STG 46

Chapter 46: Campus Killers

Long before setting out, Chen Muye and the others had specifically instructed Lin Qiye to make careful use of his abilities.

Since the humans infected by this mythical creature couldn’t be identified by appearance alone, alternative methods of detection were necessary. As the only one among them with a Forbidden Realm capable of spiritual perception, Lin Qiye was naturally crucial.

As Lin Qiye had expected, his Seraphim’s Eye could identify the infected.

Right now, in his spiritual perception field, Liu Xiaoyan appeared like a flesh-and-blood monster draped in human skin, skillfully manipulating that shell while whispering naturally with her deskmate.

And in this classroom, aside from Liu Xiaoyan, there was another infected individual.

She was also a girl, one Lin Qiye didn’t remember well—the kind of inconspicuous student in class. Her name was Han Ruoruo.

At the moment, she was secretly writing something, then turned to pass a small note to the boy behind her.

The boy behind her was someone Lin Qiye also knew, and relatively well at that…

Liu Yuan.

He certainly hadn’t forgotten Liu Yuan, who had pushed him when facing the Ghost-Faced Man.

“Roughly how many?” Chen Muye’s voice came through the earpiece again.

“There are two in my classroom alone. And when I came in, I specifically scanned all the classrooms on this floor. Just on this one floor… there are about six.”

“Can they… still be saved?”

“No.” Lin Qiye stated firmly. “Their internal organs have disappeared, replaced by masses of bizarre flesh. Even if those things are killed, they absolutely cannot survive.”

“They… were already dead the moment they were eaten.”

Just one floor had six victims. If extended to the entire school… how many would have died?

When a school simultaneously has so many deaths, it’s basically doomed.

And the social impact behind this incident would be even more terrifying!

Chen Muye on the other end was silent for a long time before speaking slowly: “I understand… Continue observing. Don’t alert the enemy.”

“Received.”

Lin Qiye took out paper and pen, focusing intently on the teacher’s lecture like an ordinary student.

After the teacher had been speaking for over ten minutes, Li Yifei arrived at the door panting and knocked.

“Reporting!”

“Li Yifei? You’re late.” The teacher had no patience for seasoned troublemakers like Li Yifei.

“Teacher, I took sick leave. I have a note!” Li Yifei waved the note in his hand.

The teacher glared at him. “…Hurry back to your seat. If you don’t do well on the next test, I’m calling your parents.”

Li Yifei hurriedly sat down next to Lin Qiye. As he bent down to get his books, he whispered to Lin Qiye:

“How’s it going?”

“I’ve learned a bit, but it’s not comprehensive.” Lin Qiye glanced out the window. “I need an opportunity, a chance to sense all the teachers and students in the school.”

Li Yifei was stunned. “You mean…”

“After this class ends, there’s the flag-raising ceremony. By then… I can get a preliminary grasp of the situation.”

Lin Qiye narrowed his eyes slightly.

……

Administration Building.

“403, 403… 403! Found it.”

Hong Ying and Si Xiaonan stopped at the door of the dean’s office. They exchanged a glance and quickly took up positions.

Si Xiaonan stood at the door with the black case on her back, while Hong Ying hid sideways in the blind spot behind the door, ready to burst in at any moment.

Si Xiaonan cleared her throat and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

After three knocks, the two held their breath and waited several seconds, but it remained quiet inside.

Hong Ying frowned slightly and gave Si Xiaonan a look.

Si Xiaonan knocked a few more times, but there was still no response.

Hong Ying signaled for Xiaonan to step back a few paces. She walked to the door, pulled a thin wire from her pocket, and gently twisted it in the lock.

Click—!

With a soft sound, the door slowly opened.

Behind it was an empty office.

Hong Ying cautiously entered the room, searched around, and only relaxed after confirming no one was there.

“Hong Ying姐, the person here probably left not long ago. The cup is still warm.” Si Xiaonan touched the cup on the desk and spoke up.

“Probably went to a meeting. If it were just a bathroom break, they wouldn’t have locked the door.” Hong Ying nodded slightly. “Anyway, let’s search this place first and see if there are any clues.”

Si Xiaonan nodded. “I’ll keep watch for you.”

She closed the door, hid by the window, and pulled out a small, delicate mirror from her pocket, carefully observing the surroundings through its reflection.

Hong Ying quickly began searching: the desk, drawers, filing cabinets, flowerpots… She checked every possible place but found nothing valuable aside from a pile of useless documents.

Suddenly, she stopped and sniffed carefully.

“Xiaonan, do you smell something?” Hong Ying frowned slightly.

“Huh? Seems not.” Si Xiaonan sniffed carefully and answered blankly.

Hong Ying’s frown deepened. She crouched down, following the faint, elusive smell, until her gaze settled on a tile under the chair.

This tile looked very clean and seemed to have been pried open before.

She took out a small knife, pressed hard on the edge of the tile, and pried up a small corner. A sour, foul smell rushed out!

Enduring the stench, Hong Ying used the knife tip to gently pick out what was under the tile. It was a whole piece of yellowish-brown, soft film…

Spreading out this film, Hong Ying’s pupils suddenly contracted!

“Skin… This is human skin!” Hong Ying looked up sharply at Si Xiaonan. “These infected individuals shed their skin?!”

Si Xiaonan frowned. “Snake?”

“Possibly. Report this information to Wu Xiangnan. It might help identify this mythical creature.” Hong Ying quickly stuffed the skin back under the tile and covered it up.

Just as Hong Ying had concealed all traces of her presence, a sudden melody sounded from outside the window, startling her!

Hearing this familiar tune, Hong Ying walked to the window and looked down at the growing number of students emerging from the building, murmuring to herself:

“Flag-raising ceremony? Is the music for flag-raising ceremonies uniform across all of Great Xia…”

……

At that moment, Lin Qiye and Li Yifei were in the hallway, slowly moving downward with the noisy stream of students.

Li Yifei carefully looked around, then leaned close to Lin Qiye’s ear.

“Qiye, since you joined them, does that mean you have those special abilities too?”

“Mm.”

“Damn, I’m so jealous… What’s your ability?”

“Using spiritual energy to sense nearby things. Something like that.” Lin Qiye answered vaguely.

“So can you tell monsters and humans apart?”

“Yes.”

“Then… be honest with me. How many are in our class?”

“Two: Liu Xiaoyan and Han Ruoruo.”

Hearing these two names, Li Yifei seemed relieved. “Thank goodness, thank goodness Wu Shujie isn’t one. I’ve had a crush on her for so many years. If she turned into a monster, I probably wouldn’t ever date in my life.”

Lin Qiye: “…”

“What about now? How many are around me?” Li Yifei asked worriedly.

“The fifth person ahead of you, that girl, is also one.”

“Her?” Li Yifei thought for a moment. “From the next class, I think her name is… Tian Li. She turned into a monster too… That’s not too surprising.”

Lin Qiye was taken aback. “Why?”

Li Yifei raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you noticed? Oh, right, you just transferred here a few days ago. You wouldn’t know.”

“Noticed what?”

“Liu Xiaoyan, Han Ruoruo, and Tian Li… They’re all in the same dorm!”