Mia crawled down from the bed—literally crawled—because only when she tried to stand did she realize just how badly her legs were trembling.

She staggered, then quickly dropped into the chair, her arms almost wrapping around the keyboard as if to hold onto it.

She let out a deeply satisfied breath, as though she had finally found a place of emotional refuge for herself. The computer screen seemed almost uncannily considerate; Mia had no idea whether she had accidentally pressed something, but the display had already switched to an entertainment application.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the content playing before her, completely oblivious to a faint sound, like something slithering through water, continuously wriggling its way toward her room door.

Outside, the corridor stretching into darkness had already been blanketed in hair. Fine strands seemed to grow from everywhere—along the walls, across the doors, and trailing endlessly down the hallway.

They were thin, tangled together in chaotic knots. Not as densely packed as those before Silvanus, but scattered in great numbers, constantly shifting, like countless tiny snakes. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

At that moment, a limping figure moved along the corridor, its silhouette blending into the darkness.

Upon closer inspection, one would realize it was not truly a solid figure at all, but merely countless strands of hair twisted together into a vaguely human shape—yet not human in the slightest.

Its slender neck stretched over two meters long, swaying ceaselessly. Its eyes were nothing more than hollow voids, peering through the doors of each room. Its body had yet to arrive, but its head had already stopped in front of one particular room—not just any room, but Mia’s, from which faint, fragmented sounds from the computer could be heard.

Mia had no idea that danger was already closing in on her. Being immersed in her own interests in such a perilous world gave her a strange sense of satisfaction, as if her mind had gone numb from it.

On the screen, a scene was playing: the female lead was being bullied at the very moment she was declared the "school princess," all because of her overwhelming beauty. However, her ordinary background made her words carry no weight. She should have been the most beautiful flower in the school, yet those wealthy bullies were determined to trample that flower into the mud. No matter how helpless or resentful she felt, she could find no way out.

Mia stared blankly at the screen, at the female lead’s beautiful face. She truly was stunning—fair, rosy skin, and jet-black eyes like priceless black pearls.

Her features as a whole were soft and delicate, radiating a gentle, feminine charm, almost like an angel.

Mia suddenly felt that it was only natural for those twisted-faced young ladies to be jealous of her. The way those young masters looked at her probably explained everything.

But she did not realize that beauty had never been a sin. If those people felt jealousy or desire, that was their fault—it would never be the fault of this beautiful female lead.

Right now, Mia could only marvel at how well-produced this vertical video was. To be able to hire such a beautiful girl—the cost must have been considerable.

Lost in thought, she subconsciously reached up to touch her own face, her attention drifting back to the video once more.

At moments like this, the male lead would definitely appear to save the beautiful heroine. With someone this stunning, Mia was genuinely curious about what the boy who would rescue her looked like. Would he be a prince on a white horse... surely he would...

But she was destined to be disappointed—there was no white horse prince at all...

The male lead—perhaps that was him—though his appearance didn’t resemble a typical male lead in the slightest. His long bangs covered his eyes, making him look unkempt. In a world belonging to young masters and young ladies, he looked even more ordinary than the female lead.

At least she still had a beautiful face.

"You’re not allowed to bully her!" the boy shouted—or at least, it seemed like he did. His voice was so faint it was almost painful to hear, and his legs were trembling nonstop, a strangely contradictory sight.

Mia began to feel a bit uncomfortable. This really wasn’t what she had expected—this was definitely not what she had expected!

The rescue scene she had been waiting for never came. The excitement she should have felt was ruined, and her mind began to tighten again, irritation bubbling up. She even felt the urge to smash everything in sight.

This stupid computer—and that stupid, ugly man on the screen. Yet, for some reason, in a fleeting moment, she found his voice strangely familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

"Stop, stop, stop! Change it to something else—what kind of garbage is this?!"

Mia muttered nonstop. The bluish glow from the screen cast over her face, outlining her tightly furrowed brows and her scowling expression.

Clack clack clack clack clack!

She kept hammering at the keyboard, but it was useless. The screen seemed completely unresponsive. At the same time, the characters in the video suddenly moved in unison, turning their heads to look directly at Mia.

No matter how angry she was, she began to sense something was wrong. There was no way a scene like this—where the characters all turned to stare at the viewer—should be happening.

The anger on her face grew more obvious, but what she couldn’t hide was the urgency and fear rising in her eyes...

"What the hell is going on...?"

She muttered, her voice growing louder with each word. Then she raised her hand and slammed the power button. It was pointless. The computer shook violently under her blows, even making cracking noises as if it might shatter at any moment, yet the screen remained brightly lit.

The eyes within the screen stared straight at her. Smiles began to spread across the characters’ faces—bright, exaggerated, and disturbingly twisted.

Mia’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. Her breathing grew faster and more frantic.

Then, all at once, the people on the screen raised their hands.

The display dimmed further and further, until only their figures remained clearly visible. Their arms stretched longer and longer, their warped smiles never fading, as they reached out toward Mia—offering an invitation.