Volume One, Chapter 18: Making Lu Li Cry

Lin Beiye felt a deep aversion to Lu Li’s sudden greeting. Why did she have to show up now, neither earlier nor later? Did she think he was a fool? After enduring humiliation for so long, she was just going to swoop in and take all the credit?

Lin Beiye ignored Lu Li’s outstretched hand and instead glanced at Ye Zheng beside him, a playful smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“Tell me, do you believe I’m the one holding the recommendation slot?”

Ye Zheng’s eyes widened in shock. “Dude, what did you just say?”

Lin Beiye repeated his words loudly as he strode past Lu Li, making sure everyone present could hear him clearly.

“I said, I’m the one holding the recommendation slot!”

His gaze narrowed slightly. He crouched briefly, then suddenly surged forward toward the student who had just mocked him.

With a sweeping motion of his arm, an invisible gust sliced past the student’s face. The student’s legs buckled instantly, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Silence fell over the entire hall.

Everyone was stunned, rooted to the spot, unsure of what to say. Even Li Jinhe, watching from upstairs, covered her mouth in disbelief and whispered, “That was Lin Beiye? Could it be that he’s been pretending all along?”

Her brow furrowed as she pondered the earlier events. Those ghostly figures—the black and white spirits—had appeared right before Lin Beiye. At the time, she thought she had been mistaken, but now it seemed otherwise. Coupled with what had happened the previous night, during which Lin Beiye was also present, Li Jinhe dared not think further. If her suspicions were true, Lin Beiye was far more terrifying than anyone imagined.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes at the monitoring station, Li Yan and Yao Zhihan exchanged glances. Unlike Li Jinhe’s creeping dread, the two remained remarkably calm.

Yao Zhihan gave Li Yan a thumbs-up. “Yan, you really have an eye for people. I also thought Lin Beiye was just an ordinary student, but it turns out he’s good at hiding his true self.”

Li Yan nodded expressionlessly. Lin Beiye’s behavior was entirely within her expectations. Yet, what she wanted to learn from him went far beyond this.

Back in the waiting hall, Lin Beiye stood over the student, looking down on him.

“I was just too lazy to bother with you,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean you can provoke me endlessly.”

In truth, Lin Beiye had no intention of actually striking. However, the earpiece transmitter in his pocket had relayed every word to Li Yan’s ears.

If he continued to endure silently, then after passing the fear test, Li Yan’s suspicions about him would only deepen. After all, how could anyone explain a timid, cowardly person passing a fear test?

With that, Lin Beiye turned and walked away, never once giving Lu Li a direct glance.

Ye Zheng, bubbling with enthusiasm, rushed over. “Man, you’re incredible! You totally shut him down!”

Lin Beiye waved him off, his eyes briefly flicking to Lu Li. “I wasn’t planning to get involved, but I can’t stand those who like to trample others to climb higher.”

Lu Li naturally caught the implied accusation, but she did not retort. Instead, she smiled and said, “You must be mistaken, my friend.”

She pulled out the wired earphones still connected to her phone and showed them to Lin Beiye. “I was just listening to music, really didn’t notice what was going on.”

“If that made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

But Lin Beiye suddenly surprised her by pulling her into his arms and reaching into her pocket.

Shock and disbelief flashed across Lu Li’s face as she stared at him.

Leaning close to her ear, Lin Beiye whispered, “Listening to music? Let me see if you’re really listening or just pretending.”

Hearing this, Lu Li panicked. “No… don’t!”

But it was too late. Lin Beiye decisively yanked off her earphones.

A cheerful, upbeat song burst out, its melody as festive as “Good Luck Comes.”

Lin Beiye was momentarily stunned. Damn, she really was listening to music! And such a comically cheerful song at that—it was almost laughable.

Flushing with embarrassment, Lu Li hurriedly turned off the music.

She had been using music to numb herself, but now her tough facade was mercilessly torn away. She wanted nothing more than to disappear into the ground.

Lin Beiye noticed the glistening tears at the corner of her eyes. It seemed he had misunderstood her.

Just as he was about to apologize, Lu Li bit her lip, fighting back tears, and choked out, “You… pervert!”

Then, she quickly pushed through the crowd and rushed to the restroom.

Lin Beiye stood there, baffled and unsure what to do.

Fortunately, Ye Zheng called out beside him, “What are you standing around for? Let’s go, the second round’s already started!”

The crowd snapped back to attention and turned to the big screen to look for their names.

Ye Zheng gave a thumbs-up, admiration shining in his eyes. “Man, you’re the only one I respect right now!”

“The school beauty from West City Middle School just lets you hug her like that—so fierce!”

Lin Beiye was speechless, pointing to the screen. “Let’s check the list for the second round.”

Ye Zheng nodded, and they walked over together.

After the recent events, Lin Beiye’s reputation had reversed dramatically.

Many people consciously parted to make way for him. After all, this was someone who had secured a coveted recommendation slot. Cultivating a good relationship might even get them a free ride.

Students from East City Middle School, who once looked down on Lin Beiye, had now spontaneously become his followers.

Lin Beiye paid little mind to this. He scanned the big screen for his name.

At the same time, his peripheral vision caught the scrolling results from the previous round.

Out of over a hundred students, only the one with the broken leg had made it through; the rest hadn’t appeared.

This meant that almost all students in the last round had been wiped out—dead.

The atmosphere grew even more oppressive.

Some students, overwhelmed by pressure, went mad, pointing at the screen and shouting, “This isn’t a test list! It’s a death list! I don’t want to die! I’m not taking this test! I want to go home! I want to go home!”

The sudden outburst shook the entire hall.

Seeing the situation worsening, members of the Ghost Slaying Division quickly sprang into action.

“Yan, some students want to quit. What do you think...?”

“They have the right to choose for themselves.”

With Li Yan’s approval, the team asked, “If anyone wants to give up, please come this way for processing.”

The students looked at one another hesitantly.

After some internal struggle, about a quarter of them eventually left.

The rest, though still fearful, did not want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

They carefully searched the big screen for their names, eager for the painful and long wait to end.

Lin Beiye was doing the same.

Suddenly, he saw his name, along with Ye Zheng’s and Lu Li’s, all listed.

So the second round was already his turn.

Though a bit tense, Lin Beiye felt no fear whatsoever.

He patted Ye Zheng on the shoulder. “Let’s go. It’s our turn.”

Ye Zheng licked his lips excitedly.

Before, he had been somewhat scared, but now that he had Lin Beiye by his side, all fear had vanished.

“Bro, make sure to carry me through!”