According to Zhao Cheng, strange things had started happening at school ever since the forest training exercise ended half a month ago.
“It began with cats being found drained of blood for several days in a row.”
“Then, there was a growing number of bats.”
“And finally, there’s Song Liangpeng from the class next door. He’s been acting weird since he got back—his skin turned pale, he lost weight, and the weirdest part is he’s become afraid of sunlight.”
“Don’t you think? It’s just like those legendary vampires.”
Xue Ji nodded, mentally noting down Song Liangpeng’s name. Just then, Shen Dai also came over to join the conversation.
“Xue Ji, Xue Ji. Let me tell you, that Song Liangpeng is seriously a weirdo.”
“He’s always showing up in remote corners of the school, and he loves holding stray cats. But those cats he holds end up as dried-up corpses on campus a few days later!”
“Plus, he often wanders around the campus alone after evening self-study instead of going home. It’s super creepy.”
“And for the past half month, he’s been asking about you, often peeking into our classroom. Xue Ji, you really need to be careful.”
Shen Dai chattered on, and the conversation among the three gradually drifted off-topic, shifting to the upcoming school festival.
Shen Dai was really looking forward to the festival and said excitedly, “This time it’s our school’s 70th-anniversary festival. It’s going to last a full three days, and the events are way more fun than the messy ones before.”
Zhao Cheng, however, seemed less enthusiastic. His large frame slouched lazily in his chair as he sighed, “Three whole days… which means we’ll have to make up for missed classes.”
Making up classes in your final year of high school is extremely tough, especially for boarding students like Zhao Cheng. Being stuck at school for half a month straight makes you feel like you’re going stir-crazy.
Seeing his reaction, Shen Dai comforted him, “Relax, it’s not like you can’t use your phone. Besides, all the clubs have prepared lots of fun stuff this time!”
Xue Ji, curious, asked, “Like what?”
Seeing Xue Ji take the initiative to ask, Shen Dai’s tone became even more excited. “Forget the other clubs—our Supernatural Corps instructors are turning two of the school’s old dorm buildings into a haunted house!”
“A haunted house…” Xue Ji shrank back instinctively at the thought. The memory of her dad taking her to a haunted house for his birthday when she was in first grade was still vivid—she’d been so scared she cried and refused to move. It was utterly embarrassing. Worse, her dad used to tease her about it for ages.
But ever since Xue Ji entered high school, her dad had become much more serious. After her gender change, he grew even more stern. The effects of the transformation really touched every aspect of life.
Shen Dai found Xue Ji’s fearful expression utterly adorable and couldn’t resist pinching her cheeks.
So tender, so soft! She couldn’t help pinching a few more times, feeling the fatigue of the past half month melt away.
“Mwaha mwoha…” Xue Ji tried to speak, but only strange sounds came out. The two of them looked at each other and laughed.
The homeroom teacher, Hu Yan, entered the classroom and coughed. “Those with physical training, assemble on the main field. Everyone else, Chinese class.”
The sound of chairs scraping and students’ footsteps filled the room. Xue Ji instinctively stood up but then slowly sat back down.
It had been so long since she’d sat quietly in a classroom like this—it felt like a lifetime ago.
‘Since I’m back, I should cherish these rare, ordinary moments.’
…..
“Xiao Huohuo’s essay is quite well-written. The theme ‘The Fallen Genius’ fits the prompt well, and the structure follows the five-paragraph template we often discuss…”
Xue Ji had some impression of this student, whose name alone suggested he was no ordinary person. Though he hadn’t awakened any supernatural abilities, there was always an air of mystery about him.
Just as Hu Yan finished going through the test paper, class ended.
Out of curiosity, Xue Ji decided to see what Zhao Cheng and the others were training in.
As soon as she stepped out of the classroom, she ran into a pale, sickly-looking tall, thin boy. Dressed head to toe in black and wearing sunglasses, he looked incredibly odd. But the students around him seemed used to it, keeping their distance and quickly walking away.
Xue Ji noticed the boy’s bloodshot eyes behind his sunglasses and his intensely rapid heartbeat.
“Classmate, did you need something from me?” Xue Ji’s voice seemed to carry a certain magic, making the boy hesitate.
But he refused to leave. Instead, he broke through the calming influence of her spell, stretched out a thin hand, and grabbed Xue Ji’s arm, his emotions running high.
Song Liangpeng gave Xue Ji a sense of extreme exhaustion, as if an ancient soul resided within his body, making the youthful boy seem aged and weary.
His sudden move attracted the attention of other students. Thinking Xue Ji was in trouble, her classmates gathered around.
Xue Ji subtly freed her arm and said calmly, “I understand. You should go back now.”
Seeing that they seemed to know each other, the surrounding students dispersed.
Xue Ji patted his shoulder, and only then did the boy finally move, walking stiffly back toward his classroom.
…..
Xue Ji walked along the path, using magic to erase her presence. Boldly pulling out her phone, she began browsing the Pioneer Forum.
From their earlier contact, she had confirmed that Song Liangpeng was still human, but he carried a faint trace of the unique aura of dark creatures.
The most likely scenario was that there really was a vampire at Third High, and Song Liangpeng was just a decoy. Those cat corpses were probably the work of the real vampire.
After searching through the local Pioneer Forum, Xue Ji found no information about a vampire at Third High. Left with no choice, she used contribution points to post a question.
[Does anyone know the inside story about the vampire rumors at Third High? (200 contribution point reward)]
ID: Workhorse – “Dunno, but if you need delivery, you can contact me. Guaranteed delivery within half an hour, cheap prices, great service. (Smiley)”
ID: CryingCatGirl – “No idea~ I’m just a cute cat girl, meow~”
ID: DescendantOfQin – “I am a descendant of the Qin Emperor. Send me fifty, help me find my inheritance, and I’ll split the underworld with you.”
ID: IfYoureMyBroComeFightMe – “Dunno, but I’ll let you hit me for free.”
Xue Ji: “…”
After reading these replies, Xue Ji wondered if she had the wrong phone. This single post used up all 200 contribution points she’d earned investigating ancient ruins, and all she got were nonsense answers from weirdos.
Remembering all the trouble she went through for those 200 points, Xue Ji felt like a total sucker. And this stupid forum actually allowed people to “snatch” rewards by replying early—the first ten commenters got 10 points each for free.
Xue Ji had been taken advantage of, and she was furious.
Who the hell came up with this scam? They just post, and I have to give them points? Seriously!
Just as Xue Ji was about to lose it and curse, a special effects-laden ID replied to her.
ID: MourningBird – “Send a selfie. Here’s the data: [|||CONFIDENTIAL|||]”
Thinking it was worth a shot, Xue Ji sent a picture of the back of her head.
ID: TheSage – “Back_of_head.jpg Will this work?”
The other party was silent for a minute.
They sent a file that was only half there—and not just half the pages; half of every page was blacked out. It was practically useless.
Seeing this, Xue Ji took a selfie, right middle finger extended as encouragement.
ID: TheSage – “凸(｀△´＋）.jpg That enough?!”
On the other side of the screen, Ling Xiaoxiao silently saved this photo to her “Xue Ji Special” folder.
[|||High-Risk Invasive Foreign Monster|||]
Xue Ji opened the file. The vampire-related content was on page 13, with special attention given to [Progenitor Vampire Cain].