"Huh?" Derek quickly turned around and saw a pretty girl with big eyes standing near the entrance of the women's restroom, ready to flee.
He recognized her red plaid coat and remembered her from the classroom near the stairwell—a part of the group of two boys and one girl who hadn't left earlier. He didn't expect her to be so bold as to come to this eerie place alone to use the restroom!
Now things were complicated. If she ran out screaming, Derek would undoubtedly be mistaken for a pervert lurking in the women's restroom. Although the fifth floor was deserted, there were still students on the lower floors, and security patrolled the campus at night.
"Pervert alert!" The girl, realizing the situation wasn't right, screamed instinctively as expected and darted toward the door.
Left with no choice, Derek activated a ghost domain, pulling the girl into it. Using a Lock Door Card, he sealed the restroom door from the outside. Then he activated a Soundproof Card, isolating the restroom's noises from the outside world.
The girl, seeing the door suddenly shut on its own, turned pale with fear. She pulled at the door handle to no avail, let out a few more shrieks, and finally slumped against the door, her face drained of color. She stared at Derek with wide, frightened eyes. At this point, Derek wasn't in his true form but in his ghost assistant guise, still maintaining his earlier appearance.
There's no need to scare an innocent stranger, right?
"I'm not a pervert," Derek explained, spreading his hands in a disarming gesture. "Actually, I'm a rogue exorcist in training. My master said there's a ghost here, so I came to practice by trying to catch it."
Taking advantage of the moment, Derek's physical body slipped out of the restroom and dashed downstairs.
The girl said nothing, her fearful eyes fixed on Derek.
"This restroom was empty before you came. If I were a pervert, who would I be spying on? Now that you're here, have I even laid a finger on you? I really am just an exorcist. Please, believe me," Derek pleaded.
"Then open the door and let me out," the girl demanded after a tense thirty seconds of silence.
With his physical body already outside the building, Derek no longer feared being caught and accused of voyeurism. He pointed his finger, deactivating the Lock Door Card and opening the door.
The girl hesitated for a moment, but after the door opened, she quickly stepped outside, exhaling deeply as if releasing all her pent-up tension. Though she shot Derek another wary glance, she didn't scream or cause a scene.
"Thank you for believing me," Derek said softly as his ghost assistant cautiously followed her out. Though his real body was gone, he didn't want to offend her since she had already seen his face.
"You really are… an exorcist?" she asked as she walked further down the hallway, her nervous gaze darting toward the stairwell.
"Yes," Derek replied, puzzled by her courage. Most people would have fled immediately upon encountering him, especially after witnessing his supernatural abilities. But this girl stayed.
"How do I know you're not a ghost pretending to be an exorcist? You locked and unlocked that door without touching it," her voice trembled.
"Exorcists need some special skills to deal with ghosts, don't they?" Derek tried to justify himself.
"What will you do with the ghost once you catch it?" she asked after a brief pause, her voice tinged with concern.
Derek found her question odd. Why does she care so much about the ghost?
"You seem very concerned about this ghost. Why?" he asked.
"She's… my sister," the girl admitted, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Your sister?" Derek was surprised but began to understand.
"She's Gu Ling. I'm Gu Qin. I came to this university hoping to see her. I've heard the rumors about the ghost here and have been coming here every night to try and meet her… but I never have," she said, her voice soft and sorrowful.
"Oh… I see…" Derek nodded.
"What will you do to her if you catch her?" Gu Qin asked again, her voice full of worry.
"I'll just guide her out of the building. I won't harm her," Derek promised, reassured by the genuine concern Gu Qin showed for her sister. After all, the Ghost Leaderboard task didn't require him to hurt anyone.
"Really?" Gu Qin's tense posture relaxed slightly.
"I swear," Derek assured her.
"Thank you… So, how do you plan to find her? I've been coming here every night, but I've never seen her," Gu Qin said, hope flickering in her eyes.
"By waiting all night. If you hadn't startled me and mistaken me for a pervert, I'd already be sitting here waiting for her to appear," Derek replied with a slight grin.
"Will you continue waiting now?" Gu Qin asked anxiously.
"Do you believe me now? That I'm not a pervert?" Derek asked in return.
"Yes… I'm sorry for accusing you," Gu Qin said earnestly.
"My physical body is outside, but I'll bring it back and continue waiting. I'll stay here until she shows up," Derek said, trying to put her at ease.
"A phantom? That's incredible… Alright, bring your real self back quickly," she said, glancing nervously around the hallway.
"He's already on his way up the stairs," Derek replied.
Moments later, Derek's ghost assistant vanished as the ghost domain ended. His real body climbed the stairs and found Gu Qin waiting nervously by the restroom door.
Gu Qin was stunningly beautiful—easily the kind of girl who could be called a campus goddess. Standing there, she exuded a mixture of tension and fragile determination that tugged at Derek's heartstrings.
"It's late. I'll wait here alone. You should head back to your dorm. If there's anything you want me to tell your sister, I'll deliver the message when I meet her," Derek suggested gently.
Tears welled up in Gu Qin's eyes as she glanced toward the restroom and then back at Derek, hesitating.
"Is there something you want to tell me about your sister's death? Maybe… I can help," Derek offered. Having her company wouldn't be so bad, he thought. If he had to spend the night in the eerie building, some conversation wouldn't hurt.