After the group finished their discussion, they left the dormitory building.
Bian Ying walked beside Tan Linyan and suddenly spoke up, “Senior, I found a photo in Room 414.”
She took out the photo to show him.
Seeing the familiar face on it, Tan Linyan was slightly startled.
“…Principal Lin?”
“Yes.
The girl next to him is his daughter.
She committed suicide in her dorm during her junior year.”
Hearing this, Tan Linyan was astonished.
To think Bian Ying had found such a crucial clue so quickly.
He immediately guessed her next move.
“You’re going to the archives?”
“Yeah,” Bian Ying replied.
Tan Linyan had already graduated when it happened, so he wasn’t too clear about the scandal that had caused such an uproar at the school.
If Bian Ying could find out the truth behind the girl’s suicide, perhaps they could awaken the principal, who was currently being controlled by the Deceits.
Behind them, the members of the First Squad and Zhou Haizhi watched helplessly as the two ahead of them leaned closer to each other in conversation.
When they reached a fork in the path and prepared to part ways, Tan Linyan handed her a brand-new wireless earpiece.
“I’ll hold off the other Deceits.
Focus on what you need to do.”
“Thanks.” Bian Ying calmly took the earpiece and put it in her ear.
Once Tan Linyan left with his teammates, Zhou Haizhi slowly shuffled over.
He cleared his throat and started, “Bian Ying…”
“I know.
You want to earn merits,” Bian Ying said, casting him a sidelong glance before turning to walk in the opposite direction.
Zhou Haizhi chased after her with a bewildered look on his face.
That wasn’t what he wanted to say at all!
When they reached the bottom of the building housing the archives, Zhou Haizhi belatedly realized something was wrong.
“Weren’t we going to find the principal?”
“Mr.
Zhou, do you have a Superpower?”
“…No.”
“Then do you have an Energy Gun?”
“…Also no.”
Hearing his answers, Bian Ying gave a soft chuckle.
She didn’t say anything else, but Zhou Haizhi suddenly understood her implication.
His face flushed with a mix of annoyance and embarrassment.
They had absolutely nothing.
Confronting the principal right now was no different from throwing their lives away.
In the past, Bian Ying used to run errands for teachers and organize files to earn credits, so she easily found her way to the archives.
Just as they approached, the Deceit concentration detector on Zhou Haizhi’s wrist lit up.
The light wasn’t too intense; it was probably only a mid-level Deceit.
Shadows permeated the archives.
The only light came from the fluorescent blue glow of a computer monitor on the desk.
Her movements were stiff, like a controlled puppet, and the thing controlling her was shockingly the shadow clinging to her body.
Sensing their footsteps, the shadow slowly raised its head to look over.
The shadow had no facial features.
The moment it looked up, the teacher it controlled raised her head in unison.
A gloomy, damp, and cold aura washed over them, making the dim, deathly silent environment feel even more terrifying.
Zhou Haizhi swallowed hard.
He was just about to advise Bian Ying to think things through when he caught sight of her taking a step back and standing to the side.
She blinked, her tone overflowing with sincerity.
“Mr.
Zhou, it’s time for you to earn those merits.”
Zhou Haizhi was dumbfounded.
Bian Ying continued, “You wouldn’t want your heroic deeds to amount to just a few short lines on paper, right?”
Zhou Haizhi was speechless.
He understood what Bian Ying was getting at.
She wanted him to lure away the mid-level Deceit inside.
His cheek twitched.
Lacking confidence, he started, “I am the boss, you should listen to me—”
“Alright, it’s coming over,” Bian Ying cut him off.
“Just sweet-talk it like how you usually fool—ah, no—do ideological work with your subordinates.
Buy me some time.”
Zhou Haizhi’s cheek twitched even more violently.
Did she think he couldn’t hear what she really wanted to say?!
But looking at the shadow Deceit fast approaching them, Zhou Haizhi gritted his teeth and cursed, “You better emphasize this in your work report, or I’ll never let you hear the end of it!”
“Of course!
A whole page will be dedicated to your heroic deeds!”
The moment Bian Ying agreed, Zhou Haizhi forced down his nervousness and charged forward to meet the danger head-on.
“Ah, Teacher Zhang!
I’m a guest lecturer invited by Wuhai University.
We’re all colleagues here!” Catching a glimpse of the ID badge on her chest, Zhou Haizhi immediately blocked her path with feigned enthusiasm, forcing a conversation on her.
Teacher Zhang’s face revealed no emotion, but the shadow Deceit clinging to her grew increasingly agitated.
It didn’t care about some nonsense guest lecturer!
“Hey, hey, hey!
Why are you being so unreasonable!” Seeing Teacher Zhang launch a direct attack at him, Zhou Haizhi laughed out of sheer frustration.
Taking advantage of Zhou Haizhi luring Teacher Zhang away, Bian Ying swiftly slipped into the archives.
Only after walking inside did she realize that many dormant shadows were lurking in the corners of the room.
So Bian Ying slowed her steps, cleared her throat, and nonchalantly repeated the same phrase, “Outstanding alumni…
outstanding alumni…
outstanding alumni…”
The shadows in the corners all awakened, stretching into long, narrow silhouettes across the floor.
The entire room had clearly become a nest for shadow Deceits.
The archives were equipped with motion-sensor lights.
Every time Bian Ying walked past a shelf, the light next to it would flick on.
The shadows unwillingly prowled behind her, thinking, “Stop chanting!
Stop chanting!
How can you be so annoying!”
Bian Ying acted as if she didn’t see them.
She walked over to the central control computer, pulled up the student files for their batch, and selected the profiles of the female students with the surname Lin.
Soon, she locked onto her target.
Lin Zhiyu.
She committed suicide in Room 414 during her junior year.
Of her three roommates, one also committed suicide during her senior year, and the other two were currently in a rehab center.
A rehab center?
Bian Ying paused, a vague realization dawning on her.
Lin Zhiyu’s file was stellar.
She had been outstanding since childhood, consistently ranking in the top three of her grade.
A list of her various awards spanned more than a full page; she was the classic “perfect child next door” everyone praised.
But after getting admitted to Wuhai University, Lin Zhiyu changed.
Her file clearly showed that she had received several disciplinary actions, with the final one being so severe that she was almost expelled.
Bian Ying saw the reason for that final penalty: gathering a crowd to abuse drugs.
Not long after this penalty was issued, Lin Zhiyu committed suicide.
Just as Bian Ying finished reading Lin Zhiyu’s file and was about to head back to regroup with Tan Linyan and the others, a piercing alarm suddenly erupted in her mind.
[Rule Manifestation: All forces mobilize.
Hunt down the intruders!]
Bian Ying looked up in disbelief.
The Eight Evils were trying to wipe them out completely!
Noticing that the shadows trailing behind her had grown agitated and were impatiently lunging at her, Bian Ying immediately whipped around and dashed out of the room.
Having finally dealt with the shadow Deceit behind Teacher Zhang, Zhou Haizhi returned to the archives’ entrance in high spirits.
He was just about to brag about his heroic performance when he saw Bian Ying sprinting toward him.
Zhou Haizhi couldn’t help but mutter, “…Did you see a ghost?
Why are you in such a panic?”
Bian Ying replied truthfully, “Something much scarier than a ghost.”
She had run into a room full of shadow Deceits!