Chapter 4

Thud, thud thud.

The dull, eerie knocking continued at a steady frequency, like a well-set alarm clock.

The classroom door was not locked, not even latched, just casually closed. It could be easily pushed open with a slight force.

But what was terrifying was that the old man in the black robe, covered in corpse spots, did not push the door open. He stood stiffly outside, continuing to knock on the door without any intention of coming in.

However, although the old man did not enter, the darkness outside the corridor, as thick as ink, quickly swept in.

The classroom began to undergo unimaginable changes.

The once pristine walls became mottled and moldy, the paint peeling off, turning into a rough, uneven surface. The pitted walls sprouted black and green mold, emitting a cold, damp smell. The books on the desks quickly turned yellow and rotted, and even the cement on the floor began to erode, exposing rusted rebar, with some areas starting to collapse.

It was as if decades had passed in an instant, and the place had been ravaged by time.

Yet the classroom lights were still struggling against the darkness, the bright white light flickering like a candle in the wind, emitting a faint, dim glow, as if it could go out at any moment.

Fear appeared on every student's face. Some screamed, some called for help, and others trembled...

The only one who remained calm was Zhou Zheng at the podium.

He stood still, his eyes scanning the surroundings, paying attention to any movement.

A ghost of danger level, capable of creating a ghost domain... This was beyond his ability to handle.

"Zhou Zheng, look."

At that moment, Fang Jing suddenly shouted, his face pale, pointing to a few students at the desks.

Zhou Zheng, who had not noticed before, now saw and reacted.

"Thud, thud thud." The knocking sound rang out again.

At that moment, a male student who had been standing in the crowd suddenly trembled all over and then stiffly fell to the ground.

"Li Ming, what's wrong?"

"How can this be, how can this be, who can save us?" A female student, frightened, collapsed to the ground and cried.

"He was fine just a moment ago, how could this happen?" Someone said, their voice trembling and stuttering.

Fang Jing's face turned ashen: "Stop shouting, there's a ghost outside the door. We might all die, and you'll soon know how terrifying a ghost that can create a ghost domain is."

The others looked at him in horror, like prey trapped in a cage, trembling with fear.

"Zhou Zheng, haven't you thought of a way yet? If you don't, we'll all die here." Fang Jing said angrily.

He was trembling inside, because anyone could die in a ghost domain, including himself.

"Shut up, if you can't wait, go and escape yourself. Don't count on me."

Zhou Zheng was also anxious, but he dared not act rashly.

"Running around in a ghost domain will get you killed faster. Do you think I don't know anything?" Fang Jing said.

"Since you know, stand there and stay still. If we die, you won't be the only one. Everyone is the same. Don't think you're special just because you know a few things. In front of a ghost, everyone is equal." Zhou Zheng said.

"Damn it."

Fang Jing couldn't help but curse.

Yang Jian's hands and feet were cold. He forced himself to stay calm, as this was no time for jokes.

But when he inadvertently saw the blackboard almost falling off the wall, he was momentarily stunned.

His gaze lingered on the three sentences Zhou Zheng had written, especially the last one: "Understand the ghost's pattern."

"Zhou Zheng is hesitant because he is observing the old man outside, trying to find a pattern. Only by finding the pattern can he act. Think fast, think fast, what pattern does this old man have...?"

His mind began to race,

Recalling everything from the story on the forum and connecting it to what was happening now.

There must be a common point, there must be a similarity.

The netizen called "Lightning King" was at home, and the door was closed. The old man stood outside and knocked... then came in, went to the door, knocked again, and came in again.

Now, the ghost appeared outside the corridor, also knocking... but it hasn't come in yet.

Why did the old man come in at the netizen's home but not here?

The same situation, the same thing, what caused the difference?

Is it because of time?

What time is it lacking?

Is it the time of knocking?

Maybe that's the key.

He must take a chance.

Suddenly, Yang Jian gathered his courage and shouted: "Zhou Zheng, it's the knocking."

"The knocking?"

Zhou Zheng's eyes narrowed, his gaze intensely focused on the student who had suddenly spoken: "What do you mean?"

Yang Jian, suppressing his fear, said: "It's just a guess, but I think this thing is killing through the knocking. Maybe the old man is timing it, or something else, but it must be related to the knocking. If we can stop it from knocking, it might work..."

Killing through knocking.

If that's true, this ghost is truly terrifying.

"This guy's potential is already showing..."

Fang Jing looked at him with a malevolent gaze, clenching his fists tightly: "He must not leave this school alive."

"I'll trust you this time."

Zhou Zheng's gaze returned, his expression grave. He had no choice.

If he didn't act, everyone here would die.

Zhou Zheng immediately moved, charging out like a wild beast, his oddly shaped body, thin at the top and fat at the bottom, bursting with strength beyond a normal person's.

"Bang!"

A loud noise, the classroom door was forcefully pushed open, along with the old man in the black robe, his face ashen, covered in corpse spots, who was also knocked down.

The old man fell to the ground, but no one dared to help him up.

His body was in a strange position, like a stiff puppet with randomly moving limbs, lacking the resilience and softness of a living person.

Ghosts cannot be killed.

Zhou Zheng, of course, remembered what he had written himself.

Even if this old man was crushed to mud or burned to ashes, he would not die and would reappear in an inexplicable way.

Only a ghost can deal with a ghost.

Zhou Zheng gritted his teeth and turned to shout: "Watch for the right moment, and when you have a chance, escape. I'll hold this thing back."

As he spoke, his large overcoat bulged, and a hand, more precisely, the outline of a hand, emerged from under a layer of skin. The hand was grayish-blue, with sharp nails, as if trying to tear through the skin and come out.

But the skin covering the hand was very resilient and did not tear. What was even more terrifying was that the hand extended over two meters long.

Is this still a human hand?

The grayish-blue hand grabbed the old man on the ground.

"Zzzz!" The sound of the fluorescent lights flickering rang out.

Instantly, the darkness that had enveloped the classroom disappeared, and the bright lights reappeared. Although the walls were still mottled and the floor still looked like it was about to collapse, it seemed that the disaster had been halted.

"It works." Zhou Zheng felt a slight relief.

But then his eyes suddenly widened, and his emaciated, almost skeletal face was filled with fear.

The old man, who had fallen to the ground, slowly stood up, his ashen eyes slightly turning, seemingly looking at Zhou Zheng.

"Impossible, it can still move even when I've restrained it?" Zhou Zheng's face changed drastically, and he immediately turned to shout: "Go, quickly, while the ghost domain hasn't appeared, leave here. I'll stay and hold this thing back."

This ghost is definitely more than just dangerous level.

Cold sweat poured down his back.