Chapter 24 | The Crazy Persona Must Not Collapse

“I'm going down to save her. You two get ready to pull us up,” Ye Li spoke up at the critical moment.

Without waiting for a response from Yi Lin or Fang Wen, she grabbed the spare rope and looped it casually around her arm several times.

Gripping the end of the rope together with the main line in one palm and clutching the half-javelin in her other hand, she leaped off the edge of the roof without hesitation.

Below, Chen Xiaoxiao, already scared out of her wits, saw a slender figure swooping through the dark like a descending god.

Using the momentum of the taut rope swinging her onto the balcony, Ye Li raised her sharp weapon and pierced cleanly through the monster's head.

“Squelch!”

Chen Xiaoxiao felt something wet and cool splash onto her leg, and immediately, the crushing grip holding her gave way, freeing her once more.

Ye Li hooked her foot onto the upper bunk frame, pulling on the rope to stand at an angle.

Once steady, she sheathed the javelin back into her backpack and reached down to pull Chen Xiaoxiao up as well.

“Pull us up, hurry!”

Seeing more rotting corpses about to squeeze through the doorway, Ye Li shouted toward the roof.

Fang Wen leaned down at once, grabbing Chen Xiaoxiao's outstretched hand to give her leverage to climb up.

On the other side, seeing this, Yi Lin prepared to reach for Ye Li.

But just as her hand hovered on the verge of reaching out, she hesitated, a thought flashing through her mind.

At this moment, Ye Li's entire weight was supported by the single rope in her hand. Her height was limited; standing on the bedframe, she couldn't reach the rim of the gutter. Without someone helping, it would be extremely difficult for her to climb up on her own.

Meanwhile, the rest of them had already made it safely onto the roof, rendering Ye Li completely expendable.

Who knew whether anything she had said was actually true!

If she didn't lend a hand, Ye Li would surely die!

The more Yi Lin thought about it, the more tempted she felt. Looking down at the girl below, a vicious glint surfaced in her eyes.

This person had insulted and threatened her twice. She couldn't swallow that humiliation!

Why not just let her die!

Their eyes met in midair.

Ye Li saw right through her wicked scheme, yet she showed no fear at all. Instead, the corners of her mouth curled into an ambiguous, enigmatic smile.

Yi Lin only felt dangerous undercurrents surging within those starlight-bright dark eyes. The thick mockery and disdain were as if she were looking at a pathetic clown.

And the eerie smile on her face seemed to be a silent invitation.

Try it if you dare!

A sudden chill rose from Yi Lin's heart and rushed throughout her entire body, making her shudder uncontrollably.

She felt as if she could already foresee her own miserable end the next time she saw her.

Just as a person instinctively avoids perceived danger, Yi Lin reached out almost subconsciously, swiftly grabbing Ye Li's hand.

The dorm room door was finally forced open, and countless monsters swarmed in.

Ye Li kicked hard against the bunk bed, toppling it over, and used the recoil to pull on Yi Lin's hand, scrambling back onto the roof before the swarm of fiends could pounce.

Utterly exhausted in body and mind, everyone slumped onto the ground, panting heavily with the dazed relief of having survived a catastrophe.

Chen Xiaoxiao sobbed as she pulled off her tall boots.

Her foot had been bitten by the rotting corpse, but because of the boots, the teeth hadn't broken the skin, leaving only a dark bruise. Her thighs, on the other hand, were covered in bloody scratch marks—a truly horrific sight.

“Will she be okay like that?”

Seeing this, Fang Wen and Yi Lin both shifted aside warily, terrified that she might suddenly mutate from an infection and turn into a man-eating monster.

“Don't worry. As long as she doesn't bleed out, she won't die,” the experienced Ye Li replied calmly.

Only then did Fang Wen step forward, tearing off the hem of her undershirt to help bandage the wounds on Chen Xiaoxiao's legs.

Hesitating for a moment, Yi Lin offered Ye Li an explanation. “The wind got into my eyes just now. That's why I hesitated.”

Hearing this, Ye Li glanced at her with a half-smile and said nothing, simply standing up and walking away.

That deeply regretful look sent chills down Yi Lin's spine.

She was certain Ye Li's regret was that she hadn't found an excuse to kill her.

Finding a spot sheltered from the wind, Ye Li sat down, pulled out the lollipop Le Jun had given her earlier, tore open the wrapper, and popped the candy into her mouth.

Mmh, mango milk flavor this time.

It was quite sweet, too!

Rolling the lollipop around in her mouth with arms crossed, Ye Li leaned leisurely against the pillar behind her, narrowing her eyes in enjoyment.

From their brief interactions, she could tell that Yi Lin was the one calling the shots in that three-person group.

Fang Wen seemed to be the muscle.

As for Chen Xiaoxiao, she was completely a follower without any say.

Since all three of them were trapped in the ghost domain as well, it was now basically certain that the formation of this ghost domain was indeed connected to Wen Xue.

What Ye Li couldn't figure out, however, was why this specific group of people was trapped here.

Yi Lin's trio were the culprits behind Wen Xue's death, so being trapped made total sense.

Luo Jiajia was Wen Xue's deskmate; perhaps she had done something to wrong her and was trapped because of it.

All of these people had direct interactions with Wen Xue.

But what about herself, or top student Le Jun and the other two? Why them?

Leaving the others aside, just looking at Le Jun, he'd had zero interactions with Wen Xue when she was alive, let alone any bad blood.

Could it be that they were simply unlucky and caught as random collateral damage?

Unable to figure it out, Ye Li decided not to waste any more brain cells, merely hoping midnight would arrive soon to see what “surprises” it might bring.

During the remaining time, Yi Lin didn't dare approach her again, though she egged Fang Wen on to fish for information.

Ye Li only said that once they survived until midnight, all the rotting corpses would vanish, the school would be blanketed in thick fog, and it would be swallowed by an eerie substance; only when everyone gathered together might a new turning point appear.

She also told them who the other trapped people were.

As for her speculations about the connection between the Wen Xue incident and the ghost domain, Ye Li didn't bring it up, lest they be scared out of their wits and pull some petty stunt that complicated things.

After all the ordeal up to this point, she hadn't had it easy either!

As midnight drew near, Ye Li untied the rope and tied knots at intervals along it so it would be easier for them to climb down later.

Twelve o'clock finally arrived as expected. The surroundings abruptly fell silent once more, save for the biting night wind that continued to howl incessantly.

Standing on the roof and looking around, Ye Li saw the dim, murky, fog-shrouded surroundings. Everything seemed the same as before, yet somewhat different.

Frowning, she decided to head downstairs first and regroup with Le Jun and the others.

Ye Li shouldered her backpack, tied the end of the rope around her waist, pulled it taut, and, gripping the knots, slowly climbed down.

This time, she didn't return to Room 803—it had surely been completely trashed by the horde of corpses—so she descended straight onto the balcony of Room 801.

After landing safely on the balcony, she untied the rope and had Yi Lin and the others pull it back up so they could climb down in turn.

While waiting, Ye Li suddenly noticed that the speed at which the dense fog was spreading seemed much faster than before.

Sensing something was off, she urged the others to hurry up.

By the time everyone had descended safely to the balcony, the dense fog was nearly upon them, accompanied by that eerie rustling sound drawing steadily closer.

“Move!”

Ye Li called out, leading the charge out of the dorm room and rushing downstairs.

The other three, having no idea what was happening, could only follow closely behind.

As they ran out of the dorm building, Ye Li looked back to see that the thick fog had already swallowed half the building, moving more than twice as fast as before.