Chapter 28: The Academy's Unfathomable Incident (2)

There were dozens of possible guesses in the app, but ninety percent of them pointed to first-tier spirits. In a place like a school, first-tier spirits had almost no chance to grow quickly. Were they supposed to devour the anger students felt over extra homework to evolve?

“Let’s wrap this up quickly and get out of here. This family... tsk, if they ever awaken their magnetic power, they’ll never pass the test!” Wu Zui, thinking of those who abused their authority for personal gain, couldn’t help but want to try it himself for once—ensuring that certain people who shouldn’t awaken, never do so in their lifetime.

Then again, maybe those people never planned to take the risk in the first place.

When Wu Zui and Xiao Keyai arrived at Binhai No. 1 High School and saw the situation, they were glad they had come here to handle the case first. By a stroke of luck, they had arrived just in time. The situation at Binhai No. 1 was dire.

Standing at the school gate, they could already see that the fourth floor of the main teaching building was completely shrouded in a layer of gray mist, forming a sealed-off space. Judging by the scene, this had to be at least a third-tier specter.

If left unchecked, it would only become harder to deal with once it grew stronger.

“Master, it’s a big one! What should we do?” Xiao Keyai’s eyes gleamed as she looked at the mist-covered building, gripping her golden twin hammers with anticipation.

“First, check the Ghost Compendium for any specters matching the current situation,” Wu Zui said after a moment’s thought. A third-tier specter would be a tough opponent for them—knowing its weakness would be ideal.

“Master, there’s too little information! The system can’t determine what kind it is.” After searching the “Ghost Compendium” app on her phone, Xiao Keyai spoke with some frustration.

“I see... Then let’s evacuate the students below the fourth floor to the playground. You keep watch while I notify the principal.” With that, Wu Zui picked up his phone to make a call. Along with the task assigned by the Specter Handling Center, he’d also been given the contact of the person who reported the case.

The call connected quickly, and Wu Zui didn’t waste time on pleasantries.

“Hello, is this the principal of No. 1 High? I’m an investigator here to handle the specter. Please have all students below the fourth floor of Building 1 evacuate to the playground immediately.”

The principal, caught off guard by Wu Zui’s abruptness, instinctively began notifying people as instructed.

Soon, the school’s loudspeakers announced the evacuation, and all students below the fourth floor exited the building. As for those above the fourth floor, the specter had already begun its assault—they were trapped and unlikely to be able to escape on their own.

Wu Zui told the principal not to let any of those students leave—not even one! Who knew if any of them had already been possessed? If they escaped, the consequences would be dire.

Armed with their golden weapons, Wu Zui and Xiao Keyai strode into the main building, their presence fierce. The first three floors seemed normal, save for a chill in the air. The staircase leading to the fourth floor, however, was blocked by the same gray mist.

They stepped inside. According to the Ghost Compendium, this kind of confinement formed by resentment wouldn’t prevent humans from entering—it only kept them from leaving. For the specter, how could it let prey delivered to its door escape?

After all, few spirits retained the clarity of mind and conscience like Wang Hu.

As soon as they reached the fourth floor, the chill intensified. The cold was not just physical—it seemed to pierce the soul, as if trying to force one to taste endless loneliness and apathy.

The walls were mottled, covered in mildew and rust, bearing the marks of time—nothing like the clean, tidy floors below.

Wu Zui found himself lost in thought. He had been to Binhai No. 1 before, more than once, to take statements. Yes, it was in connection with that case—the one that led to him being stripped of his position.

He remembered a girl named Xu Jie. After being assaulted twice by boys from her school, subjected to the whispers of classmates and the weak compromise of her parents, she ended her own life.

At first, her family had wanted to press charges, but the boy’s connections were too powerful—a provincial detective bureau leader was someone they couldn’t afford to cross.

Her family didn’t want trouble, so they accepted apologies. The incident was written off as a lovers’ quarrel between kids. All seemed to pass.

But indulgence breeds evil. As the storm subsided, students began to whisper about the girl, slinging every insult behind her back.

“Seducer, climbing the social ladder”—these became names she heard all too often.

The boy, too, shed his remorseful mask and became ugly and aggressive, sometimes even harassing Xu Jie physically.

It wasn’t long before he assaulted her a second time.

Afterward, Xu Jie was furious—but not hopeless. She reported the case, determined to send that devil to prison.

But such cases were too hot for lesser officials to handle. In the end, the girl found Wu Zui. At the time, he was deputy director of the city detective bureau, mainly handling serious violent crimes—bank robberies, anti-terrorism, things of that sort. Criminal cases weren’t his jurisdiction. Yet, faced with the plea of a child, he took the case.

Xu Jie, having once been questioned before, knew to preserve evidence. She kept all physical proof, all injury reports—once in court, the boy’s fate was sealed.

Wu Zui was certain of it.

But the famed detective, who struck fear into criminals across the city, made his first mistake. Perhaps he overestimated humanity’s goodness, or underestimated its ugliness.

The law at the time forbade minors from appearing in court alone. Xu Jie’s parents, citing illness, testified on her behalf—and recanted every statement.

Wu Zui was furious. He went to her home and offered to act as her temporary guardian, so the court could reconvene.

But Xu Jie refused, thanking him for his help. In his anger, Wu Zui suspected a trap had been set for him.

The very next day, Xu Jie leapt from the school rooftop and died instantly.

In her suicide note, she wrote:

The world may be vast, but to me, it is very small.

My classmates and teachers at school, my parents at home—they are my whole life. Home is my only refuge.

But now, I can’t stay in either place any longer.

My parents’ reproaches, my teachers’ scolding, my classmates’ whispers—they suffocate me.

Please forgive me, I have to leave.

Mr. Wu Zui, you are a good man, a clever man. Perhaps you would live better elsewhere.

I know my departure and cowardice may trouble you, but forgive my selfishness.

I’m so tired. I just want to rest...

And so, a young life vanished. Wu Zui stormed into the school and took away a group of students and teachers.

Xu Jie was dead—though it was suicide, those who drove her to it were just as culpable for her death. The black fog above their heads was so vivid that Wu Zui didn’t even have to look at their ugly faces.

In criminal cases, there is no such thing as “no complaint, no investigation.” As long as someone was willing to testify, that little devil could still be locked away—even sentenced to death for driving the victim to suicide.

But no one was willing to testify. In their eyes, since even Xu Jie’s parents had let it go, why should they get involved?

Before Wu Zui could do more, a transfer order came down.

Abuse of authority, provoking trouble, breaking the law—these charges were pinned on him. After an internal investigation, Wu Zui became just another low-level investigator in the criminal division. He could guess the intention behind it: “You like criminal cases so much? Then rot here until you die.”

Lost in memory, Wu Zui’s sword-shaped birthmark on his chest suddenly glowed, a surge of red flame burning his memories to ash.

Returning to this place, combined with the resentment in the specter’s sealed space, Wu Zui didn’t need a ghost to attack him—he was already drowning in the illusion of his own inner demons.

A thunderous crash snapped Wu Zui back to reality. Xiao Keyai, wielding her twin hammers, was locked in battle with a monster.

The creature was long and narrow, about three meters in length, gray all over, with two claws but no legs, its abdomen bulging slightly.

Like a giant lizard, it crawled along the mottled walls, its head hung with white hair swaying back and forth—at a distance, it looked almost human.

“Master, you’re finally awake! Quick, let’s fight it together. This is a third-tier anomaly, and it’s already devoured quite a few people,” Xiao Keyai called out as she blocked the monster’s darting tongue with her hammers.

“Anomaly? I’m on it!”

Xu Jie’s body had long been cremated—she couldn’t have turned into an anomaly, at most a ghost. Since this wasn’t that tragic child, Wu Zui could fight without restraint.

He drew the golden longsword from his back and joined the fray.

Against the anomaly’s magnetic power, they stood little chance, but their golden weapons had a suppressive effect. Even so, the lizard-like creature held its own against both of them.

With a snap, its tongue shattered the wall—had they not dodged in time, they would have been sent flying. Even so, the debris that struck them was painful enough.

“How many people has it eaten?” Xiao Keyai fumed.

Unlike ghosts, which feed on negative emotions, anomalies grow by devouring human flesh. But with cremation now the norm, most anomalies were the result of buried animal corpses—human anomalies were rare.

“Doesn’t matter how many! I’ll hold it off—quick, check the Ghost Compendium for anything like it, see if it has a weakness!” Wu Zui said, placing himself in front of Xiao Keyai. He seized the lizard’s swaying hair with his left hand, yanking it to the ground, then swung his sword at its head.