously backed away step by step, staring in terror at the shadowy figure on the floor. He quietly picked up his phone from the edge of the bed, walked to the door, gently unlocked it, and closed it slightly without making a sound. He then turned and went into the hallway.

He stood in front of the dorm room opposite his own, his eyes fixed on his own door, listening intently for any sounds inside. Then he took out his phone and quickly typed, “Don’t make a sound; open the door and come out. I’m outside,” and sent it to Lin Yi’ang in the next dorm room.

He listened intently. A text message beeped from the next dorm room. A minute later, the door to Room 121 opened slightly, and Lin Yi’ang, still in his pajamas, crouched down as he emerged. Seeing Zhang Chao’s slightly pale face, he muttered, “You bastard, why did you wake me?”

Zhang Chao quickly made a shushing gesture and said in the softest voice, “There’s someone in my dorm room.”

Lin Yi’ang looked at the half-open door in surprise, his sleepiness instantly vanishing. “A thief?” he asked.

Zhang Chao said, “I don’t know; he’s hiding in the bathroom.”

Lin Yi’ang said, “But…but I don’t have any weapons.”

Zhang Chao said, “Let’s go in together. I have a stun gun; I haven’t used it yet. Two of us can definitely take him down.” Lin Yi’ang nodded, and the two gently pushed open the door. Zhang Chao pointed to the shadow on the ground; sure enough, the shadow was still there.

Lin Yi’ang took a breath, clenched his fist slightly, and then rushed forward, about to kick the toilet door, when he suddenly stopped, turned around, and cursed, “You beast, come and see for yourself!”

He flipped on the toilet light, and Zhang Chao went over. He saw that a piece of clothing was hanging on the toilet door frame; no wonder the shadow looked like a person hiding behind it.

Zhang Chao was about to breathe a sigh of relief when suddenly he gasped, pointed at the clothing, and said, “This…this is Li Weihao’s clothing!”