I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 23

As soon as Guan Xiaoxuan stepped onto the rooftop, a wave of cold, damp air hit her in the face.

Thick gray fog hung outside the girls’ dormitory, spreading out in dense layers. Xiaoxuan could barely see anything beyond five meters.

And for some reason, the moment she entered the fog on the top floor, she felt eyes watching her from all directions.

It wasn’t just one or two pairs of eyes—there were thousands of them, staring at her like a starving pack of wolves spotting a freshly roasted lamb.

The hair on her arms instantly stood up.

This place was dangerous.

Something inside the fog wanted to eat her alive.

She shivered and quickly ran to the nearest girl lying on the ground, squatted down, and started checking if she was still alive.

Heartbeat—normal.
Breathing—normal.
Even her body temperature was fine.

They all just looked like they were peacefully asleep, as if caught in a dream.

Frowning, Xiaoxuan shook the girl’s shoulders hard and lightly slapped her face. “Hey, wake up! Can you hear me?”

The girl frowned in annoyance, slowly opened her eyes, and stared blankly at Xiaoxuan. “Who… are you?” she asked in confusion, then looked around. Suddenly she snapped to attention. “Wait, where am I? What is this place?”

Seeing that the girl was okay and fully awake, Xiaoxuan sighed in relief. She quickly told her, “You’re caught in a supernatural event. Help me wake everyone else up and get them out of here. This place is dangerous!”

Not waiting for a reply, Xiaoxuan rushed to the next student and shook her awake.

One by one, with the help of the newly awakened girl, more and more students were roused. Over twenty people woke up from their dream-like state, all confused, looking around in a daze. Someone even squinted into the fog outside and shouted, “I think I saw someone out there in the mist!”

“Don’t try to provoke anything,” Xiaoxuan warned the group. “This is a paranormal world. If you mess with the things in the fog, you could die. Just follow me out of here—stay calm and don’t push.”

Everyone nodded, though strangely, their faces showed little fear. Some even looked excited, chatting about how this whole experience might end up in the news.

As they exited the rooftop, Xiaoxuan carefully scanned her surroundings, but didn’t see Bai Zhiqi or Cheng Yi—only pools of bl00d on the hallway floor. Whose bl00d it was, she couldn’t tell.

Thankfully, the exit portal was still there. Xiaoxuan had the students form a line and leave one by one. She stayed at the back to make sure no one was left behind.

Once everyone was out, she turned to head toward the exit herself—when suddenly, she heard something crawling quickly across the hallway behind her.

Out of instinct, she whipped her head around—only to see Cheng Yi, covered in bl00d, lunging at her from out of nowhere. Her face was torn and skinless, her exposed features twisted and terrifying. Her vicious red eyes locked onto Xiaoxuan as she opened her bloody mouth and leapt.

Xiaoxuan wasn’t a trained fighter. She didn’t react fast enough. Just as she froze, unable to decide whether to dodge left or right, a burst of crimson bloomed across Cheng Yi’s body.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out.

A team of seven or eight people burst through the portal from the outside world, all dressed in black trench coats and carrying pistols. They rushed past Xiaoxuan and surrounded Cheng Yi, firing again at her thrashing body on the ground.

Moments later, she stopped moving.

When Xiaoxuan turned around, she saw Xing Tianqing standing behind her, arms crossed, wearing delicate wire-rimmed glasses, looking at her with a deep, unreadable expression.

I’m doomed.

Xiaoxuan blinked, realizing there was no way she could explain herself out of this.

The Special Investigation Bureau had taken over a nearby police station’s conference room. Xiao An and a few other officers were busy taking statements from the twenty-something students rescued from the rooftop, having them sign confidentiality agreements.

Meanwhile, in Xing Tianqing’s office, she sat in her chair, tapping her pen lightly on the desk as she calmly stared at Xiaoxuan. “Alright, let’s hear it. What were you doing at the girls’ dorm in the middle of the night?”

Xiaoxuan blinked and looked at her lovely neighbor. With an awkward smile, she said, “Captain Xing, let me explain.”

Xing Tianqing nodded. “Go on. I’m recording everything. If anything you say doesn’t match up, I’ll assume you’re hiding something.”

She got caught way too fast this time. Xiaoxuan hadn’t even thought of a good excuse yet. But seeing the lie detector, the audio recorder, and Xing Tianqing’s sharp gaze in front of her, she scratched her head and decided to tell the truth from beginning to end.

After all, lying takes brainpower.

Telling the truth doesn’t.

And luckily, there weren’t any holes in her story.

Besides, Guan Xiaoxuan had gone to save someone, not to hurt anyone—there was no reason for her to lie.

After explaining everything, Guan Xiaoxuan, feeling dry-mouthed, took a sip of water and asked, “Captain Xing, I’ve told you everything I know. I really didn’t do anything. I haven’t slept all night… Can I just rest here for a bit?”

She had been up all night, dragged out to the girls’ dorm by Zhang Wen, running around all evening. Now that the sky was about to brighten, she was completely exhausted.

Xing Tianqing gave her a sideways glance, then finally closed the notebook in front of her. “Fine. I’ll go question the other girl. You can sleep on the couch for a few hours.”

Before leaving, Xing Tianqing turned and asked, “Do you want me to get you breakfast later?”

“Huh?” Guan Xiaoxuan blinked, confused by her sudden kindness. But after thinking for a moment, she said, “No, I’m not really hungry. I just want to rest for a while.”

Xing Tianqing nodded. “Alright, go to sleep. I won’t let anyone disturb you. There’s a blanket on the couch—don’t forget to cover yourself.”

As Xing Tianqing closed the door behind her, Guan Xiaoxuan was still puzzled. Why was she suddenly being so nice?

But she didn’t overthink it. After all, she had already told them everything. She really had gone to save someone—surely they wouldn’t treat her like a criminal, right?

Better to get some sleep. Maybe by the time she woke up, everything would be sorted out.

At 8 a.m., the police had already interrogated the more than twenty college students who were found on the rooftop, using every available officer. All of their statements were pretty much the same.

They all said it was a woman named Cheng Yi who had invited them out that night to “catch the faceless girl.” Then things got hazy—they couldn’t remember anything until they woke up on the rooftop. After that, they were brought to the station.

After reporting, Xiao An said to Xing Tianqing, “I had everyone sign a confidentiality agreement. The girls’ dorm rooftop has also been sealed off. The entrance to the ‘inner world’ has disappeared, but we don’t know if it will reappear. We’ve assigned a special team to investigate. We should have results by this morning.”

Xing Tianqing nodded. “How did the statement from Zhang Wen go?”

“Pretty much the same as Guan Xiaoxuan’s,” Xiao An said. “While she was stuck in the inner world, Zhang Wen could only contact Guan Xiaoxuan. So Guan showing up in the dorms in the middle of the night really was to save someone.”

Zhang Jingshan, who was standing nearby, said, “So this Guan Xiaoxuan is a brave and selfless young woman?”

“If what she said is true, she really is quite loyal,” Xiao An agreed. “She had already experienced a supernatural incident before and knew how dangerous it could be, but she still didn’t hesitate to help her classmate. If it were me, I probably wouldn’t have the guts.”

“I heard Cheng Yi almost killed that girl. And look at her—she’s still sleeping in the office like nothing happened. She’s got nerves of steel.”

“Well, you’d have to be tough to survive an encounter with that ‘Red Lady.’ She’s lucky, and she’s got guts. If we really can’t let her go, maybe we can bring her on as a part-time consultant for the department. I think she’d be a good fit.”

“Stop talking nonsense,” Xiao An said with a light cough. “There are still standards for hiring consultants. Besides, Captain Xing hasn’t said anything yet. Don’t jump the gun.”

Everyone turned to look at Xing Tianqing. She finally said, “Has the person in charge of reviewing the dorm surveillance footage come back yet? Once we confirm everything, let the students go. Keep Guan Xiaoxuan and Zhang Wen for further observation. Have them sign the confidentiality agreement, then they can leave too.”

“Got it,” Xiao An said. “Captain, what should we do with Cheng Yi’s body?”

At that, Xing Tianqing’s expression darkened, and the atmosphere in the room grew tense.

“She’s stranger than we thought,” Song Yan said. “I don’t think she was working alone—she might have had an accomplice.”

“I agree,” Xiao An said. “I looked into Cheng Yi. She came from an ordinary background, but something changed after she got to college. I think she met someone—or something—that made her the way she is now.”

“And the strange item she had is missing. I suspect that eerie entity named Bai Zhiqi took it,” Xiao An added with a frown. “Most supernatural beings don’t have intelligence, but Bai Zhiqi is different. We really need to catch her, or who knows what she might do next.”

The more they thought about it, the more they felt something wasn’t right. The smarter the supernatural entity, the more dangerous it was. They often had special abilities that made them far more powerful than the usual ones.

While the others were busy discussing how to deal with Bai Zhiqi, Guan Xiaoxuan was still fast asleep on the couch.

By the time she woke up, it was already noon. If Xiao An hadn’t brought in some takeout, she might have kept sleeping.

“You can go home this afternoon after lunch,” Xiao An told her. “Just sign the confidentiality agreement. No one can know about what happened last night, got it?”

“Got it, got it.” Guan Xiaoxuan sat down at the table and opened her meal. As she looked at the food inside, she asked, “Where’s Captain Xing?”

“What, do you miss her already?” Xiao An teased, raising an eyebrow. “Come on, be honest with me. Do you have a crush on our captain?”