Luo Di immediately deduced the situation from his companions' reactions and the itching sensation on his face. At the same time, a strange, wet sensation swept across his cheek—as if something was licking him. In his peripheral vision, he saw a tongue, not his own, extending from his cheek, creeping toward the corner of his mouth.
Swish!
With a decisiveness beyond ordinary, Luo Di slashed his Zombie Blade across his own cheek.
Drip, drip—
Blood trickled down, and the sensation of licking disappeared. However, the itch relocated to the other side of his face, accompanied by the voice of a woman:
"Ah~ What youthful vitality! Your male physique is stronger than any man I’ve encountered, and your blood tastes so fresh, so enduring.
"I’ve decided—you’ll be my son-in-law. Agree, and I won’t kill you. Don’t worry, my daughter’s quite pretty—though maybe not as much as the girl beside you—but she’ll soon be dead anyway."
The vile, possessive tone in her words made the class leader's face darken. Her body tensed, and the crowbar in her hand twitched as though it might fly forward at any moment.
However, Luo Di didn’t react as expected. He didn’t raise his blade to slash the other side of his face.
The woman’s voice continued to whisper from the cheek: "What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe you enjoy this kind of closeness with an older woman? That’s fine. I killed my husband two years ago, so I’m single now. My daughter’s still young, so we can take our time finding someone for her—you can live with me instead."
Before she could continue, a sharp pain struck her, as though corrosive venom had begun eating into her skin.
Hiss!
The street lights flickered violently. The woman’s face, which had appeared on Luo Di’s cheek, disappeared, replaced by the pallid, necrotic half-face of a zombie, a result of the blade wound infecting with corpse poison.
The Skin Woman reappeared, hanging from a streetlamp ten meters away. Part of her face was blackened by the poison, but she calmly retrieved rouge and applied it. The corpse poison was masked and dispersed as if it had never existed.
"You’re all quite impressive. No wonder my useless daughter ranks at the bottom of her class here. Auntie can’t wait to bring you home!"
As her mocking words fell, the light flickered again, and she vanished.
Luo Di, reflecting on their close encounter, had pieced together her Fear Manifestation—“Skin”.
This wasn’t like any Impersonator they had encountered before. It transcended the bounds of humanity.
Her flesh and bones had completely disappeared—or, perhaps, had perfectly fused with the skin. The Skin Woman moved as a whole entity, with exceptional camouflage capabilities. She could mimic walls or ground surfaces, blending seamlessly into dimly lit environments. Once close enough, she would attach herself to a person, invading their body through their skin.
As long as Luo Di had the Zombie Blade, he could deal with her to some extent. But if she managed to latch onto the class leader or Xiaoying, the consequences would be dire. Injecting them with corpse poison might not even drive her out, and the poison itself would cause significant harm to their bodies.
The situation was dire.
"So this is what qualifies someone to gain recognition from the Corners and conduct the Seam Selection?"
The three stood shoulder-to-shoulder, on high alert for the Skin Woman’s next approach. She seemed patient, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment when someone’s guard slipped.
This standoff couldn’t last.
Suddenly, the class leader broke the silence. "Luo Di, even for you, killing this special Impersonator will be nearly impossible. If we keep stalling here, we’re all going to die.
"If we drag this out any longer, at least three more Impersonators could find us, and once we’re surrounded, there’s no chance of survival. This old hag probably can’t catch up to my speed. If I can reach the security office in the Academic Building, we’ll have a way out.
"Take care of Xiaoying."
Luo Di froze for a moment. The class leader’s plan seemed like the only way to break the stalemate. He didn’t try to stop her or waste time with meaningless words.
After a moment of silence, Luo Di simply said, "I’ll catch up as soon as I can."
"I’ll be waiting."
The class leader assumed a perfect throwing stance. Supported by her Investigator Combat Gear, her entire body tensed as she gathered strength.
Step forward.
Strength coiled at her heel, transferred through the coordinated effort of her muscles, and reached her arm.
A twist of the waist, a turn of the back—
Whoosh!
The crowbar spun through the air with a whistling sound, hurtling toward a dim section of the wall.
Bang!
The crowbar struck heavily, leaving a fine crack in the wall and triggering an unnatural shudder in the surrounding structure.
Without missing a beat, the class leader transitioned into a sprint. Her upper body tilted nearly 45°, her monstrous speed surpassing her previous record-breaking sprints.
She charged back to the intersection where they had come from and darted toward the Academic Building.
Just as expected, the Skin Woman, having lost her disguise and taken another hit from the crowbar, immediately pursued. Coupled with her earlier desire to claim the class leader’s brain to resurrect her daughter, she gave chase without hesitation.
The Skin Woman, pressed flat against the walls, moved swiftly—nearly as fast as the class leader.
Luo Di knew he couldn’t catch up even if he tried. Since the class leader had sacrificed herself to create an opening, he wasted no time. Sheathing the Zombie Blade, he turned toward the Sports Center. To his surprise, Xiaoying was already fifty meters ahead, yelling back at him.
"Luo Di, hurry! Let’s regroup with the teachers and get the homeroom teacher to head for the security office! We can still save her if we act quickly!"
Xiaoying’s voice cracked as if she was on the verge of tears, but her quick thinking had led her to the right decision. Instead of despairing, she prioritized gathering reinforcements. If they made it in time, the class leader could still be saved.
The two of them ran toward the Sports Center at full speed. Despite the spatial distortions extending the distance, the directions on the signpost proved accurate.
As they moved forward, a large opening in the surrounding walls soon came into view. At the opening stood a wooden sign marked [Sports Center], thoughtfully pointing the way.
Stepping out of the walled corridor and into the track and field area, Luo Di and Xiaoying instinctively stopped in their tracks.
The scene before them was vastly different from what they had anticipated. The field, which should have been crowded with students, was eerily silent.
They had expected either a chaotic scene of mass transformations or the physical education teacher taking full control of the situation. Instead, there was nothing—just an expanse of deserted field. The only notable feature was a metal coffin standing upright at the center of the field, likely used for the graduation combat exam.
The stark emptiness was baffling. Luo Di's mind is filled with questions.
The Seams enveloped the entire campus; the physical education teacher, being highly trained, would have been able to identify the threat immediately. Compared to the more disorganized and claustrophobic Sports Center, the open and spacious track and field area seemed the ideal place for everyone to regroup.
Yet there wasn’t a single soul. The entire field was unsettlingly “clean.”
Logically, if some students here had undergone transformations similar to the dorm supervisor, they would have attacked their peers, endangering the normal students. The teacher would have stepped in decisively. And yet, there were no visible bodies of students.
Only scattered, incomplete corpse fragments dotted the track’s perimeter—hardly enough to account for the large group of students that should have been present.
Where were the people?
Where were the bodies?
What could have prompted the teacher to evacuate the entire field?
Recognizing the urgency of the class leader’s situation, Luo Di and Xiaoying couldn’t afford to waste time. They stepped into the empty track and field area.
Although they hadn’t noticed any particular scent from the outside, as soon as they crossed onto the track, a heavy stench of blood invaded their noses, twisting their stomachs and throats.
For Xiaoying, it was her first time encountering such an overwhelming smell of blood. She reflexively covered her mouth, struggling to suppress her urge to vomit.
Luo Di crouched down near the scattered corpse fragments on the track to examine them closely. The injuries were varied: cuts, tears, and even signs of chemical burns from a strong acid.
"This must be the work of Impersonators... but why are there only a few pieces left around the track’s edge?" he muttered, his voice tinged with confusion.
Before he could think further, Xiaoying—having just adjusted to the smell—suddenly gasped in alarm. “There’s someone over there!”
Her gaze was fixed on the metal coffin standing at the center of the field. Behind it, partially obscured, stood a human figure.
Luo Di followed her line of sight. Due to the angle, they hadn’t seen this person when observing from the edge of the field earlier.
The figure was barely visible in the dim light, appearing as a dark silhouette with polished shoes planted firmly on the grass. The person’s facial features were indistinct, but for Luo Di, the silhouette and attire were enough to identify them.
There was only one individual at the school who matched this slender build and was dressed in such formal clothing.
“Mr. Guo?”
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