“Oh, so it’s you.”
Shen Biqian bit her lip, trying hard to make out his features through the flickering green light.
“It’s good to see you.”
A heartfelt sigh escaped her lips.
The image of him being torn to pieces by demonic beasts flashed before her eyes again. Her face paled, and she forced a smile at him before turning to leave.
This time, no matter what happened, she would never allow him to fall before her again.
Su Jianmo watched her retreating figure. A bitter smile flickered in his eyes.
Reaching out, he touched the green specks surrounding him.
He didn’t know whether these things were a blessing or a curse.
Perhaps it was better if she stayed away from him.
Shen Biqian wandered aimlessly around campus.
Looking at the youthful, energetic smiles on the faces around her, her heart was filled with bitterness.
In seven days, all of this would vanish without a trace.
Suddenly, a green speck flashed before her eyes.
She felt an inexplicable excitement rising from within her, urging her to absorb it.
She hesitated.
Should she touch it?
Thinking of the green specks surrounding Su Jianmo and remembering how, in her previous life, he had somehow been able to injure demonic beasts with his bare hands, she couldn’t help wondering if there was a connection.
As she pondered, the green speck remained hovering beside her instead of fleeing.
She could even sense its urgency.
It seemed eager to enter her body.
Staring at it and feeling the continuous sense of affinity emanating from it, Shen Biqian gritted her teeth and reached out.
The moment she grasped it, the little speck rubbed affectionately against her palm like a child before eagerly flashing into her body.
As soon as it entered, a gentle coolness spread through her entire body.
A wave of comfort surged up from deep within her.
She even felt lighter.
Closing her eyes, she carefully examined the changes in her body.
Other than the pleasant sensation, there was nothing unusual.
A radiant smile appeared on her face.
In her previous life, she had never seen these green specks. Judging from the reactions of those around her, it seemed that not everyone could see them.
And perhaps the reason Su Jianmo had been able to wound demonic beasts barehanded was because of the green specks surrounding him.
If that was true…
Had her luck finally changed?
If she could absorb more of these green specks, then when the demonic beasts arrived, she would have the strength to fight back.
Her heart raced.
Since confirming that the apocalypse was truly coming, this was the first piece of good news she had received.
For the entire day, she wandered around campus searching for green specks.
The harvest was plentiful.
By the time night fell and she prepared to return to her dormitory, she had absorbed over a hundred of them.
She could clearly feel her body growing stronger under their nourishment.
The feeling of becoming stronger was wonderful.
She also visited the campus convenience store, purchasing bags upon bags of supplies in preparation for the coming apocalypse.
Back at the dormitory, she simply smiled in response to her roommates’ endless questions and explained nothing.
After all, if she started talking about rebirth and the end of the world, people would only think she had gone insane.
No one would believe her.
The next day, while walking to her examination hall, a piercing scream suddenly echoed across the lively campus.
“Xiaofan! What’s wrong?!”
People immediately rushed toward the girl who had collapsed.
Only Shen Biqian remained rooted to the spot.
Above the fallen girl’s head, a mass of green light slowly rose.
The instant the green light appeared was the exact moment the girl collapsed.
The green mass was roughly the size of a fist.
An odd feeling arose within Shen Biqian.
It looked like a green speck that had eaten its fill and grown fat.
After flickering several times, the green mass flew directly toward her.
Under her horrified gaze, it entered her body.
Immediately, that familiar feeling of comfort spread through her limbs once again.
But this time, her heart turned completely cold.
She had known the girl would die.
But in her previous life, she had never seen that green mass.
She had never known what had killed the girl.
Could it really have been caused by the green light?
In her previous life, many people had died without explanation.
Even by the time she died herself, the cause had never been discovered.
Could it all be related to the green specks?
If it truly was, then there was no need to worry about the apocalypse.
She would probably be killed by the green specks before the apocalypse even arrived.
A bitter smile crossed her face.
She had thought she had found a weapon against the demonic beasts.
Instead, she had found something that would kill her even sooner.
Then why had she been reborn?
Had heaven decided that the suffering of her previous life wasn’t enough and wanted her to experience a new way of dying this time?
While everyone crowded around the fallen girl, Shen Biqian quietly slipped away.
If she was destined to die, she wanted to do so peacefully.
Without disturbing anyone else.
She made her way to the small grove she loved most and lay down on the grass.
Warm sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns across her face.
She reached out and tried to catch a beam of sunlight in her hand.
How much longer would she be able to see sunlight like this?
Who knows where we are meant to go?
Who understands what life has become?
As the slightly hoarse, desolate singing voice of Wang Feng drifted from her phone, Shen Biqian was stunned for a moment before remembering that it was her ringtone.
She glanced at the screen.
It was Xiao Ke, the dormitory monitor.
Probably calling to remind her about the exam.
She simply turned off her phone.
Right now, she only wanted some peace and quiet.
To hell with exams.
When Xiao Ke and the others finally found her, they had brought along their academic counselor and two police officers.
Shen Biqian was lying motionless on the grass.
So still that she looked dead.
“Xiao Qian!”
An Qiaoke and the others screamed as they rushed over.
That very morning, they had witnessed a girl die before their eyes.
If the roommate who had lived with them for two years died the same way, they would never be able to accept it.
As Xiao Ke tremblingly reached out to place a hand beneath Shen Biqian’s nose, Shen Biqian suddenly opened her eyes.
“What are you all doing?”
Tears immediately streamed down Xiao Ke’s face.
“And you ask us that?”
“Why were you lying here?”
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?”
Warmth filled Shen Biqian’s heart.
She gently wiped away Xiao Ke’s tears.
“I just wanted some quiet time alone.”
Chu Fei shook her shoulder.
“Get up already. The counselor wants to see you. There are also two police officers here.”
“Police?”
Shen Biqian froze.
Why would the police be looking for her?
Li Xiang looked at the pretty young woman in front of him and asked,
“You’re Shen Biqian?”
“Yes.”
“Then come with us. We need you to answer a few questions.”
Shen Biqian was startled.
“Why?”
“The girl who died in Teaching Building Four yesterday. As the first person to discover her body, you’re an important witness. There are some things we’d like to ask you.”
As Li Xiang spoke, his expression grew serious.
That girl was perhaps the strangest death he had ever encountered.
There wasn’t a single external injury on her body.
Yet the coroner’s report concluded that she had died from total organ failure.
Even more baffling, the cause of the organ failure could not be determined.
The girl had always been healthy and had no history of serious illness.
During the investigation, he had learned that Shen Biqian had been the first person to notice the girl’s death and had apparently gone there specifically to find her.
He suspected that perhaps this Shen Biqian knew something.
Shen Biqian agreed to go.
Coincidentally, there were things she wanted to know as well.
By the time Shen Biqian left the police station, it was already past eleven o’clock at night.
X City was highly developed, and despite the late hour, it remained brilliantly illuminated.
Countless young men and women were enjoying the city’s nightlife.
What drifted through the night sky in even greater numbers, however, were the sparkling green specks.
Against the darkness, they appeared even more beautiful and mysterious.
As Shen Biqian looked at them, she felt that there were more green specks tonight than there had been the previous evening.
Thinking back to what the police had told her about the girl’s cause of death, her heart turned completely cold.
The girl had died from organ failure.
Involuntarily, Shen Biqian thought of that fist-sized green mass that had looked like a green speck after a hearty meal.
Could it be that the green specks entering a person’s body consumed their life force, causing their organs to fail?
If her guess was correct…
Then after absorbing so many green specks herself…
How long would it be before they finished draining all the life force from her body?