Soon, Ning Wei's hands were as good as new.
However, her complexion had turned pale. Having lost so much blood and being entangled by resentment for too long, her body could no longer endure.
Outside, the malevolent spirits were desperately trying to break down the door, but the rules were like steel, impossible to break.
Perhaps they knew they couldn't breach this confinement, yet they continued to pound on the door without hesitation.
This was not just happening to Ning Wei and Li Ye's room; other rooms were experiencing the same ordeal.
No one knew how long this hellish event would last. Hiding behind their doors, everyone could only silently hope.
Ning Wei fell into a deep sleep, while Li Ye sat beside her, keeping watch.
As for the remaining six people, they huddled together in pairs, trembling beneath their blankets.
Outside, there were wails of ghosts and countless chilling, terrifying sounds that penetrated the rooms.
This door was their last refuge. They remembered the notice clearly: they were not to open the door until Ning Wei knocked.
At present, the most active entity seemed to be the bead obtained from the Zhou family.
It flew to the door on its own, silently absorbing resentment and sensing the presence of its companions.
Checking the time, it was already nine in the evening.
This was the time stipulated by the first rule: no one was to leave their rooms after nine o'clock, or face the consequences.
The malevolent spirits battered the doors with loud bangs, as if they would break in at any moment.
Both terrified and exhausted, they decided to take turns sleeping.
Thus, they muddled through until one o'clock in the morning. Suddenly, a knocking sound appeared at Tang Tang and Yuan Yuan's door, and simultaneously, the terrifying ghostly sounds vanished.
"Tang Tang, hurry and open the door!" It was Ning Wei's voice.
Tang Tang, who had been resting in turns with Yuan Yuan, sat up quickly upon hearing Ning Wei's voice.
She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the time; it was not yet dawn.
"Tang Tang! Yuan Yuan! Hurry and open the door!"
"It's dangerous inside! There's a new notice, come out quickly!"
Following this, other voices also began to emerge.
Their message was the same: there was a new notice, and their rooms, which were once the safest shelters, would now become the most terrifying places.
Hearing this, Tang Tang and Yuan Yuan were stunned.
Ning Wei's voice grew increasingly anxious, sounding somewhat angry.
Tang Tang crawled out from under the covers, intending to get out of bed to open the door, but Yuan Yuan grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"
Tang Tang looked bewildered, glanced at the door, and said, "Didn't you hear? Ning Wei and the others said they discovered new rules, and we must leave our rooms immediately."
Yuan Yuan's expression was grim, and her grip was not light. "I heard, but look at what time it is?"
Tang Tang hadn't looked at the time because she had already checked it earlier, so she immediately replied, "One o'clock, what's wrong?"
"Don't forget the first rule: you cannot leave your room after nine o'clock. You can only wait until dawn. Otherwise, you face the consequences!"
To reinforce Tang Tang's memory, Yuan Yuan even recounted the events of that night.
The ghosts had resorted to every possible means to make them leave their rooms, using all sorts of threats. They had even entered the rooms to launch indiscriminate mental attacks.
If they hadn't held onto Ning Wei's words from when they parted, they might have succumbed and fled.
"You mean, the voices outside aren't Ning Wei and the others, but malevolent spirits?" Tang Tang began to suspect after hearing Yuan Yuan's explanation.
Yuan Yuan nodded, signaling Tang Tang to remain silent.
The two of them tiptoed to the smart screen. Although Ning Wei and the others' voices continued to pour in, despite rotating the screen up, down, left, and right, not a single person could be seen.
If there were indeed new rules, why would they deliberately hide themselves?
Ning Wei would never deliberately harm them, nor would she try to scare them.
As a devoted fan of Ning Wei, Tang Tang, upon hearing her voice, felt an urge to respond and hadn't thought much of it.
They stood by the door, and the voices from outside continued to pour in, sometimes Ning Wei's, sometimes Zhu Yilian's, and even Mei Nan's constant pleas for them to open the door.
Tang Tang was now clear-headed and had realized the truth.
If she hadn't been in the same room as Yuan Yuan today, she might have instinctively opened the door.
What did opening the door mean? It meant staying forever. Perhaps one day, her friends would have the misfortune of ending up on the spectral bus and coincidentally arrive here, where they might meet again.
Thinking of this, Tang Tang also became angry.
With her hands on her hips, she shouted at the screen, "You ghosts dare to talk to me like that! Believe it or not, I'll slap you to death!"
Perhaps it was her final remark that worked. After all, before entering the rooms, several ghosts had indeed been injured by Tang Tang's slaps. After she finished yelling, the outside returned to silence.
After her outburst, Tang Tang felt her chest no longer constricted. She pulled Yuan Yuan back to bed, and the two of them simply pulled the covers over their heads and started sleeping.
Deceived by ghosts once, their mindset had shifted. They were no longer afraid and decided to completely give up and sleep.
If one house couldn't fool them, they'd move on to the next. Next, it was Zhu Yilian and Wang Jing's turn.
The malevolent spirits used the same trick, but Zhu Yilian saw through it at a glance, and another round of angry scolding ensued.
Having failed consecutively, only the last household remained, and they changed their tactics.
One malevolent spirit learned Zhu Yilian's intonation and, accompanied by hurried footsteps, arrived at Mei Nan and Song Zhi's door.
The ghost knocked vigorously: "Teacher Mei, hurry and open the door! Please save me!"
The ghost not only mimicked the intonation but also studied their common phrases.
Whenever they encountered a problem, they would address Mei Nan as "Teacher Mei."
"Zhu Yilian's" voice was sharp, followed closely by Wang Jing's soft, weak voice.
This voice was consistent with her personality; no matter the situation, her tone didn't vary much.
Inside, Mei Nan was still contemplating, while Song Zhi was about to open the door.
As one of only three men on the team, he felt it was his duty to stand up and protect the women inside!
He was young and quick, giving Mei Nan no chance to stop him.
Just as Mei Nan thought they were doomed, Song Zhi placed his hand on the doorknob, but his eyes were fixed on the smart screen.
There was nothing on the screen, yet the voices persisted.
"Song Zhi! Hurry and open the door!"
Song Zhi's doorknob turned slightly, but seeing the empty space outside, he slowly let go.
As his hand dropped, Mei Nan's heart settled.
"Teacher Mei, there's no one outside," Song Zhi said, sounding a bit wronged.
Mei Nan finally seized the opportunity, pulled Song Zhi over, and lectured him: "Of course, there's no one outside. Don't you use your brain? It's exactly the time that fits the first rule. How could they possibly come out!"