Lust clouded Brian Clark's mind so much that he didn't notice any of this. Instead, he kept closing in, spewing filthy words: "Play with your big brother for a while, I guarantee you'll love it. It's not like you'll lose a piece of flesh. Come on, don't run, my little darling."

Just as Brian Clark was about to grab hold of Helen Carter and get his way—

Suddenly, Helen Carter's figure flickered and vanished from Brian Clark's sight. All that remained was an extremely chilling scream from a woman right by Brian Clark's ear: "Ah!"

Before Brian Clark could react, the scream was abruptly cut off. Then came a heavy "thud" as something hit the ground, followed by a rapid, terrifying sound of shattering that pierced everyone's eardrums.

Brian Clark was stunned, and even the students who had been beating William Thompson stopped. William Thompson had already been beaten unconscious, completely unaware of the tragedy that had befallen Helen Carter.

Brian Clark cautiously leaned over to look off the edge of the cliff. At the sight, he quickly stepped back, his face ashen.

Helen Carter lay motionless at the bottom of the cliff, her limbs twisted unnaturally, her life already extinguished. Her once-beautiful, now pale face was still frozen in an expression of extreme terror and desperate longing for life. Blood beneath her body was slowly soaking a large patch of ground below the cliff.

"Boss! What happened?" one student asked, his voice trembling as he looked at Brian Clark, not daring to look at Helen Carter's corpse.

"Dead, she's dead!" Brian Clark's face looked terrible, cold sweat pouring down in big drops. The lust from earlier had completely vanished. Now his face was bluish, beads of sweat the size of beans oozed from his forehead, and his whole body shook as if in a seizure, his limbs trembling and drained of strength.

"Someone's dead, wuaaah!" Suddenly, a student burst into tears. Though usually vicious and fearless, when faced with a real disaster, he simply broke down.

Two students who had glanced down the cliff quickly looked away and immediately dropped to their knees, dry heaving on the spot. They simply couldn't handle the psychological shock—just moments ago, a living person was now dead.

"We need to get out of here, if someone comes, we're done." Thinking of the consequences of murder, the other students' legs went weak, their faces pale, all desperate to escape.

The words snapped everyone out of their daze. Still at a loss, not knowing what to do, Brian Clark immediately dragged his leaden legs and staggered away, step by step, into the distance. The other students, as if they'd seen a ghost, followed him in a panic, fleeing in all directions.

Section Three

William Thompson slowly woke from unconsciousness. The intense pain all over his body made even the slightest movement feel like he was being torn apart. A metallic taste rose from his stomach, and William Thompson spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. Weak all over, he forced a bitter smile and shook his head. This time, he was hurt worse than ever before. These people had really gone all out, beating him nearly to death.

After catching his breath, suddenly William Thompson remembered something—where was Helen Carter? Why was there no one around? She had been here before he passed out. He thought of Brian Clark, and a shudder ran through his body. Those people were no good—Helen Carter must not fall into their hands. He desperately hoped nothing had happened to her; otherwise, he'd rather die himself.

"Xiuying, Xiuying, where are you? Xiuying, where are you?" William Thompson cried out, his voice choked with tears.

"Xiuying, it's me, William Thompson, come out!" William Thompson was panicking. Why was there no response? Only the howling mountain wind answered him, his voice growing more and more desperate.

Ignoring his injuries, he forced himself to stand and moved around, searching.

When he reached the edge of the cliff and saw Helen Carter's motionless body below, he was stunned, frozen, his mind going completely blank.

A full minute passed before he finally accepted that she was gone. He clutched his head, eyes wide and bulging, and let out a howl of grief that was barely human: "No!"

His heart shattered. For the first time, William Thompson truly felt the world slipping away from him.

His severely injured body could no longer support his strength or spirit.

William Thompson finally lost consciousness and collapsed at the edge of the cliff. "I hope I never wake up again!" was his last thought before blacking out.

In the distance, the noise of people gradually drew closer. William Thompson's earth-shattering wail had alerted students and teachers for miles around.

The voice, full of despair and grief, struck everyone's hearts like a heavy blow. Nearly everyone was heading toward the scene.

When William Thompson gradually woke from his coma, four days had passed. The trauma to his body and mind had caused him immense harm.

All he could see was white. William Thompson stared blankly at the ceiling, unmoving. The blow of losing Helen Carter still left his heart unable to recover.

The hospital room was silent, while the unique bustle of the hospital drifted in from outside the door, as if separating William Thompson from the rest of the world.

William Thompson sat up, hugging his knees, and couldn't help but recall the happy times he had spent with Helen Carter. That was the only period of happiness in his life. William Thompson kept murmuring, "Xiuying isn't dead, she's not dead, Xiuying isn't dead!" Even now, he couldn't accept that Helen Carter was gone forever. But deep down, a voice kept reminding him again and again that his Xiuying was dead, died a terrible death. William Thompson couldn't forget those eyes before she died—eyes full of terror, revealing endless despair and unwillingness, and even a trace of reluctance to leave William Thompson.