HBWnovel Chapter 58 Pu Bucheng... died!
Chapter 58 Pu Bucheng... died!
Park Bu-sung shook his head frantically, his teeth digging deep into his knuckles, and a distinct rusty taste immediately filled his mouth.
"Speak! Was it you or not?!"
The voice suddenly rose in pitch, no longer a whisper in the ear, but a piercing roar that penetrated the soul.
That question was like a final, heavy blow, shattering his already crumbling defenses.
"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry!!!"
Park Bu-sung let out a hoarse, tearful roar.
The moment the words fell, Lin Feng, Wasim, and Sato Ichiro felt as if their hearts had been gripped tightly by an icy hand—
Finished!
Park Bu-sung suddenly realized that he had let something slip, but what's said is said and can't be taken back.
Soon, two twisted and deformed arms, formed entirely from extreme darkness, silently "seeped" out from under the bed.
One hand covered Park Bu-sung's mouth, while the other hand gripped his neck like an iron clamp, pressing him firmly onto the bed.
"Ugh... Ugh!!!"
Park Bu-sung unleashed all his strength and struggled frantically, kicking his legs wildly and making dull "thump" sounds as he kicked the wooden bed.
However, his struggles seemed laughable in the face of this inhuman power.
Soon, the hard wooden bed beneath him seemed to transform into a viscous black surface of water, accompanied by ripples.
Park Bo-sung's head, shoulders, chest... were gradually "swallowed" in.
His struggles grew weaker and weaker until finally, he was completely swallowed up by the bottomless abyss of darkness that his bed had become.
In his final moments before being completely consumed, that vague, mournful cry, seemingly from another dimension, lingered for a moment in his roommates' ears:
"save……"
Then, everything came to an abrupt end.
The dormitory was deathly silent.
........................
Lin Feng couldn't remember how he fell asleep afterwards.
Extreme mental tension may ultimately succumb to physical exhaustion, or the force of rules may force them into a "sleep" state.
"Ring ring—!"
Early in the morning, the jarring sound of his cell phone alarm jolted Lin Feng awake from his restless, light sleep.
He sat up, rubbed his throbbing temples, and subconsciously picked up his phone from beside his pillow and turned on the screen.
6:45 a.m.
Lin Feng suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was happening to him, and immediately turned to look at Pu Bucheng's bed—
The bed was haphazardly piled with bedding, but it was empty.
Sure enough, the chilling sounds and the final silence last night were not an illusion.
Park Bo-sung has really disappeared!
Lin Feng took a deep breath and quickly searched his mind for the rules.
Dormitory Rule 7: [Every night before bed, please take one of the blue pills found in your desk drawer. If you notice your nasolabial folds are unusually deep in the mirror in the morning, please immediately take one of the red pills.]
Early morning... nasolabial folds...
He immediately turned on his phone screen, switched to selfie mode, and carefully examined his face.
The nasolabial folds... do seem a bit deeper than yesterday?
The trace was very faint, like the ordinary fatigue left after staying up all night.
He immediately looked up, his gaze sweeping over the beds of his other two roommates—
Sato Ichiro was rubbing his face listlessly. When he put his hand down, Lin Feng could clearly see that the nasolabial folds on his face were much more pronounced than his own, like two shallow engravings.
"What's wrong, Lin Feng?" Vassim's deep voice came, and he also noticed Lin Feng's scrutinizing gaze.
Lin Feng didn't speak, but simply pointed to the corresponding spot on his cheek.
Vassim frowned and immediately stretched out his thick fingers to touch his cheeks, which usually had some laugh lines.
The sensation from his fingertips made his face darken: "Mine... is deep too."
Sato Ichiro: "What... what's going on?"
"It should be pollution." Lin Feng frowned slightly. "Some kind of erosion that we haven't fully detected yet."
Wasim picked up the conversation, his eyes sweeping over the gray walls of the dormitory: "The environment of this school itself may be influencing us."
"Is it fog?" Ichiro Sato guessed. "It's been foggy since we entered the school yesterday, and it was foggy outside the window last night too... Did we inhale something bad?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out," Wasim pondered. "Fog is the most obvious carrier."
"But it could also be some kind of pervasive, subtle pollution at the spiritual or conceptual level."
"Deepening nasolabial folds are likely one of the outward manifestations."
Lin Feng nodded and added, "The corners of our mouths haven't changed, so the contamination shouldn't be too severe."
"The counselor warned us not to take the red pills," Vassim narrowed his eyes. "That stuff is probably not an antidote at all; it could actually worsen the pollution or even trigger other dangerous bait."
"So, after ruling out the red pill option," Lin Feng continued, following the clues, "the only anomalous items we can currently access that are directly related to the contamination are..."
The three fell silent instantly, the same unsettling image flashing through their minds.
"It was the one Chef Zhang ordered... that sticky stew." Sato Ichiro said through gritted teeth, his disgust barely concealed.
Lin Feng nodded solemnly.
He clearly remembered that at lunch yesterday, those who ultimately didn't touch the stew all had a slight, unnatural smile on their lips later on.
He glanced one last time at his phone screen at the nasolabial folds that had indeed deepened slightly, and exhaled a breath of stale air:
"Looks like we'll have to bite the bullet and go back to Chef Zhang's sticky stew again today."
Just then, all three of their phones vibrated briefly at the same time, and the screens lit up.
[The Elite School of Social Sciences, Class of 25 Psychology Freshmen Group (currently muted)]
Administrator Su Wan posted a group announcement:
[Announcement]
[The Chosen Ones of Kimchi Country, Park Bu-sung (student ID 25041413), Zara (student ID 25041405), and Camille (student ID 25041416), have violated Article 1 of the Dormitory Management Regulations by responding to unknown sounds after lights out, severely disrupting dormitory order.]
Following an investigation, the school has decided to expel the three individuals from the school as a deterrent.
We urge all students to take this as a warning and strictly abide by school rules and regulations.
The message was concise and cold, devoid of any emotion.
Park Bu-sung's name was prominently listed, along with two other chosen ones whom he hadn't yet gotten to know.
Overnight, only 12 of the 16 people remained (plus Thomas, who was turned into a snail and killed earlier).
The three of them exchanged a silent glance.
Apart from Lin Feng, who remained calm, a hint of lingering fear flashed across the eyes of both Vassim and Sato Ichiro.
Last night, if their resolve had wavered even slightly, their own names would have been prominently listed on the "elimination" list...