Chapter 19: Widow, Are You Human or Spirit?

"Huff... huff..."

"Brother Baili, how on earth do you have such incredible stamina!" Tu Xingsun was gasping for air, barely able to keep up.

Behind them, a swarm of tentacle-ghosts writhed and crawled across the ground, their movements grotesque yet alarmingly swift. It was in this moment that the fundamental gap between a "wild" player and an agent from the Bureau of Strange Affairs became glaringly apparent. Baili Dao, conditioned by long-term physical training, ran with steady, rhythmic efficiency, while the short-statured Tu Xingsun had already nearly been snatched several times.

"Stop whining! We're almost at the office!" Baili Dao called out, leading the way.

First floor, second, third... Before long, they reached the sixth floor. Baili Dao had already familiarized himself with the building's layout; the homeroom teachers' offices were always located on the same floor as their respective classes. Seeing the sign that read [Senior Year Office], the two felt a sudden surge of relief.

They were going to make it! They were going to live!

*Creak—*

Before they could even raise their hands to knock, the iron door of the office swung open on its own. A stranger stepped out. He was pot-bellied, his excessive fat wobbling with every step, and his ten fingers were adorned with an array of colorful rings—the very picture of a bloated, nouveau-riche tycoon. Only his eyes, which glinted with a bone-chilling, predatory malice, betrayed his true nature.

As Baili Dao and his companion collided with the man, they nearly dropped to their knees the moment they locked eyes with him. From inside the office, they heard Teacher Yao’s voice: "Principal Wang, please take care on your way!"

*The Principal?*

This man was the damn Principal of Gaoshan Ghost School!

"Teacher Yao, which class do these students belong to? Are they unaware that running and playing in the hallways is strictly prohibited?" Principal Wang’s voice was deep and heavy with authority.

The warnings Shi Gandang had previously given about the dangers of the Principal flashed through their minds. Now, there was nowhere left to run.

They were—absolutely finished!

"Reporting to the Principal! There are strange things chasing students behind us! They are interfering with our studies!" Baili Dao’s mind raced, and he steeled himself to plead for help.

*Rules! The Principal must also be bound by his own behavioral rules!* They hadn't broken any school rules, and their grades were decent. Surely, the Principal wouldn't punish them without cause... right?

Hearing this, Principal Wang frowned and looked toward the stairwell behind them. He saw the swarm of tentacle-ghosts crawling over, some even dangling and moving along the ceiling. The sheer density of the monsters was hair-raising.

"Noisy! The campus is a sacred place! How can I tolerate you wretched things causing such a disturbance?" Principal Wang’s tone was laced with anger. He slowly turned the ring on his index finger, which was set with a sky-blue gemstone.

Everything around them suddenly fell silent. The swarm of tentacle-ghosts froze in mid-air as if a pause button had been pressed. Even those that had leaped into the air remained suspended, motionless. The wind outside the window, the swaying of leaves, and even the flow of the air itself had stalled.

Only Principal Wang, Teacher Yao, and the two students remained capable of movement. Under their horrified gazes, the Principal strolled toward the monsters.

"Just a few appetizers, nothing more!"

In the next second, he stopped pretending to be human. His already corpulent frame expanded until he was the size of a small mountain, his body nearly filling the entire hallway. He reached out with a massive hand and grabbed one of the tentacle-ghosts. Compared to his sheer size, the creature was snatched up as easily as a chick.

*Crunch... crunch...*

Principal Wang actually put the tentacle-ghost into his mouth and began to chew!

Then, under the terrified, trembling gaze of Baili Dao and Tu Xingsun, the seemingly unstoppable swarm of monsters was reduced to nothing more than appetizers, devoured completely by the Principal, who had fully transformed into his true, ghastly form.

A moment later, the hallway was clear. Principal Wang’s physique returned to its original, bloated state; only the faint, vibrant red residue at the corners of his mouth betrayed what had just transpired.

He walked over slowly, standing beside Baili Dao, and addressed Teacher Yao: "Go find out what’s happening in the 'Black Room.' The appearance of these things indicates that something has slipped out of there—they were hunting that fish."

At this, his expression turned vicious. He fixed his gaze on Teacher Yao’s panicked eyes and trembling legs, threatening, "Do your job well, Old Yao. Someone has to take responsibility for this accident."

*Gulp—*

Teacher Yao swallowed hard. He was a smart man. The Principal’s meaning was clear: if he couldn't find the culprit, he would have to shoulder the blame himself.

"R-rest assured, Principal Wang. Both tasks you assigned me will be completed!" Teacher Yao promised, his teeth chattering.

Seeing this, Principal Wang said nothing more. He turned his head toward Baili Dao and his companion, twisted the yellowish ring on his middle finger, and placed his fat palm on Baili Dao’s slightly disheveled hair.

His voice was low. "Chen Baili and Sun Jia, is it? Your grades are acceptable. I hope you maintain them for tomorrow’s exam."

The next second, his tone turned grave. "But I don't want to see you harboring any crooked thoughts. Students should focus primarily on their studies. Do you understand?"

The two nodded like frantic woodpeckers. Baili Dao, in particular, was terrified that if the Principal were even slightly dissatisfied, he might just twist his head off to use as a chamber pot.

Who the hell would dare *not* understand at a time like this!?

Damn this Spirit Disaster Game! Was this really something they could possibly contend with? At the same time, they felt a sliver of relief. Thankfully, their main mission was just to "catch the truants," not to find a way to truant themselves. If it were the latter, they would be done for.

"Alright, forget what just happened. Study hard; only by getting into a prestigious school can you get ahead in life," Principal Wang said with a look of gratification. As he grinned, one could vaguely see bits of tentacle meat and scraps of school uniform fabric caught between his teeth.

He rotated the white ring on his ring finger.

*Whoosh—*

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings became familiar. Baili Dao and Tu Xingsun stared at the sticky notes covering the doors and the messy beds around them, stunned.

"This is... back in the dormitory?" Tu Xingsun asked, panting heavily.

At the same time, Baili Dao looked out the window. The sky was filled with twinkling stars. It was night. The two looked at each other in shock. Time control, ghastly transformations, spatial teleportation... This Principal was an invincible existence in this ghost school!

*Bang—*

The dormitory door was kicked open violently. A tall figure burst in, his expression somewhat unnatural.

"Hm? You're back?" The two, still dazed, looked at Shi Gandang in confusion.

Shi Gandang said with a tremor in his voice, "The sky turned black in an instant, and the school doctor chased me away, saying I had to return to the dorm to rest. I couldn't stay in the infirmary to look after Qing-jie."

"Then why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Baili Dao raised an eyebrow.

The man replied with a bitter smile, "I actually did. I ran into 'The Survivor.' He came to the infirmary to get a certificate saying he couldn't attend class."

At these words, the other two were shocked.

"What! He's still alive!"

"Damn, is there really a novice protection period?"

After all, ever since he had been taken to the Black Room by Teacher Yao during the morning study session, he hadn't been seen again. They had simply assumed he was a goner.

But Shi Gandang shook his head in rebuttal. "No, I'm not sure if he's still alive."

He then described what he had seen: In the infirmary, Wu Wang had walked in to get a certificate for missing class. The school doctor had performed a check-up according to protocol. The kid had actually exposed his severed right wrist, saying he couldn't hold a pen to do the problems.

"That school doctor is a stubborn old fool; he kept saying that since his eyes could still see, he could still read even if he couldn't write, and he refused to issue the certificate," Shi Gandang said helplessly.

The other two sighed as well. They had clearly considered trying to get a certificate from the infirmary earlier. They hadn't realized the doctor was so difficult to deal with. Surely, they couldn't just gouge out their own eyes to get a certificate, right?

Thinking of this, Baili Dao’s expression suddenly turned unnatural as well. Shi Gandang had said at the start that the guy *had* gotten the certificate.

He asked with a tremor, "You mean to say he..."

"Yeah, just as you're thinking. 'The Survivor' stuck his fingers right into his own eye sockets in front of me and told the doctor he was blind. The doctor had no choice but to issue the certificate."

Every time he recalled that scene, Shi Gandang felt a chill run through his entire body. Those hollow eye sockets seemed to still be staring at him.

"Sure enough, he's no longer human." Baili Dao sighed.

It seemed that the real "Survivor" had already met his end, and whatever was wearing his skin now must be something from the Black Room. It was likely related to the urban legends. The real person had probably already been transported back to the real world. At least this wasn't a lethal-type scenario.

"Right, I also think he's already been killed. After all, he's just a newbie; it's normal for him to lack the ability to protect himself," Shi Gandang added with regret.

*Creak—*

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened again. A familiar figure in strange attire walked in. The three of them immediately braced themselves as if facing a great enemy.

Wu Wang tilted his head, a faint smile on his lips:

"I heard that after we separated, you were going around telling everyone I was dead?"