It wasn't that Bai Jie was deliberately trying to scare Xia Qimeng. Rather, it never would have imagined that Xia Qimeng could actually sense its presence.
In Bai Jie's impression, the Class Monitor was just an ordinary person—and its own Spider Sense hadn't triggered either.
Bai Jie's reason for showing up in this girls' dormitory was certainly not to satisfy some perverse desires or deviant hobbies.
It had only one objective: to locate Wang Miaoyin.
Ever since defeating the Dark Young, its perceptive abilities had once again risen to a new level. Only now did it have the confidence to search building by building.
Xingchuan University had over a dozen girls' dormitory buildings. The current one was only the third Bai Jie had swept through so far.
"Never expected to run into Class Monitor Xia here. If that's the case, Wang Miaoyin—who's in the same department—might very well be in this building too!"
"But... is that elevator broken? It just won't go up."
"Forget it. The class monitor will call the dorm manager or maintenance to deal with it. No need for me to worry about that. I'll just cruise up a couple more floors. After all, touring a girls' dorm is still a fine pastime."
Thinking this, Bai Jie was about to leave.
Suddenly, every fine hair on Bai Jie's spider legs stood on end.
Danger?
Its eight eyes snapped toward the far end of the other side of the corridor.
Bai Jie stared fixedly at the distant end of the hallway, trying to make out what was there. But the lights at that far end—with a sudden snap—abruptly went out.
Now the entire corridor was even dimmer.
And that far end... seemed like an abyss connecting to another, eerie world. No one knew what might emerge from it.
"The direction of my Spider Sense... it's definitely from there."
Bai Jie simply remained still, silently watching.
Abruptly, a sound Bai Jie had not expected came from the other side:
"Meow—"
This call was delicate and drawn-out. It truly came from the far end of the corridor.
What the hell?
When I gaze into the abyss... the abyss meows back at me?!
A stray cat?
No—it couldn't be that simple.
...
Hearing this same cat's meow, Xia Qimeng inside the elevator also broke out in violent shivers and snapped out of her bewitched state.
She instantly made the connection to the rumor she'd seen on the campus forum...
A stopped elevator. Doors that wouldn't close. A strange cat's meow...
All three had lined up.
"Tss—"
Xia Qimeng began breathing in thin, shallow gasps. She felt oxygen-deprived and dizzy. The unknown terror made her feel as if she were drowning in anguish. The icy air nearly made her collapse. Her two jade-like hands weakly braced against the elevator wall as she sank down helplessly into a crouch.
What should I do? What should I do?
Is that cat going to appear at the elevator entrance? Or is it just going to keep meowing like this?
Why aren't any dorm doors opening? Can't a single person hear this eerie cat cry?
Xia Qimeng closed her eyes, desperately trying to force herself to calm down.
But that strange cat's meow only bored into her ears with greater and greater clarity.
"Meow—"
It called again.
This sound confirmed for Bai Jie that it wasn't coming from a mutated, out-of-control animal. Besides—hadn't all the stray animals across the city been separately rounded up and placed under management?
Ding!
A system notification entered its ears. Bai Jie's spirit jolted.
[Weak spiritual essence reaction detected.]
"A spiritual essence reaction! Could it be that cat?"
At the same time, a soft click sounded.
The spider's gaze sharpened.
No cat appeared.
Instead, far in the distance, one of the dormitory doors swung open.
The light spilling out from within illuminated the dim hallway, driving away some of its strangeness and terror.
Emerging from behind the door was a girl with a breathtaking figure, dressed in an adorable plush teddy-bear pajama set.
"Mm..."
She was mumbling something as she walked over to the trash bin in the hallway—and actually began rummaging through it.
"So hungry again... where did it go?"
Her soft, delicate voice echoed with startling clarity through the corridor—pleasing to the ear yet deeply strange.
"..."
An arc of lightning flashed through Bai Jie's mind. Its heart crawled with unease. A profound discomfort welled up from the deepest recesses of its soul's memory.
Because the scene unfolding before its eyes matched, point for point, the university's third campus legend.
The girl who eats garbage in the middle of the night?
It understood immediately now: the protagonist of the legend—whom countless students had only ever heard and never seen—had been stumbled upon by itself.
"Crunch, crunch..."
"Nom, nom..."
To be honest, Bai Jie was genuinely creeped out by the sound of rummaging through and eating garbage.
You've got to be kidding. Someone actually eats garbage?
Back when it was still human, it had mentally conjured up this bizarre scene more than once—yet never quite believed it was real.
Even if it were real, it had assumed it would go its whole life without ever personally encountering this third campus legend. After all—how was it ever supposed to enter a girls' dormitory?!
But fate is a cruel joker. What it couldn't pull off in its last life, it had accomplished in this one! And now, here it was—experiencing a campus ghost story firsthand...
Wait a minute. I'm something along the lines of a demonic, anomalous existence myself. With 430 Vitality, what do I have to be afraid of?
Talk about perfect timing. Today I'm going to get a good look at exactly what sort of freak or devil you are. Whether you're a dark ghost or an evil god—if you can help me evolve, you're good in my book.
With that thought, its heart settled. Bai Jie made its way along the ceiling toward the pajama-clad girl.
Passing the elevator alcove, it caught sight of Xia Qimeng, whose expression was dazed, crouched on the floor.
Immediately, Xia Qimeng began trembling—almost imperceptibly. Her body was telling her that a strange gaze was currently fixated on her. And her naked eyes couldn't even see it!
Thus, Xia Qimeng squeezed herself ever more fearfully into the corner of the elevator.
"..."
No longer paying attention to the pitiful Class Monitor, Bai Jie turned its gaze back toward where the pajama girl had been—
Only to find the spot beside the trash bin completely empty. Nothing remained but scattered garbage strewn across the floor.
Huh? Where'd she go?
"Are you okay?"
A voice as pleasant as a babbling brook suddenly sounded from behind.
Bai Jie whipped its head around and discovered that the pajama-clad woman was already standing at the elevator entrance, gazing with concern at Xia Qimeng.
"Me? I'm fine."
Xia Qimeng snapped back to her senses. In her eyes surfaced the joy of spotting a normal human being, and the relief that a "savior" had finally appeared.
She moved to stand—
But abruptly froze.
Not because her legs had gone numb from squatting too long,
but because Xia Qimeng had, with sudden shock, noticed the stains on the pajama girl's clothes.
In a flash, she recalled the sound of rummaging through garbage she had just heard...
She even began to suspect that the woman before her was actually a cat demon in disguise.
"This elevator must be broken. By the look on your face, you're too scared to take the stairs, right? It's fine—just some broken lights. I can go with you. By the way, what floor are you on?" the pajama girl asked.
"Thanks, but no need. I'll just walk over myself."
Xia Qimeng forced herself to stand. After a few words of conversation, she felt her wits and strength return. She promptly fled the elevator, moving past the pajama girl.
"Wait!"
Just then, the pajama girl turned and suddenly called out to Xia Qimeng.
And it was through this turn that the invisible spider caught a glimpse of the pajama girl's face.