118: Chapter 118 Inviting the enemy into the trap, then spying on their whereabouts

Ling Ye did not change his direction, continuing to walk toward "Main Building Area C," where his first class of the morning was held.

However, in his mind, he had already rapidly retrieved the internal structural map of Main Building Area C (combining the original owner's memories with his observations from yesterday).

On the east side of the third floor of Area C, there was a relatively narrow "transition corridor" connecting the new and old wings.

On both sides of the corridor were several storage rooms used for cleaning tools and discarded teaching equipment.

It was usually deserted, and the corridor was not a dead end; one side led to the fire escape of the new wing, and the other connected to the emergency exit of the old wing.

It was a good observation point.

He maintained a normal pace, passed through the main building's lobby, and stepped onto the escalator leading to the third floor.

Taking advantage of the escalator's ascent, he used the reflection from the smooth metal wall to once again confirm the tracker's position—the boy wearing the baseball cap had also boarded the same escalator.

Separated by a distance of seven or eight people, he was looking down and fiddling with his personal terminal, disguised very well.

Ling Ye stepped off the escalator on the third floor and, without hesitation, turned directly toward the "transition corridor" on the east side.

The light in the corridor was dimmer than in the main hallway, and the air was filled with the faint smell of dust and old metal.

He walked quickly past the first empty storage room with an open door (piled with some worn-out desks and chairs), slowed his pace slightly at the entrance of the second storage room, and reached out to push the door—it was locked.

He continued forward, arriving at the middle section of the corridor, where there was a small, recessed ventilation equipment access port, next to which were stacked several old instrument cases covered with dust cloths.

He walked to the side of the access port, leaned his back against the cold metal wall, and stopped.

He took out his personal terminal from an inner pocket of his uniform (a hidden pocket), kept his head down, and swiped his fingers quickly across the screen, pretending to be looking up course materials or replying to messages.

In reality, he slightly adjusted the angle of the terminal's camera and, using the reflection from the edge of the screen, calmly observed the direction of the corridor entrance.

At the same time, his High-Dimensional Information Perception was raised to its focus limit for the current environment, like an invisible spiderweb, covering a radius of over ten meters, capturing air currents, subtle sounds, and any abnormal "information" fluctuations.

About ten seconds later, a figure appeared at the entrance of the corridor, paused slightly, seemingly adjusting to the light, and then walked in with light footsteps.

It was exactly that boy wearing the baseball cap.

He did not look around, but his gaze quickly swept over the location where Ling Ye was, and then he continued forward without stopping, as if he were just passing by.

However, his trajectory intentionally or unintentionally drew closer to Ling Ye's side.

Furthermore, when he passed about three meters in front of Ling Ye, his feet seemed to trip over something (the ground was very flat), his body swayed slightly, and the rolled-up magazine in his hand flew out of his grasp, rolling directly toward Ling Ye's feet.

"Oops!" The boy let out a low exclamation and hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

A very clumsy "accidental" contact trick.

But Ling Ye did not move; he only raised his eyelids and looked at him calmly.

The boy picked up the magazine, patted off the non-existent dust, looked up at Ling Ye, and revealed a slightly apologetic and embarrassed smile: "Classmate, I'm sorry, I didn't scare you, did I?"

Up close, Ling Ye could clearly see his appearance.

It was a very ordinary face, the type that would be lost in a crowd.

He looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, with clear eyes and a smile that exuded a student-like innocence.

However, Ling Ye's perception captured a flash of sharp scrutiny deep in his eyes that did not match his apparent age, as well as the momentary, almost imperceptible tensing of his muscles—a vigilant posture ready to deal with any sudden situation at any time.

"It's fine." Ling Ye withdrew his gaze and continued looking at his terminal, his tone flat, carrying a distance that kept people at arm's length.

The boy seemed not to have expected Ling Ye to be so cold and was taken aback for a moment, but he immediately smiled again and asked familiarly: "Classmate, you look a bit unfamiliar. Did you just transfer here? Or... were you on leave before?"

As he spoke, he naturally took a step closer, his gaze sweeping seemingly unintentionally over the collar and name tag of Ling Ye's uniform (which had his name and student ID on it).

"No." Ling Ye answered briefly, tapped his finger on the terminal, and made as if to leave.

"Oh, I saw you coming from the Security Department. Did you run into some trouble? Do you need any help?" The boy was persistent, his tone concerned, but the question already pointed straight to the core.

As expected, he came for the inquiry from the Security Department!

Ling Ye sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he showed a perfectly measured amount of caution and confusion as he looked at the boy: "Who are you? Why are you asking this?"

"Ah, don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand!" The boy hurriedly waved his hands, his smile remaining the same.

"My name is Zhou Ming, and I'm from the 'Academy News Agency.' Our agency is currently working on a feature about 'Campus Safety and Student Psychological Care.' Seeing a student come out of the Security Department, I was wondering if I could do a simple random interview to understand students' views on the academy's safety measures and their experiences in seeking help when encountering issues."

He spoke quickly, explaining in a reasonable and logical manner, even taking a miniature voice recorder and a crumpled, laminated business card with the words "Third Colonial Academy News Agency" printed on it from his pocket.

News Agency? Random interview?

Ling Ye's gaze swept over the business card. His High-Dimensional Information Perception did not detect any obvious false "information" from it; the card itself seemed to be genuine.

However, this line of reasoning, along with his deliberate tracking earlier and his probing at this moment, was definitely not behavior a normal campus reporter should have.

Is it a fake identity? Or is the News Agency itself not simple?

"I'm not interested in being interviewed." Ling Ye refused decisively and turned to leave.

"Hey, classmate, don't be in such a rush to leave!" Zhou Ming (let's call him that for now) hurriedly turned to the side, seemingly wanting to block Ling Ye, but his movements were very measured, only blocking half the path.

With a pleading look on his face, he said, "Just two minutes, no, one minute! Just say a few words! Our agency's feature this time is really important; it relates to the hearing for next semester's security budget! Help me out!"

As he spoke, he seemingly unintentionally brought the hand holding the voice recorder closer to Ling Ye.

Just as the voice recorder was about half a foot away from Ling Ye's body, his High-Dimensional Information Perception suddenly felt an extremely faint but clear stinging sensation!

The feeling was not physical contact, but more like some kind of directional, low-intensity energy or information scan radiating from the tip of the voice recorder, attempting to penetrate his clothing and touch his body!

This is not an ordinary voice recorder! It's some kind of detection device!

Ling Ye's eyes suddenly turned cold. At the moment before the scanning fluctuation touched his skin, his body shifted to the side by a fraction, an imperceptible movement.

At the same time, he mobilized the mental will, tempered in the Reincarnation trials and condensed into substance, forming an extremely thin layer on the surface of his body—a "barrier" sufficient to interfere with low-level energy/information scans.

The scanning fluctuation hit the "barrier" like water waves crashing against a reef, instantly becoming chaotic and dissipating, failing to penetrate deeper.

Zhou Ming's expression did not change in the slightest; he was still smiling as if nothing had happened.

But Ling Ye keenly captured a trace of extremely subtle astonishment and confusion that flashed deep in his eyes.

Obviously, the detection result did not match his expectations, or... the detection had been interfered with.

"I really don't have time; I have class." Ling Ye's voice turned cold, no longer hiding his displeasure.

He bypassed Zhou Ming and walked quickly toward the other end of the corridor (leading to the old wing's emergency exit).

This time, he did not give the other party another chance to block him, his pace quickening with an unquestionable distance.

Zhou Ming stood where he was, not immediately following, only watching Ling Ye's back.

The smile on his face slowly faded, and his eyes became thoughtful.

He looked down at the "voice recorder" in his hand, which showed no reaction, pressed his thumb lightly on a hidden button, then put the thing away as if nothing had happened, and turned to leave in another direction.

Ling Ye walked out of the corridor, entered the slightly dilapidated hallway of the old wing, and blended into the increasing stream of students rushing to class.

He confirmed that Zhou Ming was not continuing to follow him before slowing his pace slightly.

Thoughts raced through his mind.

Zhou Ming, a member of the News Agency (identity to be verified), used a detection device disguised as a voice recorder to scan him.

The goal was clear—to confirm whether he was "abnormal."

Was it a follow-up observation arranged by the Security Department? The possibility was low; the Security Department had more professional and covert methods and would not use such easily exposed student identities and crude contact methods.

Was it someone from that "Anomaly Research Society"? It was possible.

They were interested in "anomalies" and might have certain technical means.

Using the News Agency identity as a cover also made sense.

However, their detection behavior seemed too direct and bold, not really like a purely academic interest club.

Or... was it sent by the forces behind the surveillance vehicle in the Old Factory District?

Did they want to confirm if "Ling Ye," who lived nearby and had just experienced an "abnormal event," had also been affected by some kind of "influence," or if he was related to certain matters?

Or perhaps, there were other secret groups or individuals in the academy who were interested in "anomalies"?

This Zhou Ming, and the forces behind him, needed to be watched.

However, since the other party's probe failed today, they should not take any more drastic actions in the short term to avoid alerting him.

Ling Ye checked the time; the first class had already started five minutes ago.

He simply stopped worrying, turned, and walked toward the nearest restroom, entered a stall, and locked the door.

He needed to check whether the brief scan just now had left any "marks" or "backdoors" on him.

He focused his mind and calmed his breath, his High-Dimensional Information Perception acting like the most precise scanner, carefully probing himself from the inside out.

His spiritual power (weak to the point of being almost non-existent) was functioning normally, his mental will was stable, and there was no abnormal energy attachment or information residue anywhere on his body.

The scan seemed to be purely for "probing" and did not perform any "implantation" or "marking."

But just in case, he still invoked the techniques of the Star Gods Mental Concentration Chapter, using his mental will to perform a meticulous "cleansing" within his body to ensure there were no obscure "foreign objects."

After doing this, he walked out of the stall, washed his face, and looked at the young man in the mirror with calm but hidden sharp eyes.

The waters of the academy seemed to be deeper than he had anticipated.

He needed to integrate as soon as possible, acquire power, and establish his own information network and safety perimeter.

The afternoon's psychological counseling might provide some side information.

And that "Anomaly Research Society," it seemed necessary to go and "make contact," whether to obtain information or to... figure out Zhou Ming's background.

He straightened his uniform, walked out of the restroom, and headed toward the classroom where his second class of the morning was held.

Beneath the surface of calm campus life, undercurrents had already begun to touch him, this "pebble" newly thrown into the water.

And he, too, would begin to stir these seemingly calm waters.