Chapter 3: Oh No, the Aura of a Witch Is Approaching!

On the way back to the dorm.

“Nice one, Third! You actually sat with the department goddess and even talked to her!”

His dorm mates chattered excitedly beside him, but Xu Lin’s expression was one of bewilderment.

Talking to her? He’d even added her as a WeChat friend.

“Come on, Third, let’s hit the cafeteria and treat you to a good meal to celebrate your luck. The three of us got you.”

Xu Lin didn’t respond.

“Look, no need to be that happy, right?” His dorm mates were puzzled by his silence.

Happy? Xu Lin was anything but happy—he was terrified.

He didn’t even know what to do now.

Should he just transfer the money for the water directly?

But doing so would reveal that he’d added her as a friend.

Did she really not know?

Xu Lin suddenly recalled the strange incident during roll call.

How did she know the teacher was about to call his name and remind him?

She clearly knew who he was!

If he’d learned before this that the department goddess liked him, he would’ve been thrilled.

But thinking of the <Heavy Girl> tag beside her and its effects, a chill ran down his spine.

The surprise had turned into sheer horror.

“This is a bit too intense!”

Beep beep.

His phone chimed with a WeChat notification.

Xu Lin glanced at it and saw it was from the snowman avatar.

He opened it, and the first thing he saw was a series of cheering 2D character emojis.

[Great news, Mumu, he drank the water I gave him! o(^▽^*)o]

[But he said he’d pay me back for it. Is he trying to reject me? (。_。)]

A dejected 2D character emoji.

[But it seems like the payment hasn’t gone through yet.]

More cheering 2D character emojis.

[Doesn’t that mean I’ll have an excuse to talk to him again?]

[But is that a bit too weird…]

Another dejected 2D character emoji.

[I wish he’d never pay me back for the water, so we’d always have a connection.]

Xu Lin didn’t reply, but the other side kept sending messages.

This had happened before, and he hadn’t thought much of it.

But now, knowing who was behind the account and what was attached to her, Xu Lin couldn’t help but overthink.

Was that last message hinting at something?

[Still, he’s so nice, he must be anxious about not sending the money.]

[Next time, I’ll appear in front of him again.]

[Make him remember me and strike up a conversation.]

[What do you think, Xu Lin?]

Followed by a selfie of Lin Shen Xue.

Her gentle smile faced the camera, her eyes seemingly gazing at Xu Lin through the screen.

?!

Seeing the last message, Xu Lin’s heart tightened.

She knew! She knew!

He hurriedly searched for the transfer button to send her the three yuan.

But when he looked at where the transfer icon should’ve been, he froze.

The transfer icon was covered by a chaotic mess of black lines, completely unresponsive when clicked.

The red packet button was the same.

He opened other chat windows, and everything worked normally.

He returned to Lin Shen Xue’s chat.

A pulling sensation emanated from the screen.

Xu Lin’s head throbbed, and for a moment, he lost focus.

When he regained awareness…

“This, this…”

Wasn’t this the same sensation he felt next to Lin Shen Xue earlier?

It could affect him remotely?

No, no, this was too dangerous!

Xu Lin gave up on transferring the money and opened the friend info page, intending to delete her contact.

But upon opening it, he found the delete and block options were also covered in black lines.

No matter how much he pressed, nothing happened.

“This is way too intense!”

Beep beep.

Another WeChat message came through.

[Xu Lin, why aren’t you replying?]

[Are you really not feeling well?]

[I’ll take you to the infirmary.]

…

As soon as he opened it, Lin Shen Xue’s messages flooded down.

[If something happened to you, what would I do?]

…

[Xu Lin, you still haven’t replied… Am I really that annoying?]

[But it doesn’t matter if you hate me. As long as I can talk to you once, twice, three times… No, no, I want to keep talking to you forever!]

[Even if you die, I’ll stay with you forever and ever…]

…

The messages grew heavier and heavier.

The text jumping on the screen began to exude a stronger gravitational pull, threatening to suck him in.

Xu Lin’s heart clenched, his head throbbed with dull pain, and his vision darkened.

When his sight returned, he realized his body was leaning forward, nearly falling.

“Third, what’s wrong?”

Luckily, his dorm mate caught him, preventing him from collapsing onto the path.

This situation terrified Xu Lin. He tried to close the chat window but couldn’t exit.

The screen wouldn’t turn off either.

Just as he felt the world spinning again, a cool sensation surged into his mind, restoring his clarity.

It was the lingering effect of the Relaxed and Refreshing Mineral Water from earlier.

It was still working.

His phone was now completely unresponsive, so he shoved it into his backpack.

To think it could affect him remotely to this extent.

He could hardly imagine that the gentle, smiling girl from earlier could be so “intense.”

“Third…”

His dorm mate, seeing him silently staring at his phone, then looking distressed and nearly falling, and finally putting the phone away, was puzzled.

But Xu Lin couldn’t explain it to them. He stayed silent.

Right!

He remembered something and opened the system’s status info page.

In the negative status section, there was a blob.

A literal blob.

It was an area wrapped in black lines, and only upon close inspection could he make out the text.

[Heavy Girl’s Love] Lv3: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, reaching the highest level of this status will result in death.

Details: Once loved by a Heavy Girl, you cannot escape.

Heavy Girl’s Love? Level 3? Death at the highest level?

The first half of the status effect description was still obscured by black, unreadable, with only the latter part visible.

But that was shocking enough.

Death!

What now?

Xu Lin recalled the attribute tag synthesis from earlier.

In class, he’d noticed that after applying a tag to an item, the tag disappeared.

But after checking the system, he knew he could create more tags.

He still had 80 points of tag energy, enough to make four more.

Yes, that’s it!

Xu Lin stopped walking.

“I’m going to buy a bottle of water!”

With that, he endured the discomfort in his head and ran to a nearby vending machine.

He bought a bottle of water and synthesized it with a <Positive Role> tag he made on the way.

‘Relaxed and Refreshing Mineral Water’ (White).

“Why is it white? Whatever, drink first!”

His head grew heavier, and his vision started to blur.

He downed the bottle, the soothing sensation spreading through his body.

Xu Lin instantly felt much lighter.

He quickly checked his status bar.

“What the…?”

[Heavy Girl’s Love] Lv3 was still in his negative status bar. Only some of the black lines wrapping around him had dissipated.

He bought another bottle, synthesized it, and drank it.

After two bottles, his stomach was full.

But [Heavy Girl’s Love] remained, though the black lines had faded slightly.

However, the previously obscured effect description now revealed a bit more.

[Heavy Girl’s Love] Lv3: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ This status cannot be normally removed, requires ▇▇▇▇▇, reaching the highest level of this status will result in death.

Requires what?

The critical part was cut off!

Drinking more mineral water might decode the rest.

But he really couldn’t drink anymore.

He’d have to take a break.

“Third, you sure you’re okay?”

His dorm mate followed him to the vending machine.

“I’m fine. Just a bit thirsty…”

He was about to say more when he noticed someone approaching, so he stepped aside to let them buy something.

But the approaching figure stopped right in front of them, facing them.

“Young man!”

A clear, sharp female voice rang out.

Xu Lin and the others couldn’t help but look at the source, then froze.

The girl had a cold expression and sharp eyes.

But what stunned them wasn’t her beauty, rivaling Lin Shen Xue’s, but her outfit.

The cold-faced girl was nearly 1.7 meters tall, wearing a pointed wide-brimmed hat, her silver hair flowing behind her.

She wore a black gothic dress.

The back of the skirt flared out to the sides, reaching her knees, revealing a crystal-purple lining.

The front of the skirt only reached halfway down her thighs, from which extended long legs in black stockings, ending in black knee-high boots.

The dress was embroidered with intricate patterns, resembling some kind of star chart.

She looked like a witch straight out of a story.

But she wasn’t holding a wand; instead, she carried a fluffy bag at her side.

“You looking for us?”

The dorm leader, stunned, finally asked.

The girl didn’t respond, only raising her hand to point.

Everyone followed her finger’s direction.

It pointed straight at Xu Lin.

“Me?”

Xu Lin’s voice was surprised, but also… relieved?

“It’s you, young man!”

Her clear voice rang out again, firm and resolute.

At that moment, the area was already drawing various gazes.

The surrounding stares made Xu Lin’s scalp tingle with embarrassment.

If his toes were made of vibranium, he could’ve dug through the ground to the other side of the planet.

“You must’ve—”

Xu Lin wanted to deflect, saying she got the wrong person, and drag his dorm mates away.

The girl’s expression suddenly sharpened.

“Oh no, the aura of a witch is approaching!”

Approaching? With that outfit, aren’t you the witch?

?

Xu Lin grumbled inwardly.

But the next moment, a force pulled at his arm, dragging him forward as they ran.