The lights dimmed.
A dull orange glow cast eerie shadows across the dilapidated "kitchen" floor. Thick, red liquid stained the tiles in blotchy patches, blending with the rusted grime. A faint but nauseating smell of rotting flesh lingered in the air.
"Welcome to the Ogre's Kitchen."
The broadcast voice was cold and androgynous, like metal scraping against metal.
Chuan Ling's heart skipped a beat. She glanced around—the game mode had officially begun.
Wooden tables. Blood troughs. Sinks. A massive butcher knife. What looked like a fake human leg lay ominously across the counter. The red writing on the walls was faded and blurry, as though whispering some dark secret.
"So realistic…" Qian Xiaoxun mumbled as she instinctively moved closer to Chuan Ling.
"Don't be scared. It's not real," Chuan Ling said with a crooked smile, though her own nerves were fraying.
"Each team has thirty minutes to complete their mission: find the hidden human meat ingredient and escape the kitchen. Fail, and you'll become the next course."
The moment the broadcast ended, the lights flickered violently. A loud bang bang bang erupted from behind the door.
Phase One: The Severed Finger Prep Table
The four split up to search the room.
Sen Leian frowned and walked toward a large iron pot near the door. "The water in here is hot."
"No way," Li Min said, cautiously dipping her finger in—only to yank it back. "Ow! It's burning!"
"That doesn't make sense," Chuan Ling murmured. "There's no heating device in this room. Where's the heat coming from?"
Everyone paused, stunned.
"This escape room is more complex than we thought," Sen Leian said, his gaze sharpening.
Suddenly, Lin Weiwei called out, "There's a severed finger prop here—and a note!"
The note read:
"First dish: Finger Pasta. Find the chef's severed finger and toss it into the red soup to unlock the next challenge."
"So we just throw this into the pot?" Li Min asked.
Chuan Ling nodded and tossed the fake finger into the pot. A ding! rang out, and a small iron door behind the stove creaked open, revealing a blood-splattered recipe and a human body model.
Phase Two: The Flesh and Blood Recipe
"There are marked spots on the body," Xiaoxun said, staring at the grotesque figure. Her face had gone pale.
"The recipe says, 'The flesh around the waist is the juiciest, and the heart drips with flavor.' We probably need to find something on this thing."
Carefully, Lin Weiwei peeled back the model's "skin" and found a card hidden near the heart.
A password was written on it: 7312
"But… we haven't seen anything that needs a password," Chuan Ling said, frowning.
"Wait," Sen Leian said. His eyes locked onto a painting on the wall.
"This ogre portrait—it looks suspicious."
He pressed on the frame. It sunk in with a click, and a panel on the floor slowly popped open.
Inside was an old radio and a moldy diary.
"This probably isn't part of the official design," Sen Leian muttered.
Chuan Ling picked up the diary and opened to the first page—suddenly, her head buzzed.
"Ling"
A familiar woman's voice echoed in her mind—clear, distant, like a call from the void.
Her face paled, but she quickly forced a smile. "Must be old props messing with the sensors."
Bang! A table behind them suddenly toppled over!
All four of them screamed.
"Sorry! That fake 'Saw' table wasn't secured yet," said prop master Wu Kaixi, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"You scared the crap out of me!" Sen Leian shouted.
Class 15 of Grade 11 had nearly finished setting up their escape room game: The Ogre's Kitchen. The students were running a test round, but the rules were inconsistent, some props were unstable, and that horrifying coffin prop hadn't even been built yet.
Only two weeks remained before the school's 50th Anniversary Summer Festival, and every class was giving it their all to attract attention and earn school-wide "shopping vouchers."
The school was buzzing with activity. Each day, students stayed late prepping for the event.
Some classrooms were building theater sets. Others prepared animal exhibits. One class even created a bizarre "Dark Cuisine Challenge."
Every classroom offered a different experience. Li Min and I made our way to the senior building across from ours.
As expected, the seniors had everything under control. No panic, well-organized teams—like seasoned veterans.
Just as we were about to head to the second floor, we bumped into two familiar figures at the stairwell.
Senior Haoran, deputy inspector.
Haoran was a top student from Grade 12, Class 1—a math prodigy and school icon. Last time I got caught being late, he and Senior Yan Xun were the ones walking ahead of Chen Hao'an.
Yan Xun, also from Grade 12, Class 1, was the newest member of the inspection team. A business major and the youngest among the group, he had transferred this year.
Our school's Inspection Team was known as the "Elite Models of High School." Only those with both excellent grades and character could join. Some girls even transferred here just to meet them!
To make matters worse, these model students were also insanely good-looking. Talk about unfair!
Haoran stood tall at 185cm, slim, with a charming, sunshine-like smile that earned him the nickname "Inspector Sunshine." Unlike Hao'an, who avoided fangirls like the plague, Haoran was warm and friendly to everyone.
Yan Xun was 179cm and the team's "baby." The others jokingly nicknamed him baby. They teased him all the time, but everyone acknowledged his genius—after all, he came from a powerful business family, practically born to dominate commerce.
Honestly, I was kinda scared of the inspection team. As students from the bottom-ranked class, we were always the first suspects in any school incident. The inspection team was like the school police.
To us, they were either Model Saints—or High School Demons.
"Hey, junior. You're from Class 15, right?" Haoran asked as I climbed the stairs.
"She's Ying Chuanling," Yan Xun added with a smirk.
"What brings you to the senior floor?" Haoran asked me and Li Min.
"I… I just wanted to see the senior projects," I stammered. Technically, we weren't allowed here—only inspectors could wander freely.
"Looking for Hao'an, huh?" Haoran teased.
"Oooh~ Checking on the team leader?" Yan Xun grinned mischievously.
"I-I-I…" I panicked, stuttering like a cat caught red-pawed. I was the mouse in this situation!
"I'll show you our class project. Hao'an's working on something big," Haoran said.
"Let's go!" Li Min whispered excitedly.
The first classroom we entered was filled with gorgeous Japanese kimonos.
"Wow, what's this for?" Li Min asked.
"A kimono-themed café," Yan Xun explained.
Inside, a senior girl was learning the Japanese tea ceremony from a teacher, graceful and elegant in her flowing sleeves.
In the next room—splash!
A bucket of water came flying at us!
Haoran quickly grabbed my hand with one arm and pulled Li Min back with the other.
We gasped, barely avoiding a soaking. Inside the room, a guy with a water gun and another with an empty bucket stared at us.
"Sorry! It was him!" the boy pointed at his partner.
Turns out, they were planning a water fight arena.
"Be careful with your 'weapons'—don't hit innocent passersby!" Haoran scolded them.
Suddenly—BOOM!
A loud noise came from the next classroom.
Haoran and Yan Xun rushed over. We followed.
Inside was a giant spinning wheel labeled in bold:
"Truth or Dare."
The room was empty… except for the massive fallen wheel.
"Guess the captain didn't prop it up right," Yan Xun said.
Suddenly—
"Ahhh!" I screamed.
A hand—veiny, greenish-purple—grabbed my ankle from under the wheel!
Then another hand snatched my other ankle.
"Aaaaah!!" I shrieked and stepped hard onto the board.
Haoran and Yan Xun jumped in shock, hugging each other instinctively.
"Wait—listen!" Li Min shouted, pulling me back.
"Help…!" A low voice groaned.
"It's Senior Chen Hao'an!" Li Min cried. She knew his voice better than anyone.
Realizing what had happened, the boys rushed forward and lifted the heavy wheel.
Underneath lay Chen Hao'an, sprawled out like a chalk outline.
"Captain! Captain!" Yan Xun yelled.
Haoran and Yan Xun shook him, but he didn't respond. So I did the only thing I could…
Smack! My Iron Palm of Justice slammed down on his back.
"AAAAHH!!" Hao'an jolted up with a scream.
I quickly hid my hand behind my back.
Slowly, like a zombie rising from the grave, Hao'an sat up. He stared at me with lifeless eyes.
He stood—185cm tall—towering over me by nearly a head.
Chen Hao'an had just gotten back on his feet, swaying unsteadily when he suddenly lunged toward me.
"You stepped on my hand, didn't you?" he mumbled, dazed.
Haoran immediately pulled him back. "Don't mind him! Just leave, hurry!"
"Come back here!!" Chen Hao'an shouted.
Yanxun quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. "Stop talking! Stop talking!"
Limin and I bolted out of the classroom, scared half to death. We had sneaked into the senior grade building and stepped on the head of the patrol team. How were we supposed to survive school life after this?!
We dashed back to our classroom. Not long after, as I sat at my desk writing out the event plan, I could feel several pairs of eyes staring at me.
I looked up—and there was Chen Hao'an, glaring daggers at me with a cold, intense expression that made me break into a cold sweat. That's the captain and vice-captain of the patrol team! Let's not even talk about the youngest member…
***
After two weeks of hard work, all the classes had finally wrapped up preparations for their summer projects. It was time to face the real challenge!
But… our class's actual coffin still hadn't arrived! We were doomed. The most talked-about prop still hadn't been delivered the night before the event!
Sen Leian got on the phone with the supplier. They said they'd deliver it no later than 9 p.m. tonight! But 9 p.m. was already late… the school would be completely empty by then!
"Are we going to have to cancel the whole escape room plan?" I asked Sen Leian, my voice laced with anxiety I couldn't hide.
He stood in front of the set blueprint, script—our seventh revision—clutched tightly in hand, brows deeply furrowed.
"No, it won't be canceled," he said firmly. His voice was resolute, but I still caught the flicker of hesitation at the corner of his mouth.
"You sure? Without the coffin, The Ogre's Kitchen loses its soul prop! We're supposed to scare the whole grade!" I whispered harshly. This was our entire class's pride—especially the theme I co-designed with Wu Kaixi.
"I'll go wait at the school gate," he said, stuffing the script into my arms before heading out.
I stared at his back, feeling as if I were nailed in place by anxiety. Limin was in the corner stitching the eyeball back onto a prop doll and muttered without even looking up, "Just trust him. He doesn't talk much, but if he says he'll do something, he'll do it."
"It's not that I don't want to trust him," I mumbled, "but it's already 8:30… there's only half an hour left, and it's pitch dark outside…"
Just as I finished speaking, the lights in the classroom flickered with a snap.
I whipped my head toward the door. With a creak, it slowly opened.
A tall boy in a school uniform stood in the doorway, a large black coffin slung over his shoulder.
"Someone order the 'Ultra-Terror Edition'?" he asked casually, raising an eyebrow like he was delivering takeout.
Me: "…"
Limin: "!!!"
"Where's Sen Leian?" I rushed over. "Aren't you the supplier? Aren't you—"
"I'm his friend. He had something urgent come up, so he asked me to bring it over," the boy replied with a grin. "He said you'd probably be panicking, so he told me to run."
A warm feeling surged in my chest, but I forced myself to stay calm. "Alright, bring it in first. What's your name?"
"Jiang Jianshen."
Jiang Jianshen. That name sounded familiar, but I didn't have time to think about it. Limin and I quickly guided him to place the coffin in the set area.
As we struggled to position it just right, Jiang Jianshen suddenly gave the coffin a pat.
"You sure this thing's… empty?"
"Don't say stuff like that. Of course it's—" Before I could finish, the coffin lid gave a soft click, like something inside had moved.
All three of us froze.
"Limin… didn't Sen Leian say this one was empty?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"Yeah… I-I told them I didn't want the version with a prop actor inside…"
The coffin lid creaked open ever so slightly—
And a hand stretched out from the darkness.