Fang Yuan grew increasingly frightened as she thought about it, and dared not think any further. After crouching behind the table for so long, her body felt numb. She slowly stood up and tried to move.
She didn't dare make any loud noises, fearing Xu Yan would notice.
But where was Xu Yan?
Fang Yuan hadn't heard any movement from her in about ten minutes.
In the darkness, if Xu Yan was moving, it wouldn't be possible without making a sound. Could she be hiding in a corner like herself, waiting for her guard to drop and she would automatically come out?
Fang Yuan grew alert and listened carefully, but still heard no sign of Xu Yan.
Her hand tightly grasped the pocket flashlight, the only tool she had to escape.
Fang Yuan reached the middle of the basement and carefully illuminated it, scanning the area with its dim light.
If Xu Yan was still in the basement, she would surely see the light she was emitting, making it easy to find her. So, Fang Yuan kept her guard up while scanning her surroundings for Xu Yan, ready to turn off her flashlight and move at any moment.
Whether Xu Yan was truly mad or just pretending, she would hurt herself!
Five minutes later, Fang Yuan circled the outer room of the basement but found no sign of Xu Yan.
The iron gate was still locked; Xu Yan couldn't have opened it and left. Even if she had, Fang Yuan would have heard some movement. In fact, she didn't hear Xu Yan open the gate at all; on the contrary, she seemed to be leaving in the opposite direction of the gate.
Fang Yuan cast her gaze towards the inner room of the basement. Was Xu Yan there?
Fang Yuan walked back to the iron gate and examined it carefully, confirming that she couldn't leave.
It was so cold, Fang Yuan couldn't sleep here. She had to either stay up all night or find a way out.
Fang Yuan chose to find a way out. Staying up all night here, sleepless nights were a minor issue. Who knew when Li Rong and Xu Yan would return? She didn't want to sit there and wait for death.
She tried to minimize the sound of her footsteps, found a wooden stick, and slowly approached the wooden door of the inner room.
The door was ajar. Fang Yuan used the stick to pry it open, shining her pocket flashlight across the room, quickly scanning it.
She still couldn't find Xu Yan, but she did find the remains of the mummified specimen and that terrifying head.
Fang Yuan tried to control her emotions, constantly telling herself to calm down.
It's just a mummified specimen, nothing to be afraid of. Despite repeating this in her mind, she didn't dare to look at the head any further. She glanced at it once, confirmed it wasn't Xu Yan, and then stopped.
The air in the inner room grew even more turbid, with a strong odor of decay, mixed with the smell of formaldehyde, making it particularly unpleasant. Fang Yuan's stomach churned, and she felt nauseous and nauseous.
Suddenly, her foot stumbled upon something slippery and nearly made her fall. Looking down, Fang Yuan saw a dazzling red and yellow hue: the abdominal cavity of a mummy, its internal organs deformed and squeezed out by her crush.
Fang Yuan couldn't hold it in any longer, and with a "wow!", she vomited. She held onto the wall and vomited desperately, throwing up everything in her stomach. She continued to vomit until she could only dry heave, and only then did she feel better.
The air in the inner room became even more foul, and Fang Yuan nearly fainted from the combined odors. She reluctantly stepped in a little further, continuing to observe. She walked around a large instrument cabinet and saw a door.
Fang Yuan finally understood why Xu Yan had disappeared. She must have had the key to this back door and had left through there. And Li Rong must have led her into the basement, then left through there, stealthily running to the front door and locking it. No wonder I hadn't spotted Li Rong all along. He hadn't even crossed paths with me.
Xu Yan's ability to exit through this back door indirectly confirmed my initial suspicions: she was feigning madness. The question was, why didn't she kill me before leaving?
Perhaps she was afraid. After all, killing someone wasn't easy, especially in such a gloomy place. Or perhaps she was wary of Li Rong, and the two of them seemed to be on good terms, but they were actually estranged.
No matter what, I had to get out of here first!
This back door wasn't a security door, just an ordinary wooden door. The lock was a common padlock. While the body was large, the stem was just average.
Fang Yuan tugged hard, creating a gap about two fingers wide. Overjoyed, she found an iron rod, pushed it through the gap, and pried the stem.
As she'd expected, the stem was a thin piece of metal and quickly buckled. Fang Yuan had lost the key to a lock like this before, having replaced it by prying off the stem. She hadn't expected it to come in handy this time.
A few minutes later, the stem snapped with a clang. Fang Yuan opened the back door and bolted out. The basement's back door led to a lower, open space than the Red Building. After a few steps, Fang Yuan gave up, hunched over, and greedily breathed in the fresh air.
The night breeze blew gently, and Nanjiang Medical College was completely silent. Only the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze, like whispers, seemed to whisper to each other.
It felt so good to be out. Fang Yuan didn't stop her exaggerated breathing until the nausea had completely subsided. Then, in front of her, a strange laugh echoed.
It was Xu Yan's laugh!
Fang Yuan was startled and stood upright. Under the hazy moonlight, Xu Yan stood about five meters in front of her, still clutching the rusty scalpel, the blade reflecting a cold light.
Just now, when she bent down to breathe, it was a prime opportunity. Why didn't Xu Yan strike? She was probably still hesitating. It seemed she might not have the guts to kill.
Fang Yuan calmed herself down and sneered, "Stop pretending, Xu Yan. I know you're not crazy!"
Xu Yan shuddered, her laughter stammering, and she seemed a little flustered.
Fang Yuan continued to attack her defenses. "Everything that happened tonight was deliberately planned by you and Li Rong, right? You did this simply because I have something very important to you, right?"
Xu Yan's eyes grew horrified, and she stared at Fang Yuan like a monster, slowly backing away.
Fang Yuan's heart was pounding, but she pretended to be confident. "Actually, I've been suspicious of you for a while now. This time, I was deliberately luring you into a trap. The fox's tail has finally been exposed."
All criminals are like this: guilty consciences. When you're not afraid of them, they're afraid of you. The calmer Fang Yuan appeared, the more panicked Xu Yan became.
As Fang Yuan took a step toward her, Xu Yan turned and ran. Ten seconds later, she disappeared into the night of Nanjiang Medical College.
Fang Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She felt weak and wanted to find a place to lie down. In fact, she had been sweating profusely, and the night wind blew her away, making her shiver.
Her strength hadn't recovered yet. If Xu Yan hadn't been frightened by her and rushed over to slash at her without thinking, she didn't know how she would have escaped.
After resting for a few minutes, Fang Yuan decided to leave and return to her dormitory. Suddenly, she heard a flurry of hurried footsteps—"teng, teng, teng," as if someone was running quickly.
Fang Yuan stared wide-eyed ahead. A figure rushed toward her from the medical school complex. It was Xu Yan!
Xu Yan said nothing, charging straight ahead. Fang Yuan didn't dare speak again, turning and running. Xu Yan hacked and slashed at her, a beast-like roar emanating from her throat.
The sharp wind of the blade whistled past Fang Yuan's ears. She knew that this time, Xu Yan had made up her mind, and no words from her would matter. Only one word lingered in her mind—escape!
Fang Yuan fled to the Red Mansion and, for some unknown reason, slipped back inside. At the end of the hallway, there were two staircases: one leading up, the other down. The one leading up led all the way to the roof, while the one leading down led back to the basement.
Fang Yuan chose the basement. She slowed her pace, trying not to make any noise.
Xu Yan hadn't expected Fang Yuan to run toward the basement, so she chased her all the way up the stairs. Fang Yuan waited until she could no longer hear Xu Yan's footsteps before running out of the basement. As she exited the Red Mansion, she nearly bumped into someone.
The person standing in her way was Li Rong.
Li Rong looked at her with a strange expression, as if surprised that she had managed to evade Xu Yan.
Fang Yuan stopped running and stood upright, like a javelin, gazing at him coldly.
She couldn't run any further, and even if she did, she couldn't outrun Li Rong, who was full of energy.
The two of them just stared at each other, neither speaking.