Chapter 1: The Fatal Text Message

It was a sweltering afternoon. I was listening attentively in class while our homeroom teacher, whose posture was as subtle as ever, stood at the podium explaining a brilliant physics problem.

Ding-dong—!

"Whose phone is that? Turn it off immediately, or I'll keep it for you," the homeroom teacher said sternly, her sharp gaze sweeping over us.

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness I had reacted quickly and silenced my phone, or I would have been caught. Who on earth would play a prank like sending me messages during class?

I glanced at the screen. The message read: [The Forbidden Game has begun!]

What on earth?

The sender was an unrecognizable number.

Frowning, I looked around, but none of my classmates seemed suspicious. Just as I was about to slip my phone back into my pocket, it vibrated again—a new message.

[In three minutes, the last student in the second row, Student A, will be called on by the teacher to answer a question.]

I was immediately annoyed. Who was so bored as to pull this prank? Yet, no one nearby looked unusual.

Just then, the teacher spoke. "Li Yizhong, stand up and explain the relationship between electrostatics and the electrostatic field."

I glanced back at Li Yizhong, who looked utterly at a loss.

Some students started to laugh, but I was stunned. The last student in the second row—Student A—was Li Yizhong.

Buzz, buzz...

The phone vibrated in my pocket once more. I cursed under my breath—again? Who was that bastard with nothing better to do?

[In thirty seconds, the student called on will get into an argument with Student B, the last student in the fourth row.]

It was another message from that unidentifiable number.

Just then, Xiao Zheng pointed at Li Yizhong and said, "Li Yizhong, give it up! With your useless brain, there’s no way you can answer that!"

"Xiao Zheng! Believe it or not, I’ll knock you out!" Li Yizhong glared at Xiao Zheng, pointing at him.

The homeroom teacher slammed the desk and shouted, "What are you doing? This is class!"

I deliberately turned to count the desks.

The last student in the fourth row—Xiao Zheng!

Buzz, buzz... That familiar vibration.

[In ten seconds, Students A and B will get into a physical fight.]

Were Xiao Zheng and Li Yizhong in on this together, playing a trick on me? But I quickly dismissed that thought. The two of them were like oil and water, and I barely existed in their world.

But then, things changed again.

"Come on! I’m not afraid of you!" Xiao Zheng suddenly stood up, staring down his opponent.

"You son of a—!"

Li Yizhong suddenly cursed, charging at Xiao Zheng in a fury and kicking him to the ground.

Xiao Zheng scrambled to his feet, grabbed his chair, and swung it at Li Yizhong.

Bang, bang!

Students nearby jumped out of their seats to avoid getting hurt.

The teacher, realizing she couldn't stop them alone, quickly pulled out her phone to make a call.

Buzz, buzz... This time, the vibration made me nervous.

[In one minute, Student A will take an iron rod from the desk and strike Student B on the head.]

My hands started to tremble as I read the message, as if it was an oracle foretelling the next moment.

A sudden, inexplicable fear gripped me.

Before I could recover, the girls in the class screamed.

"Ah—!"

I turned just in time to see Xiao Zheng clutching his head, blood streaming through his fingers, the sight horrifying.

Li Yizhong stood there holding an iron rod, stained with blood, the contrast stark.

Buzz, buzz... My phone vibrated again. I was terrified of what it might say, yet curiosity drove me to open the message.

[In thirty seconds, Student B will take out a blade he carries and slash open Student A’s abdomen. Stop this from happening, and you clear the game. Fail, and the game ends in failure. Countdown: 3 seconds!]

After reading this, I could no longer believe it was a prank. These weren’t jokes—they were predictions, each one coming true right on time.

Three seconds...

I shot up from my seat, shouting, "Stop!" as I pushed through the crowd of onlookers who dared not intervene.

But even as I forced my way through, I saw Li Yizhong on his knees, clutching his stomach with wide, disbelieving eyes as he stared at Xiao Zheng.

Xiao Zheng stood, blade in hand, his mouth agape, his hands trembling. He, too, could hardly believe what he'd done.

But the blood slowly seeping from Li Yizhong’s abdomen told everyone the truth.

"Ah—! Murder!"

"Call an ambulance!"

"Where’s the teacher?"

The classroom erupted in chaos. Some cried, some screamed, some even fled the room in terror.

[Game failed!]

Clutching my phone, I stared at the message, my body shaking uncontrollably, my mind clouded in haze.

I kept telling myself it wasn’t real, it was just a dream!

But when I stumbled home and lay on my bed, the terrifying message staring up at me, I realized with a jolt—it wasn’t a dream!

Didn’t the first message say the game had begun? Was this really a game?

No, impossible. Someone had actually died—a real, living person. Who would dare play such a game?

The next day, when I entered the classroom, I saw fear etched on everyone’s faces.

Some students clutched prayer charms, others murmured incantations under their breath.

Even the homeroom teacher stood at the podium, her face pale as she delivered her lesson, oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the room.

Whispers about yesterday’s events floated through the air.

"Did you hear? When they sent Li Yizhong to the hospital yesterday, he’d already lost too much blood. They couldn’t save him!"

"Really?"

"How could Xiao Zheng be so bold? And when he stabbed Li Yizhong, he was actually smiling! It was terrifying..."

"Stop it, you’re scaring me. I’m going to stay far away from their seats."

Who wouldn’t be afraid after witnessing such a bloody scene?

Staring at the empty seats where Li Yizhong and Xiao Zheng once sat, a nameless dread washed over me.

And then, as if summoned by my fear, my phone vibrated again.

[Classroom fans 1 to 6: In three minutes, one will fall, killing a student. Choose which fan will fall. Choose correctly to clear the game. Choose wrong, and the game fails!]

Reading the message, I instinctively stepped away from the fans above, terror driving me to put as much distance as possible between myself and them.

I looked up; the four ceiling fans spun rapidly—it was summer, after all, and the fans were always on.

"Everyone, get out! This classroom is dangerous, we need to leave now!" I shouted anxiously at the whole class.

Everyone was startled but quickly settled down.

One student stood up and said, "Tong Yang, what are you talking about? Dangerous? What danger?"

"Yeah, Xiao Zheng’s already been taken by the police. What’s left to be afraid of?"

"Stop trying to scare people! You’ll frighten someone to death!"

At that moment, our troubled homeroom teacher looked at me and said, "Tong Yang, what’s wrong with you? This is class—stop making trouble!"

"Teacher, it’s real! Li Yizhong’s death is proof enough—this classroom is dangerous!"

"Tong Yang, enough! Li Yizhong was killed by Xiao Zheng! You saw it happen. I know his death has affected everyone, but that’s no reason to spread ridiculous rumors!"

Hearing her words, I realized that unless I presented evidence, no one would believe me. I handed my phone to the teacher.

"Teacher, it’s true—someone sent me messages predicting the fight and Li Yizhong’s death before it happened!"

She took my phone, frowned, then handed it back with a puzzled look. "Tong Yang, maybe Li Yizhong’s death was too big a blow for you. It’s not your fault, don’t pressure yourself."

What was going on? Could the teacher not see the messages? I checked my phone again. The messages were still there.