9:00 AM. The Dean's Office.
"Sit."
Officer Huang was perched on the dean's swivel chair, leaning back slightly with his legs crossed. His hands were folded over his stomach, his posture relaxed yet imposing—as if he were sitting in his own interrogation room.
Gao Yang took a seat across from him, sitting up straight and keeping his mouth shut.
Officer Huang smiled. "Don't be nervous. It's just us here. I've only got a few questions."
"Uh-huh…" Gao Yang thought to himself, That's exactly why I'm nervous!
"You got some scratches on your face?"
"Oh, just mosquito bites." Gao Yang touched his cheek casually, playing dumb.
"Alright, let's get started." Officer Huang pulled out a notepad. "Student Gao Yang, what was your relationship with the victim, Li Weiwei?"
"We've known each other since kindergarten. We were really close—childhood sweethearts, you could say." Gao Yang replied.
Officer Huang jotted down notes as he asked, "Yesterday afternoon, were you with Li Weiwei the entire time?"
"Yeah. We watched a movie, had dinner at Da Wan Mall, hung out until pretty late—got home around midnight."
"What time did you two split up?"
"Must've been almost eleven, I think." Gao Yang knew better than to give a precise time—it would only make him look more suspicious.
"It was that late, and you didn't walk her all the way home?"
"I walked her part of the way. She said she didn't need me to see her the rest of the way, so I left."
Gao Yang was well aware that the surveillance cameras along that final stretch had been destroyed by Qing Ling. He feigned innocence and asked, "You can check the footage, right, Officer Huang? The cameras will prove it."
Officer Huang paused, his eyes flickering slightly. "To tell you the truth—the cameras on that stretch of road just happened to be broken."
"How is that possible?" Gao Yang put on a shocked expression.
"Looks like this was a premeditated crime." Officer Huang studied Gao Yang's face intently, searching for any hint of a lie.
"Probably committed by someone she knew. But that's just an initial guess—we don't have much to go on right now. No murder weapon, no witnesses… nothing."
"No clues at all?" Gao Yang asked.
Officer Huang uncrossed his legs, leaning forward slightly. "Did Li Weiwei have any classmates she didn't get along with? Anyone she might've crossed?"
Gao Yang shook his head. "She was such a nice person. Everyone in the class liked her. I can't think of anyone who'd want to hurt her."
"What about people who were jealous of her? Or anyone else?"
Gao Yang pretended to think for a moment, then shook his head again. "Not that I know of."
Officer Huang nodded, his gaze never leaving Gao Yang's face. "You liked Li Weiwei, didn't you?"
Gao Yang hesitated. "I guess… yeah."
"For the sake of the investigation, I looked at Li Weiwei's WeChat messages. You confessed to her, and she said yes." Officer Huang's tone was neutral, but his eyes were sharp. "Then last night happened… turned out to be your last time seeing each other."
Gao Yang hung his head, a genuine wave of sadness washing over him. He didn't need to fake this part.
Officer Huang stopped questioning him, standing up from the chair. "Alright, that's it for today." He clapped Gao Yang on the shoulder, his tone carrying an unspoken meaning. "My condolences."
The interrogation was over. Gao Yang let out a quiet sigh of relief—false alarm.
He left the office and headed back toward the classroom.
"Gao Yang!" someone called out.
Before Gao Yang could turn around, a strong arm suddenly locked around his neck in a chokehold.
He gasped for air, coughing violently. "Cough… cough…!"
"Hahaha! Pathetic!"
The boy with dyed blond hair and a lip piercing let go of him. It was Wang Zikai.
Wang Zikai used to be Gao Yang's classmate—until a week ago, that is. After he'd smashed another student's head open for the nth time, he'd finally been expelled for good.
His reason for the fight? The guy had glanced at him.
Wang Zikai's family was loaded. He drove a sports car to school every day, and with his good looks, he was the textbook definition of a rich, handsome playboy. But he'd managed to ruin that perfect image completely—at school, he was nothing but a feared bully.
For some reason, though, this bully had been weirdly attached to Gao Yang ever since their first year of high school. Wang Zikai had declared more than once that Gao Yang was his best—and only—friend.
It had left Gao Yang flattered and utterly confused. Forced to go along with it out of fear, Gao Yang had reluctantly played the part of Wang Zikai's friend… only to discover that beneath the violent, hot-headed exterior, Wang Zikai was actually a decent guy.
Today, Wang Zikai was in a great mood—probably here to finish up his expulsion paperwork.
"What's with the face? You look like you just ate crap." Wang Zikai asked, grinning.
"Li Weiwei is dead." Gao Yang said flatly.
"Huh?! What?!" Wang Zikai's eyes widened in shock. "How'd she die?"
"Robbery. She was killed."
"Damn! That's so unlucky." Wang Zikai clicked his tongue. "And I just helped you confess to her the other day. Did she say yes or what? Let me guess—she turned you down! Hahaha! Like a girl would ever go for a loser like you!"
Gao Yang rolled his eyes. This idiot never misses a chance to miss the point.
"Sorry for your loss, bro." Wang Zikai patted him on the shoulder, completely unfazed. "Look on the bright side—now you don't have to worry about anyone stealing her away from you!"
"…" Gao Yang bit his tongue to keep from yelling at him.
"I'll pick you up after school today!" Wang Zikai said cheerfully. "We'll duo queue! Channel that sadness into gaming—we're definitely hitting Silver this season!"
"Can't. I'm going to Li Weiwei's wake tonight." Gao Yang said.
"No way!" Wang Zikai jumped back, feigning horror. "Don't tell me you're trying to start a ghost romance with her or something—"
"Get lost!"
Gao Yang facepalmed, half-tempted to kick him. But this was classic Wang Zikai—you'd never get a single serious sentence out of him.
"See ya later!" Wang Zikai waved, turning and jogging away.
7:00 PM. Shan Qing District Funeral Home.
Gao Yang joined over a dozen of his classmates, following their homeroom teacher to Li Weiwei's wake.
On one hand, he genuinely cared about Li Weiwei. Even though she'd turned into a monster last night, he still wanted to be there to say goodbye. On the other hand, he was burning with curiosity—why hadn't Li Weiwei been cremated immediately? It went against everything he'd learned about this world.
The mourning hall was dim and solemn. Li Weiwei's portrait sat on the altar, the girl in the photo smiling brightly. Her body lay inside a transparent, refrigerated casket, surrounded by lush white flowers.
Li Weiwei's parents stood beside the casket, dressed in black suits and dresses, bowing repeatedly to the mourners who came to pay their respects.
Her mother couldn't stop crying, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Her father held her tightly, his face etched with grief.
Their homeroom teacher led a group of students to light incense sticks for Li Weiwei, then went over to shake hands with her parents. After that, they walked around the glass casket once—and the farewell ceremony was over.
Gao Yang followed the line of students. As he drew near the casket, he stared at Li Weiwei's body. She was wearing a black burial gown, her face made up to look peaceful—as if she were just sleeping, no different from how she'd been in life.
But the memory of that same girl, her hands wrapped around his neck, nearly crushing his skull last night, sent a cold shiver down his spine. A wave of terror washed over him, making his hair stand on end.
Their homeroom teacher went to talk to Li Weiwei's parents. Gao Yang's throat felt parched. He slipped away from the crowd and headed to the small tea room off to the side of the hall to get a drink of water.
He pushed open the door—and Qing Ling was inside.
Gao Yang avoided her gaze, walking straight to the water dispenser to pour himself a cup. But Qing Ling took the initiative to step forward. "Did the police ask you anything?"
"Nothing important."
"Tell me everything." Her tone was sharp, a command, not a request.
Gao Yang glanced around, making sure the tea room was empty. Then he cut to the chase. "Why'd you stop putting on the act?"
Qing Ling blinked, looking confused. "What act?"
"The one you put on this morning! You were practically Oscar-worthy!" Gao Yang said, a hint of anger in his voice.
Qing Ling's eyes flickered. "Have you met her?"
"What are you talking about?"
"My other personality?"
Gao Yang's eyes widened in surprise. It clicked. "You mean… you have dissociative identity disorder?"
"Yes."
Gao Yang fell silent, processing this new information.
Qing Ling quietly closed the tea room door behind her. "To survive in this world, you can't afford to not lie to yourself. After a while… I developed an alter ego. She's like my little sister—her name is Qing Ling. Most of the time, I'm the one in control. But sometimes, she acts out and takes over. Li Weiwei's death hit her hard."
Gao Yang stared at her, his eyes filled with wariness. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
"Doesn't matter."
"Give me one reason to trust you."
"One reason?" Qing Ling raised an eyebrow. Her right hand, holding a disposable paper cup, twitched slightly. A blade as thin as a cicada's wing suddenly flew out from her chest pocket, pressing against Gao Yang's neck. The cold metal of the blade pricked his skin.
"If I wanted to kill you, it'd be easier than breathing. Easier than Li Weiwei ever could've done it. Is that reason enough?"
"…Yeah. That's enough."
Live to fight another day. That was Gao Yang's only thought right now.
He quickly recounted his entire conversation with Officer Huang, word for word.
Qing Ling listened silently, then fell into deep thought.
"You were smart enough not to give anything away."
"It was just a cop. How much trouble could he be?" Gao Yang said, trying to downplay the situation.
Qing Ling let out a cold laugh. "It seems you still don't understand how deep the shit you're in is. Do you have any idea how many beasts are in this city?"
"How many?"
"The ratio is one in ten thousand."
"One beast out of every ten thousand people? That's actually pretty high." Gao Yang said, his heart sinking.
Qing Ling shook her head. "No. It's one human out of every ten thousand beasts."
"What?!" Gao Yang almost shouted, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Are you joking?"
"I'm not."
"That's impossible!" Gao Yang stared at her, his mind reeling. The thought was so absurd, it made his scalp tingle.
"That's the truth." Qing Ling's voice was cold, flat. "Now do you finally get what kind of situation you're in?"
"…" Gao Yang's hands started shaking.
"The fact that our school has two humans—you and me—is already a statistical miracle." Qing Ling took a step closer, her eyes icy. "As for your family… your friends… your neighbors… 99.99% of the people you've ever met in your life are beasts. All kinds of beasts."
Gao Yang froze in place. A cold, suffocating fear wrapped around him like a snake, coiling tighter and tighter.
His family… his friends… everyone he knew—they might all be beasts. And for twelve years, ever since he'd transmigrated here, he'd been living with them side by side.
A wave of nausea hit him, and he had to fight the urge to throw up.
"To tell you the truth—you're only the third human I've ever met. The first two were stronger than me. But they're both dead now."
Gao Yang clung to the last shred of hope he had. "That can't be right. If everyone around me was a beast… I would've died a long time ago."
"Because until now, you never suspected their true identities. Beasts don't harm unawakened humans. They only kill the awakened—people like us."
"Why?"
"I don't know." Qing Ling shook her head. "They seem to have rules of their own. The information I have is limited…"
"What are you two talking about?"
Gao Yang and Qing Ling both jumped, startled.
The door to the tea room was pushed open. Officer Huang stood in the doorway, smiling warmly.
"You mentioned 'beasts' just now." His smile never wavered, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife. "What exactly are they?"