Bai Wei's bed is the first one on the right-hand side when you enter the room.

Found it.

Su Tang pinched the small button between her index finger and thumb.

With an extremely subtle and precise movement, she flicked her wrist.

"Whoosh—"

The button, like a precisely calculated bullet, silently pierced through the gap under the door, tracing an almost invisible parabola, and then landed with a "thud" in the deepest, dustiest corner under Bai Wei's bed, closest to the wall.

That spot would be impossible to spot unless a thorough cleaning was done.

And it will lie there quietly for a few days, like a faithful executioner, slowly and thoroughly strangling Bai Wei's reason.

After doing all this, Su Tang stood up, dusted off non-existent dust from her hands, and, as if nothing had happened, went to the bathroom before quietly returning to her bed.

She lay down, pulled the blanket up, and closed her eyes.

In the darkness, her consciousness was icy cold.

...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

The sharp whistle of an emergency assembly once again shattered the pre-dawn tranquility of Battalion No. 3.

The female soldiers' dormitory instantly erupted into chaos, filled with the sounds of people getting dressed, getting out of bed, and hushed complaints.

Su Tang rolled out of bed, her movements as swift as ever. Chen Xiaocao and Liu Landi beside her were also awake. The three of them worked together seamlessly, getting dressed and rushing out of the dormitory within three minutes.

Bai Wei, on the next bed, seemed to be trapped in a nightmare. She didn't sit up abruptly until almost everyone in the dormitory had left.

Her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color, with dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes were bloodshot, filled with fear and confusion.

"Quick! Bai Wei! We're going to be late!" A female soldier from the same dormitory shouted at her and hurriedly ran out.

Bai Wei then seemed to wake from a dream. She hurriedly put on her clothes, but her fingers were trembling so badly that she couldn't get the buckle of her belt right, no matter how hard she tried.

My mind is filled with images from last night.

The colorful origami crane, the blood-like scraps of paper that couldn't be picked off the floor of the washroom, and Chen Xiaocao's face filled with confusion...

Scene after scene, like a movie playing, spun wildly in her mind.

She was still late in the end.

When she arrived at the training field, panting, everyone was already lined up.

"Bai Wei! Step forward!" Instructor Lei Kuan's roar was like a heavy hammer, slamming into her taut nerves. "Look at the time! The whole battalion is waiting for you! Who do you think you are? The military region commander?!"

Bai Wei's body trembled violently, her face flushed with humiliation and shame. She dared not argue, and could only lower her head, standing at the very end of the line.

She could feel the gazes coming from all directions.

These gazes were like needles, pricking her all over.

"Attention, everyone! Five-kilometer armed cross-country run, starting now!"

At Lei Kuan's command, the team began to run forward.

Bai Wei dragged her leaden legs, mechanically following behind the group. Her body had never felt so heavy. The aches and pains in her wrists and lower back were like leeches clinging to her bones. Every swing of her arm and every lift of her leg pulled at the nerves there, bringing sharp, stabbing pains.

What tormented her even more was her mental state.

Her ears became unusually sensitive; the rustling of the wind through the treetops sounded to her like someone whispering behind her back; the heavy breathing of her comrades next to her sounded like someone breathing into her ear.

She couldn't help but look back frequently, but behind her, there was nothing but her equally exhausted comrades.

"What are you looking at? Is there a ghost behind you?" A male soldier running behind her was getting impatient with her suspicious look and muttered irritably.

The word "ghost" was like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of Bai Wei's deepest fears.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and an image of Wang Xiaoya hanging from a tree, her tongue lolling out, her lifeless eyes staring straight at her, uncontrollably flashed into her mind...

"Ah!" she cried out involuntarily, letting out a short scream.

...