When Sun Fatty was reluctantly taken away, we had already been seated in the first row below the podium. Gao Liang, Xiao Heshang, Hao Wenming, and the others were already sitting at the front of the stage.
Behind us, the hall was packed with students from the former Vermilion Bird Women's Academy. Just as the welcoming ceremony was about to begin, Principal Su picked up the microphone and was about to speak, when a woman in her thirties came rushing in from outside the auditorium in a fluster.
As soon as she entered, she ran straight toward the stage. Seeing her frantic and disoriented look, Principal Su frowned deeply and was about to scold her when the woman had already climbed onto the stage and whispered something to her. However, the microphone in Principal Su's hand was still on, so the entire auditorium heard the woman say, "Another one's missing. A senior this time…"
She only realized her voice had gone out over the speakers after the words had left her mouth. But by then, it was too late to stop. The previously quiet auditorium instantly exploded with noise. Principal Su quickly turned off the microphone, but the chatter spread like a torrential downpour—completely uncontrollable.
Gao Liang could no longer sit still. He stood up and swept his gaze over the faces of several department heads before finally settling on Wu Rendi. "You all stay here and keep watch. Teacher Wu, come with me."
To everyone's surprise, Wu Rendi didn't even move. He just replied with two words: "Not going." He left Gao Liang standing there, awkward and ignored. Ever since I joined the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, I've known that Wu Rendi only answers to Director Gao. As long as Director Gao gave the word, even if it meant walking through fire or stepping into hell, Wu Rendi would get the job done.
But now, Wu Rendi had outright refused Gao Liang's request. It wasn't just shocking to me—even the other department heads had never seen such a thing before. Seeing Gao Liang in a slightly awkward spot, Hao Wenming and Ouyang Pianzuo stood up at the same time to ease the tension. "Director Gao... let us go with you instead."
Before Gao Liang could respond, Wu Rendi turned to the audience and called out to Yang Xiao: "Yang Xiao, you go too."
Just as Wu Rendi only took orders from Gao Liang, Yang Xiao only listened to Wu Rendi. Within the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, no one—except Wu Rendi—had ever been able to make Yang Xiao do anything. Not even Gao Liang.
Unlike Wu Rendi, Yang Xiao didn't have the guts to defy Wu Rendi. He stood up without a word and quietly followed behind Gao Liang. Led by the female teacher, they exited the auditorium.
At this point, no one was in the mood to continue the welcoming ceremony. Not just the students—even some of the teachers had gathered in small groups, whispering about today's incident and the recent spate of unexplained disappearances at the academy.
Eventually, it was the head of student affairs—a woman in her forties—who stood up and turned around to sternly rebuke the students behind her. Only then did the auditorium regain a semblance of order.
Before leaving, Director Gao didn't say we were free to go. Judging by his demeanor, he intended for us to remain here to maintain order and ensure the safety of the teachers and students. Ximen Lian and Yun Feiyang, sitting behind us, were already keeping an eye on their surroundings.
I wasn't interested in getting involved in this mess. Besides, with Director Wu Rendi here, what's everyone so nervous about? Bored, I pulled a teaching tablet from my backpack. Since the auditorium didn't have wireless internet, I could only browse internal academy records to kill time.
When I scrolled to the list of senior-year students in the high school division, a name popped up: Shao Yiyi. I froze for a moment—it felt familiar, like I'd seen or heard it before—but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall where I knew it from. I tapped on the name, and the student's photo appeared.
It was a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, with her hair in a ponytail. Youthful features made her look rather pretty. But her eyes gave off a discontented glare, as if she looked down on everything and everyone—carrying a hint of pride. Why did she look so familiar? A flash of white hair suddenly came to mind…
Shao Yiyi! That's it—I remembered. Wu Rendi once gave me an address and two names, instructing Sun Fatty and me to deliver his share of the money from selling the pearls to them. One of those names was Shao Yiyi.
Now I was starting to understand why Wu Rendi had taken the initiative to come to this women's academy—and why he had flatly refused Gao Liang's request just now. So this was the reason.
When I looked at Wu Rendi again, I noticed that his gaze was drifting—intentionally or not—towards a spot behind me on my right. A door? I stood up, stretched my back, pretending I was just tired of sitting and needed to move around a bit. I subtly followed the direction of Wu Rendi's gaze, and among the few hundred chattering girls in that area, I immediately spotted the girl named Shao Yiyi.
She was easy to find because Shao Yiyi was so out of place among her peers. With the teachers no longer bothering to maintain order, the surrounding girls were all chatting animatedly. Only Shao Yiyi remained aloof, lazily seated on her chair with a slight frown on her brow, as if she were enduring the boredom of the conversations around her.
She looked just like him. Not even mentioning facial features—just that indifferent expression was already the perfect female version of Wu Rendi.
I wanted a better look, but suddenly a chill crept over me. A wave of cold drenched me from head to toe, freezing me from the inside out—like I'd fallen into an ice pit.
Shivering, I turned toward the source of the chill. Sure enough, Wu Rendi was looking at me with a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile. I gave him a sheepish grin and quickly turned back to my seat. Seriously? Not even allowed to look?
It was awful having something on my mind and not being able to act on it. I really wanted to take a clearer look at the woman Wu Rendi was protecting, but with his eyes constantly on me, even turning my head slightly invited another cold blast.
Just as I was starting to squirm in my seat, Gao Liang and the others returned from outside the auditorium. Almost everyone stood up, craning their necks to see the group walking in.
Following behind Gao Liang was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, timidly trailing the group. The female teacher who'd earlier reported the missing student looked utterly embarrassed, her face red as she walked at the rear.
"Students and teachers, please be seated," Principal Su said, returning to the stage and finally losing patience with the disorderly crowd. Once everyone had settled down, he spoke into the microphone, "There was a small misunderstanding just now. It's been clarified. Wu Furong, a student from Class 1, Grade 12, fainted due to low blood sugar in a surveillance blind spot in the dorms. When the roll was taken and her absence was noted, a misunderstanding occurred. The misunderstanding has now been resolved, and we ask that students refrain from unnecessary speculation."
Once the murmur of voices in the audience began to fade, Principal Su continued, "Now that the confusion has been cleared up, it's time for the main event. Let's welcome our new teachers and classmates with a warm round of applause!"
Then came the customary introductions of the newcomers. This was standard procedure for assemblies like this, so there's no need to detail it here—except for one little episode.
When it came time to introduce the new physical education teacher, Wu Rendi—now "Teacher Wu"—stood up with clear reluctance and gave the barest of nods to the audience, which was probably meant to count as a bow.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the crowd erupted with: "Whoa, white hair—so cool!" "Why's he so pale? Did he powder himself?" "I'm telling you right now—don't even think about it. He's mine from now on!" Then came a round of applause. From the junior high section came a childish voice shouting, "Teacher Wu, give us a smile!" The whole place burst into laughter—loudest on stage were Xiao Heshang, Hao Wenming, and a few other department heads.
To everyone's surprise, Wu Rendi didn't explode with anger. Instead, the corners of his mouth actually lifted into a faint smile. For him, that was practically a miracle. The crowd from the Bureau posing as "faculty and students" were all stunned. Even Hao Wenming and Xiao Heshang, who'd been laughing the hardest, froze with awkward half-smiles still stuck on their faces.
I picked up on something. While Wu Rendi's attention was diverted, I quickly turned back to glance toward the high school section. Sure enough, Shao Yiyi was biting her lip, secretly grinning to herself.
Before Wu Rendi could notice me, I hurriedly turned back around and sat up straight. By chance, I locked eyes with Yang Xiao, but his attention wasn't on Wu Rendi. He was staring at Wu Furong—the girl who'd supposedly fainted from low blood sugar. Huh? Could he be going after her instead of following Wu Rendi's style?
After our introductions, the welcome ceremony wrapped up quickly. We were assigned a dormitory deep inside the academy grounds. Vermilion Bird Women's Academy was massive—almost absurdly so. Apart from our building, several other dorms still stood completely empty.
Since the building was big but underpopulated, we were assigned one room for every two people. When I opened the door, I saw a heap of pale, bare flesh piled on the left bed. Upon hearing me enter, the mound moved and a head popped out.
"Lazi, what took you guys so long? I've already cleared the drains in an entire building, and I still got back earlier than you."
It was Sun Fatty, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, lying half-naked on the bed and staring lazily at me.
I was at a loss for words. "Dasheng, it's the middle of the day—why the hell are you practically naked? Put some clothes on, someone might come in…"
"Oh, come on, Lazi, this is the boys' dorm. Even if someone does come in, it'll just be Bureau guys. We all know each other." Sun Fatty waved me off. "Besides, this is me being considerate. It's still daytime, so I'm being modest. But at night? Don't say I didn't warn you—I sleep in the nude. Don't blame me if it gives you nightmares."
I chuckled, "Well, let me give you a heads-up too—I sleepwalk and have a thing for cutting stuff with scissors. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"You win!" Sun Fatty grumbled and reluctantly pulled on a large tank top and an even bigger pair of shorts.
I looked at him and said, "By the way, Dasheng, I need to tell you something important—" Before I could get to the point, Sun Fatty waved me off. "You're talking about Wu Furong from Grade 12 going missing and then being found? No need—I heard all about it while I was cleaning the auditorium."
"Nope, not that." I waved him off just like he did me. "Remember the time we sold those pearls, and Wu Rendi demanded half the money to give to that pair of beauties with the surname Shao? One of them is now here at the academy."
"Seriously?" Sun Fatty still looked doubtful.
"She's in the school—you'll see her eventually." As I spoke, I noticed two storage lockers with combination locks standing in the corner. "This girls' school really spares no expense. Dasheng, you're the expert—what do you think of these lockers?"
"Eh, they're whatever. School lockers aren't going to be top-grade. This isn't some bank vault. A real expert could pop 'em with a wire." Looks like Sun Fatty had already fiddled with them when he came in—he didn't seem impressed at all.
I put my handgun and spare magazines into one of the lockers and locked it, though I still felt uneasy. Turning back to Sun Fatty, I asked, "You think it's safe leaving our stuff in there?"
"Relax. The lock's not great, but no ordinary person could crack it." Sun Fatty said with a shrug. "This is a school, after all. No one here's got the skills I do."
After a brief rest in the dorm, Sun Fatty and I followed the plan we'd worked out back at the Bureau and met up with the other investigators. We left the dorm and began surveying the academy. We divided the Vermilion Bird Women's Academy into three zones and split into three groups to inspect each area.
In theory, checking suspicious areas shouldn't have been a big deal—but we didn't expect the campus to be this massive. After half an hour, we hadn't even finished covering the zone assigned to our group. In the end, we had to split again. I was grouped with Sun Fatty, Yun Feiyang, Ximen Lian, and someone named Xiong Wanyi.
Our zone included the area where the second disappearance had occurred. According to Principal Su, the missing student was a girl named Zhang Yuanyuan from Class 1, Grade 9. Around 6:00 PM that evening, she and a few classmates were walking toward the dining hall along this path. When they got here, Zhang Yuanyuan suddenly let out a startled "Ah!" and looked around in confusion. "Did you guys hear someone call my name?"
By then, it was already getting dark. They were just a bunch of middle school girls, so Zhang Yuanyuan's question freaked them out a little. But she herself didn't seem fazed. She pricked up her ears and listened for a long while, but didn't hear anything again.
"Must've been a hallucination," she said, brushing it off. The group continued walking. But just a few minutes later, one of the girls suddenly shouted, "Zhang Yuanyuan—someone's calling you again… wait, where's Zhang Yuanyuan?"
That's when everyone realized, with a jolt, that Zhang Yuanyuan, who had been walking right there with them, had vanished without a trace.