The sound of her own heartbeat filled Miko's eardrums, making even Ye Xing's softly spoken words ahead somewhat indistinct.
"This place was originally meant to be converted into an office building. But half a month ago, a series of accidents occurred. Many construction workers died in bizarre, inexplicable ways, forcing the project to be temporarily halted."
As Ye Xing spoke, his voice carried a hint of amusement, his footsteps steady and unhurried. His face even wore that usual frivolous, lazy smile.
Judging by his demeanour alone, one might think he was on a pleasant spring outing.
But the view was entirely different when looking at Miko's face.
By now, Miko was drenched in sweat, unable to breathe through her nose. She could only part her lips slightly, gasping for air, her golden pupils dilated.
Throughout her life, she had never seen a place like this, an abandoned building teeming with so many evil spirits.
If hell truly existed in this world, it probably wouldn't be much worse than this.
The crucial point was that Miko knew ordinary evil spirits and spectres would flee immediately upon sensing Ye Xing's Qi, like animals recognising their natural predator, driven by instinctive fear embedded in their very essence.
Yet these hundreds of evil spirits, though not displaying any overtly aggressive behaviour, persistently followed behind them.
What did this mean?
It meant their power was on an entirely different level from ordinary evil spirits!
The black Qi emanating from the hundreds of evil spirits had nearly condensed into physical form, making it difficult for Miko to even see the path ahead clearly.
'No, no, no.'
'We're done for, done for, done for.'
'What do I do, what do I do, what do I do...'
Miko kept chanting these words in her mind, feeling her nerves were stretched to their absolute limit.
Contrary to her tear-filled, fear-stricken eyes, her face maintained that same emotionless, composed expression.
This contrast did give off a rather alluring vibe.
"We're here."
After what felt like centuries to Miko, Ye Xing finally stopped before a door.
"Let's eat here."
Hearing this and feeling the warmth of the lunchbox in her arms, Miko finally remembered what had happened before entering the building, her expression instantly darkening.
Eat?
Right, they still had to eat the lunch.
Wait a minute.
Did Ye Xing mean for her to eat this lunchbox while being watched by hundreds of evil spirits?
Was that even humanly possible?
"Oh dear, the door's locked."
Hearing this, Miko sighed in relief and quickly said:
"Then maybe today we should..."
"Luckily, I came prepared."
Ye Xing smiled, pulling a bent wire from his pocket. He crouched slightly, inserting it into the door lock.
Watching his movements, Miko Yotsuya was stunned.
Damn, was Ye Xing this multi-talented?
He could even pick locks?
She wanted to ask if this counted as illegal trespassing.
But upon reflection, the question seemed naively foolish given the circumstances, so she decided to keep quiet.
"OK, it's open."
In less than five seconds, Ye Xing had picked the lock. Together with Miko, they stepped inside.
The dusty concrete floor was empty except for a few load-bearing pillars—just a vast, hollow space.
In the distance, shrouded by swirling black mist, Miko once again saw the "Gate" belonging to this area.
The difference was...
The Gate she'd seen in the alley before had only been slightly ajar.
This one was half-open.
Equally deep and distorted, like a black hole threatening to suck in one's gaze with its pure darkness.
"Let's eat first."
Ignoring the dust, Ye Xing sat directly on the floor, opening his lunchbox. He frowned slightly.
"What kind of rip-off is this? 600 yen for this tiny portion? That's just taking the piss."
Then he glanced at Miko, still standing awkwardly, and chuckled.
"Miko, sit down."
If Miko didn't know Ye Xing was a psychic like her, his current demeanour might have convinced her he couldn't see the evil spirits at all.
Actually, that wasn't quite right.
Even ordinary people who couldn't see evil spirits would at least feel the eerie atmosphere in this abandoned building.
Yet Ye Xing seemed... almost like he was enjoying it.
Suppressing her urge to flee, Miko smoothed her skirt, placed some tissues on the floor as a makeshift seat, and slowly sat down.
When she opened her lunchbox, her heart skipped a beat.
"Chop... chopsticks?"
"What, can't you use them?"
"N-no, that's not it."
"Good. Let's eat."
Miko took a deep breath, her right hand trembling slightly as she picked up the chopsticks.
She tried to grab a fishball from her lunchbox, but her nervous shaking made it impossible.
"Can... you see me?"
Her unusual behaviour immediately drew the attention of the surrounding evil spirits.
A deep purple spirit with dishevelled black hair and glowing crimson eyes pressed its face close to Miko's.
Its bloodshot, rotating pupils fixed on her profile.
"Can... you see me?"
Miko was paralysed.
How the hell was she supposed to eat like this!?
Just then, from the shadows, a black-green tongue covered in a thick coating slithered out and disgustingly licked the entire surface of her lunchbox.
The licking was so meticulous, it was as if trying to polish the bento box.
Then, the long tongue repeated the exact same motion over the bento box held by Ye Xing.
"Urgh..."
Miko Yotsuya felt like she was about to vomit.
Although evil spirits couldn't physically interact with objects in the real world...
Who could possibly eat after watching that blackish-green tongue thoroughly lick their bento box!?
"Not bad."
Under Miko's shocked, disbelieving, and horrified gaze, Ye Xing didn't even bat an eye. He simply picked up a fishball with his chopsticks, chewed it carefully, and nodded.
"The taste is decent, but not worth 600 yen. Students' money really is easy to scam."
Miko was stunned.
He could still eat that?
Miko regarded him with newfound respect.