Volume 2. Game Update in Progress
Recalling those years, in the innocence of childhood, I held red paper in my hands and pasted it on the window frame.
On the day of universal celebration, under the dazzling light, it stole everyone's sight.
Sheets of red paper were pasted on the windows.
During those festive days, even if it was twenty to thirty degrees below zero outside, I could still wear thick cotton boots.
I would endure the numbness in my frozen toes and run carefree across the snow piles, laughing with the innocent voice of a child.
And now this scene... how strikingly similar it was.
Has anyone... ever pasted red paper on windows?
Even if you didn’t particularly like it, at least you wouldn’t hate it, right?
But what if... those red papers were replaced with human faces?
That classroom on the third floor... on those three rows of windows, face after face... twisted and distorted under pressure, grimacing in pain, half-smiling and half-crying, just like how I had once tightly pressed the red paper onto the window.
The entire window was covered in bright red, and pairs of green, malicious eyes stared dead-on... at me, the only person standing on the empty playground.
A wave of shivers swept over my skin, and even though I was wearing thick clothing, even though my body had been strengthened by the Evil Spirit Form’s feedback, I could still feel that bone-chilling cold.
My breathing... halted for a moment, my hair stood on end, and my scalp tingled.
Even my heart seemed to stop beating in that instant!
Clenching my fists tightly, I stared at those three rows of windows.
What caught my attention the most... was not the two rows filled with human faces, where the classmates should have been sitting, but rather... the face at the podium, a face both familiar and strange.
I could feel that the threat from the classmates wasn't too great.
The biggest danger... was that teacher.
Yet... I couldn't believe it.
Logically it shouldn't be!
It shouldn't be like this!!
Existing in the Surface World, why could I see the Interdimensional Space?
No... when it came down to it, was that really the Interdimensional Space inside the classroom?
Why could I see these things?
Even if there was the existence of the Evil Spirit Form, it still shouldn’t be like this!
I couldn’t figure it out!
The more I couldn’t understand, the deeper my fear became.
In this moment, the passage of time slowed to an extreme, as if the entire world had frozen, and every second dragged out an overwhelming terror!
I wanted to run... but my body seemed paralyzed by fear, unable to move!
Just now... what the hell kind of beings was I taking the exam with!!!
Were they really my classmates!!!
Fear continuously eroded my rationality!
Finally... fear transformed into anger!
When a person was truly pushed to the edge, most would burst out with one last shred of strength to struggle.
This was the instinct to survive.
Turning fear into anger... was also this instinct.
"Eh! Ugh~【Aaaahhh——ya——!!!】"
The anger transformed from fear made me, whose breathing had already stopped, shout out with all my strength.
However, from my mouth, only an "ugh" escaped, the sound dying midway.
The remaining sound... came from the Evil Spirit Form that had already left my body, letting out a sharp roar!
The moment my upper body left my body, the surroundings fell silent instantly.
The campus... was still the same campus.
The windows... were still the same windows.
Those dozens of bloodied, grimacing, half-smiling faces disappeared.
What replaced them... was the classroom as it always had been, as if... nothing had ever happened.
But I knew clearly, there was no way I was hallucinating.
Then why could I see those things...?
Could it be... they weren’t something from the APP!?
But souls in the real world couldn’t persist for long.
I had seen countless dead people's souls at the hospital.
Within a mere ten or twenty minutes, at most half an hour, they would completely dissipate into the air, without leaving a single trace.
What exactly had happened?
What exactly had I seen?
Staring warily at the windows.
However... as if playing hide and seek with me, after the Evil Spirit Form appeared, the anomalies... disappeared.
Everything returned to normal again.
However... there were no birds singing anymore.
Only the occasional honking of cars passing by could be heard.
Shifting my gaze, I glanced at the tree branches.
Those dozens of sparrows were all stiffly standing on the branches.
They looked just like life-sized models.
If not for the reflections of my figure and the flicker of spirit in their eyes, I would have truly thought they were mere sparrow figurines.
However... what was reflected in their eyes was not only me.
Rather, it was not just... 'me'.
In their gaze, I clearly saw the reflection of my Evil Spirit Form.
Animals... could see Evil Spirit Forms.
That meant animals could sense supernatural beings and ghosts... wait.
If that was the case, should I try bringing a sparrow with me next time?
If animals could see Evil Spirit Forms, it proved that they had some sensitivity to the supernatural.
Just like when I interacted with Sha Ha again.
Before I even approached, before it even saw my form, it already knew how dangerous the Evil Spirit Form was.
No, no, no!
This was not the time to think about that!
I had to leave!
Yes!
I had to leave!!
But... I couldn’t let the Evil Spirit Form return to my body.
Otherwise, once in the flesh state, the Evil Spirit Form would be suppressed.
If it really was a supernatural incident, I might not even have time to react before dying!
Was this a sudden mission?
But why was there no information on my phone!
Frowning, I controlled the lower half of my body and slowly retreated step by step, staring fixedly at the third-floor windows.
I originally thought that those anomalies wouldn’t let me leave.
But what I didn’t expect was that from the center of the playground all the way to the gate of the academy, I still didn’t see them reappear.
"What... is going on?"
The Evil Spirit Form’s voice was still the same combination of a deep, hoarse male voice and a high-pitched, sharp female voice.
I knew my voice could be used as a weapon.
This was an instinct.
But I didn’t know exactly how effective it would be.
However... it seemed that those anomalies had no intention of stopping me.
Slowly retreating to the gate, I saw the gate had already been closed.
But for the Evil Spirit Form, unlocking it was ridiculously easy.
I reached out my hand, inserted half a finger into the keyhole, and instantly materialized, directly destroying the lock’s internal structure.
With a 'click', the lock cylinder was ground into a pile of iron filings by my finger.
Then, pulling the bolt, the gate was easily opened by me.
"Student? Student? What are you doing?"
Just as I was about to continue retreating, only one more step away from leaving this creepy academy, suddenly, a male voice called out from the nearby security booth.
Damn it!
How could I forget about this?
There was a security guard in the booth!
Instinctively, I wanted to return to my body to answer the guard, so that I could leave normally.
But... just as I was about to lower my head, suddenly... I felt as if something furry grabbed my arm.
Not my physical body, but my Evil Spirit Form!
Something had grabbed my Evil Spirit Form?
Was the other party a spirit too?
Instinctively, I struggled.
At the same time, I glanced back... and just that one glance made me freeze in place!
It was... a scarred, black-furred, human-like hand, appearing out of thin air right at the division line of the gate.
This hand... was all too familiar to me.
Because I had fought it at close range before.
It was that Goat-headed Monster!!
Wasn’t it supposed to be trapped at the hospital!?
How could it be here?!
These questions flashed through my mind.
In the next second, I felt my body lighten!
Without even having time to struggle, I was directly yanked out of my body by that hand!
Thud!
I watched helplessly as my physical body collapsed onto the ground.
At the same time, a tremendous force pulled me toward the outside of the academy.
Without any hesitation, I twisted my head and bit down hard on the furry arm.
With that single bite, I instantly severed the opponent’s arm.
At the same time, I stopped midair.
For a spirit, inertia didn’t affect movement much.
But before I could retreat, that furry hand once again stretched in from outside the academy and grabbed my shoulder!
Why didn’t it come in with its whole body?
However, there was no time to think.
I bit down hard again and tore off another hand.
Holding the two severed furry hands, I staggered half a step back.
This time, no more hands reached in.
Quickly devouring the two severed hands of the Goat-headed Monster, I immediately turned back to look at the security guard.
By now, the guard was already calling the school infirmary.
No way... I couldn’t go back into the teaching building!
Thinking quickly, I spun around and returned to my body.
However, just before my Evil Spirit Form reattached to my physical body, I couldn’t help but turn my head to glance outside the courtyard, not forgetting to mock it.
"Delivery~? I’ll give you... a five-star review."
"Raaaah!!!!"
Sure enough, my words enraged the Goat-headed Monster.
I didn’t know if it actually understood me.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
The Evil Spirit Form slowly remerged with my body.
At that moment, the security guard had finished his call and was quickly approaching.
Just as he reached out his hand to help me up, I had already regained consciousness.
"I'm fine..."
I quickly raised my hand and blocked his outstretched arm, then slowly climbed up from the ground.
Normally, I detached from my body voluntarily.
This time, I had been forcibly pulled out.
Although it didn’t damage the Evil Spirit Form, it seemed to have caused me some trouble.
My body... felt a bit stiff.
Halfway through standing up, my leg went numb.
This wasn’t normal, at least not for me.
I immediately understood it was the aftereffect of being forcibly yanked out of my body.
It probably wouldn’t last long.
But even so, short-term effects were still very troublesome.
Sure enough, seeing that I couldn’t stand up properly, the security guard grew even more nervous.
"Hey, don't move around. The school doctor will be here soon."
"I’m really fine, Security Uncle... Um, I kind of have something urgent and want to leave. Could you... turn a blind eye and let me go?"
Seeing the Security Uncle’s dead-fish-like expression, I instantly understood...