Here, after finishing the series of new student registration matters and getting to know his new roommates, Jiang Ziwei lay down on the freshly made bed and started a game.
His new roommates were all ordinary-looking but very easy to get along with.
However, with the start of military training, the sun blazed down, and the flowers all wilted. They were all so exhausted that they fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed, thankfully none of them snored.
Their dormitory was a six-person room.
The roommate above Jiang Ziwei looked burly, but his stamina was average. After military training, he could fall asleep while eating. In this prestigious institution, weren't all students high scorers?
Jiang Ziwei, on the other hand, looked quite lean, yet he could still play a few games and flip through a book after returning every night. His energy levels were surprisingly good.
"Jiang Ziwei, is your family by any chance martial artists?" the burly roommate above him asked curiously.
It wasn't that he was weak. It was because someone in their class had angered the drill instructor, who then subjected them to devilish training. Almost no one could endure it fully. Yet, this guy not only endured it but also became the squad leader, full of spirit every day.
Jiang Ziwei looked up from his phone, "No... I just used to be taken out to play by my family when I was young."
A roommate across from him asked, "How did you play?"
Jiang Ziwei recalled, "When I was five, I ran outside in the snow without wearing a coat. When I was six, I went mountain climbing and camping with a backpack. When I was seven, I was made to run from the city back to the district..."
"Along the way, I also had to memorize some books, as they said it was easier to remember things after physical exertion."
After casually mentioning a few things, the entire dorm fell silent. Jiang Ziwei looked around. His roommates all had blank faces, wearing expressions that seemed to say, 'Is your family even human?'
"How... did you survive?" the roommate above him stammered, a chill running down his spine.
Jiang Ziwei actually felt it was fine, but for the sake of his roommates' psychological well-being, he shrugged and said, "Maybe I was just lucky to survive."
Several roommates: "..."
Lucky to survive...
If they were unlucky, they would have died? What kind of parents are these? And why are you so calm?!
The roommates silently averted their gazes, feeling that this matter was a bit too fantastical. They had previously thought this guy was just an academic prodigy, but they didn't expect his physique to be comparable to that of a sports school athlete. They were impressed.
However, Jiang Ziwei earned the nickname "Boss" for another reason.
...
That night, under the dark and windy sky, Jiang Ziwei vaguely felt his roommate above him had gotten down. He probably went to the restroom. He turned over and continued to sleep.
When he regained consciousness, it was due to the movement in his pocket. Accompanying it was the slight shaking of the bed frame. At first, he thought something had reached into his pocket...
Then he felt it; it was the card holder that was bouncing. The card holder contained...?!
Thinking about what was inside, he suddenly opened his eyes, instantly alert. The shaking of the bed frame continued. Jiang Ziwei didn't move and immediately opened the card holder. As the card holder opened, the paper effigy trapped inside immediately sprang out. In mid-air, it transformed into a matchstick figure half the height of a person. It even wore a cape that fluttered in the wind, looking cool and awesome. Then, it charged upwards in a Superman-like pose.
Seeing the matchstick figure in action, Jiang Ziwei quickly jumped off the bed, preparing to find a place to hide and observe. As soon as he landed, he heard the burly roommate above him let out a particularly seductive "Mmm-hmm~," accompanied by panting sounds.
Jiang Ziwei: "..."
As the matchstick figure launched its attack, the roommate's voice ceased. What followed were gusts of cold wind and sounds of wailing ghosts. Jiang Ziwei's gaze shifted, and he could vaguely see a black mass fighting the matchstick figure. The noise was too loud. Just as he was about to cover his ears, he saw his roommate from the next bunk suddenly jump up, exclaiming, "What's happening? Is there an earthquake?"
In an instant, the scene froze. The roommate from the next bunk looked at him, standing safely on the ground, then at the matchstick figure in the air, and finally at the unconscious, burly roommate. Suddenly, he realized something and quickly closed his eyes. He lay back down, not forgetting to pull the blanket over himself.
"..."
Jiang Ziwei: "..."
Watching the matchstick figure battle the black mist and fly out of the dormitory, he quickly chased after it. Unexpectedly, the battle continued all the way into the girls' dormitory. It was likely that the black mist wanted to take the opportunity to possess someone hiding there or to perform other tricks. However, it was closely pursued by the matchstick figure and couldn't act.
Before long, the matchstick figure returned, dragging the black mist. Jiang Ziwei was about to ask it if it could deal with this thing. However, before he could even speak, the next second, screams erupted from the girls' dormitory.
"Ah—! There's a ghost!"
"Who's touching me?!"
"What's happening? Did someone sneak in?!"
In an instant, the entire dormitory building lit up.
Jiang Ziwei: "...!"
Oh my god! Run, run!
...
However, setting aside the night owls among the girls, the surveillance cameras along the way were not just for show. In any case, Jiang Ziwei was summoned to the counselor's dormitory. Later, somehow, the news leaked, and he became famous.
Jiang Ziwei, upon hearing the news, was somewhat dejected. He was clearly someone who lived by his wits, and at worst, by his looks... How did he end up being known for sneaking into the girls' dormitory with a paper effigy to catch something?
...
Afterward, Jiang Ziwei found the burly roommate above him. He pulled out the roommate's hand and started drawing on it.
"What is this?"
Jiang Ziwei: "A calming talisman, it will make you less excited when you see female beings."
"Huh?" The burly roommate panicked. "I haven't even found a girlfriend yet, it's not good to make me a monk already..."
Jiang Ziwei: "Then what if a female ghost haunts you again?"
"..." The burly roommate fell silent.
The other roommates, however, gathered around, their faces full of curiosity. "Jiang Ziwei, are you perhaps a descendant of the Daoist sect?"
Jiang Ziwei put away his pen and scoffed, "What Daoist sect descendant? It's long gone." He had rummaged through all the things in his house but didn't know what had happened in between, causing a break in the inheritance. What remained were only basic things that couldn't do much. Slightly more powerful ghosts could simply ignore them.
"The talismans I draw are not technically difficult, so I just know a little more than you guys." The most reliable thing he could currently use was that matchstick figure. It could fight, endure, and was stylish.
"Is that so... It's true, we rarely see Daoist magic these days." Seeing this, the roommates didn't ask further. But soon, they all wore knowing smiles, "Hehehe... Boss Jiang..."
Jiang Ziwei: "???"
Roommates: "Hehehe... Did you get a lot of girls' contact information? Can you take care of your little brothers too?"
"..." Jiang Ziwei paused. "I didn't add them." He had indeed been asked to scan QR codes and add people as friends these past few days. However, he didn't add strangers. Because some things could truly crawl over through phones.
"Holy cow, can things really crawl through the internet like that?!" The roommates, who were regretting it, were all astonished. They started to wonder if they should add friends widely. But being single all the time wasn't ideal either... Wait, it seems not entirely unsolvable!
Jiang Ziwei was tying his shoelaces, preparing to go out. When he turned around, he saw a group of roommates staring at him in unison, as if their eyes were glowing green. Jiang Ziwei sensed trouble and quickly slipped away.
The reason he came to study at this university was twofold: first, because a streamer he followed was here. Second, because of the recently renowned supernatural investigation agency. He wasn't looking to join or get involved, he was just curious. In this era where Daoist magic was in decline, who were these people, and how did they subdue ghosts?
...
(PS: Jiang Ziwei has a different constitution, so don't try things like running in the snow or camping at six years old, as he mentioned. [Facepalm])