My Reasoning Was Flawless

"This world is really getting more and more dangerous..."

With a book tucked under his arm as he headed to the classroom for morning self-study, Bai Zhi recalled the Anomaly that had brazenly come straight for him before and frowned slightly.

People always cared more about what they had lost. He had already died once, so he did not want to die again.

To be honest, he had not expected it to come directly to his door. But he could not understand what those Anomalies were thinking, so he could only assume it was lashing out in embarrassment after being tricked by him yesterday.

But then again, what exactly had it meant by putting on that show and coming to tell him all that incomprehensible nonsense?

Rubbing his chin, Bai Zhi began to ponder.

Human fear mostly came from the unknown. If it had kept hiding, he might have been a little more concerned, but that idiotic stunt it pulled this morning... he truly could not make heads or tails of it.

As he walked and thought, a pale figure emerged directly from the rarely visited Emerald Bamboo Forest beside the path, then headed straight toward him expressionlessly.

"Reading in the bamboo forest first thing in the morning?"

Looking at the familiar figure he had seen at the breakfast shop only minutes ago, Bai Zhi sighed inwardly and stepped slightly aside to make way.

So, before his Fiery Golden Eyes, no disguise could remain hidden. It was actually very easy to tell the real thing from a fake.

Take that person at the breakfast shop who had tried to cozy up to him earlier—it was obviously a fake. The one before him, who showed no expression upon seeing him and was afraid he might pester her again, was clearly the real deal. Only a Fool would get them mixed up, right?

During the few seconds he spent sighing inwardly, Lin Xiaoyi, who had emerged from the bamboo forest, had already reached his side. What seemed rather strange, however, was that her emotionless eyes remained fixed firmly on him as she walked. Even after reaching his side, she continued staring at him, making for a thoroughly bizarre sight to outsiders.

Is she that wary of me? It seems the Previous Self's relentless pestering really left her with quite a psychological shadow...

After sighing inwardly, Bai Zhi simply stepped all the way to the roadside. After thinking for a moment, he even raised a hand and gave her a friendly greeting to show that he meant no harm.

Lin Xiaoyi: "..."

Perhaps his sincerity had moved her. When he smiled and waved at her, Bai Zhi could clearly see her body stiffen noticeably before she quickly vanished from his sight.

"Ah, I hope she can get over that psychological shadow soon..."

Watching her retreating back, which looked rather like she was fleeing in panic, Bai Zhi shook his head regretfully and continued toward the morning self-study room.

For the series of privileges available to top students, he felt that his most important goal now was to study hard and improve every day.

As he passed the open space in front of the teaching building, he saw the little boy playing Shadow Stomping there again. Unlike yesterday, when he had been playing alone, several companions were now clearly playing with him.

"Elementary school students get up this early too? Compulsory education these days..."

Shaking his head, Bai Zhi followed his usual practice and carefully avoided him so the boy would not step on his shadow. With that remark, he strode away.

What he did not see was that, on the side facing away from him, the several companions playing the Game with the little boy wore mature terror utterly unsuited to their age. Yet they still stiffly cooperated with him.

Like... Wooden Puppets.

Morning self-study was not mandatory in university, but first-year students were specifically required to attend it.

By the time Bai Zhi arrived at the classroom, about half the seats were already occupied here and there. His arrival did not cause much of a stir. Although some people were surprised that someone who had long been absent from morning self-study had actually shown up, their reactions went no further than surprise.

Bai Zhi did not care about that. He walked straight to the last row and found himself a seat.

If anyone had actually greeted him, he would have felt awkward instead. Among the several dozen classmates in the class, he could name fewer than five... so the Previous Self truly had been an unadulterated oddball.

He quietly read for the entire morning, and morning self-study soon ended. The morning classes followed right after.

However, just before the first class began, a small commotion broke out at the front of the classroom. Out of curiosity, Shi Bai went over to listen, and he received news that made his expression turn grave.

A student in the class had gone missing.

The missing student's name was Luo Hao, a somewhat bookish-looking young man who wore Glasses. After the chemistry lab class ended yesterday afternoon, he said he was going back to the classroom to get something. He never returned to the Dormitory after that, and there was still no news of him this morning. His phone could not be reached at all.

With the first class about to begin and Luo Hao, who had never skipped class before, still showing no sign of arriving, his Roommate finally panicked and reported the matter to the Teacher.

Coincidentally, a neighboring class had also suffered a disappearance. However, three people had gone missing from that class at once. Their circumstances were identical to Luo Hao's—they had been unreachable since yesterday afternoon, had not returned to the Dormitory, and their phones could not be reached at all.

With student safety at stake, the school took the matter extremely seriously. After briefly reassuring the students, they immediately called the police.

Because of this sudden incident, the morning classes were forced to be canceled. The students had no mind to study, and the teachers had no mind to teach. Thus, Bai Zhi, who had rarely attended class without skipping, was forced to skip class today.

"Besides the Anomaly stalking me, has a new Anomaly appeared in the school...?"

He put his book into the desk drawer, walked out into the corridor, and raised his head to look at the bright, breezy weather outside. Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.