I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 90

Talking about graduation made Guan Xiaoxuan frown. She held Xing Tianqing’s face seriously and said, “I have finals at the end of the month. I might be even busier than you these days.”

Xing Tianqing was a bit surprised, then smiled warmly, eyes crinkling. He leaned in and kissed Guan Xiaoxuan, saying, “I almost forgot you still have exams. Then I won’t give you any tasks these days—just focus on your studies.”

“Okay.” Guan Xiaoxuan thought for a moment and said, “But if you’re really busy and can’t get away, you can still call me. At least for the next couple of days, I’m free.”

“The next couple of days…” Xing Tianqing thought for a bit and then remembered something. He lowered his gaze and looked at Guan Xiaoxuan. “Do you remember a few days ago when we were on that team-building trip up the mountain? We were supposed to catch an paranormal, right?”

“Of course I remember. How could I forget?” Guan Xiaoxuan joked for a bit, complaining that only the Paranormal Bureau’s crazy team would plan a team-building activity right at a crime scene.

Xing Tianqing sighed, “We tried to catch it before but failed. These days, I want to organize another operation. I’m wondering if you want to help.”

Guan Xiaoxuan thought about it. It was just early June, and she still had twenty or thirty days before exams, so she wasn’t in a rush.

“Alright, then assign me the task,” she said with a smile. “After all, I’m part of the Paranormal Bureau. If there’s an event, I should join.”

Xing Tianqing couldn’t help but smile too. He moved closer and got affectionate with Guan Xiaoxuan.

Tuesday night, 11 p.m. Guan Xiaoxuan arrived at the foot of the mountain in Xing Tianqing’s car. Most of the team was already there. When Xiao An saw Xing Tianqing and Guan Xiaoxuan, he ran over and said, “Captain Xing, Xiaoxuan, you’re here!”

“Yeah.” Xing Tianqing returned to his serious, focused mode. He took the tablet and pen from Xiao An and looked at the marked areas. “Have these places been checked?”

“All the spots at the foot of the mountain have been checked. After dark, no civilians will go up, but just in case, we called in nearby police to help. They’ve stationed officers at the two main entrances to the mountain,” Xiao An quickly explained the situation. “Squads One and Two are ready, and the sensors were set up in the forest this afternoon. Even if the paranormal can fly, we can take it down!”

Xing Tianqing was very pleased with the thorough plan and praised Xiao An, “Good. Let’s go up the mountain as planned.”

Then he glanced at Guan Xiaoxuan, a slight smile in his eyes, and quietly said, “Xiaoxuan, you’re with me today.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded, “Got it.”

This capture operation was split into two squads, each with 6-7 people. The police at the foot of the mountain were there to assist, but the main task fell to the Paranormal Bureau members.

Besides carrying her usual backpack, Guan Xiaoxuan also exchanged points at the redemption center for a Seven-Star Begonia (a powerful item).

Although her fake one was still in her bag, she couldn’t just use it openly in front of Xing Tianqing and the others. Besides the Seven-Star Begonia, Guan Xiaoxuan had also exchanged for some other protective items. She planned to quietly visit Bai Zhiqi after the mission today to have a few copies made.

If it weren’t strange to exchange items when there was no case, Guan Xiaoxuan wouldn’t have bothered making the trip today.

But since she was here, she didn’t complain and went up the mountain with everyone else.

They say it’s easy to go up a mountain but hard to come down. Guan Xiaoxuan started getting out of breath after just ten minutes. She wasn’t someone who liked exercise and didn’t have a habit of working out. Running 800 meters in gym class used to almost kill her—so climbing a mountain now was even tougher.

Gradually, the once orderly group began to break up, and since Guan Xiaoxuan’s stamina was weak, she could only slowly climb at the back of the line.

“This mountain… why is it so steep?” Qiu Nan took out his peachwood sword and used it as a walking stick. Holding his waist, he looked back at Guan Xiaoxuan at the tail end and teased with a smile, “Guan Xiaoxuan, your stamina is weak, huh? You’re so young and you can’t keep up?”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked up at the dark crowd around her and glanced around, saying, “What does being young have to do with stamina? Who doesn’t get tired climbing a mountain? Aren’t you tired too?”

“By the way, last time we came here, I don’t remember taking this path,” Guan Xiaoxuan said, scanning the surroundings. She felt something was off with the sound of the wind in her ears.

But she was too out of breath to figure out what exactly was wrong.

“We took the paved road last time, and cars could drive up. That’s why it didn’t feel tiring,” Xing Tianqing said as she walked over to Guan Xiaoxuan. She reached out her hand, “If you’re tired, slow down. I’ll walk with you.”

Qiu Nan whistled teasingly but immediately got a glare from Xing Tianqing and sulkily continued climbing.

Guan Xiaoxuan was pretty exhausted and rested her hand on Xing Tianqing’s palm. She said, “Don’t you think… tonight feels a bit different?”

Xing Tianqing looked around. Besides the sound of the wind rustling through the trees, she didn’t hear anything else.

“Maybe it’s because it’s dark,” Xing Tianqing said, holding Guan Xiaoxuan’s hand. “We don’t need to rush. This time we’re starting from the foot of the mountain to investigate, and we’ll end up by the lake at the top to see if anything strange is appearing.”

She then shouted to the group, “Turn on your scanners! Don’t just keep climbing. We’re not here to hike, so pay attention to your surroundings!”

“Got it!”

After Xing Tianqing’s shout, the team’s climbing pace slowed down.

Guan Xiaoxuan took a short break and felt much better.

But as her body recovered, she began sensing something unusual in the forest.

She looked around and randomly shone her flashlight. Her brow furrowed slightly.

‘Rustle… rustle…’

‘Rustle… rustle…’

The sound didn’t seem like wind passing through leaves. It sounded more like something sticky rubbing against something else.

Seeing Guan Xiaoxuan shining the flashlight around, Xing Tianqing came closer and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you find something?”

“There’s a sound.” Guan Xiaoxuan stared into the dark woods, where the branches cast vague, ghostly shadows, almost like monsters in the mist. Frowning, she asked Xing Tianqing, “Can you hear anything?”

Xing Tianqing looked at her puzzled but then listened carefully. Except for the wind, she heard nothing.

It was very quiet.

“No sound.” Xing Tianqing frowned. “It’s so quiet it feels unnatural.”

It’s almost impossible for the forest to be this quiet. Even if the birds had gone to roost, it’s early summer and there should still be insects chirping.

Xing Tianqing took out her walkie-talkie and told the team, “Everyone, check if there’s really no sound around you.”

Soon, voices came from the walkie-talkies: “Yes, Captain Xing. We also hear nothing around us.”

Xing Tianqing frowned and said into the walkie-talkie, “Stay alert.”

“Received!”

Putting away the walkie-talkie, Xing Tianqing told Guan Xiaoxuan, “We can’t stay here long. Let’s follow the others up the mountain. Something will happen at the lake’s center at midnight—we can’t miss it.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded and followed her.

But the closer they got to the summit, the more Guan Xiaoxuan felt that strange sounds were growing louder, almost like they were coming from inside her head.

But how could that be?

She frowned, alert, scanning around, but still found nothing.

The two teams quickly reached the mountain top. The mountain wasn’t very tall, so the combined inspection and climb took less than half an hour.

When everyone gathered by the lake, Guan Xiaoxuan looked at what was called a “lake” but was really just a slightly larger puddle.

Xing Tianqing and Xiao An regrouped and confirmed their status. Then Xing Tianqing told everyone, “Wait about ten minutes. At midnight, the strange entity will appear in the lake’s center. Everyone stand at your assigned spots and be prepared. This entity is very cunning and good at escaping. Stay safe!”

Everyone responded, and Xing Tianqing noticed Guan Xiaoxuan still looked worried. She walked over and asked, “What’s wrong? Still hearing strange sounds?”

“Yes. Can’t you hear anything?” Guan Xiaoxuan frowned, confused. “It sounds like something sticky rubbing together. Seems like only I can hear it.”

Xing Tianqing shook her head, “I really don’t hear anything.”

Seeing Guan Xiaoxuan’s unease, she said, “It’s almost time. Let’s finish this first, then we’ll figure out why only you hear the sound.”

Guan Xiaoxuan wanted to say more, but catching the entity was the priority, so she just nodded.

When Xing Tianqing returned to her position, Guan Xiaoxuan suddenly felt something strange in her backpack. Looking around, she stepped back quietly and opened it. To her surprise, the glass bead inside was flashing rapidly.

It seemed to be warning of some danger approaching!

Just then, Guan Xiaoxuan heard Xing Tianqing shout nearby, “It’s coming out!” She quickly raised her head.

The once calm, clear lake surface suddenly started to stir. Ripples spread out from the center, growing faster and faster. A sudden eerie wind whipped up for no reason!

The wind caused waves on the lake, like giant sea waves crashing. Guan Xiaoxuan saw a figure slowly rising in the lake’s center.

At the same time, near two entrances at the mountain’s foot, several police officers stood by the road, watching a few black cars approaching.

One officer raised his hand to stop them and knocked on a car window.

“You can’t enter here. Please turn back.”

The window rolled down, revealing a man in a black trench coat. He glanced at the officer, pulled out his ID, and said, “We’re from the Bureau of Weird Affairs. We just found out there’s an entity hiding among the team. The situation is urgent. Let us through!”