Shen Biqian took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
Whether it had been a dream or a rebirth, she needed to stay calm and verify it.
If it had all been a dream, then everything was fine.
But if she had truly been reborn, then she had to make thorough preparations before the demonic beasts arrived. She hated that feeling of helplessness—hated watching others die tragically in front of her while trying to protect her.
Today was June 28th.
If she remembered correctly, something shocking had happened on this day in her dream. A girl studying by herself in Teaching Building Four had suddenly died for no apparent reason. Over the following days, there would be more than ten similar sudden deaths.
If it wasn’t a dream, someone would die today.
Shen Biqian sprang out of bed and pulled on a random outfit from her wardrobe.
“What time is it now?”
Chu Fei, who was sitting across from her, turned around and glanced at her watch.
“A little after eleven. Are you going to buy lunch?”
“Bring me a serving of rice. Any dishes are fine.”
“Me too!”
“Same here!”
A little after eleven…
If she remembered correctly, the girl had been discovered dead when the friend she was studying with came to invite her to lunch.
There was still time.
As soon as she finished dressing, Shen Biqian rushed toward the door.
“I have something to do. Buy your own lunch!”
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind her.
“What’s gotten into her?”
“Who knows?”
The moment she left the dormitory, Shen Biqian sprinted toward Teaching Building Four.
The blazing midday sun beat down through the thick clouds, scorching everyone beneath it. The oppressive heat only made her feel more anxious.
She ran all the way to the building in one breath.
But as she stared at the structure before her, she froze.
Which classroom had that girl been studying in?
She remembered Du Yueshan—the dormitory’s resident gossip—mentioning it before.
But which room was it?
The more anxious she became, the more chaotic her thoughts grew.
“Shen Biqian, calm down!”
She pounded her head lightly, forcing herself to think.
Students passing through the building cast curious glances at the pretty ponytailed girl standing at the entrance, but none paid her much attention.
“4406!”
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
“That’s right! Room 4406!”
She rushed up to the fourth floor in a single breath and threw open the classroom door.
Everyone inside—whether studying or packing up to go eat lunch—looked up in surprise at the girl who had burst in like a whirlwind.
Shen Biqian’s heart sank.
Among all the students who had raised their heads to look at her, only one girl remained motionless, lying face-down on her desk.
Shen Biqian stood frozen like a statue.
She didn’t dare move forward.
She was afraid.
When the students saw that she wasn’t doing anything, they assumed she had entered the wrong classroom and returned to their own business.
With stiff movements, Shen Biqian began walking forward step by step.
She’s just asleep.
Just asleep…
Taking a deep breath, she raised a trembling hand and pushed the girl gently.
“Hey, wake up. Wake up!”
At that moment, unnoticed by anyone else, a cluster of green light drifted out of the girl’s body and flashed into Shen Biqian’s own.
The girl sitting beside the sleeping student looked at her in confusion.
“Excuse me, who are you? Do you need something from Xiaoying?”
Ignoring her, Shen Biqian shook the girl harder.
Her voice grew louder.
“Hey! Wake up! Wake up! Please… don’t sleep anymore!”
The nearby student became irritated and jumped to her feet, grabbing Shen Biqian’s arm.
“What’s wrong with you? Xiaoying is sleeping. If you need something, tell me and I’ll pass along the message!”
“Sleeping?”
Shen Biqian muttered.
“Is she really sleeping?”
She raised her head and stared directly at the girl.
“Is she really sleeping? We’ve been making this much noise and she still hasn’t woken up. Is she really sleeping?!”
Her nearly hysterical voice echoed throughout the entire classroom.
Looking at Shen Biqian’s reddened eyes, the student suddenly felt that something was wrong.
She released Shen Biqian and hurried over to shake Xiaoying.
“Xiaoying, wake up. Someone’s looking for you.”
Xiaoying’s body swayed with the shaking.
But she still didn’t wake up.
The student’s face turned pale.
She let go and stood there, too afraid to move.
Shen Biqian took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm.
Raising her still-trembling hand, she placed it beneath Xiaoying’s nose.
For a long time, she remained completely still.
“She… she’s okay, right?”
The student asked timidly.
“She just fell asleep, didn’t she?”
As though jolted awake, Shen Biqian jerked her hand back as if she had touched electricity.
All color drained from her face.
Despite the thirty-degree heat, a thin layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
Ignoring the girl’s question, she turned stiffly and walked toward the door like a lost soul.
The girl was dead.
A girl had truly died.
That meant none of it had been a dream.
Seven days.
In seven days, the apocalypse would arrive.
“What was that girl here for?”
“Who knows?”
“What about that girl over there? Is she asleep or what?”
The classroom finally erupted into commotion.
Forgetting all about Shen Biqian, everyone rushed toward Xiaoying’s desk.
Looking at the pale student standing beside her, they asked anxiously:
“Is your friend okay?”
“I… I don’t know.”
The girl trembled, too frightened to move.
A bolder boy stepped forward and placed his hand beneath Xiaoying’s nose. A moment later, he quickly stumbled backward.
“N-No breathing… S-She can’t be… dead, can she?”
“Stop talking nonsense! Call 120!”
“R-Right! Right!”
Like a walking corpse, Shen Biqian left Teaching Building Four.
The scorching sunlight fell upon her body, but she could no longer feel even a trace of warmth.
It felt as though her heart had been submerged in an ice cellar, cold to the very core.
Before her eyes, she seemed to see countless demonic beasts charging toward her once again, their blood-soaked jaws gaping wide.
She saw the mangled corpses.
She heard the heart-wrenching cries of grief.
Suddenly, a tiny green speck flashed before her eyes.
Blinking on and off, it hovered in the air.
For some reason, Shen Biqian felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and comfort toward it.
She raised her hand, wanting to touch it.
The little green speck immediately drifted away in another direction.
Shen Biqian followed after it.
As she walked, more and more green specks appeared along the way, all floating toward the same destination.
Following them, she gradually broke into a run across the campus.
The green specks slowed down more and more until they eventually stopped moving forward altogether, merely floating gently up and down in place.
Shen Biqian smiled and reached out to grab one.
“Don’t touch them!”
Just as her fingers were about to make contact, a cold, clear voice rang out.
She finally tore her gaze away from the green speck she had been chasing and was startled.
The space before her was densely packed with countless green specks, forming what looked like a giant green cocoon.
The voice had come from the center of it.
The green lights flickered continuously, and through them Shen Biqian could only vaguely make out a white shirt.
“Who are you?”
She didn’t recognize him at all.
Su Jianmo looked at the girl before him.
Her small face was still somewhat pale, and her eyes glistened as though she had recently been crying. A trace of concern flickered across his cool expression.
“Su Jianmo.”
Shen Biqian’s body trembled.
Him?
The person surrounded by all these green specks…
was actually him?