Chapter 1


The Homeroom Teacher?

Chapter 1

“Have you ever had the same dream repeatedly?”

This question received various answers. Some said they often dreamed of climbing the same mountain but never reaching the peak, while others described repeatedly eating the same food, forced to continue even after getting sick.

These were all strange, nonsensical nightmares, and many people analyzed the dreamers’ life situations.

Then one response stood out.

“I don’t repeat a single dream. Instead, I’ve only ever had dreams with the same setting since I can remember. Every night when I sleep, I’m in darkness with a buzzing sound. I can’t close my eyes or speak, and someone keeps slapping my face. The details sometimes change, but the setting remains the same.”

“In one particularly clear dream, there was a man who kept asking if I would behave now, if I understood the importance of obedience, if I dared to cry out again.”

“He would choke me, twist my ears, lift me up and slam me to the ground.”

“I was terrified but didn’t dare cry. My eyes hurt so much.”

“At the end of the dream, he cut open my stomach, stuffed it with dead grass, and buried me in foul-smelling soil.”

This would have been just another ordinary nightmare story, until someone commented:

“Could you have been murdered in your past life, and that’s why you keep having this dream?”

The person replied: “I don’t know, but the dreams feel incredibly real. When I was young, I thought everyone had the same dream every night. I was shocked when I learned in fifth grade that others had different dreams each day.”

The matter might have ended there.

Until one day, the person came back online with an addition:

“I had that dream again. This time, I was standing at an intersection holding a red balloon, surrounded by people, crying continuously.”

An intersection, a child with a red balloon – it was too obvious.

Social media had been flooded with memorials for victims of the Red Balloon Serial Killings, and readers felt unsettled seeing this.

“Are you using someone’s suggestion about remembering past-life deaths to chase clout?”

“Are you saying you’re a victim of the Red Balloon Serial Killings from seventeen years ago?”

“A victim’s family just posted a memorial video days ago, drawing attention to this case. You choose this moment to say such things?”

“Must you chase this kind of attention? Think about how the victims’ families would feel.”

The person quickly replied: “I’m a high school student and don’t know what you’re talking about. I just dreamed new content. I’ve been talking about this dream for years – it’s not about chasing attention.”

Users clicked into the poster’s profile.

Indeed, they were a high school student who often shared content on weekends.

Moreover, they had only discovered this website a few months ago and had consistently responded to dream-related topics.

Almost all posts were about having the same dream since childhood, where they kept repeating a phrase they could never remember upon waking.

It seemed odd but not deliberately fabricated.

Since they were just a high school student, people stopped criticizing.

The matter might have ended there.

Until one weekend morning in March, the girl came online again and posted three updates:

“This time my dream had something new. A woman was calling for me, crying constantly, begging me to come home. I wanted to tell her I was here, but I couldn’t open my mouth.”

“When I woke up, I discovered I had been sleepwalking. I ended up at a construction site for a basketball court in some residential complex. It’s strange – this is my first time sleepwalking, and this place is at least 3 kilometers from my home. I’ve never been here before and don’t know why I appeared here.”

She included a photo showing early morning sunlight casting warm yellow rays across the construction site. Though work hadn’t started, the area was already cordoned off.

“Standing here gives me a strange feeling. I want to lie down.”

“Are you still going on about this?” users asked.

“You’re quite bold. Are you trying to suggest you were buried here in your past life?”

“We told you to stop exploiting this case.”

“Stop using this case for attention.”

“This case was incredibly tragic. Several victims’ families haven’t recovered from the trauma. A family member committed suicide just days ago. Aren’t you afraid of karma for using this case for attention?”

“Reported.”

Three days later, the city’s biggest news was that human remains had been discovered during the construction of a residential complex’s basketball court. The identity was under investigation.

The most upvoted comment under this news was: “Could this be a victim from the serial killings seventeen years ago? Investigate this angle!”

Someone unfamiliar with the situation asked: “Why say that? It might not be.”

“Check out this answer on Zhihu – it’s trending now. It’s incredibly eerie!”

People kept clicking through.

Comments under that answer kept increasing.

“This can’t be real?”

“Could it be coincidence? Is it the same location?”

“It’s the same place – look at both pictures, they’re identical.”

“This is supernatural, but some things in this world really can’t be explained. I remember a CCTV program where a sister reported her brother missing and told police he appeared in her dream, saying where to find his body. The police followed her description and actually found the body. They later caught the killer, who had no connection to the sister. Police investigated the sister thoroughly, confirming she’d never been there. No one could explain how she dreamed of that location.”

Officials provided an answer several days later.

Among the lengthy official report, everyone focused on one line:

“Confirmed to be a victim of the serial killings.”

People visited the site and carefully compared the pictures.

They were identical.

“Been reading this since midnight, and it’s chilling. This is exactly where that girl stood and sensed her past life’s body buried beneath.”

“Too bizarre – I can’t understand how she could sense the body’s presence.”

“You’re all too gullible. These photos could have been taken earlier, before the ground was excavated. Someone probably discovered the remains first, then posted this story online, taking advantage of timing and information gaps.”

“No, I live in this complex. When she posted that photo, construction hadn’t started because some residents opposed it. Work was delayed for three days. They found the remains an hour after starting yesterday. Our complex was surrounded, and police arrived immediately. With information spreading so fast nowadays, it was bound to appear on social media.”

People searched and confirmed that the girl had posted the information three days before construction, not exploiting any timing gaps.

“How is this possible? Could it be the killer in disguise, some psychopath enjoying toying with the public? Is there a statute of limitations on this case?”

“This case was too heinous and socially impactful to have limitations.”

“Would the killer be stupid enough to draw attention like this? With things this big now, police will definitely investigate her.”

More people got goosebumps as they carefully read through the user’s answers.

“I remember only the mother and daughter from the final case were found back then. The other victims’ remains were never discovered, and no one knew what happened to them.”

“Looking at her dream now – darkness everywhere, unable to close her eyes or speak, stomach cut open and stuffed with dead grass – it’s chilling.”

“Is this really about past lives?”

“If not, how do you explain the content of her dreams? How do you explain her knowing the burial location?”

“I don’t care about past lives – I just want to know if she dreamed about who the killer was. The killer was never caught; I thought I’d never see justice in my lifetime.”

“Why hasn’t she come back online? Could something have happened? With such big news and so many followers waiting, she should say something. This is killing me!”

“She’s not an adult user – she mentioned being in high school. High school students probably can’t use phones Monday through Friday and might not know about this news yet. Wait for the weekend.”

“The police must have seen this information too. Wonder if they’ve found this girl.”

“They definitely will, but officials probably won’t directly address past-life matters. They tend to avoid such topics.”

“Wait for the weekend.”

Across the internet, people from all directions were focused on this girl, waiting for the high school student to explain.

At this time, many still believed that while the situation was inexplicable, it definitely wasn’t about past lives, and vaguely felt the high school student would come forward to apologize and say it was all coincidence.

Two days later, the high school student appeared. Instead of avoiding the issue as some rational netizens expected, she directly addressed it:

“The police have already found me. I told them everything I know. I’m not seeking attention or trying to sell anything. I’m not the killer – I’m only seventeen. Whether you believe it or not, I just shared what I know.”

The top comment was “We believe you, sister. We want to ask – do you remember what the killer looks like?”

Whether they believed in past lives or not, everyone stared at their phones, constantly refreshing the comments, waiting for her response.

One second, two seconds – other spectating comments kept increasing, but no response from the high school student.

Just when everyone thought she wouldn’t reply.

A response appeared.

Two words plus a picture.

“I remember.”

The picture was a simple sketch, roughly outlining a middle-aged man.

Though crude, it clearly showed an ordinary, honest-looking man.

At that moment, a high school senior in Ping City removed their glasses, wondering if late-night fatigue was causing hallucinations.

The homeroom teacher?

— New chapter is coming soon —
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