The System Arrived Four Years Early, but the Anomaly Is Still a Juvenile - Chapter 197

“…Found you.”

The strange man stepped closer, but Shen Ge couldn’t shake off the dizzying, spinning sensation. Even more bizarre, Little Seven’s scan showed his body was completely normal.

The strange man looked exactly like Shen Ge, the only difference being his “scarlet” eyes and his ferocious smile, like that of a demon.

The stranger’s left arm twitched, bubbling with what looked like plasma “gurgling” with blood bubbles, then morphed into a blade of flesh and blood.

Then, he abruptly accelerated, shooting towards Shen Ge like an arrow released from its bow.

“Master, be careful!” Little Seven, aware of Shen Ge’s condition, could only describe the attacker’s movements as briefly as possible while controlling the Corrupted Blood Tentacles of the Red Mist Armor for defense.

Shen Ge’s perspective was like being on a roller coaster, tumbling and turning until he was disoriented. He simply closed his eyes, enduring the intense dizziness, and charged forward instead of retreating.

“Left! Right! Right!” Shen Ge followed Little Seven’s prompts, dodging the stranger’s attacks by instinct—tilting his head, sidestepping.

Of course, even if he couldn’t dodge, Little Seven’s “defense” was there. But while it was uncertain if the flesh-and-blood blade could damage the Red Mist Armor, avoiding it was naturally best.

After evading the stranger’s relentless assault, Shen Ge timed it perfectly and unleashed his Stillness Domain—

Bullet Time!

“Power Amplification!” The moment Shen Ge entered Bullet Time, taking advantage of the domain slowing the stranger’s movements, he immediately amplified himself with Gui Energy.

21x Strength!
Hand placement, head press, fist lift!

Eight Extremities, Skyward Cannon!
Since upgrading the Red Mist Armor, Shen Ge had rarely used his martial arts. The main reason was the limits of the human body; against Gui, it was hard to unleash the full power of martial arts.

It worked fine against first or second-tier Gui, but third-tier and above Gui started with physical attributes twenty or thirty times that of a human. Even if martial arts maximized human strength, hitting a body twenty or thirty times stronger with double strength was like tickling it.

Even so, Shen Ge had kept up his morning boxing as a habit, especially after reaching Tier 3 and becoming a “spiritual lad”—two or three hours of sleep left him energized. So besides daily patrols, research, and being researched, Shen Ge often visited his master’s wife with Deng Yuqi to learn boxing.

Now, with “Attribute Amplification,” Shen Ge could instantly boost his attributes, combining it with the killing move of Eight Extremities Shattering, concentrating all his power into one point!
Even with amplified attributes, fists and feet could hardly harm the stranger or Gui. But Shen Ge was different; the Red Mist Armor covering his body acted like high-tier Gui Energy fists. Plus, the amplified strength came from Gui Energy.

Thus, when Shen Ge’s powerful Gui Energy clashed with the stranger’s defensive Gui Energy, it even created a vortex of air around them!

The stranger clearly didn’t expect Shen Ge, blind as he was, to make accurate judgments based solely on Little Seven’s descriptions. One hand pressed his elbow and head down, while the other struck upward from below, maximizing the power of the “Skyward Cannon”!
Even with Tier 4 attributes, the stranger’s head was deformed by the blow. But his weakness wasn’t his head; it was his heart.

Yet Shen Ge’s assault didn’t end there. Before the 21x strength faded, he immediately followed with a Heart-Piercing Elbow. A crisp “crack” sounded as the Tier 4 stranger’s sturdy ribs snapped!

Bang!
The stranger was sent flying, crashing into a rusty iron frame, flying over ten meters, and finally smashing through the hospital’s outer wall, buried under rubble.

The 21x amplified strength made Shen Ge’s punch as powerful as a Gui Energy cannonball!

“Huff.”

“Huff.”

Shen Ge stood panting, swaying as if he might collapse at any moment. But he couldn’t let his guard down until confirming the stranger’s death: “…Finish it. Give it some extra intensity.”

“Received, Master!” Little Seven controlled the Corrupted Blood Tentacles to rummage through the blood-skin backpack, pulling out a Gui Energy rocket launcher and hoisting it onto a shoulder.

Whoosh—

The Gui Energy rocket accurately hit the pile of rocks burying the stranger. A loud explosion followed, dust and debris flying everywhere.

“Master!”

“Watch your feet!”

Before the dust from the explosion settled, a pool of crimson blood flowed from the rubble, surging toward Shen Ge.

Though Shen Ge heard Little Seven’s warning, his dizziness made it hard to react. Highly alert, Little Seven immediately control the Red Mist Armor, using the Gui Leather Boots’ jumping power to distance Shen Ge from the blood on the ground, while simultaneously extending Corrupted Blood Tentacles toward a distant balcony.

Suddenly, the flowing blood on the ground transformed into a giant blood hand, grabbing at Shen Ge mid-air. The blood hand then melted, completely enveloping Shen Ge.

The stranger’s voice echoed incessantly in Shen Ge’s ears, starting low and growing increasingly rapid and sharp!

“Got… you.”

“Got you.”

“Got you!”

“GOT YOU!!!”

The voice gradually penetrated Shen Ge’s mind, echoing in his consciousness like system prompts, making him feel like a small boat tossed in a vast sea, rising and falling, gradually losing consciousness.

Shen Ge felt drowsiness washing over him again. As he lost consciousness, Little Seven was still saying something to him, but he was too tired, only catching words like “blood,” “sample,” and something else.

Shen Ge’s consciousness grew heavier, finally swallowed by endless darkness, and he fell into slumber once more. Then, just like the last time he entered the nightmare, he fell into a deep sleep.

Shen Ge lay on the cold floor, unsure how long he slept, when he suddenly felt something burrowing into his embrace, nuzzling against his chest.

Usually, only Cheng Shengnan had this habit, but Shen Ge knew it couldn’t be her because her body was warm, while this felt like holding a block of ice.

Shen Ge groggily opened his eyes and found himself holding a dusty, gray doll. The doll had a fierce appearance, very much like a killer doll from a horror movie.

Shen Ge tossed the doll aside and sat up, finding himself in a bizarre “children’s room.”

It was called a children’s room because it was filled with child-sized furniture—a small round table, small stools, a bookshelf, toys, and crayon drawings on the walls.

But a terrifying little bear doll with bulging eyes sat on the small round table. The toys on the table looked like they could be props for a “Saw” movie. The crayon drawings on the walls were increasingly horrifying, depicting eyeballs or dismembered bodies.

The most terrifying was the doll he had been holding earlier, now thrown aside, resembling some mutated black dog Gui that had drunk Fukushima nutrient water.

“Sigh.”

Shen Ge took a deep breath, tried to stand up, and unsurprisingly found he had turned into his ten-year-old self again.

He remembered losing consciousness just as the stranger, blasted into plasma, transformed into a giant hand grabbing at him. Then, unable to resist the overwhelming sleepiness in his mind, he fell into a deep sleep.

“Little Seven seemed to be saying something to me at the end? Blood? Sample… and, don’t sleep?” Shen Ge tried clenching his small hand; the sensation was clear, as if in the real world.

However, given the bizarre situation and the environment similar to the previous dream, had he fallen into a dream again?

Shen Ge had been wearing the Red Mist Armor last, and with Little Seven’s control, he shouldn’t have been killed by the stranger. Besides, if he had died by the stranger’s hand, what was this now?
“Last time, I entered the dream after being devoured by a flesh monster. This time, I’m in a dream after being devoured by a blood monster. Are you guys stuck in an infinite loop or something?”

Shen Ge sighed. At least this time he wasn’t trapped watching months of his childhood self being abused—definitely an “improvement.”

“Since I’m here, let’s see what’s different about this dream.” Shen Ge got up and walked to the door on the left. Pushing it open, he found a bathroom.

Squeak—

With a grating sound, he fully pushed open the bathroom door. Inside, only a dim yellow warm-toned light next to the mirror above the sink provided illumination, but in this environment, the light seemed particularly eerie.

Shen Ge walked to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked exactly like his ten-year-old self, just with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t rested well.

Just then, Shen Ge felt a chill around his ankle and instinctively stepped back. Looking down, he saw a pale little hand retracting beneath the sink.

Shen Ge warily retreated to the room, then lay on the floor, peering under the sink through the bathroom doorway.

But there was no little boy cosplaying “Toshio Saeki” as expected; it was empty, only water dripping “drip, drip” from a corner.

Squeak—

Then, with the grating sound of the old wooden bathroom door, it slowly began to close, as if someone was pushing it from behind.

Shen Ge got up and pressed against the door, preventing it from closing: “Hey, the night is long and sleep is elusive. Since you’re here, why not come out and have a chat?”

Shen Ge’s voice entered the bathroom, but no one responded. He simply pushed the door open and went in, checking behind the door, under the sink, and inside the bathroom cabinet.

Based on his previous dream experience, such inexplicable phenomena usually had two causes: one was hallucinations from long-term injections and medications like sedatives affecting the mind; the other was the stranger’s influence.

Shen Ge felt the first possibility was more likely now, as the little hand had vanished in an instant—even the stranger wasn’t that elusive.

No sooner had he thought this than he looked up and saw a pale-skinned child, about three or four years old, looking exactly like “San Zai,” crawling on the ceiling like a spider.

Shen Ge met “San Zai’s” gaze, and the other immediately turned ferocious, baring his teeth like a beast and making “gurgling” swallowing sounds at him.

“…”

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward. Shen Ge had only looked up instinctively, never expecting the horror movie trope of “look up for a surprise” to actually work.

Then “San Zai” bent his limbs slightly as if gathering strength, and the next second, he pounced directly at Shen Ge.

Though Shen Ge currently had no armor or special abilities, his experience and instincts remained. He almost subconsciously turned his back to avoid “San Zai’s” initial landing point. After dodging, he didn’t waste the opportunity—pushing off with his foot and pressing with his hand, he shoved “San Zai” out, slamming him against the door.

Shen Ge’s strength wasn’t great; his success was thanks to that sharp dodge, causing “San Zai” to miss and lose balance.

But the “San Zai” before him was still a stranger, and his physical attributes weren’t something Shen Ge’s small frame could handle with one push. He immediately scrambled up from the floor, glaring fiercely at Shen Ge.

As “San Zai” prepared to pounce again, Shen Ge shouted: “San Zai!”

The about-to-pounce “San Zai” froze, his body noticeably stiffening. The ferocity in his eyes gradually gave way to confusion and puzzlement.

“San Zai, do you remember me? We’re friends…” Shen Ge said tentatively.

But “San Zai” swooshed forward and pounced. Shen Ge was sent flying, “thudding” against the door.

“San Zai” seized the chance to rush out of the bathroom, climb onto the ceiling, and disappear into the ventilation duct.

Shen Ge felt like his body was falling apart from the collision. Rubbing his chest as he sat up, he couldn’t help but curse: “Movies are such liars. Little monsters aren’t that easy to tame!”

Just then, a faint shaking sound came from the bathtub in the corner, blocked by the shower curtain. Shen Ge frowned, got up, and slowly pulled back the curtain. The tub was filled to the brim with bloody water, bubbling “gurgling,” with blood overflowing the edges.

Shen Ge stepped back, careful not to step on the blood overflowing from the tub. Reaching the door, he noticed something covered with a black cloth behind it.

From the looks of it, it resembled a full-length mirror.

Shen Ge intended to lift a corner of the black cloth to see what was underneath. But as his hand touched the cloth, a chill ran through him, and his hand froze mid-air.

Because out of the corner of his eye, he noticed in the mirror above the sink that his reflection was also reaching to lift the black cloth. But while the real Shen Ge stopped, the reflection in the mirror went ahead and lifted the cloth.

Under the black cloth was a blood-red mirror covered in strange cracks, looking somewhat like a flower at first glance.

“You… why… didn’t… you… lift… the… cloth?” The Shen Ge in the mirror tilted his head, mouthing the words.

Shen Ge smiled slightly and retorted: “You guess?”

“…”

The other fell silent. Shen Ge withdrew his hand from the black cloth, walked to the sink, and stared at his reflection: “Who are you?”

“Who… are… you?” the mirror Shen Ge asked.

Shen Ge calmly replied: “I am Shen Ge.”

“I… am… you,” the mirror Shen Ge continued silently.

“Really?” Shen Ge raised an eyebrow.

The mirror Shen Ge nodded.

Shen Ge thought for a moment and said with a smile: “Alright then. I’ll ask you three questions. If you answer correctly, it proves ‘you’ are really me.”

“What… are… they?”

“First question: At 51 minutes and 56 seconds of ‘King of Comedy,’ what does Stephen Chow say?”

“…” The expression of the Shen Ge in the mirror didn’t change. It was unclear if he didn’t hear the question or was stumped by it.

Just as Shen Ge was about to speak, the mirror Shen Ge moved his lips and uttered four words—exactly the “answer” from the movie.

Shen Ge asked again: “What is 123,456,789 plus 147,258,369?”

“…” The mirror Shen Ge’s expression remained unchanged, but this time the wait was longer before he gave the correct answer.

“Last question.”

Shen Ge paused, then continued: “You are Shen Ge. If you had a kidney problem and got a new kidney transplanted, would you still be Shen Ge? If yes, what if you transplanted a heart, a brain, other organs, until you were completely replaced? Would you still be you then?”

“…”

“…”

This time, the mirror Shen Ge was silent for even longer, but finally gave a “lengthy” answer.

Exactly the same as what Shen Ge had in mind.

Shen Ge stared at his reflection in silence for a long time, then concluded: “It seems… I should be inside my ‘consciousness,’ or you can read my mind.”

The reason for this conclusion was simple: Shen Ge hadn’t chosen these three questions randomly; they were carefully selected.

The first question seemed simple but wasn’t. For someone who liked an actor and knew his movies well, quoting a line from one of his most famous works wasn’t strange.

But Shen Ge was asking his ten-year-old self. “King of Comedy” was released in 1999. Even if his younger self had seen it, he couldn’t possibly remember the exact line at 51 minutes and 56 seconds.

The second question was much simpler. With a calculator or by finding a pattern, the answer was easy.

But Shen Ge deliberately threw out a string of numbers and didn’t calculate the answer in his mind. So, the mirror self fell silent until Shen Ge did the calculation in his head, and then the mirror self immediately gave the answer.

The last question was adapted by Shen Ge from the famous “Ship of Theseus” paradox. The original problem was about a ship sailing for centuries, with its parts aging over time, requiring continuous replacement of planks, parts, equipment, etc.

At first, only one plank was replaced. Over time, more and more were replaced. When the last original part was replaced, was the ship still the original ship?
If the original parts were preserved and later reassembled into a ship using technology to repair them, which ship would be the original?
Or, which one was the original ship?

This question had many layers, making it impossible to explain clearly in a few words. The mirror Shen Ge seemed to have a well-reasoned answer, but in reality, many key points came from Shen Ge’s own consciousness, and even the “lengthy” answer included his own erroneous assumptions.

The mirror Shen Ge clearly didn’t expect him to reach this conclusion and entered a “frozen” state again, gazing at him calmly.

Shen Ge glanced at the mirror covered by the black cloth, then back at the mirror over the sink, and said with a faint smile: “You showed me the black mirror under the cloth first to manipulate my consciousness? To make my senses follow the images you present?”

The mirror Shen Ge didn’t speak, just watched Shen Ge quietly.

Shen Ge walked to the door and reached for the black cloth again. But he didn’t pull it immediately; instead, he continuously hypnotized himself—

“This is an ink wash painting.”

“This is an ink wash painting.”

“This is an ink wash painting.”

At first, Shen Ge just hypnotized himself that behind the cloth was an ink wash painting, but soon he began to imagine the general pattern of the painting.

From “a genuine Tang Bohu” to “Little Pecking Chick Drawing,” as the image in his mind grew clearer, Shen Ge yanked the black cloth hard. Behind it was indeed an ink wash painting—

“Little Pecking Chick Drawing”

Shen Ge turned to look at the mirror over the sink, raised an eyebrow at his reflection, and smiled slightly, as if saying, “Is that all?”

The mirror Shen Ge’s expression was no longer calm; it twisted into ferocious, his eyes instantly turning completely crimson: “So what? How can you be sure you are the real you, and not just false memories created by someone else? I’m trapped in the mirror, you’re trapped here—what’s the difference?”

Shen Ge did a smug little dance step in front of the mirror, saying arrogantly: “The difference is, I’m a bit more free than you!”

“…”

The mirror Shen Ge frantically beat against the mirror, howling, roaring, wishing he could tear the Shen Ge outside the mirror to pieces.

“I’ll kill you!”

Shen Ge went back to the room, brought a small stool, placed it in front of the sink, sat down, crossed his legs, and looked at his reflection: “Please, begin your performance.”

“…”

“Shen Ge!”

Shen Ge nodded calmly: “I know my name. No need to shout so loud; it just makes you seem like you’re throwing a futile tantrum.”

“Shen Ge!”

“Yeah, I’m here. What can I do for you?” Shen Ge mimicked the tone of a smart assistant.

“…”

The mirror Shen Ge kept pounding on the mirror, but no matter what he said or cursed, Shen Ge remained unmoved, deflecting everything easily with a few words—and being very, very annoying.

Shen Ge in the mirror gradually calmed down after hearing his words, “I love how you can’t stand me, but you can’t do anything about it.” He stopped hitting the mirror and just stood in front of it, staring intently at Shen Ge with his scarlet eyes.

“Not going to pound some more?”

“I checked earlier; this probably isn’t made in China. Maybe if you hit it a bit more, it’ll break.”

“Keep trying, give it another shot.”

Seeing his mirror self about to get angry again, Shen Ge spread his hands and smiled: “Look, you can’t break the mirror from inside, you can’t get out, and I’m certainly not going to break it from outside to let you out. Wouldn’t it be better to calm down and chat with me, right?”

“…” The mirror Shen Ge remained silent.

Shen Ge was about to say something else when he saw the crimson fade from his reflection’s pupils. But the moment their black pupils met, it felt like he was being sucked into a black vortex.

Most terrifyingly, almost the instant he “made eye contact” with himself, Shen Ge felt the familiar drowsiness return, startling him so much he immediately stood up from the stool and slapped himself hard across the face.

Then, Shen Ge grabbed the small stool and smashed it against his own hand several times. The sharp “pain” brought tears to his eyes.

“Phew.”

The sleepiness itself wasn’t scary; falling asleep in a dream wasn’t scary either. But falling asleep because of eye contact with his mirror self—that was terrifying.

Shen Ge stopped looking at the mirror, staring at the floor instead: “You’re trying to manipulate my consciousness, but you’re trapped in the mirror and can’t get out. This reminds me of the weakling I blasted to bits not long ago. That little weakling wasn’t you, was it? Want to kill me? Then replace me? What a pity… this mirror layer, is it the Red Mist Armor? You can’t even break through the defense, just trapped outside, throwing a useless tantrum?”

Shen Ge’s tone was full of disdain and mockery. The mirror Shen Ge, provoked again, started frantically pounding the mirror, roaring, raging.

Shen Ge pulled the black cloth from the ink wash painting, stood on the small stool, draped it over the mirror on the sink, then jumped off, clapping his hands: “Out of sight, out of mind.”

“…”

“Shen Ge!”

Shen Ge walked out of the bathroom, closing the door like Jigsaw: “Game over.”

Back in the gloomy room, Shen Ge sat at the small round table, staring at the crayon drawings on the wall, lost in thought… How to get out of this dream?

Even though the stranger couldn’t break through the Red Mist Armor’s defense, and with Little Seven on guard, safety wasn’t a concern, being trapped in the dream wasn’t a solution either.

Crack.

Crunch.

Just then, a sound like breaking glass came from the bathroom. Hearing this, Shen Ge frowned, instinctively wondering if the mirror stranger was up to tricks again, trying to lure him into opening the door.

As Shen Ge hesitated, a loud “crash” sounded, as if the mirror had fallen and shattered completely. Then, red blood began seeping out from under the bathroom door.

As blood flowed out, a strange scraping sound came from the bathroom, like clothes rubbing against the floor as someone crawled.

“…Did he get so angry he turned into a deformed breed?” Shen Ge muttered, but despite his complain, he had no curiosity to investigate.

Even though this was a dream, he knew what he should and shouldn’t do. Especially after confirming that the mirror self was likely the Tier 4 stranger from outside, trying to control his consciousness, kill him, and “replace” him, he couldn’t give him what he wanted.

As blood flowed into the room, Shen Ge gradually smelled the metallic scent of blood filling the air. Clearly, that guy was making a last attempt to invade his conscious world.

Strangely, when Shen Ge smelled this pungent blood scent, the sleepiness he had suppressed with pain earlier returned.

Falling asleep now was clearly not a good idea. Shen Ge clenched his fists tightly, digging his nails into his tender palms until they were sweaty, forcing himself to endure the drowsiness as he walked toward the other door.

“You don’t want to go there, you don’t!”

“You’ll regret it!”

“Come back! Don’t go near that door!” The mirror stranger’s voice came from inside the bathroom, as if the door Shen Ge was approaching was even more dangerous.

Shen Ge had been somewhat wary of that door, but hearing the stranger say this, he immediately fought the drowsiness, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door.

Squeak—

With the grating sound of the door opening, Shen Ge felt like cats were scratching a blackboard, sending shivers down his spine and raising goosebumps.

But the thought of a “blackboard” made Shen Ge realize he seemed to be standing at the back door of a classroom. The dim classroom had only about a dozen desks, each with a child sitting with head bowed.

Eerily, all these children had the same hairstyle, clothes, and faces… and Shen Ge recognized them—the dream’s regular extras—

San Zai.

Tap!
At the lectern, an old woman nearly two meters tall was vigorously tapping the blackboard with a pointer, then turned to scold a child in the front row.

But she didn’t call him “San Zai”; she called him “Number Eight.”

The “Number Eight” San Zai hung his head, enduring the old woman’s scolding. The more she scolded, the angrier she got, and she stepped down from the platform with the pointer.

Under the light in the center of the classroom, Shen Ge noticed this “old woman” was the “Neck Person” dean who had left a significant shadow on him in the previous dream!
Then, Shen Ge noticed an empty seat near the back door, with textbooks and school supplies neatly arranged.

This déjà vu scene made Shen Ge’s brain freeze for a few seconds, as if he had once sat here with those “San Zais” listening to the dean’s lectures!

Bizarrely, as this thought emerged, the images in his mind grew clearer, even dispelling the drowsiness gradually enveloping his heart.

Tap.

Tap.

The dean’s distinctive footsteps snapped Shen Ge out of his daze. Instinctively, he sat at the last desk. The dean, after scolding “Number Eight,” returned to the platform to continue teaching.

“As ‘New Humans,’ you are the hope of the future. You must receive a good education, study hard, so you can serve the organization in the future!”

“The great organization will lead humanity into a new century. There, we will become ‘gods,’ eternal beings guiding new life to avoid repeated resets…”

The dean lectured on and on, so excited that Shen Ge half-expected her to shout “Understood? Applause!” at the climax.

Having climbed the corporate ladder for years and eaten many of his bosses’ “empty promises,” Shen Ge was immune to this level of brainwashing.

Even so, he listened quietly. From the information the dean revealed, it was confirmed that Rongshan Mental Hospital had indeed cooperated with “some stranger organization” back then.

So far, Shen Ge had only encountered two stranger organizations, “Heavenly Stems” and “Earthly Branches.” This organization was likely the pre-split “Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.”

Perhaps it was an illusion, but as the memory of “attending class” grew clearer in his mind, Shen Ge felt more and more that his teacher had looked exactly like this dean.

Just then, the dean suddenly stopped moving on the platform. Then, her head turned 180 degrees, looking toward Shen Ge at the back door.

“Found… you.”

As she spoke, all the children in the classroom also turned their heads in unnatural ways, staring uniformly at Shen Ge—

“Found… you.”

“Found you.”

“Found you!”

The change was too sudden. Before Shen Ge could even process the information about the “organization” from the dean’s lecture, he was stared down by dozens of pairs of eyes.

Shen Ge immediately rolled off his chair and rushed out the back door. Then he heard “tap, tap, tap” footsteps from the classroom; the dean seemed to be chasing him.

Outside the classroom was a pitch-black corridor. Shen Ge found it familiar, likely the inpatient department from his previous dream.

Without time to think, he rushed toward the staircase. Behind him, the dark corridor still echoed with the dean’s footsteps, each step seeming to land on his heart.

Tap.

Tap.

In the dark corridor, the footsteps were especially terrifying.

Shen Ge couldn’t see the path and couldn’t run properly. The dean chasing him gave him no time to feel for the staircase. Finding a doorknob, he instinctively turned it and rushed in.

It was equally dark inside. Shen Ge bumped into a cabinet with a “thud” as soon as he entered. Gritting through the pain, he felt his way along the cabinet, crouching as he moved forward.

Then, with a soft “click,” a dim fluorescent light in the center of the room turned on. The dean had entered the room and hit the switch on the wall.

Shen Ge felt his way to a corner, crouched under a table, and waited quietly. The dean stood at the door observing for a moment, then entered the room.

It looked like a “specimen room.” Tables held many jars containing things like “brains,” “livers,” “intestines,” and such.

But besides organs, there were many “insects” too, from centipedes to Gui worms, all feeding on the organs.

Shen Ge thought he’d been discovered and was considering escape, but the dean simply walked to a corner, picked up a jar containing a brain, and left the room.

Shen Ge breathed a sigh of relief. After the dean turned off the light and left, he crawled out from under the table. He waited in the specimen room for about twenty more minutes, until the fading drowsiness in his mind began to return, then went to the door and turned on the fluorescent light.

Shen Ge looked around the “specimen room.” The jars cultivated many what seemed to be “parasitic Gui” parent bodies. Observation records in files nearby detailed their progress.

According to the records, these “parasitic Gui” were very unstable. Implanting them into humans had a survival rate of maybe one in a thousand, a miracle. So, continuous experiments and improvements were ongoing.

However, Shen Ge’s research level was limited. He understood the words separately, but when combined into professional terms, he was utterly lost.

Shen Ge could only try to memorize these “files” in his mind. Strangely, as he “memorized,” the content became easier and easier to recall, as if they were his own memories, quickly coming back with repetition.

Shen Ge had no time to ponder; he could only memorize as much as possible, hoping to take this information back to the department for research to uncover the strangers’ secrets.

Just then, Shen Ge heard many footsteps in the corridor, including the dean’s distinctive ones. She seemed to be bringing students toward the “specimen room.”

If it were just the dean, hiding under the table might work. But with a group of students, there was no guarantee some curious child wouldn’t look under the table. Besides, these were “strangers”; normal logic didn’t apply.

Shen Ge scanned the specimen room. Besides under the table, possible hiding spots included a cabinet and the ventilation duct on the ceiling.

Recalling the extensive ventilation ducts from his first dream, Shen Ge didn’t hesitate. He climbed onto the cabinet, stepped on a jar, pulled open the ventilation duct, and crawled in.

Squeak—

Soon, the grating sound of the specimen room door opening echoed. The dean entered with over a dozen “San Zais.”

Shen Ge peered through the gaps in the ventilation duct. The dean held a jar full of “Gui worms,” opened it, grabbed one, and fed it to a child.

Shen Ge was watching intently when he heard a “gurgling” swallowing sound not far behind him. Alert, he turned and met San Zai’s fierce gaze.

It was the same “San Zai” Shen Ge had encountered in the bathroom of the room where he first woke up. After being “scared” off, Shen Ge had been distracted by his mirror self and hadn’t had time to look for him. Unexpectedly, San Zai had hidden in the ventilation duct.

Although this San Zai was also hostile, based on their earlier “interaction,” Shen Ge was sure he retained some consciousness.

“Shh.” Shen Ge tentatively made a shushing gesture. San Zai, initially crouched and watching Shen Ge warily, didn’t react to the gesture. But the next second, he suddenly turned and crawled deeper into the duct.

Shen Ge was startled, instinctively turned around, and came face to face with a large face!
“Holy crap!”

The “Neck Person” dean had somehow inserted her large head into the ventilation duct. Her terrifying eyes, almost bulging out of their sockets, stared at Shen Ge with a sinister smile.

“Found… you!”

The dean smiled sinisterly, almost saying “Surprise.”

“Auntie, you’re already scary enough. A sudden jump-scare in broad daylight could kill someone, you know!” Shen Ge cursed as he crawled, chasing after where San Zai had disappeared.

The dean, by elongating her neck to push her head in, made her head swell to twice its size. Although the narrow duct couldn’t accommodate her large head, it also couldn’t withstand her crazy squeezing inward.

The dean kept chanting “found you,” squeezing deeper into the duct. Her neck seemed infinitely long, relentlessly pursuing Shen Ge.

Shen Ge twisted and turned through the ducts until he was disoriented. He had long lost San Zai and had no idea where he was.

But the “thump, thump, thump” behind meant the “Neck Person” dean was still chasing.

Shen Ge decided to find an exit. No matter how long the dean’s neck was, it couldn’t wrap around the entire building, right?

Following one direction to the end, Shen Ge adjusted his position and kicked hard at the grille. The noise behind grew closer; looking back, he could even see that terrifying large face!

Thump!
Shen Ge finally kicked off the grille, tumbling out of the ventilation duct.

Bang!
However, the dean also burst through the duct, her head slamming into Shen Ge’s back as he jumped down, like a heavy hammer smashing him toward the ground.

“Heh heh heh.”

“Found… you.”

“Found you!”

The dean’s terrifying voice echoed incessantly in Shen Ge’s mind. After being hit from the air by the dean, he fell to the ground, seeing stars.

Lifting his head, he saw the dean opening her bloody mouth wide, coming to bite him.