I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 65

Barely noticeable in the real world, but extra obvious to ghosts?

And wandering around would attract more of them??

Guan’s eyes lit up. She turned back to Bai Zhiqi and smiled. “Thanks for the heads-up! Once this is all over, I’ll burn some paper money for you!”

Bai Zhiqi: “?”

Before she could react, Guan ran off, looking quite cheerful.

“What the heck…” Bai muttered, stepping away from the balcony. “Burning paper money? Where am I even supposed to spend that? So weird.”

Guan rushed back to the Bureau, only to find chaos.

People were running around, looking panicked.

“Guan Xiaoxuan!”

“Where are you?! Come out already!”

“Guan Xiaoxuan, Captain Xing is worried sick—hurry up and show yourself!”

Someone even started flipping through drawers and shouting her name. Guan tapped that person on the shoulder, making them jump.

“Guan Xiaoxuan!” They grabbed her arm tightly. “Where the heck have you been?! Captain Xing’s been looking everywhere for you!”

“I was hungry,” Guan replied, pointing outside. “Went out for a stuffed pancake and used the restroom.”

Everyone stared at her in shock. “Are you serious? What are you, a walking digestive tract?!”

Guan just smiled and waved them off. “Forget that—why was Captain Xing looking for me?”

The person holding her arm said, “Word is, one of the seriously injured victims from the bus 444 incident just woke up in the hospital.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was stunned when she heard the news. “Chen Man’s awake?”

When she finally found Xing Tianqing, the woman was pacing anxiously in her office. Guan Xiaoxuan tugged on her sleeve, startling her.

“Where did you go?” Xing Tianqing grabbed her hand, frowning. “I just finished a meeting and came looking for you, but you weren’t in the office. I called your name everywhere and you didn’t respond. Don’t you realize how special your situation is right now? Why would you run off like that?”

“Alright, alright, don’t stress. I’m back now, aren’t I?” Guan Xiaoxuan held Xing Tianqing’s hand and said, “I heard Chen Man woke up. Can I go see her now?”

Xing Tianqing thought for a moment and replied, “Alright. I’ll take you to see her during the lunch break.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded, then added, “Actually, I have an idea I want to run by you.”

After hearing her out, Xing Tianqing frowned. “You’re saying that while you’re almost invisible to regular people, the weird entities see you very clearly. And you want to use that to lure out the woman in red?”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded. “She’s extremely possessive. And I’m basically glowing to these things right now. If any other entity tries to come after me, she definitely won’t just sit back and watch. You guys haven’t been able to locate her hiding place anyway, so why not bait her out?”

Xing Tianqing looked at her seriously. “Using you as bait is extremely dangerous.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was puzzled. “Haven’t I always been bait from the start? I thought that was just normal.”

Hearing that, Xing Tianqing looked at her with a mix of frustration and guilt. “Back then with the Red Lady, we had no other choice. Besides, we weren’t that close at the time. As long as we could keep you safe and solve the case, making a few sacrifices for the greater good was, unfortunately, necessary.”

Guan Xiaoxuan grinned, her eyes curved into crescents. She patted Xing Tianqing’s hand and said, “Why so serious? I was just joking. Besides, that woman was going to come for me eventually. Instead of sitting around waiting, why not make the first move? Maybe we’ll actually stand a chance.”

Xing Tianqing considered her words carefully. There was logic to it. “Alright,” she said, “we’ll talk more about this in the afternoon meeting and figure out if the plan is doable.”

They grabbed a quick lunch outside, then Xing Tianqing took Guan Xiaoxuan to the hospital.

Chen Man had already been moved to a regular ward. Her parents were with her, helping her recover.

She was awake now, but her arm was tightly wrapped up and she looked pale and weak, lying in bed.

As soon as they walked in, Chen Man saw them.

Xing Tianqing went over first. She glanced at Chen Man and showed her ID. “I’m with the Paranormal Bureau. I need to ask you a few questions.”

Before Chen Man could speak, her parents jumped in, clearly worried. “Officer, our daughter just woke up. Can’t this wait until she’s recovered a bit more?”

But Xing Tianqing remained firm. “This is a serious matter involving people’s lives. She’s just weak, not unable to speak. Please don’t interfere with our work. We need you to wait outside.”

Her parents got upset. “She’s still recovering! Don’t you people have any compassion? What could be more important than her life?”

Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Chen Man frowned and raised her hand. She spoke slowly, “Mom, Dad, let me talk with Officer Xing for a bit. I’m feeling much better now.”

“But we’re just worried about you!”

“I’ll be fine. If anything happens, the officers here will be even more concerned than I am. Just wait outside for a little while.”

With their daughter’s reassurance, her parents finally left the room.

Once the room quieted down, Chen Man turned her gaze to Guan Xiaoxuan. Her eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Guan Xiaoxuan. You saved my life again.”

Guan Xiaoxuan replied calmly, “It’s nothing. I would’ve done the same for anyone. And I wasn’t the only one who helped.”

“I know,” Chen Man said, glancing at Xing Tianqing. “Thanks to you and the people from the bureau, too. If it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve died on that bus.”

Xing Tianqing pulled up two chairs. She and Guan Xiaoxuan sat on either side of the bed. Then she took out a notebook and recorder. “Alright, tell us why you got on Bus 444.”

Chen Man didn’t think there was a point in hiding anything anymore, so she started to talk.

“I’ve always been into supernatural stuff. Ever since I was a kid, I loved weird stories. Later on, I met people in the same circle. They told me that certain items from paranormal events could be sold for a lot of money. That’s how I got into this line of work.”

“Usually I just helped others. When they sold things, they’d give me a cut. Sometimes I’d get lucky and find items worth a good price myself. Last time, when I got saved in the girls’ dorm, I was trying to get a special item from the faceless girl. That’s when Guan Xiaoxuan saved me.”

“A month ago, I met a guy named Boss Jin. He’s a wealthy collector here in the city and likes to buy these special items. He’s also the one who gave me the lead on Bus 444.”

“Boss Jin?” Xing Tianqing paused in her note-taking and frowned. “You mean Jin Cheng, the well-known local businessman?”

“Yes,” Chen Man nodded. “He’s super rich and generous with his offers. A few of us were working with him.”

“How did he know about Bus 444?”

“I’m not really sure. He probably has his own sources.”

Xing Tianqing was silent for a moment. “Go on.”

Chen Man continued, “He said he wanted an item from Bus 444 and offered ¥300,000 for it. That was the highest price I’d ever seen. He also had info on where the bus would stop that night. But we had to pay ¥30,000 for that lead, so we bought it and decided to try our luck.”

“When we got to the first stop, someone must’ve called the police. My teammates and I ran through an alley and shook off the bureau people, then successfully got on the bus. After that, there was a broadcast telling us to close our eyes. The three of us did the first time. But then Xu Long said he wanted to peek… and he disappeared.”

“After that, Xu An and I were really scared. When the broadcast played again, we decided to open our eyes. That’s when we saw terrifying things. Everything was dark. Some creatures saw us and tried to climb onto the bus to drag us away. Xu An saved me but got pulled off. I don’t think he made it.”

After finishing, Chen Man closed her eyes tightly, trying to calm herself.

The rest of what she said matched what Guan Xiaoxuan had already reported—no major differences. But this time, they got a new lead: the man named Jin Cheng.

While Xing Tianqing was asking questions, Guan Xiaoxuan looked up Jin Cheng online. When she saw his photo, goosebumps immediately broke out on her skin.

The man had short brown hair, a high nose bridge and brow ridge, and light brown eyes. He was smiling faintly at the camera. He looked to be in his 40s—handsome and charming in a way that would definitely appeal to many women.

But Guan Xiaoxuan instantly recognized him—he was the man from the photo she’d saved on her phone.

Back when she wore Cheng Yi’s mask, she and Haohao had used face-modifying software to create the image of a man in his 40s. She even took a photo of the final result to prepare herself in case she ever met him.

Now, she had.

She quickly pulled up the photo and compared it with the one in the news article.

Short brown hair, strong nose and brow, coffee-colored eyes, mixed-race features… it was exactly the same face Haohao had created!

Jin Cheng.

He was the one who could walk through the fog in the Inner World. He was the man who had given Haohao that glass bead.

Guan Xiaoxuan clenched her fists, staring at the photo with a deep frown.

When Xing Tianqing finished her questioning, she looked up at Guan Xiaoxuan.

She noticed that as long as Guan Xiaoxuan sat still, and she focused hard enough, she could still see her.

“I’m done here,” she said, packing up her things. “Let’s head back.”

But Guan Xiaoxuan looked at her and suddenly spoke.

“Captain Xing, I want to talk to Chen Man alone. Can you wait for me outside?”