At Shuntian No.3 Middle School, in the classroom of Grade 12 Class 5, a scene like this was unfolding.
All the students were staring, dumbfounded, at a petite female teacher on the podium, who stood with her mouth slightly agape, revealing no white teeth, and her clear, bright black pupils completely overtaken by white ones, standing there like a statue.
This time, it was longer than the last.
Yan Junze couldn't help but mentally count the seconds, feeling like seven or eight seconds had passed, but Zhang Tiantian still looked weird and terrifying.
"Teacher... Teacher Zhang!"
After a brief silence, a male student sitting in the front row couldn't help but call out.
As soon as he spoke, Zhang Tiantian's neck gently twisted with a crackling sound as she turned toward the male student. However, her pupils remained white.
Her previously slightly open mouth gradually continued to widen, as if an invisible hand was stretching it, still revealing no teeth. At that moment, that once charming and alluring mouth seemed to turn into an unfathomably deep black hole.
Utter silence. Throughout the widening of her mouth, Zhang Tiantian didn't make a sound.
But the next second, at least seven female students screamed simultaneously, their high-pitched squeals rivaling the climax of Vitas' Opera #2.
Yan Junze just felt a buzzing in his ears and almost went deaf. All the students stood up and rushed towards the classroom door in a frenzy.
"Damn, let's go! Something's wrong with Teacher Zhang!" Zhou Dali grabbed Yan Junze's collar.
Yan Junze had no time to think and, in a flash, he and Zhou Dali squeezed out of the classroom. From start to finish, he never had the chance to touch the ground and was dragged to safety by Zhou Dali, like a kite in the wind.
Hearing the screams, nearby classrooms erupted into chaos as teachers and students alike ran out of their rooms, surging forward to find out what was happening.
However, after hearing the scattered accounts from the students of Grade 12 Class 5, most people's faces immediately changed color.
Just then, someone shouted, "Teacher Zhang fainted!"
Looking into the classroom, they saw Zhang Tiantian lying on her back on the podium, as if she truly had fainted.
"First… first, let's carry her to the office!" the bald teacher from the neighboring class hurriedly ordered, "Zhao Mengjun, go inform the head of student affairs; there might have been a supernatural event."
A clever-looking male student responded and hurriedly ran downstairs.
A few young male students, mustering their courage, re-entered the classroom and found that Zhang Tiantian indeed had fainted. In a fluster, they lifted her and, under the command of the bald teacher, carried her downstairs, panting heavily to the office of the Spacetime Atlas language teacher in the building opposite, on the second floor.
This office was quite spacious, capable of accommodating eight to ten teachers working at the same time, but as soon as Zhang Tiantian was carried in, the five teachers already present immediately ran out.
They had already heard about Zhang Tiantian's ordeal.
Not long after lying on the office sofa, Zhang Tiantian slowly regained consciousness, looking around in astonishment; she remembered she was teaching a class and didn't know how she ended up back in the office.
"Teacher Zhang, you just fainted. You might be feeling unwell. We've contacted the hospital, and a doctor will be here soon," said the bald teacher, who seemed to have plenty of experience dealing with supernatural events, blathering away, "For now, just lie down on the sofa, and don't go anywhere! Don't trip and fall again."
With that, the bald teacher signaled to the other students with his eyes, and everyone promptly left the office.
During class, Zhang Tiantian's black pupils had turned to white, and her mouth kept unstoppably widening. The students' descriptions had already left the bald teacher trembling with fear, and he didn't want to stay there any longer.
Moreover, the school is a protected area, and even though strange incidents are frequent nowadays, as long as it involves the school, the exorcist organization will immediately activate the emergency mechanism. There's no need to wait in line, and an exorcist will be quickly dispatched to handle the situation. This is not something they need to worry about.
What needs to be done now is to prevent any accidents from happening before the exorcist arrives.
Everyone has gained experience by now, as long as they stay away from the site of the strangeness, the chances of danger are not high.
And now, it seems that Zhang Tiantian herself is the main entity of this strangeness.
Outside the office, not only Principal Jiang and Deputy Principal Shen He from Shuntian No.3 Middle School came upon hearing the news, but other teachers and a large number of students as well.
However, these people stopped orderly on the first floor, and none even went upstairs.
The level of danger in supernatural events does not need to be explained by anyone, as everyone understands.
Deputy Principal Shen He took out a folded yellow talisman from his chest and went upstairs alone. He carefully placed it outside Zhang Tiantian's office door, and then quickly came back down.
Shen He was one of those very traditional people, who had been carrying various jade objects and talismans on him since the outbreak of the strangeness.
Although he was aware that these items' actual effectiveness was almost negligible in the face of strangeness, people always need psychological comfort, and having them was better than not having them at all.
"Classes are suspended from now. Students can go home, and those who live far away should immediately return to their dormitories," announced Principal Jiang, his white hair gleaming, as he cleared his throat and addressed everyone, "The exorcists will arrive soon to deal with the situation. After you go back, wait for further notice. It's possible that normal classes will resume tomorrow, and there won't be any impact."
Yan Junze and Zhou Dali also stood in the crowd, exchanging glances.
"Hey, let's go to the internet cafe later," Zhou Dali sent Yan Junze a "you know what I mean" look.
"I'm going home to review," Yan Junze turned and left.
"Hey, what's with you? Why have you changed so much all of a sudden? I'm not used to you studying so hard," Zhou Dali muttered, looking down, but then he suddenly bumped into Yan Junze, who had stopped abruptly, "What's up? Why have you stiffened up as well? Hey, let me see if your eyes have changed color! White or green?"
"Change your sister!"
Yan Junze turned around and looked towards the second-floor office not far away, as a task from the Spacetime Atlas suddenly surfaced in his mind.
[Detecting new Different Dimensional Energy and Dimensional Transverse Wave Band, analysing...]
[Task Name: Spend Ten Minutes Alone with Zhang Tiantian;]
[Task Level: Trembling with Fear (Low);]
[Task Background: As a Possession Spirit, it's very lonely. It has never been cared for or held dear by anyone, and it cannot release. Therefore, it loves to attach itself and slowly draw out the essence qi from its host, savoring every gulp;]
[Task Description: As stated, lasting ten minutes;]
[Task Reward: 500 points of Different Dimensional Energy;]
[Task Penalty: Become the second Zhang Tiantian;]
[Task Hint: The Evil Spirit can be locked down;]
[Note: Do not try to provoke it, or the consequences will be severe.]