Yet what little they could make out through the crack in the door left them utterly astonished.
There, a short distance from the enormous boss, Che Quan and Jiang Cong stood facing it head-on.
Ghost Shadow, who had been unconscious just moments ago, was now waiting attentively behind Che Quan.
What... what was going on?
Che Quan had not noticed how many people were watching him. Or rather, even if he had, he would not have cared in the slightest.
He looked coldly at "Qiao Qiao" before him.
She was a monster swollen to several times her original size from soaking in water.
An eyeball, no longer protected by an eyelid, rolled within a mass of rotten flesh, taking in the scene before her.
So rotten, so foul-smelling, so filthy.
Not a trace remained of the girl she had once been.
After a cursory glance, Che Quan lowered his eyes and began leafing through the object in his hands.
It was a battered, thick diary, filled with who knew how many days and nights.
The quickest and most comprehensive way to understand the whole story was to find the account of someone involved.
When Che Quan had seen the clue on that torn diary page, he had guessed there would be a diary like this in her room.
It seemed he had guessed correctly.
Since he was right, he could settle this through reason. If he had been wrong, he would have had to suppress her by force.
Che Quan skimmed ten lines at a glance, turning the pages so quickly that no one could make them out.
Though "Qiao Qiao" had initially remained still, her swollen eyeball kept darting rapidly around, watching Che Quan.
Once she realized that Che Quan was holding her diary, the monster named "Qiao Qiao" let out a sudden roar. Her rage seemed to hit its peak in an instant, and she was about to lunge at him.
Had "Qiao Qiao" not been encased in that enormous, terrifying body, her behavior would have looked exactly like a bashful girl flying into a humiliated rage after someone peeked at her diary.
Che Quan lazily raised his eyes, glanced at her, and said indifferently, "You still feel shame even after becoming a monster?"
Then he easily dodged "Qiao Qiao's" attack.
Jiang Cong stood outside the battle, making no move to dodge, his expression especially calm and composed.
After seeing how effortlessly Che Quan handled the monster, Jiang Cong quietly entered the room on the right-the monster "Qiao Qiao's" room.
Since Che Quan had just smashed the door open with a punch, nothing impeded his entry.
Che Quan was focused on maneuvering around "Qiao Qiao" and did not notice Jiang Cong's actions at all. Meanwhile, Chang Jianfeng and the others, nervously peeking through the crack in the door, could not see Jiang Cong because of their blind spot. Neither could the livestream viewers.
So no one noticed Jiang Cong's movements.
Billions of eyes were now fixed on Che Quan.
Che Quan effortlessly dodged the attacks while leafing through the thick diary in his hands.
At last, he finished reading it all. He handed the diary to Ghost Shadow, who had been cowering in a corner, and said, "Read. Whichever date I call out, read that entry. Understand?"
Ghost Shadow hurriedly made a series of muffled howling noises.
The live comments were full of doubts about whether this fellow could even speak, whether he could speak human language, and whether they would be able to understand him...
But Che Quan seemed completely unconcerned about any of that.
After handing the diary to Ghost Shadow, he focused his gaze even more intently on "Qiao Qiao," making her shudder.
Despite her inexplicable fear, the sight of her diary in the hands of Ghost Shadow, whom she hated to the core, sent "Qiao Qiao's" rage soaring further. She lunged at him in a murderous frenzy.
Seeing this, Che Quan pierced the pad of his left index finger with a fang. A drop of gold-tinged blood immediately welled from the wound.
The immense oppressive force that followed pinned "Qiao Qiao" in place, leaving her unable to move.
Ghost Shadow was not affected too badly, but he still showed some signs of pain.
Trembling, he hastily opened the diary and read it line by line, following the dates Che Quan called out.
Ghost Shadow's voice was slightly hoarse, like that of a boy whose voice was still breaking.
"M-March 17, sunny.
Today, I got into an argument with Chang XX in class. He told me to come up and solve an equation. I solved it, and both my answer and my working were absolutely correct.
But Chang XX insisted I was wrong. Not only that, he humiliated me viciously, implying to the whole class that there was something shady about my grades.
Ha. How ridiculous.
I know why he's targeting me like this. Miao XX's family gave him a huge sum of money, and Miao XX hates me so much. Of course he has to show whose side he's on.
Shameless.
He doesn't deserve to be a teacher!
But it's fine. Once the big exam is over, I won't have anything more to do with this disgusting trash. I'll have a brand-new life."
As Ghost Shadow finished speaking, "Qiao Qiao" let out an even angrier roar. But under the suppression of Che Quan's pureblood vampire lineage, there was nothing she could do, no matter how furious she became.
Ghost Shadow had been so frightened that he wanted to flee, but once he realized she could no longer lunge at him, he continued reading in a trembling voice-
"April 15, overcast.
I hate my cousin. I hate my family!
Her surname is Ning. She has nothing to do with our Qiao family, so why does everyone take her side and care about her? What about me? What am I to them? Aren't I Mom and Dad's child?
Why won't Mom and Dad let me eat the things I love, saying they're saving them for my cousin?
Why does no one ever believe me when my cousin makes false accusations against me?
I'm bullied mercilessly at school, so why do they still insist both sides must be at fault, that I must have provoked or offended someone?
...I'm so tired. I want to leave this home.
Luckily, I have the best friend in the world. Chen Chen and I are going to get into a good school together and leave this place, leave all these awful people behind."
Toward the end, Ghost Shadow seemed a little stunned and pitying, but it passed in an instant. A moment later, he was still that muddled monster made of black mist.
When "Qiao Qiao" heard the name Chen Chen, her reaction grew even more violent. As though consumed by boundless hatred, she roared and screamed without stopping, looking utterly deranged.
She roared, "I hate you! I hate you all! I hate you! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill every last one of you and make you die horribly! I'll never let you have peace! You'll rot here with me, lifetime after lifetime!"
Ghost Shadow shuddered again.
Seeing this, Che Quan impatiently suppressed the wildly agitated "Qiao Qiao" and ordered Ghost Shadow, "Continue."
Ghost Shadow could only steel himself and keep reading.
"May 25, sunny.
I'm dirty now. Miao XX found the people who did it. Chen Chen watched and didn't save me. She ran away on her own. They were taking graduation photos that day. I didn't go."
"June 9, sunny.
The exams are over. I think I did really well. All I want now is to leave this place."
"June 20, rain.
The results are out I didn't get in I didn't even reach the cutoff for the worst school how is that possible!!!!!!"
The June 20 entry Ghost Shadow read was so full of grief, rage, and disbelief that, apart from the exclamation marks at the end, it did not contain a single punctuation mark.
The crooked handwriting looked deeply horrifying.
When the diary suddenly appeared in close-up on the livestream, the viewers all jumped in fright.
Before you continue