Chapter 139: The Lurking Killer, A Professional Murderer

Chapter 139: The Lurking Killer, A Professional Murderer

In the brightly lit classroom, all the examinees' faces turned in unison toward Ji Yan. Bathed in the light, their smiles appeared unnaturally eerie, their lips stretched grotesquely toward their earlobes, distorting their entire facial features.

There were no typical horror elements—no dim lighting, no bloodshed.

Yet, it was precisely this stark, sunlit setting that made Ji Yan's skin crawl even more.

"Candidate 444 has entered the examination hall. Please locate your seat promptly. The exam will begin shortly."

Upon entering, the familiar game interface finally activated, materializing before his eyes.

Ji Yan scanned the room. There was no need to search for a seat—only one remained vacant.

On the chair of that empty seat lay a patch of bloodstains mixed with strands of hair, likely left behind by the previous examinee.

It seemed to silently warn Ji Yan that unknown dangers lurked within this exam.

The desk held nothing but a single blank sheet of paper.

Nothing else.

As Ji Yan sat down, the sticky sensation of blood clinging to his clothes made him grimace in discomfort.

The moment he settled in, a hoarse voice crackled from the speakers in the ceiling corner: "All examinees are now seated. The exam will commence shortly. You have 90 minutes. Submit your papers on time when the exam concludes."

"......?"

Ji Yan froze at the announcement.

He stared at the empty blackboard.

Then at the blank sheet of paper.

Wait—what the hell was he supposed to do?

No subject, no questions, not even a single word—just a blank page, and the exam had already begun!

Tick.

The timer on the podium clicked into motion, its mechanical gears producing crisp, rhythmic sounds, like the steady beating of a heart.

The 90-minute countdown had begun...

Seated at his desk, Ji Yan stared at the blank paper like a grade-schooler confronted with advanced calculus—utterly clueless.

He didn’t even have a pen...

Rustle, rustle.

While Ji Yan sat motionless, the other examinees around him seemed struck by inspiration, their pens scratching furiously across their papers.

The rapid, rhythmic sound of pen tips gliding over paper was like whispered temptations in his ears, unsettling yet mesmerizing.

Ji Yan’s gaze instinctively threatened to stray from his seat, drawn toward the other examinees—perhaps to steal a glance at how they were answering.

But he quickly suppressed the impulse.

He remembered clearly the three exam rules the Supernatural Instructor had recited before they entered.

Looking away could be interpreted as cheating. And as for the punishment for cheating... the sticky blood beneath him might very well be the answer.

His eyes couldn’t leave his seat. His body couldn’t leave his seat. All he could do was stare at a blank exam paper.

Under such extreme constraints, even [Omniscient Understanding] couldn’t be triggered.

Then, suddenly— The blank sheet of paper on the desk trembled slightly.

A line of twisted, blood-red words slowly surfaced on its surface.

Ji Yan’s expression shifted.

His eyes locked onto the text.

"I’m in so much pain... so much pain... They never stop tearing at my body... Will you take me away from here?"

Was this the exam question?

Take who away? This piece of paper?

Holding the exam sheet, Ji Yan grew even more bewildered. Was this the so-called "question"?

Around him, the rustling of pens grew even more melodious.

The entire classroom seemed filled with examinees frantically writing their answers, yet Ji Yan alone sat frozen before a blank sheet of paper, staring at a line of blood-red text that made no sense to him.

Time slipped away like sand through an hourglass.

The ticking clock, the oppressive environment, the exam itself—all these factors chipped away at Ji Yan’s usual calm and rationality, stirring an unfamiliar urgency in him.

Just then, something poked his back—repeatedly, insistently—as if the examinee behind him was trying to warn him about something.

A hushed whisper came from the neighboring seat as well, desperate to convey something but too afraid to speak aloud. The voice was faint, mosquito-like, but Ji Yan caught the words clearly:

"Tear up the blank paper!"

"That’s not the answer sheet—It… will eat you!!"

Ji Yan’s brow twitched.

He had no intention of believing it. In this terrifying, unknown examination hall, everyone was struggling to survive. Who would be foolish enough to risk their life to warn him? Even the most selfless person would have some sense of self-preservation.

Dismissing the insultingly obvious "advice," he suddenly felt something strange beneath him.

The blood on his chair seemed to be… squirming.

Then, the chair and desk trembled slightly as thick, viscous blood seeped from their cracks. The entire seat was now drenched in blood!

As the blood soaked through his clothes and touched his skin, a sharp, stinging pain shot through his nerves. The blood was burrowing into his body!

Ji Yan’s lips twisted.

"Damn! Was that examinee telling the truth? Is the original occupant of this seat really gnawing at me bit by bit?"

Once the seat began bleeding, the whispers around him grew more frantic. The student behind him kicked at his ankle repeatedly.

All of them were desperately urging him:

"Tear up the blank paper, or It will eat you!!"

As the blood continued to invade his flesh, tearing at his skin, Ji Yan gritted his teeth, gripping the blank sheet tightly.

But in the end, he refused to tear it.

Clutching the last shred of his rationality, he set the paper down and reached beneath him, plunging his hand into the pool of blood.

If the blank sheet couldn’t trigger [Omniscient Understanding], then maybe the blood could.

The moment his fingers touched it, his Talent activated.

"Ding! Congratulations, Player, for triggering the Talent [Omniscient Understanding]. Hidden Information successfully obtained."

[What appears to be an exam is, in truth, a hunting ground where a pack of Wolves encircles their prey—Sheep like you, whom they salivate over.]

[Have you heard the tale of Little Red Riding Hood? If you were her, would you trust the Wolf at the door?]

[If not, then stay inside. That is your answer—and the only perfect response to this exam!]

As Ji Yan processed the hidden message, the blood on his palm continued seeping into his body.

Meanwhile, the voices of the surrounding examinees twisted from urgency into something far more sinister.

They were practically clawing at him, as if they wanted to tear the paper apart for him.

Some even grabbed his shoulders, trying to yank him from his seat.

Ignoring their "helpful warnings," Ji Yan endured the agony of his flesh being torn apart.

The pain made his eyelids twitch. The voices around him were no longer anxious—they had turned vicious, furious.

The blank paper was also oozing blood, quickly soaking through its surface and forming a reflective sheen. Under this reflection, it resembled a blurred Bloody Mirror, casting an image above Ji Yan's head...

At this sight, Ji Yan's heart clenched abruptly.

Above his head, countless grotesque and twisted faces were densely packed, their Pitch-Black Eyeballs wide open as they snarled and urged him on in his ears.

From a third-person perspective, all the other "examinees" in the classroom had long since left their seats, encircling Ji Yan's head in layers, their gazes fixed intently on his every move.

It seemed that the moment Ji Yan committed any exam violation, they would swarm him and devour him completely.

Recalling the hint from the Hidden Information, Ji Yan finally understood.

From beginning to end, he was the only actual examinee in this exam hall!

The rest were never examinees at all—they were all "Jackal"-like proctors, watching him with predatory hunger...