Chapter 1: Is it a ghost

Entering the women's restroom may be a moment of confusion, the cries heard could be a misinterpretation, the bloody smell while smoking might be an illusion, the lit cigarette can be extinguished by the wind, and the chilly breeze could simply be a cooler draft. The series of strange occurrences that Cao Sen encountered can be somewhat explained and cannot be entirely attributed to "ghosts," thus he is not certain that he has encountered one. Deep down, however, Cao Sen actually hopes to encounter a ghost, to see what the legendary ghost truly looks like, whether it really has disheveled hair, a tongue over a foot long, and a pair of eerie, terrifying eyes. The series of strange occurrences that Cao Sen encountered can be somewhat explained and cannot be entirely attributed to "ghosts," thus he is not certain that he has encountered one. Deep down, however, Cao Sen actually hopes to encounter a ghost, to see what the legendary ghost truly looks like, whether it really has disheveled hair, a tongue over a foot long, and a pair of eerie, terrifying eyes.

Nothing responded to Cao Sen's curses; the surroundings were dark and silent, with not a breath of wind. Cao Sen let out a sigh, discarded the cigarette in his hand, and lit another one. As the blue smoke rose, a familiar rich aroma of tobacco filled his lungs. It must have been an illusion; it was certainly an illusion. In broad daylight, where could there be ghosts? If there really were, let a gust of cold wind come and extinguish this cigarette of mine!

As Cao Sen's thoughts wandered, a sudden chill swept up from the depths of the stairwell, rushing towards him with an icy breeze that penetrated to the bone, causing him to shiver. Upon looking again at the cigarette, he found that it had gone out.

Cao Sen thought of the staircase, that dark and cold staircase that was never touched by sunlight, along with the legends of it being haunted. Could it be that what he just experienced was the so-called "ghost wall"? Cao Sen's suspicion was well-founded, for before mistakenly entering the women's restroom, he had indeed encountered something unusual, or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as eerie and sinister.

Cao Sen was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled. He understood that the teachers must have been filled with frustration by him, Teng Fei, and Ding Haitao. They clearly knew that the students were taking advantage of the teachers' lack of practical experience to get by, yet they were unable to refute it face to face. When it finally came to Guo Jing, it all erupted, leaving him feeling thoroughly exasperated.

Cao Sen thought to himself, what happened, is there a problem with the defense?

A sudden cool breeze swept past Cao Sen, and the sweat that had not yet dried on his body made him feel a bit chilly, causing goosebumps to rise all over him, which was quite pleasant

Guo Jingzan and I exchanged glances, seemingly unable to believe that this was real

The shaft was devoid of any unusual sights, as dim as ever, with a spiral staircase extending down to the first floor, silent and without a trace of sound

Strange? Cao Sen looked at the staircase that was all too familiar. What just happened? He reached behind to touch his lower back; the weapon was still on him. With renewed courage, Cao Sen took one step at a time down the stairs, determined to see what was going on below.

Cao Sen hesitated over whether it was necessary to go down to the first floor. In a moment, a chilling and eerie cold air suddenly rushed towards him, faintly accompanied by a mournful wail, like a net suddenly descending upon Cao Sen.

Cao Sen's hair stood on end, his scalp felt tight. He suddenly squatted down, and with his right hand behind him, he felt a semi-automatic pistol in his grasp. The barrel brushed against his belt, producing a soft clink as the gun was loaded. This series of actions was executed without any pause, and in the blink of an eye, the muzzle was already pointed towards the sky

"Sen Ge," a classmate named Teng Fei said with a smile as he saw Cao Sen approaching, "the secret technique you taught us has caused great trouble for Jing Ge."

The youthful vigor of the young man made Cao Sen unwilling to suffer this loss, and he cursed inwardly, "Damn it, if there really are ghosts, show yourself to me!"

"Is it really that bad?" The strange rhetorical question from Cao Sen, "No way, that skill is the ultimate weapon for defense, how could it have harmed Guo Jing?"

Just now, my brother encountered something. Cao Sen lowered his voice and recounted what had just happened.

The three individuals exchanged glances and suddenly, all at once, they pulled away and ran towards the staircase, scrambling into the stairwell in a rush, shouting chaotically, "Ghost, oh ghost, I love you, just like a mouse loves rice!"

Cao Sen quickly put away his gun and pretended to go upstairs. After a few students turned into the corridor, he walked back and forth in the stairwell several times, finding nothing unusual. Everything that had happened moments ago felt like a daydream, leaving Cao Sen utterly perplexed.

Cao Sen smiled wryly as he looked at his three brothers. Like him, they were individuals unafraid of the world; not to mention ghosts, even hell itself posed no fear. As long as they could find the entrance, who could stop them from entering, and who would they be angry with?

The eerie wind howled as it swept over Cao Sen's head, vanishing into the wall.

Cao Sen brought the cigarette to his lips once more, taking a fierce drag as if in defiance, only to be met with a mouthful of metallic taste, as if what he inhaled was not smoke but a mouthful of cold blood. The sweet, greasy, and fishy flavor quickly filled his chest through the trachea, rising from his stomach with a wave of nausea. Cao Sen hurriedly pinched the cigarette between his fingers, spitting several times, and brought the cigarette close to his eyes for a careful inspection. It appeared perfectly normal, an ordinary cigarette; how could it have transformed into this flavor? Could it be related to the ominous wind from earlier?

The situation is as follows: This morning was the graduation defense day for the 01 class of the Mold Engineering program at Dongshan University. After finishing his defense, Cao Sen hid in the stairwell on the fifth floor to satisfy his smoking craving. After more than an hour of intense defense, the first puff of smoke Cao Sen took was exceptionally sweet, and the sweat he had accumulated during the defense at https://www.hetushu.com also subsided significantly

In the stairwell, only Cao Sen's faint footsteps could be heard as he descended from the fifth floor to the second floor. Everything seemed normal; there was no cold wind and no other sounds. Cao Sen let out a sigh of relief, mocking himself for having overreacted earlier. However, his attention was focused on the vertical shaft of the stairwell, and he did not notice that there was no one else on the stairs besides him, which was quite unusual.

What the hell is this? Could it really be a ghost? Cold sweat beaded on Cao Sen's forehead, and as the cold wind swept through, he distinctly heard the sound of crying, which was filled with anger, despair, resentment, and hatred. The tone was extremely mournful; even hearing it in the sunlight would send chills down one's spine, let alone in this dark stairwell. No matter how brave Cao Sen was, he felt a bit nervous at this moment.

While timid individuals might be frightened away by the current strange sights, Cao Sen, however, is unafraid of these and leans out from the stair railing to look at the vertical shaft in the middle of the staircase

A man entered the women's restroom without anyone noticing, which is significant; however, what is more important is the reason for entering the women's restroom. Cao Sen can be a hundred percent certain that he did not do it intentionally, nor could he have taken the wrong door. In this building, the men's and women's restrooms are located at opposite ends of the corridor. When Cao Sen turned from the stairs into the corridor, he clearly remembered that he was walking towards the men's restroom at the east end. His sense of direction is very good, and he would not confuse this matter. So how can he explain his behavior? In this building, the men's and women's restrooms are located at opposite ends of the corridor. When Cao Sen turned from the stairs into the corridor, he clearly remembered that he was walking towards the men's restroom at the east end. His sense of direction is very good, and he would not confuse this matter. So how can he explain his behavior?

Cao Sen had no choice but to return to the fifth floor, filled with confusion. Perhaps it was due to his nervousness, or perhaps it was the uncertainty in his stomach, but he felt a pressing need to relieve himself. The restroom on the fifth floor had long been out of order, so Cao Sen turned back to the fourth floor to resolve the issue, which led to the incident of mistakenly entering the women's restroom.

Having found the men's restroom, Cao Sen returned to the fifth floor via another staircase. As he ascended, he suddenly felt a twinge of regret; since he had already entered the women's restroom, why hadn't he just taken care of his needs there? Throughout his life, he had never had a similar experience, and it could be considered a completely new encounter.

No one must be around, absolutely no one! Cao Sen quickly peeked out from the women's restroom, took a confident step out, hurried a few paces down the corridor, then slowed his pace, pretending to be nonchalant. A glance from the corner of his eye revealed that fortunately, no one had seen him come out of the women's restroom.

However... why is it that even with the wind blowing, the smoke from the cigarette remains perfectly straight, rising without the slightest bend? What is going on? Cao Sen stared at the cigarette, pondering what kind of strange wind this was—could it be the legendary yin wind?

In the corridor on the fifth floor, many of Cao Sen's classmates were gathered around a person, laughing heartily. That person was named Guo Jing, short and stocky, with a robust physique, who was complaining with a flushed face and a thick neck: "Damn it, I'm the only one who's unlucky!"

Subsequently, both Teng Fei and Ding Haitao successfully passed their defenses using this "trump card"; however, the fourth candidate, Guo Jing, encountered difficulties.

This morning, Cao Sen was the first to defend his thesis. When the teacher asked a simple question about processing technology, Cao Sen casually provided an answer that contradicted basic processing knowledge. The teacher immediately seized on this and repeatedly questioned Cao Sen about which book he had seen this technique in. Pressured, Cao Sen had a moment of inspiration and said that he had not learned this technique from a book, but had seen it during practical training in the factory. The teacher was taken aback by Cao Sen's response and had no choice but to let the matter go.

"And the presentation is just a formality, you don't really care about it." Cao Sen grabbed Guo Jing and exchanged glances with Ding Haitao and Teng Fei, and the four of them walked to a corner of the corridor

"Sen Ge, you must not make fun of us brothers. Are you really saying ... ... ?" Ding Haitao asked tentatively.

He crouched down with his gun and slowly retreated to the corner, carefully searching the surroundings. However, the stairwell returned to its usual calm, and no further anomalies were detected. Soon, sounds of movement came from the first floor, as several students chatted and walked up the stairs

University professors possess profound theoretical knowledge, yet they have limited practical processing experience, which is their shortcoming. Cao Sen cleverly exploited this weakness to get through. After the defense, he shared this tactic as a secret weapon against the defense committee with other students

Guo Jing angrily said to Cao Sen: "Damn it, the three of you in front used that trick to silence the teacher, and now it's my turn to suffer. Just now, I answered a question incorrectly, and before I could say 'I've seen this question in the factory,' those teachers rushed to ask: 'Is this question something you've also encountered in the factory?' Damn it, at that moment, I couldn't say a word!"

Ultimately, Cao Sen decided to temporarily ignore these inexplicable matters and address them later in the evening. If there truly are ghosts, do they not prefer to roam at night? Very well, Cao Sen would conduct a nighttime exploration of the building, engaging in a thorough and meticulous "communication" with the ghosts.

Cao Sen has always been very bold, never believing in the existence of ghosts or deities; even if they did exist, he would not care. Cao Sen has always believed that humans are the spirit of all things, and that men, in particular, stand tall and strong, exuding a masculine energy that is difficult for ghosts and deities to invade. He would not be deterred by a gust of cold wind; even if a fierce ghost were to appear, Cao Sen would insist on understanding the situation clearly before making any judgments.

Cao Sen stared: "Have I deceived you?"