"Who?"

Yue Nu quickly looked behind her.

Behind her was a long, assembled table and scattered stools. Further ahead, a classroom door stood half-open. Wind gusted in from the corridor, making the wooden door sway slightly.

Directly opposite the open door was a window, but no one was outside.

The weather was good today. Through the window, one could see the azure sky dotted with large, fluffy white clouds. The entire sky exuded warmth, a cozy appeal that almost made Yue Nu forget it was already late September in the instance.

Yue Nu gazed at the blue sky and white clouds for a while before hesitantly turning back to continue pushing the phone into the radiator.

This time, she didn't dare to be slow. She quickly pushed the phone into the crevice, double-checked that no one could spot it, then turned and hurried away.

She had a strange feeling, as if her every move was being watched.

Perhaps it's just an illusion... Yue Nu felt a shiver down her spine and quickened her pace.

She soon returned to the dormitory building.

From afar, Yue Nu saw 007 and Guo Jimei standing by the dormitory building. Since almost all students had already returned to their dormitories, the two of them were particularly conspicuous.

She's back... Before Yue Nu could get close, she saw 007 looking her way. 007's expression seemed a bit odd, and Guo Jimei also had an indescribably strange air about her.

Yue Nu also felt something was amiss.

Only 007 and Guo Jimei are downstairs now. Where has everyone else gone?

With this thought, she quickly jogged over.

Seeing Yue Nu approach, 007 was the first to ask, "Did you get Pan Yue's diary?"

Yue Nu shook her head. "No, I couldn't find it…"

"What a coincidence," 007 tilted his head up slightly. "We couldn't find the paper Guo Jimei used for voting either. We've searched their entire dorm room."

Couldn't find it? Yue Nu glanced at Guo Jimei beside him.

Guo Jimei's face was somewhat pale. She quickly explained, "I left it on my bed this morning and didn't touch it. I don't know why it's gone..."

Yue Nu frowned at Guo Jimei, then turned back to 007. "Setting that aside for now, where are the others?"

007 shook his head. "I don't know. When we came downstairs, the five people who were here had all vanished."

"All vanished?" Yue Nu was rather surprised.

Just then, she remembered the feeling of being watched while hiding the phone. A sense of terror welled up inside her. She looked at 007 again. "By the way, have you two been together this whole time?"

"Yes, why?" 007 seemed puzzled.

Yue Nu shook her head slightly. "It's nothing…"

So, the person spying on me then was someone other than 007 and Guo Jimei. That included Gu Mian, Chu Changge, Keke, Li Yibai, Yuan Qinghua, and the persistently absent Pan Yue and Zhang Pingfan.

And the extra vote for Li Wentao in the first round was cast by someone not in the building last night, quite possibly a ghost. This list included Yuan Qinghua, Guo Jimei, and Zhang Pingfan.

There were two subtle overlaps between these lists of names.

One was Zhang Pingfan, who had been missing for days yet was still alive.

The other was Yuan Qinghua, Zhang Pingfan's class president from the same class.

These two... They're highly suspicious, Yue Nu thought.

Meanwhile, Guo Jimei was still muttering her defense, "Maybe someone cleaned up and took the paper. Otherwise, it's impossible that we couldn't find it after searching the entire dorm room."

Yue Nu looked up. Guo Jimei, standing before her, was also highly suspicious, but this suspiciousness seemed almost too blatant.

Although doubtful, Yue Nu still ranked Guo Jimei's level of suspicion below that of Zhang Pingfan and Yuan Qinghua.

At this point, 007 frowned and asked, "What should we do? Go look for them?"

Yue Nu nodded slightly. "Yes, we search. The school isn't that big. Everyone's on their lunch break now, so there won't be many people outside the dormitories. It should be easy to find people." She paused. "Also, let's split up and then meet in that classroom. We're more scattered than ever right now. Ghosts can't kill during the day, so it won't be too dangerous even if we're alone. Remember, whether we find them or not, we all meet back in that classroom when the bell rings for the end of the second afternoon class."

007 nodded solemnly.

「Meanwhile」

Gu Mian was trailing Zhang Pingfan from a distance.

Indeed, while they were waiting for 007 and the others, they had caught sight of Zhang Pingfan. Gu Mian's group naturally wouldn't recognize him; it was Li Yibai and Yuan Qinghua who identified him instantly.

Since Zhang Pingfan wasn't far, an excited Li Yibai immediately led them to charge towards him.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Pingfan turned and fled, as if burdened by a guilty conscience. Gu Mian and the others, of course, weren't about to let him escape.

However, reality seldom lives up to expectations. Zhang Pingfan was in excellent physical condition and ran incredibly fast.

Gu Mian, sprinting at the forefront with his guitar, managed to keep up. But when he glanced back, there wasn't a single person in sight.

The more delicately built members of their group had been left behind.

Zhang Pingfan sprinted for a long time before finally stopping in a corner of the sports field, panting heavily. He kept looking around, as if afraid someone might catch up.

Gu Mian initially wanted to rush forward and grab Zhang Pingfan. But before he could enact this malicious plan, a familiar face appeared in his line of sight, heading straight for Zhang Pingfan.

It was Xu Xingcheng, Gu Mian's deskmate, who was exceptionally interested in the game they were playing but wasn't one of the twelve participants.

Gu Mian halted his move to apprehend Zhang Pingfan, hiding in the shadows to observe them silently.

Xu Xingcheng and Zhang Pingfan seemed to have a prearranged meeting. The moment they saw each other, they converged.

Xu Xingcheng looked furious. As soon as they met, he began speaking angrily, gesticulating wildly.

Gu Mian was too far away to hear.

Zhang Pingfan remained silent, merely keeping his head bowed and nodding occasionally, looking extremely guilty.

Xu Xingcheng seemed to feel that words weren't enough and even reached out to grab Zhang Pingfan.

At this, Zhang Pingfan finally resisted. He suddenly wrenched his hand free from Xu Xingcheng's grasp, sprinted towards the railing at the edge of the sports field, vaulted over it, and fled the school grounds, vanishing without a trace.

Gu Mian, hidden in the shadows, stroked his chin. Is this Zhang Pingfan… really the ghost?

「At this moment」

Keke was wandering alone near the cafeteria.

The earlier chase after Zhang Pingfan had scattered the five of them, and Keke was now searching for the others alone.

Just then, she suddenly saw 007 approaching from a distance.

Keke stopped and turned, intending to go over.

Just then, however, she spotted Chu Changge approaching from the direction of the sports field.

Chu Changge was also walking directly towards 007. At the same time, 007 noticed Chu Changge heading his way. The two rapidly approached each other.

Keke hesitated for a moment. Instead of approaching them, she quickly slipped behind a few trees in the landscaped area.

She saw Chu Changge and 007 meet not far from her; Keke could even hear their voices.

First came 007's indistinct voice, as if about to ask something, "You…"

Then Chu Changge's voice, slightly clearer, "Help me with something."

"What?" 007 sounded a little confused.

"Let's talk as we walk."

Immediately, the sound of their footsteps followed. Keke listened carefully; they seemed to be moving further away.

Listening to the fading footsteps, Keke slowly peeked out, looking in the direction they had gone.

But as she watched their retreating figures, her scalp suddenly prickled intensely.

Chu Changge's head had swiveled a hundred and eighty degrees, and he was staring at her with an eerie posture!

Keke froze, unable to move.

An unknown amount of time passed before she saw Chu Changge turn his head forward again, continuing to walk as if he hadn't seen a thing.