I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 28

An outsider for the Weird Affairs Bureau?

Guan Xiaoxuan had never heard that term before. Curiously, she looked at Xing Tianqing and asked, “What’s an outsider?”

Xing Tianqing sat back in his chair and explained, “It’s a kind of part-time position for the Weird Affairs Bureau. As an outsider, you get all the rights of regular bureau staff, but you don’t have to work fixed hours. When a weird incident happens, you get notified and can choose whether to take the case based on your own situation.”

“That kind of freedom?” Guan Xiaoxuan thought for a moment and then asked, “Besides that, what about the salary and benefits?”

“Outsiders don’t get a fixed salary,” Xing Tianqing said, “but for every weird case you complete, you earn points. After the case ends, you also get a bonus based on your contribution.”

He continued, “You can redeem points on the bureau’s internal website for items, or convert them to cash at a rate of 1 point to 100 yuan, which gets directly transferred to your bank account.”

Hearing that points could be cashed out and that there were bonuses, Guan Xiaoxuan couldn’t help but blink in interest.

Seeing her curiosity, Xing Tianqing chuckled and explained, “But to become an outsider, you need to have participated in at least three weird cases and contributed enough in them to qualify.”

“Three weird cases?” Guan Xiaoxuan thought about it. “Do the ones I experienced count?”

Noticing Guan Xiaoxuan’s interest, Xing Tianqing nodded. “You were the bait in the Red Girl incident, which counted for a lot. And you saved quite a few people in the Cheng Yi case. Both count toward your three cases. If you take part in one more and contribute, you can easily become an outsider.”

“How many points would I get for those two cases?” she asked.

“From past experience, the Red Girl case would give you about 20 points, and the Cheng Yi one around 40 to 50 points.”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s eyes widened. “If I converted that all to money…?”

Xing Tianqing smiled, “Around six or seven thousand yuan.”

Though it wasn’t a huge amount, it was free money. Plus, if you officially became an outsider, each case would give you bonuses. Just converting points to cash alone could add up to a good sum.

Guan Xiaoxuan felt a bit tempted—embarrassingly so.

She’d worked projects before, earning decent pay, but had never dealt with weird cases. Suddenly, money clouded her thoughts.

But when she thought about how dangerous these weird cases were, she hesitated again.

Weird cases involved vicious demons and monsters. Ones like Bai Zhiqi were rare; most were more like the malicious Red Girl or Cheng Yi.

Guan Xiaoxuan was just an ordinary person. Asking her to face these things seemed a bit much.

“I want to think about it first,” she decided. The money was tempting, but having a life to spend it was more important. If she lost her life, no amount of points or bonuses would matter.

Xing Tianqing wasn’t surprised by her caution. He nodded, stood up, and said, “Alright, whenever you decide, just come find me.”

Just as Xing Tianqing was about to leave, Guan Xiaoxuan quickly called after him, “Hey, Captain Xing, is there a time limit between the three cases? Or can I become an outsider anytime after completing three cases?”

Xing Tianqing glanced back, “No time limit. Once you meet the requirements, you can become an outsider at any time.”

After he left, Guan Xiaoxuan sat down and started thinking deeply.

She was currently in her second year of college, with an inheritance from her birth parents and a house. Although she wasn’t struggling to eat, she wasn’t wealthy either. The house was still under renovation, and the slow progress meant she couldn’t move in for at least six more months.

During this time, she had to live in this place. Although she didn’t have to pay rent, she was responsible for utilities and property fees.

Add in food and school expenses, and Guan Xiaoxuan was truly broke.

After thinking it over, the outsider position sounded reasonable. The Weird Affairs Bureau always worked in teams, and points and bonuses were based on contribution. It was an official department, which made it seem reliable.

She sighed softly, glanced at her empty home and at her fat sunflower seed husks shaped like a giant drumstick, feeling the weight of her responsibilities grow heavier.

Though she hadn’t agreed yet to apply as an outsider, Guan Xiaoxuan had pretty much made up her mind. The bureau was dangerous, but she could pick safer cases. Besides, she wasn’t alone—she had colleagues to rely on.

Lately, however, Xing Tianqing seemed very busy. The student disappearance cases in Xinglin City had increased by two more, with five students now missing. Xing Tianqing hadn’t gone home in days.

Today was a full schedule. After squeezing out of the bus packed like sardines, Guan Xiaoxuan stood at the school gate and let out a long breath.

Once she got her bank interest this month, she definitely planned to buy a small electric scooter. She couldn’t keep cramming into buses like this—next time she might just disappear from the crowd.

But these days, Guan Xiaoxuan hadn’t seen any water puddles at the gate anymore.

At least that proved the soothsayer wasn’t lying. The bad stuff really wasn’t following her anymore.

Guan Xiaoxuan walked happily across the campus, thinking about whether she should take advantage of the weekend to go out for a walk. Although the chance was slim and the likelihood of seeing him again was low, she still wanted to try going to the lakeside once more.

Just as she was deciding whether to go during the day or at night on Saturday, a familiar voice called from behind her.

“Guan Xiaoxuan!”

At school, it seemed like only one person dared to call her by her full name like that.

Turning around, Guan Xiaoxuan saw Chen Man standing behind her, smiling warmly as she walked up to greet her. “Good morning.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was still wary of Chen Man. In her eyes, anyone who treated the supernatural so casually was either a bad person or just foolish—and either way, they were people she didn’t want to get involved with.

Chen Man came up to her, but Guan Xiaoxuan just nodded lightly in return.

They weren’t close, and Guan Xiaoxuan had no intention of getting close, so after greeting her, she turned to leave.

“Guan Xiaoxuan, don’t go!” Chen Man hurried to catch up and walked beside her. Tilting her head, she asked, “Did you check the link I sent you before? What do you think about that forum?”

“I don’t have any thoughts,” Guan Xiaoxuan replied. “Do you need something? If not, I have to get to class.”

Chen Man smiled and said, “Did you see the pinned post that was posted this morning on the forum?”

“I haven’t been checking the forum the past two days,” Guan Xiaoxuan said flatly.

Besides, what did a “pinned post” even mean?

Just as she was wondering, Chen Man explained with a smile, “Pinned posts are messages posted by the forum admins or organizers. They usually announce important things. Today’s post is about an offline meetup this weekend. Are you coming?”

“Offline meetup?” Guan Xiaoxuan glanced at Chen Man in confusion. “Why would an online forum organize an offline meetup?”

“Offline meetups happen once a month, mainly organized by the forum,” Chen Man explained. “It’s a place where people can trade valuable items in person. Some things are difficult to trade online or through shipping. Face-to-face trade is best. Also, sometimes there are scams in online trading, so most people prefer trading at meetups hosted by the forum.”

Chen Man blinked and said to Guan Xiaoxuan, “I heard the organizers are pretty strong people. They won’t let anyone cause trouble, so trading is pretty safe. So, how about it? Want to come with me? We can go together.”

Guan Xiaoxuan thought for a moment and said, “No thanks, I’m not interested.”

After saying that, she turned and walked away, leaving Chen Man standing there watching her closely without saying a word.

When Guan Xiaoxuan got to her classroom, she opened her phone and visited the forum website. She found the pinned post Chen Man mentioned.

[“Xinglin City April Offline Meetup will be held this Saturday, the 29th, at Riverside Café. Details below—”]

Opening the post, she saw the author’s name was [Sword and Longevity].

The post said the meetup would be held at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Riverside Café downtown. Each participant had to pay a 70-yuan entrance fee, which included free coffee, black tea, and various cookies and snacks.

Reading the description, Guan Xiaoxuan felt it sounded like a student group event.

And they even had to pay extra.

She scrolled through the post and then browsed other forum threads. The discussion boards were the same as before, full of random chatter. But the trading board had become a lot more active than a few days ago, with many people arranging to meet at the offline meetup for hand-to-hand trades.

Clicking through several posts with deals worth thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, Guan Xiaoxuan couldn’t help but remember what Xing Tianqing told her about the Weird Affairs Bureau’s freelance members.

Well, it was only 70 yuan. Might as well go for the experience.

She also thought it would be a good chance to try out the human skin mask she got from Bai Zhiqi. Since receiving it, Guan Xiaoxuan hadn’t used it yet, so the offline meetup would be a perfect time to test it.

Still, she worried someone might see through the mask.

She remembered someone on the forum once bought that kind of item.

No matter how she thought about it, she felt uneasy. Guan Xiaoxuan decided she would wait until after lunch to ask Bai Zhiqi about it in the girls’ dorm.

The morning classes passed quickly. After lunch, instead of going to the cafeteria, Guan Xiaoxuan headed straight to the girls’ dorm. Standing in the quiet hallway, she took a deep breath and shouted loudly, “Bai Zhiqi!”

Within seconds, the scene around her grew dim, and a gray-white mist began to drift outside the window.

She had entered the inner world.

Looking out the window at the faint shadowy figures inside the building, Guan Xiaoxuan felt a chill. She turned around and saw Bai Zhiqi walking toward her from not far away.

“What’s up? It’s broad daylight,” Bai Zhiqi said sleepily, as if she had just woken up. “Do you need something from me?”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded and said, “I’m planning to use the human skin mask to attend an offline meetup. I want to ask if anyone might see through it.”