The snake was much faster than expected, and Cheng Shuang couldn't find a place to hide from it unless she had Spider-Man's abilities and could instantly hang from the ceiling.
Unfortunately, not only did she not have it, but her skills were also frozen without her even realizing it.
She soon saw the snake swim across the corridor, over the filing cabinet, and toward her.
Life-or-death situations do indeed trigger human instincts.
The little girl's mind was racing; before she could even figure out what to do next, her hands were already moving.
She grabbed a glue stick and a few sheets of white paper from the desk, quickly cleared a section of paper, and as she crawled inside, she used the glue stick to stick each piece of paper to the outside of the horizontal board above. She silently prayed that the silver python would be careful with the paper and move it gently, and that it wouldn't dare to put its heavy body on the paper and knock it over, so she should be safe.
Cheng Shuang didn't dare to make any promises. Her little fists were clenched tightly as she hugged the few documents that she had asked to leave but had nowhere to go, wishing she could wrap them all over her body.
When the hissing sound was close to her ear, the little girl couldn't help but tremble. The snake's tongue flicked across the paper curtain, leaving a large water stain on it. The silvery-white scales shimmered, beautiful as they were, but they also revealed a cold and inhuman cruelty.
It slid slowly by, the filing cabinet creaking and groaning. She trembled so much that she could hardly tell whether it was her own fear that made her lose control of her body, or the groans emanating from the filing cabinet itself.
The filing cabinet's quality has stood the test; at least after the snake's tail slid past, it still stood firmly in place, showing no sign of falling apart.
Only after the silver python slithered down the corridor to the next row of filing cabinets did Cheng Shuang wipe away a cold sweat, lift the paper curtain, and try to find a way out before the next patrol arrived.
Yes, she no longer intends to leave her information behind. What's the point of leaving it? It's clearly a sacrifice; is she being used as a sacrifice?
The little girl cursed the wicked teachers at the boarding school in her heart; their actions were no less than those of ghosts.
There were more than ten brown paper bags stacked together. She planned to look for a way out while also searching other desks and collecting any similar ones she found.
Because the storage compartments were unusable, she folded the bags and put them all into her backpack. They weren't heavy, but the backpack bulged out.
To prevent herself from forgetting about her backpack and being unwittingly betrayed by it, the little girl carried it in front of her. Just as she was about to turn around and go to the next alley, she heard a piercing, sharp cry, followed by the heavy, weak thumping of running footsteps rushing towards her.
Cheng Shuang nimbly climbed into the filing cabinet, opened the glue stick, and reinforced the paper curtain.
A man hurried in from the corridor, sweating profusely, his face contorted with terror. A few steps away, a huge silver python followed closely behind, its speed increasing many times over, and the two were getting closer and closer.
The little girl was equally terrified. She clenched her fists, wanting to lower her head and avoid seeing the tragedy to come, but her eyes couldn't help but be fixed on the man and the snake.
When the silver python cornered the man in front of the desk, with no way to escape, the man suddenly pulled open the desk drawer, making a sour rubbing sound. He took out something, a large handful, and scattered it between himself and the silver python.
This was the first time Cheng Shuang had heard a snake scream.
A loud hissing sound.
It sounded like the prelude to anger, or perhaps a long, painful cry.
Then, in the next second, the silver python retreated, and in the blink of an eye, its body moved backward in an unnatural way.
They disappeared in just a few breaths.
The little girl looked at the man in surprise. He was holding a large bottle of crystals that looked a bit like salt, but she knew it was definitely not salt because the man was wearing gloves and carefully shaking the crystals remaining on his gloves into the bottle, while vigorously shaking his hands.
"Uncle, what is this?" Without thinking too much, Cheng Shuang lifted the paper curtain and peeked out.
The man was startled at first, looking around. When his gaze settled on a certain spot in the filing cabinet, his brows furrowed slightly in surprise and uncertainty. Then, he turned and walked away without paying any attention, clearly indicating that he didn't want to deal with the trouble he had encountered.
The little girl was startled; this was the only thing that could repel the wild beasts, and she had to find out what it was.
She jumped off the cabinet and grabbed the man, even though she knew her actions were a bit annoying, but she really couldn't think of any other way.
She could hide, but going back and forth would take too long, and she didn't know when she would find any clues to the Gate of Reincarnation. She couldn't waste her energy on endless hiding.
"Uncle, please, please tell me what these are? I'll find them myself. Uncle, I don't want to die, and I don't want to trouble you or cling to you, I..."
He forcefully pulled at the little girl's hands twice, and seeing that she was holding on tightly, the man shouted angrily. Then, he looked around warily, grabbed a small handful from the bottle with an impatient expression, and stuffed them into Cheng's hands.
The little girl hurriedly took it; it felt a bit hot to the touch and smelled like sulfur soap, very pungent.
Fortunately, she had put on gloves early on, otherwise she might have burned her skin.
Because she had taken over the crystals, she let go, and the man seized the opportunity to shout angrily, "Get out of here, don't follow me!"
"Uncle, I..."
"I told you, don't follow me, or I'll kill you!" The man pulled out a knife and brandished it menacingly. With his other hand, he shoved Cheng Shuang hard and ran away without looking back.
In an attempt to protect the small handful of crystals in her hand, Cheng Shuang lost control and bumped into the corner of the table, the pain bringing tears to the little girl's eyes.
She bent over and rested for a while before slowly putting a small handful of crystals into the front pocket of her backpack. Only then did she take off her gloves and rub her lower back.
Fortunately, she had gradually gotten used to the pain, and it was still bearable compared to the lacerations on her waist and abdomen that night at the girls' college.
The little girl twisted her body, and seeing that she could move freely, she began to study the crystal.
It's not quite right to say crystals; it should be powder.
Because it's sparkly, it looks like a luminous crystal.
She went to the desk, put on gloves, and searched the drawer for any remaining items. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the drawer except for a small lighter.
She didn't touch the lighter; lighting a fire in this environment filled with wood and paper would be suicide.
Cheng Shuang hugged her pitiful and impoverished self, and after waiting for a while and finding that no more wild beasts were patrolling, she quickly began searching.
The teachers' offices, which resembled warehouses, became increasingly dark the further away one went. Not long ago, it was so dark that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face, which is why she stopped there.
It won't work if we keep going.
The little girl's intuition told her that something terrifying, like a ferocious beast, was lurking in the darkness, so she retreated and went back.
Aside from finding a few more red-sealed kraft paper envelopes with the same documents as the ones she had, she didn't encounter a single person among the uniform filing cabinets and desks.
The man seemed like a passerby who had strayed into the wrong space, coming and going in a hurry without leaving a trace. Fortunately, the wild beasts also stopped their patrols.
But Cheng Shuang didn't feel safe.
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