I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 84

On the fifth day, the person targeted by Song Yi completely vanished from human perception.

At this point, no one could detect their existence through any means—text messages, phone calls, video chats, or even handwritten letters. No matter what they did, the people around them couldn’t see them. This was true invisibility.

This type of invisibility only applied to humans. Within just five days, all traces of the person’s existence were erased. The only beings still aware of them were the strange entities lurking in the darkness.

By the sixth day, even those entities started to sense the target less and less. Because of the intense psychological pressure, anyone with a weaker will would begin to break down. Some would go mad; others would start crying or throwing fits.

In short, most people who made it to the sixth day would lose their sanity and become wandering ghosts in the otherworld.

By the seventh day, even the strange entities could no longer detect them—only Song Yi could.

At that point, she would be the only one able to enjoy having her target all to herself.

Unfortunately, almost no one ever made it to the seventh day. Most chose to end their own lives by the fifth or sixth day or were killed by the strange entities that could still see them.

Song Yi would always be devastated when this happened. She would eat the entities that hurt her targets, and each time she did, she grew stronger.

After hearing all this, Guan Xiaoxuan felt goosebumps all over her body.

In fact, if she had managed to survive those seven days, she could’ve relied on Song Yi to keep living. Although Song Yi was fierce, she didn’t want to hurt the people she chose. The most likely outcome would have been that Guan Xiaoxuan died of starvation or fear in the otherworld, and Song Yi would then devour her body so the two of them could be together forever.

Luckily, Guan Xiaoxuan was blessed with good fortune and managed to survive. What’s more, Song Yi no longer intended to hurt her.

After Song Yi’s long explanation, Guan Xiaoxuan looked at her curiously and asked, “That person just now said you can’t speak properly anymore—is that because you’ve eaten too many strange entities?”

In Guan Xiaoxuan’s experience, entities like Bai Zhiqi and Haohao—those who hadn’t hurt humans—still had clear thoughts. But the ones that harmed people always had confused minds.

She wasn’t sure if their minds were muddled because they hurt people, or if they hurt people because their minds were muddled in the first place.

Apparently, Song Yi hadn’t thought about it either. She stared at Guan Xiaoxuan for a long time, clearly thinking it over, but in the end couldn’t answer. She just shook her head in frustration.

“Alright, let’s not worry about that for now,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “Let’s go find out who’s been watching us.”

When she woke up from her dream, Guan Xiaoxuan was still groggy, but she quickly remembered what she needed to do and shut her eyes again.

Soon, Song Yi appeared at her bedside. She crouched down and gently poked Guan Xiaoxuan with her finger.

Guan Xiaoxuan’s eyes suddenly flew open—clear and alert, no trace of sleepiness left.

“All set?” she whispered.

Song Yi nodded and said, [Stealth mode… activated…]

“Great.” Guan Xiaoxuan sat up, pushed the blanket aside, and got out of bed. As she tied her hair up with the hair tie from her nightstand, she said to Song Yi, “We’re going to check the place across the hall. If anything happens, warn me right away and get me out of there. Got it?”

Song Yi nodded and followed her out the door.

Guan Xiaoxuan had learned that her stealth level was now equivalent to the seventh day, meaning no one but Song Yi could see her anymore.

They arrived at Xing Tianqing’s apartment. Guan Xiaoxuan knew that besides Tianqing, her mother Xing Wenjun was also living there now.

She’d stayed at their place before, so she knew the door code. Carefully keying it in, she slowly opened the door.

She wasn’t sure if the soft creak had disturbed anyone inside. After all, both Xing Tianqing and her mother were not to be trifled with. One was a squad leader in the Strange Entity Bureau, and the other was the director herself. Definitely not easy people.

Even though Song Yi had told her that sounds wouldn’t alert those who couldn’t see her, Guan Xiaoxuan still felt uneasy. She left the door ajar and waited more than twenty minutes, only going inside once she was sure no one had gotten up.

Even with the lights off, Guan Xiaoxuan could still make out most of the furniture. She didn’t know if Xing Wenjun slept in the guest room or the master bedroom, but she figured all her important work documents would be in the study.

Without wasting time, she went straight for the study.

Back when she first visited, the study was almost empty—just a computer. Xing Tianqing did most of her work at the Bureau’s office. Home was just a place to sleep and shower. She usually ate at the restaurant near the apartment entrance.

So, her study had always been simple. But now, Guan Xiaoxuan found documents and a brand-new laptop.

“That must be Xing Wenjun’s,” she muttered to herself as she walked over and moved the mouse. The screen lit up, showing that it was already on and in use.

Before leaving her apartment, Guan Xiaoxuan had stopped by the bathroom. So now, when she pulled up the security footage, her image didn’t appear anywhere.

The work laptop displayed nine surveillance feeds—all from inside Guan Xiaoxuan’s apartment.

Bedroom, kitchen, living room, study, guest room, balcony, entrance, hallway.

Every corner was covered by hidden cameras. Guan Xiaoxuan’s frown deepened.

Looks like her suspicions were right—the Strange Entity Bureau was watching her.

But she couldn’t understand why Xing Wenjun would spy on her. Had she done something wrong?

Seeing the empty apartment on the screen, with only the bathroom light still on, Guan Xiaoxuan began to explore the recently opened documents on the laptop. One by one, she opened them until she found a file with her own name.

[Name: Guan Xiaoxuan]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 19]
[Occupation: Second-year student at Xinglin Normal University]
[Additional Info: Orphaned several years ago. Lived in an orphanage for some time. After turning 18, she inherited her parents’ estate. Currently a freelance member of the Strange Entity Bureau’s investigation team. She has participated in three entity-related cases and gained the approval of Captain Xing Tianqing, becoming an unofficial member.]

[Entity Case History: …]

Below that was a long list of cases Guan Xiaoxuan had been involved in, written out in chronological order. Starting from April—Red Lady incident, Cheng Yi dormitory case, the missing children at the orphanage, and most recently, the bus 444 incident and the ghost woman at the bus stop—everything was recorded in detail.

The level of precision was disturbing, down to the exact dates and actions taken. It made her scalp tingle.

She was definitely under investigation.

Reading through the report, she even came across things she’d forgotten herself, but the file laid them all out clearly.

There was even a record of all the items she’d redeemed at the Bureau’s point exchange center, along with her training and study logs. Everything had been documented.

After reviewing her own file, Guan Xiaoxuan found another document—this one about Jin Cheng.

But his file was almost completely blank.

[Name: Jin Cheng]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 42]
[Occupation: CEO and General Manager of a Publicly Listed Company]
[Other Information: Unknown]
[Record of Paranormal Events: Unknown]

Looking at the clean, sparse file, Guan Xiaoxuan felt like she was completely see-through—investigated so thoroughly that even her ancestors’ details might have been dug up.

There was just no comparison.

She re-organized the document, cleared her browsing history, restored the computer to its original state, and after making sure there were no traces left behind, she and Song Yi quietly slipped out of Xing Tianqing’s study.

Right after Guan Xiaoxuan left, the door to the guest bedroom slowly creaked open.

A blurry silhouette stood behind the door, watching Guan Xiaoxuan walk out. The figure smiled faintly, then gently closed the door again…

Now that she knew the whole house was under surveillance, Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t dare leave her strange items at home anymore. Every day, she carried them to school and brought them back afterward.

Luckily, she was a student—carrying a backpack to and from school wasn’t unusual.

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease. She had already noticed more than once that the position of the cameras in her home had changed, which meant someone had entered her place while she was out.

Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t the kind of person to take things lightly. She was genuinely concerned about her safety.

But she also knew that whoever was watching her wouldn’t make any big moves without solid evidence. Her biggest problem right now was figuring out what to do with all those paranormal items in her bag.

After thinking it over, the only person she fully trusted was Bai Zhiqi. So she went straight to the girls’ dorm, trying her best to convince Bai Zhiqi to help her store the items.

“You’re insane, aren’t you?” Bai Zhiqi was wearing a face mask, sitting on the top bunk, and looking down at her. “You want me to keep those things? Isn’t that basically painting a target on my back for the Paranormal Bureau?”

She huffed. “Sounds to me like you’re trying to get me killed.”

“How could I?” Guan Xiaoxuan said with a bright smile. “I just want to store them here for a bit. The Paranormal Bureau is watching me, and I can’t carry them around all the time. Please, help me out.”

Bai Zhiqi puffed up her cheeks and thought it over. “Alright, fine. I’ll help you. But you’ll have to put them in the room next door. If they’re in my dorm, I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Deal!” Guan Xiaoxuan beamed. “I’ll buy you more snacks and desserts later. Just tell me what you like—even if it’s a full banquet, I’ll get it for you.”

Bai Zhiqi was instantly cheered up. She wasn’t one for big ambitions. Ever since she was killed by Cheng Yi and became a ghost, she’d been living a carefree life. With endless time and no need for food or drink, her only interests were entertainment.

Things like snacking just to satisfy cravings, or mooching off the dorm’s Wi-Fi to watch dramas and movies.

Living life carefree and happily lazy.

“Alright, it’s a deal,” Bai Zhiqi said, swinging her legs as she looked at Guan Xiaoxuan. “I’ll send you a list of what I want later. You’d better buy it all for me.”

“No problem,” Guan Xiaoxuan grinned. “I’ll take care of everything—guaranteed!”