I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 21

Bai Zhiqi’s words gave Guan Xiaoxuan goosebumps all over.

Was this one of those ghost stories where spirits peel off people’s faces?

Bai Zhiqi kept typing and said, “Cheng Yi used some unknown method to steal my face and put it on her own. As far as I know, none of the facial features on her current face are actually hers. I don’t even know how many victims she took them from.”

Guan Xiaoxuan felt a chill run down her spine. She frowned slightly at Bai Zhiqi and asked, “So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

“Help me take back the face that originally belonged to me.” Bai Zhiqi’s entire body was shrouded in an eerie aura as she said to Guan Xiaoxuan, “If you can help me reclaim my face, I’ll give you something—something a lot of people desperately want.”

Right now, Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t care about getting anything. She just wanted to get out of this haunted place safely with Zhang Wen.

But she also knew that at this point, Bai Zhiqi might be the only one who could actually help her.

There were still people from the Special Incident Investigation Bureau outside the building, sure—but Bai Zhiqi had clearly set her sights on her. Thankfully, they could still communicate calmly for now, but if she said the wrong thing or made the wrong move and ended up angering this faceless ghost, she’d be the one in trouble.

“We can talk about whatever you want after all of this is over,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “Right now, I just want to help my friend get out of here. Her name is Zhang Wen. She seems to be trapped somewhere inside this dorm building. I can hear her voice, but I can’t find her. Do you know what’s going on?”

“The Inner World.”

Bai Zhiqi said a term that Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t familiar with, then explained: “You can think of it as another parallel dimension. Even if two people are standing in the same place, they won’t ever cross paths. That’s the Inner World.”

“The Inner World…”

Guan Xiaoxuan had heard that term in movies and novels before. Hearing Bai Zhiqi explain it now, things suddenly started to make sense.

“Then… do you have a way to help us?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked her as gently as possible. “My friend and I are just regular people. We only want to get out of the Inner World. Do you have any ideas on how we can do that?”

Bai Zhiqi went silent for a long time before she picked up her phone and started typing again. The phone continued to speak in that mechanical voice.

“All the students in the school were taken into the Inner World by Cheng Yi. If you want to save your friend, the only way is to eliminate Cheng Yi.”

After all that, they were back to square one.

Guan Xiaoxuan couldn’t tell if Bai Zhiqi really believed this was the only way, or if she just didn’t want her finding another solution. But for now, she had no choice but to trust her.

“I understand,” Guan Xiaoxuan let out a long sigh and said to Bai Zhiqi, “So how do you think we should deal with this ‘Cheng Yi’ person?”

Inside the dark girls’ dormitory, Zhang Wen found herself back in the same stall from before.

At this point, all her hope rested on Guan Xiaoxuan. She really had no idea what else she could do.

It was still dark outside the stall. She glanced at her phone—it was past 3 a.m. Dawn wasn’t far off now.

But Zhang Wen had no idea if she’d live to see the sunrise.

She sat in a corner, hugging her knees, filled with regret. Why did she even agree to attend that stupid group meeting? If she hadn’t, none of this would’ve happened.

She used to read those forum posts about people encountering supernatural events. Some even got special items and would brag about it online, gaining both attention and money. That kind of adventurous life was so tempting for curious young people like her.

But now that she was actually living through it, Zhang Wen realized just how terribly wrong she had been.

These creepy incidents were terrifying—they could easily get you killed. How heartless did those people have to be to treat them like a joke?

Just as Zhang Wen was drowning in regret and fear, her phone screen suddenly lit up.

She had set her phone to silent earlier, just in case a sudden ringtone gave away her location and got her killed.

She quickly grabbed her phone. When she saw the familiar name on the screen, she answered immediately and pressed the phone to her ear. “Xiaoxuan!”

She spoke in a low voice, trying to stay quiet, but she couldn’t hide the excitement in her tone. At that moment, she felt like Guan Xiaoxuan was her goddess—the only one willing to save her in her time of need!

If she ever got out of here alive, she swore she’d worship Guan Xiaoxuan like a saint!

She meant it!

Guan Xiaoxuan had no idea what kind of resolution Zhang Wen had just made. She simply said, “I have a plan. It might be a bit risky, but I don’t have any other way to save you. Zhang Wen, whatever I say next, you have to remember it clearly, okay?”

Zhang Wen nodded hard and said, “Go ahead. I’ll do whatever you say. Even if it costs me my life, I won’t complain.”

Guan Xiaoxuan let out a dry chuckle and said, “Do you know the door to the rooftop of the girls’ dorm?”

“Yeah,” Zhang Wen replied. “Isn’t that door always locked? No one’s allowed up there. Why are you suddenly bringing it up?”

“The rooftop door on your side should be open,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “I’m going to tell you some important things now. The place you’re in—it’s called the ‘Inner World.’ Bai Zhiqi, the faceless girl I mentioned earlier, told me that the Inner World is filled with buildings like the girls’ dorm. But outside those buildings, everything is covered in thick white fog.”

“Every building is surrounded by white fog?” This was Zhang Wen’s first time hearing this, and she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What’s inside the fog? I think I’ve seen something moving in there, but I can never make out what it is.”

“I don’t know,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “Bai Zhiqi told me that the fog is extremely dangerous—even more dangerous than the monsters in the Inner World. So no matter what happens, don’t go into the fog.”

There was still a sliver of hope inside the building, but stepping into the fog meant certain death.

Zhang Wen thought of the dark figures she had seen in the mist and immediately shrank back in fear. She turned to Guan Xiaoxuan and said, “I understand now. I definitely won’t go into the fog. Xiaoxuan, go on—tell me what I need to do.”

Guan Xiaoxuan paused before saying to Zhang Wen, “Go to the rooftop and unlock the door. I can’t help you from outside this world right now, but don’t be scared—Bai Zhiqi is already on her way to find you.”

Zhang Wen shivered and cautiously asked, “Is it that faceless girl?”

“Yes,” Guan Xiaoxuan replied. He knew Zhang Wen was scared, but he still said, “Don’t worry. Bai Zhiqi had a conflict with Cheng Yi in the past. Cheng Yi stole her face, so now she wants us to help her take Cheng Yi down. In return, she’s willing to help bring you out of the Inner World safely.”

He added, “Right now, this is the best option we have. If you run into Bai Zhiqi, make sure to keep your distance. I’m still a little worried she might turn on us later.”

Just thinking about the faceless girl made Zhang Wen tremble all over. She asked fearfully, her voice on the verge of tears, “Do we really have to work with her? Isn’t there some government department or something? Shouldn’t we try contacting them?”

“We’ll definitely reach out to the authorities,” Guan Xiaoxuan said seriously. “No matter what, the government is still our backup and shield. I’ll try everything I can to contact them from this side. But for now, just quietly head up to the rooftop and unlock the door. When you see Bai Zhiqi, don’t go against her—at least for now, she’s on our side.”

Zhang Wen nodded hard, showing she understood. “Okay, I’ll head out now. Just don’t hang up, okay? If something happens to me, I want someone to know.”

“I won’t hang up,” Guan Xiaoxuan said gently. “Just be careful when you go out.”

Hearing her friend’s comforting voice helped calm Zhang Wen down a little. She took a deep breath and pushed open the stall door. Seeing the empty hallway and staircase, she quietly crept out.

“There’s no one in the hallway…”

She whispered into the phone hidden in her sleeve, “I’m heading to open the rooftop door now. I hope everything goes smoothly.”

At that moment, Guan Xiaoxuan was standing outside the rooftop door. It was pitch black all around, with only the wind howling through the gap in the door, carrying a strange, ghostly wail.

She let out a long breath and said to Zhang Wen, “Let’s hope everything goes well…”

Meanwhile, in the Inner World, Zhang Wen was still cautiously making her way to the rooftop.

The girls’ dormitory building was eerily quiet—so quiet she could hear her own breathing. Every time she walked up a step, it felt like something was behind her. But every time she looked back, there was nothing there.

Zhang Wen knew she was just scaring herself. Forcing herself not to look back again, she turned on the flashlight on her phone and kept moving toward the fifth floor, step by step.

When she reached the corner of the fifth floor, she suddenly saw a woman standing at the staircase landing. The sight made her scream out loud.

“Ahhhhh!!!”

The scream startled Guan Xiaoxuan on the other end of the line. “What happened, Zhang Wen?” he asked quickly.

Zhang Wen’s legs gave out and she collapsed on the ground, staring at Bai Zhiqi—she couldn’t even stand up.

Bai Zhiqi, her face still without any features, looked at Zhang Wen. She seemed to roll her eyes, then stepped aside and pointed toward the nearby rooftop door, motioning for Zhang Wen to hurry up and open it.

That eye roll was unexpectedly relatable—it made Zhang Wen relax a little.

“A-Are you Bai Zhiqi?” Zhang Wen mustered up the courage to ask the woman.

Bai Zhiqi nodded, then pointed again at the rooftop door, telling her not to waste time and just do it.

Zhang Wen grabbed the railing and slowly stood up. With a shaky voice, she said, “C-Can you move a little farther away? I’m kind of scared of you…”

Bai Zhiqi seemed a bit speechless.

But since she couldn’t talk or use a phone, she simply turned and took a few steps back. Then she looked over her shoulder, as if asking, “Is this far enough?”

Zhang Wen hadn’t expected the faceless girl to be so understanding. Her fear faded a bit, and she nodded. “That’s good. I’ll go unlock the rooftop door now—just please don’t get too close. I’m really jumpy.”

Bai Zhiqi let out a sigh and nodded to show she understood.

Hearing all this, Guan Xiaoxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Still, she put on a calm and confident tone and said, “Don’t be scared. Go ahead and open the door. Once it’s open, find a place to hide. No matter what happens next, don’t come out.”

“Got it,” Zhang Wen replied. She walked to the rooftop door and said to Guan Xiaoxuan, “I understand. Gods can fight all they want—I’m not getting involved. I’ll find the best hiding spot I can… Huh?”

Guan Xiaoxuan heard a puzzled sound on the other end of the call. “Is this rooftop door already unlocked?” Zhang Wen asked.