"Lin Tian, you really have a way with women, getting invited by a beauty in the middle of the night, and it’s your class leader." Xiao Manxuan glanced at the name on Lin Tian’s phone, curious about why He Xiaofei was looking for Lin Tian at this time.

Lin Tian was even more curious than her. After answering the phone, He Xiaofei’s familiar voice came through: "Lin Tian, it’s Xiaofei. Are you at school?"

Glancing at Xiao Manxuan, Lin Tian replied, "Just got to school. What commands does our class leader have?"

"Ha, great, I’m lucky to have found you right away." He Xiaofei seemed a bit excited and then continued, "It’s like this, the association has something going on, and I need your assistance."

"The Explorers Association? What’s up?" Lin Tian was puzzled. He wasn’t part of many clubs, the Martial Arts Club was one, and the Explorers Association another, which he joined to help He Xiaofei.

"Do you know about the old buildings being demolished?" He Xiaofei asked in response.

Lin Tian was stunned, having just heard about it, and curiosity got the better of him: "I just found out, saw many construction vehicles when entering the school. What’s this got to do with the association? Are we doing volunteer work?"

"Of course not. It’s like this, it’s not just one old building being demolished. These old buildings have been empty for a long time, and they’re reportedly quite eerie. The association is organizing an exploration activity to take photos and videos of all the corners of the old buildings as a sort of memento since these old buildings will soon disappear."

He Xiaofei clarified, clearly not what Xiao Manxuan imagined as a date with a beauty, but association business. Knowing it wasn’t a date, the little girl felt inexplicably happy.

"Going tonight? Just the two of us?" Lin Tian still asked, puzzled.

"No, tonight we’re just going to scout the area and assess the environment. Since they’re old buildings, safety must be ensured," He Xiaofei explained.

"No problem, I have nothing to do anyway. Although we’re called the Explorers Association, exploring isn’t about blindly putting ourselves in danger. Safety comes first." Lin Tian affirmed He Xiaofei’s decision, inwardly admiring the beautiful class leader for being so thorough.

"Alright then, the construction site wraps up around 8:30. We’ll head over at 8:30." He Xiaofei decided crisply.

Hanging up the phone, Lin Tian saw Xiao Manxuan staring at him with innocent wide eyes, finding it quite helpless: "Okay, you can come along."

The little girl’s face immediately lit up with a smile: "Will it be thrilling? Do you think those old houses have ghosts?"

Lin Tian looked exasperated: "You’re overthinking it. They’re just old buildings; only the timid scare themselves."

"But I heard that if an old house is vacant for too long, it gathers a lot of yin energy and may have unclean things." Xiao Manxuan lowered her voice intentionally, speaking eerily, with an expression more serious than a storyteller narrating a ghost story.

"You’ve read too many novels." Lin Tian gave her an exasperated look.

"I don’t read them. Anyway, let’s hurry and pack up to head out." Xiao Manxuan quickly finished the rice in her bowl and started cleaning up the dishes, not caring that Lin Tian was still eating. That enthusiasm left Lin Tian feeling quite helpless.

When they went out, Lin Tian was almost shocked by the little girl’s attire. Black clothes, black pants, a black hat, a stick in the right hand, and a flashlight in the left. Anyone who didn’t know would think she was out to be a thief in the middle of the night.

However, the snug black clothes clinging to her body highlighted her curves, making her figure even more enticing, with a well-developed chest and round, pert buttocks.

"Ahem..." Lin Tian pretended to cough twice, inconspicuously retracting his gaze, speaking seriously: "Put down the stick, the flashlight is enough. We’re not going for a fight."

"What if we encounter some unclean things?" The little girl still clutched the stick tightly, with a serious expression, as if she were really going ghost hunting.

Lin Tian laughed to himself; he’d seen at least eighty, if not a hundred, female ghosts and had even tangled with ghost messengers.

"Fine, take it if you want." Lin Tian reluctantly agreed, then stepped out.

By now, it was already past 8 PM, and considering it was during the Mid-Autumn Festival break, there was almost no one in the campus. Walking on the quiet campus road, one could clearly hear their own footsteps, providing an eerie feeling as if something was following behind them.

Though Xiao Manxuan was bold, the nature of girls led her to instinctively move closer to Lin Tian, as at least he provided more safety assurance than the stick in her hand.

The old campus area was quite far from the dormitory, taking Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan twenty minutes to get there. From a distance, they could see temporary fences surrounding the old area, marking the construction site facilities.

The construction site’s spotlights were still on, but the noise was gone; evidently, the workers had already knocked off.

"Lin Tian, over here." A lowered voice called out.

Turning their heads, Lin Tian and Xiao Manxuan saw the figure beneath a large tree, spotting He Xiaofei. Due to being in the old campus area, there were many old, large trees. Under the wide canopy of a large tree, the streetlights couldn’t illuminate.

It was quite gutsy for He Xiaofei, a young girl, to be here alone.

When Lin Tian and the others approached, He Xiaofei sized them up, puzzled: "Lin Tian, why didn’t you even bring a flashlight?"

Could he say he was capable of night vision? Lin Tian thought to himself but of course couldn’t say it out loud; he was long accustomed to not needing a flashlight and hadn’t thought to bring one.

"I should have called you to take lessons when the association trained on exploration essentials. Luckily, I brought an extra one, here." He Xiaofei said helplessly, pulling out a black flashlight from her backpack.

Having no better explanation, Lin Tian had no choice but to take it, going through the motions.

"Sister Xiaofei, you’re more familiar with the school. You lead the way." Xiao Manxuan said, slightly excited.

"This part of the old area has only been partially demolished. The school surely won’t allow us to conduct activities at the construction site. We can go through the site to the part not yet demolished. They probably won’t start on that section for a few more days," He Xiaofei instructed.

Since she had a plan, Lin Tian followed her lead. The three of them turned towards the construction site’s gate and slipped in quietly.

The spotlights at the construction site were still lit, showing many of the old buildings half torn down, with shattered bricks and fractured eaves and walls looming under the lights, appearing very desolate and dilapidated, and yet with a strange atmosphere, as if something might suddenly emerge from behind these broken walls.

"Why did these old houses suddenly start cracking and collapsing?" Lin Tian felt a bit regretful at the surrounding ruin.

He Xiaofei shrugged, puzzled: "Not quite sure. Some say it’s haunted, others blame earthquakes as some felt tremors. However, the school claims it’s due to material aging, as these buildings are over a hundred years old."

"Haunted? That’s too terrifying!" Xiao Manxuan exclaimed, her eyes wide open. Although she spoke of fear, there wasn’t a hint of it on her face.