Chapter 48

Chapter 48

"Will I look like a student?" Lin Juan murmured to himself. "Will I give myself away?"

He wouldn't have agreed if Director Liu hadn't insisted that the superpower holders of the Paranormal Special Affairs Office all looked too mature and offered him a hefty commission.

"Give what away?" Lu Yanzhou was lost in thought. "Juan, if you want to study, why not consider a school closer to Lu Manor? Where is Upward Middle School? Is it nearby?"

"I didn’t choose the school, and I’m not actually going there to study," Lin Juan finally realized Lu Yanzhou had misunderstood. He explained, "Director Liu's team found some issues with this school and asked me to check it out."

Upward Middle School, a fully enclosed boarding school, is located in the suburbs of the capital. It was summer vacation, a time when students should have been home after exams, but some parents reported that the school wasn’t letting students leave.

Not only were they not allowed to leave, but parents were also barred from visiting. However, since the school was fully enclosed, parents typically couldn’t see their children anyway. At first, no one noticed anything amiss. It was only when several parents couldn’t reach their children and compared notes in the parent group chat that they realized something was wrong.

Lin Juan first went with the superpower holders to gather information from the parents.

"The school said they need to hold extra classes for the upcoming senior year. Students advancing to senior year have always done this, but in previous years, they would at least get a few days off after exams. This year, they didn’t allow any break at all." The student’s mother looked haggard, on the verge of tears.

The student’s father handed her a tissue: "Our Xiao Ping scored very well in this year’s final exam. The school reported the good news and said they would keep the top-performing students for extra classes, using the last year to sprint toward the college entrance exams. Many schools do this, so we didn’t think much of it. But after agreeing, we lost contact with Xiao Ping completely."

"How did you usually communicate?" asked a superpower holder disguised as a police officer.

"The school has shared phones. Every week, Xiao Ping would call us. This time, it’s been seventeen days without any contact. We wanted to bring some food for our child and contacted the teacher, but the teacher refused. We even asked to just speak with our child, but the teacher wouldn’t allow it."

Xiao Ping’s mother added: "Even then, we didn’t suspect anything. One day, another parent contacted me saying they couldn’t reach their child either. People started a group chat, and over thirty parents said they couldn’t contact their children."

It was summer vacation. Even with extra classes, it shouldn’t prevent parents from contacting their children.

A few parents discussed it, and those who lived nearby immediately went to the school, only to be told by the security guard that the students had already gone on vacation. This wasn’t even the time for extra classes, and the school was empty.

Parents know best whether their children have returned home, so they didn’t believe the security guard. They rushed into the school and searched around, horrified to find it truly empty.

The parents reported it to the police immediately.

The police came to investigate but couldn’t find the children. The matter eventually reached the Paranormal Special Affairs Office. Director Liu sent people to check and detected abnormal anomaly readings at the school.

The Paranormal Special Affairs Office searched the school for a long time but found neither any anomalies nor the missing children.

Director Liu told Lin Juan that this anomaly was different from previous ones. To enter the anomalous zone, one had to pass an assessment. After trying many methods, they determined that the assessment evaluated both academic performance and age.

Director Liu created a cover identity for Lin Juan: a high school student from a small town, academically outstanding, who moved to the capital with his parents for his senior year and chose Upward Middle School.

After leaving Xiao Ping’s home, Lin Juan saw Lu Yanzhou waiting outside.

Lu Yanzhou wasn’t comfortable with Lin Juan going alone. Coincidentally, Director Liu was worried about who to assign as Lin Juan’s guardian, so Lu Yanzhou volunteered.

Lu Yanzhou rarely appeared in public, so the principal of Upward Middle School didn’t recognize him. After reviewing Lin Juan’s academic records, the principal smiled and said, "Brother Lin, Xiao Zhou’s grades are truly outstanding. Rest assured leaving him with our school. We will not disappoint your expectations and will ensure he achieves satisfactory results in next year’s college entrance exams."

"Then we’ll trouble the principal and teachers."

To make the act convincing, Lu Yanzhou dressed simply today, looking less wealthy. But his natural presence was undeniable. The principal, being perceptive, unconsciously used respectful language when speaking to him.

Lu Yanzhou brought Lin Juan out. Seeing the principal’s satisfied expression, both knew they had passed the first hurdle.

Next was entering the place where the children were trapped. They needed to wait.

To make it realistic, the two didn’t return to Lu Manor for the past couple of days but stayed at a hotel near the school.

At night, Lin Juan received an email from the school.

The email stated that senior year studies were intense. Since he had chosen Upward Middle School, he was to report to the school at 5 a.m. the next morning.

The timing was clearly abnormal.

The superpower holder sent by Director Liu, stationed in the room across from theirs, came over upon receiving the news and photographed the email to send to headquarters.

"Is this an entry pass?" Lin Juan leaned half against the table, raising an eyebrow.

"Whether it is or not, we’ll know tomorrow," Lu Yanzhou sat on the chair next to where Lin Juan was leaning.

"5 a.m. It sure knows how to pick a time." Lin Juan had just emerged from the previous illusion and finally enjoyed a few days of waking up naturally, only to have to start waking up early again.

To ensure he could get up in the morning, Lin Juan decided to sleep early.

After 8 p.m., he picked up his clothes and went to wash up. Lu Yanzhou was handling official business.

After showering, Lu Yanzhou remained in the same position, still handling official business.

He had just finished washing up, carrying the faint scent of shower gel. The shower gel was brought from Lu Manor. Knowing they would be staying out for a few days, the butler packed two carloads of items for them.

Lin Juan thought it was too conspicuous and selectively removed some items. Under the butler’s disapproving gaze, he only kept half the items.

It included his usual bedding, the school uniform sent by Director Liu, Lu Yanzhou’s change of clothes, and some daily necessities he was used to.

Among them was the shower gel and shampoo whose scent Lin Juan particularly liked.

Considering it wouldn’t be convenient to take a bath outside, Lin Juan didn’t bring bath salts.

Lu Yanzhou closed his laptop: "Go."

By the time he came out of the bathroom, Lin Juan was already in bed.

"Lu Yanzhou, when did you change the bedding?" When Lin Juan entered the bathroom, the bed still had the hotel’s standard disposable white sheets and duvet covers.

The room’s air conditioning was on. Lin Juan curled under the blanket, only his head peeking out, like a fluffy little creature cautiously looking around.

Lu Yanzhou walked to the bedside and sat down: "Just changed it."

Lin Juan shifted aside, making room: "This bed is a bit harder than the one at home."

Lin Juan felt he was being corrupted by wealth. After getting used to Lu Manor’s comfortable large bed, he found the hotel bed lacking no matter how he lay.

"The mattress the butler packed was among the things you selected out," Lu Yanzhou lay down in the spot Lin Juan made.

"Bringing a mattress out is too exaggerated," Lin Juan remembered that. "It’s fine. It’s just for one night. I don’t know how long we’ll need to stay at the school this time. Once I go in, you should go back—work when you need to work, rest when you need to rest. No need to stay here waiting for me the whole time."

Lu Yanzhou hummed in acknowledgment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Lin Juan took it as agreement, turned on his side facing the man, and made conversation: "Are you sleepy?"

It’s widely known that the more you need to sleep early, the less you want to. Lin Juan was in that state now.

He didn’t feel like sleeping at all and wished he could stay up until early morning.

To make it easier to fall asleep, Lin Juan turned off all the lights in the room. A streak of moonlight shone through the window, allowing Lu Yanzhou to faintly see Lin Juan’s face.

His eyes shone brightly, more captivating than the clear moonlight.

Under the cover of night, Lu Yanzhou gazed unrestrainedly at this face. The young man possessed unforgettable features, everything Lu Yanzhou found attractive. He used to scoff at the idea of falling in love at first sight—until he met Lin Juan.

At first glance, he was completely smitten.

Lu Yanzhou's gaze softened gradually, his voice gentler than the moonlight. "Not yet; it's not my bedtime yet. Aren't you sleepy, Juanjuan?"

"Not sleepy," Lin Juan answered honestly.

Lu Yanzhou didn't tell him to go to sleep early but instead struck up a conversation with him.

Their conversation meandered aimlessly, touching on whatever came to mind. Most of the time, Lin Juan did the talking while Lu Yanzhou listened. Occasionally, when Lin Juan paused, Lu Yanzhou would take over and say a few words.

Time slipped by unnoticed. Wrapped in the familiar presence, Lin Juan's eyelids grew heavier, his voice softer, until eventually, he trailed off into silence.

Lu Yanzhou looked down at the person nearly curled into his embrace. The moonlight was alluring, but the young man was even more beautiful.

Lu Yanzhou raised his hand and gently laid it over the young man, then closed his eyes.

His Juanjuan.

At five in the morning, just as dawn broke, Lin Juan had woken up a little after four to make it on time.

Sitting up groggily, he mumbled, "Sure enough, choosing not to go to school was the right decision."

Lu Yanzhou fetched his school uniform and sat by the bed, steadying him. "Hold out your arm."

Lin Juan extended his arm.

Lu Yanzhou helped him out of his pajamas and into the school uniform.

Short sleeves, pants, socks.

Lin Juan, half-squinting, let Lu Yanzhou dress him like a life-sized doll.

In the car, Lin Juan let out three yawns in a row. "Choosing this time—does this anomaly want people to notice something's wrong?"

"Lean on me and sleep a bit more?" Lu Yanzhou wrapped an arm around Lin Juan's shoulders, letting him rest against him.

Lin Juan never hesitated to prioritize his comfort, relaxing fully against Lu Yanzhou.

The hotel wasn't far from Upward Middle School; they arrived in less than ten minutes.

As the car stopped, Lin Juan got out. Lu Yanzhou carried his backpack, and together with the superpower holder acting as driver, they walked toward the school.

The school gate was closed. From the outside looking in, the school seemed veiled, blanketed in a white mist, hazy and indistinct.

At the gate, a security guard dressed in uniform stopped them.

His movements were stiff, like a puppet. "During school hours, only students may enter. Parents, please wait here."

Lin Juan hooked the backpack from Lu Yanzhou's hand. "Alright, you can stop here. I'll go in on my own."

Not bothering to wear the backpack properly, he slung it over his shoulder and strode into the school.

Inside, the mist grew denser.

Lin Juan paused, sensing something, and turned back.

Just a gate separated them, but it felt like two different worlds—inside and outside the school.

Through the mist, everything was unclear. Lin Juan could only vaguely make out the outlines of the two outside. He waved toward them, then turned around.

This time, he didn't look back.

Lu Yanzhou stood outside for a long time.

So long that the superpower holder had to remind him, "Mr. Lu, we should go."

Lu Yanzhou looked away. "Mm."

The moment they turned to leave, a strong wind rose behind them, scattering the mist and dispelling the school's anomalies along with it.

Lin Juan walked through the mist for half a minute before it cleared around him. The sound of footsteps reached his ears, and he turned to see students carrying backpacks coming and going throughout the school.

Before entering, he had seen photos of the missing students. Most of these passing students were ones he'd seen in those pictures.

"You must be Lin, right?"

A voice came from behind. Lin Juan turned around.

"I'm the class monitor of Class A. The teacher asked me to take you to the classroom."

The monitor was a girl with a ponytail and glasses, fitting the typical image of a top student.

Lin Juan followed her to the classroom.

"Is there only Class A in the school right now?" Lin Juan asked as they walked.

"Yes, we're the elite class. We start earlier than the others. The entire senior year will begin classes in a couple of days."

The Class A classroom was on the first floor. The senior year building stood alone, separated from the outside by various structures, forming its own small world.

Knowing Lin Juan was a new transfer student, the monitor offered a few more details. "We usually stay in this area. Academics are rigorous, and the teachers have high expectations. During breaks, most students don't leave the classroom."

When they reached the classroom, the homeroom teacher introduced Lin Juan briefly and had him take a seat.

Lin Juan counted roughly thirty-two students in the class—three fewer than the number reported missing.

Where were the other three?

Even after the extended break, Lin Juan still hadn't seen the remaining three.

Among the missing was Xiao Ping, whose parents Lin Juan had met just the day before.

According to Xiao Ping's parents, he had previously been an above-average student. But in the recent final exams, he unexpectedly scored highly enough to be selected for the elite class. When the school mentioned additional classes for the elite class, they agreed without hesitation.

Little did they expect that once he entered the school, he would vanish entirely.

After reporting his disappearance, the police searched the school multiple times but found no trace—not just of Xiao Ping, but of all thirty-four students, all mysteriously missing.

The police escalated the case, realizing something was wrong, and it eventually landed in the hands of the Paranormal Special Affairs Office.

Director Liu also sent several superpower holders to investigate, but none could locate the missing students.

"We suspect this might be a Class A Anomaly. Anomalies of Class A or higher can create domains of varying sizes. If the domain's master doesn't wish it, outsiders cannot detect its existence. These missing students are likely trapped inside such a domain."

Director Liu's expression was grave when he said this.

Class A Anomalies are not merely one level above Class B Anomalies; once a Class A or higher anomaly forms a domain, they become far more difficult to handle.

Everything within the domain is controlled by its master, putting intruders at a severe disadvantage. Moreover, entry isn’t freely granted—one must meet the rules set by the domain master to gain access.

After multiple attempts, they finally figured out the rules for entering the domain.

After careful consideration, to ensure the successful rescue of the thirty-five trapped students, Director Liu and the higher-ups unanimously decided to call on Lin Juan.

When approaching Lin Juan, Director Liu said helplessly: “There are too few Class A or higher superpower holders in the Paranormal Special Affairs Office. The few we have obviously don’t pass as high school students. Tianzong and Xingchen both tried and couldn’t even meet the first requirement.”

They could fake academic records, but they couldn’t fake age.

Though Lin Juan was over eighteen, he had just turned twenty and had a youthful appearance. Dressed in a school uniform, he could easily pass for a high school student without seeming out of place.

Zhuang Yufeng, having experienced the future, knew how tough domains could be. However, in the future, domains hadn’t appeared this soon. To get the attention of the higher-ups and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, he compiled a document based on his “precognitive dream” ability and submitted it overnight.

In the document, he detailed how troublesome domains could be. Backed by a domain, a Class A Anomaly is a hundred times harder to deal with than a Class B Anomaly. The higher-ups indeed took it seriously and, upon learning that a domain might have appeared at Upward Middle School, assigned several superpower holders under Director Liu’s command.

For now, aside from the teachers and students acting like robots, there were no other anomalies.

Lin Juan could sense the pollution in the air, seeping into every inch.

The academic workload for senior year was intense. As soon as one class ended, the next teacher arrived. The students were like spinning tops, without a moment’s rest.

The classroom was dead silent, with only the sounds of flipping test papers and pens writing. The teachers were strict, never saying a word more than necessary beyond their lessons. The entire environment was unbelievably stifling and oppressive.

By the end of the day, Lin Juan was fed up.

No school, no matter how rigorous, should be like this.

Both teachers and students were more robotic than robots. Caught up in the grind, Lin Juan felt dizzy and overwhelmed.

He couldn’t stand another day in this damned school!

Finally, the day’s classes ended.

Lin Juan sneaked out of the dormitory and wandered around the school.

He planned to use the simplest method: find the anomaly, confront it directly, and take it down physically.

The campus at night was silent, with dim streetlights and a sky shrouded as if by a heavy veil, bearing down heavily.

“Wah, wah…”

Muffled crying came from not far away. Lin Juan paused mid-step.

Following the sound, he discovered the crying seemed to be coming from underground.

“Is anyone there?” Lin Juan stood on the lawn and shouted.

Unexpectedly, the crying stopped abruptly at the sound of his voice.

“I heard you. Where are you? Underground? Should I dig you out?”

Underground.

This is an abandoned dry well. The class president had accidentally fallen in while trying to escape a monster. Though she managed to hide from the monster, she was now trapped.

She had considered calling for help but was afraid the noise might attract the monster, so she battled her fear, huddled in a corner, waiting.

Time passed minute by minute, and the temperature underground dropped sharply. A deep chill seeped into her bones. The class president hugged herself and, in the endless darkness and silence, burst into tears.

No matter how strong she was, she was still only sixteen or seventeen years old.

Before today, the biggest hardship she had faced was dropping out of the top fifty in her grade on an exam.

But tonight, she was first attacked by a monster, narrowly escaped, then fell into a seemingly bottomless dry well—unable to climb out or expect rescue.

Will I die here?

Darkness feeds negative thoughts most easily. The more the class president thought, the more despair she felt. At first, she could still control her crying, but later she completely broke down.

She thought, maybe being eaten would be better—at least she wouldn't have to wait for death in this boundless darkness.

Will I starve to death, or freeze to death?

If I die, Mom and Dad will surely be sad.

I never should’ve come out after the lights went out tonight.

But Huimei still hasn’t been found.

Why can’t I do anything right?

All sorts of negative thoughts crowded her mind. The class president hugged her knees, curled up in the corner, tears flowing freely.

At her most desperate moment, she heard a voice from above.

A somewhat familiar male voice.

Was it a hallucination?

The class president held her breath, too afraid to hope.

She had been disappointed too many times.

Perhaps because there was no response, the person above spoke again.

This time, the class president recognized it—it was the new transfer student’s voice!

Screw it.

Gritting her teeth, the class president responded loudly, "Someone’s here! I’m down below! Lin, is that you?"

"Yeah, it’s me. Wait a moment, I’ll find a way to pull you out."

Lin Juan spotted the dry well hidden in the tall grass.

The voice was coming from inside the dry well.

Lin Juan stood at the edge of the well and looked down, could barely make out a shadowy figure. The well was very deep, and he couldn’t pull her up directly.

Fortunately, the area was remote and overgrown with various vines. Lin Juan selected a few sturdy ones, braided them together to make a stronger rope, and threw one end of the reinforced long vine into the dry well.

"Can you reach it?" Lin Juan estimated the depth of the well—this should reach.

"I can!"

Lin Juan lowered the rope a bit more: "Tie this around you, tie it tight, and I'll pull you up."

There were rustling noises from the bottom of the well, and before long, Lin Juan heard a voice from below.

"It's tied."

"I'll pull up a bit first, then you double-check it's secure."

"Okay!"

Lin Juan began hauling up the rope.

The "Forest Cabin" was so handy—it didn't take much effort.

But the "Forest Cabin" was only a Class B Anomaly, and worried about disturbing the master of the school's domain, Lin Juan didn't bring it with him.

Confirming the rope was secure, Lin Juan put his strength into it.

He was strong, so hoisting a girl up was easy. Class Monitor felt as if she was out of the well in less than ten seconds.

"I'm out just like that?" Class Monitor sat on the ground, tear tracks still fresh on her cheeks.

She wiped her cheeks, stood up, and thanked Lin Juan: "Lin, thanks for saving me."

She could hardly imagine what would have happened to her if Lin Juan hadn't been there.

She probably would've broken down.

Under the hazy moonlight, the young man stood in the wind, his figure appearing especially impressive in Class Monitor's eyes.

"Lin, be careful." Hesitating for a moment, Class Monitor gritted her teeth and warned him.

He'd saved her, and even though the monster wasn't around right now, she didn't want to see him get hurt by a monster.

"You just transferred here, so maybe you don't know—after the lights go out, you're not supposed to wander around the school. You'll encounter monsters."

Afraid Lin Juan wouldn't believe her, Class Monitor showed him her arm, which had a long claw mark: "My arm was scratched by a monster, and I fell into the well trying to escape from one."

"The school is really dangerous..." Before she finished, Class Monitor saw a huge figure behind Lin Juan. Her pupils shrank, fear flooding through her, her voice trembling, "Behind you... it's behind you!"

Lin Juan turned around and saw a hulking shape moving toward them.

"Was that what scratched you?"

Class Monitor nodded, too panicked to think clearly, and grabbed Lin Juan by the arm: "Lin, we have to run!"

Her only thought at that moment was that they absolutely couldn't be caught.

The monster was still a ways off. If they ran fast enough, they stood a chance of escaping its attack.

"Hold on."

"Wait for what?! We can't wait!" Class Monitor said urgently, "We need to hurry, or the monster will catch up!"

At a time like this? What was there to wait for? How could Lin be so careless?!

Class Monitor was panicking. If she'd been able to drag Lin Juan along, she would have.

But Lin had just saved her, she couldn't abandon him and run alone.

Alright.

Class Monitor gritted her teeth. Worst case, she'd lure the monster away herself. At the very least, she couldn't let Lin get caught.

It was too dark to see clearly. Lin Juan squinted: "I think there's someone over there."

"What?" Class Monitor looked toward the monster's direction.

There really was someone!

No wonder Lin said to wait—he wanted to save them.

"I'll go check it out. You hide here for now." Lin Juan looked around, found a patch of bushes to hide in, and told Class Monitor to take cover there.

As they spoke, the monster drew closer.

Lin Juan finally saw clearly that the ones being chased by the monster were three students, one of whom was Xiao Ping, the person Lin Juan had been searching for all day!

These three were likely the ones who hadn't shown up in the classroom.

Why were they being chased by a monster?

What had happened to them?

"Roar—"

The monster's roar echoed, and the white fog grew thicker. From deep within the fog, several more monster roars followed.

There was more than one monster!

In the mist, the figures of three monsters emerged, moving faster than they had imagined.

In the blink of an eye, the monsters were right in front of them.

In a state of extreme fear, people can lose all ability to react.

For a moment, Class Monitor froze, forgetting all movement. She stood rigidly in place, watching helplessly as the monster opened its gaping maw and lunged at her.

A foul stench enveloped her.

At the critical moment, Lin Juan moved.

He leaped up and kicked the two-meter-tall monster.

With a "boom," the monster was sent flying dozens of meters away.

Lin Juan didn't stop. He continued attacking the remaining three monsters.

One kick each—the four monsters flew in different directions, crashing to the ground and stirring up clouds of dust.

After kicking all the monsters away, Lin Juan turned to look at Xiao Ping and the others, who were fleeing in disarray.

The three of them shuddered in unison, supporting each other as they straightened up, their eyes full of hope: "Are you a deity here to save us?"

Lin Juan's mouth twitched: "I'm just a little stronger than average, not a deity."

Class Monitor, snapping out of her daze, screamed internally: You call that just a little stronger?!