It was after school, and the corridors were bustling with students. Le Jun, being so tall, standing there was particularly eye-catching.
Ye Li didn't intend to discuss anything under everyone's watchful eyes. She simply said, “Follow me,” and without waiting for his agreement, she led the way toward the stairs, carrying the mop.
Le Jun said nothing and followed, his eyes appraising the girl in front of him.
She seemed a bit petite; he hadn't noticed while she was seated, but now, standing, she barely reached his chest, at most 1.55 meters tall.
With shoulder-length hair and a small, round face, her features were plain, her appearance ordinary, only just passable as delicate, but her eyes were exceptionally dark and bright.
For some reason, she was also carrying a large mop in her hand, almost as tall as she was.
Perhaps it was too strenuous, for after two steps, she switched from carrying to dragging it. The dirty mop head drew a winding, sinuous trail of water on the ground, stopping and starting, making Le Jun, who followed closely behind, almost step on it several times.
By the time she finally managed to drag the mop to the stairs, Ye Li's arm ached.
Looking at the ascending flights of stairs, she thought for a moment, then vigorously hoisted the mop and swung it onto her shoulder.
Immediately, the mop head flew up, and water splattered.
Le Jun, now with streaks of brown stains on his school uniform, remained silent.
Watching the petite figure struggling up the stairs with the mop on her shoulder, its swaying head dangling in front of her face, Le Jun finally couldn't help but speak, “How about I carry it for you instead?”
Ye Li, who was laboriously lifting her leg, heard him and turned around, the mop head on her shoulder swinging out in an arc as she moved.
Then, she saw the young man behind her leaning his upper body back, his lean, flexible waist bending into a graceful arc.
Wow, what a strong back on that young man!
Ye Li couldn't help but inwardly praise him and readily accepted his offer.
Le Jun carefully took the mop from her shoulder, effortlessly carrying it with one hand. With a long stride, he passed her and quickly ascended the stairs two steps at a time.
Ye Li, left behind with her small arms and legs, remained silent, feeling quite offended!
This teaching building was six stories high in total, and the stairs they were currently on led to the rooftop.
Inside the building, there were two staircases, left and right, but after the sixth floor, only the left one continued to the rooftop.
In other words, there was only one way to the rooftop.
At that moment, at the end of the staircase, the iron bolt on the iron door leading to the rooftop was securely fastened with a small padlock.
Le Jun subconsciously looked at Ye Li.
Ye Li, in turn, subtly raised her chin toward the mop in his hand, her meaning clear.
Le Jun paused, then understood and raised his hand to get to work.
Thus, the mop was put to use for the first time. He gripped the wooden handle tightly and forcefully slammed the mop head against the lock.
After several 'thuds,' the padlock was violently smashed open.
Removing the lock, pulling the bolt, opening the door—all in one smooth motion.
The two of them stepped onto the rooftop, one after the other.
There was nothing special about the rooftop; it was empty and bare, surrounded by a two-meter-high wire mesh fence.
The crisp autumn wind gently brushed against them, bringing a shiver of coolness.
The side of the iron door facing the rooftop had no bolt, only a semicircular doorknob, making it impossible to close from the outside.
This time, without Ye Li's reminder, Le Jun once again acted with the mop.
He stepped on the mop head, gripped the wooden handle with both hands, and yanked upwards forcefully. The mop head immediately separated from the wooden stick.
The door opened outwards, so Le Jun threaded the wooden stick through the doorknob, then wedged the other end into a gap in the fence post on the wall beside the door, jamming it shut.
After a moment's thought, he tore off several strips from the dirty mop head and securely tied the ends of the wooden stick to both the doorknob and the fence post.
Once he had secured the door, he turned to see Ye Li standing before the fence, looking down through the wire mesh. Her loose school uniform flapped loudly in the wind, her slender figure appearing as though it could be swept away at any moment.
Le Jun walked over and heard the girl say in a faint voice, “It's almost six o'clock!”
Below, the clock on the bell tower showed the minute hand just past the number 10, with less than ten minutes remaining until six o'clock.
Hearing this, Le Jun's expression suddenly changed. He grabbed her arm, his face excited, “You've encountered it too, haven't you? It's not just me, is it?…”
Everything he had seen and experienced these past few days, repeating over and over, had made him doubt his own sanity, fearing he was having terrifying hallucinations!
“Let go!” Ye Li, who had been expressionless until now, instantly grimaced.
She struggled to pull her arm free, but his hand was like a steel vise, impossible to shake off.
“Tell me, you're just like me, I'm not crazy, am I?” Le Jun pressed urgently.
“If you let go, I'll tell you!” Ye Li's voice also turned cold.
“You tell me first, then I'll let go!”
His heightened emotions caused Le Jun to lose his reason. He clung on as if to his last straw, utterly unwilling to release her.
But the next moment, the seemingly soft and harmless girl in front of him suddenly turned, swung a fist, and slammed it hard into his stomach.
Le Jun was utterly unprepared; his abdomen took the full force of the blow. The unbearable throbbing pain immediately made him double over, and he released his grip.
Freed, Ye Li instantly stepped back, putting distance between them.
“Speak with words, don't use your hands!”
Even after hitting him, her expression remained utterly cold, “I hate being touched!”
The pain restored Le Jun's reason. Knowing he was in the wrong, he endured the ache and sheepishly uttered, “I'm sorry!”
Ye Li gave him a cold glance, crossed her arms over her chest, and cut straight to the point: “Every evening at six, once the bells finish ringing, this school instantly transforms into a dilapidated, desolate ghost domain, overrun with rotting corpses. These corpses can run, move, and eat people. But as soon as you die, you immediately return to this very day, then the cycle endlessly repeats: death, then resurrection, right?”
As she spoke, her dark eyes were clear and devoid of any emotion, as calm and self-possessed as an observer, rather than someone who had personally experienced it.
“Yes… yes, exactly…!”
Le Jun nodded vigorously, his voice trembling with excitement.
He involuntarily took a step forward, but quickly realized his mistake and hastily pulled his foot back.
“Then there's no mistake. My situation is the same as yours!” Ye Li finally gave him a definitive answer.
From the moment Le Jun approached her with his bizarre questions, she had already guessed that this “native” in front of her was likely also trapped in this infinitely looping space, just like her.
She surmised that her sudden jump from the building, altering her original path, must have drawn his attention.
“First, tell me about your situation,” she said. “What have you experienced these past two days?”
“The first time, after class, I went to the school gymnasium,” Le Jun quickly began, as if he had finally found someone he could confide in. “I trained in the swimming pool for a while, and when the six o'clock bells rang, I was in the changing room. There happened to be a group of school basketball team members there too, and then… I was bitten to death by them after they turned into monsters…”
Rate on N.U.
