So You're the Mastermind, Huh?

Behind Hengtan Elementary School.

The Abandoned Teaching Building.

Deep in the darkness where sunlight cannot reach.

Lin Quan curled up in the corner, his body trembling from time to time.

Terrifying memories assaulted him.

"What did we ever do to you?"

"Is telling the Teacher the only thing you know how to do?"

"How long have you been using this ragged schoolbag? Even my dog's bed is better than this."

"Fatty, I heard you have a crush on the class monitor? Is it true? I'm going to go ask her!"

"We're just joking, can't you take a joke? You stingy crybaby, such a fragile heart."

"Yo, your mom made you a chicken leg? Looks not bad, let me have a bite."

"You dare glare at me? Fine, don't leave after school."

...The speed of the flashing memories accelerated, finally twisting into a chaotic mess.

Only the surging, rising and falling clamor of voices remained, drowning out his ears.

"No, don't..."

His body shook more violently.

Finally, the chaotic memories stopped shifting and froze on a single image.

"How pitiful."

A man wearing red Leather Shoes walked toward his battered, bruised body.

With a question filled with feigned pity, like the seductive whisper of a Demon, "Shall we make a deal?"

"Will you be a coward for a lifetime, or a Hero for a single moment?"

"Ah--"

His body stopped trembling.

He remembered.

He was no longer "Lin Quan."

The thing curled up in the corner slowly stepped out of the shadows.

As the light gradually illuminated it, a... massive "Schoolbag Man" stood in the debris-strewn abandoned classroom.

It was a giant, filthy, heavily worn "Schoolbag Man," with human facial features vaguely visible on its surface, its shoulder straps propped against the ground to form legs.

The bulging schoolbag looked as if it were stuffed with heavy objects, ready to burst at any moment, a rusted zipper split open to reveal a gap.

"How long have you been using this ragged schoolbag? Even my dog's bed is better than this."

"Don't leave after school."

The words of the bullies echoed faintly from within.

A schoolbag that should have been filled with knowledge was now packed with humiliating memories.

Lin Quan was already dead.

He was...

Accompanied by the groaning of fabric under unbearable strain, he slowly dragged his straps, walking out of the trashed classroom with his back to the light.

Because he smelled the scent of more than one living person approaching.

Without a doubt, they must be here to bully him too.

"Cannot forgive..."

A low, murky roar emanated from the darkness deep within the schoolbag's zipper.

A dangerous aura spread naturally, causing the walls to be stained pitch black inch by inch, aging them by a decade in the blink of an eye.

Then go and kill them--

It is the urban Ghost Story that haunts the Abandoned Teaching Building.

"Is this the place?" Section Chief Liu examined the Abandoned Teaching Building before him with a solemn expression.

The collapsed Iron Gate was covered in moss, and a faint smell of rot permeated the air.

The walls were covered in deep green ivy, yet it showed no signs of life; instead, because the towering ancient trees blocked the sunlight, it appeared eerie and sinister.

"Yes, we have received more than one report, with people swearing they saw strange things here."

Captain Wang followed beside Section Chief Liu, behind them a group of Commissioners from the Special Management Department were surveying the environment.

"Hmm, this situation falls under the category of urban Ghost Story. If it's confirmed, a field team is usually dispatched to handle it."

Section Chief Liu shook his head and casually pulled out a cigar.

"But since it's landed right in our laps, there's no reason to stand by and watch."

As he spoke, he gave the silver white briefcase in his left hand a little shake.

"That would be greatly appreciated."

Captain Wang hurriedly produced a lighter to light the cigar for Section Chief Liu.

"With you stepping in, is there anything that can't be solved!"

Section Chief Liu smiled, neither confirming nor denying the statement.

"However, I must first file a report to my superiors and get their approval for our operation."

"Rest assured, it shouldn't take long."

While speaking, he habitually and cautiously observed his surroundings.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

He kept feeling that the atmosphere around them was undergoing some subtle change.

In a trance, the sunlight seemed to be shifting.

The shadows were deepening.

It was as if, with the approach of living beings, this Abandoned Teaching Building...

Was being awakened along with them.

--At this, Section Chief Liu frowned slightly.

Infirmary.

Sky-blue curtains blocked out the sunlight, and the cool room was quiet and serene.

Liu Huahua, the daughter of whom Section Chief Liu of the Black Box Special Management Department was most proud, slowly woke from her deep sleep, her small hands rubbing her dazed eyes.

"Ah!"

As her vision cleared, she suddenly cried out in alarm.

Because her Homeroom Teacher was sitting silently by her bed, peeling an apple.

"Awake?"

The round-faced teacher wearing glasses handed the apple over. "Want some?"

Sitting up from the hospital bed, Liu Huahua took the apple in a daze, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the round-faced teacher blinked her eyes:

"Actually, you don't have a fever, do you?"

"!!" Student Liu shuddered as if her fur had been ruffled, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Tea-tea-teacher Yuan... h-h-how did you know?"

"Because you've been acting a bit strange lately, and you've been talking less."

"I've been observing you for a while now."

Teacher Yuan looked into her eyes, her voice soft.

"What exactly is the matter? Can you tell your teacher?"

"But... alright."

After hesitating for a long time, Liu Huahua finally stammered out the experiences she had been through during this period.

She was faking illness because she didn't want to go to school.

To be precise, she was being bullied by a classmate.

The students in her class all picked on her, saying she was a child without parents because they rarely saw her parents come to pick her up.

She didn't know what her parents did for a living either; sometimes she felt they might be elite agents of some mysterious organization, busy traveling the world every day to save it.

Otherwise, how could they be so busy—busy to the point where they had no time for her, just leaving her behind in a boarding school like this?

But most of the time, she didn't actually want her parents to be some Superhero.

She just wanted them to be by her side every day, just like the Strawberry Bear they had given her for her last birthday.

The children bullying her were actually only a few, but the more she was bullied, the less she wanted to talk to people, and the less she talked, the more unscrupulous the bullies became.

And so, gradually, she grew fond of faking illness.

As long as she ran to the infirmary to hide, everything became quiet.

The smell of disinfectant was reassuring, and the sound of the wind rustling the leaves outside the window was soothing.

Once the door to the infirmary was closed, and with the sky-blue curtains drawn, all those annoying things in the school seemed to have vanished into another world.

But in doing so, her studies fell behind.

This time, she had faked it too convincingly, which only served to attract the Homeroom Teacher's attention.

It's over, it's over, I'm finished...

Liu Huahua muttered to herself, shivering under the covers as she carefully observed Teacher Xiao Yuan's unpredictable expression.

Are there any elementary school students who aren't afraid of their teachers?

"..."

Teacher Xiao Yuan's brows were tightly locked.

After listening to Liu Huahua's stammering description, she felt both furious and bewildered.

According to Liu Huahua, she was frequently bullied by a few girls in the class.

Distressed, Liu Huahua had gradually begun to seek escape, even going so far as to consider dropping out of school.

This was a matter of extreme severity.

As the Homeroom Teacher, the fact that such bullying had occurred in her class without her noticing was a grave dereliction of duty!

She would never allow such a vile thing to happen right under her nose.

However...

"However."

Teacher Xiao Yuan looked solemnly at Classmate Liu Huahua.

"There is absolutely no one in the class who matches the people you described."

"...Eh?" Liu Huahua's mouth fell open, her face full of confusion.

"--Just because you cannot see them, does not mean they do not exist."

At that moment, a man's voice drifted in from outside.

A sunny man wearing a White Coat pushed the door open and entered.

"Doctor!" Liu Huahua cried out instinctively, her voice filled with affection.

Because every time she came to the infirmary to fake illness after being bullied, this doctor would also act as her Psychologist.

He listened quietly to Liu Huahua's secrets and patiently offered her guidance.

In Liu Huahua's eyes, this doctor was an incredibly reliable Elder Brother.

The doctor looked at Teacher Xiao Yuan and sighed:

"It is precisely because of teachers like you who do not believe their students that Classmate Liu is in so much pain and afraid to open up to you."

"You seem like the kind of vile teacher who, if a student were beaten, would ask, 'Why did they only hit you and not someone else?'"

"That's not true..." Teacher Xiao Yuan's eyes widened.

As the Homeroom Teacher, how could she not know whether those students existed in her class!

"Forget it, I can't be bothered to reason with you; you aren't worthy of listening."

The doctor Elder Brother sneered with disdain, then his gaze softened as it fell upon Liu Huahua:

"Classmate Liu, come with me."

"Eh? Um..."

Liu Huahua was stunned for a moment, then her eyes became dazed and hazy.

She stiffly climbed off the bed and wobbled toward the doctor.

"Wait, where are you taking her?" Teacher Xiao Yuan began to feel that something was wrong.

"That is none of your concern."

The doctor waved his hand dismissively.

"How can I not be concerned!" Teacher Xiao Yuan stood up anxiously, trying to block their path.

"Hum--"

The air vibrated like the echoing drone of a cicada.

A palm struck Teacher Xiao Yuan's thin shoulder.

Like a ragdoll, Teacher Xiao Yuan's body flew backward, dragging across the floor.

Looking coldly at Teacher Xiao Yuan, who lay on the ground with a collapsed shoulder, groaning in pain.

The doctor spoke in a cold voice, shielding the vacant-eyed Liu Huahua behind him:

"Stay away from my Art Piece."

Within her field of vision, there was nothing but the doctor's glaring, vivid red Leather Shoes.

Teacher Xiao Yuan's mind went completely blank.

What was that?

Who is he? A monster?

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts...

The development unfolding before her eyes had completely exceeded everything she had known in her twenty-plus years of life.

"Why must you stop your student from rushing toward a better person?"

"You are truly a selfish person."

The Doctor said softly, as if brushing dust off his hands, his face filled with disgust.

"I was already in a bad mood to begin with."

"A group of disgusting fellows showed up out of nowhere, forcing me to abandon the first Art Piece I worked so hard to cultivate."

"Are you really going to stop me from taking away the second... unfinished product whose ritual has yet to be completed?"

As he spoke, he began to unconsciously tap the heel of his red Leather Shoes, making a "tap, tap, tap" sound against the floor.

He started biting his fingernails, his speech accelerating as he rambled on in a neurotic frenzy.

"--Do you know how long I've been lurking in this small infirmary, how much heart and blood I've poured in, and how many illusion-based guidance sessions I've conducted just for the sake of the Art Piece's formation?"

"You don't know, you don't know anything!"

"If teachers were truly models of virtue, how could I have ended up the way I am now?"

"If you had noticed the abnormalities earlier, neither Lin Quan nor Liu Huahua would have ever reached this point!"

"You are no different from those damned cockroaches at the Special Management Department; that pathetic, miserable thing you call a sense of responsibility is nauseating just to catch a whiff of!"

By the time he said this, the Doctor's expression had revealed an incomparable ferocity.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Heavy footsteps landed on the floor.

He paced irritably, his shadow stretching across the ground, obscuring Teacher Xiao Yuan's helpless and bewildered expression.

An intense fear gripped her heart; she tried to cry out for help, but it was clearly to no avail.

"--For someone like you, how could you ever change?"

"Go to hell!"

The Doctor's cold, angry words fell to the floor.

He raised his hand—

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

A cheerful knocking sound rang out, shattering the tense atmosphere.

—Who is it?

At a time like this?

The Doctor turned back ferociously, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, radiating murderous intent.

Then, the door was pushed open.

"Is anyone there?"

A Youth wearing a gold chain poked his head out from behind the door.

Two pairs of bewildered, confused eyes landed on him.

Surveying the indescribable scene, Bai Zhou blinked his eyes and gave an awkward smile:

"Sorry, wrong room."

Then, with a "click,"

Bai Zhou closed the door and vanished without hesitation.

"..." The Doctor turned his head back to look at the teacher, his expression turning ferocious once more.

Regardless, he would deal with the problem at hand first.

Things had to be solved one by one; that was his life philosophy.

"Boom—"

This time, it was a sudden, deafening roar.

"Oi—"

A sharp cry reached his ears.

Again?

The Doctor turned around.

He saw that person crashing in through the window right before his eyes.

Glass shattered, spraying everywhere with a clatter.

Brilliant sunlight poured in.

The Youth descended from the sky.

In his hand, he brandished a metal bench leg picked up from who knows where.

"What the..."

The Doctor only felt that this kid was insane.

And utterly ridiculous.

Having watched two third-rate spy movies, he was now playing the part of a Hero saving a damsel in distress.

But could you at least trade that comical bench leg for a knife first?

But the next instant, he felt that something was wrong.

Because the moment the bench leg neared him, an inexplicable, scorching sensation swept through his entire body.

A heat as if he were about to be ignited, combined with a bone-chilling sharpness, set off alarm bells throughout his entire being.

An Extraordinary!!

Bad!

He looked up, only to see that massive bench leg descending upon his head in a posture that was both unexpected and grandly imposing.

It filled his entire field of vision!

[Three Year Cicada]!

His seasoned Extraordinary experience allowed the Doctor to unleash a secret technique without a moment's hesitation.

The sound of cicadas rang out once more.

The Spirituality of a Level 1 Envoy was mobilized with desperate intensity.

But in the very next instant, The opponent swung his left hand over.

Could he have another secret technique?!

The Doctor widened his eyes, looking on with instinctive tension.

Dust filled the air, rushing toward his face.

It all plastered itself directly into the Doctor's eyes.

A scorching, stinging pain instantly swept through the Doctor's entire body.

"Ah--!!!"

Dammit, lime?!

How could it be lime!!

His vision went black, and the movement to execute [Three Year Cicada] was forced to a halt. He had only just let out a cry of extreme agony when—

A faint, muffled echo reached his ears:

[...Slash]

"Boom!"

A brilliant flame streaked across the sky.

Behind the crescent-moon blade light, the Youth swept through mid-air like a bird, his figure branded into Teacher Xiao Yuan's dazed eyes—

The wind whistled, robes fluttered, and the Youth swung his blade.

Incomprehensible, yet unforgettable for a lifetime.

Standing before Teacher Xiao Yuan, Bai Zhou hoisted the bench leg onto his shoulder, yet remained alert and vigilant, ready to strike the Doctor again at any moment.

"Damn, I should have asked before I started."

He suddenly slapped his forehead, looking somewhat annoyed.

"You are that terrifying Mastermind who calculates everything, right?"

...Looking at the Blood Worship Cultist rolling on the ground and wailing in tears, Bai Zhou added with some uncertainty.

"Or are you, uh, a heinous... Blood Worship Cultist?"