Chapter 24: The Clan of Corpse Fragrance

Chen Nan and the chubby boy continued to lead the way, explaining everything here as they went. However, whether it was his imagination or not, Wu Wang felt they were subtly distancing themselves from him.

"…That’s the general situation," Chen Nan said with a helpless, bitter smile. According to her, students would appear out of thin air in this Art Building periodically. She and the boy were the same, just among the earlier arrivals. Generally, these newcomers only remembered their names and that they were students of Gaoshan High School, but they had no specific memories beyond that.

To prevent panic, Chen Nan suggested everyone form groups based on their classes to support each other. She took on the role of head monitor, handling any conflicts or emergencies. She was a natural-born leader, a strong-willed woman.

"I hope the teachers and students outside notice we’re missing and find this place soon," Chen Nan said with a comforting smile. "But at least we don’t have to attend classes here; everyone is just free to have fun! The Art Building is stocked with all kinds of supplies for art and music!"

They had recently been discussing covering all the walls of the Art Building with graffiti, allowing everyone to let their imaginations run wild.

"So you were the first one to arrive?" Wu Wang asked curiously.

Chen Nan shook her head and pointed to the boy beside her. "He was the first. I was the second. When I arrived, the little guy was so scared he was crouching under a table, shivering."

"Sister Chen… don’t spill my secrets," the chubby boy said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He was indeed timid. This was common knowledge in the Art Building, so everyone made him greet newcomers to help him build courage and social skills.

As they chatted, they reached a large classroom filled with shelves of paint. The desks had their legs removed, leaving only the wooden tops; they were lashed together in pairs to form makeshift beds, covered with mattresses sewn from curtains and other fabrics.

"Conditions are limited, so don’t mind it. You’ll be staying in this room from now on. Liu Yang lives here too, so since you two already know each other, look out for one another," Chen Nan said, patting Wu Wang on the shoulder with a smile.

Yet, this casual gesture allowed Wu Wang to grasp the crux of the matter instantly. He frowned and asked uncertainly, "You… how do you know his name is Liu Yang?"

If he recalled correctly, since entering the Art Building, only he himself had spoken the name Chu Yuxun; Liu Yang hadn’t said a word and had been in a daze the entire time.

Chen Nan found the question strange. She looked puzzled. "I know, of course. He was the student who arrived just before you. You two are only a day apart." She then tapped Liu Yang on the chest, adding, "And you, kid, where were you hiding all day? We haven’t seen a trace of you."

Liu Yang: "?"
*Who are you, sister? Do I even know you? Why are you touching me?*

Just as he was about to ask, Wu Wang stopped him. "It’s nothing. You guys go ahead and get back to your business. This kid just woke up and is a bit foggy. I’ll go tidy up the bed." Wu Wang flashed an even brighter smile.

Although he appeared to be in a normal state of mind, Chen Nan was still worried. She cautiously pulled Liu Yang aside and whispered, "Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him hurt himself again."

Liu Yang: "?"
*Seriously, sister, why are you so familiar with me?!*

Before he could say anything, Chen Nan led the chubby boy out of the classroom. The moment they left, the smile vanished from Wu Wang’s face. He had seen through the nature of the Art Building.

"Heh, Gaoshan High School is truly a house of corpses," Wu Wang sneered.

Chen Nan, the chubby boy, and the other students in the Art Building were actually already dead; they just didn't remember it. He had felt something was off, and now he understood: it was because this place was *too* normal. The Gaoshan High School outside was full of living people, yet it was dead and oppressive. Inside the Art Building, it was filled with the dead, yet it was vibrant with youth.

In essence, the students who appeared here were those who had perished because of the "Dark Room"—whether they died there on the spot or committed suicide by jumping off a building later. The humanity and youth they had been stripped of were recreated here, and they had forgotten the fact of their own deaths, as if they were deceiving themselves into believing they were in a warm, welcoming school.

It was no wonder the dead students were tossed into the Dark Room; corpses represented mindless, drifting husks that were easy for the ghost school to control. The ghosts appearing in the classrooms represented the obsessions formed after becoming learning machines, which was why they belonged to neither side—anything that blocked their learning would trigger the appearance of the tentacle-ghosts.

"Principal Wang, it seems you aren't as invincible as you think," Wu Wang grinned, a crazed look in his eyes. "You’re afraid… afraid that something inside this Art Building will destroy the Gaoshan High School outside?"

With that, he looked toward Liu Yang. It turned out this unintentional move had been the right one. The corpse returning to the Art Building meant the two sides of Liu Yang had met and merged; he was a complete "person" again. He had become a student with independent thought, rather than a machine that only knew how to study.

That was what Principal Wang feared!

He feared that these students who had regained their normalcy would uncover some secrets hidden within the Art Building.

"Liu Yang, come out for a walk with me," Wu Wang suggested, patting the other man on the shoulder.

"Where to?"

Wu Wang gave a chilling smile. "Let’s go see which forbidden areas in this Art Building are off-limits. Those are exactly the places we should be playing in."

Liu Yang: "..."
Although he didn’t fully understand, he translated the meaning to himself: *Let’s go get ourselves killed.*

"Can I refuse?"

"As long as you can convince me."

He drew his dagger, "Tang Niu," from his combat boot, dancing the blade to let Liu Yang understand that, under normal circumstances, Wu Wang was a man of reason. Furthermore, he was the one holding the reason right now.

*Pfft—*

Wu Wang suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his hand. He had knocked over some paint on the shelf nearby. His entire palm was stained a deep, vivid red.

This familiar red and the sharp pain…

"For anyone else, this instance would be full of doubt and suspense, but sorry—I’m the one who came today," Wu Wang sneered.

In a trance, he saw himself in a dilapidated classroom filled with junk. The earlier action had caused a row of nails on the shelf to pierce his palm—about a dozen of them, thick and dense. Outside the classroom, he heard the rustling of footsteps and the eerie, cackling laughter from the beginning. It was clear that both the steel pipes and the nails were related to the ghost in the real Art Building.

Without changing his expression, he pulled out the rusty nails one by one, then placed the dagger over his heart and plunged it in.

[Undying]! Revived in peak condition!

He cracked his neck, and his vision returned to the warm, tidy classroom. He had figured out the situation inside the building. The events on both sides were mirrored by symbolic objects; as long as he wasn't stained by any red paint on this side, he would be safe on the other. Conversely, doing so would lead to a fatal situation.

"Let’s go find death… oh, I mean, let’s go find the forbidden areas, Brother Liu Yang. Don’t be afraid," Wu Wang comforted him. "I’ll teach you the essence of courage—at worst, we just die."

"Five-day limit? Not needed at all! Let me show you how an undying person like me speedruns this supernatural game!"