"Even if Xiao Yao is stupid, she knows she's encountered something unclean, but it's too late to regret it now. She's completely out of control."

"Just when her mind was in chaos, suddenly, she heard a different sound, a very slow, drawn-out scraping."

"Like a dull knife, cutting at her nerves."

"It was... from the direction of the borrowing desk."

"The next second, Xiao Yao's breathing quickened, her pupils suddenly contracted. Although she couldn't turn her head to look, she already understood what was happening."

"It was that chair, the sound of that chair scraping against the floor!"

"Someone moved that chair!"

"No, that's not right. There was someone already sitting in that chair, but she just couldn't see them."

"Soon, her guess was confirmed. She heard a series of footsteps, each step heavy and slow. Just by listening, she knew it was an unusually tall person."

"She desperately wanted to regain control of her body, but she couldn't."

"Squeak—"

"A door opened."

"Xiao Yao's face was twitching. She could clearly feel a chill getting closer and closer to her. That terrifying thing was coming out of the borrowing area."

"What it was, she didn't know, and didn't dare to guess."

"Thump."

"Thump."

"The footsteps grew closer and closer, heading in their direction. Xiao Yao desperately tried to comfort herself, telling herself that this thing's target wasn't necessarily her, after all, there were so many people here."

"Although she knew, to a large extent, she was lying to herself."

"But if she didn't, she would faint right now, or even be scared to death on the spot."

"Finally, that life-threatening sound of footsteps stopped. Xiao Yao could confirm that the thing had stopped next to the first table."

"She was sitting at the third table."

"After that thing got closer, a burnt, charred smell assaulted Xiao Yao's nostrils, like burnt meat. The more she smelled it, the more her stomach acid kept rising."

"At the same time, there was the clanging of iron chains rubbing against each other."

"Xiao Yao couldn't imagine what this thing was, or what it looked like. It seemed to have transcended her realm of understanding."

"But soon, she was in no mood to think about it, because that thing moved again, coming to the second table, less than five meters away from her..."

"The burnt smell was almost enough to make her faint."

"She could feel control of her body slowly returning to her. Her fingertips could already move slightly."

"If she had enough time, she could escape from here."

"But unfortunately, life doesn't have 'ifs', only results."

"Regret, anxiety, fear, helplessness... a dozen complex emotions mixed together, completely crushing this inexperienced girl."

"She was not even 20 years old, she still had a great future ahead of her, she didn't want to die..."

"Tears burst forth, pattering down her cheeks, dripping onto the notes and blurring the words, everything became a blur."

"Just as that charred-smelling thing took a heavy step and walked towards her table, Xiao Yao gave up struggling."

"She slowly closed her eyes."

"It was all over..."

"But soon, her eyes suddenly opened, because a hand grabbed her wrist. It was the young man next to her. She remembered he was wearing a long black trench coat."

"The next second, that wrist exerted force, pulling her from the chair to the ground. After Xiao Yao fell, she ignored the pain and excitedly moved her hands and feet, discovering that her body could actually move."

"Her first reaction was to run, to get out of here, but although her hands and feet could move, they were still very slow, as if they had been frozen. She probably wouldn't be able to run a few steps before being caught by the thing behind her."

"She hardened her heart and ducked under the table."

"Then, she suddenly remembered that her notebook was still on the table. If the notebook was discovered, that thing would definitely realize that there was still someone here."

"Just when Xiao Yao didn't know what to do, a notebook was quickly thrown under the table. It was the same hand as before, the young man sitting next to her."

"But this time, from this angle, she could see very clearly that the young man's cuff was embroidered with a golden emblem."

"Very small, yet very delicate, even in the darkness, it emitted a faint light. Seeing this light, hope rekindled in Xiao Yao's heart."

"She subconsciously wanted to pull this young man under the table as well, but before she could reach out, the heavy footsteps arrived."

"Logically speaking, hiding under the table, Xiao Yao should be able to see the other person's legs and shoes, but she saw nothing."

"In front of her, there was clearly a terrifying thing standing, the thick, charred smell almost solidifying."

"But she just couldn't see it."

"She covered her mouth, held her breath, and then saw a scene she would never forget."

"The legs of the young man who had saved her began to tremble under the table. A few seconds later, his black leather shoes left the ground, struggling to rise, as if someone had grabbed his head and lifted him up."

"Then, with a whoosh, flames erupted from his body."

"He was like someone who had been doused in gasoline, his body completely enveloped in flames, crackling and popping as it burned, with some kind of oily substance dripping onto the ground, continuing to burn."

"What was even more terrifying was that Xiao Yao, hiding under the table at close range, couldn't feel any heat at all. On the contrary, the surrounding air seemed even colder."

"The terrifying thing didn't seem to be satisfied, and the people at several tables started burning at the same time, the piercing screams repeatedly tormenting Xiao Yao's nerves."

"She desperately covered her ears, trying to escape this nightmare."

"A dozen people burning at the same time, this bizarre scene greatly stimulated Xiao Yao, and she finally couldn't bear it anymore, her head tilted, and she completely fainted."

Yuan Xiaoyi paused for a moment, as if giving herself and Jiang Cheng a buffer of time. A few seconds later, she continued, "When she woke up again, it was the next day. It was the library teacher who found her."

"The door to the third-floor warehouse was open, and she was lying inside. Then she was sent to the school clinic. When she woke up, she struggled for a long time. It is said that two big men couldn't hold her down."

"In the end, she was given a sedative injection before she calmed down a bit."

"You can't imagine that in a semi-conscious state, she was still repeating the event as she remembered it."

"But according to the library teacher and the people from the security department who checked the scene, the door to the fourth floor was locked, and she couldn't get in at all."